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!