Ponies live, ponies die. That is just the way of life. But what kind of life does death lead?
The lives of ponies are often ended too short. Yet, there are those that live a massively enhanced length of time compared to them such as dragons and alicorns. But there are those that have lived lives and seen even more time pass than even those long-lived creatures. This is the story of one such creature, Death themself.
The Scariest Cave in Equestria, the Everfree Forest, the Crystal Caverns below Canterlot; the land of Equestria has many mysteries to pony-kind. While most don't care much to explore these mysteries due to the danger involved, there are still those willing to brave those places. Yet, despite this fact, there are many locations lost to the sands of time that would be impossible for those few adventurers to find unless they manage to possess a unique set of skills. Many creatures make those places their home, most having been unseen by pony for countless generations. The forests surrounding Hollow Shades are one of those rare places.
Deep within the darkest part of the forest, lies the active volcano, Mount Gloom. Once the home of a trio of witches, it now houses one of the most ancient beings known to the world, and leader, though they deny it, of the town situated at the base of the volcano. Those living in the town, for a certain definition of the word, are some of the few that were able to find it because of how the area had been hidden.
The witches that once lived there were users of powerful and dark magicks. Yet, despite that fact, it was never enough to defeat their enemies. On the day of their final defeat, they used all of their remaining power to drag the volcano and all of the knowledge contained within their home into a pocket of folded space. The only path into it was a hidden pathway that only opened for those rejected by the rest of the world, the outcasts and unwanted. It wasn't long after their demise that the current master of the volcano took up residence, having needed a place to sleep for a few centuries.
The new master didn't intend to stay there long, but over the years more and more creatures found the location and eventually built a small city around the base of the volcano. On a whim, they decided to stay to keep the volcano stable, especially after the creature imprisoned in it was eventually removed. So it was until present times that the master slept and awoke on a predictable cycle, one that was only broken when a prismatic wave blew past the portal to the folded space, sending a massive fluctuation of magic through it, distorting reality for a few moments, enough to be noticed by the residents.
As the space settled, n earth pony stallion made his way up a path around the volcano leading to the house on its peak. His yellow-freckled, red coat and lime-green mane stood out on the grey face of the mountain as he ascended to his master's home. While the path would be difficult for most to walk, he knew the ins and outs of it as he walked it on a weekly basis to take care of his master's home and body as they slept over the centuries. He hadn't been there as long as some of the residents, but none of them could argue that he wasn't truly devoted and overtime began to regard him as the second-in-command of the city, mostly as they couldn't each other and he made a good neutral party.
The stallion eventually came upon the entrance to the building at the peak, which while looking like a small shack was actually much larger on the inside than was obvious. Immediately he could tell that something was off as the usual stillness he felt from the place was no longer present. Despite this, he still felt no urgency as he pushed open the door and walked inside. Having walked the patch many times over the centuries, he didn't bother to look around, even as the many paintings moved around, the figures trapped within making various rude gestures as he passed. Past the shoddy framework of the halls, various bipedal suits of armor, and down many dingy stairs he eventually came to a door that didn't match the rest of the décor, one of a rich ebony black wood carved into the image of a skull above a skeleton. Tapping on the hidden latch, the stallion pushed open the door and entered the sanctum of his master.
Both the house and the door to the room were in complete conflict with the room itself. With the warm wooden tones of the walls to the simple lines of the furniture, the room would not have been strange outside of any small country home. The only thing out of place in the room, beyond the room itself, was the figure laid out on the bed. All that could be easily told of the figure was that they were an earth pony as the figure's skin was tight against their bones, making them look like a pony skeleton. Their fur was grayed out along with their mane, what little of it was left. While they would normally be completely motionless as they slept, the figure's eyes were wide open revealing a bright gamboge color which quickly focused on the figure entering the room.
“Westfield Leaf. I see the great pain in my flank is still around. So... how long has it been now?” The feminine voice was still strong, belying the weakness shown by the body. The mare, at least going by the voice, stared at the stallion as he walked over and knelt by the side of her bed.
“It has yet to be a thousand years since you began your hibernation. There was a strange phenomenon moments ago which I believe helped with awakening you sooner than was normal.” The supine mare looked at him be her gaze turned towards the ceiling.
Really, well that is interesting. All these years and still there are things that can surprise me. I think that this time I may go with a more peaceful life this time. I'm pretty sure I have a supply of old seeds stored somewhere around here. Westfield Leaf, please gather them while I decide on what form I shall take this time.” That mare's eyes closed once again as the stallion smiled and bowed to her.
“As you wish.” Her ears twitched as the stallion went to make preparations for her new home for the next lifetime. Such is how she had lived over the many centuries she had seen, a lifetime living a life she chose, and many more in hibernation in between, such was her curse. Hours later he returned, having gathered what she had requested into a pack while having prepared some members of the town to go out and prepare a location for her new life. He had lived through one lifetime with her, so this was the first time he had prepared for this situation so had to ask some of the longer-lived residents. As he re-entered the room, he found that the mare had rolled over and was struggling to rise. Setting down the pack, he rushed over to her side to assist, though she waved him off.
