A few months have passed since the Crystal War had come to an end. Due to the unexpected turn of events, Equestria had come out victorious. And yet, not much was known about the dark creature that appeared on the battlefield out of nowhere and ended the war. For the reasons unclear, the official sources did not provide much information about that mysterious warrior known as Grim Reaper. The warrior that disappeared right after the last battle. The most of ponies didn’t even know if it was his real name. And yet, as soon as the victory had been officially announced, that topic seemed to get quickly forgotten, giving way to the sheer joy and happiness of everypony in Equestria.
“He did it... he really did!” in a house of a certain small village, a light-blue party unicorn could not hold his tears back, “Thank you...”
The ponies in each and every city, town or even a simple village were overwhelmed with glee. They finally trotted out of their houses, sharing the smiles with each other. Hugging, kissing, dancing, partying... it all was back to the land of Equestria. Ponies had their joy, their free time and their beauty sleep back. The celebration went on for the entire month.
Ever since King Sombra’s demise, the crystal ponies had been set free from his control, showing no intention to continue any sort of a fight. The alliance had been established between Equestria and Crystal Empire. The young alicorn by the name Mi Amore Cadenza had been sent to help the crystal ponies return to their normal life, help them overcome their grief for their numerous losses and learn more about the Empire itself. It wasn’t long before it’s inhabitants had chosen her as their new leader.
Most of the soldiers had returned to their regular lives, but there were also those who had continued their career in the Royal Guard. Most of them were of the higher ranks, becoming the tutors for the newbies, sharing their experience with them. Major Rainbow Dash was one of those ponies, staying in the Royal Guard Headquaters in Canterlot. Her mere appearance earned her a deep respect from each and every newbie that she ever trained. Nopony dared to disobey her commands, and the most of them looked up to her, secretly hoping to become a brave, skillful and awesome warrior like her someday. Once, after a long day of teaching yet another squad of recruits and going for a fly, she decided to land in the middle of Royal Canterlot Park. Some peace and quiet was exactly what she needed. Truth be told, she loved flying more than anything else, but sometimes... a simple walk in the park sounded nice too. The beauty of nature reminded her of her friend Fluttershy, who lived in Ponyville and took care of the animals. They were good friends, Rainbow would come for a visit every now and then. Lost in her thoughts and having the long day at work taking it’s toll on her concentration, she had bumped into another pony.
“Ouch! Sorry, I didn’t mean to...” her voice had got frozen mid-phrase as she raised her eyes and realised who she had bumped into.
“Long time no see, Major,” the tall and thin pegasus replied. His coat was pitch-black, and from underneath his cape a pale tail could be seen. On his back, there was a pair of the dark sickles.
“G-Grim!” the mare had finally exclaimed after getting her voice back, “Is that really you? What are you doing here?”
“General Grim Reaper,” the dark figure replied, throwing yet another surprise at the poor mare, “I believe, that answers both of your questions.”
Rainbow’s voice had been taken away again. She froze in place, having her jaw aimlessly go up and down as if trying to pronounce something, but no sound had come out. She had been completely astonished to hear that. It took quite a few seconds for even her military insticts to break through her shock, as she finally remembered to stand at attention and salute to her superior.
“S-sir! Major Rainbow Dash, at your service, sir!” she had finally exclaimed.
“At ease,” he replied in his deep voice. Ridiculously enough, that command said in his voice would most certainly fail to make anypony feel “at ease”, “If that makes it easier for you... then I command you to ignore the formalities when it’s just the two of us, Rainbow.”
“Sir! Yes, sir!” the mare replied on instinct, before realising that by doing that she was directly disobeying the command she had just been given. Surprisingly, Grim chuckled at that. It was the first time she had ever heard any form of a laugh from him, “Sorry...” she added meekly, scratching behind the back of her head. A faint blush had appeared on her face, “So... mind filling me in on what happened after the battle?”
It was a topic that didn’t let her sleep well at night ever since the war was over. The other ponies seemed to have let it go, overwhelmed by the sheer joy of having the happy times back. Yet her... She had never truly stopped thinking about that. Her friend had disappeared once again, and that couldn’t pass by without living a sting in her heart.
“A long or short version?” the reaper asked, slightly cocking his head to the side.
“Hm... how about about a middle one?” she replied jokingly, earning another chuckle from him.
The lifeless body of the dark tyrant had fallen on the ground. Piece by piece. The mysterious pegasus landed right next to it.
“I was not talking about you, demon...” he said grimly. His previous phrase was directed to the souls he had reaped on the battlefield that day. The souls that had helped him in that battle. The souls that could finally pass to the afterlife, no longer enslaved by anypony. As for the tyrant himself... the reaper was going to personally bring his soul to Tartarus. However, he had been shaken out of his thoughts by another being that landed next to him.
“Using your alicorn nature to walk through the Death Shroud unharmed?” he turned his head, facing Princess Celestia, “Clever.”
“Hello to you too, Grim Reaper,” she replied, remaining calm and collected. A few moments had passed in a complete silence, as the two just stood there, staring at each other.
“I have done what I had to,” the pegasus was the first one to break that silence.
“I know,” the Princess replied to him, “And even though I personally am... not a fan of your methods, to say the least, as the Princess of Equestria, I have to thank you for freeing our nation from this devastating war,” she remained collected, but on a closer look, it was possible to tell that she didn’t sleep for who knows how many nights.
“What I did was my duty,” the reaper’s replies were short and blunt, as always, “There’s no need for thanking me.”
Celestia couldn’t help but let a small smile find it’s way on her face at hearing that the wise and sagacious being was willingly freeing her of the need to act polite, if it was against her own will. That fact alone had earnt him quite a few points in her book.
“I’m afraid, you have misunderstood,” she continued her speech, “No matter what you have done today, I cannot deny the fact that you did each and every pony of Equestria an invaluable service... including myself. And even though your actions today went against what our nation stands for, it’s thanks to them the peace have been achieved in the end.”
Grim simply stood there, wondering where she was going with that thought.
“If that is not too much to ask of you... I’d like you to disappear from everypony’s sight for a couple of months,” she said, still earning no reaction from the dark figure, “There’s no need for anypony to remember this day in... details. We have won with the help of the mysterious warrior. That’s all they need to know.”
Two and two could finally be put together, revealing the Princess’s plan.
“But after that... please, come to Canterlot. The Royal Guard could use a... talented General such as yourself,” she had finished, winking at him, before taking off and flying away from the already fading fog.
After spending a few minutes taking the story in, Rainbow Dash had finally managed to form an adequate reply.
“Oh, wow... You just can’t stop bombarding me with surprises every time we meet, can you?” she said, jokingly nudging the General in his side.
“It appears that way,” he replied bluntly, just as he always did.
“So... what now? Any plans for the future?”
“No,” he said, not even taking a moment to think it over.
“I see...”
Both of them had fallen silent after that, sitting there in the park and simply enjoying the nature that was blooming around them, pretty much like the life in Equestria. The birds were singing, the other animals were running free, minding their own business. There was not a single cloud on the sky.
It was a beautiful evening, indeed.