Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVHtcXRUTYobrWUkfsYUY5BQZ67ldB37jTEsK4M2anY/edit

Death Rock Mountain was a place located far behind Stalliongrad and filled with legends and rumors. Ponies said its peak was constantly covered in a gray-greenish cloud and any creature that came too close to it would die instantly. Others said that dark creatures dwelled in there. The cause of this cloud was generally unknown. Only few of Equestria’s subjects knew that this place was the only official meeting point of the reapers and the only location where Tripudium Messōrum could be held unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Despite the vast distance between the mountain and Ponyville, none of the keepers of harmony had to worry about coming there too late. Obsidian told them that the reapers set up a rune half way up the mountain to support long-distance-teleportation. The black stallion was the first to arrive at the other end to secure the surroundings, fend off any monsters or demons that were nearby and ensuring the deathly cloud was not too low for the others to follow safely. Then, one after another, he teleported the six mares to him through the rune.

The mountain was tall, steep and made of a dark kind of stone. It would be a long and exhausting way up and the large, threatening cloud that clustered around the peak demotivated them even more. Now that they were here and heard all the rumors about this place, the six mares were not so sure anymore if it was such a good idea to come. Paradoxically, Fluttershy seemed to be the least bewildered of all of them. She kept sticking close to Obsidian and appeared to feel quite comfortable. She trusted him completely and when he said it would be safe and worth it, she had no reason to doubt his words.

“-but why is the dance on top of a mountain? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to just have it underground or at a dark place?” Twilight wondered while they were climbing up.

“Minimē. The darkest, most hidden spots are already occupied by the demons. You can believe me when I tell you that we had been searching for a suitable location to meet up for a long time without success. Where there are no demons, there are ponies. Where there are no ponies, there are monsters and where there are no monsters, there are other creatures. In the end, we were forced to claim a territory that was next to entirely deserted already because it provided conditions that were hard to handle: the peak of Death Rock Mountain. To make sure no creature would ever want to come even near our hideout, we poisoned it. The cloud you see up there is our work. It is the result of an old habit some of us have: smoking a herb known as Basilisk Tongue,” Obsidian explained.

“What?! You smoke Basilisk Tongue? That is one of the most poisonous plants in all of Equestria!” the purple mare proclaimed.

“Yes. For most creatures it is deathly. But you have to admit, reapers are no normal creatures. We are naturally immune to any kind of poison or disease. Smoking this powerful herb has barely any effect on us at all. It only sharpens our senses minimally. If other beings have skin contact with the herb, or even the smoke, they are instantly poisoned and death will occur in seconds,” the reaper continued. The six friends became frightened.

“Then why in the name of Celestia would we want to get up there?” Rarity questioned.

“Because I got these,” Obsidian replied, opening his cloak and presenting the bag containing seven small bottles.

“Potions?” Applejack asked.

“Highly concentrated and powerful antidotes to be precise. Created by no less than lady Zecora, Equestria’s greatest master in natural remedies. I am sure you are familiar with that name?” the black stallion spoke.

“Zecora? Of course! She’s our friend!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Then I take you have faith in her skills?” the reaper asked.

“Obsidian. If you say these potions will keep us safe, that is enough for me to believe in them,” Fluttershy stated. The black stallion bowed down to her.

“Grātiās tibi agō, miss Fluttershy.”

“Aaaaand you are sure these small things are enough?” Rainbow Dash worried.

“Yes. I know lady Zecora for several years by now and I know when it comes to such things, she ensures that she does not make any mistakes. These antidotes are strong enough to keep you immune to Basilisk Tongue poison for at least twenty-four hours. Even in the unlikely case the effect of one might run out earlier, we still have an emergency potion. None of you will get harmed,” Obsidian ensured.

“Well... okay. I trust you, O,” Dash responded.

The higher they got, the more difficult the climb became. With each step they got higher, the air became colder and thinner. The wind kept on blowing stronger and stronger. Finally, the reaper allowed them all to drink their potions in order to comfort them more for the rest of the climb. The liquids were of an unpleasant flavor and thickness. Still, the ponies swallowed every last drop out of the bottles. As Twilight was done with hers, something occurred to her. She was surprised she didn’t think about it earlier.

