~Thursday~
April 21st, 1 S.R.
Canterlot Royal Infirmary
Outside of Room 215
9:28 A.M.

A small crowd gathered around the room where Azure rested. The gathering consisted of close friends, intimate relations and well-known associates. His family was nowhere to be seen due to a business meeting. As the doctor finished informing everyone of the news, gasps and no's quietly sounded throughout the hall.

"Azure's infected? With what?" Longshot asked.

"It appears to be some sort of virus that the changelings managed to inject into the bodies of all that they wounded severely. And from the looks of things, it seems to be a method of last resort."

Shadow Star hummed as he brought a hoof to his chin, thinking about the tactical disadvantages this disease was to cause. "So, if they managed to lose the battle, they'd let our wounded die off and leave us with even less soldiers. Something like that would easily give them the war."

Taking a moment to think further on the subject, Twilight spoke out. "Wait a sec, I thought that the spell that drove out all the changelings canceled out their magic too."

"Yes, but the effects doesn't apply to a biological hazard." The doctor answered.

Silverleaf hesitated when he thought of what the end result could be. "So... Azure is going to-"

"SHUT UP! Just shut it! I don't wanna hear it." Poindexter interjected, trying to ignore the stallion's suggestion.

Luna, however, couldn't help but to ponder on the implied result that the Silverleaf mentioned. "Azure... no."

The doctor turned to the two royal sisters, bowing his head in respect. "Princess Celestia, I will also inform to you that our medical team is working around the clock to find a vaccine to this infection."

"How long will it take?" Luna asked impatiently.

"Princess Luna, this is something that cannot be done quickly. This will be something that takes time." The doctor responded.

"I want answers. And I want them immediately."

"I promise to do my best." With another bow, the doctor took his leave down the hall, leaving a group of ponies and a dragon stuck in disbelief.

"No way..." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Not a chance in hell." Longshot mumbled.

The hall grew silent after the exchange took place. The group allowed the news to settle in as Spike thought about the absence of Azure's mother and father. "Should we tell his parents?"

Poindexter grew upset at the dragon's question. "Of course we tell his parents! 'Hey sir and ma'am, I understand that your son didn't live up to your expectations, but please understand that he is in a serious predicament that could cost him more than his health. Normally, you would ignore your son's reckless pursuits and have done so since his freshmeat year, but it's only fair that you were notified of the circumstances prior to any future occurrences'."

"There will be only one future occurrence, and that is Azure will resume his position as Captain of the Royal Guard." Celestia declared, trying to remain optimistic for her younger sister.

"I can respect that." Longshot responded with a nod.

"Sounds a lot better than what I was thinking." Silverleaf said.

The solar princess took great joy in hearing that everyone was on board with her. "Very well then. We will continue to support Azure in his time of need, agreed?"

"Agreed."

Room 215
12:25 P.M.

The room remained silent as the continuous beeps of a heart monitor signified that the stallion was still alive. Soon, Azure gained a visitor, who walked in with a somber expression set on his face. Longshot looked at his friend and took a seat by his bedside, speaking with the comatose stallion as if he was fully awake.

"Hey, Azure."

Azure did not respond.

"I know you can't speak, but I'm gonna talk for a while. Is that cool?"

The beeps of the heart monitor was the only response that was given.

"Of course it is."

Longshot looked at the window, watching the workers in the distance repair an adjacent wing to the hospital that was damaged in the invasion. "You know, Luna's been working with the doctors a lot lately. I don't wanna tell you that they've come up with a cure yet, but I got a cheer ready, just in case."

Turning away from the construction work, he returned his attention to the stallion in the bed.

"You remember back when we were in high school? It was our senior year, and I was still anxious about being a father. I didn't know how to act, but you stood by me in my darkest time and told me that it was going to be alright. You slapped me on the back, hard, and told me to pony up."

Longshot raised from his seat and started to make his way to the door.

"I don't mind what you did. In fact, I wanted to say... thanks. Thanks for being around for me. And now that it's my turn to be here for you, just know that I'll be in your corner."

