"WHOO!!" Joshua hooted. "Friggin' Graduation, baby! Tonight's gonna kick ass!"

"It sure will be," Connor smiled.

Two feminine voices cheered behind him in the back seats of the car. The two boys sat in in front seats, with Joshua in the driver's seat.

"Whoo! Awesome! Parrrrr-tay!"

The one in the front passenger seat chuckled to himself. The way she cheered reminded him so much of a certain pink party pony from a while back.

"Damn, these past two years really flew by. I can't believe it," the driver laughed. "And it feels like the first day was only like a month ago."

"Time flies when having fun," Connor added in.

"Sure does. Plus, best of all," the blonde soon-to-be-college-man said as he shook his friend's shoulder in a pal-like way. "We graduated with you alive."

"Heh... Yeah."

A while back, he told him where he actually was, but ever since, Joshua still did not believe him. Well, he would not blame him. It would have sounded ridiculous at the first mention.

However, in actuality, it was not.

He felt a soft hand stroke his shoulder behind him. He met the hand with his, clapping gently over it and stroking its surface with his thumb.

"Aren't you so excited?" a raven-haired girl giggled. "We're actually going to college! Aah! Can you believe it??"

"I believe!" he smiled back before he moped. "I just wish we were accepted into the same college, though."

"Aww! Are you gonna miss me?"

"Hell, yes I would! You're my girl!" he exclaimed with a sad smile.

"Yes, I am," she winked. "Yet, we have different interests in majors. Plus, unfortunately, most couples never usually make it through college. Long distance relationships never really last long. No pun intended."

"Yeahhh..." he sighed.

Like with a yellow, pink-maned, adorable-as-a-puppy-litter pegasus from a while back...

Since the last visit, as much as Connor wanted to be with his little Fluttershy, he knew that clinging on to her from afar (by that, a million or so miles away) would be like clinging onto the past, which was unhealthy. They both knew they had to move on.

Gone, but never, ever forgotten...

"Buuut," she cooed as she rocked her shoulders back and forth. "Before we leave for college, I have something special planned for both of us."

This made an eyebrow rise on his forehead.

Joshua and the girl sitting behind him had devious smiles on their faces, overhearing both of them.

"Really?" Connor said, raising both brows this time.

"Mm-hmm," she purred. "I've always wanted to do this since we became a couple."

"I'm listening."

After pushing back a loose strand of her black hair, she gently whispered into his ear. His smile grew wider and bigger the more he listened, embracing the juiciness of her plans. Then, his lips pursed in surprise.

"Ohhh, ho, ho, ho!" he exclaimed on the brink of excited laughter. "Really? You'd do... That?"

She nodded slowly.

"I love you..."

"But that doesn't mean you have to go easy on me. I like it rough."

"Wo-ha-how! I didn't know you had it in you! Are you absolutely sure? Cuz' you're really sweet and fragile and all..."

"No, I think I can take it," she winked flirtatiously.

"Well, all right, then!" he smiled. "But either way, I'm still gonna kick your cute little ass in lasertag!"

"In your dreams," she growled playfully, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Then, an ear-piercing sound rung from her small purse.

"Oop! Hold on a second. I got a call," she said as she pulled her cell phone out.

While she was chatting away, Joshua had just finished kissing his girlfriend's arm and hand. Still keeping an eye on the road, he leaned over to Connor.

"Man, you should be proud of yourself to have a girlfriend like her," he whispered, nodding over to the chatting raven-haired girl. "She's perfect for you."

He chuckled. "Yes, she is."

"How did you do it? Ever since you came back, other than the good news that you were miraculously alive, you've been attracting people left and right, even without my help. Hell, you became the school's fourth most popular guy, for God's sake! How did you do it?"

"My pony friends helped me," he responded. "They helped me learn a lot about friendship, a lot more than I have ever imagined."

"Jesus, Connor, you've still been joking me around with those freaking ponies you speak of," he said with a slightly annoyed groan. "Just tell the truth!"