“Oh, quit it with the hovering. I'm fine. I just need a more modern map so I can decide where to go this time. The ones in here are too old to bother with.” The stallion paused for a moment before continuing to her side and propped her up.
“Why don't you leave that to me as well then? While the town is isolated I have kept up with how the world has changed over the years. I am sure that I can find the perfect place for you to have a peaceful and fulfilling life.” The withered mare opened her mouth to argue but slumped sideways onto the stallion before she could respond. With a groan, she pulled away and rolled back onto the bed once again.
“Fine, but just throw a dart at the map or something. Let it be a surprise.” With an intense exhale, the mare closed her eyes and focused inwards to the core of herself.
“As you wish. I will be sure to make where you go a complete surprise.” Beyond a twitch of her ears, the mare gave no indications that she heard him. In fact, with how still she had gone it was as if the very life had fled from her, of which that observation would not be too far from the truth. As the stallion watched, flickers of darkness began to seep out of the mare's skin like the beginnings of a dark fire. Soon the darkness began to wrap around her limbs until her entire body was engulfed in the darkness flowing away towards her rear.
While this was happening the stallion took in some of the objects scattered around the room. A strange rod-shaped object, a helmet made of glass and an unknown material, a pirate hat, all hints to the past lives the mare had lived, the last of which brought up fond memories to the stallion. Soon the flames of darkness began to settle down from the mare revealing a much diminished, though healthier, form. Walking over the stallion soon stood over the form of fresh yearling earth pony filly, and leaned down to plant a light kiss on her forehead, just ahead of her black mane. Lifting her new form he slowly walked over to a nearby window and threw it open, revealing the fading crescent of prismatic light in the sky.
“Yes, your new home will be such a surprise for you. Ponies, you had better watch out, for Death comes to Ponyville once again.” As the filly slept the stallions laughter rang out into the air at the thought of the coming chaos.
The town of Ponyville was a rather unique place when it came to the various settlements around Equestria. There were few places that had the mix of the three tribes that it did without one overwhelming the others in terms of control. Much of this was due to its location, and not just because of the presence of the Everfree Forest forcing them all to work together more. The presence of the many farms made it a prime earth pony area, yet its proximity to both Canterlot and Cloudsdale meant that many unicorns and pegasii found the area appealing as well. This balance of the three tribes meant that the town was larger than most earth pony settlements, but still small enough so that most ponies living there knew each other.
So when a new home was seen being built on the edge of Ponyville in an unclaimed plot of land bordering Sweet Apple Acres most were curious as to who was moving in. Yet, none of them ever saw the new owners, even after it was finished a year after the construction began. So after ten long years of nothing from the owners rumours had begun to swirl around the home and its owners. From the older residents, the talk was of how an exiled noble was hidden away there or some other scandalous rumour spreading suspicion among them. As for the younger ponies, it wasn't much better as the talk was all about how the house was haunted spreading fear within that generation.
While quickly spreading rumours and suspicion were one problem of a smaller town, that wasn't the only issue that cropped up. With its placement near two major cities, it was a prime target for troublemakers thinking that they could get away with hassling the residents. This was often proven false due to the hardiness of the residents that came from living near the Everfree and the watchful eye of the Town Guard and Weather Ponies. Despite this, it still didn't stop ponies from trying to cause trouble.
“So this is Ponyville, huh? The gang was right, so many luscious mares just ripe for the picking.” The pegasus stallion winged his way over the town with his gaze on the many females below him. His slime green fur and piss yellow mane didn't stand out much so other pegasii only gave him a passing glance as he flew around. Eventually, he managed to spot what he was looking for as he watched a filly away from the large majority of other ponies walked into an alley from the edge of town. With a slimy smirk, he flew down to block said filly's path.
Landing in front of the filly, blocking her path, he looked over her form with a sleazy eye. Her black mane and tail were a rather unique color to see, him not remembering ever seeing that particular shade unless a pony dyed it, and the pigtails she had looked as if they would make excellent hoofholds. Her yellow coat was also rather pleasing to the eye as well as his eyes traced over the young pony's flank. With a smirk, the stallion took a step towards the filly and raised a hoof towards her as she tilted her head with a bored look.
“Well hello there, little filly. You look a little lost out here all alone. Why don't you let me help you and...” His voice was cut off with a squeak as his hoof touched the young pony's shoulder. He slowly tilted sideways until he fell onto his side as he slowly curled up, his front hooves reaching back to between his rear. The filly rolled her eyes at the stallion as he went through a combination of silent screams and vomiting from the pain. Stepping to the side she walked by him as a clinking sound rang out from her tail and a bulbous object slid back into it, leaving the emasculated stallion to stew in his pain.
“Even after all these years, there are still males that are just complete trash. Well, one less to pollute the gene pool now as he won't have a sex drive again. Now, what town did that stallion stick us in anyways? There's something about it but I just can't place my hoof on it.” Looking around as she leaves the alley, her eyes focus on one of the tallest buildings she could see as a landmark and starts heading off in that direction. As she came to areas with more ponies, she started getting odd looks from them which she ignored. As she neared the building, she found that it was exactly what she needed in the form of the Town Hall. Seeing the announcement board near the entrance her eye started to twitch as a sharp pain went through her head as memories came flooding back.