“Wait a moment! Are all 87 reapers coming to the dance?” she asked. Obsidian nodded.

“Then who is guarding the demon strongholds?” she shouted in shock. The reaper, though, remained calm.

“Mistress Celestia. I also suppose now that Princess Luna knows about everything, she is helping her,” he responded.

“They’re guardin’ all of them?” Applejack wondered.

“Yes. I am not sure if this is clear to you, but both Mistress Celestia and Princess Luna are demi-goddesses. They are enormously powerful. Sealing off all demon strongholds for a day is a manageable task for them,” Obsidian responded.

Come to think of it, the ponies never thought too much about their beloved leaders. They always had been there and they always made everything alright. It now occurred to them that none of them even knew any details about the royal sisters. Where did they come from? Do they have parents? And if not, how were they born? Questions nopony could answer, but that kept them busy until they finally reached the gray-green cloud.

---

As the group entered the poisonous smoke, their throats became roughened. The air tasted very bitter and caused the six mares to cough. But thanks to the antidotes they drank, the taste and roughness of the smoke soon became neutralized, making it bearable to walk in it.

The smoke also had a pleasant side-effect for the temperature. The air inside of it was significantly warmer than outside of it.

Their visions, first limited, soon adapted to the atmosphere, like when stepping from a bright room into a dark. After just a minute, they could see everything happening on top of this mountain. Dozens of cloaked ponies were walking around, talking to each other, smoking pipes filled with dried Basilisk Tongue leaves or meditating.

When the keepers of harmony became able to see color in the smoke again, they were quite surprised about the appearances of the other reapers. They expected a legion of creatures looking almost identical to Obsidian. But the reapers had all sorts of colors. Blue, green, yellow, brown, orange... the same rule applied for their manes. Not even the curved horns or bat wings seemed to be standard amongst them.

Some had wings, some had horns, but only very few of them had both at the same time. The only features that most of them seemed to have in common where the black eyes, the scars and stitches from their battles.

A brown and red, young stallion who apparently used to be a unicorn turned towards them.

“Ah! Elder Obsidian! It is good to-” he started, but went in battle stance as he noticed the six mares behind him. Obsidian reached out a front leg to stop him.

“Hold it, Copper! These are guests!” he explained.

“Guests?! Tripudium Messōrum never has guests! Who are they anyway?” the young stallion questioned.

“Calm yourself, apprentice! You are speaking to the keepers of harmony!” Obsidian stated. Copper jumped up a bit in surprise and bowed down.

“Excuse me, ladies. I didn’t know you would come. It is an incredible honor to meet you all!” he apologized.

“It’s okay,” Applejack said on behalf of the group.

“You are an apprentice?” Twilight wondered.

“Well, yes,” Copper replied, scratching the back of his head. “I’m one of the youngest. 37 years old. Haven’t had the chance to consume a lot of demons either.”

“It is not the quantity you consume that makes you a good reaper. It is what challenges and missions you can complete in the name of our mistress. You need to learn patience, Copper. With age, your powers and wisdom will increase,” Obsidian stated.

“Oh... but don’t we get more powers when we consume demons?” Copper wondered.

“Our greatest powers are darkness, death and self-control. Increase your natural dark powers and rely less on the powers demons provide you, or you risk falling on the path of the red reaper,” the black stallion explained.

“I will do my best to avoid the red path. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me, elder Obsidian,” Copper thanked and bowed down again. The six mares became confused. But Obsidian noticed their confusion and continued speaking before they could form a question.

“Are we complete?” he asked.

“Not yet. Several are still missing. I will see if I can find out more,” Copper answered and walked away. Just a few moments later, a familiar voice was to be heard behind the group.

“Finally another meeting! Gosh, when was the last Tripudium Messōrum? Ten years ago? Am I glad Mistress Cel-” the female voice spoke, but suddenly stopped as she spotted six mares she knew very well. The keepers of harmony as well were shocked to see who was standing there.

“Derpy Hooves?!” they shouted all at the same time.

They could hardly believe their eyes. The gray mare with the blond mane wore a reaper cloak and stared at them in disbelief.

“What are you doing here?” she wondered.

