"Who I really am?" he repeated, undaunted by the powerful Alicorn. "You are quite brave, to confront me alone like this."

"This is not a confrontation, Death, this is only a...discussion," Celestia replied evenly.

"A...discussion?" he tilted his head, confused.

"My student, Twilight Sparkle, was suspicious of your visit and sent me a letter. We have been rather...on edge, since the changeling attack. I turned my gaze towards you, and while you do not seem inherently suspicious, I cast a simple spell towards you just to be safe."

"It was a spell we created to reveal strip away illusions, to show us somepony's 'true self.' It showed me you were no changeling, but neither were you a pony," she paused, as if recalling a painful memory.

"You had piqued my curiosity, exactly what were you hiding? So I poured more power into the spell, and still I saw nothing. The entire day, as you were lead around Ponyville, I poured more and more of my strength into the spell. Finally, with a last burst of brute force magic, I tore away your disguise...and I saw you," another pause. "It was something so great, so powerful, so dark...so terrifying."

"The final judge, who had been there since the beginning, and would be waiting at the very end." A twinge of horror crept into her voice. "I saw it, and I saw my myself grow old, weak, and fall into an open grave..."

"That must have been very shocking for you," he told her. How odd, he hadn't even noticed the spell scyring him. Then again, that was probably the point of the spell.

"You have no idea, it's not often I'm forced to face my mortality," she took a breath to steady herself. "But seeing that, I was reminded of old stories, stories I had read when I was just a filly, of death appearing in the land as a warning of a great calamity. So I thought to ask...are the stories true? You have spent all your time in Ponyville, around Twilight and her friends. I have to know, are my lands in danger, is Twilight...and her friends, in danger?"

"You're afraid, aren't you?" he realized.

"Why wouldn't I be? They are my subjects...my friends. I would give anything to protect them, I would make a deal with death if it would save them," she boldly stated. He stared back at her, silent. This Alicorn was prepared to give everything to help her subjects...to help those she cared about.

He couldn't but feel impressed...and a little envious.

"There no need for any deals, or worries," he consoled her. "Those stories you speak of are not true. I do not bring death, it happens whether I will it to or not, I only show up to clean up what is left behind. I take every beings final breath into me, and with it, their soul..." His words came out laced with with a dark sadness, surprising himself.

"Then why are you here? Is this some sort of...holiday for you?" Celestia asked him.

"Something far more than that, I came here to understand something, and in understanding, find an answer to a question," he explained, perhaps this Alicorn, this Princess, was the one that could finally help him.

"Understand what? What question could Death possibly have to ask?"

"I am merely all-seeing, not all-knowing...I've seen you before you know," he sat down in the grass and gazed up at the moon. "I saw you and your sister defeat Discord, bringing harmony and peace to the land . I saw your joy and love together, and I saw it fall apart..." he began.

"Wait, so you saw..."

"Everything, and I can never forget it. I saw your sister become cold and corrupted as you failed to notice, failed to do anything. I was there when you used the Elements to banish her to the moon for a thousand years after you failed to purify her. I saw the pain on your face as she vanished, I saw the tears fall from your cheeks after the deed was done, and I saw the mask you put on to face your subjects the next day,"

"I do not normally follow living beings as closely as I did you, but your usage of the Elements...interested me. I cannot explain it, but perhaps it was the beginning of my rebellion, perhaps I wished to be part of someone's life, rather that just their death," he took a slow breath, letting the air flow through him.

"For a thousand years, I saw you rule over the land, taking on the duties of both the sun and moon. I saw, as you raised the moon and felt the glare of your sister bore into your mind every night, the simple question that grazed your lips..."

"Why..." Celestia found herself saying with him.

"Why had this fate been forced on you? Why were you the one who had to rule alone? Why couldn't you just have been like any other pony? Why was the opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasures of life taken from you, overruled by your royal duties?" he continued, then turned to stare at Celestia.

"That question is mine, only with the pain multiplied by an aeon. Your sister returned after all those years, begging forgiveness and allowing you a reprisal in your duties. No such kindness was ever given to me..."

"Why was I forced to see the life of every living being, but denied anything life had to offer. Every living thing is giving the chance to find friendship or love, and even if they fail, they have the decency to die and find some peace in that. But not me...I was meant to always be alone..."

"That's why I'm here, to try and understand friendship and love, powers used to save this land almost half a dozen times. I thought that by understanding them, I might learn why they were never meant to be offered to me..." his gaze dropped to stare at the ground. "Do you understand? Can you even imagine the emptiness I felt, forced to be always watching this world?"

"A little...though I know I could never imagine its true scope," Celestia finally said, choosing he words carefully. "Have you found your answer yet?"

"...No, but I am learning, understanding a little. I am starting to form connections," he replied, a bright pink pony in his mind's eye.

"And how long do you plan to stay?" Celestia asked.

"As long as it takes, until my questions are answered and my existence makes sense," he stated in defiance, as if those who created him could hear.

"Don't," Celestia whispered. "Don't stay here, if anything, you should leave this world immediately."

