Chapter 1 - Berry Punch
Helpless, she lies across the stairs...
Death was guiding a particularly confused old mare when her horn glowed a deep purple.
“Now where do I go from here, missy?” the old mare said with a huff.
Hmph. Be grateful that I don’t send you to Tartarus. Death thought, shifting her leathery bat-like wings once more.
“Here you are, Ms. Smith.” Death guided the mare into a portal and watched the raggedy old pony turn into a beautiful young mare once more as she skipped off to a rather new looking apple orchard.
Death sighed and wiped a bead of sweat that had gathered on her forehead. With a flash, she was once more at the gates to the Great Beyond.
Why in Equestria did it summon me back here so urgently? Death thought. It became clear as a younger looking mare—far younger than any that should be in Death’s presence—stood before her. The mare’s eyes bulged at the sight of the great spirit of the afterlife.
“W-where am I?” the mare’s voice quavered in fear.
“You are in the Great Beyond: the realm between life and the Afterlife. I am Death. You are?”
“B-Berry Punch,” Her legs began to shake once more.
“Now, now, my dear Berry Punch, please loosen up and allow me to see why you grace my presence.” Death said softly as she approached Berry and pressed her horn to Berry’s forehead.
With a bright flash, Death was transported into Berry’s final day of life.
Another flash signaled Berry’s spirit appearing to her left.
Berry cocked an eyebrow. “Where are we?”
“Your last day alive. I would like to see how you met you demi—” A large pile of bottles clattered to the floor as the mare woke up and began to groan. “Oh no...” Berry whimpered as she watched her obviously hungover self stumble out of bed and make a speedy, unsteady, and painful journey to the bathroom.
The definite noises of a pony vomiting echoed in the unoccupied bedroom.
Death frowned. It seemed that Berry had a habit of drinking like many ponies, but elevated ten-fold.
“Oh Goddess, please let this not be true...” Berry whimpered.
Death frowned. “Do you not remember how you died?”
“I-I don’t,” Berry stammered, her eyes glazed with tears of fear.
“Why don’t we skip forward a few hours?”
“I don’t think it gets any better,” Berry mumbled.
“I don’t think it does seeing as you’re with me, but I must find out the exact way you died before I send you to the afterlife,” Death said, her statement lacking the truth of the situation.
Much to Berry’s horror, speeding up time didn’t do her appearance any favors. She watched helplessly as her body stumbled and tripped on every surface in her home.
Death stared into Berry’s eyes. “My my. Seems we are on a fast track to a grisly demise.”
She watched herself pour what must have been her seventeenth shot of the day. “I don’t want to watch anymore.”
“Without you here, I cannot know how you die and as a result, not know which afterlife to send you to,” Death firmly stated.
This was a crucial part of Berry’s case. A young mare like herself should not be drinking that much alcohol in a day, the damage it did could be impossible to fix. Well, by normal ponies, this is Death we’re talking about here.
“Fine. It’s just, I look like I’m straight out of the health teacher’s ‘not even one drink’ video,” Berry said. The phrase sounded like it should be a joke, yet her tone reflected the exact opposite.
“Would you rather I sped up the process?” Death asked, making an offer she usually never made in these cases due to the fact it seemed that Berry was rather distraught over her conditions.
With a swipe of her hoof, Death and Berry were transported to Berry’s bedroom, where she lay passed out and snoring loudly on the bed. An empty bottle of bourbon sitting on the sheets next to her.
“Did I die in my sleep?” Berry asked, her worry fading for a second.
“I’m not sure.”
A snort from Berry as she groaned and staggered to her feet gave them both their answer.
“Oh no...” Berry watched herself walk unsteadily out of the bedroom and toward the bathroom across the hall. Between the rooms, lay the stairs. As Berry’s body staggered a little too much to the left, she watched her own eyes bulge in terror and heard a last scream of terror as her body fell down the stairs with a series of sickening cracks and thuds until her limp body reached the floor at the bottom. Berry’s soul could only look on in horror at the scene. As Death escorted the traumatized spirit of Berry Punch to the top of the stairs to see the carnage that lay below, it sobbed.
