The Twilight Reaper

by Arceaion

Chapter 3 Part 1 - Regnum Animarum et Mortis

Please read the Author's Notes at the end, it has some information on this world.

---

Twilight groaned as she slowly awoke and sat up rubbing her eyes to get the last of the sleep out of them. As she sat in the bed she slowly became aware that she was no longer in the room she had spent the last few days in and looked around to see a large room that was sparsely decorated but what was there made it seem like the room was meant for a king or queen.

The bedroom was large, with the massive bed she lay in pushed to the far right corner and as twilight got up and looked around she was surprised by what was inside the room. Across from her bed and tucked into the opposite corner was an ornately carved desk and a big fluffy chair that she approached and looked over finding the desk topped with writing tools and other objects one would see on a desk. Between the desk and the bed set into the center of the wall was a large window letting in the cool light of the moon and below it was a window seat that was covered in a cushion that made it a perfect spot to read. As Twilight turned to the front of the room she saw that in the front left corner of her room stood several book cases, most not even half full of books but the ones that were on them were the ones Death had brought her to read while she was locked in the room as a spirit. With a small smile she turned to the other corner to see a door right before her bed and an ornate silver mirror in the right corner. Twilight walked to the door and pushed the door open to peer into the room finding a massive bathroom.

Twilight entered the bathroom and looked around finding that the floor looked like marble, the wall beside the door was lined by a counter that contained a sink and several cabinets and as she looked around she saw that the bathtub was actually set into the floor with steps that lead into it like those found in a pool. Twilight looked down at the bath to see water already inside and steaming like a hot tub. Twilight frowned and turned back to the door to return to her room where she went to examine the mirror.

As she neared the mirror she froze at the person reflected in it hesitantly reached a hand out seeing the figure in the mirror do the same. Slowly Twilight raised a hand to her face and the figure did the same and Twilight walked closer to the mirror and looked at herself closely. "So I really was reborn in a new body..." She said, her voice trailing off as she examined her new body.

Her skin was now a bit paler than what she'd had before and the tips of her hair had turned gray while the purple in it had lightened to become a more gray purple, there was also now a stripe of silver in her hair alongside the magenta stripe she had always had. Calmly she stepped forward more to look closer at herself and she noticed her eyes had changed from purple to a slate gray as well.

As Twilight examined herself and looked her body over she slowly began to become aware of a strange sensation that she had been feeling since she had woken up. The sensation came from her back and as Twilight focused on the feeling she felt something stretch and she stepped back in shock as something flared from her back, slowly she turned her head back to the mirror only to see a set of wings extending from her back that glowed silver in the moonlight coming from her window.

Twilight stared in shock at the wings before she slowly tried to move them; they felt completely natural and for some reason she just knew that if she wanted to she could fly, it was as if she always had wings but even more confusing was that she seemed to know how to use them. As Twilight examined the wings a quite knock was heard at the door causing her to jump in surprise and turn to see a strange being.

The being looked like a human however their eyes and the inside of their mouth glowed with a cyan blue light, their flesh seemed to be decomposing as well with holes around their mouth revealing the light inside even when their it was shut. The being appeared female was dressed in the attire of a maid and as Twilight remained frozen the maid calmly approached the air growing chilly as she neared and bowed. "Greetings Mistress, it is a pleasure to see you have awakened." she said snapping Twilight out of her trance.

Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts as the maid rose and smiled kindly. "Who- what are you?" Twilight asked as her mind worked to catch up with what was going on. "And why did you call me mistress?" She asked causing the maid to tilt her head in thought before responding.

"My name is Whisper; I'm a type of undead known as a Wight. Master Death raised me from slumber to attend to you as your personal maid." The being, now identified as Whisper, said in a calm voice.

Twilight nodded slowly as she looked back at her reflection, "Okay... so what do I do now?" She asked as she placed a hand on the mirror as if to confirm it was there.

"First I will assist you in getting dressed." Whisper replied with a smile. "Afterwards Master Death suggested I take you to the dining hall to eat."

Twilight nodded as she looked at her reflection one last time. "Whisper, you don't have to call me mistress, please just call me by my name." She said as she looked at the Wight.