“Seriously? Ponyville again? I thought I asked for somewhere random and new, not someplace I've been to before.” The filly continued to mutter to herself for a while, drawing looks from the surrounding ponies. She was so distracted that she didn't hear a pony approach her until a hoof was laid on her shoulder. With a roll of her eyes, she prepared herself for a repeat of the previous incident, until she looked up and saw the sunglasses and officer hat-wearing mare that was standing above her.
“Can I help you, officer?” The mare tilts her head with a frown before she raises her sunglasses and squints at the filly. The gray unicorn mare, with her brown mane, looked confused for a moment before dropping her glasses and snorting.
“I thought that was you. Does Applejack know what you've done with your mane Applebloom? Well, that's a question for her, what I'm wondering is why you aren't in school right now young lady?” The filly looked at her in confusion at her question and was too shocked to do anything about the mare lifting her up in her magic. The situation was so surreal that she didn't struggle at all as the mare walked away with her floating along at her side. When she finally managed to compose herself she decided not to fight at all as her interest was piqued at the situation, having not been the victim of mistaken identity before. She watched as she was carried along towards a building that she quickly identified as a school and waited as she was carried inside. The mare quickly moved to another door just inside the building and knocked on it, waiting until a mulberry-coated mare answered it.
“Oh, Truant Officer Crumb Key. Is there something I can do for you?” Crumb Key brought a hoof up to tilt her hat slightly in response to her greeting.
“Just bringing a truant filly to class for you Ms. Cheerilee. I caught young Apple Bloom here out by town hall. I'm not sure how she thought she would get away with skipping school, especially when her family finds out.” Cheerilee looks at her in confusion before leaning back to look into her classroom again. Her confusion only grew as she turned back to the truant officer once again.
“But... Apple Bloom is already here?” The truant officer looked confused by this admission before turning her head to look back at the filly in her magic. Cheerilee peered over as well to see the filly in her magic before she froze up in shock at seeing the doppelganger floating there.
“Ms. Cheerilee? What was that about me not being in class?” The voice caused the truant officer to jump in surprise, making her lose concentration on her magic and dropping the filly who landed with a grunt. Putting her head into the classroom she looked to see that, yes, Applebloom was seated in the classroom as the teacher had said. Her head kept bouncing between the filly in the class and the one in the hall in confusion, much to the latter ones amusement. After a few minutes of no answers from either of the adults, three forms soon came squeezing through the doorway to land in a pile at the filly's hooves. The trio of fillies attempted to untangle themselves, until their gazes fell on the other filly in the hall, causing them all to freeze up staring at her.
“Whoa, when did you get a twin sister Applebloom?” The orange pegasus' question was met with a nod from the white unicorn, though the two earth ponies just stared at each other, looking exactly the same except for their different mane styles and colors. The silence lasted for a while, even as the rest of the young ponies of the class jostled with each other to see what was going on. It was soon broken by the newcomer to the town, summing up the situation perfectly.
“This is going to be a running gag for a while, isn't it?”
Gamboge eyes stared into gamboge eyes as the class stared on in shock at the appearance of the near twins. The town had been starting to notice a trend when Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had gotten together, that where they went there often was a huge mess to follow. It didn't take much for the other students to connect those incidents with the appearance of a doppelganger to have them wondering just how much worse things were going to get. The standstill in the room was broken when a yellow hoof came up to boop a yellow nose.
“So, now that this misunderstanding has been resolved, does this mean I can go now?” She turned her head towards the two adults as she asked them in a bored tone, snapping them out of their catatonia. They looked to the other, hoping they had the answer, but were preempted by an orange pegasus butting in between the two earth pony fillies.
“Just hold a minute. Just who are you anyways? How come I've never seen you before, and why do you look so much like Apple Bloom?” The young pegasus was pulled back by the white unicorn, allowing the other filly to see the other faces peering at her, the same questions written on their faces. With a roll of her eyes, the mystery filly sighed and turned back to the glaring pegasus.
“Fine, if you must know, my use name is Iris. You haven't seen me because I haven't come into Ponyville until today, and I have no idea why I look like her.” She did have a suspicion after hearing the other filly's name, but it was still mostly a coincidence that her current form looked like her. Her answers caused the ponies in the room to look at each other, though one figure perked up at the name.
“Oh! You mean you're Iris!? Just a moment, please.” Cheerilee perked up at hearing the name and quickly trotted over to her desk. After digging around through the drawers for a moment she pulled out a small packet.
“Here it is. Your guardian filled out your registration for classes last month. It was odd that he didn't give a specific date, but he mentioned that you would be starting at the start of the first week you were available.” Iris blinked at the teacher in confusion before she slowly raised a hoof up to rub at her temple as she felt a headache coming on. The other colts and fillies grew tenser as they realized that this filly was soon going to be joining them and the terrible trio were already starting to interact with her. They weren't sure if they should warn her about them, or warn her away from them. The decision was taken from them as Apple Bloom stepped forward and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“Your family has the whole use name, too huh? As this feather-brain mentioned, mine is Apple Bloom. And this is Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” As their names were mentioned the pegasus and unicorn fillies stepped forward.
“And together we are...”
