The sun rose bright and high over Ponyville, signalling the start of a new day, a new chance.

He had retreated back to his own realm after the events of the previous day in order to think and plan. How could he understand? Who did he have to talk to, and what were the right questions to ask? He spent the whole night focusing all his power towards finding an answer.

Walking back into town on the dawn of a new day, he still had no idea what to do next.

He hated that feeling.

He was death, the final judge, there should be no mysteries for him that the living would know the answer to. Yet here he was, hunting down and questioning ponies in an effort to understand why he-

"Hello again Mr. Gravely!" Pinkie Pie greeted happily as she rushed up alongside him, snapping him back to reality.

"Pinkamena," he greeted, slightly confused. He had just gotten back, how had she managed to find him so quickly?

"You remember me! But call me Pinkie Pie, 'Pinkamena' is just so boring and bleh," she said, sticking her tongue out at the last word.

"Very well, Pinkie," he replied, continuing to walk, even with no thought as to where.

"Good! But you still left yesterday after I told you to stay still, which wasn't nice. I spent the whole rest of the day trying to find you, are you sure your special talent isn't hide-and-seek?" suddenly, she was in front of him, forcing him to stop. "And you never told me your name, that wasn't very nice either," a tiny frown graced her face.

"Sunny Harvest," he told her immediately, a truly upset Pinkie was something even he knew to avoid.

"Well it's nice to meet you Sunny!" Pinkie said, grabbing one of his forehoofs and pumping it up and down vigorously. "But there's still something else I need to ask you."

"And that is?" he replied, tenderly rubbing his hoof.

"Well since you've been to Ponyville before, you should show some of the ponies who live here like...ohmygoshwhosthat!" she spun him around and pointed to a light purple earth pony stepping out of her home.

"Berry Punch, one sister, parents and grandparents who are still here," he recited.

"I see...and him?" she waved towards Carrot Cake who was busy setting up Sugarcube Corner for another day of business.

"Carrot Cake, two children, only his father left," Pinkie Pie nodded, tapping her chin.

"Hum, one more," she pointed up into to the sky at a white Pegasus with a striped green and pink mane who was busily moving any stray clouds out of the way.

"Blossomforth, two younger sisters, parents, but no grandparents," he answered, starting to wonder where Pinkie was going with this.

"Nothing else?" Pinkie questioned, leaning in closer.

"No," he stated, standing his ground.

"Then I was right!" she announced happily. "You don't know anypony!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, not admitting anything.

"I don't know how you know so much about everypony's families, but that's all you know about them. You didn't say anything about how Berry Punch makes the some of the yummiest juice in the town, or how Blossomforth is the best cloud arranger for letting the sunlight through, you didn't even mention that Mr. Cakes birthday was last week!" Pinkie explained smugly. "Just knowing about somepony's family and actually knowing them are very different things."

"Very well. And why, exactly, does me not knowing anyone make you so happy?" he asked warily.

"Because that means you can still make friends with everypony! You should always take the chance to make new friends! And the best way to do that is with a party!" she threw her hooves up, colorful confetti spraying into the air.

"No thank you," he told her. He knew that the answer he wanted would not be found in a party, no matter how good its intentions were.

"But don't you want to make friends?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Something like that," he said after a moment, "it is just...I am not good around large groups of other ponies." He offered, another partial truth. His real self and crowds tended to mix rather poorly.

"Oh, I get'cha, you're just like my friend Fluttershy! She's the worst pony at big parties! I think you should meet her," she said matter-of-factually, grabbing him by the hoof and pulling him away.

"And why exactly do you think I should meet her?" he asked, following along.

"Cause you need friends, well more friends because you've already got me, and Fluttershy is the friendliest, kindest, and quietest Pegasus I know!" She paused for a moment. "Plus, nothing interesting has happened today, and Fluttershy is really good for attracting silly hijinks." Another big smile and she was off, while he, now slightly unsure about all of this, followed after.