Whisper nodded. "Very well mistress, I will call you by your name..." She said trialing off before looking at Twilight in confusion as if to ask what her name was.

Twilight sighed and looked at her reflection. "Aeternum Rest, my name is Aeternum Rest." Aeternum said sadly. 'Even though I was Twilight Sparkle she died, I can't use the name of a dead person.' She thought her wings drooping in sadness.

Whisper nodded and bowed. "Very well, do you wish me to address you as Lady Rest or simply Aeternum?"

"No lady, or miss, or mistress, or anything like that till I'm at least older!" Aeternum said in a huff. "I'm only seven!" She said causing Whisper to suppress what looked like a smile.

"As you wish, Aeternum." She said as she took Aeternums' hand. "Now, come with me and I shall aid in get you dressed." She said a she pulled the young Aeternum.

---

For Twilight getting dressed was the most embarrassing thing she had ever done mostly because Whisper was forced to help her with most of the clothing because Aeternums' body was still weak from its reconstruction. This left Aeternum feeling as if she were simply a doll and no amount of apologies from the distraught servant could alleviate the young girls’ embarrassment. After the change of clothing was done however Aeternum followed Whisper out of her room and down the halls of what turned out to be a massive estate.

Twilight looked around in wonder at the decorations that lined the halls, from ancient banners and tapestries to ornately carved statues and ceremonial weapons of old; the halls were packed with the odd bobble and trinket most of which would make even the most dedicated of collector and prestigious of museums green with envy. At last Whisper came to a stop at a set of ornate dark wood double doors that she calmly knocked on before opening to reveal a large dining hall with Death sitting at the head of the table his bony hands clasped as he simply sat quietly watching.

Aeternum hesitantly followed Whisper into the dining hall and as she entered Death looked up at her, his gaze directed directly at her. Aeternum shifted uneasily as she followed Whisper to a seat on the left right next to him and pulled the chair out for her, Aeternum took a deep breath and climbed up onto the chair. "I am glad you are finally awake Aeternum, you have been asleep for quite some time." Death said calmly as he turned to fully look her over, his bony face showing a mix of relief and enjoyment at her presence.

"Sorry, I guess me being reborn was really taxing on my new body... I still am really weak thought." Aeternum said shyly and with a hint of embarrassment.

Death nodded. "I imagen it will be like that for some time." Death said calmly as he raised his hand and gestured to a servant who bowed and left before returning quickly with a cart with food on it. "After you have eaten you will be taken by Whisper to purchase new cloths." He said as he looked to the Wight maid that stood behind her mistress. "There is a Tailor by the name of Riso Alsharai that I have commissioned to make some more clothing for Aeternum, she is an Arachne so do be careful around her." Death said as he took a bite of the food.

"Next you will need to meet your new tutor Adrarea; she is strict but fair and will be working to teach you everything I will be unable to. I'll look into acquiring you more specialized tutors on other subjects when you are ready. One thing I've learned over my long existence is that there are times it pays to be death, especially when I can often go directly to the source to get my information, second hand accounts can be troublesome and more often than not are completely incorrect." As Death spoke a hint of disdain escaped into his voice and Aeternum giggled causing Death to at least look slightly embarrassed and he cleared his throat.

"In any case your final stop for the day will be to meet my librarian, Tigira Amerehet. She is an excellent records keeper and quite wise though both factors are most likely helped by the fact my library contains all recorded works since the first writings appeared on cave walls, I might even have some rare or lost tomes in there..." He trailed off before shaking his head.

"Finally you will meet with me every day to learn how to use your new magic." He said calmly. "You will also be meeting with my Guard Captain, Noreis Sterling for training in weapons as well as physical fitness and basic exercise. She will be helping you get readjusted to a body."

Aeternum nodded in understanding. "So I have a lot to do, is there be anything else I need to know?" She asked.

Death tilted his head in thought. "Oh, I did almost forget but seeing as you are bound to both the Mortal and Spirit Worlds you’ll be spending some time in both. For now you need not worry about such things but I do plan for you to stay in the Mortal World on occasion." He explained.

Aeternum nodded as she finished eating. "So I need to get new clothes, meet my tutor, go to the library and then meet up with you and a guard captain?" She asked slowly trying to make sure she got it all right.

