A Job to be Done

It was another quiet day in Equestria, Celestia's sun was just about to set, and the last rays of its glorious sunshine were warming the tired bodies of the few ponies that remained outdoors. They were running last minute errands, closing up shops, and hurrying home for whatever reason. Soon Luna would bring about the night, a calm, peaceful, beautiful night for all of the land. As everypony was preparing to head inside and get their much needed sleep, one pony was just about to start her day.

At one point her friends had called her lazy; they teased her for always sleeping. She wondered how they were. She could still remember their smiling faces, all the adventures and parties they had. She remembered napping when she was supposed to be working, but that was years ago. Her mid afternoon naps were just for relaxation back then, but now; now they were useful, necessary, they were a thing of purpose. Laziness was no longer an option, no longer a thought. She was a pony with a purpose, and right now she had a job to do.

Rainbow Dash donned her cloak, she smiled reluctantly; the irony didn't escape her. Odd how the most colorful pony around got stuck with such a dark job. It didn't bother her anymore; well at least not much. It was what kept her alive after all. However, she still felt a knot in the pit of her stomach, one that was much stronger than usual. Today was different. She never knew where she was going. To be honest with herself, she really didn't even understand how the whole process worked, but her wings found the way every single time. She took one last deep breath, pushed the cloak's hood up over her ears and strapped the scythe to her back. She adjusted it so it wouldn't disrupt her flight. She laughed sadly; the Rainbow Reaper was coming to town.

She was gliding high above the clouds letting the wind carry her. She knew it was the right direction, it always was. The cool air felt good on her face, the wind pushing through her feathers. She could feel it hitting each individual one, pushing them back and streamlining her body. She always thought about what she was about to do, the choices that brought her to that moment. It seemed hard not to. At the time it appeared to be a kind gesture; one that would give her something back, but in retrospect all it did was take things away. Turns out that sometimes even gifts can be laced with bad intentions.

She thought back on that night, the one that changed everything. It was years ago, Rainbow Dash had long since realized her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. It had taken her years of dedication to work her way up from those initial days at the academy; she had made many a friend and enemy on her way to the top, but she had done it. It had taken her far from home and from her friends, but their support kept her going. They had long since drifted apart, everyone was realizing their dreams. Rarity had become a major influence in the world of fashion; shipping her designs all over Equestria, Pinkie had taken over Sugarcube Corner; happily experimenting with and selling her pastries. Applejack was still happily running and expanding Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight was now busy continuing her studies on friendship and magic, but had remained at home in Ponyville, and Fluttershy was happy with her animals. She was the only one who had left and she had been all over the world, but she still knew that they would always be there for her.

At the time, she was leading her own division. They were the best and fastest fliers of them all; she had made sure of that. She was both respected and despised by her peers. She was a perfectionist and becoming a part of her team was a sought after position. She only chose the best and she was proud of it, of herself. They were wrapping up their final performance in Manehatten, but even professionals are prone to disaster.

It was their final stunt, a very precise synchronized dive. They were supposed to launch themselves upward, perform three consecutive barrel rolls, loop up into the dive and stick close, mere inches from each other the entire time. The stunt went well it always had, until the dive. Her new recruit Sunny Daze had come in too fast, he clipped Rainbow's wing on the way down. She couldn't recover in time and crashed. She fractured her spine, suffered from a severe concussion and slipped into a coma.

Rainbow turned herself slightly to the left, gliding slowly; she was getting closer to her destination. She shuddered at the thought of the crash; it was painful, an experience that had shaken her for a long time. She sighed, there was no reason she should still be doing what she was, but she had made a full recovery, thanks to him.

She remembered him well, the pure white stallion with the black mane who sat by her bedside unmoving. Nopony ever seemed to notice him, they never mentioned him at all, but there he sat. She never spoke to him, she couldn't, and he would remain silent as well. She remained in critical condition for months, her body heavily bandaged. The doctors had given up hope; there was nothing that they could do any longer. That was the day he finally spoke.

