Death was always a lingering thought to anything alive. No matter what, no matter the situation, death always caught you. It didn’t matter how long you lived. It didn’t matter how resilient you were. Death was inescapable.
The thought scared Fluttershy. She hadn’t really considered it before, but after the passing of her dear Angel, she couldn’t help but let it ravage her mind. Discord had tried to comfort her, but it never truly worked. His attempts always ended with another excuse, another distraction. Fluttershy guessed Discord didn’t really think about death either. He had a lot of time left, after all, but in the grand scheme of things, even he was not immortal.
Her mind drifted to what she could only imagine death looked like. A cruel, thorough entity. She had heard the stories, the legends of the Grim Reaper—a skeletal figure clad in a dark cloak, wielding a great scythe. The very embodiment of death itself. The only truly eternal being.
Weeks passed, and Fluttershy did her best to move on. She convinced herself that she had plenty of time left, and for the most part, she did. Life continued in Ponyville. She and Rainbow Dash were strolling through the bustling streets, Rainbow enthusiastically recounting her latest flight with the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy listened, but something felt off. A chill ran down her spine, and unease settled in her stomach. Something was wrong.
She tried to shake the feeling, but then it hit her—her chest tightened, and her breath came in short gasps. At first, it was minor, but the sensation quickly escalated. Panic surged through her as her body refused to cooperate.
“Uh, Fluttershy? Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash’s voice wavered with concern.
Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly, it felt as if her very heart was being torn from her chest. She let out a sharp cry and collapsed onto the ground.
“F-Fluttershy!?” Rainbow Dash’s exclamation was filled with terror as she dropped to her friend’s side. Fluttershy clawed at her chest, trying to release the unseen pressure crushing her lungs. Her vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. Was this the end?
Ponies gathered around, faces twisted in worry and fear. Rainbow Dash’s voice trembled. “I-I’ll be back! I’m getting Twilight and Discord!” With that, she took off in a rainbow streak, a Sonic Rainboom exploding in her wake.
Fluttershy writhed on the ground, every breath growing weaker. A moment later, Discord appeared beside her in a flash of chaos magic. “Fluttershy! What’s wrong!?” His voice, normally playful and teasing, was raw with panic.
Fluttershy tried to answer, but all she could manage was a strangled sob. Moments later, Twilight and Rainbow Dash returned, frantically trying to assist. There were too many faces, too many voices, all blurring together. But amidst the chaos, one figure remained clear—a pony clad in a dark cloak, standing still as stone.
Fluttershy uselessly writhed on the ground, feeling like she had been stabbed from the inside of her body. Worried chatter filled the air.
This was the end, wasn’t it?
But something was off. The Grim Reaper was supposed to be terrifying, a harbinger of doom. Yet, the figure before her looked solemn, almost... gentle. Its skeletal face bore no malice, only quiet sorrow. The hollows of its eyes glowed dimly, filled with something she didn’t expect—regret.
Her body felt lighter. The cloaked pony stepped forward, passing through the gathered ponies as if they weren’t even there. He knelt beside her, looking into her fading eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and with a swift motion, brought his scythe down.
Fluttershy braced for pain, for agony. But there was nothing. Instead, she felt weightless, unburdened. When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing over her own body. Below, Discord, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were desperately trying to revive her.
“What… what happened?” she murmured, turning to the skeletal pony beside her.
“You died,” he said simply. “Your time was up.”
“No! I can’t be dead!” Fluttershy gasped, her heart—or whatever remained of it—pounding in disbelief.
The Reaper sighed. “I truly wish I didn’t have to, but you were my last client.” He looked at her, eyes dimming. “Now, it is your turn.”
“W-what?” she stammered.
“I have been the Reaper since the dawn of time, but now, I can finally rest. You will take my place.” He removed his cloak, revealing a small, frail skeletal form beneath. “You are the perfect candidate. Your kindness, your gentle soul—it will serve you well in guiding those who pass.”
Fluttershy looked at her hooves, trembling. “I… I can’t take lives.”
“You misunderstand,” the Reaper explained. “I do not take lives. Death is natural, inevitable. My role is simply to guide souls to their rest. My scythe did not kill you—it merely severed the bond between your spirit and your physical form.”