“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” Iris's ears flattened at the volume of the three yelling fillies, and hers weren't the only ones. Not seeing a reason to react to the display, she instead turned her attention back to the teacher.
“So I guess that means I can go now then? Your class isn't quite done for the day, is it?” Cheerilee blinked at her for a moment before she looked around and noticed the rest of her students standing around the doorway. Clearing her throat she looked to the other adult.
“Yes, thank you for your work Truant Officer Crumb Key, but this has just been a misunderstanding. She will be joining the class at the start of this next week so she wasn't skipping class. As for the rest of you, she is right, class is still in session and there is still much to go over today.” A round of 'awws' came from the class as the truant officer nodded and walked out of the building. Cheerilee then turned to the new filly and gave a nod to her as she proceeded to herd the rest of her students back into the room. The last Iris saw of them was the three Crusaders peering at her through the door before it closed leaving her alone in the hall of the school.
“Well, this has turned out to be a rather annoying day. Just what is that stupid stallion thinking, forcing me to go to school in this town? When I get my hooves on him...” She growled to herself as she walked out of the school, lost in her own thoughts. She was so busy working herself up in her thoughts that she missed the sight of a gray pegasus crashing into the town hall, causing a chain reaction of damage to the building. She even missed all the stares she was getting from the ponies she passed as they whispered to each other at her appearance. None of them came to stop her and she eventually ended up in front of her home.
The building was built out of a dark wood found only in the Hollow Shades, imported just for this building. While it looked like it was a large mansion, the actual living area of the building was rather small, being only sized for two bedrooms. Much of the rest of the building was cleverly disguised to look like a larger home but were actually a various number of greenhouses, each for a specific style of plants. As she had only recently awoken, having been in a coma from her period of regeneration until now, none of them had any plants growing as of yet. As she stared at the black door, she eventually shook her head and pushed her way inside, finding Westleaf waiting for her.
“Back already? How was your walk my little- Yeowch!” The stallion hopped back and clutched at his pastern after being frog punched by the young filly. Iris glared at him with the full force of her annoyance.
“Seriously? Ponyville of all places? When you know that I wanted somewhere peaceful to live a life of new experiences? And school? Really?” While her tone of voice was still bored sounding, her annoyance was starting to bleed through into it. Having stopped his hopping, the stallion smirked as he rubbed at the spot she struck.
“Oh? And you mean you didn't find anything out there to catch your attention? You were gone far longer than if you just went to the town hall and back, especially if you already learned about me signing you up for classes. Something interesting happen while you were out?” His smirk only grew as she didn't respond in the negative right away. Her mind went to the odd experiences she had already encountered, including meeting one of her who-knows-how-many-times-granddaughters. Actually having descendants was a totally new experience for her, and her bored expression faded into a pout as she turned from the stallion.
“S-shut up. You just got lucky, that's all. If you do something like this again you better be ready to be punished.” The stallion's smirk only grew as he walked over to sit behind her and pulled out a brush as he began undoing her braids.
“As you wish. You may be Iris now, but you will always be my little apple of death.” The filly didn't reply verbally, but her tail wagged slightly at his words and the reference to her previous identity that the stallion somehow managed to convince her to use as her secret name.
“Well, I guess this is take-two Ponyville, for the second time. I should at least check out the town before school tomorrow. Ugh, I can't believe he is having me go through that, doesn't he know that it's going to be completely boring for me?” Iris stepped out of her new home and looked down the road towards the town. Now that she knew what town she was in, she was able to recognize a little bit of the area that hadn't changed all that much over the near thousand years she was last there.
To one side was Sweet Apple Acres, which she was actually surprised that she hadn't recognized right away even with its larger number of trees. On the other was the vista that was Canterlot sitting atop the mountain in the distance, the castle having changed a bit over time but still being recognizable. She could even see hints of some of the homes of the original residents, especially if they were passed down through the family line. The mansion in the back was new, but she could recognize a small shack the was sitting near a back corner of the property.
She decided to wander at random at first as she thought back to her efforts the previous day. Having done an inventory after the incident at school, she had found that someone had gotten into her old collection of souvenirs, much to her annoyance. She was sure it was the pain in her flank that did it, though she wasn't quite sure about how he knew just what to grab, though she suspected she'd have to check the locks on her personal diaries. Still, a thorough job had been done researching the items so she had everything she needed to grow some of the flower seeds she had saved over the many years, many of which had long gone extinct or were nearly so due to the specific conditions needed to grow them. Much of the previous day had then been used to set up the various greenhouses to her liking with even a couple of her old favorites already being planted. She paused as she started to pass one building and slowly turned to stare at it with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, this is interesting. Did a witch move into town at some point?” Her words earned her odd looks from the surrounding ponies that heard her, but they just chuckled when they noticed the building she was looking at, though there was some confusion still from those that could see her face and her resemblance to another filly in town. Seeing others go into the building with the gingerbread roof she decided to go inside as well to satisfy her curiosity. With a final glance up at the cupcake on the roof, the filly passed through the portal into the unknown.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, how can I... Applebloom? But I thought...? But how...?” The plump, pink-maned blue mare looked between the filly that had just entered and somewhere towards the back of the room. Iris could easily guess what the mare was looking at and brought her hoof up to her face as she heard a voice call out from behind her, confirming her suspicions.
