//------------------------------// // Consequences // Story: A Pony Called Death // by thehalfelf //------------------------------// Consequences Rose collapsed more than she fell onto the plush bed in the room now called her own.  She glanced at what her mother had lovingly termed, “the Divide,” a line between the wallpaper Roseluck had put up, and where Rose Petal had carefully peeled it away to the underlying paint and filly-esque scribblings.   Her thoughts flipped randomly, filtered between the hard to read musings on the wall and the nightmare of a day she had.  It had started early, and ended just a few minutes prior.  From the Crystal Empire to a small settlement in the Badlands up to Canterlot then back to Dodge Junction she ran, collecting everypony, for none could be saved; the entire time she never once put back on the guise of death but to move those who stood in her way.  The face of Rose always greeted those she called clients, those she felt needed the sympathy of a friendly face the most.   So enthralled was she that Rose did not know of the trouble brewing elsewhere in the house until it manifested itself as an innocuous knocking of a hoof on her door.  “Come in,” invited the earth pony, noting the golden pegasus enter quietly from the corner of her eye, unwilling to look away from the Divide.  “Hey, Cloud.” “Don’t ‘hey, Cloud’ me,” replied the pegasus directing a glare at the inattentive earth pony.  “What kind of stunt do you think you were pulling last week?” “Last week... I didn’t do anything,” Rose replied, still not meeting his gaze.  “It was work as usual, except Tuesday.  I didn’t do anything but redecorate Tuesday.  D’ya like it?” Despite his initial cause, Cloud glanced around at the half-papered room.  “It’s... interesting.”  With a shake of his head, he pulled himself back to the situation at hoof.  “Stop distracting me!  The situation with Apple Bloom, the little filly you were sent to collect, what were you trying to pull?” “Nothing.” “Nothing my flank!  Why is she still alive, and checked into the hospital no less?”  Rose noticed Cloud’s wings flare in anger for a moment before he wrested them back to his sides. “She didn’t have to die,” came her calm reply, eyes still fixed on the Divide. “That’s not your choice to make!  Fate sent you to collect her soul, and there’s no soul to be had!” “She didn’t have to die,” Rose repeated.  “When I got there, I knew I could save her, so I did.  Isn’t her life more important than a soul that I was only sent to get because she wasn’t supposed to die in the first place?” “Yes--no, no it isn’t.  Your job is to collect the souls Fate sends you to collect, not play nurse with everypony you think you can save!”  Flustered, Cloud moved to stand in Rose’s field of view, forcing her to receive his venomous stare.  “What do you think would have happened if I only collected those I thought couldn’t be saved?” “Your wife would have lived longer.”  It was like a bomb had been dropped, and Cloud’s expression was the epicenter.  “I was sent to collect an archivist in Trottingham two days ago.  I happened to notice when I was finished--compound hemorrhage of the brain, in case you were wondering why I didn’t just save him--and she was looking at the file.  Your wife died of natural causes, but she was admitted for a fractured wing, something easily fixed even back then.  Even if it had killed her, the cause of death would have been different.  I’ve been in the job long enough I can put two and two together.” “That... That’s not the point!” Cloud roared as soon as his mind was able to form coherent sentences again.  “My job, and now yours, is to collect souls of ponies who weren’t mean to die, but did anyway.  Leave the saving to those who can be saved.” “You can yell at me all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to keep doing it.  I’m not an eraser, Cloud.  I’m not going to go around and mindlessly murder ponies who can have a second chance at their life, because I guarantee seeing Death and living to tell the tale is a great motivator to change one’s life.”  Rose finally flicked her eyes from the wall to the seething pegasus.  “So stand there and scream at me until your face matches your mane, but it isn’t going to matter.”  Point spoken, the mare turned her attention back to the writing and drawings on the bare cream wall, seeming to all-but forget the existence of her mentor. “Fine,” Cloud said after a moment with a shake of his head.  “Keep disobeying Fate and Luna, I don’t care, it isn’t my problem anymore.  I just figured I would give you a warning before Tartarus comes down on your muzzle, but forget about it.  I wash my hooves of this,” he finished, rubbing his forehooves together before storming out of the door. Rose listened to the receding hoofsteps, followed by the murmured, indistinct speech of her mother.  Apparently, whatever Cloud told her was satisfactory, for as soon as he stopped speaking, the front door opened and closed.  The young mare laid still for a moment, waiting to see if Roseluck was going to come and question her, but when five minutes had passed with nothing but silence, she decided it was a lost cause, and, exhausted, allowed herself to sleep. ***** Sometime later, Rose drifted from the haze of her dreams into an equally hazy version of reality.  Grogginess was shoved away by a shot of adrenaline, fueling the white mare’s jump from a lying position to her hooves on the soft, squishy cloudstuff that made up her ground, sky, and horizon. “Hello, Rose,” called a voice straight from her nightmares.  “Or is it Death now?”  The black unicorn skulked from a mass of cloud near Rose.  “It gets so difficult to tell from where I am.” “Mortis,” Rose breathed, eyes tracking the unicorn’s slow movement as he circled her.  “Where am I, how did I get here, and by Celestia’s invisible beard, what do you want?” “My, my, so full of questions, and some so vulgar!”  Mortis chuckled.  “I brought you here, to my personal Limbo, with a proposition.” “Yeah?  Well, save it.”  She blew a wisp of mane from her eyes before firmly planting her rump on the ground, an effect mostly ruined by the small fit of bounces caused by the springy substance.  “I don’t want to hear it.  Just send me home, so I can do my job.” “Well, that’s just the thing, it’s my job, and you aren’t even doing it.”  Mortis’ smirk shifted into the realm of the malignant as Rose’s carefully crafted blank face cracked.  “Yes, I know, and I think it’s just about the stupidest thing ever.  She was dead, all you had to do was touch her with my scythe, but could you do it?  No.  You aren’t cut out to be Death, and if you aren’t careful, your successor may come to take your soul.” Rose blinked twice, slowly.  “Are... are you threatening me?” “Neigh, simply delivering a warning.  I’ve been watching different incarnations of Death for ages, and you’re slipping down a path that almost always ends in death, for you, and your loved ones.”  As much as she tried to fight it, various images of a certain pony flicked through Rose’s mind, and a blush bloomed across her cheeks.  “Yes, even him.” The undead pony’s smirk switched to a sickly-sweet friendly grin.  “Of course, you could avoid all that nastiness by simply returning the office to me, or even retiring.  You wouldn’t be the first to give up after having to collect a loved one, and you won’t be the last.” “There’s no way I’m going to-- wait, what?  Collected a loved one?”  Rose mentally shuffled through a mental list of past clients; the suicide pony, the griffon warrior, the businessmare and secretary, the would-be athlete dead from overexertion, and Chrysanthemum all swum to the surface from the haze of nameless faces.  The closest to loved one was her fillyhood friend, but Rose hadn’t even seen her before then in almost a decade, so what was Mortis going on about? The stallion’s brow furrowed in frustration.  “Ah, hmm, too early then.  Ah well, you shall understand when you are meant to.  Last chance, give up the office.”  The only reply he received was a shake of a head.  Mortis sighed.  “Have it your way, but don’t be mad at me when my prediction is true. “Goodnight, Miss Petal.”  Mortis tapped his hoof against the ground, causing Rose’s eyes to become heavy as solid iron and slamming shut before her body fell to the ground, breathing gently; returned to her deep sleep. ***** Days passed by, and with each consecutive dawn, Mortis’ threatening prediction slipped further and further into the recesses of Rose Petal’s mind.  The jobs all began to bleed together and, though the opportunity presented itself, she never saved a client, as though a small part of her subconscious believed the threat of the unicorn, or refused to even allow it the opportunity to come true. On the home front, life was a little more interesting.  