For a while, it seemed like you were dead. The only reason you knew what being partially dead was like was because of your encounter with the changelings several months back. This time, however, instead of feeling a void in your chest where the changeling nearly pierced your heart, there was an intense pressure in your head that felt similar to having sinus congestion times one thousand.

Gravity was nonexistent. There was no way to tell where was up and where was down. Strangely enough, you were still somehow aware of yourself. Rather, you were semi-conscious enough to recognize the blackness and spacelessness of your surroundings. Slowly, thoughts began to return to you

"Nngh... Am... Am I dead?" You didn't say, but thought quite loudly.

The black void seemed to thin out and give way to a dull light that came first from in front of you and then spread all over. It wasn't bright, but it was most definitely a change from the pitch black before.

Then, something even stranger happened. You heard somepony... Laughing? It seemed hard to believe that you weren't the only pony in this expanse but you knew what you heard. It was a deep hearty chuckle coming from all directions and it sounded like it was from somepony very old.

The dull light grew brighter and brighter until it became as white as Vinyl's fur. Your eyes didn't squint because you weren't technically using them. Slowly but surely, you felt gravity return and your hooves eventually touched the floor of whatever sort of room you were in.

"Such a peculiar set of circumstances... That we meet at this place and time... Alex."

Your heart sank in your chest and fear gripped you. The voice was bold and deep and you were convinced that you were about to meet some sort of Equestrian god that would judge your good and bad deeds and then send you to pony hell.

"H- Hello? Where am I? Who are you?" It wasn't until you actually tried that you noticed that you were able to look around with your head and speak. The only object in the "room" that gave you heading of left or right was the silhouette of a pony directly in front of you.

"I believe you already know who I am. Although, you do not know that my voice belongs to him."

"What...?" You had to admit it was one of the most uncouth things you could've said in response.

The pony's shadow grew larger as it approached you.

"I have several names. Many call me the master of magic, keeper of lore, mentor to the crown..."

His shape finally took more definition and you were able to see a long beard attached to... Whoever you were talking to. A pointy wizard hat sat on his head and a rather majestic looking cloak trailed behind him. His horn stuck out right below the line of his hat and a small pair of reading glasses rested on his nose. If there was a god, he definitely fit the persona minus the silly wizard hat.

"You might know me better as Starswirl the Bearded."

Your eyes widened, or at least they felt like they did, and you took one or two steps back once he got within touching distance of you.

"S- Sta..."

He chuckled again. "Calm yourself, my child. I only mean to converse."

It took you a few moments to come to the realization that you were speaking to one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. However, you still couldn't understand where you were or why he was here.

"Wait... Aren't you supposed to be dead? Hold on. If you're dead, then..." You frantically touched yourself with your hooves.

He put a hoof on your shoulder and smiled.

"You are neither dead nor living, young one. As for where we are..." He paused and looked around. "Come. Walk with me."

You did so obediently and caught up to his side, still looking up at him and taking in who he really was. You had only heard stories about him from Twilight and the other princesses but to see him in person filled you with awe and made you feel extremely nervous.

"Are you aware of how the brain functions after the heart stops?" He asked while keeping his eyes forward.

"Well... No, not really... Why?"

"It is said that the brain functions for approximately seven minutes after the body dies."

You gulped. "So... I am dead?"

"Hm. That much remains to be seen." His old raspy voice answered and then sighed. "Mors moss... Such a tragic and vile poison. Did you know that my great uncle also died from it as well?"

"I... Don't really know much about you other than the fact that you're a great wizard, to be honest..."

"For that, I cannot quite blame you. Many texts that describe my deeds have long since been forgotten or destroyed. It seems that the only thing keeping me alive is the faint memory passed down from one interested soul to another. I suppose I have your friend Twilight Sparkle to thank for that."

You kept silent and continued walking as he used his magic, almost the same color as Celestia's, to remove his hat and tie it around his back. More of his long silver mane fell down.

"We are inside of your own mind, Alex." He digressed. "But, do not fret. I am not just a figment of your imagination. I am very real. Through my extensive study of the magical arts, I was able to create an incantation that allowed the blood of my ancestors communicate with me in dire times of need. That is why you see me here now."

Your head was still swirling to try and figure out what was going on as he continued.

"From Twilight Sparkle's studies, as well as your own, you have learned that I am much like yourself. Princess Celestia brought me to this world of Equestria when I was about your age. I have seen many other beings from Earth come and go ever since. However, you are the first of my kin to return here."

Your ears perked up. "So am I really related to you?"

"Yes."