"Oh, good morning Pinkie Pie, it's good to see you today, who's your new friend?" Fluttershy greeted, seeing the both of them walk up the road to her cottage.She carried a large bag of feed and was going through the morning ritual of giving all her animals their breakfast.

"This is Sunny Harvest, he's new in Ponyville and he needs more friends. I was gonna throw him a big welcome party, but he's not good with crowds so I thought you would be a good pony to talk to," she explained, the words shooting quickly out of her mouth.

"I understand," Fluttershy nodded, then turned to him. "Would you like to help me feed the animals?"

"Very well," he accepted, nodding his head.

"You two have fun, I need to go help the Cakes with Sugarcube Corner, be back soon!" Pinkie said, immediately running off back to town.

Watching her go, he turned his attention back to Fluttershy and followed her inside. Scattered all over the floor of the cottage were many small animals, each one happily stuffing their faces at their food bowls.

Animals were always interesting to him, their souls never needed his guidance.

He would notice them as he collected the souls that needed him, they always looked so small, not weaker, just...less. They would move around him, taking their own path to wherever it was they would find their final resting place. Perhaps it was their natural instincts helping them even after life, or maybe something deeper than that. It was another mystery, but one he had no intention of solving. That mystery would not answer his question.

Fluttershy gave him a bag of feed for the animals and he went around refilling their bowls. Most didn't even look up from their food, but one, a small white rabbit, looked up at the stranger giving it food.

The rabbit didn't like what it saw. It jumped up and ran over to Fluttershy, tugging on the end of her mane while gesturing madly towards him.

"Oh my, what's wrong Angel?" she asked, bringing her head down to get a better look at the rabbit. Angel pointed at him then immediately collapsed, holding a little flower above his still body.

"It would appear Angel doesn't trust me," he observed, watching the rabbit's over the top performance.

"Well that's no way to treat guests Angel, he's just a new pony looking for some friends," Fluttershy explained to him. Angel jumped back up and shook his head. Angel gave him one last scathing glare before pointing at his eyes and then back at him. The meaning was obvious.

"I'm watching you."

"See, now that wasn't so hard," Fluttershy said, patting Angel on the head, completely missing the gesture.

"So tell me, why do you dislike Pinkie Pie's parties?" he asked, hoping to learn something more about another member of the six.

"Oh, I don't dislike her parties, she puts so much work into them to make sure everypony has fun, it's just...it's hard to be around all the other ponies that she invites," she replied shyly, afraid to say anything evenly slightly bad about another pony.

"But you're a hero, you've saved Equestria twice, I'd think everypony would be happy to even see you," he said, slightly confused.

"Well yes, but, they'd expect me to act like a hero too. In the stories the heroes always so big and tough and strong and brave...and I'm just not any of those things. I'd hate to disappoint those other ponies."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...so many ponies build up a dream of meeting a hero. They spend so long perfecting it that in the end, reality can't match up to it. I think it would be just terrible for me to ruin somepony's dream. I'd rather stay here with my animals, they just want food and love, and that's something I know I can give them," she nuzzled the cheek of a field mouse and looked back at him. "Sometimes it's better to let somepony keep their dream than ruin it for them, don't you think?"

He stopped, mulling over her question, and quickly realized that he didn't know what to think.

He didn't have a dream, all he had was a question, he had never considered that the answer to his question might be less than satisfying. He had figured that knowing the answer might change...something, but what if it didn't? What if everything simply remained the same as before?

"I don't know," he finally admitted to her. "It was nice to meet you." With those words he turned and walked out of her house, ignoring any of her questions that followed him.

He needed to think, needed to know.

Was there a chance that this whole expedition could be pointless?

He found a lone bench by the side of the road and climbed up into it, settling down into a comfortable position.

He tried to focus, to try and understand something, anything. This wasn't happening like he'd expected. He thought this would all be so easy, but all his journey had done was give him more questions, pushing the answer he wanted further and further away.

