Even Death Needs A Vacation

Several days after the events of Chapter 7...

"Fluttershyyyy, I'm hooommme!"

Lily dropped off her book bag near the door of the cottage, giggling as several of the animals crowded around her excitedly. Fluttershy came out from the back, dusting some dry food crumbs from her chest with a smile as she looked at the reaper happily.

"Welcome home Lily! How was your study session?"

"Gooood~" Lily chirped, although the nervous strain of her voice and the big cheesy smile on her face as she avoided eye contact seemed to suggest that studying was the last thing Lily had been doing for the past few hours.

"Lilyyyy... You WERE studying, weren't you?" Fluttershy said, lowering her brow but her smile never fading.

"Mmnn... Maybe... not the whole time I was out."

Fluttershy crossed her forelegs over her chest as she hovered in the den, raising an eyebrow with a huge smirk.

"Lily, do I have to use The Stare again?"

"Eep! No! Don't use The Stare!" Lily squealed, giggling and covering her face with both hands, which only prompted Fluttershy to swoop over and scoop Lily up into her forelegs. Lily squealed again, gleefully kicking her legs as the mare pressed her nose against her forehead and gave it a firm, loving nuzzle.

"Okay okay..." Lily said, defeated, "I ended up going to the arcade with my friends."

"Lilyyyy..." Fluttershy said disapprovingly, but with a big smile on her face that refused to let up, "You're gonna be up all night tonight with that homework!"

"Well maybe if somepony hadn't assigned so much homework..." she started, only to be assaulted by kisses from her host, making her kick her legs and giggle happily again.

"You know that if Professor Twilight caught me treating you special just because you're my house guest that she'd only give you MORE work in HER class."

Lily did her best to frown and cross her arms, but it quickly melted into a big goofy smile as she covered her face, giggling madly.

"That's no faiiiir, you're too cute to be mad at!"

"Well that makes two of us." Fluttershy cooed, nuzzling Lily again before setting her down so she can go back to her animals. "Now get to that studying or you really WILL be up all night. Or else there'll be no dessert tonight~"

"Whaaat?! No fair! Professor Pinkie Pie makes such awesome cupcaaaakes!"

"Hehehe, then you'd better get to work!"

To say that Lily was happy was an understatement. She had a home, a loving host, an awesome school to go to, and a whole town of adorable pastel ponies to play with, and as she quickly found out, even OTHER awesome creatures! Yaks, Changelings, Dragons, Seaponies... or were they Hippogriffs? Griffons and more! Apparently there were all sorts of civilizations that weren't primarily pony populated. Gah, that's a mouthful...

And speaking of mouthfuls...

"Mrrmmm~" Lily moaned happily with her cheeks stuffed with frosting and cake, chewing eagerly as Fluttershy giggled at the display.

"Sugarcube Corner does bake the best confections in all of Ponyville~" Fluttershy said, closing the pink cardboard box lid over the sugar-loaded treats.

"More like all of Equestria!" Lily said after a big swallow, licking her lips to get all the crumbs off them, "They're SOOOO good! I wish I had treats like these 5000 years ago!"

"Now Lily, what did I say about living in the past...?" Fluttershy said, gently waving her hoof at her.

"Living in the past doesn't let us appreciate the presennnt..." Lily said, in a way that suggested that she's heard it several times before; And if her tone didn't give it away, the big smile and eye roll certainly did.

"That's right. Your old life may not have had cupcakes, but THIS one does~ So rather than wishing that you had this earlier, you should be thankful you can have it now!"

Lily raised an eyebrow, giggling and pointing at Fluttershy.

"You keep saying 'old life' and 'new life'... I'm not alive, Fluttershy! I've been dead for like... ever!"

"Well, in that case, I suppose you don't want these cupca-"

"NO NO NO NO!!" Lily shouted, giggling, "I want the cupcakes! I want the cupcakes!"

For someone who was dead, Lily certainly wanted to live her new life to the fullest. That meant eating new sweets, trying new things, exploring new places, and of course, spending as much time as she can by Fluttershy's side. And the other professors too~ She may not have a pulse, but something about being in Equestria made Lily feel alive again. It was taking some getting used to, though. And on that note, she hadn't been having as many night terrors ever since she began to open up more to Fluttershy about her feelings. Once her stresses and worries were out there in the open air, they seemed a lot less stressful and worrisome...

