A Pony Called Death

by thehalfelf

First published 12th of January, 2013

A young mare is thrust into the job of Death, and struggles with keeping her job, life, and very identity from being affected.

In the dawn of Equestria, several ponies were given unique jobs to aid the Princesses in making the world around them run smoothly. Of the offices created, by far the most important was given to a pony by the name of Mortis--the office of death. His job was simple: he was to collect the souls of ponies dead before their time, and send any lingering spirits--in the forms of ghosts--back to eternity.

Centuries marched by, and Mortis grew weary of his job. He appealed to the Princesses, who saw the pain in his inability to live a normal life. Princess Luna gave him a task. She said that if he could give the office to another pony--willingly--he could live his life as a normal pony, and vacate the office of Death.

Thus, the office changed many times over the years. The office brought with it some power, and much responsibility. In time, without fail, whoever held the Death cloak eventually wanted to pass it on, and the rules to do such never changed. Now, the current Death, a pegasus by the name of Dashing Cloud, is ready to move on. An earth pony by the name of Rose Petal is nominated, the only pony alive who could fill the role.

But, as she will quickly find out, Death is not a job for the faint of heart.

(Idea for personified Death "borrowed" from Piers Anthony. All else is my own brain's creation)

Help Wanted: Pony to Collect Souls

Help Wanted: Pony to Collect Souls

The fire raged, smoke billowing up towards the heavens, tongues of flame snapping and cracking as they consumed the old wood of the building. Screams and cries were heard, both from inside and out, as ponies rushed to get help, or rushed to get out. But one pony walked against the current. This pony walked right into the depths of the flame, and out, unscathed.

He slowly walked up to the fourth floor of the old apartment building turned inferno, caring not for ponies rushing past or fire dancing up to meet him. A cloak was drawn around him, shielding him from the heat of the fire, and the lack of oxygen, but never coming alight itself. Finally finding what he was looking for, he lightly pushed on a door, the once-stuck slab of wood yielding to a higher power.

The cloaked pony walked over to a foal lying limp on the ground, coat on fire. He kneeled down, simultaneously reaching into his cloak with his magic aura to pull out a scythe, one very much unlike any ever seen by any farmer. He reached out with it, gently tapping the tip of the stock to the poor colt’s head, and pulled it away. As the scythe pulled away the colt collapsed, dead.

Stowing his implement of relief, the pony walked out of the door, unnoticed by any of the inhabitants or rescue ponies on scene to quell the flames.

*****

The stallion walked up to the grand gate of Canterlot Castle, shedding his cloak as he did so. The cloak folded into itself, and disappeared, though he knew he could call it at will. His black coat and gray mane rendered him almost invisible in the night, though not to the well trained eyes of the Royal Guard on duty that evening.

“Halt! Who goes there?” one called, causing his companion to turn towards the newcomer.

The mysterious stallion turned towards the guard, who blanched at his face.

“H-Hello Mortis. Enter please, Princess Luna awaits you in the Lunar Court.” The guard bowed, both out of respect, and to avoid the face of fear itself.

Mortis walked ahead, past the two guards to their visible relief, and entered the castle proper. He weaved through the passages, all exchanges with ponies met going almost exactly the same way: averted eyes and frightened glances. At last he arrived at his destination, pushing the doors open with impunity.

“HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT THE COURT OF THE NIGHT. GUARDS SEIZE HIM!” A voice, obviously Luna’s, rang from the far side of the hall.

“I think not, O Guardian of the Night,” Mortis said, his voice strong with a known authority.

“Oh, good evening, Mortis. I thank that you came, but if you would please wait until I am through here. You know the way.” With that, she turned back to whomever she was speaking to before. “So, as I was saying, the only true way to prevent another war would be to--” but Mortis did not hear the rest. He left the hall, and proceeded to the highest point in the North tower, the chambers of Princess Luna.

The Night Guard bowed to him, and did not shy away at his presence. “Mortis,” they acknowledged, opening the door for him. He stepped inside the star-themed chamber and took a seat, awaiting the Princess.

Soon, she walked into the room. Stars floating around the top of the dome burned brighter in her presence. “What business do you have of me, bringer of death?” she asked, taking a seat across from the unicorn.

Mortis sighed, lying his semblance of office across a table to the side, “I grow weary of my duty, Keeper of Darkness. I yearn to return to my life as a mortal, to cast aside this depressing business.”

Luna looked saddened. “Dashing Cloud, you have kept this job for nearly two centuries, everypony you know is dead.”

He flinched, anger crossing his features. “I know, I am the one who collected some of them. It hurts to live knowing they do not, but it hurts more to see more ponies die whom I cannot save. I lack the heart this job requires, and I cannot help but think that somepony else could fill the Death cloak better than I these days.”

Luna sighed. “As you wish, as you know we won’t--can’t--force you to keep this job if you don’t want it.” She walked over to a shelf, pulling out an aged scroll. Unrolling it over the Scythe, she ran a hoof down the names. “As your last assignment, then, take the Offer before one named Rose Petal, in Ponyville. You must keep the office until you pass it on.”

Mortis stood, stowing the scythe across his back. “As you will, Princess.”

As he walked out the door, Luna called to him. “And Cloud?” He turned back. “If she really does accept the job, come visit Tia and I. We do enjoy your company, and I imagine you will be needing a new job.”

Death grinned. “Of course, m’lady.” He walked into, and through, a wall, appearing outside of an odd tree-structure on the main street of Ponyville.

“Now, to find this Rose Petal...” Mortis walked, through the dark of night to where his Instinct told him Rose Petal could be found on the morrow. Finding the proper store, he sat down to wait.

*****

Rose Petal walked down Mane Street, light pink mane curling around her face, bobbing in time with her lively steps. She slowed as she neared the flower shop, not seeing the pony garbed in black outside the door. She cheerfully walked in the door, closing it behind her before she sat about the business of getting everything ready.

After the eternity it took to water all the flowers, and put out replacements to those that had been sold, she walked back around front and flipped the sign to open. Almost immediately after she stepped back behind the counter, a small bell chimed, signaling the arrival of a customer.

“Hello, and welcome to the Flower Sister Flower Shop. My name is Rose Petal, how may I help you?” She beamed, looking over the counter at the golden pegasus standing on the other side. He looked confused, staring off into space for a moment before snapping back to himself.

“Hello,” he said in a deep confident voice, “my name is Dashing Cloud. I need to speak with you. Is there some way we could speak in private...?”

Naturally, Rose was skeptical. “What about?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Let’s just say it is a job from Princess Luna herself, if you want it.” Dashing Cloud put on his best trustworthy smile, hoping that the filly would trust him. It wasn’t like this was the New Griffon Republic, most ponies weren’t bad in Equestria.

“Well--” Rose was about to respond when the door dinged once again.

A pink earth pony with a flower in her golden mane. “Hey there, Rosey, hows it shakin’?”

Rose Petal beamed. “Aunty Lily! I didn’t know you were coming in today.”

She sauntered back behind the counter, and bopped her niece on the muzzle. “I didn’t plan on it, traded with Daisy because she is going flower hunting with Fluttershy or something, so here I am!” She mock saluted the younger mare. “Reporting for duty. ma’am!”

The white pony giggled. “Well, actually I kind of need to talk to this pony here, so can you take over for a minute?”

“Sure, no probs,” she traded spots with the other earth pony, and looked around. “But...uh... what pony?”

“The one by the counter...?” Rose gestured to the gold pegasus.

Lilly shrugged. “Ooook filly, whatever you say. I’ll hold down the fort for a bit, but if your mom comes here and you aren’t working, I’m not gonna take the fire, know what I mean?”

That made the earth pony smile. “Jeez Lily, I moved out years ago. It’s not like she is gonna ground me or something.”

“I really wouldn’t put it past Roseluck, but whatever, your life. Now get filly, I’ve got this handled.” Lily shook her head as her niece walked into the back room. She moved out but still has imaginary friends...? Her train of thoughts were interrupted by another pony walking through the door. “Hiya, and welcome to the Flower Sister Flower Shop. I’m Lily Valley, the one and only, how can I help ya?”

*****

Rose Petal shut the door as Dashing Cloud walked into the back room of the flower shop. It was a combination of the office and the break room, a big overstuffed couch jutted against the desk holding the ledgers.

“Now I’m warning you,” Rose started, somewhat jokingly, “try any funny stuff, and I’ll lay you down big guy. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

Cloud grinned. “Don’t worry, no funny stuff, Luna would hang me. Look, this is going to sound strange to you. I occupy a very unique position within the Equestrian government, and it’s about time for me to move on. Princess Luna recommended you as my replacement.”

Rose’s jaw practically hit the floor. “The Princess of the Night hoof-picked me for a job in the government?” She burst out laughing. “That’s a good one. There is no way one of the Princesses even knows me, let alone thinks I can work for them. I’m a flower salespony, what could I possibly do for the most powerful ponies on the planet?”

Dashing Cloud took a deep breath. “I want you to promise right now you will hear me through, beginning to end.” Once Rose had nodded, he continued. “Ok, so, remember how your aunt Lily couldn’t see me?”

She nodded again.

“That is because I am technically not a mortal pony--” Cloud began.

“Wait... What do you mean, not a mortal pony?” Rose asked, eyebrow raised.

“Look, if you are going to interrupt me with questions, this is going to take much longer. Now, I am a mortal pony, just in an immortal office. I am Death.” Cloud paused, waiting for a reaction. When none was forthcoming, he poked her muzzle.

She jumped back, shaking her head. “What was that for?”

Cloud let loose a bubbling laugh that grew louder and louder until Rose bopped him on the muzzle. “Ow! That was really uncalled for... Anyway, I am Death, called Mortis while in uniform. Princess Luna sends me to take the souls of ponies who die before their time, so they may be given a second chance.”

“Right...” Rose looked skeptical. “So, what is her job for me then...Mortis?”

“I have been in this office for almost two centuries now. I just don’t have what it takes to do this job anymore. But before I can return to normal life, I have to train a replacement.”

Revelation dawned across Rose Petal’s face. “You mean...”

Dashing Cloud nodded. “Yes. Luna has chosen you to replace me as Death.”

“What!?” The white earth pony screeched. “But-- I-- How--” The stuttering probably would have continued for a long time, but Cloud moved forward, planting a hoof in front of her mouth. A little friendly for two strangers, but effective.

The door to the office opened, allowing a cream pony with a red and pink mane to walk in. “What in Celestia’s name is going on in here?”

Rose Petal jumped back by her mom, pointing a hoof at the pegasus. “That pony there, he just--”

Roseluck cocked an eyebrow at her daughter. “What pony?”

The younger mare stared at her mother in disbelief. “How can you not...” she stopped, turning her attention instead to the invisible pony. “Make yourself visible.”

“Ah, I don’t think that is such a good--” Cloud started, heard only by Rose Petal.

“Now.”

“Rose,” Roseluck begun, “are you feeling ok hun? Most ponies don’t talk to nothing... do you need to go see Nurse-- OH SWEET CELESTIA WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU?!” Dashing Cloud stood in the middle of the room, where nopony was before.

He bowed. “Hello, miss. My name is--”

“I DON’T BUCKING CARE WHO YOU ARE! HOW DID YOU GET HERE AND WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO MY DAUGHTER!?” Cloud had a hard time telling whether she was just concerned for Rose Petal, or just freaking out.

Probably a combination of the two.

“If you would let me finish...” his voice took on an aspect of his office, causing the mortal ponies to give him their undivided attention. After all, it was hard to argue with the face of Death “Miss Roseluck, my name is Dashing Cloud. I work with the Princesses in the Equestrian government.”

The grown mare sheepishly raised her hoof, resembling a small filly in school.

“Yes?” Cloud asked. He was rather used to aspects of his office cowing others.

“Um... why couldn’t I see you, and what does my little Rosie have to do with anything?” At the sound of her nickname, Rose Petal might have blushed, but she ducked her head to hide it.

“Because I am Death. I am retiring soon, and before I can retire I must choose and train a replacement. Princess Luna has recommended your daughter to take my mantle, and continue the job of Death.”

Roseluck’s jaw moved up and down for a moment, no sound coming forth. “Why does Princess Luna want to take my daughter for Death? How could that possibly be a good thing?”

Cloud sighed. “Maybe I am not the one best suited to explaining this. Come to Canterlot tonight, and speak with the Princess herself. I shall be there, and all your questions will be answered then.”

“I...” Roseluck shook her head, fighting off the last effects of Death’s aura. “I don’t know if I want Rose Petal becoming Death. I just can’t--”

Dashing Cloud just held up a hoof. “Please. I must get back to work, I feel my clients calling me. Come to Canterlot,” he gave the elder mare a small pouch of bits, “we can talk, and decide, there. Good day.” He reached out with a hoof and touched the wall. Right before the mare’s eyes, he vanished.

The two generations of the Rose family looked over at each other. Walking out the door in a daze, the elder one turned to her sister working behind the counter.

“Sister, you’ll never believe who we just had the pleasure of meeting...”

Author's Notes:

So, this is a little something I started writing to try to get rid of my writer's block. Fast forward the whole second chapter of The Last Hope of a Fallen Nation and here it is now. I plan to make a series out of this, but much of the details are still up in the air. So I'll turn to you guys for suggestions. What do you think I should do? Some shipping? Little adventure? Use it as some metaphorical way to explore society's concepts about death? Toss me your ideas, and help make the fic better

Thanks to InsanityCorps and TheCloudtop for proofreading. (Seriously, these stories wouldn't be half of what they are without these two. Go give them a mustache or something. Even better; give their stories a look-see.)

A Visit to the Ponyville Library

A Visit to the Ponyville Library

Lily stared at her sister like she was crazy. “So, you expect me to believe that you and little Rosey just had a conversation... with Death? Come on, sis, that’s crazy even for me.”

“It’s true!” Rose Petal exclaimed, stomping a hoof down in frustration. “He wants us to go to Canterlot to talk to him tomorrow about my...new...job.....” She trailed off, becoming lost in thought at the prospect of her new life.

“Uh-huh,” Lily replied hesitantly. “Well, if you two want to take a one day vacation to Canterlot, I guess I can drag Daisy in to cover for you.”

“Hold on,” Roseluck started. “We aren’t ditching out to go on a day trip. This is really important Lily, we have to go, at least to understand what is going on!”

Lily held up her hooves in a sign of surrender. “Alright, alright, I get it. Calm down. I’ll get ahold of Daisy and we can hold down the fort tomorrow, but today, today you work.”

And work they did, effortlessly slipping into roles they had inhabited for years. Rose Petal took up position behind the counter with Lily, ready and happy to help anypony who came in looking for flowers or floral paraphernalia. While the two charismatic mares worked the store on the front end, Roseluck slipped into the back office, working on the more academic side of things.

That is, she spent all day pouring over the numbers of inventory flow, stock, profits, wages, and other things involving numbers that neither Rose Petal, Lily Valley, or Daisy could sit down and mess with for any length of time.

Apparently, Rose Petal had won the daily game of dice they used to decide which of the counter-ponies took their lunch break first, as she trotted in and plopped herself down on the somewhat comfortable couch.

“Hey mom,” Rose said before stuffing her muzzle with the sliced apple sandwich she brought in for lunch.

“Hello little Rosie. Busy day up front,” her mom inquired, idly shuffling papers. She had managed to slog through last month’s inventory, and was now working on this months. She might have gotten a little bit distracted.

“Ith goan--” Rose stopped, catching her mother’s stern glare. Swallowing her bite quickly, she continued. “Sorry. It’s going pretty well. Lyra came in. I think her and Bon Bon are having another fight. She bought the usual ‘oops, my bad,’ bouquet.”

The cream mare nodded sagely. “Those two... Oh well, stick two strong willed ponies together like that, fights are bound to happen.”

Rose Petal nodded, taking another bite of her sandwich to cover the lull in conversation. Once she was sure Roseluck wouldn’t complain at her lack of manners, she spoke. “Mom...”

Roseluck looked up from her papers. “Yes hun?”

“I... I want to go on my own to Canterlot.” When Roseluck opened her mouth to argue, her daughter raised a hoof. “I know, you want to go with me, but I grew up a long time ago. I’m a mare now, mom, I don’t need you hovering over my shoulder all the time.”

The cream earth pony looked hurt for a moment. “Rosie, I know you’re grown up, but... if what that Dashing Cloud was talking about was true, this is a really big thing. I understand you want to be strong and independent, like every mare your age, but sometimes you can’t see everything all at once.” Roseluck walked around, and laid a reassuring hoof on her daughter’s withers.

“Tell you what,” she said, “let’s go over to Twilight’s ok? We can talk to her, and decide if it’s even worth going to Canterlot for. Then we’ll decide if I’ll go with you, alright?”

Apparently satisfied, Rose Petal put a hoof around her mom’s withers, drawing her into a hug. “Thanks mom,” she said before taking another huge bite of her sandwich.

She hated it. She hated that her mom was still so possessive of her. Rose Petal had graduated, had moved out, had almost been engaged--though that was a mistake, and was in the past now--and she was to help Cheerilee teach next year. Not that she actually wanted to be a teacher, but she enjoyed working with the foals and she figured the school teacher could probably use the help.

Oh well, Roseluck was her mom, and she loved her unconditionally. She just wished dear old mom could let off just a little.

She went to take a bite of her sandwich, only to have her teeth knock together. Unnoticed to her, Roseluck had stolen her sandwich, and was finishing off what was left over behind the desk. “Thanks for lunch Rosie. Almost forgot how good of a sandwich you made.” She gave her daughter a cheeky wink. “You should probably go relieve Lily, huh? I imagine she is getting pretty hungry.”

Rose stared at her mother, dumbfounded. “You.. you took my sandwich... Why?”

“So that Lily can come eat. Once she is done, you go see Twilight,” Roseluck replied, picking her papers up once again.

“But you said we were going together...”

The elder mare looked up from her papers. “Yes... I will come over once I’m done here. Now go on, the sooner Lily gets done eating, the sooner we can start to get this figured out.”

Not needing to be told a third time, Rose Petal rushed out the door, shouting. “Aunty Lily! Hurry up and eat so I can go!”

Roseluck chuckled to herself. “Just like one of the Florists. Impatient, zealous, and independent.” She wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “She reminds me so much of Lily when she was a filly...”

*****

Rose Petal walked down Mane Street, headed towards the Ponyville Library. To be honest, Rose hadn’t been there for a couple years--she wasn’t the biggest reader--but everypony knew the mare who lived there.

Arriving at the odd tree structure, Rose raised her hoof to knock before remembering that tended to upset the resident librarian. Instead, she opted to gently push open the door before poking her head in and calling out.

“Hello, anypony home?”

“Yeah, come on in!” called the lavender unicorn from behind a massive stack of books nearly twice her height. Rose walked in, making sure to close the door gently to avoid an avalanche of books. “Hi there. You’re... Rose Petal, right?” Twilight Sparkle asked, coming around to the other side of the table.

“Yup, that’s me!” Rose replied with a grin.

“Well what can I help you with Miss Petal?”

“Just Rose is fine,” she said. “Actually, I was kind of hoping you could help me with some... research.”

“Ooh,” Twilight said, eyes lighting up at the prospect of searching through books for missing information. “What are we looking for?”

Rose Petal bit her lip. “Actually, I was kind of curious about... Mortis, the Death pony...?” she half said, half asked.

Twilight cocked her head, the light in her eyes of anticipation giving way to the light of suspicion. “Why?”

“Uh... promise not to laugh...?” When Twilight nodded, the earth pony looked back and forth, as though worried somepony might overhear. “Well... he, um, he came to me today, while I was working the shop. He said that I had been selected to... um, replace him... He invited me and my mom up to Canterlot to talk to him and Princess Luna to get things figured out.”

Encouraged by Twilight’s nodding, Rose continued. “We, um, we just wanted to make sure it was true, and not one of Pinkie Pie’s pranks or something...”

Twilight stopped nodding. “And you said this pony’s name was...?”

Rose Petal scrambled through the last few hours, searching for the name. “He was, uh, a gold pegasus. Said his name was... Cloud. Something Cloud.”

“Ok,” Twilight said, walking over to a shelf concealed behind her librarian’s desk. She pulled from it an old, leather bound book with a silver lock on the front. “Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you are not going crazy. Dashing Cloud is Death, and has been for almost two hundred years now.”

“Ok, and the bad news?” Rose asked, voice colored by dread.

“Well, if he came with an offer like that, you really don’t have much of a choice. He is ready to retire, and... You know what? Let me explain it like this...”

Twilight waited for Rose to take a seat, before beginning her story. “There isn’t much I can really tell you, about specifics anyway. Death falls under the jurisdiction of the Night, and so Princess Luna takes care of most of it. The only time Princess Celestia really had a hoof in any of it was during the era of Nightmare Moon, and even then I don’t think she really understood most of it.

“From what I do know from my general studies is that Death is one of the many mostly-immortal offices created to help the Princesses, and even the whole world.”

“Mostly-immortal?” Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll get to that, just hold on. So, over time, most of these offices have been rendered obsolete as we become more advanced. For example, the Office of Time was created once Luna was...moved, but he was retired once she returned. His job was to aid Celestia with the sun, moon, and stars once it became apparent that she couldn’t do it all on her own.

“To my knowledge, the only remaining Offices are those of Death, Space, and Fate. I know for a fact that Death tends to change every few years, aside from Mortis, Dashing Cloud is the only pony to hold Office longer than a century, but Space has not changed for a very very long time, and Fate isn’t even a pony anymore.”

“I don’t understand. What does that have to do with me?”

“Well, when Death is ready to retire--” Twilight stopped, looking up at the creak of the door announcing a new visitor. “Hello, welcome to the library,” she said in the direction of the door. “How can I help you?”

“Good afternoon, Twilight,” Roseluck said before walking to sit next to her daughter. “I’m here to hear about all this Death stuff before I let my daughter go and do something crazy with her life.”

“Mom...” Rose Petal started, just to be interrupted by the librarian.

“She has a point Rose. Becoming Death is a big thing. To become Death, one must lead two lives. Death travels all over the world collecting the souls of ponies who die before their time, so they can be reborn to get another chance. Mortis is another life, but with time most ponies who accept the job find a way to live both at once.”

“Jeez, I don’t know Rosie, that sounds like a lot for a young mare like yourself,” Roseluck said, gracing her daughter with a worried look.

“Mom! I’m not a little filly!” Rose Petal shouted, completely forgetting about the unicorn sitting on the other side of the table.

“I know you aren’t hun, but this is really big. How are you going to help Cheerilee if you have to run off every few minutes to tend to your other job?” As much as Rose Petal hated to admit it, her mother had a good point.

“Um, excuse me,” Twilight interjected, hoping to stop any future arguments. “If you want my opinion, both of you should go to Canterlot, talk to Princess Luna and Dashing Cloud, then use this to answer any questions you have after that.” Twilight levitated over the old leather book, which Roseluck took and placed in her saddlebag. “It is the report on the various Immortal Offices by the first Royal Archmage, Cosmic Light.”

“Thanks,” Rose said, “but you never explained about the ‘mostly-immortal’ part of the job.”

“Oh, silly me, sorry. I would have thought it was obvious, but then again I live in a library. All that the mostly-immortal office means is that as long as you are Death, you can’t die.”

