Hearing a ring, I picked up the bone-white phone from it’s place on the desk and held it up to my non-existent ear. “What? …. What are you talking about? …. He’s WHAT!? That’s it. This is the final straw! You’d better get Cerberus back or so help me- Huh? He’s been brought back? Then why didn’t you say so!?” I yelled into the receiver, slamming the phone back into its cradle. Rubbing my forehead, I gave a sigh and twiddled my fingers together. I swear that woman has no idea how to handle my pet.

Giving another sigh, I glided down towards my door, my feet barely touching the ground. As I took a look around my office before I headed out, I found that my bed was slightly askew. It should have been next to the window that gave a pleasant view of the Elysian FIelds. Instead, it had been dragged over to the other window that had a rather nasty view of the Fields of Punishment. Waving my skeletal hand, I commanded a few souls to move the bed over while I dealt with Cerberus.

“That dog had better have a good reason to head out without my permission.” I grumbled. As I floated passed the Scales of Judgement - These shouldn’t even be here! Move them back over to the Egyptian section! Pronto! - I thought about the state of things here and how they seemed to be all over the place at the moment. Stuff it. I needed a break.

“Madame Skye? Cerberus is at the front gate with a purple unicorn of some kind.” An undead assistant with rotting flesh and decayed clothes spoke up, holding a clipboard in his ever-detaching arm.

“Thanks for that.” I replied. Changing direction, I passed by the River Styx and headed off towards the more cartoon-y version of the Realm. I looked to my left and found that he was still there. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be helping out the other Dead Realms?” I asked, making my eyeless sockets seem even wider than usual.

“Oh, right! I was just wondering if you wanted to take the day off? You haven’t had one since you’ve taken up this position,” he suggested, an eye popping out and only hanging on by a thread. I kindly put the eye back in place and wiped my fingers on my cloak.

“Actually yes, I will take the day off. Actually, I’ll take an entire year off because I really need to clear my head.” I agreed with a literally lipless smile and sped up my floating, leaving the zombie behind. Excited about having the rest of the year off, I passed by the inner gates, waved to the gatekeepers and stopped just short of the first set of the gates leading to Equestria. I could see Cerberus panting as he held a gigantic rubber ball in his mouth.

“You’ve been a naughty boy Cerberus! Go sit back in the corner like you were supposed to!” I scolded him as the gates opened and didn’t let his puppy eyes make me think otherwise. Clicking my boney fingers, the three-headed dog whined pitifully and sat down in the corner, laying his three heads down.

“Was that really necessary?” I looked down at the voice and found that the purple pony had spoken. I nearly squealed in delight when I saw Clover but then realised that her voice was different. Now I wasn't entirely sure whether it was Clover or not. I floated around her and found that her horn was cracked and that her cutie mark was of a purple starburst. I didn't remember Clover ever cracking her horn so maybe this one was a possible descendant?

“Twilight Sparkle? You shouldn’t be here for … well … ever if I’m reading this right.” I said as my teeth clacked together and looked at the scroll I had retrieved from within my cloak, going down the various cutie marks until coming upon the right one. “And yes, it was necessary. He’s usually a well-behaved boy but for some odd reason, according to his caretaker, he just ran out of the gates. Did you escort him back?” I asked, floating down. My feet touched the floor and I crouched, looking the pony straight in the eyes.

“My name … uh … hm.” Twilight mumbled, watching the strange female skeleton circle around her. “I did escort him back,” Twilight answered once she had finished but backed away almost immediately when she had pushed her face in front of hers, “but I just wanted to know why he would abandon his post. Now that I have my answer, I’ll be going now.” Twilight said with a sheepish smile and immediately raced off, back in the direction she had come. Well that was rude. I looked over my shoulder as I stood up and found that the undead assistant had followed me.

“What do you want?” I asked in a grumbly fashion.

“I just wanted you to sign this. This is meant to say you’re taking an extended period of leave and to just put your signature as well as the place you’re spending the vacation in.” He said, inching forward but stopped at the edge of the sunlight. Right. He was a zombie so of course he wouldn’t like the sunlight. I never understood that but hey, them’s the rules. I walked towards him and picked the offered pen out of his hand and picked up the clipboard that was on the floor. Signing the paper, I put down ‘Equestria’ as the place of vacation and gave them back to him, reattaching his arm at the same time.

