"You did well, Orion."

"Wha-where am I? Who are you?" I asked as I looked around. All I saw was pure white and red being standing in front of me but all I could see was a strange silhouette. I looked at my own body and noticed I was in my armor but it was still new and I was completely unscathed.

"You fell after a long and terrible battle." The voice spoke plainly.

"So...I'm dead? Is this heaven? Funny, I'd always been an atheist, didn't know if I'd just rot in the dirt or something."

"Yes and no. This isn't heaven and I'm not a god...well technically I could be depending on what you define as a god but I'm not who you might think I am."

"So what the hell IS going on?" I asked rather impatiently.

"This is your mind...it's blank because you've been asleep and I'm interrupting your dreams, you dreamed you were flying I believe. The first time you ever flew was during the battle, wasn't it?"

"Yeah but how do you-"

"I know many things but I'm not omniscient, just observant. Back to what I was saying. You are in what is essentially limbo. You are neither truly alive nor are you dead, otherwise your spirit would depart to be born anew."

I gave him a confused expression to which he merely continued speaking.

"But it is not your time, and I find it truly unfortunate when someone that can achieve so much is cut down before they can realize their potential, snuffed out like a candle in the wind."

"So...what now?"

"I am going to give you a choice. You may choose to wake up from your coma." He said as he conjured a portal of sorts to show me something. In it I saw Zachary sitting by my bed, bags were under his eyes and he looked like he quite possibly had not eaten in week. The view backed out and I saw almost a hundred people, as well as a number of ponies, gryphons and even a couple dragons either further back in the unusually large room or in a hall that was outside it.

"Holy shit...I, that can't be."

"This is going on right as we speak. You have been out for eight days, the doctors are certain you won't wake up but Zachary has sat there, day and night by your side. He hasn't eaten since the battle and has only drank water when it was necessary. Lucem and Violet have been extremely distraught. Violet has been working tirelessly with healing magic in the hopes of helping you while Lucem adamantly believes you are going to wake up and everything will be normal again."

"I...don't know what to say...I-"

"The others are your friends, those that care about you and but a fraction of all the individuals you have helped, saved, or cared for. You remember the gryphons in the corner. They were injured at the time but you fought off six minotaurs on your own when you could have easily gotten away yourself. The dragon, Nova, you saved her life by throwing her out of the way when a mountain almost fell in on her."

"What was I supposed to do, let them attack the gryphons? Or just let her get crushed?"

"You remained in one place to keep the mountain from falling on her whilst inside it yourself, you know you barely made it out yourself and that was only because you held your breath while she dug you out."

"Okay, why are you telling me all this? Sorry you're dead but at least you can feel better? I killed as an occupation!"

"As I said, this is but a fraction. News of what happened shocked people on both worlds and some can't believe it."

"I KILLED. I got good at it too! I lost count of how many I killed! It's at least in the dozens!" I returned angrily.

"And those you saved was in the hundreds, at least. Those you've influenced, even greater. You've even shown the enemy mercy when it would have been easier to end him. Such as when you found an injured minotaur while scouting. You hid the incident from your closest friends and spent a week helping him back to health while he told you about his family and how Tirek had forced him into service by threatening them. Now he's with the minotaur party that seeks to reconcile with Equestria and apologize for what occurred under Tirek's reign. You are no monster, that is why I came to you with this choice."

"But I digress. You can choose to wake up or begin a new life, you will remember nothing and be born as any of the races in Equestria of your choosing or as a human again. You will have no memory of this or your past life but may glimpse parts of it in dreams. Unusual and realistic dreams you've had this life reflect what your past life was like."

"So I knew someone named Dharsii?"

"That is correct, you were a dragon of this world, your name was Emeraldan, your mate was Dharsii. You both passed away peacefully of old age, which I must say is an incredible feat for a dragon. Once a dragon becomes truly ancient they can choose to simply slip away or live until they die of natural causes."

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Whether you become a dragon, gryphon or a human again, or even a pony, I can promise that you will have a long, happy life. I cannot force you to continue this one. The choice is yours alone.

"Why don't you tell me who or what you actually are? How do you know all this! How can you help me anyway?"

I saw the dark silhouette smile and change shape. Wings emerged and his humanoid size shrank. Where his mouth would be turned into a beak and further changes happened. Then his color became apparent as the silhouette faded. A fiery hue.

"Wha...you...can't be..."

"Oh I have many forms, it's even easier to change them whilst in your mind. Look back at the portal." I did as he asked and saw a red blur fly over the heads of those beside me and drop a single scarlet feather. It remained for just a moment as the confused crowd stared at it, perched on my arm before it left as quickly as it came.

"That...was you?"

"Precisely. Now, Orion. Make a choice."

Author's Note

Okay, so honestly I planned on ending it with them being fine and all and rather happy but with an alternate ending (a much darker one) but in the end I once again failed to follow the plan and did this and I debated a little whether to leave this cliffhanger but I figured "Ah what the hell, I suck at making tragedy stories and I know it."