"But... How? My mom and dad... They-"

"They do not know of my lineage because I wished them not to." He sounded a bit agitated as if he was remembering something about them, but he left his response at that and dropped the subject.

It seemed like you had been walking for ages, but your legs weren't getting sore. You decided not to ask any more questions so that he could explain more.

"I must say that I am impressed, child. Not many who call themselves my kin are able to learn the spells that you have in such short a time. In particular, I must compliment you on your anti-magic spell. It took me decades to master it, but you were able to cancel Princess Celestia's magic after such little training.

He laughed and looked down at you with pride in his eyes. "I'm quite certain you must have given her quite a surprise!"

"I guess... Heheh..." It certainly seemed silly now, but you were sure that you'd get a royal scolding if you made it out alive.

A few moments of silence went by and the only sound you could hear was the *clop* of two sets of hooves.

"Now, I have a question for you if you don't mind."

"Oh, uh... Sure."

"Why did you cast that spell against Celestia?"

You briefly recalled what happened in that short amount of time and thought of the most reasonable answer you could think of.

"I guess it was because she was in the way of me saving Vinyl."

"Exactly!" He sounded like a teacher that was overly happy with a student getting a hard question on a test correct. "You didn't cancel her magic just for the sake of it, you did it for love."

You couldn't tell if you were blushing or not but your face certainly felt flushed.

"Yeah- I mean... Yes, sir. I guess..."

You only noticed it at that moment because you were either looking down at your hooves or up at Starswirl the entire time, but you began to see some object in the distance that was set apart from the vast whiteness around you.

"If you remember your stories, you know that my... Scope... Was limited because I did not understand the true power of friendship or love."

"I think I remember hearing something along those lines."

"But you, my kin, have succeeded where I have failed. Do you recall under what circumstances your magical ability was at its greatest?"

You tried to remember, but he followed up shortly which suggested that it was rhetorical.

"When Vinyl Scratch, your companion, taught you how to use levitation? You were able to learn quickly by envisioning saving her from a fall, correct?"

You nodded and kept walking. The object in the distance was starting to get closer, but it was still unrecognizable from anything you had seen before.

"In addition, you were able to cancel the magic of the most powerful princess in Equestria because you were desperate to save Vinyl. It was your love that caused your magical ability to grow tenfold!"

He closed his eyes momentarily and sighed, his excitement vanishing. "I only wish I could have understood love like you do. I could have done so much more..."

The thing in the distance started to resemble a floating heart and Starswirl led you closer to it.

"Do you understand, young one?"

"I think so... I guess that's why I was able to learn all these spells so quickly. I thought it was just because my horn was special."

He smiled. "No, Alex. Even an alicorn's horn loses its potency when love is taken out of the equation. It isn't what the horn is made out of that determines the strength of one’s magic. What determines the strength of one’s magic is where it comes from. I was convinced in my years that the most important source of magic was the mind. However, as you have directly experienced, when magic comes from the heart, nothing on Earth or Equestria can stop you. I learned this lesson thanks to you..."

He gestured towards the floating heart in front of you. "As well as her. I believe you know who this is?"

"Is that the crystal heart? But, I thought it was in-"

"Again, this is only a manifestation of the real world in your mind, not the physicality."

"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Alex." A beautiful angelic womanly voice sounded in your mind. The heart pulsed with a white light with each syllable it made.

"Whoa... You can talk?"

"Only to those who might listen. You called upon me before your recent actions, if you remember." The voice seemed to have the power to soothe your worries away just by speaking. "I trusted Princess Cadence in her decision to fuse part of myself with your magic. I'm afraid I must apologize for not believing in you at first, but you have most certainly proven yourself."

"When I first came into your mind, Alex, I discovered that I was not the only being here." Starswirl explained.

"The crystal heart was here before you were? When exactly did you get here, then?"

"I was able to reside here once you received your cutie mark. Although, the circumstances in which you received it were quite... Unexpected."

"Wait... I thought you said you could come to me in times of need because of my blood line. Now you're saying it's because of my cutie mark?"

"I first had to make sure that you were worthy of holding such a burden." He spoke down to you.

You had no idea what it meant, but you had more important things to ask.

"So then... When did you get here?" You looked at the heart.

It seemed amused by your question. "I have resided in your mind and in your heart ever since you stepped foot in this world. The gift given by Princess Cadence helped me further connect with you, but I have been here nonetheless."

Suddenly, the white area around you darkened for a moment and tiny veins of black spread all around before retracting. It was almost as if it were a throbbing, living being.