"Rainbow, Mortality is a fragile thing is it not? One moment you’re at the top of the world, the next you’re a bandaged heap. It’s something we take for granted and can only wish to get back. I’ve seen the coming and going of many a pony, and most are too weak to struggle. Yet here you are, a wreck but you still find it in you to struggle. I must say that I admire that. So I have an offer for you. I know what you must feel because I, like you, was clinging to life once. Ah, but now I do not fear death. I am death, but I have grown tired of this waking world. I wish only to sleep and move on from the horrors of this world an so I offer this position to you now in exchange for your mortality. With it comes responsibility, sacrifice, loss, and in your case a second life. The choice is yours, I can always find another."

The choice was obvious to her, she made it immediately and when she awoke she was home and perfectly healthy. She thought it was all just a dream, but then she saw it, a cloak and scythe, sitting on her bedside table.

The next few days she was treated with nightmares, they were her introduction of sorts. Horrible visions of death plagued her dreams. They were her premonitions, her guide to the newly dead. She never knew until she got there who they were, but the causes and general direction were given to her. The scythe would guide her she was told, and she would know what to do when the time came. Her dreams taught her all about her new role. How she was important, how what she did was a service to the dead, how she maintained balance in the world, and how doing so kept her alive.

As her flight slowed she had a feeling of nostalgia, something about this area seemed very familiar to her. She began to get that uneasy feeling again; she had to reassure herself like she always did. She was not a killer, not a murderer, not like she thought she was in the beginning, not like the voices told her. It gave her chills to think of them, the unrelenting sting of their malice. They haunted her for so long, ever since that first time.

It was a cold, snowing day in Stalliongrad, and she had been flying for what seemed like hours. She scanned the white earth below and finally amongst the snow she spotted a brown figure. She squinted to make sure but she knew it was why she was there. She drifted down, slowly circling like a hawk towards its prey. She landed beside the poor colt; he had clearly suffered from hypothermia, caught out in the snowstorm for too long. She stood staring at the body for a long time, saddened by the poor figure. She looked around but it was just her, her and the body. The scythe began to vibrate softly, as if calling out to her; she unslung it from her back and held it in her hoof. She pushed the blade close to the colt’s body and turned her head, she sliced through slowly, afraid to look. When the resistance on the blade stopped she opened her eyes. She took a step back, the spirit of the brown pony stood in front of her, staring quietly at his body.

“I’m sorry.” She said. She didn’t know what else to do.

He looked at her as if he hadn’t seen her until then. “You’re sorry? You just took my life and you’re sorry? Put me back!” he screamed at her

“I can’t, I’m… I’m sorry.” She cried, her tears hot against her snow covered cheeks

“You’re nothing but a monster, preying on helpless ponies, taking them away from their lives, their families. I hope you’re happy with yourself.” He stood lingering around his body before slowly fading away,

That’s when the voices started; they haunted her every second of the day.

“You are nothing good to this world.”

“You’re a tormenter who preys on lost souls”

“How can you live with yourself?”

“Killer, Monster”

They continued on and on. They never stopped, every time she went out they just got louder, but they were wrong about her. It took some time to learn that. Despite what her dreams had told her she always saw herself as a dark brutal creature. Until that day.

She had been at it for 6 months now. She had already decided that it would be unwise to go back to her old life. She had seen that the hospital had pronounced her dead and perhaps that was for the best. She was flying again, it was only her 15th time out. Luckily for her the death rate in Equestria was low. She approached the small cottage on the outside of Trottingham. She sighed and entered, a poor sick mare lay on the floor, whimpering in pain.

"Showstopper, I have come to reclaim your soul."

The sick pony lay back looking at her and smiled softly. Rainbow raised her scythe and sliced, she could finally keep her eyes open for it. She was happy about that, it made it quicker, she could easily guide the blade to its destination as it swiftly tore through the flesh. It didn't live a physical mark, it only appeared to Dash. It allowed her to see the blade cut through the flesh, ripping it open and severing the astral strand on the spine and forehead, these were the literal ties from the physical world and that of the spirits. Rainbow looked as the ghostly figure rose up, now freed from its physical body, the mare looked healthy now, that only made Dash feel worse.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me."  The soul of the mare rose up and smiled

"Thank you Miss, for ending my suffering."

