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// Chapter 1: Today, I redefine death! 
// Story: Friendship is Forever 
// by Overthinker 
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"Ladies and gentleponies of the scientific community, I have come before you today with a question. What is death?" Twilight Sparkle asked with a proud grin.

The princess loved being in the spotlight at these conferences. I, of course, remained precisely five feet behind and three feet to the right of said spotlight. There were two reasons for this. 

Reason number one: As the latest in a long line of Ms. Sparkle's personal assistants, my job was to make hers easier. Competing for attention would accomplish the opposite of that. 

Reason number two: As a bookish young griffon who cares little for socializing, I simply do not care for attention. Ms. Sparkle once confided in me that I reminded her of herself at my age. 

Enough of that diversion. I adjusted my red ovoid glasses with one talon, then picked up my pen, preparing to carve my way down Ms. Sparkle's much-loved checklists as she began her presentation in earnest. 

"Death, in scientific terms," Ms. Sparkle began, "is defined as the passing of a soul from the world. For animals, at least. For life forms without souls, such as blades of grass, daisies, and most other forms of plant life, it is instead defined as the permanent ending of all biological processes." 

A number of ponies in the audience gave each other questioning glances, wondering if the princess was going to derail into one of her infamous tangents or remain on topic. I gently tapped my pen on my clipboard as a gentle reminder to the princess to remain on task.

Ms. Sparkle cleared her throat and her horn glowed. Her block of presentation notes lost a full inch of thickness. I gave the clipboard another quick tap. The notes shrank down to a much more concise size. I drew a quick strikeout line through a fair amount of Ms. Sparkle's checklist. I allowed a faint smile to reach my beak. We would remain on schedule.

"More informally, death is the..." Ms. Sparkle's voice wavered ever so slightly. I doubt anyone else in the room would have noticed. "End of social interaction. While memories of friends and family continue to influence one's life, it is no substitute."

Twilight Sparkle slammed her forehooves on the podium, "Today, I redefine death!" she shouted with an ear to ear grin. 

The members of the conference were practically jolted out of their seats, whispering to each other with tones of anticipation, curiosity, and in a few instances, grave concern.

I raised the clipboard again. Check, check, check. 

"I've prepared a visual aid to better demonstrate my findings." Ms. Sparkle's horn glowed, and the spotlight centered on her dimmed and a second one shone on an easel displaying a crude line drawing of a pony. 

Check.

"We begin with a living breathing pony. He has an long and enjoyable life. But one day, tragedy strikes."

I lifted a bright red marker and crossed out the pony's eyes, evoking a shocked gasp from one of the esteemed members of the scientific community.

If Ms. Sparkle noticed (She didn't), she ignored it (She would have), and she continued. "This pony has died. His friends and family will mourn. But what happens to him?"

Working quickly, I drew some arrows pointing down from the deceased pony to a line representing the ground as Ms. Sparkle talked. "The parts of his body that can break down are broken down and return to the earth." I drew some arrows pointing up from the ground at another pony. 

"Over time, the atoms eventually return to life as parts of other ponies or life forms. Every part of the body eventually returns to the living world. However..." 

I flew up in as unobtrusive a manner as I could, drawing an approximation of a sad-looking ghost, then an arrow pointing up from the pony to the ghost. Check.

Ms. Sparkle pointed a hoof at the ghost, striking it for dramatic effect. "What if the same thing happened to the soul?"

More curious murmurs from the audience. I paid them little heed. I brought the marker to my beak and drew a curved arrow pointing from the ghost back down to the other pony in the increasingly cluttered diagram. With the pen in one talon and clipboard in the other, I checked off another box, before sliding the pen back into the clipboard, removing the marker from my beak, putting the cap back onto the marker, and putting the marker away.

Good riddance.

Very firm check with a flourish on it.

"Now, I realize this is a bit of a bold claim," Ms. Sparkle continued, "But I have developed a spell to prove my hypothesis." 

On cue, I poked my head backstage, where an orange earth pony with a glamorously styled blonde mane sat in a soundproofed booth. I gave her a nod and, with a sigh of what I assumed to be relief, opened the booth and walked past me and onto the stage.

Ms. Sparkle smiled. "I would like to thank my volunteer, Ms. Valencia Orange, for agreeing to this demonstration. Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself?"

Ms. Orange blushed slightly as the full attention of the crowd directed itself upon her. "Ah... Good day. My name is Valencia Orange. I'm an event coordinator from Manehattan. I organize celebrations and parties for the social elite. I like bunnies, and my favorite color is rainbow. As for the demonstration... Please, Princess Twilight. No thanks necessary. I could hardly refuse a request from the ruler of Equestria herself."

Ms. Sparkle's ear twitched and she gave a slightly nervous grin. "Oh, there's been a misunderstanding. I'm Twilight Sparkle, not Princess Twilight Sparkle." Ms. Orange raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Ms. Sparkle gave a well-rehearsed explanation that anypony in the world of academia was long since familiar with. "I'm not Princess Twilight Sparkle because Princess Twilight Sparkle can't conduct peer-reviewed magical research because Princess Twilight Sparkle has no peers."

"Then who are you?" Ms. Orange asked, not quite convinced.

Ms. Sparkle placed a hoof on Ms. Orange's shoulder. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, a legally distinct entity from Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'm a researcher of the arcane, much like my dear departed predecessor, Twilight Sparkle." With her magic, she produced an ID card and other legal documents confirming that she was indeed not the princess  (despite looking exactly like her) and was in fact simply a unicorn (despite having wings) who happened to be an active member of academia.

Satisfied, or perhaps unwilling to continue this line of discussion, Ms. Orange simply smiled and nodded. "Well, whatever the case may be, a spell to help ponies remember more sounded like it would be quite useful..." She trailed off as she noticed the crude diagram, tilting her head in confusion.

"Very useful," Ms. Sparkle replied. I began setting a series of beakers around Ms. Orange, each filled with potions Ms. Sparkle had prepared ahead of time. "Are you ready?"

Ms. Orange gave a nervous smile. "As ready as I ever shall be."

"Then let's begin." Ms. Sparkle's horn began to glow. The potions around Ms. Orange began to bubble and steam. "Just keep talking and tell me what you remember as the memories come."

Ms. Orange closed her eyes, breathing in the vapor from the mixtures around her. I returned to my clipboard and caught up on my checklist backlog. This demonstration was nearing its end, and it wouldn't do to be behind on my work.

"Ooh, I remembered where I left my rainbow-striped saddlebags," Ms. Orange piped up cheerfully. 

Ms. Sparkle smiled. "That means it's working. Now try to remember something a bit more complex. Any skills you're rusty on?"

"Oh, that is a good idea," Ms. Orange replied. "I think... Ooh! Tres bien! I remember high school French!" Her eyes opened, and her smile grew wider.

"Good, good," Ms. Sparkle encouraged her. "Now... think back. Have you ever been to Ponyville?"

"No... Wait." A look of confused recognition came over Ms. Orange's face. "I'm... remembering Ponyville. Somehow." The crowd murmured. "How curious. It's clear as day to me, but I've never been to Ponyville in my life."

"You haven't," Ms. Sparkle said with an excited grin. "You're remembering an old one." I allowed myself a smile. Remaining at Ms. Sparkle's side and witnessing the miracles that unfolded her was the most rewarding part of the job. Ms. Orange could only marvel at the flow of memories.

The glow around Ms. Sparkle's horn intensified. "You weren't always named Valencia Orange. Do you remember who you were?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yes!" Ms. Orange shouted. "My name was Snips!"