The Reaper

by Blade Trail

Chapter 6: One More Time

Despite being hosted by a magical princess in her crystal castle, dinners with Twilight, Starlight, and Spike were usually rather ordinary affairs. The food would be prepared by Spike, sometimes with help, often without, and almost always consisted of simple dishes like salads and sandwiches. The castle had a dining hall, but on most days, everyone just ate in the kitchen because it was both more convenient and more personal.

Tonight’s dinner was no different. Reaper sat on the table - no chair was high enough for him - quietly savoring the taste of his grilled cheese sandwich while the others talked about how their day went, what they’d learned, and other things of that nature. He wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation. He never did. As far as he was concerned, it was just pointless small talk. The only reason he put up with any of it was to taste the food. It had all been simple vegetarian dishes so far, of course, but after years of suffering through unnatural starvation alleviated only by violent murder, Reaper welcomed any opportunity to eat normally.

Seems like Twilight’s winding down, Reyes’ voice commented. Any second now…

Twilight turned to face Reaper, smiling. “How about you, Reaper? How did your day go?”

“Fine,” Reaper replied, as he always did.

The past few days, that response had been enough. Spike or Starlight had always been with him, so they would pick up the slack and tell Twilight the details of what they’d been up to that day. Today, though, Spike had left him with Starlight, who in turn had left him with Pinkie Pie, so no one present knew what he had been up to.

Spike, knowing Reaper wouldn’t say anything else without urging, asked, “Did you and Starlight get to finish touring Ponyville?”

“No,” Reaper replied.

“How far did you get?” Spike followed up.

“Quills and Sofas,” Reaper replied.

“Quills and Sofas?” Spike said, surprised. “But that’s where I left you guys! What happened?”

Starlight chuckled nervously. “I, uh, sorta forgot I had a thing today. Trixie had her last show in Ponyville earlier, and I promised I’d be there to see her off. With all the excitement lately, it had completely slipped my mind. Lucky for me, Pinkie mentioned it after you left, and I was able to make it in time for the second half.”

Twilight frowned. “While I’m happy you were able to keep your promise, what about Reaper?”

“Yeah!” Spike added. “You said you’d take care of the rest of the tour! Don’t tell me you just left him there.”

“What? No, of course not!” Starlight said defensively. “I left him with Pinkie Pie. And before you say anything, she’s the one that offered to take him baking. I’d never just leave a friend out on the street!”

Hear that? Reyes’ voice asked. She’s our friend!

“Starlight didn’t leave me,” Reaper said, pointedly ignoring the voice in his head. “Pinkie took me.”

And now we’re sticking up for her! Reyes’ voice exclaimed, ecstatic.

Reaper clenched his hands, causing gooey cheese to drip out of the sandwich he was still holding. Reyes’ words frustrated him, but he found that he couldn't argue with them.

Can't argue, or won't? Reyes’ voice teased.

Twilight’s lips curled up into a wide smile. “You spent the day baking with Pinkie Pie?” she asked, excited. “How did it go?”

She seems a little too excited about this… Reyes’ voice said.

“Okay, I guess?” Reaper replied, unable to understand what was so exciting.

Twilight’s wings flared and she let out a little squee. “You know, since your day with Pinkie went okay, you should spend some time getting to know my other friends!”

“Real subtle, Princess of Friendship,” Spike muttered with a small smile.

Right...forgot about that, Reyes’ voice mentioned.

“I think it'll be a great experience!” Twilight continued. “Besides, it's not like you have anything else to do right now, right? Might as well fill that time with something useful!”

Spike stopped just as he was about to take another bite of his sandwich. “Wait, what about you? I thought you’d want Reaper around for more experiments and stuff.”

Twilight frowned. “Spike,I'm doing research, not experimentation. Otherwise, I'd be casting all sorts of crazy spells, just to see what happens.”

“Yeah, you'd never do that,” Spike said sarcastically.

Twilight showed no signs of having heard him. “Anyway, I'm mostly looking into the theories and concepts of trans-dimensional travel right now. Laying the groundwork, as it were. I mean, sure, I already studied most of these before - definitely all of the major papers - but it doesn't hurt to be thorough. When I first made those modifications to the mirror, I… ”

“Hey," Starlight whispered to Reaper as Twilight droned on. "How did your day with Pinkie go? Didn't think you were the baking type.”

“I'm not,” Reaper replied, matching Starlight’s volume. “But it was…fine.”

