Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B4oJJMWB_f2mHdJRSnfmqxduk3qcGQIWmIqBv-xXZEI/edit?usp=sharing

Four days later at sunset, the keepers of harmony, Crystal Blossom and Babs Seed found themselves climbing up the infamous Death Rock Mountain again. The wind kept blowing strongly and the ponies had to watch their steps, since erosion had loosened many sharp rocks. Nearly all of them had been through this experience before, so they were rather confident this time. Only Babs seemed to be unsure and scared.

“I heard the rumors about this place. That cloud up there is deadly poison and we seriously are gonna go in there?!” she wondered.

“Do not be worried. I brought four potions which will make you immune to the poison plus an extra one as safety precaution,” Crystal replied.

“Wait a moment... Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, you, me... I don’t know about ya, but I come up with six ponies here! We don’t have enough potions!” Babs worried.

“Reapers are not ponies. We don’t work like you do. What would usually kill has next to no effect on us and we have a naturally given resistance to all forms of poison or disease,” Fluttershy explained.

“Wow. Now that’s cool! Maybe I should become a reaper myself!” the teenager figured.

“The powers of a reaper come with a big price. You lose control over your life and become a servant of Mistress Celestia. You will have to fight and see things no pony is meant to face. The existence as a reaper is defined by obedience, loyalty, harshness and suffering,” Crystal stated.

“Oh... On second thought, maybe I should rethink that idea. What do ya think, AJ?” Babs wondered.

Applejack did not respond. Since she found out her family was being hunted down by the BloodClaw Cult, she suddenly had stopped speaking. Her eyes were constantly glued to the ground with a saddened expression.

All her friends were deeply worried about the orange mare. She had already gone through a lot and the last four years were the toughest she had lived through so far. Yet, there was hardly anything they could do. As long as the cult kept on killing members of the apple family, her situation would only get worse. The only hope they had was to eliminate the cult before it would be too late.

“Applejack... We can do this... okay? Think positive,” Twilight spoke softly while placing a hoof on the orange mare’s back.

“Hm...” was all she got as a response.

The group continued climbing until they were half way up the mountain. Then, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Babs Seed drank their antidotes.

---

Another half hour passed until the group finally arrived at the top of Death Rock Mountain. They had nearly forgotten how bitter and rough to the lungs the poison was. Especially Babs Seed needed a lot of time to catch her breath again, feeling how the antidote struggled with the poison. But ultimately, they all gained immunity and slowly began to see through the dark green and gray cloud.

“I wonder if Lady Truesight was the first to arrive again,” Fluttershy spoke.

“She always is, apprentice,” Crystal stated. “This is how she introduced herself to us after she became cursed and by now, she made it reaper tradition to be the first each and every Tripudium Messōrum.”

“Oh, right! I nearly forgot about her! Let’s go and say hello to her!” Twilight suggested.

“Who’s this Lady Truesight ya’re talkin’ about?” Babs wondered.

“She is an incredibly talented clairvoyant, darling. If it wasn’t for her ability to predict the future, we would not have been able to save Equestria three years ago,” Rarity explained.

“Oh gosh! I totally keep forgettin’ ya are the keepers of harmony! I’m so silly,” the teenage filly stated.

“It’s fine, Babs,” Twilight spoke. “But now that I think of it, what is up with ponies constantly forgetting what we have done? I mean, come on. We defeated Nightmare Moon, saved Equestria from eternal night, defeated Discord, helped to stop the changeling invasion, defeated King Sombra... I honestly don’t mean to brag here. I’m just very confused that, even though thousands have seen us during special celebrations and we had been in the newspapers all over Equestria several times, nopony seems to remember who we are.”

“Allow me to explain,” Crystal offered. “It is out of question that you are the greatest heroines this land had ever seen. But despite your heroic actions and all your great deeds, Mistress Celestia acknowledges that you just want to live as regular subjects. She makes sure that you are celebrated, but not constantly forced into the spotlight. If it wasn’t for her influence, you would not even be able to walk down the streets without getting crowded by fans all the time.”

“How does she do that?” Babs wondered.

“The same way she had always done it: By constantly providing the newspapers new social events and distracting the public with festivals,” the elder reaper mare replied.

“Now that makes a lot of sense! Although, I must say, I would enjoy the idea to be admired by everypony around me,” Rarity stated, throwing herself into a pose.

“Do we need a repeat of the lesson learned from Rainbow Dash’s bragging, Rarity?” Twilight wondered.

“Don’t!,” Applejack suddenly shouted with a furious expression, causing all of her friends to stop instantly and look at her with wide open eyes. “Don’t... ya... dare... to bring her up...”

“Wow, AJ! Calm down! I’m sorry, okay?” Twilight apologized.