"I am telling the truth," he innocently argued.

And, he was...

"Ugh..." he grunted. "Seriously, man."

Connor shrugged. "Fine, fine. Once I awoke, I had some epiphany about it. It just..." he shuffled his hands around in front of him, coming up with a better word to describe his "sudden realization".

"It just hit me!"

Joshua continued to stare at him until he shrugged.

"Meh, I guess that's truthful enough," he said. "I mean, who wouldn't feel changed after a near-death experience?"

Connor nodded in agreement.

I am so not joking, he thought as well.

He turned his head to gaze out of the window. The bright street lights shone brightly out in front of the pitch-black trees of the patch of nature directly next to the road. Usually, a roadside bank, a gas station, or a fast-food joint would glide by in front of him, leaving a trail of lights imprinted in his eyes.

The sound of rushing cars hissed by behind him. As he turned around to view them, he noticed that there was a big amount of traffic, which is likely to happen on a Saturday night.

A long exhale flew out of Joshua's mouth.

"Hoooooooo, and just when I thought high school was never going to end," he chuckled. "We're finally moving to the big leagues."

"Ain't that the truth," Connor nodded. "No more chemistry classes for me, thank you very much."

"I'm just glad I got to that extra credit. I would've failed harder than an amateur skateboarder on YouTube."

"Haaa..." he chuckled in monotone. "But, we don't need to worry about that anymore."

"You're daaaamn right, we don't."

Then, Connor sighed.

"You know, it's kind of hard to realize that after being together for a long time, that we'll be apart in different colleges."

The blonde teenager smiled. "Don't fret about it too much, man. We'll still see each other. You know, during fall breaks, winter breaks, spring, all those breaks. We could still find some way to get back together again."

"That's true."

"Until then, I just want to say this in case we don't ever get to before we leave," Joshua said, clearing his throat. "Let me just say, that it was an honor to be your friend. A damn, good one. We both had problems, but we still managed to push on through it all. Now, we're here. We will be apart during college, but at heart, we're inseparable. Even by death."

"Even by death," Connor grinned, lifting up his fist for a bump.

"LOOK OUT!!" the raven-haired girl suddenly screamed.

A truck suddenly appeared out of nowhere, careening uncontrollably towards them.

"OH, SHI--!"

CRASSH!!

The sound of voices, slow-passing traffic, and approaching sirens filled Connor's waking ears. He felt the warmth of the lumpy, gritty asphalt underneath his cheek. Flickering blue and red lights wedged between his opening eyelids, making his waking eyes sting.

Then, his eyes were fully open. They shifted up and down, staring in confusion and bewilderment. He lifted both of his arms to his shoulders and pressed his palms firmly on the ground to push himself up. As he pushed, his arms trembled from feebleness like his entire torso was as heavy as stone. When his torso was up, he slid his feet underneath himself to push the rest of him up. He swayed to one side before he used his leg to bring back to balance again.

His head was spinning like a whirlpool had formed in the fluids that held up his brain.

"Wh... What the hell happened?" he muttered aloud.

When he took a step, something ground underneath his foot. He lifted it to see a shard of glass underneath. Next to it was another shard of glass.

And another...

And another...

Another...

The hissing sound of steam and smoke whistled behind him. He slowly turned around to see two vehicles, both crunched. One of them was still sitting in the middle of the road with a crunched front. The other was off the road near the trees with a crunched passenger side.

His eyes widened at the sight of his earlier seat.

Obliterated...

Completely caved in...

Crunched...

Yet, he was out here...

Alive...

He shuddered as he sighed in relief.

He thanked God that he was safe.

But, what about Joshua? The others?

"Oh, God!" he gasped in fright, running toward the car. "Joshua! Girls!"

"Connor!" a masculine voice called back from behind an ambulance.

"Oh, thank God! Joshua!" he sighed. "You're okay!"

"'Okay' being an understatement," he replied, rubbing his temples. "Damn drunk drivers..."