The stairs were spattered with blood and there was a severed tooth, a molar from Death’s perspective, laying in a puddle of the crimson essence.
At the base lay the lifeless body of Berry Punch, her mouth open slightly, her legs twisted into unholy shaped and a pool of blood forming around the mare.
“ENOUGH!” Berry screamed.
Death flinched at her tone, but stood firm.
“Ms. Punch, don’t you see what your habits have done to you? I can’t let a mare as young as you succumb to an effect of her own causing!” Death sternly said.
“Let me die then! That’ll teach me a lesson!” Berry argued.
Death let out a giggle at her words. “My dear Berry, It is not as simple as that. Letting you die will teach you nothing. You will be sent to Tartarus if you choose to remain dead.”
“B-but why?” Berry’s tone went from aggressive back to scared and confused.
“Because the true afterlife is reserved for those who live life to the fullest and not let their hobbies, or choices get in the way of doing so, which, my friend, it seems you are a textbook example of.”
“That’s not true!” Berry said, her tone becoming defensive.
“Are you sure?” Death asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Um...”
Death held up a hoof and with a flash of her horn, they were in Ponyville’s bar—The Bearded Dragon.
Berry was surprised to see her friends sitting at a table in front of her. Even the tidiest pony could hear Berry’s drunken rambling at the bar.
“Do you remember this night?” Death asked the mare.
“N-no. I don’t.” Berry said, knowing what was coming.
“If you weren’t so focused on getting wasted, you would know that the night before your death that your friend Lily got engaged. She wanted to meet you girls to have a celebratory drink.
Berry looked to Lily sitting at the table with the two other mares that she now recognised as her friends—Sparkler and Cloudchaser.
Lily took one last look over her shoulder at Berry’s drunken form at the bar and sobbed, her head buried in Cloudchaser shoulder.
“All she does is drink. I feel like we can’t do anything without her looking for some excuse. My fiance is worried about her. Says if we have foals, Berry is to stay far away from them,” Lily said shakily.
“Noteworthy didn’t mean that, did he?” Cloudchaser asked, her face showing signs of connection.
“I’m afraid we both agreed on it. Berry’s just too dangerous when she’s drunk.” Lily let out another series of shuddering sobs.
A loud yell from Berry’s drunken form at the bar was the last thing Death made Berry watch as she closed the memory.
“Oh Goddess above...” Berry said, horror present on her face.
“Now you see what I mean?” Death asked Berry as tears streamed off of her face.
“Yes! Dear Luna yes! What have I done?” Berry wailed as she collapsed onto the spotless white floor of the Great Beyond.
Death put a hoof on Berry’s shoulder as she cried.
“Berry, listen to me.”
“W-what?” Berry sniffled.
“I can offer you a deal, but it comes with a price.”
“I’ll do anything to fix the mistakes I’ve made! Anything!” Berry begged.
“I will return you to the land of the living, but your relationships will not be repaired as if nothing happened. You must do that work yourself, my young mare. You must also agree to curb your drinking habit. I’m not saying you have to remain as sober as a school filly, but you must keep it in moderation. You’ve seen what it does to you in excess. Do you think you can agree to these terms, my good mare?” Death finally asked.
“Yes. I accept your offer,” Berry said confidently.
“Very well. You will wake up quite soon in the hospital. Remember what you have seen and learned here today Berry and keep it close to heart.” Death smiled as Berry’s soul began to fade back into her body back in Equestria.
“Thank you, Miss Death.” Berry smiled, fresh tears welling up in her eyes as she continued to fade.
“It’s Mrs. Death, actually.” Death giggled.
“Who’s the lucky pony?” Berry asked.
“You’ll find out later.” Death smiled as she waved the young mare off.
“See you again in seventy years.” Berry smirked as the last of her soul faded into her body.
“Remind me to keep tabs on that one, dear,” Death said to a tall figure as she made her way to the main “lobby” where ponies waited to be escorted to the afterlife.
“Will do, love,” the figure said in a strong deep voice as it followed the mare into the white void.