“Did you call me for something, Mrs. Cake?” The red-maned yellow filly walked up from the seating area of the store while the mare kept looking between her and the near-identical black-maned filly. The young apple filly looked at the older mare in confusion for a moment before following her looks to see a familiar set of black braids. Glancing around she rolled her eyes at all the other ponies now noticing the two twin-like ponies and having a similar reaction. Shaking her head she turned back to the new pony in town.
“Hey, Iris. Are you here for lunch as well? Why not join me and my friends once you get your order?” She points back the way she came from and Iris noticed the other two fillies she had seen at the school sitting at a table against the wall. She considered the offer before she shook her head in denial.
“Maybe some other time. I was just exploring Ponyville, seeing what was around, and the design of the building just caught my eye. It looked like there should be a witch or something living here.” Applebloom just gave her a look that screamed 'and yet you still came in here' before she looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Actually, that probably would explain Pinkie Pie. But no, no witches here. Well, if you aren't going to stay here then I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school.” She paused in thought for a moment and was about to say more before she blinked and leaned to the side as she noticed something. With a gasp, Applebloom turned and ran off back to her two friends and started gesturing back towards the confused filly she had just left behind. Looking back over her shoulder Iris looked past her blank flank towards where she thought the other filly was looking but saw nothing of interest. With a shrug, she prepared to leave the store when she noticed a particular treat hiding in the back of the display case, one that had easily become her favorite when she had first tried it.
“Actually, I think I'll take that one to go, the one in the way back, the middle one of the three.” The mare, Mrs. Cake, on hearing the monotone voice looked down at the filly and shook her head, clearing away some of the confusion. Her gaze went further down to the case of treats before her eyes found what the filly was pointing to, causing them to widen once more.
“That one?! Are you sure sweetie, that happens to be-” She was caught off guard when the filly raised a hoof.
“The Zap Apple Surprise Muffin? Yes, I know. No other muffins have the variety of flavours that come with every bite, each one different from the last.” Mrs. Cake still looked unsure at the filly, but as she seemed to know what she was getting into she slowly reached into the case. A few of the ponies at tables nearby saw all of this and word had begun to spread about the order and soon most of the room had turned their attention towards the tableau as the blue mare set out a rainbow-colored muffin. The edges of the filly's mouth turned upwards as she took a sniff at the treat before taking a small bite out of it, the rest of the room watching in anticipation. Her only reaction to the bite was a small sigh of enjoyment, a small tongue of flame flickering out of the side of her mouth.
“Hmm, spicy banana? That's a new one.” Eyes tracked her as she left the building, commenting on the various flavours she tasted after each bite. It was only after the door had closed that one of the ponies commented.
“I never thought I'd see anypony other than Granny Smith handle one of those muffins so effortlessly, especially a spicy flavour.” This statement was greeted with nods as the others agreed with them each wondering just what else would come about with this new filly in town, especially with the eyes of the three greatest troublemakers of Ponyville on her.
Outside of Sugarcube Corner Iris quickly polished off the last of the muffin before looking around for her next destination. Not seeing anything she chose a random direction and started walking, letting her instincts guide her around. After another hour of roaming through the town, she felt herself get drawn to a decently sized complex on the edge of Ponyville, not far from a field full of similarly shaped stones.
“I guess I should have expected a place like this in town with how long it's been around now. But for me to be drawn here already?” With a shake of her head she pushed open the door of the building and walked inside. Within she found a mare seated behind a desk reading a magazine. Off to the side was a large room filled with a bunch of chairs and tables, with old ponies filling many of said seats. Glancing around she failed to spot what had drawn her to this location so she made her way past the desk to a hallway behind it. The mare at the desk was too absorbed in her book to notice her, though a couple of the old ponies noticed her and smiled at seeing a young filly coming to visit somepony in the building.
Iris passed door after door as she walked down the hall, most of them closed, though she could feel ponies behind some of them. The fact that she could sense them just showed how close they were to death, within a couple of decades at the most, but her mind was focused on one that shone like a star in her mind. It was at the last door in the hall that she found what was pulling her as she entered a room inhabited by an ancient-looking mare that was staring out her window from her bed. Without a word, the filly walked over and hopped up into the chair next to the bed.
Neither of them said a word as the mare continued to stare out the window towards the setting sun. Eventually, she glanced away towards the door and only then noticed the filly waiting patiently next to her.
“Oh my, did you come to visit old Petunia young filly? It has been a long time since anypony has come to see me, such a long time...” The mare looked saddened about this as she brought a hoof up to the silver locket that she was wearing. Opening it she began looking at the photo within of a mare with her pink-colored coat and red mane which no longer matched her gray. Below her were two younger ponies of similar coloration. Iris was able to get a look at them as it was turned slightly towards her.
“Haven't they come to visit you at all? Nopony should be alone in their final hours.” The mare just smiled sadly as she reached over and rubbed at the filly's mane with a hoof.