"Are the girls okay?"

"I haven't seen them..."

...

Oh, no...

They saw the two girls' limp bodies in the back seat.

"Oh, God... Oh, God!" Joshua began to panic, grasping his skull. "They're--! They're--!"

"What a shame..." a deep voice hummed behind them. "Such an imminent and usual way to perish. So quick, brief, and abrupt, yet still so effective and debilitating. Sometimes, I can't believe that I'm still amazed by it after all of these years."

They never turned around, but they felt a cold, smooth lick of wind brush by their ankles, sneaking up their pant legs. They looked down to see small tongues of black smoke sift between their legs. Turning slowly around, they saw a tall, black hooded figure tower over them. A white, thin, deathly, skeletal pair of hands grasped around its tall, gleaming, razor-sharp scythe. Its black cloak dissipated into black smog around its legs. Its ridiculously shaded and concealed face emptily stared at the two humans

Their blood just transformed into ince as they gazed upon the spectral being, for they could not believe their eyes.

It was Death himself.

"Wha--? N-No! No! NO! No, don't take them away!! You can't! Not now!" Connor pleaded.

His hidden face turned slowly to him, which sent violent chills down his once warm spine..

"Them?" he queried. "The two young women in the back seat? I don't come for them, for they are still breathing life."

"Then why--?"

"It is you I come for..." he replied with a soothingly deep and dark voice.

"No! That's impossible!" Joshua argued out of fright. "We're still alive! We're the ones breathing!"

"Are you, mortal?"

His long, white finger lifted up, pointing at two figures sitting in the front seat of the car. The two teenagers squinted to get a better look, but it was too dark to see. They stepped closer.

A police car's headlights passed over behind them, lighting up the...

"No... No... No, no, no, NO, NO, NOO!!" Joshua cried as he saw his own limp, bloody, body leaning against the deflated airbag of the steering wheel.

Connor's stomach churned the very second he saw his own corpse, limp and devoid of life.

The blonde soul rushed up and fell on his knees in front of the tall figure.

"No! I can't be dead! I can't!" he said on the brink of tears. "I was just going to go to college! College! Where my parents expected me to go! They're not expecting me to go in a coffin! Don't take me! Please, don't!"

"Easy, Joshua LaFayette," the black figure spoke, lifting an open hand. "Calm yourself. There is no need for fear and pleading. I wasn't coming for you specifically."

"You... You weren't?"

"No, I wasn't. You weren't supposed to die in that crash. Yet, somehow, your weak, feeble body couldn't make it through that crash. Your body gave in before its time was up."

"Oh..." the teenager silently exclaimed. "Then what's the point of you--?"

"Maybe I should've explained my arrival in more detail," he sighed, stroking his darkened forehead. "I have come for your friend..."

"You mean--?"

"WHAT?!" Connor cried.

"Yes, mortal, it is you who I have come for..." the black figure said, pointing his twig-like finger at him.

"B-b-but, I can't!" he cried. "I can't go! I haven't been to college yet! I have so much to live for! For God's sake, don't do this to me!"

"I'm sorry, mortal. What's done is done," he replied, shaking his head.

"Then--! Then--!" he grunted, desperate to find a loophole. "I won't go! See, my body's still there! See?! See?! I can just reattach myself onto it!"

"I'm afraid that is not possible, mortal..."

"Of course, it's possible! It can't get any more than possi--!"

"Whoa! Easy, now!" said a voice near his side. "Careful..."

He turned and saw two medics place Joshua's dead body on a stretcher. As soon as the stretcher rolled away, it revealed Connor's corpse, mangled, crushed, and crunched while everything above the bottom edge of his ribcage was still intact other than the blood that had erupted out of the husk's mouth.

"Ohhh, shit..." Joshua mumbled in utter shock.

The owner of the body instantly fell to the ground, vomiting a maelstrom. However, nothing came out since his soul no longer had a stomach. When he was finished, he tipped back onto his rear, blinking through the tears forced into his eyes from the retching.