Author's Notes:

Alright, new chapter everyone! This one is just a little bit of fluff. Still down with the flu, so I was somewhat afraid to do anything too deep for fear of bungling it. However, I am getting better quickly, so next chapter shall be action packed and full of back story.

My question for this chapter is thus: should I ship anyone? If so, give me pairs.

Until next time, ciao!

A Royal Meeting

A Royal Meeting

Shortly after, the two mares left the tree library, waving goodbye to the lavender librarian as she closed the door behind them. Roseluck turned to her daughter, pulling the bag given to them by Dashing Cloud out of her saddlebag.

“Well, now or never I suppose. Shall we see what’s inside?” she asked.

Rose Petal shrugged before darting forward and snatching the bag from her mother. Ignoring her mostly token protest, the white mare opened the bag, taking a peek inside. “Ok,” she said, “I think we’re going to need a table or something before we can look at all this stuff...”

“Let me see it,” Roseluck said. Rose Petal handed over the bag. After taking a quick look, she placed it back in her saddlebags. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Come on back to the shop, might as well get some more work done.”

Rose Petal jokingly rolled her eyes. “Right, because working is what I wanted to do today.”

Before long, the two ponies walked through the door of the flower shop, where Lily was standing behind the counter, grinning like her usual self.

“Hiya,” she said in her overly cheerful manner, “How was the trip to the library?” The two ignored her, making a beeline straight to the back room. Lily frowned, walking out from behind the counter, and flipping the sign to “closed” before following her family into the back.

“Fine, don’t talk to me,” Lily quipped as the other two dumped out the items from the bag onto the desk.

“Sorry Lily,” Rose Petal said, giving her aunt a half-hug from her side of the desk. “I must be a little preoccupied is all.”

“‘So kiddo,” she said, “looks like your mom is in inventory mode,” she said, taking note of the cream mare pouring over the contents of the bag.

Roseluck was muttering under her breath. “Ok, one map to the Canterlot Castle.. a note to get us past the guards... enough bits for two round trip tickets, and maybe for some food...”

Lily nudged her niece, and made a shushing motion with one hoof. Walking as quietly as she could, she snuck up behind Roseluck, who was focused solely on the things in front of her. Getting her muzzle as close to her sister’s ear as possible, Lily said in a somewhat loud voice, “Hiya sis, whatcha lookin’ at?”

Lily jumped back as Roseluck shot up into the air. The cream mare spun around and glared at her sister. “What was that for?! I was focusing!”

“I know,” Lily giggled. “Couldn’t resist. Sorry.”

Roseluck turned on her daughter, who was laughing uncontrollably on the other side of the desk. “What’s so funny?!”

“T-the look on your face!” Rose Petal gasped between the shaking gales of her laughter. “I wish I had a camera! That was great!”

Roseluck hunched back over her desk, hiding a light blush and very conscious of the location of her sister. “Whatever you two. Leave me alone...”

Rose Petal and Lily shared a look before dashing around and wrapping the other pony in the middle of a hug. “We’re sorry!” the two said in a sing-song voice.

“Yeah, whatever,” Roseluck grumbled before turning back to the desk. “You two are going to be the death of me...”

*****

Roseluck had explained the plan as she waited with her daughter at the Ponyville train station. As soon as they stopped in Canterlot, they would go talk to the princess, then spend the rest of the night and the next day exploring the city. She had always wanted to go, and now she had an actual reason--and the bits--to do it. Rose Petal was actually somewhat excited as well. A lot could come from this trip, and the train ride couldn’t be too bad, right?

Rose Petal was wrong. So very, very, wrong. Two hours. Two whole, Celestia-forsaken hours stuck in a small carriage with her mother.

“Rosieee,” Roseluck was saying as the train clacked and bounced over the tracks, “you never come visit anymore.”

Rose Petal sighed in exasperation. “Mom, I spend all day working with you at the shop. I come over every Saturday to have dinner with you, Aunt Lily, and Aunt Daisy.”

“It’s not the same,” Roseluck whined, crossing her hooves. “Why can’t you just come over to say hi? Drop by unannounced. You do it for Lily.”

“Yes, I do, but Lily doesn’t spend all day working at the shop with me now, does she?”

Roseluck sighed. “No, I suppose not...” The cream mare looked out the window, ears drooping.

Oops. “Well,” Rose Petal begun, trying to salvage the situation, “we have a two hour train ride... What do you want to talk about?”

Her mother turned around, beaming. “Well...” she rubbed her chin with a hoof, feigning a long, intensive thought process. When she pulled her hoof away, however, all that remained was an evil grin.

Oh goddess, what have I gotten myself into? Rose Petal thought to herself in the instant before her mother spoke.

Meet any nice stallions lately? Or maybe a mare...” she added with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

*****

Roseluck raised her hoof to knock on the door to the restroom, trying hard not to look amused. “Ok Rosie, I get it, I won’t ask you about your love life. Just please come out? You’ve been in there almost an hour and the other passengers are getting a little... upset.”

A bolt slid back, revealing the white earth pony within. She leveled a stern glare at her mother. “Promise?”

Roseluck nodded, partly to hide the smile on her face. With a grim nod, Rose Petal left the bathroom, ignoring the cheers of the ponies in line, and walked back to their compartment. She took her seat as her mother walked in a few moments later, remnants of a grin still etched on her muzzle.

“Ok, I get it,” the elder earth pony said, proud of the lack of mirth in her voice. “I won’t bother you about that anymore.” Roseluck cast her mind about, frantically searching for another topic. “So, how is your roommate? What was her name... Something Shine?”

“Silver Shine,” Rose Petal grumbled from her seat without looking away from the window.

Roseluck sighed. “Hon, are you really going to be upset with me? I was just teasing... mostly.”

“No, I’m not upset... just kind of nervous,” Rose Petal said, turning to face her mother.

“You know we can always go back and tell Princess Luna that you won’t do it.” Roseluck moved over to sit next to her daughter, and put a reassuring hoof on her withers.

“All passengers, next stop in South Canterlot Station is in five minutes. I repeat, next stop in Canterlot, five minutes.”

Rose Petal grinned over at her mother. “Guess that solves that problem doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Roseluck replied with a smile that didn’t quite stretch up to her eyes.

True to the conductor’s word, five minutes later saw the train slowing to a halt right outside of Canterlot’s southern station. Rose Petal and Roseluck walked out of the train into the sunset and began making their way through the streets and crowds of the city up to the looming monolith on the top of the mountain, the Canterlot Castle.

Both mares stared up at the magnificent white stone battlements towering above them. In fact, they were so entranced they almost ran head-first into the ponies in shining gold armor standing before the great portcutlis. One of the guards looked down at the new arrivals who were shaking their heads, ears ringing from colliding with the armored ponies before them. “State your business. The castle is closed to those not invited,” one of them said in a flat, monotone voice.

“I... uh... we...” Roseluck stuttered. Shaking her head to gather her thoughts, she reached into her saddlebags, pulling forth the note given to them by Dashing Cloud earlier that day. “We have a note, sir,” she said, handing it over.

The guard stepped forward and took the note from the small mare, looking it over with a blank gaze. At long last, he raised an eyebrow. “Is this some kind of joke lady?”

“N-No of course not!” Roseluck said, ears folding flat.

“Listen, we get stuff like this all the time. A badly forged note isn’t going to get you in so you can bother the princesses. Get lost.” The guard threw the note back, then moved to stand with his brethren in front of the gate.

Rose Petal blinked. Fueled with rage at the situation and the impudence of youth, she stormed forward until she was muzzle to muzzle with the guard, though he stood a good head above her.

“Now wait just a minute,” she said in a voice laced with venom. “You mean to tell me that I sat down to have a conversation with Death, then with Twilight Sparkle, and came all the way up here, so we could speak to Princess Luna about something you probably aren’t even smart enough to understand just to get turned away by a guard who woke up on the wrong side of the bunk this morning?”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “You better be careful who you speak to like that, citizen,” he said in a dangerous tone.

“No, you better be careful who you talk to!” Rose Petal plopped down onto her haunches on the ground. “We came here to talk to Princess Luna and Mortis, and here is where we are going to stay until we do!”

The guard raised an eyebrow, looking over towards Roseluck. “Ma’am, control your friend, please. I don’t want to have to send anypony to the dungeons today.”

Though Roseluck was usually a very good, law abiding pony, the thinly-veiled threat to her daughter caused her to march up, and plant herself on the ground alongside the white pony. Thankfully, before anything else happened, the next shift of guards walked out of the castle to the gates to relieve the ones currently being harassed by the residents of Ponyville.

“What seems to be the problem here?” One of them asked in a deep voice. Rose Petal looked up, noticing that this guard wore silver armor instead of the golden plate of the ones on their side of the gate.

“Well,” the golden-armored guard said. “We have a couple miscreants here who want to get in. They say they have a note from somepony named Dashing Cloud, and an audience with Princess Luna.”

The silver-armored guard’s ears perked forward. “You are Rose Petal and Roseluck, yes?”

“Uh-huh,” the two mares said in unison.

The silver guard smiled, opening the gate from the inside. “You two are a little early, but I believe Princess Luna is waiting in her chambers for you. Simply go up the grand staircase in the main hall, swing a left, then follow the corridors until you see the door with the big crescent moon on it. Then, talk to the guards there. They will let you in.”

He turned his attention to the golden guards on the outside of the gate as Roseluck followed her daughter into the castle grounds, swinging their heads around in awe of the architecture. “You two are relieved. Head back to the barracks.”

*****

Rose Petal strolled slowly through the massive arching hallway leading to the main hall. She thought the walls and the battlements and gate were impressive, but they were barely in the same league as the castle’s interior. Massive pillars of marble veined with some sort of granite shot up to the lofty ceiling above. Arches of the same type of odd material spanned the gap between the symmetrical pillars, bordering the detailed murals painstakingly painted onto the ceiling.

Between the pillars sat massive stained glass windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Rose Petal assumed the abstract, stylized chunks of glass depicted important scenes of Equestrian history, but she didn’t really pay that much attention in school, so she wasn’t sure.

The hallway wasn’t nearly as long as either mares imagined. It ended in a circular room a few hundred paces from the gate to the courtyard. A staircase swung upwards, hugging the wall and more of the strange windows. Its twin circled up the other side, meeting its brother in a sort of landing. In the middle of the two staircases stood a great door. One side was emblazoned with a fresco of the sun, the other with a moon.

The country ponies slowly trotted into the grand room, receiving odd looks from guards and ponies awaiting audience alike. “Um, excuse us,” an embarrassed Roseluck said to both the guards and the other high class ponies. “We, uh, we have an audience with Princess Luna.”

The two guards flanking the entrance to the grand chamber looked at each other and, after seeing the note offered by a trembling cream hoof, nodded. With a little curtsey, the two mares slowly ascended the stairs, much to the disdain of the ponies below.

“What is so special about them that they have a personal audience with Princess Luna, hmm?” one asked a stone-faced guard in the peculiar accent used mostly by some upper-class ponies.

“Return to your place in line,” Rose Petal heard one of the guards reply as she swung a left, heading into another opulent hallway. This one was much more subdued. The white marble of the entranceway now had stripes of dark blue and gold fanning through it, twisting and overlapping in a random pattern. Arches still bridged the gaps across the vaulted ceilings, but the murals decorating the space between arches was absent.

“Real fancy place they got here,” Roseluck remarked as the duo plodded through the hallway, searching for Princess Luna’s chambers.

“Uh mom, it’s the castle,” Rose Petal responded, eyes scanning side to side.

Roseluck giggled nervously. “Yeah... It’s still nice though.”

Rose Petal smiled. “Yeah it is.” It took some doing, but eventually they found themselves outside a door flanked by guards. They looked at each other, both noticing the thing crescent moons carved into the door at the same time. As they were about to approach and ask for admission, a white unicorn burst out the doors, rudely shouldering the guards aside.

“Get out of the way!” he said as he pushed through. Spotting the two mares, he glared. “Commoners? What are you doing here?” he asked with an air of disdain.

Rose Petal smiled. “Hello, we have an audience with Princess Luna. Is she in there?”

“No,” he scoffed. “Besides, even if she was, I would not tell you. You did not address me by my proper title.”

“Uh...” Rose looked over at her mother who shrugged. “Sorry... sir?”

He tisked. “Stupid ignorant country ponies. What do they possibly teach you instead of the names of your rulers? My name is--”

“Prince Blueblood,” a regal voice called with an icy tone from down the hallway. Everypony in the room turned towards the voice, and everyone but the white unicorn dropped into a deep bow.

“But Aunt Celestia,” Blueblood whined in a petulant voice, “they didn’t know who I am!”

“And after your stunt at the Grand Galloping Gala last year, you should be happy about it! Honestly, being that big of a mule towards one of the guests, an Element of Harmony and friend of my student, no less!” Celestia pointed a hoof down the hallway. “Leave us.”

“But Aunt--”

“Now.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously, making Rose Petal want to flee too, though she wasn’t on the receiving end of the glare. Blueblood turned, blonde tail practically between his legs as he walked down the hallway, trying to put on an air of grace. Celestia waited until he turned down another hallway before giving her guests an apologetic smile.

“Sorry you had to see that,” she said, “Prince Blueblood gets a little... uptight at times. Now, what can I help you with?”

Roseluck blinked. “Uh... t-thank you, Your Highness, but, uh, we actually came for a meeting with Princess Luna.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed for a second. “Ah, you must be the candidate to replace Dashing Cloud as Death, yes?”

“Actually, no, Your Majesty,” the cream pony said. “This is the candidate,” she said, motioning to Rose Petal, who gave a meek wave.

Celestia smiled once again. “Well, pleasure to meet you miss...?”

“R-Rose Petal, Princess. And this is my mother, Roseluck,” Rose Petal replied, bowing once again.

The alicorn rolled her eyes, though neither mares noticed. “Pleased to meet you both. You’ll find Luna’s room is down the next hallway. Just take a right, and it’ll be at the end of the hall.” She smiled down at Rose. “I look forward to working with you in the future, Miss Rose Petal. But for the moment, I must return to court. Have a pleasant day.”

Both mares stayed with their muzzles to the ground until the Princess was well out of sight. They raised as one, and stared at each other before letting out filly-esque squeals. “Meeting both princesses in one day!” Roseluck exclaimed, pointing her daughter down the indicated hallway. “Jeez, you might have a real high-profile job here, Rosie.”

Rose Petal grinned. “Yeah. I’ll see if they’ll send you and your sisters a card for Hearth’s Warming.”

Roseluck laughed as they turned right. The laughter died abruptly as the two stood face to face with the guards flanking another door engraved with the crescent moon. The ends resided firmly on the right side, swooping across to meet in the middle of the left. Two guards flanked the door, silver armor gleaming in the light.

“Ready?” Roseluck asked.

Rose Petal nodded, then looked to the guards. They nodded, so she raised a hoof to knock.

Author's Notes:

Haha, I love being productive! As I write this even now, Chapter 4 is well on it's way to being published.
I said it over on The Last Hope of a Fallen Nation, but it bears repeating for those who don't read that (you should, I think it's good </self-promotion> The update took so long because I sort of lost the spark that lets me write, but I found it again, and I'm on top of my game once again.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. If I had done all I wanted to with it, it would look more along the lines of 6-8k, so I had to split it. This story has shorter chapters.
Hope to bring you more Death-pony stuff soon. I really hate not updating.

Equestrian History 101

Equestrian History 101

Rose Petal’s hoof connected with the large door in front of her. The knock seemed small and meager in the vastness of the hallway. Apparently it was enough, as the door swung open, revealing the dark blue unicorn with a billowing mane of stars.

“Hello?” she asked, looking down at the two mares bowing before her. “Most ponies do not come to my rooms without a summons. What did you come for?”

“Y-Your majesty, I am Rose Petal, and this is my mother, Roseluck. Dashing Cloud invited us for an audience to discuss the office of Death.”

Princess Luna looked down at the bowing ponies for a moment. “Ah yes, Mortis told me you were coming.” She looked behind her, presumably out the window. “You are early.”

“Our apologies, Your Majesty,” Roseluck started. “It was the only train that would get us here in time without making us late.”

Luna stepped back, allowing the two mares to enter her private chambers. “Please, come in. And you may just call me Luna. No need for such formalities with a coworker, yes?”

Rose Petal got up, though her jaw remained on the ground. Did she just refer to me as a coworker?

Her mom apparently shared Rose’s concerns. “Wait just a minute. With all due respect Your Majesty, we haven’t decided whether or not she is going to become Death or not. I, for one, am not totally fine with my little girl taking on such a lonely and dangerous job. I’d like to be a grandma someday!”

Rose Petal blushed, and Luna snickered. “I can understand your reservation,” the Princess of the Night said, “Dashing Cloud told me as much when he returned from your meeting. I hope our discussion here tonight will help allay your fears. After all, there aren’t many ponies alive at the moment that could fill the role, and none as well as she.”

Roseluck raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘none could fill the roll as well as her?’”

Luna smiled. “Take a seat. I will explain further once Dashing Cloud returns from his duties.” Mother and daughter moved to sit next to each other on a blue upholstered couch. Luna sat across from them in a large, straight backed chair. An exact copy of the chair sat on her right, though it was empty.

A few silent, awkward minutes passed before Luna spoke up. “Um, would either of you care for something to drink, maybe something to eat?”

“No, thank you Your Highness,” Roseluck replied. “We ate on the train. Dashing Cloud provided plenty of bits for snacks.”

Luna smiled. “Well, at least his pay is being used for something at long last.”

“Wait a minute,” Rose Petal said from her place on the couch, leaning forward eagerly. “Pay?”

“Wait for Dashing Cloud, then I shall explain,” Luna replied. She may not have been smiling, but her eyes sparkled with mirth. Rose grumbled in annoyance, but otherwise remained silent.

A few more minutes passed and, right as Rose Petal was about to speak up again, eager to get the discussion underway, a pony clad in black, with a massive scythe slung over his back walked through the wall. The two mares sitting on the couch shrieked and jumped back, almost flipping the couch with the force of their attempted escape. Hearing the noise within, and always faithful to the defense of their ruler, the two Night Guard burst into the room.

“What seems to be the matter, m’lady?” one of the guards asked, seeing no apparent threat in the room.

Princess Luna looked over at Mortis’ skull face, who looked back. Then, as one, they burst out laughing. Rose Petal poked her head over the back of the couch. “What’s so funny!” Rose shouted, spying the laughing ponies. “Huh? What makes you think it’s ok to scare ponies like that?”

“Madam, please control yourself,” one of the guards said. Turning back to face his Princess, he continued, “Princess, by your leave.” Luna nodded, and the two exited the chambers.

The pony in the cloak levitated the scythe off his back with a burst of black magic before throwing off his hood. Dashing Cloud’s face appeared, smile stuck over gold fur topped with a light blue mane. “Good evening, ladies,” he said with a nod of the head, “Princess.”

Rose Petal blinked. “Wait a minute, wait a minute! How did you do that?” she asked, gesturing towards the scythe.

“Do what?” Cloud asked with a smirk.

“You... You’re a pegasus. How did you use magic?” Rose stared him down, then shifted her gaze to the Princess. “Is this some kind of trick?”

“Take a seat, Dashing Cloud,” Princess Luna said, “you two as well, and try not to flip the furniture this time,” she added with a friendly smile. Roseluck followed her daughter up onto the couch, both blushing slightly at the joking reprimand. Once Cloud was seated as well, Luna continued. “I believe I can answer that question, but you must wait and be patient. I will start at the beginning, the start of all things, and explain to you this office of death.”

The two mares nodded. “Once you know of the story,” Luna said, levitating a massive, old tome off one of the many bookshelves around the room, “I believe all shall be made clear. Are you two ready?”

Rose Petal looked over at her mom, who gave an encouraging smile. “Yea,” Rose said, “besides, I always liked storytime.”

“Hmm,” Luna replied with a smile, “well, there is no story better than history.” Luna opened the book before her, aged spine creaking in protest to it’s violent awakening. A musty scent slowly filtered into the room as the Princess took one look at the first page, and began to recite from memory the events of millennia past.

*****

I do not know much from before my birth, obviously, I was not around to take notes. I know my mother is the Creator of all things. I know she was, or is, very powerful, and I also know that she left almost as soon as she made my sister and I. After teaching us how to control our magic.

We were born after the three tribes united under the banner of Equestria. A schism between the tribes was threatening the peace established by Chancellor Puddinghead, Princess Platinum, and Commander Hurricane in the aftermath of the windigo invasion. However, that is a story for another day.

Mother decided that the best way for Equestria to survive was it there was a ruling body that would not change; if the highest power in the land would never change and spark wars--as happens with the Griffon tribes--and if the rulers could see the weight of the centuries to avoid making stupid mistakes over and over, to see the full effect of all their actions. She blessed us with long life. She cursed us with immortality.

Thus, my sister and I were born. Mother stayed with us for a time, teaching us all we would need to know to become the rulers of a great nation like that of Equestria. It was Mother’s dream that the land inhabited by the creations she modeled after herself should be perfect. We tried to accomplish all she asked, but in the end, ignorance got the best of us.

War came, and with it, millions of deaths. We prayed to Mother for guidance. She returned, ragged and aging, but she led us to victory. Much was lost in that war, some of which we still have yet to regain, but we gained much as well.

We gained the Offices of the Mostly-Immortal ponies. Mother created them, to aid us in running Equestria efficiently. Of the many she made, the ones most important, and who rose in our favor quickly, were Death, Time, Fate, War, Knowledge, Space, and Life. Many, many others were created as well, but they all faded into the major offices over time.

Even the major ones faded after a fashion, all but three. Death, Space, and Fate all still exist, though Death is the only one that assumes the form of a pony. Fate is a book with volition. She only opens when she must, and that is usually only when Death is about to step down. Space changed.. nigh on two thousand years ago. Something happened to him, and he vanished. His office still functions, however, so we leave it alone.

For now, perish the thought of all but Death. The histories of the others can come when you need them, if you need them. The first death was a farm-pony by the name of Mortis. He was given this job by Mother, and, though I know not the details of any office, I know that he brought several things.

Mother founded each office with a single item, which became the Office’s Focus, the thing that transferred the powers of the office to a mortal pony. Mortis, however, felt this was not enough. To his office, he brought his scythe, which he used as an extension of his horn during his duties, and to fight off hostile spirits, for not all dead are peaceful.

At any rate, the decades slipped by. Mother was gone, Equestria was swelling, both in borders and in all else, and the ponies were happy. But, Mortis was not. He had been working as Death since he was a young fifteen. Now, had he been mortal, he would have died twice over, but his office kept him healthy and fit. Alas, it did no such thing for his family and friends.

Mortis watched his loved ones die, one by one. Some he even had to collect himself, to add to his pain. Finally, sick of all his job had to offer, he came to my sister and I, begging release. Mother had not told us if this was possible, nor was she replying to our pleas for aid, so we made the best choice we could.

We figured, since the office had been transferred by the accoutrements, maybe if we took those, the office would go with it. We told Mortis that if he could find another pony to take up the mantle, without coercion, we would give the Death cloak to them, and the office would go with it. We were right, in a fashion, however, the magic we used to separate the two had unintentional side effects. Mortis died after the transfer was complete. Death was now vacant, once again, just a cloak, but now the scythe went with it.