"Fluttershyyy...? What's the answer to Number 3?"

"C'mon Lily... My tests aren't that challenging~"

"Pleaaaase?"

"Okay, but this is the last hint I'm giving you..."

And for some strange reason, Lily was feeling kind of weird around her host. Not the bad kind of weird that you get when you've taken a joke too far or tried too hard to make someone like you... The good kind of weird that you feel when you meet someone just as quirky as you or when you find something you never knew you could like from the strangest of sources. It was difficult for Lily to put it into words, but Fluttershy always seemed to know what she meant, even if she didn't always say it.

"Lily?"

"Yeah Fluttershy?" Lily paused, sitting up on the couch as she looked toward the stairs where Fluttershy stood, about halfway up.

"You know you can some sleep in my room any time you like."

"I knowww... But I've been sleeping up there for the past week..."

There was a short pause as Lily avoided eye contact with Fluttershy because she knew that she looked back into that knowing stare, she'd break. Fidgeting in her seat, a small, barely noticeable part of her brain wanted Fluttershy to leave it at that and just go upstairs.

"...Do you want to come sleep in my room tonight?"

"...Yes."

Coming back downstairs, Fluttershy walked over to the couch and sat down near it, allowing Lily to climb onto her back. Soon, they were heading back upstairs together as her sleepy charge rested her head against her soft pink mane, hugging her neck like a teddy bear. Getting into bed together for the 8th night in a row, the pegasus lovingly pulled Lily into her embrace, making sure that the little reaper felt as safe as possible; Just in case those meanie night terrors decided to come back.

"Fluttershy..?"

"Yes Lily?"

"I love you~"

This elicited a light giggle from the mare as she nuzzled the top of Lily's head, smiling.

"I love you too~"

Life always had a funny way of working out at the end of the day. Even when the whole morning seemed hopeless and the afternoon bleak and the evening would be better left in the bin, by night things were just... happier. It was a time to relax, to unwind, to cry if the stress was just too much... And of course, to sleep. Life just had a way of always working out in the end. Lily knew that better than anybody. She's dead, after all.

And the morning always brings in a new day, a fresh start. A chance to have a brand new experience, or relive some old ones. Whether she was going to Friendship School, having fun with her new friends, or just simply enjoying what could only be called a second chance, Lily always had a reason to keep on... well... you know.

She was never quite the same after her reassignment to Equestria. Deaths from all over the multiverse heard rumors and tales of the "Little Death Who's Living", but most of them were dismissed as false and nonsensical. Who ever heard of a Death assigned to an immortal plane and then goofing around instead of doing her job? The very idea was taboo, completely unprofessional. As if the big boss would allow something like that to happen? Certainly that reaper would've been punished.

After all, it was like he always said: "Life is a beautiful lie, and Death is an ugly truth." Life works itself out, Death is a result of when it doesn't work out. Life is meant for the fullest, Death only comes from starvation. So for a Death to shun her duties and instead choose to frolic and be happy in some made up place with made up immortal creatures? Preposterous. Death is a universal constant in the land of the living. You're born, you live, you die, then you find someone like them to guide you to your new forever home.

If you're good, you'll get a good home. If you're evil, you'll be punished for your deeds. Every Death knew this. And likewise, every Death knew that they had some sort of debt to clean up, or perhaps they were just not good enough for the Celestials, but not quite evil enough for the Demons. Maybe they were cursed? Perhaps they were apart of the wrong cult or fell into some never-ending void...?

Or maybe they were just too tormented already, to the point that they would be unable to handle the paradise that is the Celestial afterlife. The sheer shock of being pampered and cared for without any worries or stresses would cause their very spirits to simply cease to be.

Regardless of how you got your robe and your scythe, you had a job to do and that job wasn't going to do itself. So messing around while you're supposed to be working is just simply ridiculous. Wayward souls need guides not playdates. Even if that means giving up your chance for eternal happiness.

Life has a funny way of working out. And Death has a funny way of working too. But in Lily's case, working is the last thing she'd be doing for a very, very long time.

After all...

Even Death needs a vacation.

The End