“No, they've been gone for a long time now deary. It has just been me for these many years. Someday I hope to see them again though.” The mare zones out again as she focuses on the locket once again, a hoof running over the edge of it. The two sat in silence like that for over an hour until the mare eventually fell asleep while still holding onto the picture. Even then the filly stayed by her side as the sun began to set over the horizon.
“Miss Petunia? Are you still awake in here? Oh, what are you doing here little filly? Visiting hours ended a while ago.” Looking towards the door the filly saw a rather nondescript brown stallion looking into the room. She frowned as she saw him as her eyes kept wanting to slip off of him. Not only that, when she tried to focus on him she couldn't sense anything from him which should be an impossibility. Focusing on his cutie mark she managed to get a view of it and her frown deepened as she took in what she saw. At first, it appeared to be a rolled-up scroll, but the skull on the seal of it denoted that it wasn't a scroll, but a treasure map.
“Who are you, and how are you still alive while looking so young?” The stallion looked at her in confusion for a moment before glancing at the sleeping mare.
“I'm Nopony Special, but shouldn't Petunia have told you that if she mentioned my condition? I've never had a young pony ask me that before, only old ponies that have known me for years. About my curse from the crazy-looking genie all those years ago...” The stallion looked sad as he thought back on his circumstances as the filly frown and glanced at the mare next to her.
“So she really does have someone to stay with her, huh? You know she won't last through the night, right?” The stallion jerked as he looked at the filly in the eyes, and almost blanched away at the look in her eyes. A look he found familiar, yet to a far greater extent to what he saw in the mirror every morning.
“Who, what are you? You aren't just an ordinary filly, are you?” The filly just flicked her tail to the side as a curved shape emerged from it as she leaped out of the chair. Walking over to the stallion she gently tapped one of his hooves with it before it vanished back into the blackness of her tail. The stallion flinched away as a cold feeling crept up his leg from the point that she touched.
“I'm just a filly that moved into town recently to relax and enjoy life for a few years. Somepony that you probably should have met centuries ago. Though before I go you have a choice, two of them actually. If you tire of this life, just stay here with Petunia as her death comes to claim her. If you do you can finally have the rest you've long deserved. If you don't then who knows when you will have the chance again. Choose the former though and you will have one more choice, go to your eternal rest, or join my crew.” The stallion was confused at the filly's words, though as she spoke there was a change in it, one that brought up old memories. Memories of a time of freedom and glory, of adventure and the smell of salt, and a time when he had met one with a similar voice, one that had terrorized the seas. He was so caught up in his memories that he didn't notice as the filly passed him by out of the room.
Iris quickly left the building as night began to settle over Ponyville. She looked back one last time as she stepped through the door and shook her head at the odd stallion that she had found.
“I am going to need to have a word with that boy next time I see him. I've warned him before about messing with my domain. Well, that's for later, I better get back to that pain in the flank before he does something foolish again.” With that the young pony made her way back to her home, leaving the Ponyville Retirement Home behind, but not to be forgotten as many have done before. The next morning it had become the talk of the town as an old mare had been found dead the next morning, a stallion by her side in a similar state. Some talk of the power of their love to have gone together spread through the town, yet some made note of how the ancient-looking stallion in the room looked a lot like one of the caretakers of the Home, one that could not be found.
The filly stared at the room as the room stared back at her. Both sides waiting for the other to break or even blink first. The only movement came from various eyes darting from the doppelganger to the original. Even Cheerilee wasn't immune from the effect caused by the disturbing similarities of the new filly in front of her to the one she had known for a couple of years now. Still, being the responsible adult in the room meant that she had to do something to break the odd stalemate leading to her clearing her throat.
“So, dearie. Why don't you tell the class a little about yourself.” Iris glanced back at the mulberry mare before turning back to the rest of the class, head tilted to the side in thought.
“Not much to tell. I was isolated sick at home here in Ponyville the last few years and only recently was I well enough to leave my home.” This caused a few jaws to drop in shock before a tall tan unicorn in the back of the room spoke up.
“Uhhh, but what did you do for fun then?” The filly looked at the tall colt for a moment before she shrugged.
“I grew flowers.” The other students waited for her to continue but were quickly disappointed. Seeing the staring match about to begin again the teacher shook her head before clopping her front hooves together.
“All right then, why don't you take a seat there in the back behind Sweetie Belle.” The earth pony filly looked where the mare was pointing to the back corner behind a familiar filly who was waving to her. With a sigh and roll of her eyes, she slowly walked back to the empty desk and took a seat. The unicorn filly turned to try and speak with her but was interrupted when the teacher tapped a ruler against her desk.
“Settle down now children, you will all have time to talk with the new student during recess. As I told you last week I have a surprise lesson for you today. With help from the town librarian I was able to get enough copies of a special book for your reading assignment this month.” The class groaned at the news causing the mare to chuckle.
“Now don't be like that. Unlike the last one which was part of the school supplies when I first moved into Ponyville, I am sure you will enjoy this one. It is considered to be one of the greatest works of fiction since the founding of Equestria.” Cheerilee dropped a small stack of books on the front desk of each row and had the students take one and pass the rest behind them. With how they were passed out, Iris was the last pony to receive a copy of the book. She took it, wondering if it would be something interesting considering her history, but her head quickly met her desk when she read the title of the book. The sound drew the attention of the teacher who looked at her curiously.
