Trust is sacred, trust is golden

Misplace that trust, you have fallen

Foolish thinking, foolish death,

For you have breathed your last breath

But do not worry, all is not lost

For another chance is here

…At a cost

---

Chapter 2: A Bone to Pick With

It was cold… very cold. It felt cold to the bone as the chills of a wintery breeze washed over those who were lost, wondering, wondering where they are, where themselves are, or even… when they are.

Naruto could feel himself floating. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, but merely floating in the endless abyss. He could still think, but his mind felt so numb he couldn't focus what to think about, or if there was a point to thinking. All he knew, is he was floating, in an endless abyss of darkness. He didn't care, or at least, he couldn't, with all feelings struck away from him, he couldn't act as himself. He was, a nothing, a complete and utterly nothing.

At least, that's what he assumed, until he stopped floating, and hit the hard ground of nothing. Literally, it was nothing, and suddenly, Naruto could think, feel, and even see. But he couldn't see himself. Tried as he might, he couldn't see any limb or part of his body. All he could see… was a trail of white, where his feet once were. Naruto was confused at this turn of events, but he still couldn't understand what was happening. Then, something happened. A brief moment of flashing shadowy light exploded in front of Naruto. He couldn't squint, for he had no eyes, or eyelids for that matter. He took the sight fully as he 'saw' a robed black figure. His robes were torn from place to place, with a black hood covering his face entirely. Bony fingers, bony feet, and a huge tome rested in his bony hands.

If Naruto could piss himself in horror, he would, but he was still nothing but a bunch of white nothing, so he could do nothing, but watch. The bony black robed figure walked slowly towards Naruto, while taking his book out from under his arm and started flipping the pages through, while mumbling to himself.

"Hmmm… Naruto, Naruto… Letter N… Hm, yes, here we go…" The bony figure said in a dark and deep tone. It would shake anyone to the bone if one would ever hear it. He pointed his right index finger in a random spot inside his book. "Page 490558693948586, Naruto Uzumaki, Age 16… or was it 17? Hrm, damn accountants using erasers and such to change ones information." The figure muttered to himself. "They don't make my job easy anymore like it was ages ago… So many deaths, yet it could be tracked more easily… Hrm…"

Naruto could only stand there as the bony man looked up the information in his dusty and old tome.

The bony man only shrugged in frustration. "Ah well, it doesn't matter. How you died is what mattered anyway…"

The words hit Naruto like it was a sledgehammer to the nuts. Died? Him, die? Naruto was dead? He couldn't believe it. He wanted to yell out in agony on how much bullshit it was, but he couldn't even leave out a whisper, as the words he tried to convey were impossible. The bony man looked up from his book, he could see the white figure of Naruto shift from side to side, as if it was having an angry spasm. The bony man only shook his head.

"Yes, you're dead, like gaijllions of others have realized. Get used to it. I'm tired of seeing you pesky souls throw such a fit about it. It's not that bad, honestly, especially when I, Death himself, have to take care of you piles of smoke and souls… But it only makes my job harder with the higher ups, bastards…" the bony man, whom is now called Death, just scratches his head with his tipped bony finger. "Now sit still so I can read you what happened already."

Naruto still couldn't believe it. Dead, and the Grim Reaper himself, whom calls himself Death, is looking up his information. Is this what happens to people who die? Come into a sea of abyss and darkness, and get looked up like it's some damn bank? The fact that he was a soul didn't help matters either. He had so much to live for. Hinata, Kakashi, the old bat of a Hokage… He was dead, and he could probably never see them again.

"Ah yes, hum hum, your cause of death." Death said out loud. Naruto snapped out of his sappy thoughts and paid attention to him.

"Hmm… well now, seems like you've died of major poisoning to the stomach and heart… quite a way to go for a slow and painful death. You've even had some previous near-death experiences too, where you were on the brink of dying… very interesting…" Death closed his book with a sharp thump, and looked at Naruto's soul. "Very foolish of you to drink something that could kill you. I mean, what were you thinking? Something so brown and odd looking, and yet you didn't think twice about it. When I was your age back in the era of cavemen and dinosaurs, I know there was—"

Naruto couldn't hear him anymore, for he was in deep thinking. It was starting to come back to him now. He was writhing in pain on his hard wood floor, and the cause of it must've been that vitamin thingamabob the Alchemist gave him. How could he be so foolish and not be suspicious of him from the start? But did it even matter to him anymore? Yes and no… He wanted revenge, but since he was dead, he couldn't do that now.