Rose’s room was now totally de-wallpapered, leaving the room painted a calming cream shade, enhanced by scribblings from her youth.  Unfortunately, the walls of her room provided the only solitude in the house, for Roseluck was on the warpath.  Everything from Chrysanthemum to Apple Bloom to the latest threat from Mortis had convinced her that this job was not for her little girl, and she was determined to convince Rose of the exact same thing. “Rosey, dinner’s ready!”  The summons pushed its way through the closed door to the young mare’s room.  She pricked up her ears, and cast a glance towards the door. “Is it safe?” she shouted down in reply, turning her head slightly to catch the reply. “Yes,” it came, preceded by a pause Rose implemented a sigh into. “Promise?” “Rose!” The white pony flinched at the commanding tone.  “Coming, I’m coming!”  Rose whistled to herself as she stepped out of the door.  She followed the smell to the other end of the house, through a hallway and a small stretch of living room into the kitchen, and more specifically, the small table against the far wall, laden with bowls of food. Before she could seat herself and dig in, Roseluck stepped out from behind the counters, blocking her path.  “Rose,” the elder mare said.  “We really need to talk.” Rose rolled her eyes.  “About what, Mom?  About Chrysanthemum, again, about Apple Bloom, Mortis, Death, Cloud, what is it this time?”  Her words came out harsh, with a sting that Rose didn’t intend. Roseluck splayed her ears.  “I’m just worried is all...  Mortis has broken into your room twice, and once in the castle, no less!  He knows what you’ve been doing, and he’s threatened both of us.”  She paused to gather her thoughts.  “I think you should talk to the princess.” “I tried, remember?” Rose replied with a sigh.  “He’s a spirit, mom.  Even if he wanted to do something, even as old as he is, he can’t do much, otherwise he already would have.  He is just trying to shake us up is all.” “I still don’t think it’s good.”  Rose rolled her eyes, causing her mother to glare.  “Just hear me out.  I know you want to be Death, and I know it means a lot to you, but what about the rest of your life?  I know you won’t age until you leave office, but what about me?  I don’t... I wanted to see you...”  Roseluck’s voice froze, unable to move through the gate of her throat.  Sensing an opportunity, Rose spoke up. “Uh, mom, I have a, uh, client.  Can we continue this later...?”  She offered a meek smile. Roseluck waved a hoof.  “Fine, but don’t think you’re getting out of this.” “I know.  I’m sorry.”  Rose took two steps forward and gave her distraught mother a hug.  “I’ll be back as soon as I can, promise.”  Taking Roseluck’s grunt as a reply, the younger mare stepped back and closed her eyes, focusing on the direction of her client and stepping into her personal transport.  The chill washed over her, though it failed to reach the tempest of her mind.  Rose squinted her eyes, managing to banish her worries until she was deposited near her client, in the middle of a garden or some sort of meadow, she couldn’t tell which. Rose lifted her head, glancing around the deserted patch of green.  Large hedges walled the entire place in, hiding all of the nearby landmarks save for a large mountain in the distance.  Behind her, a closed wrought iron gate spawned the path she was standing on.  It stretched forward, bordered by flower beds before the path split, blocked by a low hedge wall.  Drawn by the insatiable tug of the Instinct, Rose slowly trotted further into the garden. As it turned out, either way you took at the first fork just brought you around to where the path rejoined and stretched off into the distance, following the original path.  The only difference was the path that stretched back into a division of the garden, enclosed by the smaller hedge.  The mare glanced further down the path, but the tugging in her mind led her to the doubly-enclosed section.  All further doubt was cast from her mind as she spied a dark-coated stallion sitting in the middle, facing away from the opening. Rose cocked her head to the side to be sure, but there was no doubt about it; her quarry was in that enclosure.  She cautiously took a couple steps inside, then another, and another, until she found herself by the unresponsive pony.  “Sir?  