Death wielded a toothy grin.

"What?" Shade gritted irritably while she backed away from Death.

"I just find it ironic that your spider friend is a wolf spider."

Shade rolled her eyes and turned to climb the stairs, her mane swished with her swift movement.

"Wait!"

"What?" Shade snapped.

"Need to find a temporary cage for "

"No."

Death stopped at the swinging doors of the kitchen. She turned to Shade and noticed her glare. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"Charlotte is a friend not a pet. Do you put your friends in cages?"

"Only my favorite ones," Death beamed from ear to ear.

Shade shook her head dismissively and climbed up the stairs.

When Death heard Shade's door close Death heaved a sigh, her cheerful disposition escaping with her hot air, and pushed through the swinging doors. She made her way to the small dining area where two untouched plates of dinner sat neglected on a small, wooden, circle dinner table.

Death sat in a chair and her head slumped onto her fore hooves on the table. Two streams of hot tears rolled down her cheeks. "Come back to me, Shade," she lamented as she cried quietly.

Shade opened her eyes and found herself floating in a black void. A bright light made Shade wince and clamp her eyes close. After a moment, she reopened her eyes and saw stars dotting the now red void. Big balls of light danced around her while massive black vortices orbited her. Twisting herself around she saw a giant mass of darkness over the horizon. For some reason, looking at the black mass made her head ache.

"Where am I?" she spoke aloud to no one in particular.

"This is your psyche."

Shade huffed, not surprised by Death's presence. "Why are we here?" Shade droned.

Shade followed the hoof that stretched before her and traced the horizon. "Those orbs represent your attributes and skills. The bright ones are the ones you know and the black ones are the ones you have yet to learn and experience."

"What is that big one in the distance?"

A light flashed in Shade's peripheral and two big lights dimmed in the horizon.

"For making ten friends, you unlocked a minuscule portion of your strength and endurance." Death explained.

"Fantastic. What is that black hole in the distance and the other smaller ones?" Shade noticed the shift in Death's face.

Staring at the black mass Death spoke with hollow words, "That is Valkyrie's, no, it is your power corrupted by Valkyrie. The second large vortex is your memories, also corrupted by Valkyrie. The other vortices are your emotions."

Shade switched from looking at Death to looking at the vortices. For a long while she did not say anything and neither did Death. They floated in silence each lost in their own thoughts.

Shade reached out to one of the smaller vortices and was surprised when it floated to her and settled in her hoof. She was equally surprised by the burning sensation she felt and cried out in pain. With her other hoof, she tried to shake the burning black ball off her hoof. When that failed, she turned to Death who watched her intently.

"Feel free to help at your earliest convenience!" Shade hissed. Death blinked, unmoving. With the intensity of the pain biting deeper into her flesh, Shade screamed and fell to her side. "Fucking help me, goddammit!" she howled.

"I don't know. I think you should suffer a little longer." A voice stated coldly which made Shade's viens freeze.

Shade writhed and rolled in agony. She looked up and saw her mother looming over her. "Mom. . . my?" Her eyesight darkened as the vortex swallowed her and incinerated her entire body. A buzzing sound deafened her ears and silenced her from her own screams.

And then nothing.

No pain.

No noise.

No noise except the sniveling coming from Shade.

Shade opened her eyes and saw Death standing on three legs while her right forehoof held the black vortex. Death held a solemn countenance. Shade tried to stand on wobbly legs and scowled at Death.

"Thanks for nothing."

"What are you talking about? I grabbed it when you first touched it. Your eyes went white and you fell on the ground." Death picked Shade up with her magic. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Shade wiped her face with her left hoof.

"Were you trying to reach this?"

"No. I wanted to see if I could fly."

"Interesting." Death gazed into the singularity in her hoof. "This is empathy. Empathy is the source of your father's power."

"So, my mother sealed empathy away so that I couldn't harness my true power?"

Death released the vortex and watched as it floated away. "No. No, I don't think she did. I think you corrupted it yourself over the years of feeding hatred and anger." She extended her hoof and held a black orb. In the center of the orb was the faintest flicker of light. Death frowned. "This is love. Your love is filled with hate. Hate and love are one in the same, Shade. You need to learn how to forgive and have mercy before you can experience love of any kind."

Shade snorted.

Death let go of the orb. She floated over to Shade and stared into her pale yellow eyes. Shade glowered at Death. "I am trying to help you, Shade. You will never truly be happy if you become a demon." Death reached out her hoof to Shade. "Let me help you and together you can unlock your full potential. It will not be easy. It will be worth it. Aren't you tired of being miserable?"

"Will being happy bring me back my sight?" Shade asked bitterly. "Will it bring back my mother?"

Death smiled. "Yes. And the only way to bring back your mother would be to accept me."

"You. Are. Not. My. Mother." Shade growled. Shade reeled back. She gawked at Death. "Did. . . Did you punch me?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Death shrugged.

Shade rubbed her jaw. "I'm going to kill you," she threatened. With a war cry, Shade launched herself at Death.

Death stopped Shade in mid flight with her pink magic. Shade flailed wildly. "Fine. Don't accept me as your mother. You do not need to love me because I love you, Shade."

Shade shot up in bed. She was short of breath and panted heavily. A ray of light shone between the curtains which split the darkness of her room. Birds sang outside. Her clock ticked which drew her attention. "6:15" it read. A yawn escaped her and she smacked her lips.

Her door slowly opened.

"Morning!" Applejack greeted her with a smile.

Shade frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, gee, I was under the impression you were gunna help me on the farm to help build up your strength."

"Right," Shade yawned. She rolled out of bed and rubbed her eyes. "Let me get a quick bite and we can go."

"Death Bell made breakfast." Applejack informed her sleepy friend and held open the door.

"More power to her." Shade remarked.

Author's Notes: