//------------------------------// // Chapter One- // Story: Reaper With An Angel // by MLPxMaestro //------------------------------// Reaper With An Angel: Chapter 1- It was the holidays, and just a couple of days away from Hearth’s Warming Day. Little filly Octavia and her mother, Melody, were getting ready to head out to their grandmother Octave’s house. Located just on the other side of the pristine city, and even within a more upper class district, she had a lovely view out from Canterlot’s cliffside. Octavia’s mother had told her little girl that she was sick, but yet Octavia didn’t understand at her age? She knew that her mom didn’t have a fever, and she looked as pretty as she always was to her. Sometimes, little Octy even thought her mother was the prettiest mare in Equestria when the mood struck her. Anyways, how could she be sick from Octavia’s perspective? Perhaps her mother was giving her all of this attention, along with hugs and kisses to her sweet daughter for a reason. Octavia’s father, Golden Strings, knew what it was; it was a rare and silent illness. They did not wish to tell their daughter, because they were afraid she would be scared for her mother. The illness was harmless at its first stages, but once it gets to the final stage, it becomes lethal, and it hits very hard all of a sudden. There was no cure for the mysterious illness, and only a small handful of ponies across all of Equestria would be diagnosed every year. The best doctors in all of the land had no way of stopping it. Melody has had this deadly mystery illness ever since Octavia turned one, and it hasn’t reached its final stage yet. Though it wouldn’t be very much longer at all till it does in fact. Melody had been given only two weeks left to live, though she still felt fine. She would be until the final week of the disease however…what a way to live. However Octavia’s family was being strong about it, and Octavia’s mother and grandmother was no exception. When it was time to be strong in times of trouble, Melody would make every moment count with her daughter until she couldn’t go any longer. “Come on dear, time to go to granny’s!” Octavia’s mother yelled from downstairs. “Wet me gwab my things!” That was all Octavia’s mother Melody, managed to hear. After a crash was heard upstairs in Octavia’s bedroom, she galloped to her room hastefully. “Sweetie, are you okay?!” she yelled as she made her way up to her lovely daughters’ room. She then stopped herself and began smiling seeing little Octavia caught under a huge pile of blankets that fell on top of her. Octavia was a late three years old, so she was the most curious one in the household by far. “Ahhh! Hewp me, it’s dawk!” Octavia called out to her mother, her voice sounding muffled under all the thick sheets. “Oh you silly girl, give me just a moment.” Melody giggled, as she made her way to the pile of sheets her daughter was being held prisoner under. She saw the little figure that was her daughter moving around all over the place under the pile, as she got closer to it, looking like a little lost ghost in the pile. “Boo!” Octavia poked her head out from under the pile startling her mother a bit. “There’s my girl!” nuzzling Octavia’s cheek then kissing it. “Sweetie, there was no need for any of this, you know that right?” her mother added. “But mommy, I had to pack?” Octy tilted her head to the side feeling a bit confused. “No dear, I have your things already packed when we head over to granny’s for a few days. Everything is over at her house, okay?” Melody replied with a smile. “Oh…okay den!” Octavia looked around the room, then hopping once a bit in place. She then took off out of her room, and dashed down the stairs, anxious to see her granny. She loved her grandmother to bits, and so did her granny Octave in return, ten fold. “Octavia! Your scarf, remember?” Melody ran down to her putting the purple scarf around Octy’s little neck. “I wook siwwy with this thing on.” Octy looked down, lightly kicking the bits of snow on her front porch as they walked outside. “You look lovely Octavia, one day you might not mind as much. You just need to know about style is all dear.” Melody kissed her daughters forehead, as they continued down the snow-covered streets of Canterlot. “Mommy, can we make snow angels?” “No, not right now, I told your father we would get there before he gets there.” “Where is daddy at?” “He’s at work sweetie, he needed to work overtime so he can be with us on Hearth’s Warming Day.” Melody replied. “Yay! What about Pony Cwaus?” Octavia asked. “Pony Claus? Well hmm…I think you’ve been nothing short of an angel this year Octavia. With that said dear, you will be getting something very special from your grandfather on Hearth’s Warming Day too.” Melody smiled backed down to the ball of gray fur within the snow. The snow for her daughter covered up those little legs of hers entirely, and it was starting to make her cold as they approached an intersection within the street. “Okay now, onto my back you little snow angel.” Octavia said nothing, and got onto her mother’s back, causing her to shake a little from those tiny hooves being so cold. “Goodness sweetie, those little hooves of yours are cold as ice.” Said Melody. “I’m cold.” Octavia replied, wrapping her two front hooves around her mom’s neck. “Oh I know, but granny has a fireplace, remember? But we’re fine with firewood this time, so don’t you go throwing her books into the fire to keep it going like you did last time, okay?” Octavia had no idea what her mother was even talking about, since she didn’t recall the time she did that. Continuing onto the other side of the city, Octavia begins to complain. “I’m hungwy mommy!” “I can get you something to eat when we get to granny’s okay?” her mother replied. Having the level head she had, she kept a smile on her face, knowing it wouldn’t be too much further before they arrived. “But I wanna eat now!” she whined. “Octavia?” she raised her voice a bit. “Sowwy…it’s unwady wike…wike daddy says…” Octavia’s voice faded out as she approached the end of her comment. “I know your father can be a bit harsh on you sometimes, I wish he would realize you’re just a little girl, you need to have your fun. Though you still do, and you’ll have plenty of it when we get to granny’s.” “Yeah! We awe gonna make cookies and other tweats…ooh! Ooh! We even gonna make cookies too!” “Sweetie you said cookies already.” Melody giggled at her daughters’ excitement, seeing the expression she had on her ace just thinking about all the fun she would have with grandma. “But we awe gonna make them mommy, gwanny said so!” Octavia raised her voice happily. “I know, I know, I believe you. Just calm down okay?” her mom giggled once more, as she turned her head back around to her daughter burying her face into the side of her neck. Melody looked back from time to time checking in on little Octy, noticing her trying to catch the occasional snowflakes with her tongue as they fell from the sky. Octavia was heartwarming most of the time, and her mother couldn’t help but to smother her daughter with hugs and kisses, which Octavia didn’t seem to mind. “I love you Octavia.” Melody kissed her head softly. Octavia loved getting kisses from her mother. She even every now and then was convinced her mother was an angel who married her daddy “I wuv you too mommy.” Octavia’s soft little lips kissed her mother in return on the side of her face just as they approached grandma’s snowy doorstep.