Grim sat in the Cemetery of Equestria. She poked at the dirt with a boney hoof. She used her magic to wipe away some dirt on a nearby grave. She went inside the Mausoleum, her home. She went into the dusty room she call Death Room. She had a list of everypony on Equestria that will be born and has lived, and has died. She checked off another pony: Jericho. She teleported to her home, red and black magic surrounding her and hiding her from mortal eyes. But, then there were the immortals. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight Sparkle could all see her. Grim stood in the shadows, becoming translucent. The old mare was in the hospital, her family close. A mare, her daughter Angel, and her husband, James. Then there was her grandkids, Avalon and Ram. They stood close to her, mostly half-asleep by the edge of her bed.
Grim sighed. She hated this part of the job. Red and black light surrounded her scythe. She expertly swung the silvery, red splattered blood on it. She sliced straight through the mortal body of the mare, and pulled out the soul. Grim sweated as the heart monitor beeped faster and faster until the soul of Jericho was out. The family awoke very quickly and started calling the nurse.
"It is of no use," Grim said, knowing nopony could even hear her. "I need to take her, she is due to die. I have direct orders from Celestia." Even though Grim Reaper knew it was futile, but she liked to talk to somepony, anypony really. She looked at the soul of the girl, she was very confused and scared. "No worries, my friend. I am taking you to The Scales. I will explain later." Her raspy, rugged voice did not help in calming her clients. Jericho saw her family crying, weeping over her body.
"My family needs me," Jericho tried to get off the hook of Grim's scythe, but had no where near the strength of the Alicorn.
Grim sighed again. "No, I have orders from Celestia herself to take you to The Scales." After watching her family cry from hearing the time of death, she stopped and gave in. Grim teleported back to the only cemetery in Equestria and carried the smaller earth pony into her home. They walked down the dusty halls and into a secret hidden room. She carried her to The Scales. Grim set the earth pony down on the empty side of the gold and silver scale. The other contained her good and bad deeds she had committed in her lifetime. The Scales decided she had enough goodness to be Welcomed into Heaven.
"Heaven it is." Grim said, and with one strong sweep on her scythe in her grasp, the soul jetted up towards the sky where Heaven lay. Grim sighed again. "Time to go back to guarding." She turned and closed the hidden, damp room after she had walked out. She cantered out to the cemetery and became translucent again. She pulled her cloak further over her skeleton, hiding her bones and face. Two teenage stallions and two mares came in, and closed the squeaky gate.
"It's creepy here." The pink mare raved on.
"Come on, we're just visiting my grandma, she passed away about two weeks ago," A stallion comforted. Grim pulled her best 'smile'. She remembered that reaping. She only took about five souls a day. She listened some more. She saw the male unicorn carry a bouquet of roses and set them on the grave. He held in his tears, but Grim could tell he wanted to cry. After a couple minutes of tears and comforts, the four left, closing the gate respectively. Grim walked over to the flowers and cancelled her translution spell. Grim Reaper carried the roses in her red and black magic 'hand' and cantered back to her home. She walked in and opened the hidden door and walked over to the left wall. She looked at the pasty yellow brick and pushed a seemingly random one. It pulled the entire brick wall back and revealed another hidden room. She walked in and typed Mary Marionette in her Death Comp. It sent a white light signal to Heaven, and soon, Mary came down.
"Hello Grim Reaper. Something for me?" Mary asked politely.
"Your grandson left these for you. They still remember." Grim pulled her half-smile. She hoofed the bouquet to the ghost Pegasus and waved.
"Thank you, dear." Grim pushed the 'Send' button and watched the Pegasus fly back up to Heaven. Grim sighed for about the billionth time that day and walked back outside to her graveyard. She sat next to the gate for the ponies she needed to meet with. She sat at the gate until the six mares appeared. She cast a sight spell to render her seen to mortal eyes.
"I've been waiting." Grim said, still hidden by her cloak.
"Sorry to keep you, Mister-E. What do you need?" Twilight Sparkle asked politely.
"Why are we meeting in such a creepy place?" Fluttershy asked in a squeaky voice.
"This 'creepy place' is my home." Grim took serious offense.
"You live here? In a graveyard? Really?" Applejack was very skeptical.
Grim pulled her hood back and let the ponies gape in disgust. Her ratty, crispy mane was dirty and crusted from years of not washing. She had one red eye on the left side of her skull, moving from side to side when she moved in great ways. She also had a few spiders crawling throughout her skeleton.
"Oh my dear!" Rarity cried. "We must simply help you!"
"Rarity! She will tell us what she needs, don't jump to conclusions!" Rainbow yelled.
"Actually," Grim Reaper rasped in her grumpy voice. "I would like it if you could help me look a bit, uhm, fresher. After five thousand years of doing this business, being the Grim Reaper, you get how you put it, icky."
Rarity smirked at Rainbow dash and pranced over to the Alicorn. "Dear, I am here to help. Best in business!"
