My Little Psyche: Journey of the Soul

“I agree, Ginger Snap,” I said as I picked up a brick of chocolate with my magic, broke off a piece and started chewing on it. “Building a house out of confectionery delights does sound quite lovely...”—nom, nom, nom—“...but it just isn't all that practical, now, is it?”

The light brown mare scoffed at that. “Practical, shmactical! It's the dream of it that matters! The fact that I wanted something and went after it!”

“Indeed...” I muttered dully, picking up a stray gumdrop off the ground and eating that as well.

“Stop eating my house!”

“It's not a house anymore,” I clarified, indicating the sugary rubble at our hooves. “Shouldn't let it go to waste now, should I?”

“You should be calling an ambulance, or saving my life, or... something!” Ginger hollered shrilly.

“Won't do you any good, I'm afraid.”

“And why in Celestia's name not!?”

“Because you're already dead,” I replied coolly, pointing out a ruffled light brown hoof sticking out of the pile, spotted here and there with bright pink frosting.

It was true. Earlier, Ginger Snap had been alive and well. She had been working on her life-sized gingerbread house for weeks now at the edge of town—all by herself. As she put it, it was her “dream.”

She poured her heart and soul into the task of making it a reality. But, as fate would have it, one of her graham cracker walls wasn't quite as sturdy as she presumed it to be and it...snapped.

Subsequently, the whole thing came down on her, crushing her bones like cinnamon sticks and turning her organs to jelly.

“Hah! N-Not yet, I'm not! I'm just having an out-of-body experience! Yes! That's all! Now get me out of there and call an ambulance already! You're wasting precious time!”

Stage One: Denial.

“I don't think you want me pulling you out of there. That fruitcake ceiling you had looked pretty...solid. Probably very messy.”

The color drained from her face as the truth began to sink in.

“B-But I can't be dead! I haven't finished my house yet!” Then something in her mind clicked into place and she looked at me as if noticing I was there for the very first time. “You! You could have stopped this! I-I saw you in town just a little while ago! You bumped into me just outside Sugarcube Corner and...asked me what all the sweets were for!”

Stage Two: Anger.

What she said was true. I bumped into her at Sugarcube Corner because I knew that was where she would be. Because I knew she was going to die soon. You see, the fact is, I'm a Reaper. And as such, when ponies die, it's my job to ferry their souls to the afterlife. Each time I'm assigned a pony, I learn their name, what they look like, and roughly what time they are going to expire. I never know exactly when, where, or how they will die—probably to keep things interesting, but from that moment on, I'm drawn to them, leading me to them like a magnet in their final moments, up until finally—kaput.

She was so angry now there were tears forming in her eyes. “If you already knew, why did you ask me about the sweets then!? Were you taunting me!? Was that it!?” She was sobbing now. “W-Why didn't you warn me!? I-I could have still been alive now if you had just told me—”

“I can't do that,” I answered firmly. “If it wasn't your time, I would have saved you. But if it's your time, it's your time... That's it.”

“P-Please... Please....” she begged, kneeling down before me, resting her head at my hooves, tears flowing freely down her face.

Stage Three: Bargaining.

“If you could just...give me one more chance! At least let me say goodbye to my family first! PLEASE!”

I shook my head. “I'm sorry...but I can't. If I did so, it would throw everything off balance. People would live longer than they were meant to. Things that weren't supposed to happen would happen. And the dead would never move on.”

“Doesn't sound that bad to me!”

“Trust me. It would be.”

Stage Four: Depression.

Ginger sighed and slumped to the ground completely. Her light brown fur turned gray. Her form became translucent and gave off a slight ethereal glow.

“I shoulda known something about you was off the moment I saw you. Looking all creepy in your cloak and all...”

“Cloak?” I asked, blinking.

I looked down at myself. Oh right... the cloak. Sometimes I'd forget I was wearing it. All Reapers wore cloaks while on the job. Never understood why though. Seemed counterproductive to the whole “keeping our true nature a secret” and all that. Not that I was very good at that to begin with.

“...The reason I asked you about the sweets before was because...I wanted to keep you happy in your final moments...”

She looked up at me then, her crying quieting down a bit. “W-What...?”

“I honestly didn't know your house was gonna fall on you. I didn't even know you were building a house. I was just thinking the sweets were for a special occasion, so I figured I'd ask you about them so you'd be focusing on that if...when...”

She just stared at me silently.

“I'm sorry,” I apologized, hanging my head. “It was a stupid idea... I should have just...kept my distance til it was over.”

She stood up again. Even as I stared at my hooves, I could feel her eyes on me, studying me closely. “You...were trying to keep me happy? Even though you knew I'd die anyway?”

“Especially since I knew you were gonna die anyway... I-I mean, I would have been nice to you, anyway! Even if you weren't gonna die, but—” I looked up and immediately bit my tongue.

She was actually...smiling at me!

“I...didn't think you actually cared,” she said.

“Well...You're still a pony, aren't you? Dying doesn't change that. Your feelings still matter, don't they?”

Stage Five: Acceptance.

She bowed her head for a moment, then looked up at me again. “Thank you. It sucks that I have to die now and all, but since I apparently had to, I'm glad I have you to... Uhh... What do you do again?”

“Huh? Oh! Right.”

I summoned my scythe and tapped it on the ground twice. A bright light emerged from the side of us, weaving into itself to form a sprawling mansion made of graham crackers, gumdrops, chocolate, fruitcake, jelly, cinnamon, and much much more.

Ginger Snap's eyes widened in awe as she took in the sight of it all.

“Is...Is that...?”

“Your house? Finished beyond all practicality? It could be. Why don't you go check it out for yourself?”

She looked back at me then, a little unsure now. “What about you?”

“Oh, me? No, I can't go with you. Death never takes a holiday and all that crap.”

“Wow. Your life must suck.”

“Ehh...It pays off in the end. Now, go. And try not to gets squished again.” I teased.

She gave me a good-natured scowling before turning back towards the light, taking one last deep breath before charging straight for it. When she reached the front door, the light brightened tenfold then vanished without a trace, taking her with it.

I sighed thoughtfully, turning my gaze back to the rubble of her previous residence—and to the hoof sticking out of it. I walked over to it and sniffed it.

“Hmm...”

I looked left, looked right, then wiped off a bit of the frosting before tasting it. “Mmm, strawberry!”

And with that, I trotted off to town, wondering what I should do now that I finally had some free time.

Catch a movie, perhaps?