"You'll be meeting with me today, next week you'll be meeting and starting your training with Captain Sterling." Death clarified.

Aeternum nodded. "Okay!" She said happily as she looked at Whisper. "Do you think you could help me remember all this?" She asked.

Wisper nodded with a smile. "I have a list Mistr-Aeternum." She replied causing Death to nod.

"Excellent, Whisper I'm placing Aeternums' protection in your care." He said as he looked at the Wight who bowed her head in understanding.

Aeternum pushed her chair back and jumped down with sigh as she stretched. "So when will I be leaving?" She asked.

"We will be leaving as soon as you are ready." Whisper replied and Aeternum nodded as she turned to leave, death watching her as she hurried out the door.

"She has a long way to go before she is ready for the duties of a Reaper but she truly does have potential." He muttered as an old Oni slowly entered the room.

The Oni had deep blue skin with two horns growing from his forehead, he wore the black suit of a butler and as he entered the dining room he bowed. "Forgive the intrusion Master Death but your Sister is here to see you and she seems rather... angry." He said in a measured tone.

"Death frowned before sighing. “Well let's not keep her waiting." He said as he leaned back in his chair. "I assume she is just outside?" He asked receiving a not from the butler. "Well, let her in Marnolan." He said with another sigh.

The Butler nodded and turned to the door opening it and bowing to the women who entered. The Women wore a glistening white dress with gold trim and with the appearance of a stunningly beautiful and motherly woman however the image was ruined as soon as one looked into her eyes. It was these eyes that Deaths met, tired eyes locking with one that only showed pure spite and hatred for everything around her.

"You have broken the pact brother." Life spit as she glared hatefully at Death.

"I did no such thing Sister." Death said calmly as he clasped his hands together calmly.

"You created life; you’re not supposed to do that!" She screamed at him as she stomped her foot like a toddler. "That’s my job, mine and no one else’s!" She screamed in anger."

Death sat quietly as she screamed at him not even looking the least bit interested. "You were the one who threw her away Sister; I took her and made her mine." He said calmly. "Furthermore she is not yours to play with, she is bound to my realm and as such she is my child to tend to." He said calmly causing Life to grit her teeth as her hand s curled into fists.

"I don't care if that thing is bound to your realm or not I will not have her existing!" She spit in hatred. "And if you do not kill it then I will." She said as she turned to leave only to find Death standing before her.

Life froze in fear as she saw Deaths glare, his eye sockets glowed with an ethereal light as he seemed to grow taller before her and loom over here. "You enter my domain, scream and threaten me and then think you can order me to kill my daughter?" He asks his voice as cold as a frozen tomb. "Life, I will tell you this once and once only, if Aeternum Rest, my daughter and your niece, comes to harm and I find you had a hand in it be it either direct or indirect I shall open the gates of my realm and let the dead wash over the world like a tide unending." He said in a dark tone. "I have sat back and let you do as you please for a long time; I've watched as you’ve unleashed plagues upon the mortals, I've watched as famines you've wrought destroy entire civilizations. Each atrocity and abuse of your power I've bore witness to and never once have I interfered or stopped you but this is the line in the sand, cross it and you will learn just how great my wrath can be, little sister." He said as he loomed over her his form appearing as a mass of darkness, normally white bones appearing as pure black, the hood of his cloak falling way revealing his blackened skull in all its glory and star like eyes that bore into the terrified immortal before him.

"Remember Little Sister; I am Death, the Guardian of the Veil, the bringer of Eternal Sleep, the Pale Horse." He roared as his shadowy appearance writhed in rage. "All that exists will meet me eventually, the trees, the grass, and all of nature shall wither and die. From the the smallest of insects, to the mightiest of dragons, and the most ancient of immortals, all of them will on day meet me; you are no exception to this rule." He said as he stepped to the side. "Now leave my domain and do not return; you are no longer welcome here." He growled as Life ran for the open door Death watching as she left in terror.

As Life fled his sight he began to take deep breaths and slowly he shrunk down and his bones lightened back to their white state. After a moment ne took one more deep breath and pulled his hood back over his skull. After calming down he exited the dining hall to see Marnolan standing off to the side of the door. "Marnolan, find Captain Sterling and inform her that I will be moving Aeternums' training up." He said calmly as he headed down the corridor.

"As you wish sir, may I ask where you are heading?" Marnolan ask as he walked behind death at a respectful distance.

"I'm heading to the Veil to retrieve the soul of the Masamune; I have need of his talents as a Blacksmith." He said as a portal opened and he walked through it.

Author's Note:

This chapter was not meant to be a two parter but I changed the ending and thought it better to divide this chapter between what was going on with Death and what Aeternum was doing. So the next chapter will be focusing on Aeternum.

Also few people have asked if this world is anthro or not and the answer is that it is human. I'll explain body types on a need to know basis but for now I'll just cover the Main pony Races.

• The Pegasus A.K.A. Valkyries are a winges race of humans taking the appearance of angels. Valkyries that are especially gifted and Alicorns like the Princesses tend to have larger wings.
• The Earth Pony A.K.A. Terra look exactly like humans with the single exception that they are extremely strong from birth and even without training are able to crush rocks and wood in their hands with little effort.
• The Unicorn A.K.A. Magus are human like with the exception that they have natural 'tattoos' that cover their arms, these 'tattoos' are unique to the individual and appear shortly after the birth of the Magus glowing with the color of the Magus's magic. The 'tattoo' grows to always cover their arms with time and age and the stronger the Magus's magic is the more detailed and intricate the markings are. Magus with extremely powerful magic like the like the Princesses have these 'tattoos' covering not just their arms but also their neck, face and even body.
• The Crystal Pony A.K.A. Crystal Terra look exactly like their Terra counter parts with the exception that they appear to be made from crystal, when they die their bodies shatter and crumble to dust like shattered stone.
• The Alicorn Race is a combination of the Valkyrie, Terra and Magus Races, they have larger wings than a standard Valkyrie, are slightly stronger than an average Terra and the 'Tattoos' that most Magus get are not only far more detailed but can cover more than just their body if they live long enough. Alicorns also have an extreme healing factor that gives them an abnormal longevity to their lives making them seem almost immortal however they can be killed like any normal being, they are immune to the ravages of time but anything other than that can kill them.

So here are the main pony races, don't worry about the other races for now as they will be explained when the come up in the story.

Comments

[redsopine]

Soooo alicorns are elf life then also we need art of twilght now the hair sounds amazing and death gave me a pissed off inez vibe

[Arceaion]

10664620
I'm not any good when it comes to art so unless someone wants to do fanart of there won't be an image.

[redsopine]

10664680
Hopefully someone does

[Xergot]

This is an interesting concept and i'm looking forward to seeing where you take this. your writing has really improved since your earlier stories, so keep going.
If I were to give you a recommendation right now, it would be to increase Aeternum/Twilight's age to 9 or 10 years old, because right now she acts a bit too adult and composed for what seems believable for a 7 year old girl, or you could just have have her act a bit more childish. This is of course just a recommendation so feel free to disregard it.

Anyway keep up the good work, it's really enjoyable to read.

[Arceaion]

10664852
Thanks for the advice, I'll work on making her more childish.

[Edguy0009]

Interesting, though what if, despite it being very unlikely, someone figures out Aeternum Rest was once Twilight Sparkle?

Also, Death has a point whiles using facts to back it up with an awesome Reason You Suck Speech mixed in.

[Commander Darklight]

more

[Arceaion]

10664886
For now I'm too early in the story to let really consider such things but since you and others keep asking I'll do a what if scenario.

If someone figures out who she is but says nothing she will be fine, however if someone figures out who she is and actually says it she will die and be laid to rest in the Veil.

Now the only ones who could figure out that Twilight is Aeternum would be Shining Armor, her mother and father. Twilight won't ever meet her parents again till they die, as she's the grim reaper it would have to be either her or Death himself that takes their souls to the Veil. I think Death will probably do it simply so he can talk to them.

Shining Armor on the other hand will be interacting with Aeternum a little and they will see each other often due to what I have planned for her. He's the only one that has a good chance of figuring it out and depending on how the story goes I may even do something where he figures out who she and says it resulting in her dying. But as of now there is no plans in the works for this scenario.

[Edguy0009]

10664906
Thanks for the information, though I thought the if her old name is said she dies applied only when she says her old name, though I just thought of possible loophole.

While Shining Armor or Aeteruem can't say the latter's old name to confirm it, once Shining figures it out, he could ask if she is/was her sister without saying her name or about say her name only for Aeteruem interrupt and her confirming it without saying her old name while telling Shining Armor not to say her name. But as you said, it's too early to think about it.

[Arceaion]

10664956
This rule is the most difficult to interpret because of how vague it really is however the way the rule will ultimately work is if anyone confirms she was Twilight Sparkle she will die. It doesn't matter of they say her name or not if they can without a single doubt confirm she was once Twilight Sparkle that's it for her.

Of course even if someone were to figure it out I'm sure the beings of the Spirit World would make sure that person never got the chance to ask or confirm it. Hmm... this gave me an interesting idea to follow up on later in the story.

[Edguy0009]

10665020
Oh, and I'm glad to have given some insperation.

[Arceaion]

10665041
Hmm... yeah... probably should fix that.

[Godfather17]

And this is one reason why you don’t piss off death

[Commander Joe]

Why does death need a guard?

[Arceaion]

10665117
Why does Celestia need guards when in the show she is immortal?

The Guards work more as a protection detail for Deaths mansion, he did say in this chapter say that his library contains every written work to have ever existed and I bet he has some powerful artifacts hidden away in there to. Can you imagine what would happen if any of that stuff was stolen?

[KibaStray]

dang this is pretty neat. Love the notes to this story.

[Green223]

You never described what Aeternum's Magus tattoo looks like and how far it goes or if she ever had one to begin with.
Also will Aeternum meet ever meet the rest of the mane six while they are alive or will she only meet them when they die?

[Commander Joe]

10665168
It just feels like the land of the dead isn't much different from from the land of the living. Simply another nation cut off from every other one in existence.

When you put it that way its not really a bad thing but...I donno what I was expecting. I'll just wait and see if things change.

[whitepawrolls]

Enjoying the story so far. Can't wait to see where it goes next

[Infernati]

By the moon and stars i so wish time didn't apply to me so i could see how this story goes faster because it's incredible my imagination goes wilder than ever

[SolidBlackPanda]

Death went Papa Wolf on Life

[robotic]

I'm loving this currently

[whitepawrolls]

10665041
I'm getting more of an anthro vibe off it myself.

[Invasion]

Very enjoyable I'm looking forward to more.

[Arceaion]

10665557
The name I gave her is Aeternum not Aethernum, I didn't miss spell it. In Latin the word Aeternum translates to the word forever so in short her full english name means Forever Rest.

Just to let everyone know right now, this story will contain a lot of Latin, I mean the titles are in Latin so... you should have figured this out.

[Estella Star]

Twilight shook her head to clear his thoughts as the maid rose and smiled kindly. "Who- what are you?" Twilight asked as her mind worked to catch up with what was going on. "And why did you call me mistress?" She asked causing the maid to tilt her head in thought before responding.

Love the story so far, keep up the good work!

[whitepawrolls]

10666586
Life in general is a bitch so its fitting

[Jhtmar]

I really love your concept of your world.
And I really like this story so far.

Please make more.

[Snow Frostfang]

"I'm heading to the Veil to retrieve the soul of the Masamune; I have need of his talents as a Blacksmith." He said as a portal opened and he walked through it.

Knowing this is Masamune we’re talking about the weapon he’ll make will be perfect

[Glutbier]

A very Great Story and a hope of More !!!!

[Greenhorn]

This story is fascinating.

[Dimmed Star]

So unicorns kinda look like Garth or the player character from fable 2 if you play as a spell caster Sweet.

[Arceaion]

10685487
I'm working on editing and rewriting the Lost Dreamer story so that it has a more cohesive storyline. I will be taking out Asriels Sword as it is far too powerful for the story but there will be a lot of changes both large and small.

[Arceaion]

10685570
The story is being rewritten so that all the loose plot threads and unused ideas that are scattered across it can connect to something rather then be left hanging like it was. If you still want something in the story I can do that by nerfing the sword a but the sword as it is is far to strong.