Rarity and the others followed the Alicorn into her home and into the bathroom. Rarity had packed her supplies and took out her assorted shampoo's and conditioners. She scrubbed Grim's mane and tail vigorously. She blow dried it and combed it very delicately. Grim felt her mane and tail and was very happy. Rarity then scrubbed her skeleton and instructed the others to help. When they finished, Grim was white again. Her black and white hair was soft and silky.
"Thank you, I am very grateful. Celestia has instructed me to take a break from Reaping. I have prepared replacements within our royal family. My daughter, Bones, will take over for a while. I am to come to Ponyville with you ponies." Grim smiled.
"But, uh, you are a skeleton..." Pinkie pointed out.
"Oh, yes, of course!" Grim used her magic and restored what her body would have looked like if she were not a skeleton. Her hair was silky smooth and all black. Her coat was blood red and her hooves were onyx black. She had one hazel eye and one red eye. She had her red tiara and black and red chest plate. "Shall we depart?"
Grim trotted down the path with her acquaintances in tow. She was very excited, and was clopping her hooves all around, waiting for the new ponies to follow. She had a real smile on for the first time in her lifetime. She turned around and saw the six mares following, and one was very scared. Grim didn't fully understand this, but she tried to help.
"Are you okay, Miss Fluttershy?" Grim asked in a slightly less raspy voice than before.
"O-Oh, uhm, yes, sure," Fluttershy was shaking a little bit. Maybe more than a bit. Grim put her hoof around her and smiled.
"I won't let anything happen to you guys. I promise."
"Pinkie Pie Promise?" Pinkie pressed the new to-be-Ponyvillian.
"Um... sure. Pinkie Pie Promise." Grim did the special kind of promise and smiled, the smiles of Flutters' friends ensuring her that they'd be okay. "Oh! You like animals, correct?"
"Oh, yes, I love all animals!" Fluttershy jumped up from her cowering stance in anticipation.
Grim pulled a whistle out of a magic tear in the universe she had made to hold her things. She blew in the whistle and soon after the little 'song', a crow and raven flew up and sat on the Alicorn's back.
"This is Rave, a raven. And that is Iron Ore, a crow." Fluttershy walked up to the birds and gazed at them. She raised a hoof to pet them, but was batted away by the crow. "Oh, sorry, he's a little bit of a grumpy grump." Fluttershy smiled and looked at the raven, who was a very beautiful shade of rather dark violet. Rave flew to Fluttershy and sat on her head. She laid down, comfortable being perched on the soft pink hair. Grim was rather surprised, she usually didn't take well to strangers. Iron Ore looked at Grim, seemingly saying, 'Can I go back to the graveyard?' Grim let the grumpy crow fly off to his native home: the boneyard. Rave, however, rather stay perched on Fluttershy's head. The seven ponies and a bird walked down the long, uneven pavement of the road. Sometimes one would trip and nearly fall, but would get back up and keep a vigilant eye on the concrete as if it was going to move itself. While they walked the ten miles, Grim told some stories of her past and some of the nicest souls she was forced to reap.
"So, the universe was created by Arragon. Now, Arragon was neither female nor male, but just an 'it'. It has always been and always will be. Arragon first created this planet, Equineca. It then made Equestria and the Wastelands and every other place on Equineca. It is call Equineca because only equine-like species exist here. At least as far as we know. Anyway, I like to call Arragon a he, it is just easier that way. So, he made our father, Lunar Stroke. Our father made the moon, and raised and set it in the skyline. Arragon also made earth ponies, Alicorns, unicorns, pegasi, changelings, and all other beings. Our mother, Solar Panel, rose the sun and set the sun. Soon, they were blessed with me. I am the oldest of us all. They populous was getting too large for Equineca. I reaped the souls at first as a unicorn filly. Then, after I wrote my own magic, I became an Alicorn. When I was about 1,000 years old, Celestia was born. She was also a unicorn filly. I played with her and helped her with her magic from time to time. Once Celestia became an Alicorn, Solar Panel became one with the universe once again. She is now joined with Arragon in the sky. But before Celestia became an Alicorn, Luna was born. Luna was around 50 when Celestia made the change. I was almost 3,000 years old when Luna became an Alicorn. When she became the ruler of the night, our father also became one with the skies. Now Cadence, she is the mystery. She is indeed our niece, but we know no sister or brother who had even existed, yet Cadence was a being! She was just a unicorn foal when she arrived on the doorstep of the first Canterlot castle. She grew to enjoy seeing ponies in love, and became the Princess of Love. We all ruled our separate things, but Celestia took to being the Queen Bee. She has rule over every little itsy bitsy thing I do. I don't mind that though. And my-" Grim was interrupted by Twilight Sparkle.
"Um, not to be rude or anything, but, we're here!" Twilight directed Grim's gaze over to the new land she had only seen so many times.
"Well, we could continue this story later?" Grim asked, hoping it would be a yes.
"Of course, Princess." Applejack smiled honestly. Grim stroked her soft, new hair and was nervous for once. 'I'm in a new world... completely out of my comfort zone!' Grim thought this with a mix of excitement and fear for what the new place and ponies would give to her.