“You should really get checked out. You’re falling apart worse than ever.” I advised him.

“I will. Don’t worry,” He looked down at the clipboard and found the place I put down. “Equestria, huh? Those ponies seem to be a handful, but I will not question it. Have fun. I’ll see you in a year.” He said with a smile and walked off, picking his arm back up as it fell off. I sighed and my vision turned black for a second before brightening back up. That’s my own way of blinking. Seeing I don’t have any eyelids to speak of, I just make my vision go black.

I waved off his retreating form and floated out the gates, hearing them crank shut behind me. I then heard a baleful howling and turned back to see Cerberus pawing at the gates.

“Oh. Sorry boy. I just really need a break, okay?” I asked softly, floating up to rub at each of his heads. I heard his tail thump against the ground. “I’ll be back in about a year okay? Billy! Take care of him while I’m gone! I’m taking a year long vacation so I don’t want him breaking out again.” I said that last part to Billy, who was a ghost through and through. She was transparent, had slight orange hair that was always tied up in a ponytail and farmer’s overalls. Sounds weird to have a ghost guard a three-headed dog, I know, but she was the best one for the job.

“Will do ma’am," she saluted and waved me off. I finally have some peace and quiet. Exhaling, I floated away from the gates and from what was my home for the past millennia or so. Giving a grunt, I detached my arm from its socket and used it to scratch my back. Feeling relieved at having that itch scratched, I reattached my arm and sped up my floating, hoping to catch that purple pony on her way home.

Along the way, I slowed down a bit to take in the sights. Seeing a path that lead into the nearby Whitetail Woods, I moved along that and gazed at the white trees. No wonder this particular forest is named “Whitetail”. All the trunks were albinos! Lowering my hood, I scratched at my skull as I heard a few voices up ahead. Steadily floating up the trail, I pulled my hood back up and waited a few paces behind the voices. Hearing that they were talking of nothing that sounded particularly interesting, I shrugged my shoulders and moved off, silently floating out of the woods and back to my original destination, Ponyville.

By the time I got to the Everfree, it was dark but that’s perfectly fine. I see well in the dark. I saw a fair few of the natural habitants look at me with a bit of fear. Of course, a hooded figure floating through darkness is never a good sign. Seeing one charge up to me, though, I stopped my gliding and snapped my fingers, causing my scythe to appear. Holding it loosely in my left hand, I waited for the Manticore to come closer. Soon as it was within range, I swung my scythe at lightning speed, cleaving a few whiskers off of its mouth.

Seeing it yelp filled me with delight and I gave a rattling laugh, having my scythe wink out of existence at the same time. It’s those little things in life that keep you going. Continuing my leisurely float, I raised myself higher until I was just above the tops of the trees. Putting my hand up to my forehead, I turned my head three hundred and sixty degrees and found Ponyville over my back shoulder. Turning my body the rest of the way, I zoomed across the treetops, making a small breeze as I went past.

“WOOOHOOO! Haven’t felt the wind in ages!” I whooped in joy as I seemingly skated across the treetops. Ponyville was coming up fast so I slowed down, touching on the ground at the edge of the Everfree. Out of pure habit, I clicked my scythe into my left hand and held it loosely, walking forwards slowly. The oil lamps that lined the streets cast my hooded figure as a shadow on the various buildings.

I figured I may as well make one last call before my vacation officially starts tomorrow. Unfurling the scroll from inside my cloak, I looked down the list and found one Granny Smith was supposed to die tonight. I’ve met with her before. Multiple times actually, if memory serves me right. By this point we’ve become friends so it wasn’t really that death was knocking but more of a friendly chat. The last time Granny was supposed to die was the year before, when her family had found her sleeping so much that they had considered she was dead. I had come knocking, only to find out that she was still kicking.