"Our time is short, young one. Listen to my words carefully. I was able to absorb the poison you extracted from your lover because I sensed that true love drove your motivation, but it is still too powerful for me to keep at bay alone. If we do not do something, the poison will spread further. We can help, but you are the central determinant of whether you live or die this day."

Your heart began to race from the sudden urgency, but you tried your best to pay attention.

"What do I have to do?!" You said as the ceiling throbbed black once more.

"Believe in us. Starswirl is the manifestation of your magical talent and I, the manifestation of your undying love. You must concentrate on combining our powers together to contain this disease."

At that moment, a beam of red energy flowed from the crystal heart and connected with Starswirl who was also meeting the energy with his yellow aura of magic.

"Alex, you may not realize it, but you have taught me a great lesson in combining magic with the power of love." Starswirl raised his voice as he concentrated his magic. "I do not have the time to properly thank you for this other than to use all of the magic I have at my disposal to help save your life. Perhaps one day I will be able to repay you somehow, but that day cannot be today."

"You empowered me by selflessly saving your companion and you have also empowered Starswirl by means of direct ancestry." The heart sounded more desperate now. "If we combine our strengths, we may be able to purify the poison coursing through your veins!"

The ceiling throbbed again, harder this time.

"Quickly! Close your eyes! Concentrate on the power that can truly come by combining the power of magic with true love!"

You didn't know what exactly to think about, so you followed her command and shut your eyes, focusing on how easily your spells worked in the past while thinking of Vinyl since it was the closest representation of what she was talking about.

Everything began to darken as more black pulses sounded.

"What’s gonna happen?! Will I ever see you two again?!"

"Keep a pure heart and a steady mind, Alex! You will see us in those things that you hold most dear!" The heart nearly yelled. "Concentrate! The evil is nearly purged!"

Ignoring the fact that what she said was extremely vague, you thought more about Vinyl and how your levitation spell worked when you thought of saving her. It was the best thing you could think of that had anything to do with combining love with magic. You felt your horn burn as the whirring of the two colliding beams from Starswirl and the crystal heart became louder.

"What the- What's happening?!"

"I don't know, but the poison's retracting! Disconnect the I.V.!"

The white world around you collapsed in on itself and your head spun terribly. The first feeling you had was a terrible pain in your forehead which was followed by the sharp pinch of a needle being taken out of one of your legs.

Once your sense came around and you felt the soft sheets of the hospital bed beneath you, you began to hear two voice yelling instructions to each other that didn't make any sense to you at the time.

"Well... Done..." A different yet somehow clearer set of voices rang in your ears before you gathered the strength to open your eyes.

White light from the bulbs overhead stung your eyes and you quickly closed them again. Your teeth gritted together and a grunt sounded in your throat.

"What?! He's awake?! Alex, can you hear me?!" You peeked through one of your eyes once a dark figure blocked the light from them.

It was the doctor that was working on Vinyl, but his eyes looked baggy and tired.

"Alex! Nurse Redheart, pull out those damn I.V.s!"

"Y- Yes, sir!"

Another set of stings came from your chest and another one of your legs.

"Hey, can you hear me?" The doctor’s tone calmed somewhat.

You groaned again. It was like waking up from a two hour nap after drinking an entire bottle of liquor. You managed to mutter "Huh?" lazily.

"Sweet Celestia, I can't believe it! He's awake!"

Several sets of hooves clopped against the floor and you closed your eyes again before passing out.

When you awoke a second time, it wasn't nearly as chaotic and painful as before. Soft *beep*s came from the nearby machines every couple of seconds, but that was the only sound you could hear. You moved your head slowly and noticed that there was an oxygen mask attached to your muzzle. The lights had dimmed from the last time you saw them which helped you open your eyes a bit wider than you could before.

It was early in the morning and you knew as much because there was a rich orange light filtering through the closed blinds from the window to your right. When you listened closely, you could hear songbirds singing right outside as they heralded the coming of day.

"Nngh..." You groaned and lifted a hoof to pull off the mask. Surprisingly, the pain that came up when doing so wasn't too unbearable.

As you woke up and gained more and more of your consciousness, you distinguished a second set of *beep*s coming from your left. You didn't have the energy yet to turn your head and look, though.

The mask came off rather easily and you smelled the sterilized hospital air. Your eyes moved around the room but your vision was still somewhat blurry.

You took the gamble and tried turning your head to your left to see where the other *beep*s were coming from. Your neck was stiff but other than that, there was little to no pain.

As you suspected, there was another bed next to you with machines next to it. The blue highlighter mane sticking out beneath the sheets led you to believe that it was Vinyl. There was another pony lounging in a chair near the bed which you instantly recognized as her dad.