“A better question would be what you are doing here! And why do you wear that cloak?” Rainbow Dash shouted. Derpy’s eyes wandered around, apparently aimless. Then she spotted Obsidian Shards.

“Don’t tell me this was your idea!” she spoke to the black stallion.

“It is the wish of our mistress that they see Tripudium Messōrum,” he replied coldly.

While this answer was enough for the gray mare to calm down, the group became more and more confused.

“No! No, no, no, no, no! Derpy! You can’t be a reaper! This makes no sense!” Rainbow protested.

“No? Why not?” Derpy asked calmly.

“You are the clumsiest, silliest, most useless pony I’ve ever met! Everything you touch breaks!” Rainbow exclaimed . This statement made the gray mare chuckle.

“Why thank you!” she replied, confusing the friends furthermore.

“Derpy is one of our older apprentices,” Obsidian started explaining. ”She has a very unique way to handle her tasks as a reaper. Instead of hiding herself in the dark like the rest of us, she seeks the attention of other ponies and walks amongst them.”

The minds of the six mares were blown. This was too much for them to understand. They had been living with a reaper for years without knowing it?

“But why do you look so... normal?” Fluttershy asked carefully. Derpy seemed to be a bit embarrassed by that question.

“Well. You see... I’m not really good at hunting demons yet. I’m a reaper for over fifty years now and I still only consumed like... um... twenty demons in total or so. I usually only make them flee or banish them. You see, by consuming demons we become stronger. But that also causes our bodies to become corrupted with demonic energy. Elder Obsidian here has consumed almost a thousand demons by now. Would you like to explain that more, Obsidian Shards?” Derpy asked. The black stallion nodded and continued.

“As you may have realized by now, the demonic horns and wings of a reaper are not naturally granted to us. We earn them by consuming demons. There are a few rough stages a reaper goes through from the moment they get cursed until they become an elder like me. The first change is that our eyes turn black. After that, we either grow demon wings or gain a demon horn. Usually, Pegasus-born reapers first get their wings corrupted to demon wings and unicorn-born reapers get their horns corrupted to demon horns. On earth-born reapers, it is random. Then in the last stage, they grow their last missing piece, turning them in what we call an elder.”

“Yeah,” Derpy started anew. “So the demons we consume change our bodies, making us more powerful. The stronger we get, the better we can handle demons of higher rank. But I for one don’t really need all that dark power. I prefer protecting ponies while being just among them, instead of hiding from them at a distance. And to make everypony underestimate me and to erase every possible idea I might be strong and dangerous, I act very clumsy and destroy stuff on purpose.”

“You do that on purpose? Gee, Derpy. What does Celestia think about this?” Fluttershy asked.

“Why, she supports it! Mistress Celestia likes my tactic and stations me in cities on purpose, because I adapt to them very well. She likes my silent ways to get rid of demons, even without consuming them! And the cities I am in sometimes get provided extra money to repair what I break. This tactic had been working for quite a while now. But honestly, I don’t think Mistress Celestia would want more reapers that act like I do. I just cost more than an average reaper. Besides, my way is rather tricky for a reaper,” the gray mare continued.

“What do you mean by that, my dear?” Rarity wondered.

“Well, to act like I do, you need emotions. With all respect, but an emotionless master of the deathly arts like Obsidian would not be able to act authentic enough to fit in my role. No offense, elder,” Derpy said carefully. Obsidian nodded, telling her it was fine for him.

“Anyway, I keep some of my emotions in order to be able to act clumsy, silly and useless. This cleavage between the professionalism of a reaper and the behavior of an average pony is something only very few can pull off. But I know, one day, my body will eventually get corrupted by the demons I have to consume when there is no other choice. Then I can no longer hide between the ponies and have to act like the others,” she concluded.

“That will not be necessary, apprentice. Our status in pony society has changed,” Obsidian stated. Derpy tried to focus him in confusion, one eye staring at him, the other wandering around aimlessly.

“I will tell everyone when all have arrived,” he spoke. The keepers of harmony were busy sorting what they just learned. It all actually made sense. Twilight, for example, remembered seeing Derpy already fully grown during her childhood, back in Canterlot. By now, Derpy would be older than Granny Smith. But she still looked like a young mare at the peak of her physical fitness. The reaper curse must be the reason for this, she figured. It would cause reapers to stop aging when they reached a certain age. That also would explain why Obsidian still looked young and vital, even though he was over three hundred years old.