"…and that's how I ended up getting a horse and a Caveman married. It was an experience that was insulting and a mental image I'll never be able to erase from my skull. I hope you're happy with me mentioning it, because I'm not." Naruto stared at Death again as his attention slowly went back towards him. Death tilted his head and only shook his head in disappointment.

"Not listening hm? Well, anyway, where you are is in purgatory right now. I hope you're happy, because people that normally die, get sent straight to heaven or hell immediately, without a second thought. However…" Death said, walking towards Naruto's soul. "There are… special cases, that we tend to look into, for those who prove themselves worthy…" He said as his bony finger poked the white soul of Naruto. Naruto could feel nothing, however.

"Still not caring, eh kid? Let me put it more simply. There's a chance for you to be alive again. A reincarnation, if you will."

This brought Naruto's attention at full scale towards Death. A way to be alive? There was such an option? If Naruto still had feelings and limbs, he would hop for joy. But of course, he could do no such thing, and instead, shifted his soul from left and right. Death nodded.

"Yep, there's a way, just for someone as 'special' as you. You have to complete two tasks, The first, we are going to do right now.

He poofed his tome out of existence, and in its place, a ball of light appeared in his hand. He closed his hand, and the ball disappeared along with it. He placed his hands behind his back and shuffled around a little, and brought his hands back in front, with the hands closed into fists.

"Pick the correct hand, and you win the lifetime of… life, I suppose."

…

Naruto couldn't help but think if the skeleton was a few bones missing from an actual skeleton. Death is literally, gambling with Naruto's ticket out of here. But if it was his chance of being alive again, he would have to play along with it. He didn't have much else to lose… except getting his life back again. Naruto's soul shifted from side to side, looking at which hand it could be. He had a 50/50 chance, so his choice better be a good one. But the more he looked at the bony hands, the more he couldn't decide. Until, he saw a small flash of light in one of Death's hands. Naruto knew that had to be the one Death was hiding. Naruto shifted his soul to the right, trying to 'sign language' Death into choosing the right hand. He looked at his right hand, and shook it.

"You choose this one? Move your soul around if you say yes."

Naruto shifted around, confirming it.

"Too bad." He opened his hand and there was only a small coin there. "Not the ball of light, you lose, my good sir."

The response hit Naruto like he just lost the lottery, horrible. Naruto was tricked. That coin was a trap from the very start, making it look like Naruto would catch it and be right. As soon as he saw it, Naruto slowly started to dissipate, as if giving up on his chance at life, until… laughter could be heard. Naruto stopped disappearing and looked at Death, who was holding his ribs.

"Mmpphahah, hoo boy, that gets those souls going everytime… The ol' 'shining the coin trick' ahahah… ah… that was a good laugh… Thanks, I really appreciate it. You're gonna be alive no matter what happens anyway, I just wanted some fun…" Death said with an amused look.

Naruto wanted to kill him now. He didn't care, he just wanted to kill him for mocking his very being. But being a soul who can't do anything but think and fidget around and such, he couldn't do anything. Oh how he wanted hands and feet, just to take care of this joker…

Death stopped joking around and just waved his laughter off.

"Hoooo… Okay then. Anyway… I believe it's time to get this underway… Ah, that's right. There's one other thing I must mention. It's about your hotel guest that was inside that swirly stomach thingy. A seal you humans call it, I believe?"

Naruto looked back at Death. He knew something about the Nine Tailed Beast? Wait… that's right. Naruto started to think. If Naruto were to die, The Nine Tailed Beast would be dead as well, because the beast was connected with Naruto to begin with, but then…

"Well, as you can probably imagine, he's dead. You're dead, so he's dead, I'm sure you've figured that out. His soul went off to some creature hell or something like that. We at the human embassy of death affairs don't account creatures, so, you can see he's not here with you and such like that. However…" Death paused for a moment as he popped his tome back up and started reading the more detailed information.

"It seems that some of his soul has mixed in with yours, which means an 'essence' of him is still inside you somewhere. I do not know the consequences of it still being with you, but I suggest you have caution… but otherwise kid… You're a vacant hotel, you're free, out of jail, all better in the hospital, no one poking you in the butt with a stick, or being someone's sexual sl—" He was going on and on and on about possibilities or examples, as if he has a whole book written to name all these out.