“Let’s see if she's actually dead this time.” I mused and putting the scroll back, calmly walked towards Sweet Apple Acres. Upon arriving, I rapped the handle of my scythe against the door and calmly waited for an answer. Breathing in and out as the door opened, I smiled and said, “Death has come knocking.” I told a little filly, who just smiled and waved over to somepony in the kitchen.

“Howdy, Skye! Long time no see!” A familiar old voice called out from the kitchen. Slumping my shoulders, I ducked as I entered and laying my scythe down carefully, I sat cross-legged opposite Granny.

“Hi. You should be dead. You should’ve been dead a long time ago. How have you not kicked the bucket yet?” I asked, resting an elbow on my leg and resting my chin on my fist.

“A combination of these ‘ere ‘erbal tonics and good old fashioned home cooking!” Granny answered with a smile, nudging the zebra tonics over to me. Picking one of the bottles up, I examined it and found that they were a natural cure-all thing.

“Natural cure-alls huh? Did Zecora make these?” I asked, pulling my scroll out with my other hand and looking down the list for a ‘Zecora.’ She was definitely on the list but considering she was a shaman, I wouldn’t put it past her to have found some sort of life extender through dark magic.

“She sure did. Mah granddaughter, Applejack, helped her out.” Granny said proudly.

“Applejack?”” I questioned trying to find an ‘Applejack’ this time on the list. “Not on here. Seems she has a long life to live yet.” I said with a ‘hm’ and pulled my hood down, revealing my bony skull to the family.

“That’s good to hear.” A new voice called out as I heard hooves clopping down the stairs. Turning my head a hundred and eighty degrees, I found the voice belonging to an orange mare with a blonde mane and a group of three apples for her cutie mark once I craned my neck to the side.

“I take it you’re Applejack?” I asked, keeping my body facing forward while looking at her behind me.

“Eeyup. Granny told us all about ya, Skye. She kept going on and on ‘bout how she’s friends with Death or somethin’ like that. To tell ya the truth, Ah never believed her. Mainly because Ah’ve never actually seen you.” Applejack answered and explained about how the Apple Family knew about Skye and wasn’t that scared by her.

“You told your family about me?” I grumbled, spinning my head back around to look at Granny. My face frowned as best it could but without any skin, it was kind of hard to do that. Instead, the ridges on top of my eyes moved down a bit and my jaw stayed in place. “Why did you do that?”

“I had to tell them something. They were wondering why they kept seeing a black hooded figure pop in from time to time!” she said in her defense. I thought I was being so sneaky! If she told her grand-kids about me, then that’s fine. Hopefully they had enough sense not to blab about Granny cheating me multiple times. Looking down at my scroll, I pulled out a quill and inkwell. Placing them on the ground, I dipped the quill and once the viscous black liquid stopped dripping, I put down a note, saying that it was the ninth time in five years that Granny was found alive.

“Whatcha writing there?” Applejack asked. I swivelled my head and found her leaning over my shoulder, looking down at the scroll.

“I’m writing a note, saying that Granny was yet another false alarm. Eventually, I’ll just stop caring if this goes on long enough. Say, has that little filly said anything about me?” I asked, immediately rolling the scroll before Applejack had a chance to read any names on there.

“Who, Apple Bloom? Nah. At least, Ah don’t think so. I’ll bring her in fer ya," she said and quickly trotted up the stairs towards her sister’s room. I heard a shriek and she came running back down, looking at Granny and I in a panic. “Apple Bloom just fell out the window! Ah have to save her!” Applejack said quickly and rushed out the house, intending to catch Apple Bloom before she hit the ground.

Looking back down, I saw a new name instantly move to the top of the list. It had a blank space where the cutie mark was supposed to be but next to it, the name made me gasp in surprise. “Seems like Granny isn’t the only thing here I need to attend to.” I whispered and getting my legs under me, I quickly floated up the stairs, my feet barely touching the floor boards.

Bursting into what I assumed was Apple Bloom’s room, I floated over to the window and clicked my scythe into my hand from where it was resting in the kitchen. Flipping it around so that I could hold it by the blade, I detached the arm that held the weapon and reached down out the window, hoping Apple Bloom got the right idea.

