Death to Life

Darkness... All I can see in any direction is pure darkness. I feel nothing, no pain, no emotions... and no memories. Everything is gone, I'm alone in a world full of nothing. A small light catches the corner of my eye as I look around me. I follow the little spark as it leads me in a random direction that doesn't appear to have an end. Suddenly the spark stops. It begins to grown to a shape that is just barely shorter than I am, maybe about a foot. The figure starts shifting until I realise what it is becoming. A human.

"What..?" is all I can mutter before colors start filling in the bright white void of a figure.

The figure stands before me now, complete. A single memory slips back into my mind as I realize what I'm looking at.

"A-Amber?" I mutter in shock.

"Josh..." She says in a very calming tone. "Its not time yet..."

Her last words seems to echo around me, making it sound like it was being said over and over again. My brain feels like it explodes as years of memories and thoughts rush back to me. The last thing I see is Amber waving to me. Then all I see is a bright light.

*Beep*...

*Beep*...

*Beep*...

My eyes slowly open, but everything is blurry. Pain racks through my body, mainly my chest. I can see different colored blurs on the other side of the room. There's a lavender one, an orange one, a yellow one, and a white one.

"You can't just kill him!" I hear who I assume is Twilight

"I'm sorry Miss Sparkle... he's been gone for two days..." I don't recognize this voice.

A violent cough erupts from my throat as I try shoot up into a sitting position. Or at least I would have if I wasn't tied down to my bed, the fuck? The blurs become clear now and I can see I'm in a hospital. I can see four of the five ponies I know and what looks like a doctor staring at me in utter shock. Did they think I was dead? Could they not hear my heart monitor from across room?

"Oh... my... Celestia..." Twilight says, still wearing her shocked expression. The four mares run up to me and stare in utter shock. Tear stains mark Twilight's face and I can tell that the other three were worried sick.

"Wha... What's going on?" I mutter as I feel my senses coming back to me. Some of the pain is leaving my body. That doctor said I was... dead, for two days! If that's true then... how am alive?

"She did it... she actually did it..." Twilight begins to break into tears. The other girls still look worried despite me being awake now.

"Who? Who did what?" I ask, now curious about what happened while I was out. Twilight is too busy crying into my sheets to answer so Rarity steps up instead.

"Darling when you passed out at that cafe you didn't just... pass out per say. Your heart stopped completely and Twilight couldn't revive you. Rainbow Dash, bless her, rushed you straight here, to the hospital, where they tried to revive you. When they got you in bed however, you... how do I put this... reanimated? You attacked a nurse and almost injured her before they were able to strap you down to the bed. You were moving, but you weren't alive. Rainbow Dash rushed into the Everfree to look for some amulet that would grant her a wish. I guess we know that she found it." Rarity explains the entire story.

"What!?" I yell when I realize Rainbow is alone in one of the most deadly places in this world. Just as I'm about to freak out more, a pink mare with a crazy hairdo burst through the door. I think this is... Pinkie Pie was it? I believe I heard about Twilight talking about her a couple of times.

"Girls! It's Rainbow, and it isn't good!" She says in a disturbed and horrified tone.

"Let me out... NOW!" I yell as I struggle against the restraints. Twilight looks up in surprise and unlocks the straps holding me down. Immediately I make a beeline for the door. Pinkie leads in front of me and we exit the hospital. She leads me to the edge of town, on the way she explains what she found.

"I was just out on a walk when I saw Rainbow stumble out of the Everfree! She didn't look so good so I ran to the hospital to get help!" She explains.

"Why didn't you bring her with you!?" I yell in anger. She doesn't have time to explain as I can now see a small cyan figure lying motionless at the edge of the forest. I break into a full sprint as I close in on Rainbow. I slide on my knees as I come to a stop right beside her. I notice that there are bite marks and scratches all over her body. She must have been attacked by those creatures. The amulet that I've been dying to find is around her neck. The first thing that comes to mind is to check her pulse. To my horror I find that... there isn't one. The other girls caught up with us and are staring on in horror at the sight of their friend.

"No! Don't you die on me!" I yell as I start pushing hard on her chest. Her ribs bend with each push, but her heart doesn't start. "C'mon! Don't you leave me too!" I yell through tears. I hesitate before what I do next. I take a deep breath and begin to breathe into Rainbow's mouth in hope that it'll revive her. When nothing works, I can hear the other mares breaking down in tears. The final option comes to mind, but it would mean making the ultimate sacrifice. I snatch the amulet off of Rainbow's neck and stare at it. I have to make the ultimate choice. Twilight interrupts me as I stare at the amulet.

"Josh! I- I need to tell you something. I read up on that amulet more and it turns out there's more to it than we thought. It's true that only one wish can be granted per user. However, we missed a part that explains more about the limitations. Only a total of three wishes can be made before the amulet loses all power. Considering a wish was made by the creators of the amulet to actually test it, and Rainbow used one to revive you... If you revive Rainbow... Amber will never come back."

The news hits me like a bullet. I knew I couldn't bring back Amber if I saved Rainbow, but... I was hoping that one of the other mares would be kind enough to bring her back for me, using their wish.

I have to make the ultimate choice... Amber, or Rainbow Dash?