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// Death and the Eye of the Storm [History Overwritten] 
// Story: Split Second 
// by wille179 
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	Amidst the chaos of the war afflicted city, one could be forgiven if they didn’t immediately notice the two figures who suddenly appeared on the sidewalk, accompanied by only a slight ripple in the air. Of course, once the onlookers noticed them, they’d immediately wish they hadn’t.
The first to emerge was a gray stallion in a suit and fedora. His only truly distinctive features were the binocular cutie mark and the fact that he had neither mane nor tail. And yet, despite the odd feature, he was rather forgettable.
No, it was his traveling companion that made ponies run in terror. She stood three times as tall as even the largest of stallions, and with more legs and eyes than any pony should have. Bone wings lay against her sides, and bone-like growths covered her crystalline skin. Countless black, thorny vines took the place of her tail. A "Mohawk" of horns protruded from her head, continuing down and blending into the spines protruding from her back.
Oddly, if you asked the two of them who was stranger, the six-legged monstrosity would have pointed to her ordinary-looking companion.
Said companion wouldn’t deny it.
Thankfully, the monstrous one shifted her appearance to that of a unicorn mare that was ordinary except for the long, messy mane cascading around her neck. She opened her mouth to speak, revealing numerous teeth that had yet to fully shift.
 "Thanks for the ride, August," the faux-unicorn – Death – said. "I’ve got to learn how to do that on my own someday."
"I only do this because I have already done so," the gray earth pony replied. August’s statement may have sounded cryptic, but it was clear to those who understood time travel.
Death nodded, not really grasping the intricacies of time travel but understanding the general gist.  "Still, it was nice." 
The observer didn’t reply.
Death asked "Your past selves don’t know yet, do they?"
"No. You still cloud their vision."
Death didn’t acknowledge the answer, but then again, he knew her companion didn’t care about such things. "And you’re fine with me doing this, right?"
"You must do this because you have already done so," August replied in the same monotone. "Your own history depends on it."
The dark goddess smiled an honest, cheerful grin.  "No paradoxes?"
"There was a stable entry condition, nullifying the bootstrap paradox; your presence has too small an impact on the course of events to matter."
Death rolled her lavender eyes. "Make me feel useless, why don’t you?" She reached back and, from the fold in space by her side that led to the afterlife, withdrew her favorite pair of guns.
She loved her arsenal of future weapons. The concept of firearms hadn’t even been invented yet, meaning her favorite little toys were completely unexpected by her enemies. Sure, she could just make them drop dead with a thought alone, but that wasn't any fun at all.  "I’m off, then."
The reaper charged off, brandishing her weapons in her black magical aura. It didn’t take long for the dark goddess to find a group of vampires terrorizing a helpless family. 
"Have mercy! Please!" the mother cried.
"Hey, leave them alone!"
One of the vampires looked over. "Well, well, well, what have we here? A little filly out on her own?" He showed off his fangs. "Have you brought daddy a drink?"
"No, I brought my guns," Death deadpanned. She liked deadpan humor. "These are 3.5 hoof-length, fully automatic horn-activated guns, weighing in at a whopping 30 lbs. each. Forged in curse-fire, quenched in the blood of the damned, and cursed by the dark enchanter Black Hammer, these guns are my favorite weapons." 
A loud bang punctuated the air. The left gun, engraved with the word Inevitable, smoked gently. The only one not looking at it in that moment was the vampire closest to the living ponies; his body had yet to realize it was lacking a head.
"It fires custom 2/11 type bullets, imbued with a simple but effective curse." 
*BANG* Another vampire dropped dead, courtesy of the gun inscribed with Demise.
"Each shot links my soul to my target, allowing me to crush them with the weight of my soul, and drag them to the pits."
*BANG*
Blood splattered everywhere.
"The space expanded magazines can hold a whopping four thousand rounds, and I have additional magazines if I run out."
*BANG*
Only a single vampire remained.
"So I’m never going to run out."
"MERCY!" The cowering vampire said.
"Funny, didn’t that mare you were bothering ask the same thing?" Death countered. And before the vampire could reply, Death pulled the trigger. She looked over at the cowering family and sighed, "You can go now. You’re safe."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"It’s not a problem," Death replied. She motioned towards the sky, darkening with sinister magic. "It looks like rain; best be hurrying along."





She pulled the trigger once more, ending the life of one of the pillaging vampires that were overrunning the city. "Sixty five."
As she flicked the safety on for both guns, the blood soaked dark goddess looked over at a very familiar face. Her eyes were unusually full of malice, and yet lacked the pain she knew should have been in them. "You Sparkle right now?"  She knew full well that little Sparkle wasn’t in her right mind at the moment.
A split second later, her eyes softened. "Yes. What are those weapons?" Sparkle asked.
She lowered her firearms slightly, relaxing somewhat. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with yet," she replied.
It was at that moment that she could see the recognition blooming in her eyes.
"Lady Death, what brings you here?" Sparkle said, bowing her head.