"Darling, exactly why did you feel the need to drag us all from our homes to the library at this dreadful hour?" Rarity yawned, standing in a circle with the other Element bearers around Twilight.

"Yeah, and couldn't ya have jus' sent us a message with Spike to get our attention? Y'all nearly scared me half to death, yellin' in my head with yer magic like that," Applejack added.

"Sorry everypony, but I had to be sure you heard me and got here as soon as possible, this is important!" she waved around the letter she got from Celestia. "Now have any of you, besides Pinkie Pie, seen a strange gray pony with a scythe mark on his flank? He calls himself Sunny Harvest."

"Um, I did today, Pinkie brought him over to my cottage earlier today," Fluttershy spoke up.

"And why did you do that Pinkie?" Twilight asked.

"Well I was trying to help him make some friends, duh. I spent most of the day showing him around Ponyville," she explained, though she tried to keep her tone flat, seeing the serious expression on Twilight's face.

"Ah saw him last night Twilight," Applejack said, stepping forward. "He was a right strange fella, and he said he knew my parents. He asked me a few questions 'n then walked off."

"And you two?" Twilight turned to Rarity and Rainbow Dash who just shook their heads.

"I've been busy training up in Cloudsdale the past few days," Rainbow Dash explained.

"And I've been working on a simply massive order in my boutique," Rarity added.

"Exactly what's so important about this 'Sunny' pony anyway?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.

"Well I was worried about him, he walked in here asking about the Elements of Harmony and friendship, so I sent a letter to the Princess, but then she sent one back. She had identified who he really was. She said he's..." she gulped, worried at how her friends would react, she expected anything from laughter to complete terror. "Death."

She was greeted with complete silence. Her friends just stared at her, confusion on all of their faces.

"Y-You just mean that his name is Death, right? Instead of Sunny Harvest?" Fluttershy said quietly, Twilight noticed her hind legs shaking slightly.

"I wish I did. Princess Celestia specifically said that he is Death, our Grim Reaper," her friend's faces remained blank, they had no idea how to respond to this.

"Well if this Sunny fellow really is a masquerade for Death," Rarity paused, this was such an odd topic to discuss. "Why is he here?"

"Well why else would he be here?" Rainbow Dash jumped in. "He's probably here to grab one of the ponies in the old folk's home." She looked at Twilight hopefully.

"I don't know Rainbow Dash...I've never heard of something like that before. you think we would have noticed if a strange pony showed up in town every time somepony was about to die," Twilight shook her head, she hated when things refused to make logical sense.

"Wait, so if he's death that means when he was talkin' 'bout knowin' my parents he meant..." a dark scowl appeared on Applejack's face.

"I'm afraid so Applejack...I'm sorry," Twilight said.

"Y'all got nothin' to apologize fer," Applejack told her, though she still sounded a bit angry. "Well...what else did the Princess say?" She moved to Twilight's side to get a better look at the letter.

"She said that she was going to confront him to try and talk to him, and if she needed to...stop him," she looked around, a pleading look in her eyes. "She says that she sent me this because she trust me and in case...something goes wrong. Oh, girls...I'm scared..." She was quickly comforted by a massive group hug.

"Don't worry Twilight, Princess Celestia is one of the toughest, coolest ponies out there! And she's got us to back her up, the ponies who beat Nightmare Moon and Discord!" Rainbow Dash said proudly.

"Yeah, and maybe Death's here to make friends!" Pinkie said, drawing quite a few odd looks.

"And what makes you think that darling?"

"Well...did any of you get the chance to really look at him? He just looks super duper lonely, I mean, being the Grim Reaper can't be that thankful of a job, can it?" Twilight couldn't help but grin a little at Pinkie Pie's assumption.

"I hope you're right Pinkie, I really do," she looked around around at everypony. "But just in case...could you all stay here, until I hear back from Celestia?"

"We're your friends Twilght, we'll stand by you no matter what." Fluttershy said, surprising the others, and herself, with her bold tone. The rest of the ponies quickly agreed,

Twilight smiled brightly at all of them. With all of them together, nothing could go wrong.

...she hoped

"Leave? And why would I do that?" he asked the Alicorn.

"So that you won't-"

"Are you afraid that while I'm here I'll forget my duties, that death would simply stop? That would be impossible. Death waits for no pony, griffon, dragon, anyone! I am always there, I could not stop it if I tried!" he felt himself grow angrier with each word.

"Who are you to tell me what I should do? Every living being in this world bows to me whether they wish to or not. You may have lived for over a thousand years, but such a time is nothing to me. I've watched rulers greater than you grow old and die in less than an instant, I have seen kingdoms mightier that yours fall in the blink of an eye. Your soul will be carried by me, you have no power," he stated, glaring defiantly up at her.

Celestia made no response, she simply stamped one hoof onto the grassy hill.

It looked rather unimpressive, but suddenly, he felt a massive force radiate from her. It was like being hit in the chest with a cannon ball. Her horn began to glow as she let her strength radiate outwards, soon her own body seem to shine brilliantly, to the point where couldn't himself to look at her, to look upon he radiance.