“Lily, is there something wrong?” The filly didn't respond at first but she eventually sighed when she realized that there was no escape from answering. She raised the book up so that the title, The Princess Bride, was visible.
“I have had time to read a lot of books, and I can honestly say that this is one of the worst ones I have ever read.” Cheerilee gasped as she heard this and looked rather insulted about the claim.
“How can you say that? This book is a classic written by the great Williams Goldscolt centuries ago and few books can even compare to this centuries-old story!” The mare caught herself as she realized she was near yelling at a filly and looked ashamed of herself. The filly didn't seem to notice as she slowly lifted her head to glare at the book.
“I say that because I have read the journal of the pony this is all based on. The only Buttercup involved was the ship of the writer, a terrible pen-name by the way, and Westleaf didn't become the pirate captain but fell in love with them. Any family in Ponyville with any real history and records from its founding could tell you the same.” The teacher looked confused at the claim, as well as many of the other fillies and colts. One though had a bit more to say about it.
“And what would a blank flank like you know about my family? As if a Rich would have anything to with a filthy pirate.” Iris looked over at the pink earth pony filly with the crown on her flank and slowly raised an eyebrow.
“Which of the founding families of Ponyville did you belong to? Really, there were only four ponies that actually had the skills to keep a journal or anything according to the one I have.” The crown-wearing filly just scoffs as she takes what she assumes to be a regal pose.
“I am Diamond Tiara, and my father Filthy Rich is the richest pony in all of Ponyville.” Iris' eyebrow rose even higher at the familiar name.
“Any relation to a Stinking Rich?” The other filly nodded haughtily causing the Applebloom-lookalike to grin.
“Then you probably have his journal somewhere if it wasn't destroyed. Stinking 'Stinky' Rich was an important member of the crew that settled in Ponyville, and one of the most well off due to being the ship's money manager. The other three journals would have been written by the captain, Westfield Leaf Apple the first mate, and Long Dong Silver the treasure appraiser.” The two names drew the attention of two other fillies in the room who grew even more interested. The pink filly just scoffed once again, not believing a word of the new filly in the class. Iris just shrugged at her response and looked towards the conflicted teacher.
“Believe me or not, I can bring the journal I have tomorrow if it is all right with you Ms. Cheerilee. You can even search your own home for your own if you feel like proving me wrong.” The teacher looked startled for a moment but after a quick moment of thought nodded her head to the suggestion.
“Why that is an excellent idea. If it really is the basis for this book then I would be very interested in seeing it myself. But until then, everypony please open your books to the first page. Twist? Will you read the first paragraph?” With a sigh, the newest filly of Cheerilee's class opened her book and started to read along.
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The next day class began with three additional figures standing at the front of the room. The brown form of Filthy Rich, father to Diamond Tiara. The gray form of Dappled Silver, mother to Silver Spoon. The large red form of Big Macintosh, brother to Applebloom. The three each held a thick tome on their back, much like the one sitting on the desk of the newest filly, Iris. Most of the fillies and colts watched the three adults with interest, though one particular pink pony wasn't looking very thrilled. When Cheerilee was ready to start class she clapped her hooves together to get everyone's attention.
“All right everypony, today we have something special. If you remember yesterday there was a discussion of the origins of your reading exercise. Each family has brought the journal from the pony that lived through those times and with their permission are allowing a copy to be made after a small reading today.” With a nod to the ponies, each of the four journals was brought up and set on her desk. Iris even passed her a list of dates to look up in each of them for comparison. Flipping through the pages she found the first date listed in each of them.
“Let's see, ah, here we go. 'The new batch of recruits looks to be promising. Though I have concerns about the big guy who seems to be a bit of a klutz. He better get his sea legs if he wants to survive long though.' Odd, though these two confirm that they did take on new crew members that day, so that leaves, ah yes. 'I can not believe that I did that. First day on this ship and I already embarrass myself in front of the captain. Now I understand why they laughed when I asked what the captain was like. Still, out of all the pirates I heard of she is rumored to be the best, just the fact that the crew is given a ration of soap says a lot.'” Cheerilee paused as she began flipping through for the next entry which gave one of her students time to speak up.
“Ms. Cheerilee? Why does soap sound so important for him?” The teacher looked up to Sweetie Belle but didn't need to answer as Filthy Rich spoke up in her stead.
“I can answer that. Back in those days soap was something only rich ponies could get easily. For a pirate to be able to give their crew any amount of it like that is unheard of. The reason this crew had access was because of my grandfather Stinking Rich. While my family is known for initially making money by selling the Apple Family's zap apple jam, its fortune originally started by selling soap created by him. As my father tells it, he was never able to find a wife until he perfected the formula to a point that it removed the smell that earned him the nickname 'Stinky' by the rest of the crew.” A thump was heard which drew attention to the pink filly in the room as her head hit her desk in mortification at hearing of her family's history. Any comment on this was stalled as the teacher got the class' attention once again.
“That does appear to be true as there are many notes in his journal to that effect. Most of it seems to involve that as well as the payment to the crew and various comments on them. The same with...” She pauses with a sigh before shaking her head.