"Mom, do you think I could get a scooter for my birthday?" a small voice grabbed his attention, it was a unicorn filly talking to a gray Pegasus pony with a strange set of eyes.

"Well...I'm not sure you really need a scooter," the Pegasus replied, ruffling the filly's mane.

"But I promise I'll use it everyday and make sure it doesn't break and wear protective headgear and everything!" the filly begged.

"I still don't think you need a scooter," her mother stated firmly, staring intently down at her daughter.

The gaze continued, but as the seconds passed, he thought he noticed the traces of a smile forming on the Pegasus's face.

"...a second one that is!" she announced, pulling a package out of her knapsack to present to her filly. "Happy early birthday Dinky." Dinky let out a gasp before leaping at her mother with a massive hug.

"Thank you so much mom! You're the best!" the Pegasus couldn't help but hug her daughter back.

It was beautiful, but it didn't make him any happier.

He knew it should have, he knew that moments like these were rare and precious in anypony's life.

Love was beautiful, but why...?

Life was beautiful, but why...?

The question that had been hounding him, the question he had been finding himself more and more afraid to ask.

Afraid...that was an emotion he had never expected to feel, but he realized he shouldn't be surprised. He was part of the world of the living, and the living feared so many things.

"Well there you are! What happened, did Fluttershy scare you off?" Pinkie Pie appeared, again, seemingly from nowhere.

"Something like that...how is it you can always find me Pinkie?" he decided to ask, choosing to focus on that mystery as a distraction.

"Well that's easy, I just close my eyes and try and find your aura of gloominess!" she looked at him, expecting a smile he did not give. "Plus, you're on a bench next to the path to Fluttershy's place, it wasn't that hard. You should still lighten up though, look how beautiful it is today!" She gestured up towards the sky and the rays of sun shining down on them. He couldn't help but agree with her, but in the end, that was part of the problem.

"Believe me, I've noticed," he told her, then looked past her as he noticed something coming down the road. "What's that?" Pinkie followed his gaze and her mood seemed to darken, as in, she looked visibly darker to him.

It was a group of ponies walking towards the center of Ponyville.

"Oh, I was hoping to miss that," Pinkie mumbled to herself.

"Miss it how?" he asked.

"I thought that some hijinks would happen with you and Fluttershy, and then I could show up to help out, and then I'd have an excuse to not be in Ponyville, an excuse to miss it," she explained slowly.

"And what exactly is 'it?'"

"It's a funeral, an old mare passed away last week, and they're holding the procession today. They must be her friends from the edges of Ponyville," she told him.

"I see..." funerals were something he had little experience with, by the time they were set up, his work was over. "Were you friends with the mare?"

"Of course! I'm friends with everypony," she replied happily, though it sounded a little forced.

"Then shouldn't you go as well?" Pinkie's head seemed to droop at the question.

"I don't know, I want to pay my respects, but funerals are always so gloomy and sad. I don't want to be sad because of her, I want to be happy, I want to enjoy the day because of her. I think she'd enjoy that, don't you?"

A week ago, an old mare sat comfortably in her bed, surrounded by her family, so loved. She was so happy, her last words were of thanks to them all for staying next to her, right before she closed her eyes and joined him.

"I don't think she would mind," he told her, then after a moment of silence. "You know, since I am new in this town, I don't know where most things are. I could really use a guide to show me around." That was an obvious lie, he was everywhere, the layout of the world was no mystery to him. But Pinkie seemed not to notice.

"Really? Well come on, there's so much I can show you!" her mood brightened up and she immediately pulled him off the bench, away from the marching crowd of ponies.

The rest of the day was spent following and listening. Pinkie Pie knew every important landmark of Ponyville, along with some other areas she had simply decided were important.

"And here's where we all gather every week with our pets to play, and over there is the hill where we watched the meteorite shower!" she had told him as they walked through the park. He would simply respond with a nod, that was enough to keep her going.

