Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in the Canterlot Archives, searching for a specific book or scroll. Her friends were there with her, to help her find the one spell to revive Angel Bunny. Fluttershy was in constant tears as she watched the carriage run over the poor thing. Fluttershy wept as she searched for the book frantically, Angel's remains in a bag on her back.
"Find anything, girls?" Twilight asked.
"Nope." Were the replies to the question.
"Twilight Sparkle, how nice to see you. What, pray tell, are you doing here?" Princess Luna asked as she trotted in and picked up a few scrolls.
"We're looking for a revive spell. Fluttershy's bunny Angel died and we need to get him back. Can you help us? Please?" Twilight asked.
The Princess of the Moon sighed. "Here, Twilight, take this and find the exact row and book. There should be a spell to revive Angel without getting her involved. Speak to no pony about this." Luna gave Twilight a scrap piece of paper with a few numbers scribbled on it.
The title read Forbidden Spells.
Twilight and her friends ran to row 57, column 32. A scroll sat in place and Twilight swiped it up, flying back down and smiling. "Fluttershy, don't worry, I think this will get Angel back."
Twilight read the scroll over, scanning and thinking. "I can do this spell, but my Latin is a little rusty. We have to be in the town where the death occurred, I think. Let's get on the train to Ponyville."
~At Twilight's House~
"Okay, it says here we need a thick substance to make a pentagram." Twilight rubbed her chin and took some bags of flour from the kitchen. She put the powder in a pentagram shape and splashed water over it. "Now we need to have five candles, lit at each point."
After setting the candles down and lighting them, Twilight read the scroll further. "Fluttershy, place Angel's remains in the center of the pentagram. Then Rarity and I will activate the spell."
The yellow pegasus put the bag of Angel Bunny's remains in the middle and stood at her point. Twilight flew calmly above the circle, and she and Rarity charged the spell, their normal magic colors becoming blood red and black. Red wisps floated from their eyes and the white pentagram glowed.
Twilight and Rarity, along with the others, sat down and watched as nothing happened but glowing. Suddenly, a black cloaked pony arose from the shape, and turned around. She was tall, taller then Celestia, and instead of skin she had bones. She turned and one red eye and one yellow eye rolled into the space of the holes of her eye sockets. She turned to the ponies and growled.
"Why hath thou summoned me?! Grimm Reaper is a busy pony. I suggest you clear this sorry excuse for a pentagram so I can leave." Grimm growled again, her voice the sound of broken glass, her breath the smell of decay and rotting flesh. Red wisps flew from her eyes, fading into the dark air.
Twilight did as she was told and cleared the pentagram, obeying Death's orders. Grimm pulled her hood back and revealed a black, misty mane, as if it were mist, not hair. Her horn curved upwards and her wings, when extended, looked like bat wings. Her bones were a rusty yellow color, and she looked none too pleased.
"Death has a very tight schedule, mortals." Grimm's voice resounded throughout the room. A scroll appeared in her black magic. "There are exactly nine hundred and seventy two ponies that need to die today."
The skeleton showed the ponies the scroll and gasped as a few names were familiar. Fluttershy stood in Grimm's way as she was about to leave.
"We summoned you here to get my Angel Bunny back and that's happening!" Fluttershy started her stare, to which Grimm gazed quizzically back.
"That's funny, but no returns unless they're Gods or Goddesses. Angel Bunny is dead now, and he will stay dead." Grimm stated, swatting Fluttershy out of her way.
"Please, we'll do anything for you!" Twilight said as she helped her friend up from the floor.
"Oh, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I didn't see you there. Since there is a technicality in my work, I suppose I could bring back Angel Bunny." Grimm smirked. "For a price."
"What's the price?" Applejack asked.
"Each of you must reap one pony, without a tear. Do that, and I shall give Angel Bunny back. If you really, really want to please me, you could reap every pony on my list. You have two hours to reap one pony. Don't disappoint me." Grimm cackled, vanishing, but leaving behind an hour glass which held enough sand for two hours.
"Should we really take six lives just for a bunny?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes, of course! I'll do all I can to get Angel back!" Fluttershy yelled at Dash.
"Okay, okay, but...who're we supposed to get rid of?" Rainbow asked again.
Suddenly, in a flash of dark magic, six scrolls lay on the ground before the six ponies. They each had the respective Cutie Mark to match its owners. Applejack picked hers up and read it.
"Dreamy Day. How the heck 'er we s'pposed ta get rid of these ponies, Grimm?" Applejack asked.
As Applejack spoke, six more scrolls appeared. Applejack opened the one that was orange and had three apples on it, and a scythe lay in the parchment. The other five opened their's, and got to work.