Applejack’s expression remained furious for a few seconds, but then slipped back into sadness and her focus dropped to the ground again.

“Oh my goodness... Are you okay, Applejack?” Fluttershy worried.

She attempted to approach her friend and place a front leg on her shoulder, but the orange mare just pushed it away and started walking faster. The group wasn’t entirely sure what they could do to help her digest the latest developments. It was clear that Applejack was going through a lot of emotions and that every word of loss she heard just hurt her right now. Using only a few exchanged glances and nods, the group came to an agreement to not mention these things around her for a while anymore.

---

An hour had passed since the group arrived and nighttime had begun. So far, they had been welcomed by many reapers they had seen before and gained some informations about the latest turn of events in Equestria. But after a while, they came across a sight which deeply shocked Babs.

“What the... I thought you said ya don’t get born as a reaper!” she spoke.

“That is correct,” Crystal confirmed.

“Then why are there foals?” the teenager wondered.

As the group turned, they could see about ten very young children wearing reaper cloaks. All of them still had normal clear eyes and no scars.

“We were not born like this. We turned into reapers just a few weeks ago,” one of the little colts stated.

“What?! No way! This... this is just wrong! Ya’re still so young!” Babs shouted, scandalized.

“They did not have a choice, Babs,” Crystal started. “I suppose there is no way around explaining how the reaper curse works. You see, there are 87 reaper cloaks in existence, which contain the curse. Although the hosts of the curse may die under special circumstances, the cloaks themselves can only be destroyed by Mistress Celestia. When a reaper finds their final rest and is not directly replaced by somepony, the cloak will look for a new host on its own. If that happens, they always choose young foals with potential to make sure they grow up with their training and the lifestyle of reapers. Very often, reapers chosen by fate are therefore the most talented among us.”

“Oh my gosh... That’s just so bad! How can Princess Celestia be okay with this? Why doesn’t she just uncurse them?” the teenager asked.

“While Mistress Celestia does have the ability to uncurse reapers, such an action can only be performed by destroying the cloak the foal is wearing. Nopony, not even our mistress, can create new cloaks. So uncursing foals is completely out of question. If she would start doing this, all cloaks would soon be destroyed, extincting reaper-kind and destroying Mistress Celestia’s most potent servants,” the elder reaper mare continued.

“To put it simple: Everything is a lot more complex than you can currently imagine, Babs,” Twilight added. “I know that this is shocking to find out. I was shocked the first time myself. But we have to trust the princesses in making the right decisions. If it wasn’t for them, the BloodClaw Cult would be our least concern.”

“But I do think that seeing so many young reapers is an alarming sight. That means quite a few of us must have died just recently,” Fluttershy commented.

“Indeed, these are dangerous times we are living in. But very soon, it will no longer be just the few of us fighting the cult,” Crystal answered.

Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy nodded in agreement, while Applejack kept on staring at the ground, sunken in thoughts. Babs, though, rather watched the foals with a sad expression. She just couldn’t get over the fact that these children had lost their futures and were forced to fight for the rest of their lives. The teenage filly slowly approached the group of reaper foals, faking a smile and gently caressing a few.

“Hey... Hang in there, kiddos, okay? You got this... Good luck,” she spoke to them.

“Thank you,” one of the reaper fillies spoke and bowed down, the rest of them doing the same.

---

As it got later and later, more and more reapers arrived. For them to meet up all at the same place while they were stationed all over Equestria just days ago needed its time, which the group used to talk with the reapers and learn new things. Among them, they found Derpy Hooves, who re-confirmed that Ponyville is just as peaceful as it had always been. It seemed like the BloodClaw Cult had no interest in a village this small. Finally, the group found the famous reaper clairvoyant they had been searching for all night.

As all grown up reapers, Lady Truesight did not age the least bit since the last time they met. Only a few new scars showed that time had passed by. Just like on their first encounter, she was sitting on the ground in front of a scroll, using her magic to let a quill dance across its surface while a couple of dozen reapers surrounded her.

“Hello, Lady Truesight! It’s nice to see you-” Twilight started.

“I wish I could say the same. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I will not provide my services to you anymore. The words of thanks you were about to speak are appreciated, though,” the red mare replied instantly, not even looking up to Twilight Sparkle.

For a moment, the group was speechless. That was not the kind of welcome they expected of a mare who helped them out at a critical moment three years ago. But before any of them could come up with a way to respond to this, Crystal stepped forth.

“We have been over this before, Truesight. They are not to blame for what happened to Obsidian Shards,” she spoke.

“Perhaps not. But seeing what getting close to them can cause to even the strongest of us-” the clairvoyant started, now turning towards the elder reaper.