She simply chuckled. Really, why did ponies insist on calling her that? Even as a mortal, she’d been no Lady; she was a child of rape.  "None of that ‘Lady’ business. Just ‘Death’ will do. And I’ve got a few things I need to fix. First of all, congrats on the successful use of your first city killer."
"What?" Sparkle asked, her tone displaying her confusion.
Death blinked. What, had she never thought that this was a city killer? It wouldn’t have taken much at all to change it from an anti-vampire weapon to an anti-life weapon. In fact, excluding Princess Cadance’s Lovely Little Bomb, which hadn’t been invented by its namesake yet, there were few pony weapons more fearsome. 
Still, Death enjoyed messing with ponies’ heads, especially Sparkle’s; she knew she’d find it funny when she got older. "Wait, am I too early on that one?" She looked up at the black sky. "Oh, I am. And this one is the tame version of it. Huh." Her gaze reaffixed on Sparkle. "Second thing: Don’t let it eat you, no matter what it says." That last bit was genuine advice. She remembered having to deal with…
Never mind. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of the past; she had things to do.
"Death, ma'am, I still have no idea what you’re talking about," Sparkle nervously replied.
"You will," the dark goddess said. "Before sunrise, you will."
She flicked the safeties off, ejected the spent casings, and chambered the next rounds in each of her guns. Not missing one last chance to mess with her head, Death said, "Anyway, I’m off. Things to do, ponies to see, vampires To BlOw To A pUlPy MeSs, EaT tHeIr CoRpSeS, aNd FuCk ThEiR sEvErEd SkUlLs. Catch you later!"
She broke out into a dead sprint, charging at a group of oncoming vampires. "Leeroy Jenkins!" she shouted. 
Oddly enough, in the time Death normally lived, Leeroy Jenkins was the name of a great warrior in griffin culture, one who charged headlong into battle without a care for his own safety. One of Death’s friends, a griffin by that name, fit that to a tee.
It also just so happened that a fleeing griffin hen, who was with child at the time, would see Death charging toward the vampires that had been pursuing her, and she would see Death slaughter them. This hen would remember that name, and name her child that. That child, growing up hearing the story of the heroic pony "Leeroy Jenkins," would become a soldier and eventually save dozens of lives with the same reckless strategy. In telling the story of his name to those he saved, he would change the original from a pony to a griffin. More griffins would name their cubs Leeroy Jenkins because of that, until one day, sometime in the future, the Leeroy Jenkins that Death would befriend would be born.
In short, a griffin was named after himself.





It was, perhaps, the most oddly shaped shield Shining Armor had ever created. It stretched through the streets of Canterlot like some sort of twisted series of veins, ever growing as his troops captured territory. And as it expanded, it grew to envelop nearby buildings. Thanks to a series of way-stations and runes, other guards could direct and power the expansion as needed.
Only ordinary ponies were allowed through the barrier. Shining wouldn’t admit it, but how to distinguish based on souls was a trick he’d learned from his sister. However, it left them with a problem; Princess Celestia, not being a normal pony, could not enter the barrier without Shining Armor first compromising its integrity.
Celestia herself didn’t mind though. She hovered above the barrier and shot down the fliers who continued to assault her. Her continual barrage of solar beams proved to be an effective means of deterring vampires. As for slaying them, that was another story. Each beam took a fraction of a second to charge – plenty of time for a blood-gorged vampire to dodge – and the light from her horn was absolutely destroying her night vision.
Sixteen explosions reverberated through the air within the space of five seconds, and Celestia’s attackers completely halted their assault. Before her, a unicorn appeared, brandishing her weapons. "Princess," she spoke.
"Death."
The dark goddess smiled. "Lovely night, isn’t it?"
"If you’ll excuse me," Celestia said, "I must be off."
She shook her head. "If you want Canterlot to survive the night, you’ll stay right there and listen to what I have to say."
Celestia stopped dead in her tracks. "What is it?"
She pointed to the clouds in the west. "Miles beyond those clouds is a pegasus wielding the Conquest Longbow. He’s planning to shoot you."
"A sniper cannot possibly aim that far," Celestia said.
"The bow is cursed. In exchange for its wielder’s life, it fires a metal arrow at Mach 7. That will pierce any shields and any walls, and destroy anybody. Even you. And, the arrows can adjust course in flight," Death explained.
Celestia’s brow furrowed. "I wouldn’t ask this of you normally, but can you kill him for me?"
Death shook her head. "No. I’m friends with the maker of the bow; I promised him I’d see it used before it broke. However, I can give you a place to regenerate safely without vaporizing Canterlot." She partially undid her transformation, unfurling a bone wing which quickly grew to a disproportionate size. The portal that replaced the membrane of her wings was completely black, leading to a void made just for Celestia.
"You know," Celestia said as she entered the portal, "This will be the first time I’ve ever set hoof in your world."