We quickly found a new Death, and learned that the scythe channeled the powers of the office for non-unicorns, a trick most welcome. Over time, Celestia and I learned how to vacate the office without killing the owner, and that made passing Death on much, much easier.

This brings us to Dashing Cloud. I am told that he took the office a scant hundred and sixteen years before my return, and he has become a good friend in the meanwhile. It saddens me to see him go, but, as custom, when he told me he was ready to move on, I consulted with Fate, and your name was drawn, young Rose Petal.

*****

“Now, before I actually ask, there are several things you still need to know about Death. However, I feel Dashing Cloud could explain better than I,” Luna said, rising from her seat, taking the book with her. Cloud quickly grabbed the Roses’ attention.

“Ok, Rose Petal, Death is a very... interesting job. Since you are an Earth Pony, you will do most of your job with your Scythe, which I will teach you to use. Yeah, that’s right, we aren’t just going to give you the stuff, and leave you on your own. I’m going to train you, and stick by your side until both Luna and I think you have it all down.”

“Um, but what am I going to be doing, exactly?” Rose Petal asked.

“Well, the main job of Death is to collect the souls of ponies who die before Fate schedule them to. Don’t look at me like that, Fate doesn’t know everything, she just weaves the big picture together. Sometimes, even she messes up. What we have to do, as Death, is collect those who slip through the cracks, and return them, so they can be reborn.”

“But, if we can return souls who die, why are there more ponies? I mean, couldn’t we just collect everypony who dies?” Rose asked.

“Well, yeah, we could,” Cloud replied, tapping a hoof to his chin. “But, come on, collecting every single soul that dies, do you realize how much work that would be?”

Rose giggled. “Not really, but I think I will in time.”

“Now, Rosie,” Roseluck interrupted, “we don’t even know if you’re going to take the job or not. Don’t be hasty.”

Rose Petal glared at her mom, but Roseluck ignored it. Chuckling awkwardly, Dashing Cloud continued his story. “Anyway, another thing Death does is tend to rogue spirits. Rogue spirits are those who, for some reason or another, don’t end up in eternity when they die. Instead, they wander the earth, usually searching for something. Most of the time, we can talk to them, and convince them to go to Eternity. But sometimes... they don’t want to go, and get violent. That’s where the scythe comes in...”

“So, if a pony--who is dead--doesn’t want to go to Eternity... we kill it?” Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, pretty much!” Cloud said, flashing Rose a cheeky smile. “Honestly though, it isn’t that bad. You’ll catch on quick.”

“Now, wait a minute!” Roseluck said, switching her gaze between Rose and Cloud. “I think I should sit down with Rosie and talk to her about this. This is a big thing, and I don’t want her rushing into anything.”

“Mom! I-” Rose Petal started, before being interrupted.

“Rose Petal, your mother is right,” Princess Luna said, joining the trio in the chairs. “Speak with your mother tonight. We shall send somepony to escort you to breakfast with my sister and I, and you can give your answer there.” Luna turned her attention to Roseluck. “Is this agreeable with you?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” Roseluck said, glaring at Rose Petal to keep her from arguing. “We shall see you in the morning, Princess. Good night.”

“I will try,” Luna said, smiling as the cream pony led her riotous daughter from the room.

“Do you think she will, Princess?” Dashing Cloud asked.

“I think she wants to, but her mother may cause problems,” Luna replied.

Cloud walked over to the door, opening it before turning around. “Good night, Luna.”

“Good night, Cloud,” Luna replied as he closed the door behind him.

Author's Notes:

Another chapter complete. This one marks the end of the expositioning. Not really much to say here, other than this story will probably feature a lot of world building, after all, Death is omnipotent, not just in Equestria. I could say a lot more, plot wise, but I won't. Spoilers.

Next chapter: Training. Yeah, this one is gonna be fun.

Discussions and Decisions

Discussions and Decisions

The guard bowed, closing the door behind him, leaving two mares alone in their room. The latch had barely clicked shut before one mare turned towards the other.

“Rosie, I really don’t think you should do this,” Roseluck said, turning towards her daughter.

“Okay, fine, geez,” Rose Petal said, putting the bottle of sparkling cider back in the ice chest. “I’ll get some water.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Roseluck replied, taking a seat on a bed and crossing her forehooves.

“So I can have the cider?”

“Yes. No. Since when do you ask me whether or not you can do something? How old are you?”

Rose fell onto her back, holding all four hooves in the air. “I’m dis many!” she exclaimed in a high pitched voice like a filly, swishing her tail in excitement.

Roseluck managed to avoid laughter, for a minute. The sight of her daughter wiggling around on the floor of the royal palace like an overexcited filly soon had the cream pony falling over onto the bed in stitches.

Rose Petal let out a couple more giggles before getting back on her hooves. Grabbing the cider from the ice chest, she walked back into the room with her mother, taking a seat across from her. She popped the cork, ignoring Roseluck’s disapproving glance.

“You shouldn’t be Death,” Roseluck said after righting herself on the bed. “I don’t think it’d be good for you.”

Rose took another drink, mulling her thoughts along with the crisp tang of the cider. “I want to,” she said after some time.

“Are you just doing this to go against me again? Honestly, Rose, I thought you were above that!”

“No! I want to because...” Rose trailed off, shifting her gaze towards the floor.

“Exactly,” Roseluck replied. “Just what I thought.”

“What else am I going to do?” the white pony asked, almost so quietly the other couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“What else am I going to do?” Rose shouted, jumping to her hooves and starting to pace. “Honestly, this is the best plan I’ve heard so far. Don’t get me wrong,” she quickly added after seeing her mother’s mildly hurt expression, “I love working in the shop with you and the other girls, but it isn’t really what I want to do my whole life.

“I mean, look at me!” Rose looked back to blooming pink rose on her flank. “What else am I going to do with a cutie mark like that? I love it, and I love the shop, and I love you girls, and I’m sure working with Cheerilee would be great, but I don’t think selling flowers is what I want to do my whole life.”

“So you want to take this instead! Look Rose, not wanting to work in a flower shop is all well and good, I didn’t like my first jobs either, but going to do something like this?” Roseluck threw a hoof out, motioning towards the splendor of the room. “And for the government? Hun, its not like working for Cheerilee. You can’t quit this job unless that Fate-book-thing says you can! This isn’t a career choice, it’s a life choice!”

“But it’s my choice to make, and one I think is best,” Rose countered, stopping her pacing to stare into her mother’s eyes. “I’m not a little filly anymore, mom. I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

The cream pony sighed. “Yes, you are a grown mare Rosie, but just because you can make your own decisions doesn’t mean that you can see all the consequences,” Roseluck said, getting up and nuzzling her daughter. “I trust you, but I also know that you have a tendency to... rush into things without thinking.”

“Hey, that’s not totally true!” Rose exclaimed, but the cream mare ignored her.

“And this isn’t a thing that you can just say, ‘oops, this isn’t really what I want to do, sorry,’ and walk away. I love you, hun, and I don’t want to see you throw your life away. I just want to see you do better than me.” the elder mare led her daughter to the bed where the two sat side by side.

“Stop being nice and understanding, I’m trying to be mad at you,” Rose grumbled, but her smile gave her away. Roseluck wrapped a cream foreleg around her daughter, pulling her white body to hers.

“Well, I’m not stopping you.” Rose wiggled against her mother’s grip, but the other mare was just too strong. In the end, the younger decided to lean into the elder’s hug.

The two sat in silence until Roseluck took away the cider Rose had been sipping at. “What would you do, mom?” Rose asked after trying, and failing, to reclaim her bottle of cider.

“About what?” Roseluck asked, buying herself time to think of an answer that wouldn’t offend her daughter.

“You know, becoming Death.”

Roseluck squeezed Rose. “I wouldn’t. I’m happy in the shop with my sisters. It’s what we always wanted to do.”

“That’s the thing though, I don’t know what I want to do! I don’t have any plans for the future.”

The cream mare got off the bed. “Look, I just think you should put more thought behind this. It...” she looked like she wanted to continue, but she didn’t. Instead, she got up and walked into the kitchen, out of Rose’s sight. “Do you want som-”

“Want what?” Rose asked. As the silence stretched longer, she got off the bed, moving towards the kitchen door. “Mom?”

“Mmm, no, not quite,” a voice said from behind Rose. The white pony spun around, mentally tracing a route to the closest pair of guards in case she had to run. A black unicorn was standing by the window, which was still closed. He wore a black cloak which hid most of his body, revealing only his head topped with a gray mane and an ominous gleaming horn. “Guess again”

“Who are you? What do you want?” Rose asked, turning around to face the intruder.

“Oh, who I am isn’t important, for the moment. No, what is important is what I came for. Tomorrow, you will be offered a choice by Princess Luna about becoming Death, yes?” the stranger asked with a smug grin.

Naturally, Rose was skeptical. “Maybe, maybe not. What’s it to you?”

“Nothing much, little filly,” the unicorn said, stalking smoothly forward. “I happen to know something about the job. It can be... risky,” he said, quickly pushing his muzzle next to Rose’s, causing the smaller mare to push him roughly away. The stranger laughed, a deep, grating sound.

“I can handle myself,” Rose said, surprised by the iron in her voice.

That brought another deep chuckle from the stranger. “Well, let’s not find out the hard way. All you have to do is accept the job, and bring the Focus of the office to me. I’ll transfer it between us, and you can go on like you have been. You can even keep the pay.”

“What did you do with my mom?” Rose asked, hoping the change in tact would catch the stranger off guard.

“Hmm? Oh, the mare in the kitchen? Roseluck, right?” The stranger shared one of his creepy smiles. “She’s fine.”

Rose slowly moved back, keeping the stranger in her sight, until she saw her mom, frozen in mid-sentence over the table in the small kitchen, facing the door. When she turned back to the window, the stranger was gone. The white mare stepped into the kitchen to check on her mom, when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She screamed.

“You know,” the stranger said, his mouth right next to Rose’s ear. “Death is such a dangerous job.” Another hoof wrapped around Rose’s neck, making the mare choke. “I wouldn’t want something bad to happen to such a pretty filly.”

Rose wriggled and squirmed, trying to get out of the grasp of the stranger. Despite her best efforts, the grip just tightened, cutting off Rose’s breath. The world was starting to go dark at the edges, when the door burst open.

“Release her,” a pony that sounded a lot like Princess Luna. Almost instantly, the pressure around Rose’s throat vanished, causing the winded earth pony to fall to the ground. Behind her, in the next room over, she heard shuffling hooves and heavy breathing, followed shortly after by the sound of shattering glass, and a familiar deep laugh. A few moments later, a pony knelt down next to Rose.

“Are you okay?” the voice asked.

“--thing to eat? Oh my goddess! Rose!” On the other side, another pony crouched down, running her hooves over the white mare, turning her head so that she faced her mother. “Rosie, are you okay?”

“Mmfine,” Rose managed to choke out through her constricted windpipe.

“Here, allow me,” the Luna-voice said before Rose found herself suspended in a nimbus of blue light. Slowly, she was moved through the air, finally to be deposited on top of the plush bed. Sure enough, as soon as she could, Rose looked up into the concerned face of Princess Luna herself. Roseluck quickly pushed her way through, unceremoniously shoving Luna out of the way in her haste to get to her daughter.

“Rosie, speak to me. Are you okay? How many hooves am I holding up?”

“I’m alright, mom. I’m fine,” Rose said, hoping to reassure her panicked mother.

“How many hooves am I holding up!?” Roseluck insisted, shaking her hoof in the air.

“One.” With some effort, Rose struggled up to a sitting position. “Princess, thank you.”

Princess Luna opened her mouth, but then closed it and simply nodded. “‘Twas no problem. I would not let a pony die in my castle.”

“But... who was that?” Rose asked, though she was drowned out by her mother.

“Princess, who was that? What kind of crazy pony breaks into the castle, and assaults ponies!? W-What was he going to do to my daughter!? Is this city filled with rapist-psycho-ponies!? Are the guards so incompetent that--”

“Enough.” The princess did not shout, but her voice stilled the smaller cream mare, who quickly dropped into a bow and began spewing apologies. “Do not apologize, I also will not criticize one for caring for their offspring.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” Roseluck said, rising from her bow to climb up and lie next to Rose.

“To answer your question,” Luna continued, “that was, I believe, the spirit of Mortis.”

“The original Death?” Rose asked. Luna nodded, so the white mare continued. “Okay, but what did he want from me?”

“That, I do not know. Did he say anything to you?”

“Well, he wanted me to take the office and--”

“Absolutely not!” Roseluck shouted. “I admit, I was on the fence about it, but I was leaning towards agreeing with you, Rosie, but after this, there is no way that I’m going to let you do this!”

“Miss, with all due respect--” Luna started, but was quickly cut off.

“Let me? Let me!?” Rose Petal shouted. “What happened to ‘you’re old enough to make your own decisions,’ huh?”

“Rosie, that’s not what I meant...” Roseluck started, but it was too late.

“No, I thought about it, and I’ve decided I want to.” Rose turned towards Princess Luna. “I’ll do it. I’ll be Death.”

“No, you can’t!” Roseluck turned to Luna. “You can’t let her do this!”

“She is a legal adult, Miss Roseluck. She can make her own decisions,” Luna replied. “I shall inform Cloud. We will transfer the office tomorrow. Roseluck, you are welcome to stay for the ceremony.” With that, the princess walked out the door, bidding the other two good night.

The door clicked shut. “Mom, I--” Rose began.

“I’m going out for a walk,” Roseluck said, cutting her daughter off. The cream mare got up, and followed the princess out the door, leaving Rose Petal alone in the opulent room.

Rose Petal blinked. Great. What have I gotten myself into? She shook her head, and crawled into one side of the bed, shutting her eyes.

But sleep never came.

Author's Notes:

Wow. Shortest chapter so far, but so, so terribly important plot-wise. This also marks the point where I've finished the story outline in my head, so writing chapters will be easier, and they will probably come quicker. This is shaping up to be a very fast ride. Hope y'all are buckled in.

-thehalfelf

Observing Tradition

Observing Tradition

In the midst of the night, two ponies sped swiftly through the sleeping castle. Expertly avoiding guards and servants alike, the duo arrived at their destination; the door of a mother and daughter from Ponyville. As shadows, the two entered the room, giving it a quick once-over. There, a door to another room, in the middle, a big bed common in Canterlot, and beyond, a small, closed window. Shadowed furniture glittered in the faint light of the moon.

The intruders converged on the side of the bed housing a pink mane. On a silent count of three, they sprang their trap. The first pulled back the covers quickly, allowing the second to hogtie the pony who was underneath them. As soon as the first ropes touched her fur, the soon-to-be-captive mare bolted upright and tried to shout out, but the first intruder used the opportunity to gag her, followed quickly by a blindfold. Lastly, one lifted the captive while the other slipped her into a bag, tossing it over his shoulder. The duo and their prisoner were out the door in less than five minutes. The other pony in the room never so much as stirred.

Another stealthy trip through the castle--undetected, despite the best efforts of the pony stuffed in a bag--and the two arrived at their destination. The guards pretended not to notice them as they pushed through the moon-emblazoned doors into a starlit chamber.

“Did you retrieve her?” asked the blue pony inside after shuffling her wings.

“Yup,” said the pony without the bag, shucking her mask to reveal a yellow pegasus with a disheveled orange mane. She nodded, and her companion tossed the bag on the ground, with much protest from the pony within.

The blue pony raised an eyebrow. “You actually put her in a bag?”

“Well, isn’t that you wanted?”

With a sigh, and a flash of her horn, the blue pony had the bag off the prisoner, and had her back on her hooves. The yellow pegasus quickly pulled her mask on--sideways--and shouted, “Hey! A little warning next time!”

“Take your leave,” the blue alicorn said before turning to the released pony. The ponies clad in black bowed and exited. “Rose Petal, my apologies. I did not think those two would actually bind you and drag you here.”

After a few moments of Rose grunting through her gag, Princess Luna removed it. “What the hay! Why’d you send goons to attack me!” the white pony shouted.

“Please, calm down. I sent them to fetch you to transfer the office of Death. I didn’t expect them to foalnap you,” replied Luna in a soothing voice. “It is tradition for the new Death to be taken in the night, for that is when the ritual of transfer is most powerful. You were never in any danger.”

“But what about Mom!” Rose shouted, volume steadily increasing. “She could have been hurt! Or what if she wakes up and I’m not there! She’ll go crazy!”

“Rose Petal, lower your voice,” Luna growled. “And before you go off again, your mother was never in any danger, nor was she even there.”

Rose stared in disbelief at the Mare of the Moon. “No. No, no, no, I know she was. She left to go for a walk, and I... fell asleep before...”

Luna simply smiled.

“So, if she was never there there,” Rose continued, “Where is she?”

“I‘m right here, hun,” said a voice, just out of sight. Roseluck walked forward into the wane light cast by the facsimiles of stars high up in the room’s dome roof. “I never came back to the room. I had some... things to discuss with the Princess.”

At the sight of her mother, Rose’s ears drooped. “Mom, I--”

Roseluck wrapped the younger mare in a hug, quickly silencing her. “It’s fine. I’ve been a little... overbearing. I’ll support you, though I don’t like what you want to do.”

“Are you sure?”

After a pause, Roseluck squeezed Rose tighter. “Yeah. You do what’s best, but remember I’ll always be there if you need me.”

The door opened, and Rose watched as Dashing Cloud walked in. “Aww,” he said, “Interrupting a touching moment, am I?”

“Nope,” Roseluck said, ending the hug and taking a step back, spinning to face the new visitor.

“Well, are we ready?” Cloud asked, looking at everypony in the room in turn.

“If they are,” Luna replied, looking down at the mother and daughter.

Rose looked over at her mother, and the soft smile on her face, and turned to look at the Princess of the Night. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

*****

For the third, and final, time that night, a procession made its way unchallenged and unseen through the hallways of Canterlot Castle. Princess Luna led the group, followed closely by Roseluck and Rose Petal, side by side, with Death himself taking up the rear as the Princess of the Night led the group down into the catacombs beneath the castle, underneath the very center of the mountain itself.

“Wait here,” Luna said to Roseluck and Rose Petal once they walked down one last passageway, to stand in front of a massive stone door. “Cloud and I have some things we must prepare first. Do not enter until we come for you.” Without waiting for an answer, the princess entered the chamber, followed closely by Dashing Cloud.

Rose looked over at her mother. “Don’t worry, hun,” Roseluck said. “Everything will be fine.”

“Mom, I... I’m sorry. About everything I said last night. I... I....” The white pony stared down at the ground, trying her hardest to keep her rebellious tears from falling onto the polished stone floor.

She felt a friendly hoof set itself on her withers. “I told you, it’s fine. Come on. Somepony has a job they need to do.”

Rose looked up with a watery smile. “Thank you.”

“Enter, Roseluck,” boomed a voice from the other side of the door. After shooting a wink at her daughter, the cream pony walked through the blank stone doors. As soon as her tail passed the threshold, the doors slammed shut, denying Rose a look into the chamber beyond.

The white mare plopped down onto her haunches, wincing a bit as the cold of the floor sneaked its way through her fur. Her tail twitched sporadically, slapping against the stone below. Seconds slowly crawled by like hours. The only movement in the long tunnel was the occasional flicker of the torch’s fire, and the slight tremors running through Rose.

Maybe Mom was right, Rose thought as she waited for the booming voice to call her into the room beyond, and into her future. I don’t know if... No. I can’t think like that. Somepony has to do it, and if the princesses think it should be me, then I’ll have a go.

Just then, the voice sounded from beyond the stone door. “Enter, Rose Petal.”

For what it’s worth. Rose walked through the stone doors as they opened, hoping the shaking in her legs wasn’t too noticeable. Just like her mother before her, the moment her tail passed safely through the doorway, it slammed shut, cutting off all light from the hallway.

Rose was quickly thrust into darkness. The only light in the massive cave came from a hole in the ceiling, where silver moonlight lazily wandered down onto a pony in a black cloak. From the chill of the room, Rose guessed it was quite large, though all but the surroundings of the middle were shrouded in darkness.

“Come forward,” intoned the cloaked pony in the shaft of moonlight.

Taking a deep breath, Rose slowly walked forward on wooden legs. Each impact of hoof on stone sent wild echoes bouncing around the domed chamber. A small eternity later, Rose stood just outside the shaft of moonlight, at the foot on the stone dais on which the cloaked pony stood.

From behind her, another voice sounded. “Step onto the platform, Rose.” Startled by the voice of Luna, Rose jumped before climbing up onto the raised dais, right in front of the cloaked pony.

As if on a signal, the hood was thrown back, revealing a grinning black unicorn, horn jutting proudly from his head. Rose balked and scrambled back towards the edge of the dias until her back hooves sat right on the edge. Slowly, a huge scythe of black iron slid smoothly out from under the cloak, and the figure spoke. “This is your legacy, Rose Petal. Take the scythe.”

Cowed by fear and a little bit of awe, Rose forsook her usual joke of a lack of a horn. She gripped the shaft of the scythe in her mouth, cringing at the metallic taste and the buzz of magic as the cloaked pony withdrew the spell. As the last remnants of power faded from the scythe, the black head before Rose wavered, and finally collapsed, revealing gold fur topped with a light blue mane. The cloak melted off his back, reforming on the back of Rose.

The dark cloth flowed over the white pony, bring with it warmth from the chill of the night in the dark cave. As the hood draped over her head, Rose felt strange, different, as though her body was no longer entirely hers. “It is done,” Cloud said. “I will begin teaching you tomorrow morning, as my predecessor did, and likely as you will do. Until then, I recommend leaving the cloak and scythe out of your posession.

“Not that you shouldn’t use it, you need to in order to do your job effectively, but it can be... disorienting until you understand the underlying magicks of the office. Don’t worry about losing it, the cloak wears you almost as much as you wear it. Simply will it away and back, it will always come when you call, the scythe as well. I shall see you tomorrow, Death.”

Author's Notes:

Not much in this chapter, sorry. Originally, this one and chapter 7 were going to be one chapter, but it got too big to really fit with the rest of the chapters, so I split it. Doesn't matter either way, because 7 is going up in, like, five minutes. Ciao!

-thehalfelf

Death, Trainee

Death, Trainee

“Don’t worry, Rose, no matter what happens up there in Canterlot, you always have a place with us back in Ponyville. I’m sure you’ll do great.” Roseluck’s final words echoed through her daughter’s head as she walked the vaulted halls of Canterlot Castle alone. Her destination: a little-used meeting room that Princess Celestia had generously offered for her training.

At long last, the door stood before her. A pair of guards passed with a nod--the message about Rose had apparently gone out already, the castle guards never asked who she was, nor inquired about her business. They were always polite, but they had an air of almost disregard.

She raised a hoof to knock on the heavy wooden door. Pulled from the inside, the door swung open on well-oiled hinges, inviting Rose inside. She walked inside, nosing the door closed behind her, then looked around the room. The table, used for meetings, was shoved unceremoniously back into a corner, chairs haphazardly tossed on top, all save one. The one chair left was occupied by Cloud, right in the middle of the room.