“Sooo does that mean you'd be up for hanging out with her again?” Starlight asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but unable to stop a little excitement from creeping into her tone.

These ponies are really into this friendship business, huh? Reyes’ voice commented.

Reaper thought back to the Cake twins. He’d always thought children were adorable, but pony children were on another level entirely.

“Yes,” he answered.

Definitely, Reyes’ voice added.

In the background, Twilight continued to monologue the details of her research. “...some complications with the mirror’s transformative magic, but I’m sure we can do something about that. The real challenge is blending all the types of magic at play. There’s an interesting spell weave I think we can apply described in...”

Spike, without turning away from Twilight, whispered, “That’s great! Honestly, I wasn’t sure you two would get along. Pinkie can be a bit, uh,...”

“Annoying,” Reaper completed.

“Not how I would’ve put it, but...yeah,” Spike conceded. “Guess she grew on you through, eh?”

“We found something in common,” Reaper said.

Starlight gave Reaper a knowing smile. “But you’re still not too keen on how expressive she can be. That’s understandable. You are pretty reserved. I think I know who you should hang out with on your next outing.”

Reaper frowned. “Don’t just decide -”

“Anyway, what do you think, Reaper?” Twilight asked, catching Reaper by surprise.

“Huh?” Reaper said.

“About spending some time with my other friends,” Twilight clarified. “I know I went off on a bit of a tangent there, but...will you give it a try?”

Reaper wanted to say no. In fact, he was going to say no to Starlight just moments before, but the pure, hopeful look on Twilight’s face was a strong contender for the most adorable thing he’d seen that day, and he had spent part of that day with two baby ponies.

That has to be cheating, Reyes’ voice said. She doesn’t mean to do it, sure, but she’s cheating.

Reaper agreed. Inadvertently or not, Twilight taking her race’s naturally adorable appearance and amplifying it with an expression that relayed a hopeful and innocent desire for friendship - tinged with just a hint of nervous fear at the prospect of being denied - was definitely foul play, but there was no denying that it was also working. Reaper just couldn’t bring himself to let her down.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed, clapping her hooves happily.

Pretty sure that if we still had a heart, it would have seized up right there, Reyes’ voice commented.

Before Twilight could continue, Starlight spoke up. “Here’s an idea: how about we all go help Fluttershy at Sweet Feather Sanctuary tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me!” Spike said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been down there, and I’m sure Fluttershy would appreciate some extra help.”

Twilight brightened even more. “That’s perfect!” she exclaimed, then her expression fell. “But I probably shouldn’t go. There’s still so much work to do on the portal, and I want to make sure Reaper finds a way home as soon as possible.”

Starlight put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Are you sure? You’ve been working really hard these past few days. I don’t think anypony would fault you for taking a break.”

Twilight shook her head. “Maybe not, but every day counts. There’s no telling what effects prolonged exposure to the Soul of the Wind might be having on Reaper. For all we know, the longer we wait, the harder it’ll be to get Reaper back home and back in his true form. I have to get to the bottom of this. I’m the only one that can.”

“Not the only one,” Starlight said. “We’re here for you, Twilight. All your friends are.”

Spike stood up on his chair. “Yeah! If you ever need help, Twilight, just say the word. If we all work together, I’m sure it won’t take long at all!”

Reaper surprised himself by speaking up. “I’m tougher than you give me credit for, Sparkle. There isn’t anything this magic orb can do to hurt me, not permanently. Don’t you dare start worrying about me.”

And home sucks anyway, Reyes’ voice added. So far, this place is waaay better.

Twilight smiled, her eyes beginning to water a bit. “Oh, thank you! All of you!”

Spike and Starlight approached Twilight for a group hug, with Starlight dragging Reaper over using her magic and pulling him into the hug with her hoof. Reaper, knowing resistance was futile, didn’t struggle. He just let out a disgruntled sigh.

Fun fact, Reyes’ voice said cheerfully. We’ve gotten more hugs in the last couple of days than we’ve gotten in the last couple of decades. No, scratch that. We’ve gotten more hugs today than we’ve gotten in the entirety of our adult life. And people wonder why we’re so cranky.

Reaper opened his mouth to object.

Just then,Twilight said, “I'm so happy to have friends like you!”

Reaper closed his mouth without saying a word. He didn't need or even want all of this touchy feely friendship nonsense.

That said...it wasn't completely unbearable.

Comments

[Crossover_Addict]

Awww, this is so sweet.

P.S Reaper is my most used character in Overwatch.