"Unless, you'd like to return as a horribly disfigured paraplegic without anything underneath from the chest down, by all means, reattach yourself," the tall figure said. "You wouldn't last long even if you did."

Connor stood up, wiping the tears and drool off of his face. He clenched his fists tightly.

"Fine..." he mumbled. "So be it. I can take a hint."

He turned back to the tall, black, deathly figure and lifted both of his wrists in front of him.

"Go ahead," he muttered. "Take me. Escort me into the afterlife."

However, he felt nothing wrap around his wrists. Not the cold, thin flesh of the Reaper, not some steel shackles, nor a word of command to follow. The Reaper stood silently, blankly staring at the pitiful human in front of him with his concealed face.

"Well?" the human said. "Aren't you going to take me? Isn't it your job to take souls and escort them to the afterlife?"

"Indeed..." he blankly replied.

"Then, why are you just standing there?" he asked irritably. "I'm accepting my fate here!"

Joshua could only stand and watch helplessly as he saw his friend willingly submit himself to the supernatural being.

Then, Death simply stepped back and leaned casually against the wrecked car that had skidded in the middle of the street. He folded both of his thin hands together while still holding a grip on his scythe, using it as a leaning post.

The two teenaged souls glanced at each other in confusion. Only one of them was feeling a little more irritated than the other.

"What are you doing just sitting there?" Connor asked. "You're the Grim Reaper! Death! You're supposed to escort me to the afterlife, so I can go to either Heaven or Hell!"

"Tell me something I don't know, mortal..." he replied cooly

The human stomped his foot firmly on the ground, losing his grip at the end of his rope.

"Stop fooling around with me!" he snapped. "I'm not in the mood for joking around, all right? Either you take me or not! Which one??"

"Neither."

"Then, what the hell is the point of you being here?"

"Just keeping you company," he replied simply. The bottom of his cloak shifted as if he was crossing his legs underneath them in a very casual and carefree manner.

"Ohhhhhhhhkayyyyy? And just why are you doing that?" he quizzed with a severe, quizzical wince.

"Until the next step of your life arrives..."

"You are the next step of life! What is this, Screwing Around with Dead People Day? Stop acting so coy and stupid!"

The black hood suddenly sharply turned to look at the irritated human, which had immediately silenced him. He had no idea what kind of intimidating or ill-meaning expression loomed in the blank, shaded face of the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse. It overwhelmed his mind with numerous nervous and frightened thoughts of what kind of dirt the supernatural being was going to do to him. Never insult a supernatural being wielding a sharp weapon.

Then the Reaper looked away, shaking his heavy head.

"Of course you wouldn't know what's really going on. You don't know her true intention."

"Wait... Who's intention? What are you talking about?"

"First, let me just say that you surprise me, mortal," he spoke, comfortably adjusting his grip on his scythe. "In my lifetime, I had come across many souls I had to carry away. They were interesting, but only a few of them were able to interest me the most. You, on the other hand, so far, seemed to blow them all away. Getting struck by a lightning bolt shot by some little, purple unicorn living in a world millions of miles away and get teleported back there to walk among the likes of her; that is most bizarre, I have to admit."

"You--," Connor stuttered. "You know about that?"

"Wait, what?" Joshua flinched in surprise. "Ponies? What about ponies?"

"Yes. I've been watching you," the dark figure replied. "Also, while you were there, you managed to befriend them after saving their lives from certain peril. After that, you grew on them and they accepted you as their own apologetically after a period of despise and prejudice toward you. That was very interesting, mortal, enough to impress even me. Bravo, Connor Powell. Bravo..."

"Oh, my God..." the blonde teenager gasped. "So all of that pony shit you were joking about all of this time was real??"

"Yes! I wasn't even joking around! I was telling the truth, but you didn't believe me," he responded.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that any of it was real at first mention??"