Surprised and intimidated, he unconsciously took a few steps back. Celestia didn't let him gain any ground, advancing forward, her tone dark and serious.

"You may be king, and ruler, of your own world of death and darkness, but in this world, where you have barely spent two days, you are less than a colt. I am the sun and its light, responsible for the lives of all these ponies, rather than their deaths! I battled a god of chaos for them! I locked my sister away for a thousand years to save them, and though it all, I have endured. For over a thousand years I have lived, you still don't understand what it is to truly live. You stumble around in a fake body, unaware of anything life has to offer, so naive about its wonders..." she paused and her voice fell into a whisper as her radiance dimmed.

"So naive about its pains..." her eyes seemed so full of sadness as she looked at him.

"I am trying to protect you, so much pain awaits you if you stay here," she explained to him.

"Pain? Here? How could there be pain here? It finally...it doesn't hurt here," he admitted to her. "Here, I'm not alone...someone is happy to see me. It's not...empty here. I've finally gotten a chance to...live." He paused as these words flowed out of him, how could he have been affected, changed, in such a small amount of time.

"And what will you do with that chance? Make more friends, more connections, you may even be lucky enough to fall in love. But then, life will happen. They will grow older and weaker while you are forced to stay the same. As an alicorn, I have outlasted so many friends, but you will out last everypony..."

"I was forced to watch them die...but it will be so much worse for you, you have witnessed this pain before, but never have you been a part of it. You will be forced to take their last breath away, you will be responsible for the deaths of all those you come to care about," she took another step towards him, her gaze so powerful he could not bring himself to look away.

"Can you do it? Can you face that pain?" He tried to answer, but he could not. He didn't want to admit...admit that he didn't know what he would do if he had to face such pain...

"I see..." Celestia finally said, turning away. "Better to leave now, and be happy with your memories." She started to walk away.

She would leave him alone.

"No," he muttered quietly, his gaze fixated on the ground. "No, I won't leave with nothing. I shattered the rules of my own existence the come here, and my question will be answered!" His voice gained strength with each word.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Celestia asked, still facing away from him.

"With your help," he told her. "You are one of the strongest magical beings alive, and you have access to every spell in Canterlot. There has to be something you can do."

"There is a spell...something I researched long ago," she admitted to the chilling night air. "It is a spell to show you another pony's life, their history. "

"Then use it!" he demanded.

"The spell is strong, on its own it takes quite a lot of power, and to view the history of a being as old as yourself could be...dangerous for me. And to view all of your memories...if I am not careful, I could lose myself." She hesitantly explained.

"You don't need to look through every memory, just the first, my first. If you go to the beginning, you might learn something. If you do this...I swear on every soul that I've carried, that I will go back to where I belong, no more arguments," he vowed. After all, if this didn't reveal anything, what would?

"Very well," Celestia accepted after a moment of silence. She walked back to him and placed the tip of her horn against his forehead. "Brace yourself."

He felt her power as the her horn began to glow with a golden aura. Suddenly, his head began to burn as the magic found a path to his mind. He felt it burrow deeper and deeper until it felt like his entire body was on fire. He forced himself not to scream, he had to endure this pain. He would endure anything if it meant an answer.

However, that resolve didn't stop him from blacking out.

An abyss.

That was how Celestia would describe the endless stream of memories before her.

Magically projected into his mind, Celestia stood before a dark...void. She didn't know how she was supposed to handle this. She could not see anything that resembled a 'beginning.'

But every moment in here drained more of her strength, she had to start somewhere...and then something caught her eye.

A spot of light in the black.

She willed herself towards it, and fell into the abyss.

"And what exactly do you think some sparkling jewels are going to do to me? Hah-" a mocking voice caught her attention before it was abruptly cut off right as it began to laugh. She recognized that voice.

An image appeared before her, a mocking Draconequus being frozen in stone by two Alicorns wielding the Elements of Harmony. The blast had hit him directly in the face so it looked as if he mocked them even in his imprisonment.

So he had been watching them even back then, she wondered how many time he'd personally witnessed the power of the Elements...

"Tis a job well done sister!" her past self told Luna.

"Thank thee sister, I knew we could do it," Luna replied, happily embracing her elder sister.

Celestia was so tempted to stay and watch, for just a little longer. It was so nostalgic to see her sister like this, before everything had gone so wrong.

But she couldn't stay here, she couldn't let herself get lost in the past. She had to keep moving while she still had the strength. She let the stream of memories pull her further and further back.

Eventually, she felt the pull weaken and slow. She had to be close...

She opened her eyes, but saw only darkness. This had to be it...Death's first memory, the first soul he had collected.

A tiny light entered the black, the soul, but as she continued to watch it she something. And in a moment, she understood, she knew the answer.

And it worried her.

Lying on the ground, he slowly stirred and opened his eyes. In front of him, looking completely exhausted, was Celestia.

"Did it work?" he croaked. "Did you find anything?"

"I did," she told him, but she seemed hesitant. "I know the answer to your question." She took a deep breath.

"The reason you were never meant to know friendship, love, or life is because...you were never meant to exist..."