“So... you said you defeat demons by banishing them? How do you do that without dark magic?” the purple mare asked.

“Well,” Derpy began, turning sideways and opening her cloak. “with the help of these.”

She presented her cutie mark. But something was different with it. Everypony knew she had bubbles as cutie mark. But they looked strange this time. They had more details, more symbols.

“Wait... those aren’t... Runes?!” Twilight exclaimed in surprise. Derpy giggled a bit.

“Yes, yes. I just paint them to bubbles with waterproof paint when I’m in the public. But they actually are runes,” she explained.

“So your special talent is rune magic I reckon?” Applejack asked.

“Yep,” the gray mare replied, winking. “no one beats me on that! I can draw runes in perfection! I even invented a few. Those on my flank also are fully functional! I can basically cast some rune spells anytime! I just need to bump into something with my backside! I mean, honestly. Did none of you ever notice that when something went wrong, I usually bumped into it?”

The more she explained, the more logical things appeared. The ponies realized they missed questioning their surroundings enough. So many things had been set up by Celestia, just to ensure ponies lives were as easy and happy as possible.

“And your eyes? What’s about them?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Aha! So you’re getting it! Well, my eyes are the result of an... you could say accident. One time, when I was still pretty inexperienced, I walked into a demon that was too strong for me. I could not make it flee and had nothing to seal it into. I panicked a bit, drew a banisher circle and tried to seal the demon away without a vessel. But I was silly enough to stand inside the rune myself. Well, in the end, the demon was banished. In my left eye. It turned red. I could not leave it like this. It would make ponies suspicious! So... I tore it out and ate it!” Derpy stated.

“You did WHAT?!” Rarity shouted. The idea shocked the ponies and made them sick.

“What choice did I have? This way, I could consume the demon and got rid of a problem with my body. Well, ever since then, I don’t have a real left eye anymore,” the gray mare continued explaining.

“Then what is that?” Fluttershy asked, pointing at Derpy’s left eye.

The gray mare then lifted her left front hoof and placed it over the eye. She seemed to somehow pull on it. With a plopping sound, it came out. Derpy presented it to the rest of the group, causing Rarity to nearly faint.

“A glass eye, of course! I mean, I would not look very trustworthy with an empty eye-socket, would I? Only problem with this thing is that I can’t control it. It wanders around at its own will. But actually, I like that! It makes me look even sillier, supporting my disguise!”

The six mares had no questions left. They still had problems getting what they learned about the gray mare in their minds. Twilight and Fluttershy turned to Obsidian. He knew what they were thinking.

“Despite the fact she is still a rather young reaper, she has my respect. She already is very professional and tactical. She taught me several runes and, yes, the idea to seal the Salamander in my right eye was inspired by her,” he explained.

“You still have it in there? Why don’t you eat it as well, like I did?” Derpy asked while pushing the glass eye back in her empty socket.

“You should know me by now, Derpy. If I can not defeat and consume a demon in combat, I do not risk to unleash it again after banishing it,” the black stallion replied. Derpy shrugged and turned back to the keepers of harmony.

“Well I hope you enjoy Tripudium Messōrum. We never had guests before, so I can’t say if you will like it or not. Now if you excuse me, I’d really like to meet the others, too. Oh, and... please don’t tell anypony about my true identity.”

With these words, Derpy left the group and walked deeper into the gray and green smoke, towards the other reapers. That sure was an encounter the keepers of harmony did not expect. They wondered if they would meet more familiar faces here and learn more shocking truths.

---

The sun could barely be seen through the smoke. But it seemed as if it was slowly setting. The keepers of harmony walked around the mountain peak and met up with other reapers. They all were very shocked to see visitors, but quickly accepted them. Despite the efforts of the six mares, they could not find another person they knew. So they stopped looking around after a while and talked to the reapers. They had intriguing stories to tell. The keepers of harmony learned many aspects of the giant system behind the management of Equestria. Princess Celestia did whatever she could to make ponies believe their homeland was safe and peaceful. Friendship and harmony were not among the most important values of the land for no reason. They were steps to strengthen the souls of ponies and to make it more difficult for demons to reproduce.