Fluttershy turned back to her lifeless body. Discord was beside it, face buried in his claws. Twilight and Rainbow stood in silent shock, grief-stricken.
She swallowed hard. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
The Reaper shook his head. “No.”
Fluttershy closed her eyes, mourning her own passing for just a moment before reaching for the cloak. She hesitated, then draped it over her ethereal form. The fabric wrapped around her, solidifying her presence. She still felt different, untethered, but there was a strange comfort in the weight of the garment.
The Reaper watched her with quiet relief. “Your job will not be easy, but it is necessary. Thank you.” He smiled—a small, fleeting expression—before his form shimmered and faded into golden light.
His last words echoed softly. “I left you a manual at my home. My cloak will guide you.”
Fluttershy stood in place for a long time, staring at where he had been. Then, with a deep breath that no longer filled lungs she didn’t have, she turned away.
“This is my life now,” she murmured, feeling the gentle tug of the cloak leading her forward.
Or rather… her afterlife.
Author's Note
Took inspiration from the similarly named comic series. Check it out (I don’t know the original website it is from, but you can find like a million dubbed versions on YouTube.)
This is going to be a new series, detailing each of the souls Fluttershy encounters. Let me know what you guys think (or if you have suggestions for characters you would like Fluttershy to reap.)
Fluttershy felt the robe tug at her body. Even with the crushing weight of her new responsibility, she walked forward. It took a while, but she finally reached a weird, misty spot in the forest. When she walked into it, she only felt the gentle weight of water stick to her. When she emerged, Fluttershy saw a cabin. It was small, and when she walked in, it was nothing like she had expected. It had pictures, many pictures, so many it covered an entire wall. It was all pictures of ponies, and she could only assume that these were ponies that died. Her eyes drifted all the way to the edge of the wall, where she saw herself. It was so pretty. The picture was of her watching the sunrise, in a way that felt nostalgic, like looking at a childhood memory. Fluttershy wanted to take it down, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to tarnish this wall of memories.
There were millions of pictures. Fluttershy hadn’t noticed before, but the inside of the cabin was significantly bigger than the outside. She walked slowly down the long hall and opened the only door at the end. It was a small bedroom. The bed was medium, but enough for her. On the wall, the scythe sat, seemingly untouched, even though she had just interacted with the old reaper hours ago. Finally, her eyes fixated on a small bed next to hers. On it, the head of a rabbit was engraved on the wood. Could it be? Could she see Angel again? Fluttershy looked around, but nothing. She wondered what it was for, but her thoughts were interrupted when her eyes fell onto a black notebook with a skull and flower donning the front.
Fluttershy picked up the book and began to read. It took her a few hours, but she read the entire thing. Fluttershy now filled the position of Equestria’s Grim Reaper. Her goal: free souls of their bodies and guide them into the afterlife. If a soul refuses to part from its body, force may have to be used. There are also threats to souls within ‘limbo,’ or the time where a soul parts from the body but before it reaches the afterlife. Soul hunters will try and steal the souls from their rightful place.
There were two specific types of Soul Hunters Fluttershy had to worry about: Bounty Hunters and Ravagers. Bounty Hunters are rogue souls, lost before making it to the afterlife. They take their anger out by hunting other lost souls. Ravagers are more beastly forms that show no mercy in destroying the ethereal remnants of a pony. With this in mind, her job as the new reaper finally began.
It wasn’t long before her first soul was ready to be reaped. The cloak tugged at her again, urging her forward. It was as if it sensed the next soul’s departure before she did. With a deep breath, she stepped out of the cabin and into the misty forest once more. The trees whispered with the voices of lost souls, and the air crackled with unseen energy. Fluttershy wasn’t sure she was ready for this, but she knew she had no choice.
The world had changed for her. Death was no longer something to be feared—it was now her duty.
Author's Note
Sorry if there was a little less story telling in this chapter, it was more of an info filler that may apply to future chapters, so things didn’t feel completely random. Also, for the future of this fic, chapters may be released slowly. This is going to be a slow burner, so if things get dry like the last couple weeks, I’ll have something to fill that gap. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the new series!