[carlos1802]

Arceaion,

I must congratulate you, the idea of the story is amaizing, I love it and hope you can develop it until its end. I'm not a writer, just a reader, so if I can give you some advices, they will be:
1) Write the story script.
2) Define your universe (World, races, systems for magic, weapons, elements, etc, structure) for yourself, and then, teach us about it in the development of the story.
3) Improve your grammar (OBBLIGATTORY ADVICE, not with bad intention, is always neccesary).

To my fellow readers, be patient, support the writers and help them to improve with our constructive criticism.

[fluttershyfan3030]

Wow who would've thought that life itself would be our antagonist of this story. I like where this story is going but i got to say "wow you're bringing in Masamune as a blacksmith the entity who created the demon killing sword of the same name. Who the hell will Twilight\Aeternum end up fighting where she will need a powerfully enchanted weapon to defeat?". I look forward to where this story is going. Plus I want to see more "Daddy Death" moments in this story. Hell I want to hear Aeternum\Twilight call him "dad" or "father" at some point in this story and continues to do so til the end of the story.

Now here is my criticism: Throughout this chapter i noticed you flip flopped with having used both "Twilight" and "Aeternum" when refering to herself but you have stated in the chapter " I'm not Twilight Sparkle she died, I can't use the name of someone who's dead" and she even intruduced herself as "Aeternum Rest" to Whisper. Then in the next paragragh you addressed her a Twilight again, then in the next paragragh you went back to Aeternum. So my critism is please fix it so she is always addressed as Aeternum by others and herself all the time. I'm sure your readers will know who she is assuming they've read the first chapter of this story. That is my critism.

Back to positives. So far this is a great story I look forward to the next chapter. Plus i hope you'll show us a new picture of how Aeternum looks after her rebirth soon.

This is just me but when you described what the Magus\Unicorns looked like my mind gave me the picture of the Djinn from the tv show "Supernatural" when they use their power.

[Arceaion]

10787724
I'm surprised more people haven't caught on to me using both "Twilight" and "Aeternum" when referring to Twilight and the reason for this is actually two parts. The first is a real world reason and it is so the reader can begin to correlate Twilight with the name Aeternum.

The second reason is a story one and is due to the fact that even though her name is Aeternum now she is still Twilight so she is still referring herself to that name on a reflex. This will become a small thing in the early chapters where at random times her name will change between the two and this will be done on purpose to distinguish how she is seeing herself at times and when she does certain things. It's a bit hard to explain so I guess it'll make more sense when these scenes pop up.

[fluttershyfan3030]

10787963
Very well i'll wait and see. I still want to see more instances of "Daddy Death" and Twi eventually calling him "Dad" or "Father". Also you didn't answer my question: Who the hell will Twi need to kill that requires her to get a heavily enchated weapon that Death needs Masamune to forge it?

[Arceaion]

10788000
There will be a lot more Death being a dad moments and eventually Aeternum will call him her father but that's all in the future.

Do you honestly think someone as twisted as Life would just give up? Death knows that he can't always protect Aeternum and that one day Life will come for her and that he may not get to her in time so he's decided to take a more proactive approach and prepare for the inevitable future rather than pretend that it wont happen.

[fluttershyfan3030]

10788125
Wow thnx for answering my question and you're right Life is very petty. Like I said before very clever making Life itself an antagonist n this story. I look forward to more "Daddy Death" moments and the inevitable showdown between Twilight daughter of Death and Life herself

[Nightmare_Me]

More please.

[Glutbier]

Mor!!

[Twi-Fi Brony]

10788125
i want more ...

[Godfather17]

When is the next chapter coming out ? PS love you story Can’t wait to see what else is going on

[Arceaion]

10873740
Right now I'm working on a collab for The Lost Ones so it may be a while but the plan is that once the collab is done I'll be back to work on this story for a while.

[Twi-Fi Brony]

10874016
new chapter soon?

[Arceaion]

11030077
Maybe, I've been so busy I've not had time to write much but I'll see what I can do.

[Twi-Fi Brony]

11030468
thats all i could hope for ... stay healthy

[Brony9216]

Where is the cover image from?