“I can't believe this is actually his name, Long Dong Silver.” The name brought giggles to the classroom as well as another thumping sound as a silver earth pony filly's head joined her friends in hitting the desk.
“Anyways, the next entry starts to get interesting. 'The klutz is really starting to be a pain in my flank. Every time I see him something seems to end up broken. If he wasn't such a hard worker and good fighter I would have keel-hauled him long ago.' This doesn't sound much like a budding romance, maybe the other journal explains it more. 'What is wrong with me? I just keep making a mess of things in front of her. I've never been like this in front of a mare before, no matter how cute they are. Wait, why did I...' Well, I guess there is something there. There are still a couple more entries marked, maybe they will tell us more.” The mulberry mare quickly flipped through the pages while the rest of the room watched on in interest. Yet, there were still two ponies that kept an eye on the new filly, just wondering how she had something from their family.
“'That stallion is really starting to creep me out. Just when I had gotten used to his clumsiness he starts pulling this on me. Every time I order him to do something it's 'As you wish' this and 'As you wish' that. If he wasn't such a strong fighter I would have kicked him off my ship ports ago.' 'I admit it, I have actually fallen for her. But she is just so distant, I don't think she would even accept my declaration of love. All I can do is do whatever she wishes and proclaim my love for her in my every word and deed.' That... that does match up with the book in a way. But, just who is this captain? I haven't seen their name written anywhere in this journal, and come to think of it I don't think I've ever even heard the name of the original founders of Ponyville from the Apple family. Maybe the last entry on the list?” Flipping through the books once again she ended up at the second to the last entry of the captain's journal while there not being a matching one in the other three. Doing a quick read through her eyes widened a bit before repeating it out loud.
“'How in the world did this happen? Me? Getting married?! To him of all ponies?! I told him everything and even that wasn't enough to drive him away and here I am now in a wedding dress! Did my mind just shut off or something? I mean, Westfield Leaf Apple?! Him?!' Oh my, I wonder how this happened? The other journal seems to be missing some pages around this time.” Cheerilee looked at the other journal that was open to the same time frame, revealing multiple pages having been torn out. Shaking her head at the damage she quickly moved on to the last entry.
“'I have seen many things in my time on this world, yet I have never been as terrified as I am now. I didn't even know that this was possible to have happen to me. I guess now I have a reason to retire from piracy, and the sisters have given me the perfect way to do so. It may be a bit of a risk, but I'll do anything to keep my most precious treasure safe. My little Gran-' Huh, it's a bit smudged there, but with who wrote this I can only assume that it is Granny Smith. But who would have been able to help her? From what I read about that time period the princesses were very aggressive in arresting and putting pirates on trial.” As the mare closed the journals, Filthy Rich stepped forward while pulling out a framed object.
“I found this along with my grandfather's journal, as well as a copy of a certain law at that time.” The framed object was an old wanted poster with a poorly drawn picture of a mare. The text below it stated, 'Wanted: The captain of the pirate ship Flying Dutchmare. Reward: Title of nobility and choice of land deeds.'
“Apparently the law at the time granted a blanket pardon to all nobles involved in piracy during that period. Records are scarce from that time as the Blank Years happened during the Age of Pirates but the law was passed to get nobles to return to Equestria once again. It seems that this mare abused that law by turning herself in to claim the reward.” Cheerilee blinked a couple times before looking down at the wanted poster.
“You mean to tell me that she claimed the reward on herself to get a royal pardon? How could the princess allow something like that to happen?” The brown stallion could only shake his head.
“I can only guess, though there are notes of my grandfather claiming it to be the greatest scheme of all time. The laws were soon revoked after that, but the end result was Ponyville's founding under the new Duchess of the Apple family.” Eyes all around the room widened as they slowly turned towards Applebloom who was looking rather shocked herself.
“Wait, my family are nobles? How come Granny never said anything about that?” The filly's question was met only with a small smirk and shake of the stallion's head. Big Mac looked over at him with a raised eyebrow at how he would answer.
“Your grandmother is a very shrewd mare and is why I do business directly with her. She rarely leans on the title and acts like it doesn't even exist. Only once have I seen her even mention the title and it was when a Count from Canterlot came down to Ponyville to try and take a contract with the Princess' chefs for supplying apples to the castle. I still remember the look on his face when he was sent running back to the capitol.” His words were met with nodding from Big Macintosh as he remembered that event. He knew Granny Smith had even framed the apology letter from said noble which she kept in a special memory chest. He was broken out of his thoughts as Cheerilee clopped her hooves together for attention.
“This really has been an interesting piece of history, especially of Ponyville's history. While I take a moment with these stallions on getting copies of these journals the class can take an early recess. Iris, I will speak with your guardian about yours later.” The class let out a cheer at her words and quickly stampeded out of the room, the rearmost being a rather sullen pink pony who had basically had her worldview shattered. Iris was the last one to leave the room as she avoided the crowd and nodded to the teacher as she left the room.
Outside she found that many of the fillies and colts had begun a game of pirates, led by a diminutive pinto colt wearing an old pirate hat. One of the few exceptions was the filly who had called her out the previous day that had started the current events. With a nod, she turned to find a quiet corner to rest in only to come face to face with a trio of wide grins.