"There's no need to fret about it, Joshua. Doubt is only natural," Death shrugged cooly. "Peter doubted that Christ was our Father's son, Thomas doubted that Christ was resurrected from the grave; you are not the first. But, alas, like both Peter and Thomas, you now see the truth before you. Now, do you believe?"

Joshua staggered back a few inches and clasped his scalp with both palms, looking perplexed as if he had just walked off a boat that rocked violently in the ocean.

"This... This is all too crazy," he muttered. "This is heavy. So that's why you were gone for so long. That's why you seemed like a prodigy in making friends..."

Connor nodded, which only made his friend even more stunned.

"Holy shit..." he quietly exclaimed.

The spirit turned back to face Connor. "You've been rewarded, mortal, with a second chance at life, because of the princess' feelings for you."

"Feelings?"

"You did so much for her subjects, helping them change from their judgmental selves and saving her life as well as the town's. That is why she gave you that mark that resides on your chest."

"Mark?" the two humans said in unison.

Connor lifted his shirt to look at the marking of Equestria's Sun, still in mint condition and rich in black value.

"What about it?" he asked.

"That is no mere tattoo or decoration she gave you. It's a mark containing a spell. You've been enchanted."

"What kind of spell is it? What is it supposed to--AGH!"

Suddenly, his chest burned like boiling water had been dripped onto it. Then, he felt it tingling much like when he first acquired it. An illuminating, bright, yellow light shone from it, shooting out from him like a spotlight.

"Ah, I see the spell finally starting to take its toll," the Reaper stated, lifting himself off from the car he was leaning on.

"What kind of spell? What is it supposed to do? You still haven't told me!" he hastily pleaded.

"I'm afraid I don't have the time left to tell you, Connor Powell. You'll just have to talk about it with her," he replied, walking over to Joshua. "Come along, young one. We must reattach you to your body before you're officially proclaimed dead."

The light from the marking began to whine louder as the magic powered up to activate the spell.

"No! Wait! Joshua!!" he shouted over the squealing noise. "WAIIIIIT!"

The last thing he saw before he was yanked into a swirling portal was Joshua's face looking back at him, filled with disbelief, sadness, and helplessness.

A full tea cup was lifted from a lustrous, chrome platter, which had a small, brass tray of sugar cubes, a brass teapot, and a small china beaker of cream on it as well. It levitated up to a pair of white lips, which delicately and gently pursed along the edge of it before the cup tipped to pour the hot liquid through the opening. Once it had poured a small amount into the opening, the lips released from the edge, smiling. A long, content hum sounded from behind them.

"Excellent tea," Princess Celestia hummed contently before placing it gently back onto the tray. "And such a wonderful day, too."

She looked out the window in her throne room to gaze at the aquamarine sky. The clouds were stout and plump and the rock of the mountain glimmered brightly in the sun.

She looked down near the side of her throne to gaze upon a small frame that sat next to her. After being engulfed by a golden-yellow aura of sparkling magic, it levitated up in front of her face. She smiled back at the image of the smiling Six Elements of Harmony. After placing it back in its proper place, she lifted another frame up in front of her face.

The six ponies and Spike were huddled together along with a certain non-equine creature who had left a couple of years ago. Seeing his smile made her smile back, only with a little more pink residing in her cheeks.

"Cutie," she giggled. "He called me 'hot' and 'young'. And also managed to change all of us ethically..."

She pressed the frame onto her chest.

"Someday, you will come back to us..." she said softly. "Someday..."

Suddenly, a purple light emitted from the space between the picture and her body. Surprised, she removed the frame from her chest to glance at her neckpiece. The purple gem that was imprinted in the exact middle of it was glowing.

Her eyes suddenly grew wide.

She trotted up to the window to look at the sun, which glowed brighter before it suddenly glowed back to normal power again.

She turned back to the throne room, staring blankly in front of her in utter surprise.

"He... He's back."

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

The moment I started to rewrite this chapter, I immediately thought, "Hell, where do I start? I might as well delete the whole freaking chapter."

...And I did... :I