"You keep fighting, Az."

3:09 P.M.

"I guess you don't mind me sitting here."

Poindexter took his seat beside his unconscious friend. He pulled out a get well card and turned to the unresponsive stallion.

"I brought you a card. I'll go on ahead a read it."

"It’s been so nice seeing you every day; with your humor and kindness but it has been so sad not seeing you. Being ill and out of commission is hard on anyone. Everyone here sends their best wishes for your better health and healing. Take all the time you need to get well and know that when you return, there will be many happy faces that you will see."

Azure could not respond.

"I signed it, but so did a lot of others. Cadance and Shining signed it just last night, Longshot and his family signed not too long ago, heck, even Twilight signed it, and she doesn't even like you all that much... Or at least I though she didn't. She's been really down since the news of this... infection got out. She feels sorry that she didn't ever get a chance to thank you. But at least, I know that she'll get a second chance once you wake up."

Poindexter looked back at the card and noticed another set of signatures, reminded of a certain mare he grew interested in.

"Oh, and the Apple family signed it too. You may be wondering 'who the hell is that', but they're friends. A mare I met at the Gala, we started talking not too long ago. She even made me dance with her family while she laughed and made fun of me for dancing with her brother. Her grandmother is a feisty one too. She gets offended when you call her old. And she has a younger sister, who's constantly looking for ways to get her cutie mark. You would love them. They were so close. Even though they didn't have their parents, they still smiled and laughed, just like you do."

Azure remained non-responsive as Poindexter sought to dismiss himself.

"I can't wait till you get out of here, so you can see them for yourself. I could tell you all about them, but I think you'd like it better if you met them on your own."

Looking back to hospitalized captain, Poindexter could no longer bear to look at the sight of his friend in such a state. He turned away before he was brought to tears.

"I'll go on ahead and take my leave. But you keep fighting."

The door opened as Poindexter looked back into the room one last time before leaving.

"Don't quit."

5:16 P.M.

The door to the room opened to reveal two ponies taking a visit to the comatose patient. One held flowers set in a exquisite vase while the other held on to a set of dog tags. The couple stood beside the patient as they held each other, trying to be the support for one another.

"Hey there." Cadance whispered.

"Guess you didn't expect us to take our honeymoon off to see you." Shining joked.

"We had a lot of fun together. You made fun of Shining while I often teased him." Cadance said as she reminisced on the adventures they shared back in high school.

Shining stood by his wife. "Who'd knew that we'd be married like this and still have you to thank?"

Cadance felt her composure breaking as she thought about everything that happened during the past week. "I can't seem to help but to become sad when I see you there. Just last week, it was my husband who was down the hall from here. Now it's you."

"But there's some good news. The war that was recently declared had ended. We drove back the changelings and me and Cadance got married just yesterday. You should've been there."

Cadance left the vase of flowers on the desk next to the sleeping stallion. "I... We really want you to come back to us sometime soon."

Shining felt himself becoming weak at the sight of his best friend not responding to anything they had to say. "We can't imagine you leaving us. Especially since you were with us for so long."

Cadance rubbed her husband's shoulders as she realized that even he couldn't maintain his composure. "Do you want me to give you some time, dear?"

"No... I'm fine." Shining answered, needing the support of his wife as he clasped her hoof with his own.

"Okay, honey. Go on."

Shining took a heavy breath as he sank his head down. "I remember back when we were in elementary school. You and I used to get into fights all the time. We absolutely hated each other. You always knew what to say to get under my skin and I knew exactly where to hit you. We were fighting each other for a seat next to the cutest girl in class. But when she moved away, you and I stopped fighting, and eventually we put everything behind us and started seeing eye-to-eye."

Shining then held an outstretched hoof of his best friend. "Since then, we've been friends. And later, came Longshot, and finally Poindexter. The four of us would always get into stupid stuff together. And we'd also get in trouble too. I remember this one prank you pulled that almost got all of us suspended. But as soon as my dad came in and cleared it up, I remember you saying how you didn't want to go home and face your mom and dad."

