//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Cleaning The Area 
// Story: The Reaper 
// by Blade Trail 
//------------------------------//

When the group arrived at Sweet Feather Sanctuary, Fluttershy told them that they had arrived just in time for the Cleaning Days, a set of days during which Fluttershy took the time to give every animal at the sanctuary a proper bath. Under normal circumstances, Fluttershy would dedicate an entire day to only certain sets of animals, so that she would have the time to give each critter the attention and care that it deserved. Naturally, this left some of the animals feeling left out, especially those that had to wait until the last Cleaning Day for their turn, but with so many animals under her care, there really wasn’t anything Fluttershy alone could do about that. With her friends here to help, however, she thought that they just might be able to get all the animals clean in a single day.

She was wrong.


~~~


There was a loud clang, followed quickly by a splash and a squeal, as a muddy duck knocked over one of the pails of water Twilight was levitating above her, causing its contents to spill on her head. Again.

Reaper turned his head when he heard a menacing growl, expecting to see some hungry predator ready to pounce. Instead, he saw Twilight glaring at a duck as it landed in front of her.

“Not bad,” he commented. “Very menacing.”

Beside him, Spike chuckled. “If you think that’s menacing, you should see how she gets when someone messes with her books.”

The duck, however, was unfazed. It took the time to point with a wing and laugh before scampering off.

“Get back here, you...you...DUCK!” Twilight cried.

“Quack!” her fowl adversary taunted just before it disappeared into the crowd of animals waiting their turn to be washed.

Twilight blew her soggy mane out of her eyes then used her magic to lift an arsenal of cleaning implements - enough to bathe a whole flock of ducks three times over - as she broke into a sprint to chase after her prey.

Reaper turned to Fluttershy and asked, “Aren’t you going to step in?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “There’s no need. Quackers is a troublemaker, but he just wants to have a little fun. He’ll let Twilight clean him eventually.”

Reaper saw the crowd of animals disperse in fear as Twilight stomped through. “Dirty, rotten, little duck,” Twilight muttered angrily. “Oh, when I get my hooves on you...”

“I’m sure she’ll get the duck eventually,” Reaper agreed. “I’m not sure the duck will survive.”

Fluttershy gave Reaper a reassuring smile. “Oh, don’t worry, Reaper. Twilight may be angry right now, but she won’t do anything to hurt Quackers.” Fluttershy paused as a hybrid of a frog and an orange hopped past them and dove into the nearby stream. “Too much,” she added.

“SHOW YOUR FACE, DUCK!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Quack quack!” the duck responded without revealing itself.

Twilight spun towards the sound. “It’s coming from over here!” she exclaimed, sectioning off the section the sound came from with a magical barrier.

Reaper looked at Fluttershy. “If you say so,” he said with a shrug.

As the smaller critters started banging on Twilight’s barrier in their desperation to get away from her, Fluttershy became worried. “Actually,” she said. “I should probably -”

A shrill feline cry cut Fluttershy off. It had come from where Starlight was washing cats.

“Argh!” Starlight cried as she struggled with the cat in her hooves. “Just let me - no! Stupid cat! Don’t make me use my magic to brainwash you! Because I will, you hear me? I will!”

Fluttershy was now hovering off the ground with a horrified expression on her face. “Oh my!” she exclaimed. She turned to Spike and Reaper. “Um, just...use these brushes and wash these dogs, okay? They’re gentle, so be gentle. I’ve got to go...help the others.”

With that, Fluttershy dashed off towards Starlight, leaving Spike and Reaper around a small group of dogs and puppies.

“Alright, then!” Spike said, picking up a brush. “How about I take the ones on the right, and you take the ones on the left?”

“Fine,” Reaper replied.

“Bet I can wash more dogs than you!” Spike challenged Reaper. He tried to use his brush on a dog near him only to have the whole pack scatter. "Hey! Get back here!"

As Spike chased after the dogs, Reaper walked over to the nearest brush - which was as large as he was - and picked it up. The brush was far too heavy to be practical, but Reaper wasn’t about to let that stop him. Leaning the brush over his shoulder, he made his way over to a large Golden Retriever that was lying down nearby.

The Golden Retriever looked at Reaper curiously as he hefted the brush off of his shoulder and tried to use it. Reaper smacked the brush onto the side of the Golden Retriever and, grunting with exertion, dragged it to the left across the dog’s thick coat. Midway through the motion, gravity took hold of the brush and dragged it the rest of the way towards the ground. Reaper tried to pull the brush back up, but he lost his balance and ended up crashing into the mud. Shaking its head, the Golden Retriever got up and walked away.

“Damned tiny arms and legs,” Reaper muttered angrily to himself as he stood. “Can’t even - Oh, great! Where did the mongrel go?”

As if in response to his question, a smaller brush landed in front of him. He looked up to see the Golden Retriever standing over him. With a paw, it pointed to the smaller brush then to a group of puppies playing in a mud puddle.

