"'Ponyville'?" Shade blew an uninterested sigh along with a roll of her eyes, "You should have made them more original."

"I created the universe and the governing laws, I did not name every single thing, I left that up to them," Death defended.

"Whatever." Shade huffed. She walked to the window in her room and rested her forelegs on the sill.

'Luckily', a house was for sale, and they were able to move in immediately. They had spent the whole morning and afternoon buying clothes and furniture. Shade watched the sky turned darker as ponies minded their business in the market below. Shade had to keep from wretching when Death introduced herself as her mother. 'Nightshade Toxin', an alias Shade could bare. Death, who was now going by the name Deathly Belladonna, planned to turn the lower part of the house into a store a magic curio store, where she would also tell ponies their future.

Of course, ponies stared at the newcomers and asked questions; specifically, why they had three horns. Death explained to the curious ponies that it was a rare genetic mutation that passed from generation to generation. Unsurprisingly, the naïve ponies bought that excuse.

Shade turned to the unicorn who stood beside her. She noticed the apple levitating in the air and accepted it with her hoof. "Thanks," she mumbled. Death smiled warmly down at Shade. Shade inspected the apple and her hoof. "'Magic', you say?"

"Magic," Death nodded, "although, I have noticed a considerable amount of ponies who use their mouths to write, which boggles my mind, to be honest."

Shade bit into the apple while staring into the eyes of Death. "Why are you pretending to be my mother?"

"Who says I'm 'pretending'?" Death smiled.

Shade bit into the apple again, disregarding her comment. "This is. . . delicious," Shade admitted.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I dunno. . ." Shade took another bite, "it is surprisingly sweet, crunchy, and succulent."

"Sweet Apple Acres does produce the best apples in Equestria. Also, being a herbivore, you have more taste buds, so there's that to consider," Death happily informed Shade. She turned to leave, "I am going to make dinner. You want anything?"

"Steak," Shade replied without hesitation.

Death rolled her eyes with a smile and left, closing the door behind her.

Shade gazed out the window and pressed a hoof against the glass which reflected her sad eyes and splayed back ears. Another world she could not fully enjoy. She knew that the sky was getting darker, but was it pink or orange or purple? How could she tell? Tears welled in her eyes. She quickly slapped herself. No. No crying. Crying is for the weak. She discarded the apple core into the waste basket beside her bed. She walked over to a writing desk in the corner of her room, opposite from her bed, and sat at the bureau.

With nothing else to do, Shade decided to practice her writing; she did not want to give bullies any more ammunition to use against her. Considering how weak ponies were, she would have no trouble kicking their ass. After failing writing with her left hoof, she decided just to use her mouth, which made writing easier in the end.

Satisfied with writing the alphabet ten times and her name perfectly, she got off the chair and focused on the pencil. Death's words echoed in her mind. Picture reaching out with your hand. She could feel the pressure building up in her head, and her horn felt as if pulses of electricity surged through it. Daring to open an eye, she quickly peeked at the desk and frowned. She released a strained huff and stopped focusing on the pencil. A moderate pain began to flare from the base of her horn.

"Don't give up, Shade," Death's voice broke the silence. Shade quickly snapped her head at the intruder. "I've been watching since you started," she answered Shade's questioning expression. "Dinner is ready."

"Is it steak?"

"No."

"Then I'm not hungry."

"It is bacon."

Shade eyed Death suspiciously. She walked over to her and sniffed her. "Tch. You don't smell like bacon."

"It is soy bacon!" Death chimed.

Shade gagged, "Don't give me any more reasons to strangle you in your sleep."

"You need to eat to replenish your mana," she picked up Shade with her pink magic and carried the filly out the door.

"Cheater," Shade pouted with crossed hooves. "Hmph! When I learn magic, I am going to enjoy my revenge all the more."

"Love you, too, Shade!"

Holy fuck! How am I supposed to wipe myself? Holy fuck! How am I supposed to wipe myself? HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO WIPE MYSELF! Shade screamed in her head as she sat on the porcelain throne. She sank her head onto her forehooves.Goodbye, dignity. Goodbye, shame.

"Death!" she called out pitifully and defeated.

Firstly, Shade vowed never to experience last night ever again; secondly, what the fuck is "Wednesday" supposed to mean; and thirdly, the red circle the following week indicated she would be starting school, wasn't that a little too soon?

Death leaned against the doorframe, a small smile across her muzzle, as she watched Shade scowling at the calendar hanging on the wall. "If you keep your face like that it'll stay that way."

"Tch," was the response she received from the alabaster filly. "You survived your morning shower."

"I must admit," Death levitated a toaster from behind her with a thin smile, "it was quite shocking at first."

"What the Hell is up with the name of their days and months?" Shade voiced her annoyance.

'"You can learn all about it in school and a book." Death looked at the calendar and frowned. "992 C.R. I thought. . . well, nevermind."

"Will you at least tell me what C.R. means?"

"Celestia's Reign."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Shade shuffled awkwardly, not wanting to face Death, not after what happened last night. "Let's just get this over with. Go ahead and laugh."

"'Laugh'? At what?"

"You know. . . about last night."

"Ah, yes. it was quite silly of me to forget to buy a bidet for the toilet."

Shade tore her eyes from the calendar and looked up at her quizzically. "What?"

"I was just. . . so excited to be here and live as a pony I forgot about the small things." Death bowed before Shade, "I apologize for not buying the bidet and having you go through that."

Shade stepped away from Death with a confused expression. "You are supposed to be laughing not apologizing."

"Why would I laugh about that? If I were in your shoes heh get it because " Death shook her head and continued in a serious tone, "I'll go buy the bidet, and we can put yesterday behind us. Deal?"

"Huh," Shade grunted in disbelief, "so you can act like a mature adult."

Death giggled, "Whenever the situation demands it. C'mon, breakfast is ready."

"Wait. What's a 'bidet'?"

Death smiled mischievously, "Oh, Shade, only one of the best inventions ever."