After making it back to the Empire, Twilight went into the castle. She was greeted by the guards as she walked into the corridor. She entered her room when she passed the hallway. Twilight then remembered the first day she became the Grim Reaper. She and Pinkie followed Princess Luna to a room in the Imperial Castle. For some reason, this room wasn’t shown anywhere.

“Oh! I wonder what’s inside?! Does it have cake?!” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“Pinkie, you must calm down. I need you to take this job seriously. And to answer your other question, we are heading to a classified area inside the castle,” Luna answered. She pressed a large crystal embedded into a wall. After being pushed, a secret door in a wall began to open. “Only my sister and I know of this place but I’m the only one who can open it. The only way to enter it is to be pure of heart and brave enough against any force that seeks to threaten Equestria. It’s a powerful barrier that nopony else has access to. Not even Cadance knows of this place.”

As she and Twilight entered, Pinkie was amazed by everything around it. Even Twilight was impressed by the architecture. It was so ancient that she felt like writing notes about this newly-discovered area.

“It’s beautiful. A place that is responsible for housing two dangerous weapons. Weapons that are known to decimate anypony in their path if not used wisely. With this, you’ll have the power to control who lives and who dies. These two weapons are normally never used unless it was a case of emergency. It’s a great power but misusing it will prove to be fatal. I trust you two will be responsible enough to handle this burden,” Luna said, looking at the scythes.

Pinkie was too awestruck to describe the thrill that she was feeling. She grabbed it and took a look at it.

“This is the best day ever!” she yelled as she jumped into the air.

Twilight stayed silent and looked at the other scythe. She was so transfixed by the alluring presence that she could barely speak.

“Go ahead. Just don’t swing it too much,” Luna said with caution.

Twilight walked closer but made sure to be careful not to swing it. Pinkie on the other hand had no problem approaching the weapons.

“Whoa, Twilight! It’s really light! Is yours light?” Pinkie asked, lifting the scythe.

“It can tell you just about anything. A story of how Equestria started, when ponies came to be, even how me and my sister grew up.” This caught Twilight’s attention as she heard the last part. “It’s only limit is what you imagine. There is one thing I must note however… While it can answer most questions, they can only be limited to how you imagine them. There are somethings that are best left in the past. The beginning is endless but so is the endings. Every life is similar to a fleeting moment. There’s no telling what will happen next,” Luna said, looking at Twilight’s scythe.

Luna went into the tall dresser and grabbed what appeared cloaks of some sort. She gave them death’s uniforms that somehow felt cold when they were grabbed. “Beautiful craftsmanship, is it not?” she asked, handing them to Twilight and Pinkie. “Many lives are determined by your actions. You can take them at ease. But bare this in mind… For every life you take, your weapon becomes heavier, slowly clouding your mind. And with this job comes another price...:” Luna opened her eyes, immediately lighting up. “Everything you touch or come near, dies… But at the same time, you cannot die either. Neither by starvation nor by mutilation.”

They were both shocked and terrified by this. It would be a heavy price to pay. There would be no going back if Twilight and Pinkie dawned the outfits. The former especially felt shivers run down her spine upon hearing the effects.

“But then… what about everypony else?” Twilight asked. Luna was confused and surprised by her question. “Cadence told me one time that they were only outfits. That everypony was just telling an old wives tale. So… are they really safe?”

Luna was taken aback by that statement. She didn’t want to answer her question on account that it was classified. But she knew that Twilight didn’t want to believe they were monstrous. However, Luna had to give Twilight the truth.

“...You forfeit your life the second you take this job. You take lives, no matter what reason you may have. There is no going back once you wear these outfits,” she answered.

Pinkie thought about what Luna said for a second. Then a sad expression waned upon her face. “O-Oh… I see…” she said with a down tone in her voice.

Luna knew that the truth was hard. But she had to say something to cheer them up. “Don’t be sad. You have a purpose. A more difficult task than life itself. I understand how this can be scary… That is why only a few can take this job and even fewer can handle the responsibility. Do you know what would happen if death didn’t exist?” she asked. Pinkie shook her head in response to that. “The world would be without meaning…”

Pinkie was scared to hear that answer come from Luna. In all honesty, taking a life was the last thing that Pinkie wanted to do. Nevertheless, she won’t back down from this and put the outfit on.

“But do you want to know the benefit of being death is?” Luna asked. They both looked at her in a curious manner. “There would be everlasting beauty.”

“What?” Pinkie asked.

She looked up in a confused manner. Even Twilight was mesmerized by Luna’s statement. “Everypony appreciates life a lot more when their lives are on the line. For you see, without death, then nopony would see the beauty of living their lives. Your sacrifice makes the world worth living. With you, everything would be in balance. I realize this may sound confusing. I also realize that you may lose your lives. You would most certainly be taking a huge gamble. But take a look outside and ask yourself this- Would the world survive without the two of you?” she asked with a small smile. “Never doubt your own existence in the world. Death plays a very big role then you could possibly imagine. Even if everyone ends up hating you… Even if you will someday come to resent what you two have become... Just remember one thing: believe in yourselves. Besides, without death, life would cease to bear meaning.”

Author's Notes:

This is a flashback chapter. So in case if you're all confused, everything you're reading is prior to what happens later on in this story. Thank you all for reading this and I'll see you on the other side.