“Smaller brush...smaller dogs,” Reaper said as his gaze followed the Golden Retriever’s paw.

“Woof,” the Golden Retriever replied.

Reaper picked up the brush. This one was only about the size of his head. It was still large, but both the size and weight were far more manageable. He looked back at the Golden Retriever and saw that it was once again lying down at its previous position.

“Uhh, thanks,” Reaper said, unsure if the dog could even understand him.

The Golden Retriever simply yawned and closed its eyes.

“Ugh, I’m talking to dogs now,” Reaper said to himself. “What the hell is happening to me?”

Despite his words, Reaper made his way over to the puppies. “They’re just kids,” he told himself as he approached. “I’ve always been good with kids.” He did not sound sure.

When he reached the mud puddle, the puppies stopped playing and turned to stare at him. All of their curious gazes, combined with their uncharacteristic silence, made Reaper feel awkward. Reaper faked a cough into his hand. The puppies all tilted their heads in unison.

“Hi,” Reaper said with a wave of his hand.

For a brief moment, nothing happened, then one of the puppies suddenly got excited and barked twice, getting the other puppies excited as well.

Instincts honed by decades of battle told Reaper that something was about to go horribly wrong. “Wait...” he said, voicing his suspicions, but by then it was too late. “AHHH!” he cried out as he was swarmed by excited puppies and lost in a sea of mud and fur.

Fortunately, Fluttershy was passing nearby with Starlight and Twilight in tow. She heard Reaper cry out and rushed to rescue him from his adorable tormentors.

“Oh, goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she saw Reaper get dragged through the mud. He was clinging to his brush like his life depended on it, but it wasn’t doing him any good at the moment.

“Um, little puppies?” Fluttershy said, trying to get the puppies’ attention. “Please stop. You’re hurting my friend. Um...puppies?”

The puppies didn’t seem to hear her. Reaper had somehow managed to get to his feet and tried to swing his brush at one of the puppies, but it dodged out of the way, barking happily all the while.

Reaper swung again at a different puppy with the same results. He roared in frustration and said, “I’ll either clean you or ki -” A puppy pounced on Reaper’s back, interrupting him and knocking him down into the mud.

Fluttershy let out an irritated snort. Today wasn’t going at all like she’d imagined. “Fine!” she cried, her eyes narrowing. “I didn’t want to do this, but...BEHAVE!”

At Fluttershy’s shout, every animal in the sanctuary went quiet. The puppies froze, then slowly turned their heads up to see Fluttershy glaring at them. Their ears went flat against their heads and they backed up out of the mud puddle to sit in an orderly line.

“I am very disappointed in you, young pups!” Fluttershy said sternly. She pointed to Reaper, who was being helped out of the mud by Starlight. “My friend was just trying to help you all get nice and clean, and what do you do? Drag him through the mud like an old chew toy!”

One of the puppies whimpered.

“No buts, mister!” Fluttershy said. “You’ve all acted very inappropriately, and I expect you all to apologize!”

The puppies all nodded and made their way over to Reaper, who had just finished being wiped clean by Twilight. They all gave out a single whimper in chorus and looked at Reaper with sad eyes.

Reaper looked at the puppies, then at Fluttershy, then back to the puppies, and found himself at a loss for words.

For crying out loud! Say something! Reyes’ voice shouted in Reaper’s head.

Reaper immediately scowled in response to the voice’s return. The puppies all flinched.

Now is not the time, Reyes’ voice scolded.

Reaper bit back an angry retort and shook his head. Much as he loathe to admit it, the voice was right. Now was not the time to be shouting at a voice in his head.

Reaper let out a sigh and let his expression soften. He approached the line of puppies and petted one on the head. “It’s...alright,” he said. “You didn’t mean it. I, uh...forgive you.”

Reaper almost fell over again as the puppies proceeded to assault him with licks and nuzzles. They crowded around him in excitement, but were noticeably more careful not to be too forceful this time.

“D’awwww!” Twilight and Starlight chorused.

Reaper gave Fluttershy a pleading look. Fluttershy giggled in response and flew to hover over the group.

“Okay, everyone! That’s enough,” she said, causing the puppies to disperse. “I’m proud of you for making nice and remembering not to let your excitement get the better of you. Good job!”

The puppies barked happily.

Fluttershy smiled at them. “Run along now,” she told them. Then, she raised her voice and called out to every animal, “We’re done cleaning for today! I know it wasn’t the best start to the cleaning days we’ve had, but I’ll try to make it up to all of you tomorrow!”

With that, the crowds of animals began to disperse and head off back to their own individual parts of the sanctuary. Fluttershy briefly excused herself and flew off to make sure every critter settled in properly and that there were no fights over territory.

Reaper turned to Starlight and Twilight, only now noticing how harrowed both looked.