Cloud followed Rose’s gaze over to the table in the corner and grinned. “No magic anymore. Had to resort to flipping them with my wings.” He shrugged. “I think it worked well.”

Rose cocked her head. “Magic? But you’re a pegasus. You shouldn’t have ever had magic.”

“Lesson one,” Cloud replied, rising from the chair. “Death is magic. That cloak empowers you, enabling you to do your job. While in the cloak, you will be able to use magic. With practice, you can cast basic spells without.”

“Is that why you told me not to use it?”

“Partly. If you had incinerated yourself, we might have had a problem, but there’s more to it than just that. How about you put it on, and walk towards me.” Cloud kicked out with a hind leg, sending the chair through the air to join its brethren.

“Uh...” Rose looked down sheepishly. “How?”

“Well, how did you get it off?”

“I sort of just wiggled,” Rose replied, shaking her back hooves in demonstration.

Cloud’s mouth twitched as he suppressed a smile. “Right... Well, whenever I wanted it, I just remembered what it felt like while I was wearing it.”

“And that worked?”

“Try it.”

With a shrug, Rose closed her eyes, imagining the weight of the heavy cloak on her as it was last night. Suddenly, she was again enveloped by the comfortable heat and weight as the cloak magically appeared on top of her, though this time, the scythe was slung over her back, as she had seen on Cloud before.

The gold pegasus beamed at her. “Good. Now, walk towards me.” Cloud’s smile quickly died as the mare took five deft steps, leaving them muzzle to muzzle. “What?” he spluttered. “I don’t.... Oh! Of course, the guise of Mortis would have changed to match your form.”

Rose gave Cloud a flat stare. “What?”

“Well,” Cloud began, “the cloak transfers the guise of the original Death, Mortis, onto the current officeholder, allowing him or her to use magic as a unicorn, along with other things. It does not, however, transfer experience.”

“Right,” Rose nodded. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cloud sighed. “That just means we won’t have to spend time getting you acquainted with your body, as it were. We can move onto the fun stuff.”

“Fun stuff?” Rose’s eyes lit up as her ears perked forward.

“Of course. You need to learn to control your magic.” The gold pegasus looked around for a moment before settling his gaze on the pile of wooden furniture in the corner. “Levitate over one of those chairs.”

Once again, he was subject to a flat stare. “It really isn’t difficult,” Cloud explained. “Simply move your magic like you do your hooves, grab the chair and bring it over.”

“If it’s so simple, why does it take unicorn foals years to learn it?” Rose snapped.

“Because their bodies are still growing; the magic still developing inside them. Mortis, and by extension, you, didn’t have to worry about that; he was fully grown when he entered the office. You will have limits to the magic you can do, independent of what he could, but we can find that barrier later. Move the chair.”

Though she glared another hole into her instructor, Rose complied. She shut her eyes again and concentrated, imagining a giant magical hand grasping one of the chairs on the pile and bringing it over, gently placing it in front of Cloud. Instead, she heard something whoosh through the air, followed by the tinkling of shattered glass.

Rose opened her eyes to see Cloud prostrate on the floor, forehooves over his head. Behind him, one of the giant windows overlooking the courtyard was broken, small glass shards littering the floor around it. The chair was still flying.

“M-Maybe a little less enthusiasm next time, Rose,” Cloud said, cautiously getting to his hooves. The white mare quickly suppressed a snicker. “Once again, and please keep this one inside the room.”

Another deep breath to steady her nerves, and to forestall any cases of the giggles on the way, Rose once again pictured her giant hand, and moved another chair, this time much more slowly. As the hand in her mind set the chair down on the ground, there was a massive cracking sound, and several lines of pain flared up on Rose’s hooves.

“Ahh!” Rose cried out. Opening her eyes, she saw part of the chair right where she put it. She had set it down with too much force, and the legs had shattered, flying off in different directions.

“Yeah, a little bit too forceful,” Cloud said, wiping a thin line of red off his cheek. “One more time. You need to get this down.”

“Why?” Rose asked. “Can’t we work on something else?”

“There is no way I’m teaching you to fight until you can do basic telekinesis well.”

“Fine.” Once more, Rose closed her eyes and grabbed a chair.

*****

“Now then, Death has to take souls all over the world, not just in Canterlot or even Equestria. It’s important you be able to picture areas near where the Instinct says there is work to be done,” Cloud said. The golden pegasus was standing over an exhausted Rose, hood pulled back over her head.

The white mare looked out the broken window. “But the sun’s going down! Can’t we pick this up tomorrow?”

“Sorry, kiddo. Death doesn’t just stop. The longer we take, the more work you’ll have to do later. It’s best to do it as fast as possible. We’ll start this, and finish it up tomorrow.”

With a resigned sigh, Rose asked, “So what do I have to do?”

“Well, I want you to picture a place, preferably somewhere in this castle. Paint a picture in your mind, but make sure you picture it empty. Then, still concentrating hard on the picture, walk into a wall.” Cloud grinned at the shocked expression on Rose’s face. “Trust me, if you do everything right you’ll be fine. You’ll end up wherever you’re thinking of. It’s a useful trick in this line of work.”

Still skeptical, Rose did as she was told. She pictured in her head her room here in the castle. The massive bed big enough for four ponies, the window spilling light from the afternoon sun. The strange half-wall that separated the main room from the kitchen area. She pictured it all in her mind like a Vincent VanHoof painting, and walked into the nearest wall.

Thud!

Cloud couldn’t help it. Try as he might, when he saw Rose run muzzle-first into the wall, as he had done on his first attempt, he just couldn’t restrain himself. Large, bubbling gales of laughter escaped his open muzzle. Even once Rose turned around and fixed him with one of her patented water-freezing glares he didn’t stop.

“Well... Well, work on it some more tonight, and we’ll go from there tomorrow,” Cloud said once he had calmed down. As soon as she thought he wasn’t paying attention, Rose again walked into the wall, eyes screwed tightly shut.

A second later, she was stuck underneath something warm and oppressive. The more she struggled and flailed her hooves, the more trapped she seemed to become. As her panic grew, so did a pressure in her head, until at long last it burst forth. A wave of raw energy filled the room, and the object of Rose’s struggle, the blanket on her bed, melted right through her. At long last she was free, lying atop her bed and blanket, still garbed in her cloak of office, stunned senseless.

The next day, Rose asked Dashing Cloud what had happened. “The cloak has certain magicks that make you unable to die by normal means while wearing it, and other powers to facilitate your job,” the golden pegasus explained. “It seems that whole struggling with the, uh, blanket, you triggered one of them, which turned you intangible until the ‘danger’ had safely passed.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Are you mocking me?”

“Nooooo.... yes, but not out of spite.” Cloud quickly finished. “Only because I had sort of the same thing happen to me when I took office, but it involved a mop, a bush, and a lot of cobwebs.”

Rose grinned. “Fair enough. So what are we doing to--” The white mare suddenly stopped, right in the middle of her sentence.

“Rose?” Cloud asked, eyebrows creased in concern. “Rose Petal? Are you alright?”

She started, as though Cloud had just dumped a bucket of water on her. “Cloud, I think something is wrong. I... I have to go to north.”

Cloud nodded. “Well, looks like training time is over. That is the Instinct. You see, most deaths in the world happen naturally, but when we--you--have to actually do something, the cloak tells you. What you feel is the cloak telling you where to go. With time and practice, you will be able to get it down to the exact location, and ignore it when you need a break. After all, most of the jobs of Death don’t have to be done right away, there is a little give.”

“What do I have to do?” Rose asked breathlessly.

“We have to go to wherever it is, and handle it.” At Rose’s astonished look, Cloud laughed. “Yes, I’m going with you. You’ve only had the job for a day, Rose. I’ll be going with you until you’ve the hang of it.

“Now, what I’m going to do,” Cloud continued, moving to stand next to Rose, “is travel with you. Focus on where you feel like you need to go, and I’ll direct the jump. It might take longer than your one last night--the farther you go, the longer it takes--but we’ll get there.”

“O-Okay,” Rose said. She squeaked quietly and averted her head, hiding a light blush when Cloud put his hoof in hers.

“Hold on,” Cloud warned before willing the duo through space. Rose shivered as a feeling not unlike passing through a sheet of cold water washed over her. After too long, the feeling abated as the two stepped out into the bright morning sunlight. Rose repressed the urge to check herself and make sure her coat wasn’t soaked, contenting herself with looking around instead.

“Where are we?” the white mare asked.

Cloud looked around. “We’re up north, in a town called Vanhoover. I put us in the area, but you have to take us where we need to go. The Death cloak provides for your job, locked doors will open at your touch, you cannot be injured by most things while on a job, and most ponies will never question why you’re there, nor see you for what you truly are, unless you force your will onto them. On the other hoof, they will question me, so I recommend we get a move on before the questions start rolling in.”

“What about money and things I need to live? I can’t exactly get a job waiting tables while moonlighting as Death,” Rose replied. While waiting for her answer, she set off down the street, letting her newfound sense of direction guide her through the town. It was slightly larger than Ponyville, but nothing like Canterlot.

“The princesses provide room and board, and most expenses can be written off, which is nice. You no longer technically exist, so you don’t have to pay taxes until you give up the office, but you are somewhat right. You can’t really lead a normal life as Death. Some things can be done, but you will never be able to live as a normal pony until you retire, but on the bright side, the severance package is amazing.”

While Cloud was talking, Rose had arrived at what she thought to be their destination. Whenever she thought of moving beyond, it was almost like her hooves no longer wished to obey, rooting her too the spot until she decided to move forward. “Um, Cloud I think we’re here.”

“So go in,” Cloud responded nonchalantly.

“B-But that’s breaking and entering,” Rose replied, looking around nervously. “We can’t do that.”

“We can’t, but you can. You’re Death. What did I just tell you about your powers?”

“Doors won’t block my path, and there’s a great retirement package.”

“So just go open the door. The Death cloak will unlock it, and we can go inside. Just do it quickly, before we start attracting attention.” Cloud discreetly looked up and down the street. It seemed most ponies were either still asleep or already working, as the area was mostly deserted. A few stray ponies walked the empty streets, but they weren’t paying attention to Death or her companion, for now.

Still somewhat concerned, Rose nevertheless walked towards the unassuming white-painted door, thankful that her cloak covered her mane and most of her coat, and most importantly, her cutie mark. With a shaking hoof, she turned the knob, which yielded to her touch, and pushed the door open.

“Is anypony home?” she asked with a trembling voice.

“You do realize if somepony is dying in her, they won’t answer, right?” Cloud asked, pushing past Rose. “Lead the way and let’s get out of here. Remember: Death should always be punctual.”

While her mentor’s back was turned, Rose stuck out her tongue before pushing ahead of him, intentionally bumping into him on the way, headed deeper into the small two-story house. Now that she was inside, that little voice in her head was telling her to go upwards. The cloaked mare quickly found the stairs and ascended, following her Instinct to a closed door.

“He is in there,” Rose said, motioning towards the door with a hoof.

“Well, all you need to do is to go in and touch him somewhere with your scythe, but make sure not to touch him with the blade. He may be dying, but it’s really sharp, and can still hurt him,” Cloud replied.

Rose nodded, again opening the door and entering the room. As soon as she laid eyes on her client, however, she squeaked and bit back the urge to vomit.

“Is everything okay in there?” Cloud asked. When Rose didn’t respond, he pushed into the room, ready to do whatever necessary. His eyes quickly scanned the room, searching for a danger that wasn’t there. Eventually, they stopped on the sight that had Rose rooted to the spot. “Ah, fantastic...”

Lying on the bed, held down by the weight of his own lifeless legs, was a blue earth pony, spread eagle. His hooves were slashed, giving an outlet for his life’s blood to run out. Rose and Cloud were late, most of it had already happened. What were once light blue bedcovers were stained a dark red. The knife was lying near his right forehoof, blade pointed away.

On Cloud’s entrance, the pony looked weakly up. He blinked once before his head fell back down onto the pillow. “Go on,” Cloud said softly, reassuringly. “Save him from his torment. Free his soul.”

“I-I can’t,” Rose whispered back. “How could he do this? Why would he?”

“That doesn’t matter. Your job is to take his soul and send it to Eternity. Just touch him with the scythe.”

“Cloud, I can’t!” As if to reinforce herself, Rose took a step back, staring straight down at the floor. The hem of her cloak shook in time with her tremors.

The gold pegasus sighed. “I had hoped you would do better on your first collection than I did...” He gently took the scythe from Rose, and touched it to the dying pony’s forehead. The light went out of the blue pony’s eyes, and his body relaxed into the blood stained bed.

“Come on,” Cloud said, wrapping Rose in a one-hoofed hug. “You’ll do better next time. It’s always a bit of a shock the first go.” Rose simply buried her head in Cloud’s neck and cried.

Author's Notes:

This is the meat of Chapter 6. This is also one of my favorite chapters of the story. I personally think that the training scene flows really well. I just hope the rest of the story follows suit.

Enjoy the double update!

-thehalfelf

Ghosts of War

Ghosts of War

“Come on! Is that the best you’ve got?” Rose Petal grunted with effort, sending the scythe whistling through the air, ending its arc with a satisfying thump as the blade imbedded itself into the wooden target. She struggled for a moment, wiggling the flexible steel back and forth until the scythe came free, swinging back around to rest across Rose’s back, as she had been taught.

“Again,” Dashing Cloud said. “Again!”

Rose once again held the scythe surrounded by her magical energy--something she had learned was far more effective than the ‘hands’ she had been using--and swing again, throwing everything she could into the swing. At long last, the scythe went straight through the target. The wooden figure stood whole for a moment, before the top half collapsed and fell onto the tiled floor with a loud clatter. Exhausted, Rose dropped the scythe.

“Not terrible, I suppose,” Cloud said, picking up the scythe with his teeth and bringing it back to Rose. “But still not good enough.”

“It’s never good enough!” Rose shouted. “I’ve been whacking at targets for almost a week and it’s never good enough! What more do you want from me?”

“You need to get better. If you have to banish a spirit, it’s not going to stand still, especially if it really wants to stay. It’ll fight, and if you don’t win, you might not live to appoint a successor.”

“I thought the cloak protected me from death,” Rose said, slinging the scythe onto her back before sitting on her haunches, relishing the cool marble floor.

“Yeah, it’ll protect you from death, but if you get your soul sucked out?” Cloud threw a hoof into the air. “At that point, you’re just screwed.”

“Then teach me to fight. I don’t see how swinging at a wooden target is going to help.” Rose motioned to the still standing half of the target. “If that isn’t good enough, why am I wasting my time on it?”

Cloud sighed. “I will, in time, but you don’t have enough control over your scythe yet. I don’t want to lose an ear because you’re flailing around, and we can’t just use a blunted one either. That is a magic scythe, no non magic one is going to respond the same, and to be honest, I don’t know how much of your proficiency is given by the scythe itself. We can’t just bate it either. Because of the scythe’s magical nature, the bate will just slide right off, if we can put it on at all.”

“Then how did you learn?” Rose suppressed a smile. The longer she kept him talking, the less time she would have to fight a block of wood.

“Well, I never finished, exactly.” At Rose’s questioning glance, Cloud said, “I’ll tell you the story, but only if you keep training.” Rose groaned, but set up another target anyway, unlimbering the scythe. “The Death before me was an earth pony, like you. His name was Apple... Apple something, something Apple... it was so long ago.”

Cloud stared off into the distance until the thunk of Rose’s scythe on wood drew him back into the present. “Anyway, about two months into my training, he went with me on a difficult job, just like I’ve been doing with you. But something went wrong. We were separated in the Crystal North. I was looking for him when a blizzard hit. The cloak forced me back to Canterlot...”

Schwing, thunk. “And your master?” Rose asked, placing down a new target.

Cloud shook his head. “He never came back. I sort of taught myself after that, with a little help from Fate and what aid Princess Celestia could give.”

Rose embedded her scythe in another target and gave Cloud a sweaty, one-hooved hug. The pegasus fluffed his wing, pushing the smaller mare away. “Yick,” he said, “You’re gonna get me all sweaty.” Rose’s smile fell for a moment before springing back, though not to her eyes. “Come on, just a little bit more and we can take a bit of a break.”

Rose turned her back, picked up the scythe, and sliced clean through with a grunt and a single swing.

*****

“Alright, Rose,” Cloud said through the metal of his headpiece. “Are you ready?”

“Buck yeah!” Rose shouted, slinging the scythe down into the ready position Cloud taught her. The gold pegasus raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. Whenever you are.”

“Now, are you sure there is no work to be done?”

“There’s... something, but it isn’t urgent. Come on, let’s do this!” Rose lowered herself, centering her body and holding the scythe cocked just above her shoulder, blade pointed slightly down, point facing Cloud’s general direction.

But he took off his helmet, letting his weapon’s point fall to the ground. “What is the job?”

“But, Cloud, you promised me yesterday we would fight!” Rose groused while figuring out her next job from the Instinct. “It’s an, uh, spirit.”

“Lingerer or ghost?”

“What?”

Cloud sighed. “A lingerer is a spirit that has died, but for some reason or another can’t go to Eternity. Usually, all we have to do is talk to them, or help them find peace, and they float on under their own power. It’s the ghosts you have to worry about. Those are ponies who are unhappy with Eternity, and force their way down. They are the ones who you’ll have to fight and ultimately banish.”

“Oh.” Rose scratched her head. “No, I have no idea.”

“Well, that makes things a little more difficult...” Cloud chewed his lip for a moment. “Where is it?”

After her first client a week previous, Rose had spent some of her time looking over maps of Equestria and other places where her services may be required to learn the basic geography, and more importantly, names. “I’m not totally sure. It’s somewhere outside of Equestria, to the west. Other than that, I couldn’t tell you.”

Cloud stared out the window for a few slow seconds. “Alright, here’s what we’ll do.” He turned back to face Rose. “I’ll lead you, just like we’ve done before. Keep your cloak on the whole time, no matter what. We’ll see if we can deal with whatever kind of spirit it is. If we can’t, we’ll come back here and I’ll train you in combat quickly, then you banish it. Understood?”

Rose nodded, giving Cloud a lopsided grin. “Understood. Cloak on, you lead us there, I mess with the spirit, we go home.”

Cloud slipped on a cloak of his own before holding out a golden hoof. Fighting down a smile, Rose put her white hoof on top. Once again, she closed her eyes, focusing solely on the inexplicable urge to travel westward. A brief moment later, she felt the sheet of cool water. Seconds ticked by, growing ever longer as the two traveled across vast expanses of land and water.

Dust clouded Rose’s vision as their long travel finally ended. She coughed and spluttered, using the fur of one leg to try and rub the dust out of her eye. Finally successful, she slowly opened her eyes, using a hoof to shade them from the bright sun. Before Rose could say anything, Cloud pushed her to the ground, and motioned for her to be quiet, pointing into the air with one golden hoof.

In the air, a battle raged. Griffons, painted with strange and terrifying symbols on both their bodies and armor, flew through the air, slicing at one another with talons. Arrows flew from the ground, shot by groups stationed on the ground. Feathers flitted slowly down to the ground, every so often joined by bodies of slain griffons. Thankfully, they hadn’t noticed Rose or her companion. Yet.

“Where are we? What’s going on?” Rose whispered into Cloud’s ear. When he didn’t respond, she repeated herself louder.

“We’re in the New Griffon Republic. As for what’s going on, it looks like another coup,” Cloud responded, with more than a bit of sarcasm. “This would be the... fifteenth one in the last four decades...?”

Rose’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. “Fifteenth...?”

“It’s a funny story really,” Cloud replied. He cringed as an arrow embedded itself into the sand next to him. “But I think it is one best told from safety. I’m not invincible anymore.”

Death nodded and began moving towards a copse of trees in the distance, crawling as close to the ground as possible. Cloud followed suit. The two made slow progress, stopping every time a griffon started flying lower, speeding up when an errant arrow landed anywhere nearby.

They made it unnoticed and unharmed. In the distance, the sky was hidden behind the airborne bodies of the fighting factions, though the cloud seemed thinner than when Rose and Cloud had arrived.

“The New Griffon Republic,” Cloud said, taking off his cloak and taking a seat in the sun-heated sand, “was formed from a couple of government-less territories after the fall of the Great Empire two centuries ago. Of course, each territory wanted total control over the others, so what began as a republic of equal representation of all slowly mutated and became a dictatorship that the griffons fought so long to replace.

“Eventually, a group of them realized what had happened, and another bloody revolution started. They won, after a few years of fighting, and the survivors swore to keep history from repeating itself. Unfortunately, greed and ambition survives in spades, no matter where you are, and the cycle began again.”

“But why don’t they just, stop. Why do they continue to let corrupt... leaders rule their nation if the same things keep happening? Why don’t they change?” Rose asked, moving to take off her cloak as well as the desert heat began to turn the black garment into a small inferno.

“Leave it on, Rose. I know, it can get hot. Tell you what, you keep thinking on it, and tell me what you come up with when we get back to Canterlot. Until then, let’s get a move on. Where to?” Cloud got to his hooves, folding his cloak and resting it across his back like a flat saddlebag.

“Uh, we need to go right...” Rose took one step to the right. “Here.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing here. I thought you said there was a job to do.”

“That’s what I’ve been told,” Rose replied, putting a hoof over her eyes and looking around. “But I don’t see anypony.”

“Look out!” Rose felt something hit her, and found herself lying in the hot sand, stunned. Where she had been standing laid the body of an armored griffon, riddled with arrows. He coughed weakly, small droplets of blood spraying from his mouth, before exhaling slowly, eyes fluttering closed.

As Rose watched, a shimmery, slightly transparent, form of the griffon slowly got to his feet, shaking his body to readjust his feathers. He turned then, noticing Rose and Cloud for the first time. “You! You two! What are ponies doing in the Republic?”

Cloud looked over to Rose, deferring the conversation to her, ready to step in if things got out of hoof. “Hello,” the white mare said nervously. “I-I am Rose Petal, and this is Dashing Cloud. We come from Equestria.”

“What are you doing here?” the ghost asked, glaring holes at the white mare and her golden companion.

“I am D-Death. I have come to--” Rose was interrupted by the griffon’s laugh.

“That is very funny, little pony. Now, what are you doing here? Tell me before I have to string you up and take you to my captain,” he threatened, extending one razor-sharp claw.

Rose blanched, words freezing up in her throat. Cloud stepped forward, smoothly taking control of the conversation. “Sir, I am Dashing Cloud. We were sent here to send you to Eternity. I am sorry.”

The griffon laughed, but the color was quickly draining behind his feathers. “You... you lie! I am simply dreaming, and will wake up victorious from the glorious battle!”

Cloud shook his head, and took a step forward. “I’m sorry, but you won’t ever wake up again. Just listen to my associate and we can make this easy.”

“No! No, I shall not go!” Contrary to his protesting, the griffon was beginning to fade, the trees behind him becoming visible through his transparent features.

“Just let go, and know you did your duty. The generations after you will lead a better life for it.” The griffon continued to disappear, his voice becoming fainter in time with his body, until nothing was left. Cloud turned to look at Rose. “And that’s how it’s done.”

Rose blinked. “But...”