Sir, are you alright?” she asked, willingly dispelling the invisibility of her cloak. The crunch of hoof on gravel caused Rose to prick her ears, sensitive for the slightest sound.  Each passing second dulled her awareness, at least, until the iron gate clanged shut behind her.  Rose spun around, pulling the scythe from her back, holding it in a defensive position. “Relax, Rose,” said a voice from behind her.  She spun around once again to stand face to face with the glowering face of Mortis.  “You aren’t in danger here.” “Says you.”  Spinning her scythe around, she poked the stallion in the chest with the butt repeatedly, forcing Mortis to stand back.  “What do you want?  I have a client.” “Of course, I will not stop you.  I’m simply here to observe.”  Cautious, Rose slowly walked around, never taking Mortis out of her sight, until the immobile stallion sat between them. “Sir, can you hear me?”  When no response came, Rose gently tapped the seated stallion with the blade of the scythe, as she had countless times.  When nothing happened after a moment--losing one’s soul usually at least made the body go limp--she looked past the stallion to the ghost beyond.  “What did you do?” “Hmm?”  Mortis looked up from the hoof he had been examining.  “Oh, right.  Just let me...”  Before Rose could react, the ghost jumped forward.  She pulled her scythe in to defend herself from whatever his plan was, but it didn’t matter, for the lunge was not meant for her. Blood leapt from a cut left in the stallion’s neck from where Mortis’ hoof touched it.  Shocking as the crimson liquid was, Rose found herself drawn more to the receding line of color from the stallion.  His dark shade was draining from the scalp down, leaving behind a dull gold color. As though waking suddenly from a nightmare, the dying stallion’s eyes shot open.   He gurgled for a moment before falling to the ground at the stunned hooves of Rose.  “What did you do!” she roared, her throat voicing it’s protest at the abuse.  “What did you do to him!” “I did nothing,” Mortis replied calmly, wiping the blood from his hoof off on the grass.  “You did.  I warned you, Rose, and you denied me.  Now, Death, reap your reward.”  With a deep chuckle, the ghost disappeared into wisps, leaving this echoing laugh behind. As soon as she was sure Mortis was gone, Rose dropped to her knees by the dying stallion.  “Cloud... Oh, Goddess, Cloud, I’m so sorry...” The newly-revealed pegasus gasped slowly for breath.  “Rose...” he breathed.  “B... Before you take me--” “I’m not going to take you!” Rose replied quickly, shooting the scythe still held in her grip a dirty glare before tossing it away from herself in revulsion. “No, you have to, I’m dying.”  He slowly held up one shaking hoof.  “Listen to me.  This job can eat you alive, Rose.  I spent almost my entire life dealing with death, even took my own wife.”  He paused for another rattling breath.  “You can’t... can’t let it rule you.  You’re a pony first, death second.  It’s only a job.  Don’t let it consume you.” “I... I won’t.”  Rose raised one hoof, wiping away a tear before it fell from her face.  “Come on, we can get you to the hospital and you’ll be fine, back at work by tomorrow.”  Her voice raised in pitch with every word, finally ending in a squeak. Cloud shook his head, sending small trickles of blood from his slashed neck.  “No, I’m already gone.  The... The only reason I’m still here, is because you haven’t taken me.”  He coughed, sending small specks of red forward.  “Never thought I’d be on the other end of this...”  Slowly, Rose drew the scythe towards herself, hovering it loosely at her side. Noticing Rose’s hesitation, Cloud lethargically opened one eye.  “Please... It hurts...”  She squeezed her eyes shut and choked back a sob before gently touching the scythe to Cloud’s forehead.  She heard his body thump to the ground as she rushed through the gate, not caring as she threw herself into the iron until the lock busted.  Rose galloped around the corner, and out through the entrance of the garden. Miles melted away as the distraught Rose galloped through the setting sun, following nearby train tracks by the edge of the Everfree Forest and back into Ponyville.  Her flight took her through the streets, through the front door of her house, past the questions of her mother, through the door to her room, and did not end until her head hit the pillow muzzle-down; when the tears started to fall.