“What happened?” he asked.

Starlight and Twilight looked at each other, then laughed.

“We...didn’t have much better luck than you,” Starlight said. “Those cats do not like getting wet.”

Twilight pushed her mane back and let out an exasperated sigh. “Things were going so well until that dumb little duck ruined everything.” She turned and called out, “I WON’T FORGET THIS, DUCK!”

“Quack quack!” came the distant, mocking response.

Starlight grinned. “Wow, Twilight. I thought the Princess of Friendship was supposed to be forgiving.”

Twilight huffed. “That duck is no friend of mine! Or anypony else’s! I’ve half a mind to sic Spike on him! Say...where is Spike? Wasn’t he washing dogs with you, Reaper?”

Reaper looked around. He hadn’t noticed it in all the chaos, but Spike had disappeared. Reaper shook his head and said, “He was just here...chasing after some dogs, I think.”

“Well, he couldn’t have gone far,” Starlight said. “Maybe he just got caught up in a crazed vendetta against a single animal and lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing in the first place?”

“Oh, ha ha,” Twilight said sarcastically. “Sure, laugh it up, girl-who-washed-a-single-cat. Next time, you try washing the ducks.”

Starlight smiled. “I’m all for helping out our friends, but I think we can all agree that in this case, there shouldn’t be a next time.”

Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yeah, you’re probably right. C’mon, let’s go find Spike. More likely than not, he just got tired and found a place to take a nap or something.”

“You two go on ahead,” Reaper said. “I’m going to...take a break.”

Starlight started walking away. “Alright, rest up,” she called back. “But don’t get lost or we just might leave you here! You hear that, Spike?! Come on out!”

“She doesn’t mean that,” Twilight said hurriedly. “Just a friendly joke! Take all the time you need.”

Reaper waved her off, then watched as both ponies walked off in search of Spike. Once he was sure that they were out of earshot, he spoke softly, “Go away.”

Come, now, is that any way to treat a friend? Reyes’ voice quipped.

“You’re not a friend,” Reaper spat. “You’re an annoyance, and I want you gone.”

But that’s just it, Gabe, Reyes’ voice said. There is no ‘you’ or ‘me’. Has this voice ever made that distinction? No, because there is none. There is only ‘we’.

“Bullshit,” Reaper said. “You’re just a voice in my head, like the hunger was. I’m free of it, and now I want to be free of you.”

We are Gabriel Reyes, the voice said. And we are not free of the hunger. We know this. We can feel it. It claws at the edge of our senses, unable to manifest for now, but it is only a matter of time.

Reaper growled. He wanted to deny the voice’s claims, to say that the hunger was dead or that it would never again control him, but he couldn’t. He knew that the voice was right. Of course, that only served to anger him more.

It will seek to consume our friends, Reyes’ voice said.

“I won’t let it,” Reaper said, his tone one of barely restrained fury.

‘You’ won’t let it? ‘You’ do not have the strength. ‘You’ never have! Reyes’ voice accused.

“I won’t let it!” Reaper insisted.

And how will ‘you’ stop it? Reyes’ voice asked. With anger? Hate? Will ‘you’ threaten to kill it? Tell it to die die die? How well has that worked before?

“It shuts up,” Reaper replied. “And so do you.”

Because it gets what it wants! Reyes’ exclaimed. And ‘I’ am drowned out! Violence, murder, destruction...what else has the hunger ever asked for?

“Then what the hell do you suggest?” Reaper asked. “You’ve always pestered me - insulted me - but never once have you helped me! All you do is cause me pain!”

For a few moments, the voice was silent. Then, quietly, it said, Because pain is all I know, and I hate myself for it.

It took a few moments for Reaper to realize that he had said that statement out loud.

Or it was, Reyes voice continued after a time. But not anymore.

Reaper clenched his fists. “You. Are. Not. Me.”

The voice sighed. Then at least agree to disagree. We will no longer taunt ourselves or think of pain. We will look forward towards the future. We will make an honest effort to change that which we have long accepted that we will always be. In exchange, ‘Reaper’ will not fight us, or this change...quite so hard. Do we have a deal?

Reaper looked up at the clear blue sky, his shoulders slumping as he vented his anger in one long, slow breath.

“Deal,” he said.

Here’s to hoping that’ll be enough, when the time comes, Reyes’ voice said before falling silent once more.

Reaper stood there in the silence for a time, just staring up at the sky.

“I know you’re still there,” Reaper whispered.

Never said we would leave, Reyes’ voice said lightly. We oughta go help find Spike. It’s been a while, and that’s worrying.

Reaper grunted. “He’s a dragon. What could happen to him?”

Just as the words left Reaper’s mouth, Spike’s voice came from the forest nearby, shouting, “SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! HEEEEEELP!”

Never tempt fate, Reyes’ voice commented.