“I simply made him realize that it was time to move on; I eased his passage. To be honest, most lingerers are that easy to deal with. Once they understand, they start to fade. Once they start to fade, all that is left is to soften the blow, as it were. It isn’t necessary, but I always tried to work to make Death as painless as possible,” Cloud said, anticipating Rose’s question. “Come on, let’s get back.”

Once again, Cloud put his hoof on Rose’s, allowing the white mare to lead their jump back into the training hall in Canterlot. At long last, Rose willed the Death cloak away, entertaining the thought that as it fell away, a great cloud of steam blew from her back to the frescoed ceiling.

“Now then,” Cloud said, draping his cloak over one of the upturned chairs. “Have you realized why the New Griffon Republic is locked in a cycle to dictatorship and warfare?”

“Uhhh....” Rose’s eyes wandered over the room’s familiar decoration as she frantically searched for an answer.

“Ah well,” Cloud said with a massive sigh. “I suppose it won’t be obvious to you, you’re too young. The griffons of the Republic are raised and live their lives hearing about the ideals that their country was founded upon, even though they were never truly realized. Each faction that rises to the top and starts the conflict does so saying that it will be different this time, so they all go and fight and die because they think it’ll make their lives and those of their children better. History is written by the victor, Rose, and when those who know the truth are dead and buried, history is only as honest as those writing it.”

Cloud turned and began walking towards the door. “Do you ever think it will be different?” Rose asked, causing the gold pegasus to turn around.

“I don’t know. Power tends to draw individuals who lust for it. Greed is like death, we can’t do anything to stop it, and it isn’t likely to change, no matter what we may do. Anyway, I think that’s enough for today. Farewell, Rose. We shall continue tomorrow.” With that, Cloud walked out the door as a cloud blocked the sun, leaving the white mare in the suddenly dark room.

Author's Notes:

So, I know I just updated a week or so ago, but since throwing out the rotation system, this was the chapter I wanted to work on. All the edits were done by TheCloudtop and Speed Jumper, so if anything is wrong, blame them, not me.

This might also be the last chapter done for a little bit, as I want to sort of turn my focus to a two-part story here in the near future. So, until that's done, I probably won't be doing anything with this story.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Comments and the like are always appreciated, and I hope that the wait between chapters doesn't get too bad.

Old Friends

Old Friends

Dashing Cloud sat within his office, a large, opulent affair in the west wing of the castle, behind his desk. Nominally, he was an aid to the minister of interstate commerce--a job that actually meant nothing. The princesses had told him he had served well enough, and needed to do no more. Either way, he had enough money saved from his time as Death to live comfortably until it was his time.

But living with no work for the better part of the rest of his natural life didn’t sit well with Cloud. Thus, he had accepted a job from Luna, though the amount of work actually done was minimal, especially now that Rose Petal was able to do her job on her own.

Not for the first time that day, or even week, Cloud was debating on simply quitting his job and staying as a guest of the princesses when the door to his office opened. Though he was in no danger of getting fired, the golden pegasus quickly found a piece of paper and held it before his face, as though he had been reading.

“You know, reading is much easier when the paper is the right way around,” called a familiar voice from the doorway with a laugh. The flustered pegasus put down the paper, the right way around, and looked up at his visitor.

“Ah, Rose, how nice of you to drop by,” replied Cloud with a smile. He motioned to a chair on the other side of the desk. “Please, take a seat.”

Rose Petal shook her head. “No time. I have a job to do, out in Dodge Junction.”

The gold pegasus cocked an eyebrow. “That would explain why you’re wearing the cloak, but not why you’re here. It’s been a month, do you still need me to hold your hoof?”

Despite her best efforts, a light blush spread across Rose’s cheeks. “I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t need it. The call is for a trapped spirit. I’ve never handled one of those.”

Cloud was nodding before Rose even finished her sentence. “If you’re asking me to go with you, of course I will. But first, what do you think of my office?” Death looked around the room. Directly opposite the door, where she was still standing, a large window was set into the wall, with a view off of the side of the mountain. Cloud’s desk was set up against the left wall, behind which stretched a number of bookcases, laden with binders of files. A faux plant sat in a vase atop a pedestal. Rose made a note to offer him actual flowers from the shop later.

“This is your actual office then? You didn’t steal it?”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Cloud rolled his eyes. “Yes it’s my office,” he snapped.

“And your job is... what, exactly?” Rose padded over to the corner and poked the vase, never taking her eyes from the pegasus.

“Well, it’s simple.” Silence fell, stretching until Rose softly cleared my throat. Cloud shrugged. “I don’t really know. To be honest, I don’t need it, but I need something to keep going, you know? I spent decades rushing around the world, saving living beings from unbearable pain. You’ll find out one day that going back from that can take some getting used to.”

With a shake of his head, Cloud got to his hooves. “Doesn’t matter. We have a spirit to deal with.” A golden hoof was extended, met shortly after by a white one, and both ponies were whisked away into the cold shroud of Death’s personal transportation method.

*****

The tunnel deposited the duo in the middle of an orchard of trees. Scattered here and there were workers, busy bucking the trees and catching the cherries that fell in wicker baskets. At various points, wagons loaded with filled baskets sat upon small dirt roads. Cloud looked around before turning to his companion and raising an eyebrow. “Where are we?”

“Cherry orchard outside of Dodge Junction,” Rose replied, setting off down one of the roads towards a complex outside the edge of the trees. “I had a call out here, one of the workers had a dead tree fall on them. Firebug, or something like that, Fire-something. Anyway, this isn’t the place, it’s just the closest I could get us. We still need to head due south-west.”

Cloud jogged forward, propelled by a flutter of his wings, trying to catch up to the walking mare. “Anything interesting go on here?”

Rose shrugged. “I heard rumors of a mare that lived in Ponyville coming here for a week or so, but she came back. Other than that and the client, I don’t know anything.”

Before Cloud could respond, one of the workers spotted him. “Ay! Ay, you! What are you doing here?” A rather large blue stallion, baskets strapped to his sides half filled with multicolored cherries stepped from behind a tree.

Rose stepped closer to the golden pegasus. “What can I do?”

“Stay close,” Cloud whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “I’ll try to talk my way out of it, but you may need to do some magical intervention. Just remember, they can’t see you unless you want them to, but they can still run into you.”

Even with the warning, Rose barely managed to jump out of the way before the stallion was upon them. “Mister, this is a restricted area. I’m gonna have to take ya to my boss.”

Cloud stepped back in supplication. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to land here. I was out flying, morning exercise, you know? But my wing cramped up, and I had to land. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be on my way.” The pegasus moved to step past, but the worker quickly moved to block his path, placing a hoof on Cloud’s chest.

“Heya there, Hazy, whatcha up to?” asked one slight little earth pony mare who couldn’t be older than Rose.

“Just somepony I found skulkin’ ‘round by row E, Breeze,” the large stallion, apparently named Hazy, replied. “Just leadin’ him back to Cherry so she could have words with him.” He didn’t wait for a reply, instead pushing past the mare. Rose was barely able to dodge to the side before Breeze begun trotting alongside them.

“Yeah, that’s great, but what about the creepy chick in the cloak?” Cloud’s ears twitched, but other than that, he showed no signs of recognition. Rose, however, felt her blood turn to ice. The cloak was supposed to protect her! It was supposed to protect her identity and even visage from others without her express will.

Hazy seemed almost as confused as Rose. “What mare?” He looked back over his shoulder at the small earth pony. “Are you losin’ it, girl? Reckon you’ve been out in the sun too long.”

“What are you talking about? She’s right here!” Breeze stretched out one light blue hoof and took a swipe at Rose. She ducked, but not quick enough. The hoof reached forward, and arced right through her head. Rose barely managed to withhold a gasp, something Breeze didn’t manage. “W-What?”

Cloud’s escort just rolled his eyes. “Enough, Breeze. Go back to work. Actually, don’t. Go inside, get some water, cool down. Sounds to me like you’ve got a case of heat stroke comin’ on.”

Breeze, however, stayed put, staring at the form of the ethereal Rose. “B-B-B-But, there’s a pony. Right there! She’s right there!” She stood there, repeating the same things over and over until another workpony came over and put a hoof around her withers.

“Breeze, come on, let’s get you inside,” the new stallion said.

“What? N-No, I know there’s somepony there! Look, she’s right there!” Breeze pointed a hoof at Rose again, hobbling along on her other three while the workpony gently pulled her towards the farmhouse. Cloud suppressed a chuckle as he extracted himself from Hazy’s grip, moving in the same direction. The stallion cried out, but followed behind shortly after, though wary for any other tricks. In the back of the line, Rose trotted along silently.

*****

Just inside the front door of the farmhouse, the group split ways. Breeze was led off deeper into the house by her escort, while Cloud was led up the stairs by Hazy, shadowed by Rose Petal. On the landing, the workpony led Cloud into a large office at the back of the house. The gray stallion walked inside after knocking, leading Cloud in. Rose rushed forward to try and slip in before the door was closed, but she was too late. She barely had time to pull back before her muzzle was slammed into the slab of wood.

Out of options but unwilling to leave her friend behind, Rose sat up against the door, careful to not bump into it, and pressed her ear against the crack between it and the doorframe.

There was a pregnant silence after the door closed; eventually broken by a voice with a heavy drawl. “Hazy Hills, who is this?”

“A pegasus I found out by Field Four, ma’am. I thought you might wanna talk to ‘im.”

“Alrighty then. Take a seat mister...”

“Cloud,” Rose’s mentor said. “Dashing Cloud.” There was a faint creak as somepony sat in a chair. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss...”

“Cherry Jubilee,” replied the accented voice.

“Ma’am, not to interrupt,” Hazy said, “but I have two more rows to buck before we close up for the night. If you need somethin’, holler.” Moments later, the thud of hoof on wood warned Rose to duck out of the way as the large stallion pushed the door open. Rose dove forward, managing to only reach in a hoof before the door was shut on it.

“Huh, that’s strange,” Hazy said, looking at the seemingly empty gap in the doorway. He pulled the door back again, pushing hard, slamming the door into Rose’s hoof. She bit on her tongue to hold in a gasp of pain, and quickly pulled her hoof back, resigning herself to listen at the door, and pray Cloud could get free on his own.

“Now then, Mister Cloud,” Cherry Jubilee said inside the room. “Mind tellin’ me what you were doin’ out in my orchards?”

“Of course,” I heard Cloud reply in a calm voice. “As I explained to your...” There was a pause. “Employee, I was simply out for an early morning flight when my wing cramped up and I had to land. ‘Twas only by chance that I landed in your fine orchard. In fact, I was on my way out when I was stopped.”

“Uh-huh. And so you were just passin’ through? Mindin’ your own business?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, I don’t like bein’ lied to, Mister Cloud.” There was a tinge of annoyance to her voice.

“I”m not lying,” came the reply, calm as ever.

“Then why have I never seen your face in town?”

The silence lasted long enough that Rose almost charged in, invisible or not. “I’m a traveler. I was just passing through on my way to visit a friend of mine in Appleloosa.”

There was another lull in the conversation. Rose raised a hoof and gently laid it down on the handle into the room. “An’ you weren’t stealin’?”

Cloud laughed dismissively. “Ma’am, I don’t even have saddlebags on.”

“Fair enough,” came the reply with a lilting laugh. “Go on, then, enjoy your trip. Sorry for the trouble.” Rose had plenty of time to get out of the way before Cloud emerged from the room, followed shortly behind by an older, cream earth pony mare, who Rose assumed to be Cherry Jubilee.

“Thank you, ma’am, you have a nice day,” Cloud offered in farewell before walking back down the hallway to the stairs. Rose followed behind, staying silent until they made it outside of the house, and making sure they weren’t going to be overheard.

“How did that mare see me?” Rose asked as Cloud steered the duo over towards what he assumed to be the exit from the orchard.

“Who, Breeze?” Cloud asked, receiving a nod in answer. “The same way I do. You aren’t invisible, simply unnoticeable, much simpler magic. However, it isn’t as strong. People close to death will always see you, such as your clients and those close to them, though they themselves may be perfectly healthy. Doctors often can as well, as some of them spend a good portion of their lives dealing with dying patients.”

“But what about you? You’ve never had problems seeing me.”

Several responses flew through Cloud’s mind, forcing him to choose the one he thought the least offensive. “I was Death myself, Rose. I think it’s safe to say I’m pretty close to it. But even if I hadn’t, some ponies can just see through the cloak. I wondered about it for years before giving up. Magic works in mysterious ways, and not always correctly, which is why I always tried to stay out of sight, just in case.”

“Makes sense, I guess. We need to get moving, though. I’m starting to get a headache...” Without further preamble or questions, Rose moved off, towards the faint outline of train tracks in the distance.

Slowly, steadily, over the course of half an hour, the two generations of Death made their way to their destination. As they drew closer, what started as a faint wind became something more akin to faint cries of pain. Rose shot a concerned look at her mentor and took off at a full gallop towards the tracks.

“Rose, wait!” Cloud called, but she didn’t listen. Left with no choice, he took off after her. To make matters worse, when she was almost on top of the tracks, Rose collapsed with a cry. Worried, Cloud pumped his wings twice, lifting himself off the ground enough to rocket over next to the body of Rose.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, giving her a once-over for obvious injuries. “Are you hurt?”

“T-That pony... oh, goddess, I know her...” Rose replied, breathless. It was only then that Cloud looked at their client--a young red mare, head topped with a tuft of yellow hair, around Rose’s age--who had obviously been hit by something, though whether by the train itself or just a cart and then moved he didn’t know.

“Rose,” Cloud whispered in her ear, “there’s nothing we can do, it isn’t even her. It’s just her spirit trapped here. She needs your help.”

“I can’t, I can’t,” she whispered softly. Rose crawled forward, gently laying a hoof on the dead pony’s spirit. “I grew up with her, Cloud. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t...”

“But you have to.” The pegasus moved to lay next to her. “She is trapped, Rose, trapped in the moment when she died, and she can’t get out. You have to free her, only you can.” Using his mouth, Cloud gently drew the scythe from Rose’s back and put it within her reach. “Go on, take it. Free your friend.”

Rose reached out with her borrowed magic and took the scythe. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Gently, as though not to disturb the spirit, Rose touched the scythe to the spirit’s chest. The wailing turned back into naught but wind as it drifted off, leaving the distraught Rose and her mentor prone by the train tracks.

*****

Roseluck was working in the backroom of their family’s shop when the bell dinged. The lack of her sister’s usually cheerful greeting brought the mare from the room. Her tail wasn’t even out of the office before something darted from her left and something wrapped around her neck. Roseluck screamed and scrambled backwards.

“Mom, calm down,” Rose Petal said, causing the older mare to stop in her tracks.

“Rosey?” Roseluck looked over, only now realizing that the perceived attack was nothing more than a hug.

“Mom, do you remember the filly I used to play with? Red coat, yellow mane...” Rose asked frantically, pulling back from the hug.

Roseluck nodded. “Yeah, what was her name... Chrysanthemum?”

Rose Petal nodded vigorously. “Yeah. She moved, right?” Roseluck nodded. “Where did she move out to?”

“Uh, Dodge Junction, I think. They went to take care of their cousin, Breeze...? Yeah, Breeze,” came the reply. “Why?” Instead of a response, she got another hug, this time with the added bonus of tears.

Confused, Roseluck looked over at her sister. Lily shook her head and mouthed, ‘work.’

“Oh, Rosey...” Rose’s mother returned the hug, joined soon after by Lily Valley. “It’s going to be okay,” Roseluck whispered, echoed by her sister. “It’s going to be okay...”

Author's Notes:

I was going to put an author's note, but to be honest, I don't have anything to say. Ciao.

The Mask of Death

The Mask of Death

“So, how long do you think you’re going to stay?” Roseluck sat in the flower shop’s office, her daughter just across the desk, sitting on the lunch couch.

“I don’t know.” The Death cloak had made its appearance, draping itself over the back of the couch where Rose sat. The scythe, on the other hoof, was still absent. “Just... staying in that castle is so lonely, you know? The only real friends I have there are Cloud and Luna. Obviously, they can’t exactly come out to lunch with me, and on top of that, I don’t think the guards trust me at all. If my job wasn’t so important, I don’t even think they’d tolerate me.”

“Well, you’re always welcome here.” Roseluck walked around the desk and gave her daughter a half hug. “You’re family, and while I don’t like your job, I won’t turn you away.”

“Wait, what about Chrome Sky?”

“Your roommate? I think she got a new housemate.” Rose’s ears drooped, drawing her mother’s mouth into a frown. “I know, hun, but you kind of disappeared for months, and you two could barely afford that loft. There was no way she could pay rent herself.”

Rose didn’t reply, so Roseluck continued. “Anyway, I need to get back out there, it’s almost time for Daisy to leave, so I need to cover until close. I turned your room into a guest room back home, but we can change it back if you’re planning on staying.”

“Alright, I guess I’ll head home. See you after closing.”

“Need a key?” Roseluck asked, opening the door to the shop proper.

“Nah.” Rose quickly dawned the Death cloak, flashing her mom a grin that wasn’t hers. “I’ve got a universal key.”

*****

Inside Rose’s foalhood home, not much had changed. The front door still stuck, the table in the front room still creaked if you put too much weight on one corner, and the sink was still backwards--the cold tap gave hot water, and vice versa. However, not all was the same.

For instance, Roseluck had moved her secret candy stash and now Rose had no idea where it was. But, more importantly, the room she had called her own for years was nothing like she had left it. The walls were covered in a new wallpaper, covering the bare walls she had taken to writing on for around a year. All of the posters that had adorned the walls were gone, and even the bedspread was different.

With a sigh and a flick of her neck, Rose tossed the Death cloak onto the bed. She then moved over to a bench her mother had placed in front of the window, replacing the mountain of pillows Rose herself had preferred. She gazed out of the window, at the streets of the town she used to call home. Ponies passed below, not knowing they were being watched. Rose could still pick out most of them by name, and the rest by occupation and memory, even if a name didn’t attach to the face.

How long Rose spent simply ponywatching, she didn’t know, but it only seemed like a few minutes before the front door creaked open. “Rosey? I’m home,” her mother called from downstairs. “Rose?”

“I’m in my room,” she replied, not turning from the window. The creak of wood gave Roseluck’s position away as she stepped through the door. “I’m not liking what you did with the place,” Rose said, turning to face her mother. “I miss my wall scribblings.”

Roseluck smiled. “Yes, well I didn’t think that guests would like it that much.” A silence settled over the duo, not exactly uncomfortable, but not wanted either. “Listen, about your friend...”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” came the soft reply. Rose turned away, unwilling to look out the window any longer.

“Rose, it’s been two weeks.”

The white pony swallowed hard. “I know.” Just as Roseluck was about to reply, her daughter felt a tug in the back of her mind. “I’ve got a client.”

Roseluck’s ear twitched. “Rose, we need to talk.”

“Later,” Rose replied, donning the Death cloak. “We’ll talk later.”

“No, we need to now.” But it was too late. Before she even finished her sentence, Rose had touched a wall, and was gone.

*****

The portal deposited Rose just outside of her house, out of view of the window. The Instinct told her the client was nearby, so she had decided to simply walk instead. It was a simple matter to jump to the outside of the house, then merge into the crowds of the town she used to--and hoped to still--call home.

She walked from the place she now called home, past the 4 house tenement where she used to live with her roommate, past the home where Chrysanthemum used to live before moving. Through the town center she walked, past the fountain and busy market, careful to stick to the fringes and avoid contact with anypony. Leaving the open market behind, Rose passed the Golden Oaks Library and various permanent shops on her way out of town.

Outside of town, Rose set off following her Instinct, which currently had her along a well-traveled dirt road that she, and almost everypony in the whole town, knew. It was the road to Sweet Apple Acres, the road that was consistently crowded with ponies during Cider Season.

The Instinct didn’t tell Rose who she was going for, so she wondered to herself to the background noise of her hooves on the dirt. It was a short-lived musing, for it could really be any of them. The most likely client would be old Granny Smith, Rose thought. But it could just as easily have been that a tree fell on Big Macintosh, or Applejack, too. For that matter, it could be Apple Bloom, or one of her friends, caught in one of their crazy stunts gone wrong.

Rose’s ponderings ended long before her destination came into focus. She hoped, for the smallest of seconds, that the orchard wasn’t her destination, that it was further beyond, but her hopes were dashed when a scream echoed across the treetops. Rose shook her head and took off into the farmyard, towards the dying scream.

It was a short gallop, with a couple misdirections--echoes aren’t known to be the best signals--but eventually, Rose found herself in a clearing, deep within Sweet Apple Acres. She looked both left and right, ensuring she was alone before moving to the lone treehouse sitting in the distance. After climbing up the ramp and peeking through a crack in the door, Rose stepped inside.

The treehouse was obviously the hangout of fillies. The inside was bare wood, though drawn hearts hung in a banner across the far wall and two pictures of a flying cyan pegasus hung around the room. Directly to the left of the door was a window, curtained with floral print. Straight across, under the banner of hearts, sat a small table, filled to the edge with vials of various bubbling liquids. Probably not chemicals, hopefully not chemicals, but whatever it was, it had exploded, and the result was plastered all over the walls, the window, and the little yellow filly lying in the middle of the room. It lent the room an acrid stench, and the smell of burning fur.

As one, three ponies standing over the prone body in the middle of the room turned and looked over at the cloaked pony who just entered. “Who are you,” asked the eldest of them all, the orange mare called Applejack. “What are you doin’ here?”

“I am Death,” Rose replied. “I have come to ease the suffering of--”

“No!” Applejack sprung forward and went to knock Rose straight out of the door, though her hooves went straight through, causing her to coil backwards. “You... you can’t have her!” Her voice was loud, but it was all bravado. They both knew that Applejack couldn’t do anything to Rose.

“Just let me do my job. It will ease her pain.” Not waiting for the response, Rose reached over her back and drew the scythe.

“No, please, you can’t.” The farmpony was begging now, the two other fillies looking at both mares with wide eyes and frightened glances. “Please, mah family has lost so much already. We can’t... Ah can’t take losin’ Apple Bloom too.”

Rose’s gaze flicked down to the two small fillies, one openly crying, the other trying very hard to make it appear like it wasn’t, then over to the window, which the shade had turned into a light mirror. She instinctively flinched at the aged, intense face staring back at her, a face that brought her back to the night before she became Death, when she had been attacked. Sunken eyes over a sharp muzzle stared back at Rose, and she had to resist the impulse to touch a hoof to her face just to remind herself it was nothing but an illusion.

Is this what I am? Just the latest in a line of ponies who do nothing but mindlessly kill? Whether it was real or not, Rose didn’t know, but the face staring at her in the window was grinning, almost revealing in it all. Repulsed, Rose flung the guise of Mortis away with a thought, to the audible surprise of everypony in the room.

“Who... who are you?” Applejack asked, moving closer to her fallen sister.

“I am Rose Petal. Listen, I know it’s going to be hard to hear, but... it’s Apple Bloom’s time. That’s why I’m here.” Applejack shook her head almost violently, stepping between her and the filly. “Listen to me. She’s in pain, and it’s my job to stop that. Let me do my job, and she will have peace.”

“No!”