Rainbow shed a tear, all the other spirits had accused her of ending their lives, and they begged her for them back. They had called her a killer, so had the voices. It had grown hard on her, she could do nothing for them but tell them what to do next, but now she felt a little better. She was not a tormenter, not something to be feared. She was a guide, an ender of pain, and although not everypony would think that, it was something she could be proud of.

The voices didn’t stop, but she had learned to fight them. They still whispered, but she ignored them. She glided closer to the ground, she had the feeling again, that nostalgic feeling, and that was what made her feel sick. She knew where she was and she knew why she was here. She shook her head, trying to push away the thoughts, the tears. The voices were laughing in her head; they screamed at her again. She hung her head, readjusted the scythe on her back, took a deep breath, and slowly trotted her way in to Sweet Apple Acres.

There she laid, a broken heap, the overturned applecart lying across her back. She was clearly in pain, the cart having smashed down on her spine, crushing her hind legs, her head having struck a rock when the cart crashed and sent her hurtling down the slope. Rainbow approached reluctantly, she didn't want to be recognized, but she knew it was impossible.

"AJ, you stupid stubborn pony"

The orange pony turned her head slowly; she'd know that voice anywhere, "Rainbow?"

It hurt her to see her friend this way, broken, bleeding. The athletic spirit of her rival and friend was gone from the pony that lied before her. She closed her eyes, trying to force back the tears.

"Yeah, it's me AJ."

"I guess I pushed ma'self too hard this time huh?" she tried to laugh; the noise that came out couldn't be called that. It made the

voices scream louder and Dash's heart sink.

"AJ, I'm here to... I mean you're..." she stopped she couldn't say it.

"I know Rainbow, I'm... I'm glad it's you. We all thought ya were dead, we heard what had happened, I'm glad it's not true."

She couldn't help it, couldn't hold it any longer, she walked over to her friend and she cried. Applejack smiled softly, she used every bit of her strength to raise her hoof to her rainbow friend's face. They lay there together for a long time, both quiet, both aware of what had to happen.

"We were all proud of ya Rainbow, we were devastated when we heard about your accident, you need ta let everypony know you're okay." she smiled “Don't worry bout me, I'm ready ta go, and ain't nopony better ta break the news ta them than you." Rainbow sat up next to her friend, unslinging the scythe from her back. She smiled sadly at her friend lifting up the scythe.

“Killer, how could you?”

“You’re friend no less, you are a monster.”

The orange pony closed her eyes, “It was nice ta see ya Rainbow," she smiled, “We’re all still proud of you.”

“Kill her!” the voiced screamed.

“No!” Rainbow screamed in her head, “I am not a killer and if AJ is proud of me then I know you’re nothing but liars, AJ is hurt and there’s nothing anypony can do for her, except for me. She cried, looking down at her friend “I’m sorry AJ."

“Don’t be, I’ll miss ya. Bye Rainbow”

“Bye AJ”

The rainbow pony sliced down on the orange mare, the ties severed from her body and letting her spirit free. AJ lingered long enough to hug her old friend, Rainbow smiled; her last image would be of her friend as she remembered her. Healthy and full of pride. "Take care Rainbow, I hope I don't see ya again too soon."

Rainbow opened her eyes, her friend was gone. She stayed lying in that clearing for a long time. She cried, she cried more than she had in years. She stood up and wiped her tears away, she smiled sadly.

“Thanks Applejack,” the voices were finally gone, she enjoyed the quiet, the peace, AJ had done for her what she was supposed to do for others, she finally understood. She stored her cloak and scythe in a nearby tree. Celestia would be raising the sun soon and she had a promise to keep. She took one last breathe and summoned all her strength. She would need it to break the news to everypony on her return to Ponyville.