The time passed on. More and more reapers arrived. Yet, a few still seemed to be missing. Obsidian decided to go around the mountain peak to look for the others. While he was gone, the keepers of harmony kept hearing reapers talk to each other about ‘the red reaper’, ‘Malice’ and ‘the red path’ secretly. They knew Obsidian was avoiding these topics and it seemed like, when he was around, he made sure the other reapers did not use these words either. But Twilight wanted to learn more about the reapers and their secrets. So she confronted three of them, who she just had caught talking about Malice.

“Excuse me, but what is all this talking about a red reaper and Malice about?” the purple mare asked. The three reapers found themselves in a very inconvenient situation.

“Miss Sparkle... we... we don’t like this topic. Even when we talk about it with each other, it is frowned upon,” one of them spoke.

“Well, Azure. I say, let them know. It is the reason why Tripudium Messōrum was established in the first place,” another said. The first one sighed.

“You’re right... Well, keepers, it is a tale we are not very proud of. For the first two hundred years after Nightmare Moon was sealed into the moon, Mistress Celestia cared very little about us. Even the reapers back then thought they were very different from normal ponies. Indeed, we are. But not different enough to not fall to insanity ourselves. The first generation was foolish to think reapers were immune to Maledictum Insania. Then, the day came that changed everything...” Azure told, but then suddenly stopped. It seemed to be difficult for her, so the third one spoke up for her and continued.

“There was an elder back then... his name had been forgotten over the ages. But it was overshadowed by the name he was given after these events anyway... He became what we call a red reaper. An elder fallen to insanity for consuming too many demons. Mistress Celestia ordered the reapers back then to hunt and consume as many as possible. This one day, one of the elders consumed a demon too much. They out powered his mind from the inside and drove him crazy. I don’t want to gross you out with the details, so I’m just going to say he caused a massacre. The first generation was completely unprepared for such a case. They could not stop him in time to... prevent Malice from being born.”

“Malice... Obsidian mentioned this demon before. The second strongest demon that ever existed,” Twilight commented.

“You have no idea how powerful he was. He fused together out of the hundreds of demons that the elder consumed. As he broke free, he adapted the reaper curse of his host. Even we can’t say for sure what he was capable of, for the sole reason he eliminated half of the first generation and every last elder. They had no chance against him. If Mistress Celestia wouldn’t have come and supported them in the battle, no one would have survived. It was pure luck they defeated him. As a result of this battle, the old castle of the royal sisters was destroyed. When the reapers tried to consume Malice, they had to face he was simply made out of too much demonic energy to handle. Many reapers tried to consume him at once, but still a vast amount of his power was spilled, causing the creation of Everfree forest. Those who did manage to partially consume him instantly turned into elders. That’s how immense his power was. Well, our demon ranking system only went up to high until that moment. But Malice was clearly above that. So we had to set up a special rank just for this one. Super-high. Gosh... just think about it. A super-high ranked demon with the powers of an elder reaper. Just the idea gives me the chills,” the reaper explained, shaking a little. Twilight and the others were speechless. The second reaper took the silence to give out more information.

“It turned out Malice was what Nightmare Moon planned to create when she cursed ponies with the reaper curse. He acted as her personal commander and was just minimally below her in rank. After we defeated him, it became clear to us and Mistress Celestia that this could happen again when another one of us fell to madness and would not get reaped in time. So our mistress started caring more about us and our mental stability. Several standards and rules had been established. One of them being Tripudium Messōrum, the dance of the reapers. All this is only to ensure none of us would ever risk to become a red reaper. Even if that happened, we now have plans and tactics to deal with a red reaper. Though we could never put them to test, yet. There never has been a second red reaper or Malice yet. Not even Truesight can predict if there will ever be another one.”

“Truesight? Who’s that?” Pinkie Pie wondered.

“You haven’t met lady Truesight yet? She is a living legend! I thought she would be the first reaper you walk into because she is always the first to arrive at Tripudium Messōrum,” the reaper explained.