Death opened her mouth to correct her on that fact, then stopped. "Right, time travel." She turned to face the direction the arrow would come from and held her wing outstretched. Death could feel the archer in the distance loosing strength, meaning that he was seconds from firing. "Celestia, did you know that bow was accidentally made as a tribute to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Black Hammer, who made the bow, built it after a griffin legend, The Four Horses of the Apocalypse. You and the White Horse of Conquest became synonymous over time, but he didn't know that. It's poetic that the first, and likely the last time it will ever be used is against its rightful owner," Death said. She looked up. The archer dropped dead; Death could feel it.
"Really? I-"
*BOOM*
The arrow streaked across the sky, punching a hole in the clouds and leaving a visible trail of heated gases. She felt the archer's soul leave its body; Death snatched it in an instant.
Death snapped her wing shut. In her mind's eye, Death saw Celestia's body explode into a shower of gore. Then, she ignited with the light of the heart of a star, a light so terribly bright that it would have vaporized any mortals standing within several miles. When it died down, Celestia floated gently in her reborn body; the elements of which had just been forged in the heart of the sun.
Before Celestia, a small, golden flame appeared. It grew in size and warped in shape until it took the form of a pegasus. "Where am I?" the pony asked.
"You are dead," Death's voice replied, emanating from everywhere and nowhere at once.
He looked at Princess Celestia. "Lady Death! I did it! I brought you the soul of the Immortal Princess!"
The portal opened up, allowing Celestia to step outside. "Unfortunately for you, Celestia is still very much alive. In fact, I did not want her soul. You attempted pointless murder; enjoy your time in the infernal pits."
As the portal closed, Celestia could hear his scream of terror. "Was that really necessary, Death?"
"That wasn't his only crime." Transforming her wing away, Death looked Celestia in the eye. "You owe me a favor. One day, almost two years from now, I'll be desperate. I'll need Luna's help. Tell her to help me, would you kindly? I'll consider us even."
Celestia couldn't help but wonder what Death would need help with. It scared her to think of the possibilities.
For the first time since she'd arrived, Death looked towards the shield Celestia had been guarding. Inside, among several other ponies, stood Captain Shining Armor. Death pointed towards him. "Shining Armor, you'll lose somepony precious to you very soon."





After a quick stop to drop off a package she'd brought with her from the future, Death momentarily stepped out of the universe. Around her, the chaos of the in-between roiled and rolled. Below her hooves, the bubble of her home gently glistened. Behind her, one ethereal but unbreakable tendril connected her to the pocket dimension that served as the afterlife, another connected her to the universe below, and a third faded off into the distance.
She let her transformation dissipate, revealing her monstrous self. With nary a thought, her location on the outside of the universe shifted. She stepped back inside.
It was a simple cabin that she found herself in, occupied by a single mare who was sipping her tea, unaware of her entrance. "Marionette," she intoned.
The unicorn mare spluttered and whipped around. A second later, she was on the ground, prostrating herself before her. "Lady Death, to what do I owe the amazing honor of your presence?" She said, quite seriously.
"Time, Marionette, is a funny thing. It was your past self who incurred a debt to my future self, and yet it was my past who collected from your future," Death intoned.
"Debt, my Lady?" she asked, her body quivering visibly as she spoke.
"Your puppet and her followers summoned me and demanded my power, and had the gall to short me in payment. As I do not care for damaged souls, your puppet was worthless. You are one soul short," she replied.
"The city. Canterlot. Take your pick from them, then. I'm sacrificing them as a gift to you!" she cried.
The weight of her mere presence pressed on the minds of mortals; in that moment, the effect tripled. The psychic aura Death projected took on a truly hostile tint as it wormed its way into the mortal mare's brain. Visions of agony and terror filled her pathetic mind.
"That is slaughter, nothing more. Souls who die without my personal attention are meaningless to me, one of the thousands that die every hour all across the globe. The soul who is murdered in my name is no more important to me than the child who dies of pneumonia," Death said. 
She raised a hoof and set it on Marionette's head, and then pressed down. 
Marionette screamed. The pressure was more than just physical; her mind and her soul both felt like they were being crushed almost to the point of bursting.
And then it was gone. Death retracted her hoof and set it on the ground. "Death should be meaningful. A natural death frees space for new life. An unnatural death should save lives. You do neither. You are pointless." Death turned away from her. "I won't kill you now. I won't tell you to stop. Your debt to me will be paid soon enough, when my past catches up to you. I have already had my vengeance; it is certain. Enjoy the rest of your life; it won't be long."
Death stepped out of the cabin. Having teleported straight to her soul, she actually had little reference of where she was in the world. Thus, she was pleasantly surprised to see that she had appeared near the outskirts of Ponyville.
"It looks different without the skyscrapers," she thought.





High above the city of Canterlot, Sparkle appeared on Thorn's back. "How did it go?" the dracolich asked through their link.
"I got it," Sparkle replied.
"Well, I'm almost done. Can we rejoin before we ignite it?" Thorn asked.
Sparkle shook her head, even though Thorn couldn't possibly see her from that angle. "No, Thorn. I don't want to. I'm tired and I don't feel like being Sparkrovitar right now. Maybe later."
Thorn growled. 
The last thing Sparkle heard before he forcefully slammed the link wide open was, "Too bad."