Shining's grip tightened and shook as he tried his best to remain calm. "They never really had time for you when you did right, but when you did wrong, it seemed like that's all they cared about. They may have not shown their compassion when raising you, but I believe that they meant well when they punished you. Besides, if you weren't important to them, then they would've left you to get into more trouble. But it didn't matter what they said, you and I were like brothers."

The mention of how he saw their friendship broke him, causing Shining to release suppressed tears. Shining shuddered as he feared the thought of losing his best friend. "We were like the brothers we wished we could've had. We argued, we fought, we made up, we laughed, we talked and the cycle repeated itself."

Cadance held on to her weakened husband. Shining removed the dog tags from around his neck and placed it into the combined grip of his hooves as well as Azure's. "So I'm here to say, don't you dare give up on me. I never gave up on you. Stay strong. Be encouraged to carry on."

Finally, the weight became too much as Shining leaned against his comrade, his brother-in-arms, his best friend, his brother, tears riding down his face.

"I love you, bro."

7:30 P.M.

The door to Azure's room opened once more. This time there was a party of ponies walking into the room. Hooves quietly clopped against the floor as six mares and a young dragon looked over the unconscious form.

"You think he minds us coming in here?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"He's out cold, I don't think he would even care to notice." Rainbow Dash answered in deadpan.

Pinkie Pie remained optimistic. "You think he'd mind-"

"Pinkie, we talked 'bout this. No parties in the hospital." Applejack answered, trying to calm her friend.

"Right, sorry. But do you think I could throw a 'Happy-Waking-Up-From-Your-Coma-And-Now-We-Can-Finally-Celebrate-Your-Recovery' party?"

"Jus' not in the hospital."

"Okay." Pinkie answered as she set aside her optimism for a more somber expression.

"Hello, mister Azure. I hope that you continue to fight the good fight." Rarity said as she walked up to Azure.

Twilight walked beside Rarity and placed a hoof on his. "We all just came to say how thankful we were for you and your friends defending us. You did everything for us and you didn't ask for much in return."

Rarity started to think back to when she was a foal. She often seen him with Shining whenever they went to the hotel he worked at. "You know, I still remembered the time where he and my mother would often poke fun at Shining back when I was still being foalsitted by him."

Twilight still held on to the stallion as she spoke to Rarity. "I remember the times where he would call me Twily, just to get on my nerves. I never really found it funny that he would call me the name that only my brother was allowed to call me. But he always seemed to laugh. He never did show me one time that he was down or that he was angry, or frustrated, or depressed, or even sad."

Pinkie Pie knew exactly where this would go as soon as Twilight started to shake. She offered to hug the mare, which she initially declined. "I always hated how he seemed to be so happy, no matter what my brother went through. It made me so angry that I started to resent him. I always thought that it was unfair that he got to be happy but my brother got to suffer. But now that I've met all of you, I realized what he was doing. He was shouldering everypony around him to see the light in their darkest hour. He wanted to be the support that they could count on when the chips fell. While my brother was the one suffering, he was the one saying that everything was going to be alright."

Applejack and Fluttershy immediately saw the sadness in Twilight's eyes as she continued to rant on about him. "And at the same time, he was going through his own turmoils, his own battles. He never did show when he was in pain, because he needed to be that individual who'd shine the brightest. He never let his conflicts show on him because he knew he could overcome them."

Pinkie and Rarity immediately threw their forelegs around the emotionally unstable mare as Twilight cried loudly. "I'm so stupid! I couldn't even see how important he was to everypony! He mastered friendship long before I had even started to learn about it. I was so angry over that smile he wore, never knowing that his smile was a mask half of the time. Now that's he's not smiling... Azure..."

"It's okay, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said as she petted her friend. Spike turned away from the display, fearing that he could no longer be strong for his caretaker.

"Azure, I'm so sorry for hating you. I never knew that you were..."