~A Couple Hours Later~
The six filed back into the tree house, exhausted. Dash had to fly to Cloudsdale and hunt down Ruby Spice, and Fluttershy had to go to Fillydelphia to get Marching Mane. Rarity had to hoof it to Hoofington, to get rid of Celery Scene, while Twilight had to reap a Crystal Pony known as Ember Desire. Applejack took care of Dreamy Day in Appleoosa, and Pinkie Pie got to Violet Vile in Las Pegasus.
"We're... done, Grimm!" Twilight gasped out as they fell on the floor.
Grimm appeared in a flash of black, and she was filing her hooves, making the ends very sharp. "That's too bad, you took two hours and one hundredth of a second to get back here as well as finish the job."
"Now listen here, Grimm." Twilight started. "I am the Princess of Magic, and I demand that you bring Angel Bunny back right now."
"My dear Twilight, I am Celestia's older cousin. Why would I listen to you?"
"You will listen to me because I said so! I am the Princess of Magic, mind you; I can make things happen to you that no pony else can. Do it now." Twilight hissed, red wisps forming around her eyes, before shaking her head.
"My influence has made you all become a little darker. Twilight, I am the Queen of the Dead. The last time I checked, Queen outranks Princess by this much." Grimm put her hooves up to show how much she meant.
"Please, Queen of the Dead! Please, Grimm Reaper! Death, please revive my bunny!" Fluttershy plead.
"Alright, fine, since I'm a nice pony." The red wisps became darker and her horn glowed with a white intensity. The remains that were left scattered on the ground were transformed back into Angel, and his spirit was forced back inside his body. He hopped up and onto Fluttershy's head, Fluttershy crying in happiness.
Grimm turned to leave with a smirk on her face before Twilight stopped her. "Ms. Reaper-"
"Please, Princess, call me Grimm." Grimm insisted, giving a small bow.
"Grimm, I want to apologize for being so rude. It was like the essence of friendship left my body. Would you like to stay and chat?" Twilight Sparkle asked, smiling slightly.
"I would love that, but alas, my influence is draining you of your power. If I went into my 'powered down' stage, I might be able to stay." Grimm said, casting a spell.
Black fur covered her bones and her corneas filled in her eye sockets; her mane became a flowing mist that was gorgeous, and her body was mostly the same.
"Would you... like to tell us how you drained our essence?" Twilight asked, the seven sitting in a circle.
"Well, to start this story, we must go to a far, far away time."
"Long, long ago, I was the Princess of Care. I cared for and nurtured everything I could get my hooves on, and I had three friends; an earth pony named Ruby Worker, a unicorn named Sapphire Mines, and a pegasus named Emerald Reaper. They were sisters, believe it or not, and we were close friends. I was born an alicorn, so by fate, they'd die, and I'd live on. Which I did. My mother and father split Death's Duties, reaping the souls of every pony that appeared on the Scroll of Destiny. I watched them as they reaped my friends away from me, and cried and cried. I buried their bodies outside our Kingdom's castle. Dreadfast, was the name.
"My parents eventually, like Celestia and Luna's parents, became one with the heavens once more, and I became Death. I gave up on friendship and shut every pony out, taking sadistic joy in taking others' lives. Every day for the last thousands of years, I've reaped those who needed to be reaped. My total? Nine million eight hundred and seventy four. Some foals, some newborns, some elders, some mothers and fathers, some sisters and brothers, some of the closest ponies ponies could get to. And even now," Grimm pauses, reverting back to her bony self, started. "I take my sadistic joy in killing ponies. I can choose their deaths, I am the Queen of the Dead, the Princess of Fate. One day, Twilight Sparkle, I will come for your friends. And then your family. All the while you watch and I gain more and more power as I absorb your sadness. That is my way. Now I must be going."
"B-But Grimm, you can still have friends if you just-" Twilight started.
"No! No!" Grimm shouted, books flying from their shelves. "My job forces me to disallow friends! If I stay here any longer, I might destroy the Elements themselves!" Grimm cried out, her fur shedding off of her body.
"Grimm, listen to us," Twilight said, holding Grimm's hoof. "As long as you let friends into your life, you can be happy."
"Oh, my dear, I am happy. I have a sister, whom every pony loves, and I have my job. Getting rid of the blemishes that curse the soil we tread on. She once asked me, 'Grimm, why do ponies love me, and hate you?', I replied with the truth. 'Because I am a horrible truth, and you are a beautiful lie.' Do you get what I'm saying, Princess?" Grimm came inches from Twilight's face, hissing.
Grimm's tongue lolled out, violet and dripping with a sticky black substance, licking the sides of her face. The ponies backed away in fear, except for Rainbow Dash.
"Now listen, 'Queen', you need to let friends into your life, and you're too stuck up to do that!"
"Am I, now?" Grimm cackled. "Fine, I shall let friends into my life-"
Cheers came from every pony.
"If, if you six take the Scroll of Destiny and do my job for one entire week. Then come to my castle, and if you can't do it, that's fine by me. Bye bye now." Grimm said, teleporting back to her lonely castle.