“I honestly must defend their honor here. While I do understand that you are a loner and that you have a strong general distrust towards ponies due to your past, this is no reason to disrespect the keepers of harmony. Especially now, in a critical time like this, we need your help more than ever,” Crystal continued.

“Apologies elder, but they currently do not depend on my talent. Since we passed the great gray wall, I am now able to see their future. I will not play a significant role for them anytime soon. Though I have to warn you, Elder Crystal Blossom. The paths you will choose to walk with them will lead to the unknown. Not now, not tomorrow, but in future,” Truesight replied.

“Even so, I am ready and willing to go these paths,” the elder reaper commented.

“The choice is yours to make, if you wish to believe it or not. But you will see what I mean when the time comes. Now, I beg your pardon, but I will need to predict 27 more futures in just a few minutes. I need to concentrate,” the clairvoyant finished, returning her focus to the scroll.

Now, even Crystal gave up arguing and returned to the group. Just as they were about to leave, Lady Truesight spoke up again.

“One advise to you, though, Babs Seed: The day you hear a big explosion, hide yourself in a well-sealed room and wait there for at least three hours. When you do come out, make sure to wear a surgical mask and boots,” she spoke.

“Um... how do you know my name?” Babs wondered.

“My talents are not lies. I saw you coming,” the clairvoyant replied.

“Well... Okay... But where am I supposed to get a surgical mask from? the teenager wondered.

“It will make sense when the time comes. Just remember my words,” Truesight finished.

“Um... Well... Thanks... I guess...” Babs spoke, walking back to the group as well.

It seemed like speaking to the reaper clairvoyant had little point anymore. Feeling slightly upset, Twilight and her friends started walking away. So far, this meeting did not turn out as well as the first one they had been participating in. Babs Seed in particular had no idea what she should make out of all the impressions she gained tonight. After walking for a while, Crystal Blossom stopped and bowed down to the keepers of harmony.

“My sincerest apologies. I honestly believed her attitude would have changed by now,” she spoke.

“What was up with that?” Twilight wondered.

“Lady Truesight believes that you are the reason Obsidian Shards turned into a red reaper. She thinks that you gave him no other choice but to let down his guard and made him regain his emotions, which ultimately caused his depression and mental breakdown. She is concerned that any reaper who spends too much time with you will ultimately walk the same path as Obsidian did. She even goes so far as to describe you as a potential risk to recreate Malice,” Crystal explained.

“We... I... This... This is just flat out rude! How could she...” Rarity complained in lack of words.

“I know this is harsh, but knowing how her life looked like before she became a reaper makes this more understandable,” the light blue reaper mare commented.

“Well, I don’t see how any backstory can justify something like that,” Twilight commented, still enraged.

“Please. There is no need to get furious at her. Truesight was abandoned by her family at very young age,” Crystal started.

“She... oh...” the purple mare commented.

“You can imagine what kind of shock it is for a young filly to be left behind in the north-eastern woods of Equestria and how much this can traumatize. Nopony can really tell why, but it is assumed that she was left behind due to her rainbow mane and tail. It is also not clear if they knew that spectralists could predict the future and therefore found themselves incapable of dealing with her, or if they were just acting out of selfishness and ignorance, assuming her unusual mane color is the result of an affair. However, it is fact that Truesight grew up in complete solitude and far away from any civilization. The only reason she survived was due to her ability to predict the future, allowing her to avoid threats and find food and shelter,” Crystal continued.

“Oh my stars... this is awful... How cruel can a pony be? I am at a loss of words,” Rarity spoke.

“Um... Hello! I don’t understand a thing here! Who’s this Obsidian Shards? What’s a red reaper? And who the hay is Malice?” Babs wondered.

“Phew... that is a lot to explain... Well, there are a few things we can’t tell you because of national secrets. But let’s see what we can sort out,” Twilight answered.

While the group tried to explain as much as they could to Babs Seed without revealing Maledictum Insania, Fluttershy kept herself in the background all the time. As soon as Obsidian came up, her glance dropped down to the heart pin on her cloak and she began to dive into memories again.

Through the thick poison smoke, the moon could be seen slowly rising to the highest point on the night sky. It would not take long anymore before all reapers would arrive and the dance could begin.

---

In the meantime, four reapers were observing the group from a distance. The keepers of harmony had been talking to them already, just like several other reapers did. But now, the four came together and started whispering.

“They are unaware of us,” one spoke, her eyes suddenly starting to glow red.

“Not even the elder reapers can sense us,” another added, his eyes as well turning red.

“We can execute the Guillotine’s plan,” the third disguised skin-walker spoke.

“The nameless book is here, just as planned,” the fourth spoke.

“It must come into the possession of the keeper of magic,” the first one stated.

“We must manipulate her guardians,” the third spoke again.

“As it is the will of the Guillotine of Hope,” the fourth concluded.