"It's okay to cry, Twilight." Another voice whispered from the doorway. As the others turned around to see who it was, they grew shocked over who also offered their respects.

"Prin...cess?" Twilight staggered out as Celestia walked up to her student, offering her a hug.

"It's okay to cry."

~Friday~
April 22nd, 1 S.R.
12:01 A.M.

"Happy Birthday, my dear Azure."

Princess Luna stood by the side of the bed, exhausted from the long day of research with the doctors.

"I remember that you were to turn twenty-six today. But we'll be more than certain to celebrate when you awaken from your slumber."

Luna took a seat by her special sompony, still fatigued over the fruitless efforts that she and the doctors managed to put forth.

"We're still trying to find a cure. We're close now. I can see you being rid from that ailment by the end of the week."

Kissing her guardian on the forehead, she felt the warmness of his body still radiating to her lips.

"You're a lot stronger than some of the others who were infected. Some of them have already died from the infection."

Luna rested herself against the stallion, hearing the heart beating in his chest as she allowed the rhythmic thumbs soothe her.

"If I was only there to save you. You wouldn't be here like this. But I'll save you."

In mere seconds, his heartbeat became similar to that of a lullaby. The waltz of his pulse quietly rocked her to sleep.

"I'll save you, Azure."

Her eyelids grew heavy. She allowed herself a moment to rest once more with him as she did prior to the invasion. Warm memories propelled her thoughts of saving him as her body started to drift into the realm of dreams. Luna closed her eyes and rested.

"Even... if I have to..."

???
3:21 A.M.

"Azure!"

Luna ran after the galloping shadow of her beloved. Though the more she tried to catch up to him, Azure gained more ground, disappearing into the darkness of the distance. After a few steps, Luna found herself stumbling to the ground. The shadow continued to gallop further into the dark.

"Azure! Don't leave me here alone!"

Luna reached out to him with an outstretched hoof, begging him to return. He ignored her cries and ran on as she yelled to him, watching him disappear into the shadows. Luna was left alone in a circle that continued to emit the light of her own body as she rose to her hooves. The moment she regained her hoofing, a dark tentacle tugged at her hind leg, preventing her from going further. When she looked back, she could see more of the dark tendrils reaching from the shadows and dragging her by her horn, sealing off her magic. Several more surrounded her as they all latched onto her wings and her other legs, rendering her immobile. She grunted as she struggled against the darkness of her own nightmare devouring her. She called out to the one stallion who was assigned to protect he; the stallion who was her guardian and her lover.

"AZUUUUURRE!!!"

A bright light erupted from within her chest, cradling her in an orb of energy that severed the bindings of the tendrils that held her captive. She looked up to see the stallion she cried for standing over her with a gentle smile on his face as he reached down to her.

"Geez, I'm okay. I play one game of hide-n-go-seek and you start screaming bloody murder."

As the dreamscape became cleansed of the nightmare, Luna took his hoof with relief washing over her body. But she did not only accept his assistance, but also thanking him with a powerful hug. She clung onto him with a unbelievable strength, ensuring that what she was feeling was very much real. She knew that this was far from the world of reality, but she accepted the fact that her beloved stallion was with her once more.

"You're here! You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive. I don't intend on dying now."

Luna buried herself into his neck, close to crying. "Oh thank you! Thank you for everything!"

"Luna, still alive here." He said, trying to brush off any doubts she may have had of his well-being.

"I don't care, I want to make sure that you know how I feel."

Trying to further emphasize his desire to live, he squirmed as he tried to escape from the princess' death-grip. "I can feel you crushing my ribs, if that's what you mean."

Pulling away from the stallion, Luna blushed as she allowed him to breathe. "Sorry, I didn't me-"

Luna's unfinished sentence started to intrigue the stallion. "What's wrong?"

"You're... talking to me... in my dream." Luna finished, taking a moment to realize what was going on.

"Well... yeah."

"You're here, in my dreams."

Azure nodded his head slowly. "Yeeeessss."