“I know it’s hard to hear, but look at her.” As though to prove her point, Apple Bloom moaned. “I can relieve her from that pain.”

The farmpony stared down at her sister, allowing enough of a pause for Sweetie Belle to sidle up to the cloaked pony. “What’s going to happen to Apple Bloom?” she asked. Rose looked down at the small filly, and even Applejack shot her a glance.

“Well, my job is to, uh, free her, so to speak.”

“So she would be better?” the filly squeaked hopefully.

“Sort of...” Rose scratched the back of her head. “Look, I won’t lie, Apple Bloom is really hurt. She’s dying, and that’s why I’m here. It’s not her time, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m supposed to take her soul so it can be reborn.”

“B-But she’s our friend!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“She’s a crusader!” Scootaloo added from the side.

“Yeah, she’s a crusader!” the other filly agreed. “You can’t take her!”

“Please...” Applejack butted in, moving to stand next to Sweetie Belle. “Isn’t there anythin’ you can do...?”

“M-My job is to--”

“To take her soul, yeah, Ah got that bit. But can you help?”

All eyes were on Rose, pleading, begging her to leave, or even better, pitch in and help. She looked over the wall before her, to the yellow filly lying on the ground. One slow blink later, and her colors had shifted. The yellow became her mane, red her coat, and she was lying at the bottom of a hill, bleeding into the dry ground.

“Rose,” she whispered in a voice that tugged at the strings of her memories. “Look out for the rocks, right?”

“Don’t talk like that,” replied a young Rose almost in tears, void of both cloak and cutie mark. “Help! I need help!” She fell to her knees, frantically wiping the blood from her friend’s coat. “Come on, Chrissy, don’t do this.” Rose looked up to the top of the hill. Gently taking hold of her friend, she began the slow climb to the top. “I need help!”

“Rose, just leave me here, get help...”

“No! I’m not leaving you here. Help!”

The white pony shook her head, causing the hood of her cloak to slip down past her ears. “I... I can help.” To emphasize her point, Rose replaced the scythe on her back. “But if we’re going to get her to a hospital, I’m going to need some supplies.”

The farmpony paused for a second. “Alrigh’, fine, but no funny business. What’dya need?”

“Uhhh,” Rose spun a hoof in circles in the air, mirroring her spinning thoughts. “We’ll need a cart, to get her to the hospital. A towel or something to wipe off what’s left on her, and some water for her to drink probably wouldn’t hurt.”

“Jus’... jus’ stay right here. I’ll be right back. Don’t hurt her!” Applejack charged out of the door, galloping down the ramp before taking off towards the farmhouse as fast as she could.

Sweetie Belle sidled slowly up to the cloaked pony crouched over Apple Bloom. When she didn’t notice, Sweetie gently tugged on her cloak. With a shake of her head, Rose knocked the hood off of her head and looked down at the filly. “Yes?”

“So... is Apple Bloom going to be okay...?”

For what felt like the first time that day, Rose smiled. “Yeah, I think she’ll be fine.” Just then, a creaking sound filtered through the door, still standing ajar, followed quickly after by the clop of hooves on wood.

“Ah’ve got the cart, the other stuff’s inside it,” said a breathless Applejack.

“Alright, help me get her to the cart,” replied Rose.

“Move.” As soon as the other mare stepped aside, Applejack moved to Apple Bloom’s side and gently picked up and placed the filly on her back. “Go on home,” she said to the fillies. “Ah’ll tell ya when AB is safe, alright?” The two fillies gave their grudging consent, so the two mares carried Apple Bloom outside, and placed her in the cart.

Rose wiped down what burns she could see on Apple Bloom and made her drink some water. “I’m going ahead to the hospital, to alert the burn unit. Can you handle the cart yourself?” She stepped around to the front of the cart and looked at Applejack.

“Yeah, Ah can manage, but how are you goin’ ta get down there faster than me?” the orange mare replied, moving to the center of the cart’s harness.

“Trade secret,” Rose replied with a wink before slipping into the transport of Death. The tunnel dropped her off outside of Ponyville General Hospital. She rushed inside, projecting the influence of her office before her. Several screams accompanied the click of the door closing behind her. “Burns.” Rose said to the quivering nurse behind the front desk. “Alert your burn unit, there’s a filly coming in here and she’s hurt bad.”

“I-I what? W... What?” the poor nurse spluttered, “I don’t understand.”

“Listen to me!” Rose roared, pushing the full force of Death right onto the poor mare. “A filly, Apple Bloom, burned herself, possibly with boiling liquids or chemicals. Alert your burn unit so you can treat her.”

“O-Of course,” the nurse replied, “but where is she?”

“Ah need help!” Applejack shouted, bursting through the doors with Apple Bloom across her back. “Mah sister, she’s hurt bad!”

The nurse cast a questioning glance at Rose, who nodded. “Of course,” the nurse said to Applejack before turning her head to face down the hallway. “I need a doctor!” the nurse shouted, moving back around the desk to take a closer look at Apple Bloom. Two doctors pushing a gurney quickly arrived and loaded the filly before taking off down the hallway they came from.

“Is... is she gonna be alright?” Applejack asked the nurse.

“Fortunately, yes,” replied the other pony with a smile. “I have seen ponies with worse burns walk away. It might hurt for awhile, but she will be fine.”

Applejack stumbled and fell into a chair, hooves unable to support her. “Thank you,” she said, turning to look past the nurse. “Huh?”

The nurse cocked her head. “What?”

“Did you see a pony in here? Black cloak, scythe across her back?”

“Yeah, she’s right...” the nurse looked back over her shoulder, and gasped. “Where’d she go?”

*****

“Mom!” Rose charged into the house, head on a swivel. “Mom, are you home?”

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Roseluck poked her head from around the door to the kitchen.

“Nopony has to die, mom,” Rose replied, not slowing down in the slightest before charging into Roseluck for a bone-crushing hug. “Nopony has to die...”

“Oww, Rosie, calm down, and what are you talking about?”

“A filly, Apple Bloom, the pony I just had to take as a client.” Her mother gasped, but Rose carried on regardless. “I didn’t take her, mom. I saved her. I saved her!

“Nopony has to die, not if I can help them.”

Author's Notes:

This chapter was.... interesting to write. The part with the treehouse took three tries to get serviceable, and even more tweaks to get it right. I hope it worked out alright, but there it is, don't want to mess with it unless it's really bad. Alright, I'm out of stuff to say here, might actually even start leaving them blank unless there's something to say. Don't worry, though, there will be an extended author's notes at the end of the final chapter, like always.

Consequences

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.

Author's Notes:

I noticed while writing this that this story is almost a literary time capsule. You can go back to the first chapter, and read how much my writing style has changed--and in my opinion--improved since I started it. It seems more pronounced in this fic than in The Last Hope of a Fallen Nation, at least I think so. Whether that is good or not, we'll see. Personally, I just think I'm better with the first person. Anyway, just an observation, I don't plan on rewriting this. While the old chapters aren't quite up to snuff with the new ones, it's not that big of a deal. Onward and forward. Allons-y.

-thehalfelf

Intervention

Intervention

The dirty, infested backstreets of Las Pegasus, almost a second home to Rose after becoming Death. She trotted along, gazing up at the glittering, neon signs of the various establishments for a bit before turning down an alley.

It was like someone had thrown a switch. Gone were the well-lit, populated streets, instead replaced by dingy, splotched gray pavement that almost screamed decay. Scrunching her nose in a vain attempt to ward off the oncoming odors, Rose continued into the backend of the city, cloak pulled tight.

It was a path Rose had walked before, though only for work. The next “tier,” so to speak, of buildings were those the city council would like to keep out of the tourist eye. Bars, nightclubs, and rundown motels made up the bulk of the buildings. Rundown exteriors hid a fifty-fifty chance of a ritzy, or equally rundown, interiors. Rose didn’t know, none of her jobs had sent her there. Yet.

Further into the darker side of the city Rose went. The wave of dull buildings broke again, interrupted by another glitter and light-filled street, lined with buildings sporting flashing signs and large advertisements. Ponies in casual suits and tight dresses trotted back and forth, voices combining to a pleasant buzz of unfollowable conversation.

As much as she wished, this was still not her destination, and Rose once again crossed the street and plunged into the dark underbelly of civilization. This was as place that she was familiar with. Down the alley, right before emerging into the next street sat an empty lot. Recent rains had turned the dirt lot into a veritable lake of black mud, polluted by Celestia only knows what. In the middle of it all sat a rundown house. Moving around a chunk of roof that had fallen off, Rose slowly walked over the mud and entered the hovel.

Inside the door, a ring of ponies sat, staring glassy-eyed at each other. A heavy, musty odor hung in the air, along with a faint trace of sulfur. All of them had rather slumped posture and slack jaws, but one in particular stood out. It was a young mare resting against a couch with two others. She was small, lithe, and at one time, likely beautiful, but whatever they had been doing had stripped it from her. She was collapsed against the arm of the couch, barrel barely fluttering, in sync with her crust-rimmed eyelids.

Rose grasped the scythe in a wavering field of magic and drew it from her back. Stepping carefully to avoid the zonked ponies, she made her way over to the dying mare. Rose sighed and shook her head, checking for vital signs that barely registered. Hardly younger than me, but she must’ve been hooked for a long time to overdose like this... Guess it’s too late for this one. The scythe slid through the air, coming to rest against the target a little harder than normal. The mare grunted, a brief look of pain flitting across her face before her husk of a body crumpled to the floor. Job finished, Rose stumbled into a wall, whisking herself from the room.

One of the stallions slowly lolled his head up. “Didja hear somethin’?”

Another cocked open one eye. “Nah, man. Jus’ the wind.”

*****

Something seemed off to Rose as she left the transport of Death. She meant to return directly in her room, her bed, preferably, but she had to have missed. Last time she checked, her room was not wallpapered, and it wasn’t as long, and much wider, and there was one door and one window, not five doors and no windows. Confused, Rose plonked down on her haunches, staring with knitted eyebrows at a single door.

Roused from her sleep by a loud thunk, Roseluck slowly opened her door, poking her muzzle out into the hall. “Rosie? What are you doing?”

“Tryn’a find my bed...” Rose mumbled in reply, resting her head against the wall. “‘S gone...”

“Well, that’s because you’re in the hallway, hon. Come on.” Roseluck walked to her daughter and helped her to her hooves. “Honestly, Rosie, I’m starting to worry about you.” Roseluck grunted at the effort needed to drag a semi-somulant Rose Petal into her room. “You’re always out working. You need a break, hun, or you’re going to run yourself into”--she looked at the form of her daughter lying on the bed, trying as hard as she could to listen to her mother before passing out--”further into the ground.”

“I gotta save them, mom. Nopony else can...” Rose mumbled, burrowing into her pillows. “They shouldn’ have t’ die if I can help them...”

Roseluck sat on the bed next to Rose and stroked her mane. “I know, and I know you feel bad because you couldn’t save Cloud.” The white mare winced. “It’s not your fault, hun, he even said so.”

“But if I can’t protect strangers, how can I hope to protect you and your sisters?” Rose’s eyes shot open, and she covered her muzzle with her forehooves.

“Protect us? From what?” Roseluck’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Are you not telling me something?”

“N-No, don’t worry about it. I’m going to sleep now.” A frown creased Rose’s mother’s face. “Uh, I mean, I’ll take care of it.” Eyebrows knitted together. “It’s nothing, really. I promise.” Forehooves crossed. “Huh, what? Oh, was I... sleeptalking? Yeah, sleeptalking. Sorry.”

“Rose...” Roseluck’s voice carried a hint of warning; a bit of mother magic.

Rose Petal spluttered, tongue tripping over words in a futile attempt to evade the impending interrogation. At long last, and after several sweltering minutes under her mother’s glare, she relented. “Alright, fine. I didn’t want to tell you, because I knew you would worry, but... stop staring at me like that!”

Roseluck blinked and ducked her head, hiding a smile. “Sorry.”

“Last month, in the garden with Mortis, after he...” She swallowed hard. “After he killed Cloud, Mortis threatened me again, but he said that if I don’t cooperate with whatever he wants next time, he would go after you.” Roseluck gasped, eyes flying wide open. “See? I knew if I told you, you would worry.”

“Yeah, I’m going to worry! He is a ghost, right? You’re Death, can’t you do something?”

Rose shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that... I think, anyway. Even if I could do something to him, I have to find him, and I don’t know how.”

“Talk to Princess Luna then.” Rose opened her mouth to argue, but found it stuffed with hoof. “Listen to me. You need help, but more importantly, you need a vacation. You’re wearing yourself to the bone, hun. You’re always gone, always working, always out trying to save lives, and I’m proud of your for that, Rosie, I really am.

“But this...” She waved a hoof at the unkempt room, “isn’t you. You never would have let your room get this dirty, but you’re too busy working. I know you won’t drop dead of exhaustion, because you can’t, but it can’t be healthy in the long run. You need a break, need to let your mind rest and heal. The girls and I are going on vacation to Neighagra Falls. It would mean alot to me if you came.”

“I can’t just drop everything for a weekend, mom. Ponies need me, and it doesn’t feel right to put them off like that, just for my own personal amusement.” Rose Petal pointed a hoof to the scythe, resting on the neatly folded Death cloak on a chair. “You used to get onto me about being responsible, well, now I’m responsible for ponies I’ve never met, and hopefully never will, because anypony, and eventually everypony, will be serviced by Death. If I can put that off for a day, a week, a year, it’s worth it.”

“Please, just talk to Luna for me, Rose. She has been the superior of the office for a long time, maybe she can tell you how to do your job without doing yourself in.” Roseluck looked down to the other mare with pleading eyes.

“Alright,” Rose sighed. “I’ll talk to her.” She made to get up, but Roseluck pushed her back down.

“Sleep, first, hun. Talk to her when you wake up.” Roseluck kissed the top of Rose’s head. “There, you found your bed, now use it. See you in the morning.”

Rose watched her mother leave with half-open eyes. The second the latch clicked shut, she was up on wobbly hooves. The Instinct was pulling in the back of her mind once again, and even though her body cried for rest, her mind was sharp and clear(ish). With the cloak and scythe nestled firmly on her back, Rose set off once again.

As Rose faded away into nothing, the lock on her bedroom door blinked and sighed. “Guess I have to take matters into my own hooves anyway...”

*****

Rose found herself in the slums of Canterlot, a place considered to be middle class by most standards. Suburban hell is more like it, Rose thought to herself, looking down the dual rows of houses, all exactly alike, save for small changes to the plants, or some other miniscule detail. She gazed down the endless blocks carved into the mountain and sighed.

If it wasn't for the incessant tug of the Instinct, Rose wasn’t sure it would be possible to navigate the maze of houses, let alone find a single pony. Thankfully, she had her guide, and happily followed it through the streets towards a denser, more commercial part of the town.

Gradually, the identical houses began to change, becoming more blocky, more expressionless. At long last, they completed their transformation into compact offices and storefronts as Rose took her first few steps into one of Canterlot’s many shopping districts.

The eerie calm of the streets shattered as ponies, dressed in their finest saddlebags, filled the void between buildings. Groups of ponies beget conversation, and Rose soon found herself lost in a blanket of overlapping, garbled conversation. And still the Instinct pulled her on, towards a rather large building further down the street.

At the entrance, a confused doormare saw her charge open itself for a moment, before coming back to rest silently on its’ gilded catch. An equally confused desk attendant saw the elevator doors across the hallway move, before the lift itself took off empty, stopping briefly at every single floor.

Stupid elevators, Rose thought to herself. The Instinct, it would seem, had yet to catch up with modern times; when a client was up in a building, it couldn’t tell which floor. She had to stop at every single one, and wait a moment to ensure that the pony in need was not there before moving up. It was a slow and painstaking process, made even worse when she wasn’t the only pony in the elevator.

Near the top of the building, the Instinct called her forward. Careful not to get the hairs of her tail stuck in the closing door, Rose stepped out into the richly decorated hallway. It was unsettlingly like the streets below in that the doors in the walls always had an opposite in the other, and the decor was perfectly mirrored on both sides, vase for vase, plant for plant. Questioning the area’s need for excessive symmetry, Rose trotted quickly down the hallway, eager to help her client, and get back to sleep.

“My, my, we are in a hurry now, aren’t we?”

The voice froze Rose with an equal amount fear and anger. “Why are you here? Haven’t you caused enough trouble?” she spat. “In fact, why don’t you just show yourself so we can settle this, once and for all.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” the deep voice whispered in Rose’s ear. The mare jumped back, rump hitting one of the uncountable decorative vases. Mortis chuckled at her frantic attempts to keep it from falling over. “Now I understand why Cloud liked you so much. You’re entertaining.”

“W-What’s that supposed to mean?” Rose spluttered, words tripping over the implications before her mind righted itself and flooded with anger. “Don’t talk about Cloud! You lost that right when you killed him!”

“And such fire, too.” Mortis shook his head. “I don’t suppose you’re willing to give me the Office now, are you?”

“Not the Office, but I’ll give you my scythe!” Rose lunged forward, swinging her instrument of office at the still chuckling ghost.

Mortis laughed as the scythe flew through him and embedded into the wall. “That’s cute. Really, it is. But you seem to be forgetting something,” he said, turning towards the window. Rose followed his gaze and watched, first with curiosity, then in horror.

It started with a single strand of rope, almost lazily drifting past. Rose stared on, confused, as one rope became two, then three, then four. Slowly, it dawned upon her, and she rushed to the window at the far end of the hallway, but it was too late. It started with a stream of water, falling from the heavens, and then a bucket. Following, as though trying to save the bucket and ropes, fell a slate-gray earth pony stallion, hooves flailing as though he could gift himself flight in mid-air.

“No!” Rose shouted. She reached out with her borrowed magic, battering it against the window until it exploded in a shower of prismatic shards. The stallion was falling too fast to catch on her own, so Rose did the next best thing. Pooling her energy both around the falling pony, and on the ground where he was likely to land at the same time, she managed to slow him down, just enough, so that he wouldn’t become a red splatter on the impeccable pavement below.

With her head out the shattered window, Rose watched with held breath. Her client had slowed in his descent, and though the instant drain on her focus when he hit the ground was substantial, it seemed to have worked. A crowd formed quickly, just making it easier to spot the royal guard pushing through in their brilliant golden armor. One knelt down next to the stallion while the other attempted to shoo off the bystanders. A few tense moments later, the stallion slowly got to his hooves, accepting the shoulder of a guard to be escorted to a hospital for a proper examination.

“Do you realize how difficult that was to set up?” The voice of Mortis caused Rose to turn around, to see the spirit sitting on his haunches, pouting. “Apparently, they use rather strong ropes with window washers, especially those that aren’t pegasi.”

“You... you did this?!” Rose asked, mouth wide open in shock. “How many have you killed? I know you did Cloud, how many other lives have you ruined? Wha-- How-- Wh... Why?” she finally spluttered, the uncounted questions trying to force their way out finally jamming together in Rose’s mouth.

“Really? You still don’t... Oh, this is just perfect!” The permanent smirk on Mortis’ face morphed into a full-fledged evil grin. “Maybe you’ll find out, in time, but not from me, I have more mayhem to stir up. I hope you don’t miss your bed too much.” Before Rose could reply, he faded from sight, leaving the hallway silent, save the whistling of the wind through the broken glass.

As promised, almost immediately after, the Instinct again pulled at Rose. Client or sleep? Stupid Mortis, I can’t believe he thinks pressure alone will make me give up. If anything, it just makes me want to dig in and fight harder. One of these days, I’ll get him. Rose sighed and flipped her hood up, moving to touch the wall and fade away. Before she could, however, a scroll flopped off of her head and landed on the ground in front her.

Picking up the tightly-rolled paper with her magic, Rose carefully peeled off the seal and let it unravel. It was short, as scrolls go, but very official looking. At top center rested an insignia that she had never seen before. Even more puzzling, it seemed to shift the longer she looked at it, making it nigh impossible to decipher. Pushing aside her many questions, such as how it ended up in her hood, Rose began reading.

Rose Petal, current holder of the Office of Death

Your presence is requested in the chambers of Princess Luna immediately. Ignore all other duties until instructed otherwise. Failure to respond will result in immediate removal from office, and withdrawal of all support of the Royal Sisters and Equestrian Government.

Divine Sight,
Office of Fate.

Author's Notes:

Eh, I'm really not super hyped about this chapter, but it kinda had to happen. there was really no other way to get where I want to without this or a massive, confusing jump. Still, hope it entertained. As an aside, Mortis' voice is now exactly like the Cheshire Cat's voice from Alice: Madness Returns. I can't seem to shake this mindset...

Those quotes are pretty funny out of context, actually...

Fate

Fate

Princess Luna

I am not entirely sure if you are the right pony to write to, or even if this will come to any sort of fruition, but I’m at a loss here. My daughter, Rose Petal, who currently holds the office of Death, has been working constantly. This normally wouldn’t bother me, especially considering she can’t drop dead of exhaustion because of of her job, but I’m growing more and more concerned.

It all started with a job, a spirit that turned out to be one of her foalhood friends. She started withdrawing from me then, but it got much, much worse when Dashing Cloud, her mentor, was killed. I am trying to help her the best I can, but I’m not entirely sure it is working. Right now, I’m trying to get her to come with us on a family trip, but she refuses to abandon her clients. Perhaps I could handle this better, but I’m out of options, Princess.

All I ask, is that the next time you see her, that you talk to her for me. Even if you know little about her job and what it entails, you know more than I, and that little bit might just be enough to help. Maybe she just needs somepony to talk to, and, as ashamed as I am to admit it, we aren’t exactly as close as we used to be, and I don’t think she is comfortable talking to me about some things.

Thank you, princess, and I hope you have a wonderful night.

Roseluck

Blue magic faded from the scroll, dropping it onto a stack of other open and half rolled letters. Princess Luna sighed and looked over towards a book on a pedestal, glowing softly in a corner. “You don’t happen to know anything about this, do you?”

The book lost its’ glow for a moment before flipping open on its own. The glow intensified rapidly before returning to normal. Deaths are increasing. The office is being called on more frequently, the page read.

Luna nodded. “Sounds like I will need to contact Rose Petal and have her come speak with us in the castle. It appears that Dashing Cloud never completed Rose’s training into the office, and she is ignorant on how to suspend clients. I... am not sure if I can help, either, but perhaps we can work it out, the three of us.” She turned back to an alarmingly large pile of unread mail on her desk, but a flash of light in the corner of her eye caused her to turn back to the book. “Yes?”

There is no need to call in Rose Petal, the book read, she is already on her way. Luna cocked an eyebrow and glanced over to the door, just as a knock echoed beyond it.

”Your Majesty, Rose Petal to see you,” the voice of a guard on the other side called.

Luna took a moment to take a seat and make herself comfortable before responding. “Enter.”

The door creaked open, and around popped the hooded face of Rose Petal. “H-Hey, Luna. I wasn’t interrupting something, was I?”

“Neigh.” Luna waved a hoof, motioning for Rose to take a seat. She did, and flipped back the hood of her cloak. “In fact, I was just about to call for you. Your mother saw fit to send a letter--”

Rose Petal groaned. “I’m sorry she bothered you. Mom’s worried, thinks I’m working too much.”

“And are you?”

“I...” Rose started. “Maybe... Maybe I am... This job just hit me really hard, you know? First Chrysanthemum, then Cloud. I know that I can’t bring them back, but for some reason, I didn’t have to... to worry while I was working.”

Luna nodded. “So your mother’s concern that Cloud’s death may have affected you more than you let on has some truth behind it?”

Rose’s ears drooped. “He died in front of me, was killed... in front of me, and I couldn’t help him.”

The princess got up and walked slowly over and placed a reassuring hoof on Rose’s back. She stiffened at first, but was soon relaxed into the embrace. “Do you know who did it?” Luna asked softly.

Words did not come easily, so after a few moments of working her mouth, Rose settled for nodding.

“If you tell me who it was, I can inform the guard and he will be arrested and put on trial. Cloud was an important, well known and well liked pony in the castle, and I do not think his murderer will go unpunished.”

Rose choked out a weak laugh. “I know, but I think he might be a little bit out of your reach.”

Drawing her head back, Luna snorted in disbelief. “Everypony in Equestria is part of my jurisdiction. Nopony is above the law here, not even Sister or myself. Just give me a name. Perhaps confronting the source of your trouble will help you overcome it.”

“Morits.”

Luna withdrew her hoof. “Rose, if you are trying to joke with me, this is not the way to go about it.” Her look of irritation slowly morphed to one of concern. “You are not joking.”

“Ever since you pulled him off of me before I assumed office, he has been causing problems. He wants the office back, for whatever reason. I just know he isn’t going to get it.”

The lunar princess shuffled her wings. “If I may ask, since spirits lie firmly within your power, why have you not simply banished him?”

“Trust me, I would love to, but I think there must be some trick to it. I never had to banish a malicious spirit while Cloud was here, only trapped souls. Right before I came here, I was working a job and he showed up. I tried to slice him with my scythe, but it didn’t work, and I don’t know why. He just laughed at me.”

“Well, that settles it, I think,” a silky, feminine voice cut through the air. Both Rose and Luna looked up just as pure white light filled the chamber, radiating outward from a book in the corner. The earth pony blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to banish the spots that covered her vision. Standing in front of the now empty pedestal stood a sandy colored earth pony with a cotton white mane. A soft glow seemed to radiate from her coat, but Rose wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t simply something burned into her eyes from the flash of light earlier.

“Who is that?” Rose whispered into the princess’ ear.

“I am Divine Sight, the officeholder of Fate,” the mare said. “Your Majesty,” she said, turning to Luna with a slight curtsy.

“You have not felt the need to show yourself for some time,” Luna replied. “Many who know of the Mostly-Immortal ponies believe you are no longer actually a pony.”

Rose closed her mouth, question answered before she could ask.

Divine Sight laughed, an airy, lilting sound that did little to hide the contempt underneath. “I have been perfectly able to perform my duties without need of a physical form for several centuries.”

“Then why do it now?” Rose asked. Divine Sight turned to look at her, one ear twitching in annoyance.

“You are Rose Petal, officeholder of Death, yes?” the glowing mare asked.

“For a couple of months now, yeah.”

“But for no longer. I’m afraid I must issue a removal from office.”

“What!?” Rose looked up to Luna. “She... she can’t do that, can she?”

“On what grounds do you dismiss her?” Luna asked, using centuries of holding courts with crafty nobles to lend command to her voice.

“For neglect of duties. Of her last fifteen jobs, only three souls have been returned to Eternity.”

“Rose Petal! We gave you this job on the assumption you would just do it, not wave off your responsibilities!” Luna roared, turning on the small mare.

Rose dove down to the floor, cowering under the fury of the lunar alicorn.- “I-I-I only had to kill three, the rest I saved, I swear!”

As quick as Luna’s anger flared, it subsided. With Rose’s explanation still lingering in the air, she turned back to Fate. “I see no problem here. If I recall, the job of Death is to collect souls you did not schedule to kill, yet died anyway. If their souls were not meant to go to Eternity, what is the harm in saving lives that were never meant to be lost?”

“It upsets the balance of life and death. Those souls were never meant to die, so once returned to Eternity, they can be reborn in other creatures, and thus preserve life on this planet. If Rose keeps saving those she can, rebirth may slow, or even come to a halt,” Divine Sight recited.

“That is preposterous,” Luna accused, briefly flaring her wings. “Even with the increased birth rates Equestria now boasts, it is not feasibly possible for birth to halt altogether if souls, that were never meant to be available in the first rate, stopped going to Eternity. I cannot allow this, Divine Sight. Please, either return to your duties, or vacate your office. I must talk to Rose.”

“I am sorry, Your Majesty, but you have no say in the matter.”

Luna narrowed her eyes, flaring her wings out, careful to avoid the still shell-shocked Rose. “I am the Princess of the Night, with direct oversight of the Mostly-Immortal Offices. It is you who does not have any say in the matter. Return to your duties, immediately.”

Instead of returning to the book, as Luna expected, Divine Sight just shook her head. “With all due respect, you do not have oversight--only authority if unopposed. If you recall, the Offices were created to work alongside you and your sister, and help manage the internal workings of the world. We are more colleagues than employees, and as such, the only pony with the authority to override mine is another Immortal. Rose has not passed beyond her trial, therefore her vote is not counted. Therefore, unless you can summon Space to vote, I am unopposed. Rose loses office.”

A book, held in a sandy aura that Rose recognized as the same as Divine Sight’s--obviously, the aura of the office--floated from a bookshelf towards the princess, opening to a specific page. “If you do not believe me, it is all written right here. It also may not hurt to look up exactly what your role in our proceedings entails,” she said. While Luna looked at the book, she turned to Rose. “I must ask you return your cloak and scythe for your successor.”

Rose bundled up the parts of the cloak she could reach and cuddled to her chest. “N-No! It’s my office, you can’t take it!” she cried out.

Divine Sight gave the younger mare a deadpan stare. With a nod of her head, the Death cloak and scythe disappeared off Rose. “Thank you for your service,” she said in an unamused voice, before winking out in a flash of light.

Rose blinked, staring at the book that just took her job from her. “She... And I... and...” She sunk down to the floor, burying her face in her forehooves. A familiar hoof slowly rested across her back.

“She is correct, Rose. I am powerless within this, but I will speak to her, and Tia as well. Even if we cannot get you back in your office, I am sure we can find something for you to do for us.” Luna said, in what she hoped to be a comforting voice. The book Divine Sight gave to her floated gently to rest on her nightstand.

Rose lay on the floor for almost a full minute before slowly getting to her hooves. “I think I need to get back home. It seems to me I’ll be able to go on that vacation after all...”

Luna nodded. “Of course. I assume you will need some sort of transport, as you have no saddlebags with you, and no money.” Rose blushed and nodded. “I will have a chariot prepared whenever you are ready.”

Saying her thanks again, Rose excused herself, and slowly--reluctantly--left the chamber.

Author's Notes:

No note, sorry guys. Too tired. Enjoy.

NOTE: If the part with Fate as a book looks really weird, refresh the page. I hit publish too fast. Sorry

Vacation

Vacation

The train compartment was practically buzzing with excitement. Roseluck decided that the best way to Neighagra Falls involved a day train, and so here they sat. For another fourteen hours. Of fun.

Fun, and I Spy.

...Fun.

“Okay Roseluck, okay, I spy with my little eye, something... orange!” Daisy said.

“Orange? What’s orange...?” Lilly wondered out loud. “Orange... Orange...” She stuck her tongue between her teeth and chewed on it as she looked around.

“Uh, sunsets are orange,” Roseluck replied, mimicking her sister’s expression.

“It’s a little early for the sunset.”

“Well, yeah. I was just saying that sunsets are orange, is all.” Roseluck blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Oh! Is it my saddlecase?”

Daisy blinked in confusion. “You’re saddlecase is orange?”

“My old one was.”

Rose Petal rested her head on the bouncing side of the carriage, letting the conversation of her mother and aunts fade into background noise. Upon hearing the news, her mother acted upset for her, but at the same time, Rose Petal knew she was relieved. If she didn’t know better, Rose would have thought her mother put Fate up to it.

She tried to keep herself upbeat with the thought of going to a cabin in Neighagra Falls. The last time they went, Rose was a little foal, and she always fancied she hadn’t really enjoyed it. Still, it was hard to look forward to a weekend away, when the job she had to come back to was working in the flower shop with her mother and and aunts. Not the worst job, but compared to Death it held no appeal.

Out of things to think about, Rose turned her attention back to the squabbling adults. “...there aren’t many things that are orange,” Daisy was saying. “It shouldn’t be that hard.”

“But we’ve said everything!” Lilly complained. “I give up.” She crossed her hooves and glared out the window, every once in awhile looking back into the car to see who was watching her pout.

Rose Petal sighed. “It’s the brochure,” she said. Everypony in the car turned to stare at her.

“Yay, you got it!” Daisy said after a pause. “Your turn!”

“Woah, woah, hold up. How in the world did you get that, Rose? You weren’t even paying attention!” Lilly argued.

Wordlessly, Rose pointed to the bright orange sunset depicted on a brochure sitting next to Daisy.

“But I said sunset!” Roseluck complained. “It was my first guess.”

“You didn’t say it was on the brochure,” Daisy countered. “It’s Rose’s turn.”

“You can have it, mom,” Rose Petal said. “I don’t really like I Spy.”

Roseluck placed a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder. “You alright?”

“M’fine, just tired.” Not wanting her mother to see the truth, Rose looked away. “Long night last night.”

“Do you want to--” To Roseluck’s surprise, it wasn’t Rose who cut her off, but Lily. Silently, the pink pony shook her head. “To... get some rest? We can go to the...” she glanced around quickly, searching for something to finish her sentence with. “The dining car to get something to eat.”

“But we ate before we-- Owwww, Lily, what was that for?” Daisy rubbed her left hind leg with her forehooves and shot a glare at her sister. Lily leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Ohhhh...” One by one, the three sisters rose to their hooves and left the car.

Rose Petal scooted over to the now vacant window seat, and rested her head on the cool glass.

*****

For their weekend getaway, Roseluck had dipped into her savings and rented the family a two bedroom cabin, back up in the woods at the top of the waterfall. The bedrooms were located on the second floor of the small cabin, and both looked out over the waterfall. Aside from a small washroom, the rest of the cabin was on the lower floor.

“So, what do you think girls?” Roseluck asked, turning around once they were all back in the foyer. “It’s a little small, but it was the only one that was open that had two rooms.”

“It’s lovely,” Lily said. “So, I’ll take the room on the right, and you three can share the left yeah?” She beamed, pointedly ignoring the annoyed glares of the rest of her family.

“Uh, no. Lily, you and Daisy have the room on the left, Rose and I have the one on the right.” Roseluck heaved a sigh, looking out the windows. The moon looked back. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired, and going to bed.” She turned to her daughter. “Don’t stay up too late,” she said before turning and heading back up the stairs.

Lily and Daisy exchanged looks. “I-I think I will too... I guess,” Daisy said before skittering up the stairs herself as fast as could be considered proper.

“Listen, Rosie--” Rose raised a hoof, cutting her aunt off.

“Mom asked you to talk to me, didn’t she?” Rose accused. Lily’s shifting glance answered. “Look, I know she’s worried, and maybe you are too, but I’m fine. Really.”

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but a knock on the door stole her words. With a look towards Rose, Lily headed towards the door. “Uh, hello? I’m sorry, we weren’t exactly expecting...” the door creaked open, “visitors... Uh...”

“We are here to see Rose Petal. May we come in?” The pony on the other side of the door was hidden, but the voice was unmistakable.

“R...Rosie, the... Princess Luna is here to see you...” Lily mumbled, stepping back. Gracefully, Luna stepped into the small foyer. She shuffled her wings nervously and refused to meet Rose’s gaze. It was the pony behind the princess, however, that Rose was least happy to see, a sandy earth pony mare with a cotton white mane.

“I... I’ll be upstairs. With Daisy. And Roseluck... Yeah...” Still in a bit of a daze, Lily trundled up the stairs,

Luna cleared her throat, reshuffling her wings again. “Rose...”

“Miss Rose Petal, I must apologize,” Divine Sight said. Luna glanced over at her, indignant at being cut off. “It would seem I was... incorrect in my first judgement of you.”

“Your first judgement...” Rose trailed off. Freezing a blank look on her face, she turned to Princess Luna. “Good evening, Luna. Can I help with something?”

Divine Sight cleared her throat, attempting to recapture attention. “I came here with the princess to--”

“I didn’t ask you.” Rose turned her glare onto Fate, causing the mare to splutter into silence. “Princess?”

Luna took a deep breath. “Rose... Fate was wrong.” Next to her, Divine Sight scoffed, but Luna pressed on. “After you left, she brought in a new candidate for the office of Death, by the name of Shade.”

“I thought he was bad news,” Divine Sight mumbled to herself.

“In the two days since then, all deaths everywhere have stopped.” Luna paused to let her words sink in. “We need you to come back with us to Canterlot, where we are going to meet the new Death. The office is yours once again.”

Despite her best efforts, a look that could only be described as ‘serves you right’ flitted over Rose’s face as she turned to look at Divine Sight. “Is this true?”

Looking like she just swallowed a lemon, Fate nodded.

“Mom! I’m going back to Canterlot with the princess to get my job back!” Rose shouted over her shoulder. Before the trio could even think about moving towards the door, however, a very loud bang, followed by several smaller ones that shook the entire house stopped them in their tracks.

“You... you’re going to.... what!?” Roseluck panted, rubbing her muzzle with a hoof.

“Rose’s...” Luna tossed a glance to the very sheepish sandy mare, “colleague was mistaken in her judgement of your daugher, and as such, we have re-offered her the position of Death, should she want it.”

“Which I do,” Rose hastily added.

“B-But, Rose, our family vacation...” Roseluck’s ears drooped. “You were off for two days. I won’t let you overwork yourself anymore.”

Rose turned to look her mother in the eyes. “I won’t, mom. I know what I have to do, for Cloud, for you, and for myself.” With a deep breath, she turned back to Luna and to Fate. “I have to banish Mortis.

“Let’s go.”

*****

Perched near the cliff of the falls was a carriage not at all like the one that had shuttled Rose back home two days previous. That one had been built for comfort, for show. The two pegasi pulling it were Royal Guard, of course, but probably just recruits, or ponies who only shuttled the princess’ guests around.

This one, on the other hoof, was obviously built much more streamlined, if not stronger. Two sets of guards stood nearby, waiting patiently. Without invitation, Fate climbed into the carriage, followed by Luna. Warily, Rose climbed in last, shutting the thin golden door behind her. As they waited for the guards to retake their positions, Rose couldn’t help but hope the chest-high barrier around the edges of the carriage would be enough if something happened; after all, she no longer had the Death cloak to protect her.

Long before Rose was ready to fly, one of the guards spoke up. “On your go, Your Majesty,” he said, wasting no breath.

“Hold on,” Luna cautioned Rose before turning back to the flight team. “Go.”

Four pairs of wings raised and forced themselves down as one. Against all evidence saying it was impossible, the gilded cart rose in tandem with the pegasi, letting itself rise slowly into the air before really taking off, rocketing out over the falls, then back around towards Canterlot.

“So, what do I need to do?” Rose shouted over the wind. “Get the cloak and scythe back from this Shade character and then deaths start again?”

“I am not totally sure,” Luna replied, equally loud. “Understandably, this is somewhat of a new problem for me, but I assume so.”

“Sounds simple enough.” The necessity of shouting over the wind, and lack of words to shout, quickly ground the conversation to a halt. Despite her dislike of flying, Rose found herself nodding off. A fourteen hour train ride out had turned into a three hour flight back that ended with a rather large thump, shocking the young mare from her uneasy sleep.

There must have been a door on the other side of the carriage as well, for Luna and Divine Sight were already out. “Come,” Luna motioned with a hoof, “we must hurry.” Rose practically fell from the cart in her haste to catch up and match pace as the alicorn walked through the door to the castle.

Princess Luna took the lead, guiding Rose and Divine Sight through the castle with a determined, but not too hasty, stride. As they walked, Rose tossed a glance to the sandy mare next to her. Showing some measure of humility, Fate refused to meet her eyes.

The group made good time, arriving in the office with a few minutes to spare before Shade was set to join them and relinquish the Office. Each of the three mares took a seat in the room and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, after almost two hours of nothing but expectant silence, stewing in the same thoughts bouncing around in her head for the last two days, Rose sighed angrily. “So, Divine Sight,” she said. Luna gave her a warning look, but she ignored it. “Let me get something straight.”

Divine Sight gulped audibly.

“You took my office, for something you never bothered to say I was doing wrong?”

Fate nodded.

“You then gave the cloak to another pony, who proceeded to do something that was actually wrong?”

Another, shakier, nod.

“And now, that pony isn’t going to show up?” Rose tried to hide it, but her anger was slowly bubbling into her speech, giving each word the sting of a discharged thunderhead.

A faint squeak answered.

Rose made a noncommittal noise and buried her gaze into her hooves. Two very deep, calming breaths later, she turned her attention to the princess. “So, what’s the plan?” Divine Sight cringed at the terse words, but relaxed once she realized they weren’t directed to her.

Luna chewed her lip, eyes shifting between Rose, Fate, and a row of books on a lonely shelf. “I... I do not know. Nothing even close to this has ever happened before. We-I, I will have to talk to Sister.” With a weary sigh, she rubbed her face with a hoof. “The carriage will return you to your cabin. I shall have Fate contact you when we have an appropriate solution.”

“What!?” Divine Sight shouted, voice cracking. “W-With all due respect, Your Majesty, I can’t--”

“Being afraid of one’s co-workers is not normally smiled upon in the work force,” Luna replied with a barely suppressed grin.

Catching on, Rose gave the other mare another good look at her blank glare. “You did cause all of this, you know. It’s only right that you help fix it.”

“I am trying,” Divine Sight whined, rising from her seat and slowly edging back towards her pedestal. “I shall scour the skein of life, and my own past recollections, and attempt to find answer.” Without a second thought, she disappeared in a white light, returning to her book and pedestal.

With a light laugh, Luna turned back to Rose. “Return to your vacation; you’ve earned it. I shall speak to Sister and ponder myself. Hopefully we can resolve this soon.”

Rose slowly got to her hooves and made towards the large door. “I hope so too. I never thought I’d say it, but I miss my job... Have a nice night, Luna.”

“And you as well.”

A Desperate Ploy

A Desperate Ploy

Twice in one week. Divine Sight blinked up at the stars overhead, taking in the smell of the fresh air so far outside the city she had grown up in, and the book she currently called home. All of it was so unfamiliar; so much had changed since the last time she stepped outside of her “office,” some few odd centuries ago. Even so, knowing what she had been sent to do weighed down her hooves, turning what could have been the stroll of a tourist into the plod of a resident.

Ponies that she passed in the street never gave her a second glance. Divine Sight may not have been Death, but she was protected by her own anonymity of office. Even so, the small crowd walking the streets that evening parted without a second thought to the empty bubble of space moving freely through it.

Once she was out of the main part of town, the flow of ponies slowed until Divine Sight was alone in an empty street. Unlike Death, Fate did not have any sort of guiding instinct, as the officeholder never really needed it. For lack of innate direction, Luna had given Divine Sight explicit directions to Rose’s house, and instructions for when she arrived.

Directions did little to ease her discomfort, however. Every single step she took down the road became shorter, but not short enough to keep her from finally arriving at the doorstep. Slowly, Fate raised a hoof to knock, barely bringing the tip down to touch the door before backing up quickly.

Inside, a very soft whump could be heard for all of half a foot.

Come on, girl, you can do this. With a shaky breath, Divine Sight took another step forward and knocked, too hard this time. The door shook in its frame, small bits of dust drifting down from the frame.

“I’m coming, jeez. Don’t break my door in!” shouted a voice from the other side of the door. Seconds later, a mare pulled it open.

All it took was one look at the tuft of pink mane before Divine Sight closed her eyes. “Mrs. Rose Petal, I have a message from Princess Luna. She and Princess Celestia have found a ritual that, if performed, may restore some of the powers of your office; just enough to track down Shade and take full control. I also want to apologize for my misjudgement of you, again. My predecessor taught me that my job was very strict, and believed that any deviation from the path that I weave could bring about the collapse of the entire system. I hope you can understand.”

“So, it was you.” The unfamiliar voice on the other side of the door prompted Fate to crack her eyes open. The first thing she noticed was the mane; it was pink, yes, but slightly darker than expected and bordered by raspberry-colored hair. The further down Divine Sight’s eyes traveled, the more different the two mares looked. This one was slightly taller, and cream not white. The expression was the same at least. Both this mare and Rose seemed to prefer glaring at Fate.

“It was you,” Roseluck repeated. “You’re the one who took my Rosie’s job away, and caused this entire mess.”

“So you’re her... mother?” Divine Sight asked.

Roseluck just glared, unblinking and unamused.

“Ayuh--I’ll take that as a yes...? I’m sorry for what I did to your daughter, but I was only trying to do what I was taught was the best to do. Our jobs are very important, and the responsibility and threat of failure weigh as heavy as our immortality. My predecessor taught me that improper handling of souls would lead to the end, and I was simply doing what I felt necessary. Now, I am trying to fix my mistake, but to do that I need to speak with your daughter. May I?”

Much to Divine Sight’s relief, Roseluck stepped back and shouted into the house, “Rosie, Fate is here for you!” The sandy mare walked past Roseluck, tying her best to neither look at or touch her.

Rose Petal was waiting for her in the main living area. “So, one of the princesses found something?”

Divine Sight nodded, pulling a tightly-rolled scroll from her saddlebag. She stepped forward and set it down on a low table in front of Rose. “Yes... but there is a catch.”

“Oh, good, a catch. Just perfect, isn’t it?” Roseluck stepped into the room. Having made her complaint known, she leaned on the doorframe. “As if stealing her job wasn’t bad enough.”

“Mom...” Rose sighed. “We’ve been over this.”

Roseluck sighed. “I know.”

Turning back to Divine Sight, Rose spoke again. “What’s the catch?”

“Well, most of the power of office is tied to the scythe itself. That’s why Dashing Cloud gave you the scythe, and why I took it when I, um, fired you...” Fate coughed nervously and tossed a glance towards Roseluck. “We can give you back some power. We can restore your Instinct, which should be tuned towards the first death that was scheduled to occur when Shade vanished. We can also return the method of travel, but you won’t have most of the powers you were used to. The Office won’t protect you anymore, not until you get it back.”

“Alright.” Rose got to her hooves and kicked the coffee table out of the way, to the visible disapproval of her mother. “Let’s get it over with.”

Divine Sight paled. “Right here? B-But, I didn’t bring any of the things for the ritual, and... and... and... it’s not a secured, safe place. Anypony could wander in!”

A very vocal glare told Divine Sight what exactly Rose thought about her argument.

“Okay, fine, fine, we can do it here,” Divine Sight waved her sandy forehooves in supplication. “Come here.”

While Rose was getting into position away from anything that might be breakable, Fate busied herself digging through her saddlebags for the enchanted crystals Luna had given her. Her search also came with the added bonus of keeping her eyes well away from those of Roseluck. Aided by the push of Fate, the crystals surrounded Rose in a circle, with four points stretching out towards the cardinal directions.