“Well no, we haven’t met her, yet. Where is she?” Rarity asked.

“She is right over there, where the others cluster up. She is always in much demand for her special talent,” Azure explained.

“What’s her special talent?” Twilight asked.

“Predicting the future!” another reaper answered.

---

After a short waiting with the reapers that surrounded Truesight, it was their turn to meet her. She was sitting on the ground, drawing symbols on a piece of paper with an enchanted quill.

“Hello, miss Truesight. My name-” Twilight started, but got interrupted by the reaper clairvoyant.

“-is Twilight Sparkle. Your friends Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are with you. You are the keepers of harmony. Obsidian Shards guided you here. Right now, he is outside of the poison cloud, searching for other reapers and guiding them up to the peak. But he will be done soon,” she stated calmly.

“Wow! How did you know that? Do you have Pinkie senses?” Pinkie Pie wondered.

Truesight slowly moved her head to them and focused the group. She removed the hood from her head, presenting her face. She had a red coat and black reaper eyes. Her mane was rainbow colored. Two long strains were hanging down next to her eyes. The rest was tied back to a long ponytail. She appeared to be unicorn-born, since she had a horn. But it looked unnatural. It seemed like the demons she had consumed started turning it into a demon horn. Then she opened her cloak, presenting her cutie mark. It was an eye.

“Not really Pinkie senses like you have them, Pinkie Pie. But I’m called Truesight for a reason. I saw Tripudium Messōrum. I saw you coming to it, led by Obsidian. And I saw you, Rainbow Dash,” she stated.

The friends were stunned. Their eyes jumped between her and Rainbow. The athletic Pegasus mare as well seemed speechless.

“Your mane! It’s rainbow colored, just like mine! I’ve never seen another pony like that before!” Rainbow stated in amazement.

“I as well have never seen another Spectralist in my 122 years until now. I am glad you decided to trust Obsidian Shards and come here,” Truesight replied.

“Spectralist? You mean there are more like us?” Rainbow wondered.

“Yes and no. I don’t know how many there are right now. We might be the only ones. But we will not be the last,” the reaper clairvoyant replied.

“Huh? I don’t get it,” Dash stated. Truesight turned back to her paper and continued taking notes by letting her quill fly over it through magic.

“You don’t have to. It is not important for you. Anyway, we don’t have any time left to talk. Obsidian Shards will return in a few minutes. He found the last missing reapers and will bring them here. Tripudium Messōrum is about to start. He will be looking for you, so I advice you meet him,” she spoke.

“Okay, lady Truesight. It was... insightful to meet you,” Twilight thanked.

“We will meet again one more time. Until then, farewell,” Truesight concluded. The six mares then went back to where they came from and waited for Obsidian to arrive.

---

It was dark now. Not only on the peak of Death Rock Mountain, but also in Ponyville. Spike was preparing to go to bed, when the door suddenly opened.

“Twilight? You are back? I thought you would be gone until tomorrow!” Spike wondered at the sight of this purple mare, standing in the dark.

“I lied,” she responded. Her eyes were glowing red again and she grinned at the baby dragon.

“Oh no! No, not again!” he shouted desperately, just before he got lifted up in the air by magic and thrown through a closed window, causing the glass to shatter.

---

As Truesight predicted, Obsidian soon returned, followed by four reapers. Those were the last missing ones. Now that the dance could finally begin, the reapers gathered in the center of the cloud. The keepers of harmony followed Obsidian, but he stopped them.

“Ladies, please stay at distance. It might get dangerous if you come too close,” he explained.

“Dangerous? What could be so dangerous about a dance?” Rarity asked.

“You will see,” the black stallion answered and met up with the other reapers.

The younger ones formed a crowd, facing the elders. They welcomed them to the meeting and shared a part of their wisdom with the apprentices in the ancient language the reapers use. But Obsidian had a different message to deliver, which was so important that he had to speak it out in the modern tongue to ensure even the youngest understood it.

“Messōrēs. I have tidings from our mistress to present to you. She personally asked me to inform you all about an important change that has dramatic influence on our rules and position,” he started. All reapers focused him in surprise.

“An incident had occurred during the night of the Grand Galloping Gala Midnight Masquerade, which forced our mistress to inform all of pony-kind about the existence of reapers,” the black stallion continued.