Suddenly, the deadly vice-like grip he previously escaped from managed to lock on to him once more as Luna snuggled up to him. "Oh how wonderful! You managed to learn how to walk the dreamscape!"

"Wait, I did?" Azure asked, straining to breathe.

"What do you remember from you conscious state?" Luna asked impatiently.

"Well... I remember a lot of pain."

Luna felt herself become saddened over the reminder of the trip she made to bring him to the hospital. He often grunted and groaned weakly as she carried him. Every step she took was agonizing pain to him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I'm sorry."

Azure walked in front of the gloomy princess, raising her head with his magic. "It wasn't your fault. In fact, I managed to receive a parting gift from Blueblood."

Luna became confused at his statement. "What? What did he do?"

A magical monitor appeared before the two of them, showing the moment he was fighting in Canterlot. As he turned to the side, a large, heavily-built changeling thrusted a blade into him and into an adjacent wall. "He turned traitor, became a changeling and stabbed me in the gut. Your basic Shakespearean drama. Stuff like that."

Looking at the figure of her guardian and the monitor above, she saw that he still sported the ghastly wound that placed him in the hospital. She grew infuriated over the traitor's actions. "Where is he!?"

"If I can safely conclude, he's either dead, or he's blown to the sky with the others."

Luna gasped as she realized that he knew that the changelings were purged from the city. "You know?"

"Yeah. You weren't the only one at my bedside." Azure said as he pulled up several more screens, showing each time a pony managed to visit him. Numerous panes shone brightly in the darkness, surrounding the two ponies as Luna took comfort in him being frequented by other well-wishers.

"Well, that's good to know."

The screens disappeared into the darkness as Azure started to walk towards her. "Hey Luna... I wanted to show you something while I was here. I think I may have gotten it wrong, so I need you to tell me what it is."

"What do you mean?"

Azure smiled as he held a hoof to the dark space around him. "Well, this."

In an instant, one tiny white dot shined brightly as Luna questioned it's appearance. She reached out to touch it, only for the whole entire world around her to erupt similar white specks, some arranging themselves into the formations she grew well-acquainted with. A smile grew on her face as she realized what he tried to simulate.

"Azure... this is-"

"An exact replication of your night sky. Or at least it would be if I had managed to get all of the stars right."

Luna held her hooves to her mouth as she admired the beauty of his sky. "It's perfect."

"Stop lying."

"It's perfect to me."

"Luna." He deadpanned.

The princess rolled her eyes. "Okay, just twenty-seven stars are out of place, but I think you did just fine."

"Which one's did I need to move?" He asked as he started to tap random stars at will, only to have his hoof pulled away by Luna.

"You don't."

"Why not?"

Luna closed in on him and gave him a peck on the lips. "Because this is the night you created and I like it the way you made it."

"You sure?"

"I am."

Luna sank herself into him, showing her appreciation for his attention to her night. Though it was flawed, she preferred that his stars remained unchanged. She only wanted to hold on to him, while he had other plans. A playful grin grew on his face. "Since we're hugged up like this, I suppose you don't mind a dance."

"A dance, under the stars of your night? I would love to."

Luna and Azure separated from each other as they bowed before each other. The guardian offered his hoof and the princess accepted his offer, allowing him to take the lead. They proceeded to dance in the silence as the stars passed through their bodies upon their passing. Suddenly, Azure noticed a sound echoing throughout the silence. Luna smiled as she closed her eyes and hummed a tune to their dance.

"That's a beautiful melody you're humming. It sounds familiar."

Luna rose to face her her lover, mocking him. "You've been on this earth far longer than the time I spent in my return from the moon. I'd figure that you would know the song."

"It escapes my mind every single time. Would you care to sing it to me?"

Luna stumbled a bit as his suggestion made her nervous. "I'm not a singer."

"You are now. So can I hear it, just this once?"

"Fine, since you asked so nicely."

Luna took a breath as she started to sing before him. Azure waived his hoof and a table, complete with chairs and candlelight. He sat before her as she started to sing her melody.

