"OHMYGOODNESSIAMSOSORRYIDIDN'TMEANITOHNOOHNOOHNO..."

"I know you didn't mean to, Pinkie. You were a filly. How could you know?"

The pink mare looked up at the bald figure. Her mane had deflated. "I now have to pay for that, am I?"

"For what?"

Pinkie looked down again. "For... killing you?"

The stallion laughed. "Don't worry, Pinkie. It was an accident. However, I am here to teach you. Everyone you meet here has something to teach you."

Twilight stepped up. "What do you mean?"

"All lives are connected. You can no more separate two lives from each other than you can a breeze from the wind or a current from the river."

Pinkie Pie started sobbing. "We were playing TAG! I wasn't paying attention. Its not fair that you had to die because of me!"

"Fairness doesn't govern life or death Pinkie." responded the stallion. "No good pony would die young if that were the case."

The stallion waved a hoof in front of the mares, and they found themselves in a cemetery. Nearby, a group of mourners were gathered around a freshly dug grave to pay their last respects.

"This was my funeral. Why did these ponies come? There were some who didn't even know me. Why do ponies gather when other ponies die?"

"It is because everypony realizes somewhere in their hearts that all lives intersect, that all lives affect each other. They might not realize it, but they also know deep down that when somepony dies, somepony else lives. That's where lives are changed."

"You say it wasn't fair for me to die instead of you, but there were times that other ponies died instead of me. However, there is a balance to it all. Birth and death are part of a whole."

"That is why we are drawn to babies and funerals"

The group looked back at the mourners. The Pie family was there, including Pinkie and her sisters.

"What was so important about your death?" asked Pinkie. The bald stallion looked on.

"Do you remember what I said earlier? When somepony dies, there is somepony else that lives. I died. You lived."

Pinkie looked back to the pink filly. She was at the funeral that day, unaware of the role she played in it .

"We didn't know each other. We were just strangers."

The stallion put his foreleg around her. "Strangers are just family we have yet to meet."

The stallion gave the pink mare a warm hug. It seemed to have helped improve Pinkie's mood, as her hair restored itself to the cotton candy appearance it had before. However, much to the astonishment of the mares, the stallion's brown mane and tail started to grow. His coat also came back in the most brilliant shade of blue.

"I must go now. This step of heaven is over for me. However, there are four others who have yet to meet you." The stallion started to walk away.

"WAIT!" shouted Twilight. The stallion stopped and looked at the purple unicorn.

"At the hotel, there was a filly. The hotel was collapsing. I tried to save her. I felt her hooves. Did I push her out of the way?"

"I can't answer that question." replied the stallion with a sad smile. "Somepony else will."

The mares watched as the stallion faded away. They flew away from the cemetery and over the rock farm. Then it was gone.

A crowd was still gathered around the hotel wreckage. The fire had been contained and the police started their investigation.

"What happened?"

Princess Celestia approached the wreckage, with her younger sister following close behind. She had arrived the day before to talk with the mayor. She was getting ready to return to Canterlot when she heard of the disaster.

"The hotel was completely destroyed." said a nearby officer. "We still do not know the cause of the blaze."

Their conversation was interrupted when another officer came running to them.

"We found some bodies."

The princesses and the officers navigated their way towards the discovery.

Princess Celestia gasped as the first body was pulled out. It was an orange mare with three apples as her cutie mark. Miraculously, her Stetson hat had remained on her forehead.

The next body that was recovered was a pale yellow pegasus with a flowing pink mane. The princesses watched in sorrow as a pink earth pony, a spectrum maned cyan pegasus, and a white unicorn were pulled out. The princess's heart sank as the last body was pulled out.

It was a lavender colored unicorn mare with a pink-striped violet mane. Her cutie mark was a magenta six-pointed star with five smaller stars surrounding it.

"TWILIGHT!" cried the sun princess. "TWILIGHT! NOOOO!"

She rushed over to Twilight's lifeless form and wept as she cradled her in her forehooves.

Next time:

The second pony takes the mares back to when they were prisoners of war. Now that I have your attention, please give feedback, no matter how harsh it is.