A few of the apprentices gasped in shock. Uneasy mumbling spread in the crowd. Obsidian lifted his right front hoof to calm them down and continued.

“Yes, Messōrēs. The ponies of Equestria now know about us. But we do not have to worry. Maledictum Insania is still a well kept secret and our mistress turned this situation to our advantage. She declared reapers to the official fifth pony race. The other races are willing to accept us as what we are. We have been gifted an opportunity that never occurred before. We can walk among the ponies, talk to them and live with them as if we were one of their kind again,” he explained.

The older reapers were suspicious. Just imagining to walk between the subjects of Equestria in the middle of the day filled them with inconvenience. They were just so used to hide in the dark and live in solitude. The apprentices, though, seemed delighted of finally having a chance to be with ponies in everyday life again. Some of them still had living friends and family members they would be able to see again. Derpy Hooves was the first to raise her voice and respond to the news.

“Benedicta sit īnfīnīta grātia Dominae tōtius mundī!” she shouted, praising their mistress.

The other reapers immediately joined her and cheered loudly. So did the elders and even Obsidian Shards, though their faces remained expressionless. After a few more words from the other elders, the speeches ended and the dance began.

The reapers formed a large circle with multiple rings towards the center. The youngest reapers were near the center, while the elders formed the outmost ring.They all sat down to the ground and closed their eyes at the same time. For the first ten minutes, nothing happened. They just sat there and meditated together. Rainbow Dash already started to get bored and disappointed. She was expecting more action from something that was called the dance of the reapers. Though she quickly had to face she judged the event too early when the reapers, all in perfect synchronicity, suddenly jumped up and began dancing in place. A meditative dance with semi-acrobatic moves. They all performed the same movements perfectly synchronized. Not one of them was just a split of a second too late or too early. The keepers of harmony were stunned.

“How do they do that without practisin’?” Applejack wondered.

“I... I think I know!” Fluttershy stated in fascination.

The friends turned towards the yellow mare. Her eyes were wide open and glued to the circle of dancing reapers.

“They feel it! I feel it!” she spoke, getting more and more excited.

“Feel what, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know...” she answered, shivering a bit.

She had no idea what she was experiencing. Of all the six mares, she was the only one who could feel an intense sensation of power and balance rushing through her body. She figured the reapers would feel it as well, just a lot more intense. It guided them. Told them how to move.

The movements of the reapers started getting more and more daring. Even though they all had their eyes closed, some made dodging maneuvers while others jumped over and across them with somersaults.

Then, they suddenly stopped again. With a few very slow and controlled moves, they summoned their scythes. Those already skilled enough placed their scythes with the bladed side down, swung around it and climbed on top of them, meditating on the handle. The others just sat on the ground again, holding their scythes in their crossed front legs.

They remained motionless until they reached complete trance. Like before, they suddenly jumped up again and began to swing their scythes around wildly. They even tossed them in the air, letting other reapers catch them and pass on again. The structure of their dance reached a level of complexity now that was barely followable anymore. It seemed like every reaper was interacting with every other reaper in some way, performing extremely dangerous stunts with their scythes.

As time passed on, they seemed to give off a dark aura. The winged reapers flew through the air and the auras of the reapers seemed to blend into each other. Slowly, their beings dissolved more and more, ultimately fusing them together into a single storm of darkness.

Just as the black storm reached its full rage, it suddenly seemed to stop again. Through the darkness, the night sky could be seen. Crystal clear. The mountain peak was filled with a melodic silence. Even though this entire impression was not as strong for the five other friends as for Fluttershy, they still could feel a strong sensation of perfect, dark harmony now.

Power, balance and absolute calmness flooded through all of them. Then slowly, the black, motionless storm sunk down again, splitting back up into the 87 reapers.

They opened their eyes again. Now, after almost three hours from the moment they started, the dance was over. All of the reapers appeared very calm now. Even Derpy had an expressionless face, very unusual for her.

Obsidian immediately turned to Fluttershy. She stared back at the black stallion as well. Now it was clear. Obsidian knew what the power was that rested inside her. The black stallion turned back to the reapers, speaking out their vow with them.