Thanks for everything, all those special things.
The stolen moments shared, when we were unprepared for anything.

Walking in the park, that sudden summer storm.
Time, sinking in sand.
Stumbling in the dark, and wondering wheres the warm.
Us, feeling so grand.

So thanks for giving things, all those extra things.
That unexpected call, that put me in free-fall like anything.

Flying without strings, I've suddenly grown wings.
You made me feel free. Now I wanna sing, thank you for just everything.

"Oh, so that's the song my mom would play on the radio when I was a foal." Azure responded with applause.

Luna felt her cheeks fill with a burn as she bashfully turned away from the stallion who praised her. "It's a beautiful song."

"Ahhh, what a memory these sounds bring. The robust horns, the cornet singing your melody in a mellow tone, the falling woodwinds that gracefully glissando into a colorful silence, and the strings journeying through the dissonance of hardship into a land of unspeakable wonder."

"You make it sound so poetic."

Azure rose from the table to lean against the tabletop, remembering a time long past. "I'd look at the stars when I'd hear that song. I always loved the night sky, and hearing that song made me picture the nights where I'd take a glance at the sky above while my mother sat by the fire, tapping her hoof along with the beat."

"Perhaps... we should dance like this when you get well." Luna suggested, as she finally faced Azure for the first time since she finished singing.

Azure shrugged with a grin. "I would love to."

A rumbling sounded as the dreamscape that held the two grew unstable. A loud voice shouted through the serene void.

"LUNA!!!"

The princess knew that her elder sister called on her. She dismayed that she would not get to spend more time with the stallion. She grew solemn as she said her goodbye. "Azure... I fear that it is my time."

"I understand. Go on ahead. I'll be here when you want to sing again." Azure said as he sat back in the chair.

Luna grew frustrated at Azure's praise of her vocal talents. "I'm not a singer!"

"With a voice like that, I beg to differ." He argued.

"...You think so?"

"You've got an audience every time you come here, so why not make it a show?"

Luna smiled one last time, giving in to his demands. "Okay. I will come back to see you."

"And I'll be waiting."

Luna's dream started to fade into darkness once more as the final view was that of a stallion sitting at a table before her. She called out to him before he dissipated into the void. "Goodbye?"

She saw his smile glowing in the darkness as his voice reached out to her. "I'd prefer the term 'see you later'."

3:42 A.M.

Time seemed to stand still as the world Azure created glowed around him. He sat at the table, awaiting his diva to take the stage upon her next visit. There was little he could do in this state, so he decided that waiting on her was the best choice he had. He quietly sang to himself as he continued to play with a nearby star.

"Flying without strings, I've suddenly grown wings. You made me feel free. Now I wanna sing, tha-"

"I didn't take you for a singer." A voice rang out from behind him. Azure turned around to see a white alacorn mare with a red mane. She had blue eyes and a cutie mark that seemingly depicted that of a quill in an ink well. She held a scroll in her possession.

"Uhhh, do I know you?" Azure asked.

The mare giggled. "No and yes."

"So, I take it that you're another audience to Luna's show?"

"Actually, I'm here for something else."

"That something is what?"

"Well... I'm here to speak to a love-struck stallion. Know where I might meet him?"

Azure facehoofed as he immediately knew that she was looking for him. "I'm assuming that you want to talk to me?"

"You got it." She said cheerfully, approaching the table he sat at.

"So what's the problem?"

"Oh, I just need you to sign this." She said as she unrolled a scroll before him, pointing to a dotted line with an x marked by it.

"What is it?"

"Just for accountability. Your track record was rather concerning but you seemed to come through in the end."

Azure grabbed the pen and started to sign his name, but as the first droplet of ink landed on the paper, he soon realized what she had just implied. "In the end?"

Her smile grew into a sorrowful frown. "Yes."