“APPLE BLOOM! GRAB THE HANDLE!” I shouted at her, finally noticing that her eyes were closed. Once I realised that, I dropped my arm, immediately jumped down and caught the little filly, stopping our descent almost immediately. I slowly fell back to the earth and crouched, letting the filly slide out of my grasp. She slumped like a ragdoll once she hit the floor, breathing slowly.

“Is Apple Bloom alright?” Applejack asked as she skidded to a stop next to me. I watched her barrel heave up and down as she visibly tried to calm herself.

“Try to calm down faster. You’re going to get a heart attack in about half an hour.” I said automatically, watching her carefully. “Apple Bloom is fine. I just don’t know why she fell out the window.” I said curiously, looking up to the second floor. I thought I saw a bright flash as something passed by the window but I shrugged it off, feeling extremely giddy at having saved a soul instead of taking it from a being for once. “We need to get her back inside. Whatever may have made her go out the window may do so again. So what I’d recommend is that she sleep on the ground floor for now. At least until we know for sure the danger has passed.” I eyed Applejack, who appeared to have calmed down now.

“Yeah, sure. Ah just hope it doesn’t happen again.” Applejack said with a cautious edge to her voice.

“Let’s hope not.” I agreed with her wholeheartedly and stood up, watching Applejack pick the filly up and gently place her on her back. The orange mare then turned around and walked slowly back to the front of the homestead. Satisfied that Apple Bloom was safe, I floated up to the filly’s window and gently stepped inside, wondering why the hell the filly would go out the window.

Taking a look under her bed revealed nothing so that ruled the Bogeyman out, even though his schtick was taking away children’s souls. As I checked around the room for any possible supernatural beings, I chanted a poem I remembered hearing about the Bogeyman under my breath as I did.

“Out from the bed lies a crooked man,

Whose face was scarred in evil plan.

It leaps on bed and harvest a child,

And reap the shadow, quiet and mild.

Leave the light to banish its sight,

For darkness consumes with a lasting bite.

To this today you leave an impression,

Of lifeless, desolate and rotten expression.”

Now what’s this? As I ran my hands along the wall just to the left of the window, the wallpaper flaked away, revealing a decaying wall underneath. Groaning as I realised that it was the Bogeyman, I slapped my forehead, thinking how stupid I was to NOT suspect it was him. Leaving the room for now, I glided past a few rooms before descending the stairs, making my scythe vanish as I did. Heading back into the kitchen, I found Granny Smith where she was before, only this time Applejack and her sister were huddled together under the table. This was most likely to shield each other from whatever made Apple Bloom jump out the window.

“How is she holding up?” I asked, moving into a seated position and floating down to be near Applejack.

“She’s just sleepin’ fer now.” Applejack answered, watching me intently. “Is something up?” She asked.

I nodded my head. Scratching the back of my hand, I looked at Apple Bloom and tried to discern whether she still had her soul or not. Sensing a flicker of life in her, I sighed in relief and covered my skull with my hands.

“She still has her soul so she should be safe. If this happens again, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to help.” I told Applejack carefully, gauging her reaction by the way she spoke.

“‘If’? Y’all are basing this on an ‘if’? Of course it’ll happen again!” I heard the protest in Applejack’s voice and took my hands away from my face to look at her.

“Yes, I am. From the experience I have with whatever did this to her, if he fails, then he won’t come back. I guarantee it. I just hope this doesn’t happen to any other foals.” I told her sternly. I heard a snore and looking up over the table, I found that Granny had fallen asleep on her chair. “Granny Smith fell asleep so that’s my cue to have a look around the town.” I said wryly and stood up. Taking my head off my neck, I moved it to look under the table at them. I then attempted to smile at them but without any lips, it was sort of difficult.

“Remember what I said about Apple Bloom. I’m positive the thing won’t show up again but if it does, just scream so loud you would wake the dead. And keep her safe at all costs.” I told her finally and straightened myself to walk over to the front door, only remembering to put my head back in its place when I passed over the threshold. Raising my hood, I lifted off the ground to hover over it as I moved along; the hem of my cloak barely treading along the ground.