"That was one of the houses smashed up when Snips and Snails brought an Ursa Minor to town, you should've seen it, it was crazy! And right here..." she stopped in the middle of the road through the town. "Right here is my favorite spot in Ponyville."

"And why is that?" he asked as Pinkie beamed with excitement.

"Because right here..." she paused for dramatic effect. "is where I first met Twilight Sparkle! Thanks to her I was able to become one of the bearers of an element of Harmony, save the world, and most importantly, make five great new friends!"

"That's the most important one?"

"Of course, at the end of the day, if you still have friends that care about you, then it can't be a bad day," she explained confidently. She was so sure, so happy, he almost found himself smiling.

If that's true, than how many good days have I had?

And it was gone.

"C'mon, there's still so much more to show you!" and they were off.

He was shown every nook and cranny of the town, well, except those near the funeral, and they finally stopped on the top a hill outside of town. The same hill he showed up on when he first crossed over, a strange coincidence.

"I don't think there's any special history with this hill, but it's still a nice place to relax," Pinkie shrugged before settling down in the grass. He sat next to her...strange, the grass seemed softer than he remembered.

"Also, thanks for letting me lead you around all day, even if you didn't really need it," she giggled at his surprised reaction. "Sorry, but you're a really bad liar. It was a nice try, and it did keep my mind off of things. I'm not really supposed to be sad, I am the element of laughter after all," he wasn't sure how to respond, so he just listened.

"And you know what? I've made a decision, when I go, I'm gonna make everypony pinkie promise that my funeral is a big party! I would hate it if anypony was sad because of something I did," hearing her, he found himself picturing the future.

A pink pony, once so bright and full of life, as an old mare, cold and still, he once exuberant mane laying flat against the hard ground as he stood over her, ready to collect her soul. As he saw this, a heavy weight seemed to form in his chest, a pain he had never felt before.

A dread he didn't understand...

"Look, the moon's coming out!" Pinkie's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to watch the face of the moon slowly rise over the horizon.

"I always make sure to watch the moon rise for Princess Luna, the story says she got angry 'cause no one would appreciate her night. I'd hate for something like that to happen again. Can you imagine being trapped for a thousand years? Away from all your friends and family?" Pinkie mused.

"Easier than you'd think..." he replied, mainly to himself.

"What was that?" Pinkie asked.

"Nothing, I'm just...tired. This day was...longer than I expected. Thank you though, for spending so much of it with me," he told her, and he meant it. Having someone to talk to...rather, just having someone talk to him, was such a rare gift.

"Well it was no problem! What else are friends for?" she said. Friends...only Pinkie Pie could make friends with Death so easily, and so quickly.

"Goodnight Pinkie Pie, I will see you tomorrow," he stood up.

"Okie dokie lokie! Have a good evening!" she bounced up and gave him a happy wave before heading back towards town. He watched her go, and then felt for the veil. He could over, but he found himself hesitating. It was so tempting to stay, for just a moment longer, to truly watch the night sky, to feel the soft grass, for just one more second...

His concentration was broken by the sound of a pair of wings cutting through the air. Looking up, he saw a giant Pegasus, no, an Alicorn, he corrected as he saw the horn, descend to the ground.

"Celestia," he greeted, tilting his head forward. "I've heard of you."

"And I have heard of you," Celestia replied, a stern expression on her face. "More importantly..."

"Twilight, it looks like you got a letter from the Princess!" Spike announced, running down the stairs and waving a scroll back and forth bearing the royal seal.

"Really, let me see Spike, this could be important," Twilight grabbed the scroll with her magic and immediately unrolled it.

"To my ever faithful student," she began, reading it aloud. "I looked into the pony you told me about in your last letter, and made a rather startling discovery. I am telling you this because I trust you, and in case something goes wrong. I am confronting the pony now, because..."

"I've uncovered who you really are, Death..."