"…or a dog on a chain, or a stripper bound by a contract, or a rapist who doesn't know what the hell he's doing, or…" Death realized he was running his bony jaw off as he listed off so many things by now. He shook his head.

"…Anyway, short way of saying it, you're your own person now."

Naruto felt both happy and sad at the same time, that he had to lose the fox, but the fact he was dead, was a reality, and he didn't know how to react to it. Then again, he couldn't react as a soul at all, just in the form of thoughts or fidgeting of his soul.

Death wrote in his book, filling out the important details that didn't need to be said on his mechanical pen. The pen had a skull on top and had a label on the back of the skull called '#1 Reaper'. It was kind of funny how death would have a personal item like that. With the click of the pen, the tip went back inside it and that was it. He made the book go poof with the snap of his fingers.

"Well then kid, looks like you're all prepared, time for you to become alive and ride them ponies, like the stallion you are." Death said with a chuckle. If Naruto had a head, he would tilt it in confusion. What did Death mean by that? Naruto was human, not a… stallion, is what Death called it. Before Naruto could question—or fidget for that matter—Death poofed up a lever in midair, and pulled it.

"Have a nice trip in your new life kid."

Those last words would've made Naruto go wide-eyed. Before Naruto could do anything, everything was getting all swirly. The darkness looked like a whirlpool with white mixed in, and then, everything started to become an acid trip as everything was sucked dry. As his soul was sucked in, the last thing he could remember, was his soul shifting and turning as all the pretty colors made him lose consciousness, or whatever consciousness Naruto even had to begin with. Everything became blank, as all was consumed…

---

Later, in the Everfree Forest…

"Twilight, why are we in the Everfree Forest? This place gives me the creeps…"

"Because Spike, we need to get a certain kind of mushroom that grows only here. We need it for Pinkie Pie after all."

"But does it have to be somewhere this creepy?"

"Yes, Spike, it has to be somewhere creepy. Stop worrying so much. We're only going to the entrance of the forest."

The world of Equestria, the land inhabited by ponies, stallions, unicorns and Pegasus alike, ruled by two rulers, or, princesses in this case. A land of magic, a land of friendship…

…And a land with a very loud explosion.

The earth shook around a particular purple pony's hooves and a baby dragon's feet, as an explosion took place in front of them. But it wasn't just any kind of explosion, it was a purple puff of an explosion that looked magical and mysterious. Twlight Sparkle, a magical unicorn, and Spike, the baby dragon, hooved it on over to check out the source of the explosion.

"Twilight, what was that! It looked really dangerous!" Spike said as he tried to keep up with Twilight's pace.

"I don't know Spike, but we need to check it out."

"I'd rather go home Twi-oof!" Spike lost his footing and tripped over a lump of an object, coming to a complete stop as his mouth ate dirt. Twilight turned back to see Spike on the ground, covered in dirt. He immediately got up to wipe off, or spit out, whatever dirt was on him. As she checked to see he was okay, she spotted a particular object on the ground, the very same object that Spike tripped over. She quickly took a look to examine it, and came to a conclusion.

"It's the mushroom we're looking for Spike! We found it!" She said with a smile. She turned towards Spike, whom just hurried on to where the explosion was. Twilight tilted her head, confused.

"I thought he said he wanted to go home, not check out the explosion? I'll never understand him…" She sighed and raced off toward him.

What they saw near the front of the forest, was a sight to behold. There were some purple smoke still around, but what was in this fog of smoke was… a stallion, collapsed on the ground.

The bright orange colored stallion had a head full of blonde hair that went all the way down to his ears, and all the way down his upperback, a mane you could call it. That wasn't the strange part, it was wearing some strange clothes as well. It looked to be wearing a orange and black jacket, with some swirly patches on the shoulder parts of his jacket. The stallion slowly mumbled. It was very quiet and it couldn't be heard, but it was an indication that it was alive. Immediately, Twilight checked up on the Stallion, checking to see if there were any wounds or complications. Thankfully, there were none. Twilight Sparkle focused her horn as a light of magical energy formed, lifting the unconscious stallion off from the ground. She turned towards Spike.

"We have to get him back to Ponyville! C'mon Spike!"