Right after the crystals, an old scroll floated out of the bag leaving a small trail of dust. “That is a really old scroll,” Roseluck said from her new position right beside Fate, making the other mare jump.

“Um, yes. It was written by the first Fate, and has remained unopened in a highly restricted section of the Canterlot Archives since. It is a failsafe... at least, we think it is,” Divine Sight finished. Carefully, mindful of anything that even remotely sounded like ripping vellum she unrolled the scroll, exposing markings so archaic they didn’t even resemble letters.

After comparing a stylized drawing of wavy lines and blocky circles to the crystals lying on the floor, Divine Sight peered around the aged paper at Rose. “Now, neither Luna or myself really know what this is going to be like, so...”

Once again, Roseluck spoke up. “You know, Rosie, I don’t know if this is such a good idea. Even the Princess doesn’t know what this spell does, what if it backfires. For that matter,” she added, turning towards Fate, “can you even read that?” Roseluck pointed an accusing hoof at the scroll, giving it the same untrusting glare that had earlier been aimed at Divine Sight.

“Princess Luna has told me everything I need to do,” Divine Sight replied. “Reading is not required.” As she finished her sentence, a small flame flickered into existence near the edge of the scroll. Almost as though in response, the nearby crystals began to faintly glow, pulsating slowly in time with one another.

“Are you sure, Rosie,” Roseluck tried one last time, nervously eyeing the pulsating crystals.

Rose nodded and, before her mother could interrupt again, Divine Sight brought her constructed flame into contact with the ancient paper, which erupted into a fire that consumed it in a matter of seconds.

Everypony in the room stared at the spot where the paper once was, reduced now to a small trickle of ashes slowly drifting towards the ground. “Well, that was a--” Before Roseluck could finish her taunt, the crystals around Rose lit, each one in a different color, throwing multicolored lights and hundreds of shadows all over the room. To make matters worse, wind began whipping around the crystal outline, dousing all other lights in the room.

Above the four lines of crystals, at shoulder-height to Rose, the colors of the crystal formed together, each color swirling around its counterpart but never actually combining. At once, the four shifting lines of color shot towards Rose. Everything flashed white for a moment, then faded to nothing.

In the middle of the dormant circle, Rose blinked to get the spots out of her eyes. “Well that was a little... excessive,” she said once her vision was passable.

“If I recall correctly, the first Fate was a showpony before she was inducted into office,” Divine Sight elaborated. Under her watchful gaze the cloudy crystals returned to her saddlebags.

“How do you do that without a horn?” Roseluck asked suddenly. As she realized her thoughts were made vocal, she blushed and rubbed her forehooves together. “Um... did I say that out loud? You, um, you don’t have to answer that...” Roseluck ended her shaky speech with a nervous cough.

“Fate has power as well. My first predecessor, however, was not a unicorn.” Turning to Rose, Divine Sight continued, “Did it work?”

Rose Petal closed her eyes and stretched out with her mind as she had done countless times before. Unlike the last couple of weeks, she felt something latch on, pulling her towards a small village north of the Foal Mountains, west of Fillydephia. The location tugged at her mind, pulling towards the north-east, and to the would-be client of Death.

“The Instinct is working at least. I feel the client... small town, north-east,” Rose responded. “Only one way to see if I can still travel quickly.” Before anypony else could say anything, Rose poked the wall with a hoof and vanished.

Roseluck and Divine Sight exchanged a look. “Does she do this a lot?” the latter asked.

Roseluck just smiled.

*****

Hollow Shades was a small town, nestled just north of the Foal mountain range and surrounded by the Brightleaf Forest; it was just about as small a town there was without being a border outpost. “A town tucked away from time,” the brochure at Fleetwing’s Flyaway Travel Agency read. “Surrounded by forest and nestled against a mountain range, Hollow Shades has something for everypony. Whether it is to get in touch with nature, or out of touch of bustling city life, the charming natives, rich culture, and amazing food are all sure to help you find what you’re searching for.”

It was in this small town, from a wall in a back alley, that Rose found herself. Momentarily disoriented by her teleportation, she stuck out a hoof to steady herself against a wall. Above, light was just starting to trickle onto the edge of the horizon. “I must be out of practice,” Rose mumbled to herself before retracting her hoof and slowly making her way into the street.

The tug in her mind said east, Rose hung a left out of the alley and took off at a brisk trot down the main street. It was somewhat strange how similar this town was to Ponyville. The streets were paved the same, the houses were all built pretty much the same, just of darker wood. The only real difference Rose could see was the size; especially when she arrived at her destination before the sun had woken the sleepy little town.

Much to the quasi-Death’s surprise, the front door of the client’s house swung open with no protest. From further inside, a quiet sniffling could be heard. Wary, Rose placed one hoof in front of the other and entered the small apartment-like abode. After shutting the door behind her, she entered the house proper and took a look around.

In the main room, resting on a light beige couch sat a stallion, but Rose could tell right away he wasn’t resting. His eyes were wide open, though they saw nothing. His chest rose and fell with the unconscious motion of life, though it was almost imperceptible. It wasn’t the stallion that attracted Rose’s attention, however. That honor rested solely on the unicorn stallion sitting next to him; a jet-black stallion with an equally dark mane, softly crying. The streaks of matted fur under his eyes suggested he had been at it awhile.

Rose drew herself up, blowing a stray lock of mane from her eyes, and knocked on the side of the doorframe. At the sound, the black stallion sat straight up and wiped his eyes with a hoof. “Who’s there?” he called with a croaky, disused voice.

“Somepony here to help,” Rose replied softly. “Can I come in?” With the stallion’s hesitant nod of permission, quasi-Death stepped into the room, careful not to make too much noise. She stopped near an end table, within hoof’s reach of her client. “Did you know him?”

“He was my brother,” the stallion responded. “I...I came downstairs last night, and found him like this. I don’t... I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s alright.” Rose took another couple steps forward, placing herself between the black stallion and her client. “I can help. What’s your name?”

“Shade.”

A hoof shot out of nowhere, colliding solidly with Rose’s jaw. The struck mare reeled backwards, falling to her back on the floor. She reached up, blindly waving her hoof around trying to find a way to pull herself back up, but it was too late. Just as Rose touched something solid, Shade appeared over her, black color melting out of his mane to reveal gray hair.

Mortis raised his hoof to strike the mare once again. Right before he brought it down something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. “What?”

Rose followed his gaze towards the couch, where a light blue cloud was drifting towards the ceiling. Before she could think on it, Mortis brought his hoof down and the world went black.

Author's Notes:

*This chapter is 100% Sombra approved

Death

Death

The living world slowly bled back into the senses of Rose Petal, ushered along by the light drip of rain on her coat. With a groan she shifted, trying to keep the drops from hitting her face. Almost to her surprise, nothing restrained the movement. Testing her lack of leash, Rose inched forward on the ground, still with eyes shut, until something caught against her back hoof and jerked her back with a shaky rattle.

“So, you’re awake.” That horrible, familiar voice finally convinced Rose to open her eyes. It took her a moment to reorient herself, seeing that the tops of surrounding treeline were right in her line of sight, stretching their trunks into the ground above her. “I suppose I was hoping that you would not wake up until this was over. Then again, that won’t give Fate--what was her name... Divine Sight?--the show she was wanting.”

After a few moments of tossing and turning, Rose finally managed to turn right-side-up. “Mortis.” In the middle of the clearing, amidst an old, decaying ruin of a house, the cloaked stallion bowed. “Where are we? And what do you mean, the show she was wanting?”

“Maybe my paranoia paid off then,” Mortis continued, ignoring Rose’s questions and motioning to the restraint on her hoof. He slowly walked towards the chained mare, summoning a scythe from nowhere. “Still, just to be safe...”

Rose stared, transfixed, as a single drop of water slid down the scythe’s curved blade. “That... that’s my scythe.”

“Your scythe?” Mortis replied with a chuckle. He looked down lovingly at the piece of metal and wood pointed at Rose’s throat. “This scythe was mine before your town was even thought about. I brought this with me when the original Fate, Twisted Web, came to me offering a job on behalf of the Princesses and the good of life everywhere. This scythe was never yours, you just borrowed it.”

“And you stole it back,” Rose countered, eyes never leaving the weapon pointed at her. “There never was a Shade, was there? It was you. How did you trick Divine Sight into giving my office to you?”

The scythe slowly inched closer to Rose’s neck, until she had to go crosseyed to keep it in her sight. It rested there, so close she felt the cool metal whenever she swallowed. For a few infinitely long moments she feared the blade would move closer, and everything would be over. Much to her relief, Mortis pulled back and returned to the ruins.

“No. Not yet. I will not become what they accused me of,” Mortis mumbled to himself. He tossed a look over his shoulder to the chained earth pony. “Not for you.”

Rose worked her way into a sitting position, ignoring the damp grass. “Are you going to answer any of my questions, or are you going to keep rambling to yourself?”

Mortis turned back around. “Then again, because of you I am now short one soul...”

The scythe swung back around to rest against Rose’s neck. “S-S-Soul? What are you talking about?” She raised a hoof to try and bat at the handle of the weapon. “And would you get that thing away from me?!”

Despite her best efforts, the scythe only pressed closer, biting into her throat. “And waste precious time? I have already waited thousands of years, and I am not a patient stallion.” It only took a moment for Mortis to slide the scythe across her throat. A huge flash of light filled the clearing, and once it cleared Rose Petal was gone.

*****

“Luna! Princess Luna!” Divine Sight galloped through the tiled halls of the castle, ignoring the curious and hostile stares of both nobles and guards alike. Two guards standing in front of a massive door with a moon carving barely had time to get out of the way before the sandy-colored mare barrelled through the door and into the chambers beyond.

From inside the room, a tremendous crash and a startled yelp prompted the two guards on duty to peer into the room, fearing for their ruler in the aftermath of the pony-shaped projectile. Inside, after a little bit of searching, they found the culprit, lying on the bed in a tangle of bedsheets, feathers, and one very disgruntled-looking princess.

“P-Princess are you... are you alright?” one of the guards asked, valiantly trying to withhold his giggles.

Luna flexed her wings hard enough to send Divine Sight tumbling to the floor. “I am fine. Return to your posts.” The two guards saluted and vacated the room, allowing Luna to turn her attention to her assailant. “Now then, what was so important you could not knock?”

“It’s Rose Petal.” Divine Sight righted herself and stood back up. “I was watching the threads, but something is wrong. She’s just... gone.”

Hooves clacked on stone as Luna rose from her bed. “Go, now. See what is going on.”

Divine Sight nodded. Orders received, she reached out with a hoof. Thin threads appeared, spinning lazily around the appendage. Fate pulled back, and the silvery threads sped up, encompassing the mare. As soon as she was covered, the spinning stopped and the thread stretched out before vanishing, taking its passenger with it.

Half a country away, Mortis sat in the middle of the structure, chanting to the dead silent clearing in a dead language known to only two other living ponies. Small flecks of light danced around his immobile form, forming random patterns in the dark ruins. It was easy to see, then, how one stray dot meandering near the treeline escaped his notice, until it turned into a line. From a line it shifted to a string, then a thread, where it begun to spin madly until out popped a mare.

“You...” Mortis growled under his breath.

Over in the treeline, where she thought she was out of sight, Fate gave a little cough and readjusted her coat before stepping into the clearing. She cast her head left and right, searching for a hint of her white coworker. Unfortunately, the only other pony she saw was the black unicorn resting in the shell of a building, amid a tangle of vines dangling from the broken ceiling. Body visibly stiffening, she spoke. “Where is Rose Petal?”

After checking to make sure his spell wouldn’t be interrupted, Mortis jumped from the building, unslinging the scythe from his back. “You? How fitting that you show your face in the moments before I finally have my revenge.” Finally standing in front of his adversary, Mortis bared his pointy teeth in a smile. “Take a seat, enjoy the show. It will be your last.”

The concerned and now slightly unnerved Divine Sight roughly pushed Mortis back. “Revenge against me? What are you talking about, I’ve never wronged you, you deranged spirit.”

Without warning, Mortis swung his scythe. In her desperation to escape, Divine Sight stumbled and fell back on her haunches. Her eyes nervously followed the scythe blade as it returned to rest near its master’s side. “Do not insult me with lies,” Mortis spat. “You stole my Office away from me. You cursed me to mortality long after everything I had owned was gone. Did you honestly expect nothing to come of it? You have brought my wrath on yourself.”

Divine Sight blinked slowly. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about. But since I’m here, I presume you are the one Rose found, not Shade. Tell me where they are, and I might not have Luna drop the moon on your egotistical head.”

“Shade is fine, somewhere. Probably in a hospital waking up from some form of coma. Your precious Rose Petal on the other hoof...” Mortis smiled. “She’s gone, now. Guess she wasn’t Death after all.”

With a sigh, Fate hung her head. “What do you want, Mortis? I need the scythe and cloak so I can reinstate a new Death and clean up this mess you’ve made.”

“I think we both know that Space is just what we need to sort out this little ‘mess’ of mine.”

“Space? What...” Divine Sight’s eyes grew wide as realization hit her. “Whuh, why? What good could bringing Space to Equestria do? She’s probably so out of touch with reality, it would be pointless.”

“I don’t need her, you fool, I need her power. Siphoning off yours isn’t enough anymore, not for what I intend. With the power of Space behind me, though... even your precious princesses won’t be able to stop me.” From the house ruins, another dot of light began to reposition itself, moving towards the two arguing ponies. When Fate thought Mortis wasn’t looking, she reached out towards it, intending to return to Canterlot and warn Luna.

The flat of the Death scythe crashing into the side of her head was all it took to end that plan. With a cry, Fate fell to the ground, clutching the side of her head.

“Going somewhere?” Mortis asked, moving to stand over the injured mare. “No, I don’t think so. You caused all of this, I think it’s only fitting that you’re here when I succeed. Then again...” The point of the scythe swung around to rest lazily around Divine Sight’s neck. “I could just kill you now; eliminate the last variable.”

“K-Kill me? I haven’t done anything to you! I just maintain the skein of life, I don’t even make it! Any problem you think you have is with the Fate of your time, not me.” Divine Sight backpedaled, skidding across the ground on her back until she ran into a tree.

Mortis followed, swinging the scythe in wide arcs that decapitated countless blades of wild grass. “You lie! You speak the same, give the same excuses, you wear the same skin. You are my enemy, Fate, you and the princesses you so blindly serve.” With a thunk Mortis buried the blade of the scythe into the tree behind Divine Sight. “And now, you will pay for your lies.”

The scythe pulled free from the tree with a loud crack. It whistled through the air twice; once on the way over Mortis’ shoulder, and once again on the way to Fate’s neck. Silence fell.

Still backed up against the tree, Divine Sight cracked one eye open.

“Missing something, Mortis?” a voice called from across the clearing. Slowly, Mortis turned around; Fate peered around the body of the stallion. On a small hill across from the other ponies, Rose Petal blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. Across her back rested a cloak--rippling slightly in the wind of Mortis’ unchecked spell--and the Death scythe.

“You! How?!” Mortis roared, looking to his naked back.

“There’s this mare in Ponyville, Mortis. She always says ‘a lady doesn’t kiss and tell.’ I think I’ll go with that.” Rose smirked, pulling the scythe off of her back. “Now, if I’m not mistaken you and I have some unfinished business. Mostly involving the job you stole from me.”

“How are you here? I took your office, and I killed you with the Death scythe. Your soul should be halfway to reincarnation by now!”

“The spell...” Fate mumbled to herself. Mortis growled and lashed out at her with a back hoof, but she was already out from behind him.

Rose Petal started forward, slowly closing the ground between herself and Mortis. She stopped when they were muzzle to muzzle. “You want to know why I’m here? I’m Death. It would do you well to remember that.”

Mortis opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the crack of Rose’s scythe striking him across the jaw. “No more talking,” she hissed, “now it’s time for my revenge.”

Rose swung her weapon, intending to end the fight before it really even began. Unfortunately, Mortis jumped backwards, moving until he was out of range of the scythe. From his position of safety, he launched several bolts of electricity, black as his coat, which fizzled and crackled as they flew across the ground.

Fate watched the bolts strike Rose and fizzle out against the protection of her cloak.

“Is that all you’ve got!?” Rose called. “All that talk about how you were Death before my town was even thought of and that’s it? A few little lightning bolts?”

Mortis bared his teeth and concentrated, sending pulses of energy into the surrounding air. From above Rose, a mighty bolt of pure energy ripped down, tearing the leaves off the nearby trees on its mad race to the mare on the ground.

The bolt struck with enough force to scorch grass near where it struck. In the middle, right underneath the blast, Rose raised an eyebrow. “You done yet?” she called, only infuriating Mortis more.

The unicorn spirit bared his teeth. His magic sought out rocks, launching everything from pebbles to hoof-sized stones towards the white mare. Tired of waiting, Rose charged forward, scythe swinging madly in front of her to keep the rocks away.

They met in a cloud of dust--the rocks Mortis threw at close range instantly vaporizing as they approached their target.

When the dust cleared, the two were standing right on top of each other.

Slowly, they both looked down to see the point of the Death scythe sticking out of Mortis’ side.

A light breeze blew through the clearing, turning Mortis to dust and carrying the remains of his spirit to Eternity.

Rose dropped down onto her haunches and let the scythe fall to the ground silently. Behind her in the ruins, the dots of light slowly winked out, shrouding the area in darkness once again. “Well, that was anticlimactic.”

Slowly, Divine Sight approached until she could reach out and rest a hoof on the younger mare’s shoulders. “Rose, you okay?”

Rose coughed. “You know what? I just clawed my way back out of Eternity, and I... feel like Death,” she said, before coughing again and falling to the ground, unconscious.

Author's Notes:

The sound of Divine Sight's hoof colliding with her face echoed around the clearing

That pun was all quick's fault. He did it, not me. He found the link to the video as well.

More serious, extended author's notes in the epilogue.

Epilogue: Full Circle

Epilogue: Full Circle

Almost one hundred years later

Over the city of Canterlot, a light wind blew. It meandered above the sleeping ponies, past bars and nightclubs teeming with life, up around the highest spires of Canterlot Castle. It even blew into the chamber of Princess Luna, causing her to shiver and move to shut the window.

Luna was halfway across the room when the faintest of noises pricked her ear. “Hello, Rose Petal,” she said, finishing her task and turning around. Sure enough, standing next to the alicorn’s desk, partially obscured by a pile of books was a black cloak-covered pony, completely hidden but for a face framed by pink hair and four white hooves.

Rose smiled, tossing the hood back on her cloak. “Good evening, Luna.”

The princess returned to her desk and took a seat. “I suppose hoping this visit is merely a social call is too much to hope for.”

“I’m done, princess. I just took my last soul. I need the name of my successor.” Rose took a seat on the floor, eyes glancing over the book open on Luna’s desk.

“May I ask why?” asked a voice from the corner of the room. A brief flash of light and rustle of paper later, Divine Sight walked over. “Why give up immortality after a century? All your friends, your aunts, and your mother are dead. You’re good at your job, Rose, we make a good team and--”

“I still don’t like you,” Rose interrupted. “You of all ponies can’t convince me to stay.”

Divine Sight blew out her cheeks. “After all this time? After all of the Office Hearth’s Warming parties?”

Rose simply glared.

“I must agree, I am somewhat curious as well. I thought after all the trouble you went through to secure your position, you would not give it up after a mere century,” Luna said, breaking up the inevitable fight.

“Do you remember the stallion I told you about, princess?” Rose asked.

The other two mares in the room nodded.

“Well, he... he proposed to me last night, and... I still haven’t told him what my job actually is.” Luna winced. “I just... I’m ready to be done. It’ll be too hard to keep the job and him, and he is worth more to me than this scythe,” Rose finished.

“I am not about to deny somepony happiness.” Luna walked over to Divine Sight, gently poking her in the head. “I need her successor.”

“But--” Fate started, but the alicorn held up a hoof. “Fine...” There was another flash of light, and then Fate was a book.

The princess levitated the tome from the floor, opening to a seemingly random page somewhere in the middle. “Your successor is to be a mare by the name of Bluejay. She lives in... Cloudsdale. If I were you, I would spend some time sightseeing before you are grounded once again,” Luna added with a wink.

“Just like I told Cloud, may his soul rest in peace, you are a friend to me, Rose Petal. If things don’t work out with your stallion friend, just send word and I can have you accommodations and a job in the castle,” the alicorn continued. “Of course, you can always just write. It is nice when not all of my letters are impending diplomatic disasters.”

Rose flipped the hood on the Death cloak back up. “I will, princess. Have a good night.” Before Luna could respond, or Divine Sight could poke her head back out, Death poked the wall with a hoof and vanished.

Exploring Cloudsdale was something that Rose made a personal mission early in her tenure in office. As such, she was able to appear closer to her target than normal, saving her the walk and curious glances from resident pegasi. It was a short jaunt from the park where Rose appeared to the resident of her successor, and she was able to catch the powder-blue pegasus as she left for work.

“Hey, your name is Bluejay, right?” Rose called out.

The pegasus froze mid-step and slowly turned around. “Um, yes. How... how do you know my name?”

“My name is Rose Petal. We need to talk...”

Author's Notes:

So, here we are. The end of story, extended Author's Notes.

Almost a year ago, while working on The Last Hope of a Fallen Nation, I was in a rut. No matter which way I twisted, I couldn't seem to get the story to go in the direction that I wanted it to. Finally too frustrated to continue, I decided to rewrite and ponify a scene I had just read in the actual book I was reading at the time, On A Pale Horse by Piers Anthony. Being lazy as I was, I just did it in the same doc as Last Hope. This simplified, ponified scene would turn into the first scene of this story.

A lot of things have changed since then: the fandom, the show, my writing style, my editors, even where I live (sort of). Looking back on the first chapter, I can see so many different ways I could have taken this. Better ways? Maybe. But this is how the story ends, and I am proud of it. I am proud of Rose Petal, Divine Sight, and even Mortis in a way. Being an evil bastard takes some talent.

I would like to thank every one of you who came with me on this journey, the people who favorited, upvoted, edited, commented, liked, disliked, all of you, but a few I think deserve special mention.

Cloudy, you already know. My first couple editors sort of left, I don't begrudge them, they're some of my best friends, but you jumped in to cover the slack. Thank you.

IC, your insistence that I couldn't use Nightmare Moon as a villain led to the creation of Mortis. I think we all know this story would have been very different without him.

quick, you jumped in here in the middle, like most of my projects, and once you got used to how things were done around here you did amazingly, even if you suck at titles.

ChangelingLumin, if you're reading this, you took up my call of editors, and edited like, a chapter. So, thanks for that, I guess.

SonicMario3, I know how much you love this story. I don't know if you actually edited anything, but knowing I had at least one guy out there who was waiting on the next installment helped write them more than you know.

So, yes, the story of Rose Petal as Death is over, but the tale is not necessarily. What will I do here next, you ask? Well, you'll just have to stick around and find out, because I don't plan on spoiling anything. Just know I plan on delving back in time, and back into the realm of shipping. So, until the next one.

--thehalfelf