Azure backed away from the table, only to find himself backed against a young tree, devoid of all life. He looked to his sides and saw the landscape he created replaced by an world filled with color. The waters that flowed from the ground glistened in many colors. The sky became an eternal twilight, with one side as the day and the other as the night. Strange clouds floated above him as he watched the colors from both sides of the sky blend into a beautiful mix of orange and purple. He looked forward to see a gate that spanned the very equator of the world.

Azure started to stutter, which then evolved into a series of whimpers and trembled breaths.

"...No. No no nononono! I can't be-"

The mare rolled up the scroll, satisfied with the little speck of ink on the signature line. "I'm so sorry. We were expecting you far later than this. But we were prepared to receive you no matter what."

Azure continued to deny what was obviously absolute. "I can't be... Luna's-"

"Luna is a very lucky mare to have you around her. Though I questioned her tastes from the start, but she managed to come away with a good one. It's just too bad that you were like a fleeting dream."

"I... I-"

"Do you have any regrets?"

Azure fell to the ground, deeply saddened over what had occurred to him. He didn't want to believe, but the tree behind him that represented his life was a definite sign of his departure. "Not seeing her again."

"That's a common trait. But I believe there is a peace that can be found in this."

Azure faced the mare. "That being?"

"You spent the time of your life with the mare that loved you the most. She's happy to know you and others around you are just as happy to spend time with you."

Finally seeing that his regrets were nothing more than an attachment to what he could no longer have, he questioned her. "So... there's really nothing to regret?"

"Come along. We have much to discuss."

The mare started to walk to the gates. As she approached, they opened to grant her passage into the heavens. She started to make her way in, when suddenly...

"Wait!"

The alacorn turned around to the stallion standing on his hooves. She nodded once, letting him know that he had permission to ask her whatever he needed to have answered.

"Can I say goodbye?"

"I think that your 'see you later' was in the best taste." She answered in a soft, motherly tone.

He accepted the answer. And even if he didn't, he was well-aware that there was no turning back to say goodbye. He couldn't bargain for his life now that he was in the world beyond. "Okay... So what are we discussing?"

"Hmm... I would like to hear everything from your perspective."

"From?"

"From birth of course. We've got the time."

Azure paused for a second as he walked up to the mare. "Before I start, I just wanna know. Why didn't you just outright tell me that I..." He gulped as he struggled to say the word. "...passed?"

"If I walked up to you and said that, you would be kicking and screaming for a chance to go back. I'd tell you no and you'd still resist. Besides, I'm not as harsh as what scriptures and teachings make me to be. I believe in telling you the news in the easiest way possible. I think it was best that I eased you into it rather than yank you from your body."

Azure cringed. "Your reason sounds a little less painful than the latter."

"To me, it is. Especially when young children such as yourself meet their ends in battle or in the cause of violence. Often I have come across those who try to fight me for a chance to go back, but all attempts to do so have ended in failure. Some have even resorted to attach themselves to the world of the living, becoming demonic manifestations that I could not save. They continue to become evil spirits, working against the peace that I offer in hopes of regaining a second chance at life."

"And me?"

"You are different, however. You've, and others, have denied your demise many times, you've been angered at your circumstances just recently as you started to feel regrets for your past life, you've tried to bargain for a chance to go back, you've even mourned the fact that you would never see the ones you love in the living world ever again and you've come to accept what was, is and always will be. But since I answered your question, I think it's time you gave me your account on your life."

With a final take of air, he dismissed the attachments to his living state. He no longer needed the air he once breathed nor did he thirst or hunger. He grew contempt with what was, and walked into the gates of the heavens alongside the goddess.

"Well... It all started when I was born..."

And on this day, April 22nd, 1 S.R. at the hour of 3:42 A.M. was the passing of Azure Sword. He lived a fruitful life with few regrets. His soul now rests in peace as Faust claimed him to the heavens.

Sunrise: April 22nd, 975 C.D.V., -25 S.R.

Sunset: April 22nd, 1001 C.D.V., 1 S.R.

Requiescat in pace

Author's Note

The feels on the bus go round and round.