"H- Hey..." You managed to speak softly to try and get either of them to notice.

They were both too asleep to hear you, though.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." A familiar voice came from your right.

You turned your head around slowly to see Octavia sitting next to your bed. She had a gentle smile on her as she looked down at you.

"Oh... Hey." You tried to move your body a little and even though it didn't hurt much, most of it was extremely achy and sore.

You were curious as to what happened while you were out but you were more concerned about Vinyl.

"Is she okay?" You laid your head back on the pillow and closed your eyes.

"She still needs some rest, but whatever you did took all the poison out of her. The doctors are still trying to figure out how it didn't kill you instead."

"Heh... Long story..."

"What? So, you know?"

"Sorta... I think. I'll explain later. Nngh..." Your head was still throbbing with pain and every time you tried to remember what you saw while you were out, it got worse.

"Shh..." She put a hoof on your head and stroked your mane. "Sorry... I shouldn't make you talk. You need to rest, Alex."

You exhaled deeply and tried to relax.

"So what happened while I was out?"

"Well..." She pulled back the memory. "I didn't quite make it here in time to see it for myself since I was somewhat busy at Cloud Chaser's house... I had to pry it out of the doctors."

She continued. "When I got here, both of you were in hospital beds and it was rather chaotic. They wouldn't let me come in, but they told me the details as the night progressed. According to them, after you absorbed the poison with your horn, they... Had to remove it to stop the poison from spreading further..." She said with disappointment and sadness in her tone.

You touched your hoof to your forehead and confirmed her assertion. Your horn was gone and all you felt was a tiny hard spot where it used to be that was covered with several bandages.

You kept an even set of breaths and listened, trying not to get worked up over it.

"Vinyl woke up shortly after and "freaked out", as she might say."

She stopped and you opened your eyes to see that she was starting to look troubled.

"What?"

"They said that... You died. Your heart stopped beating for almost a whole minute but... Something happened..."

You figured that she would explain without you interjecting so you stayed silent.

"According to them, the poison just vanished halfway through the night and you woke up, just like that."

"Alex?!" Vinyl's dad finally woke up and noticed that you were awake. He immediately yet quietly got out of his chair and approached you, careful to not wake up his daughter.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"My head just hurts, other than that I'm pretty much sore all over. I guess I could've been worse if what y'all say is true."

"You bet your bottom bit... I thought you were dead..." It warmed your heart how much Scribble Scratch seemed to care about you.

"How's Vinyl?" You asked after glancing over at her again.

"She's just fine thanks to you. Oh! I should wake her up. She'll want to know you're okay." Scribble turned away and leaned over her.

"No, no. I don't want to-"

"Hey... Sweetie? Hey... Wake up." He shook her shoulder gently and whispered into her ear.

You figured it was too late to protest; you wanted her to rest but at the same time, you had to agree with him. If you were asleep and your dream mare was in critical condition, you'd want to know right away if she was okay.

The bed sheets rustled and Vinyl let out a groan as she woke up.

"Ugh... What, dad?" She asked, appearing somewhat annoyed.

"Alex is awake!" He said softly.

"W- What?" It was obvious that her mind was still muddled from recently waking up.

She moved herself around and rolled over to face towards you. The orange sunlight illuminated her brilliant red eyes and made them ten times more beautiful than they already were.

"Hey, angel." You smiled weakly and coughed.

Her first instinct was to get up from the bed and come over to you, but her dad held her back.

"Alex! Oh my god, are you okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. My head just hurts a little."

"Maybe we should... Let them have a moment?" Octavia interjected and gestured at Scribble.

"Oh, uh. Sure."

Vinyl didn't wait for them to leave before bombarding you with questions.

"Why the buck did you do that?! What were you thinking?!"

"I-" You waited to explain until the other two closed the door behind them.

"I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Yeah, but... I didn't think you meant doing that! Ugh, hold on."

Vinyl got out of bed out of frustration and disconnected the single I.V. that was resupplying her with fluids. She groaned as her hooves touched the floor and her weight came down on them but it didn't seem to bother her that much once she walked over to your bed.

"No one knew where that damned courier was so I just reacted. I... I guess me wanting to save you got the better of me."

You scootched over in your bed to make room for Vinyl who was determined to climb in with you. There weren't many things attached to you but thankfully, the things that were weren't in her way. Her soft fur warmed you and you immediately pulled her close to you. It almost made you tear up feeling her heartbeat again after almost being convinced that you'd never experience it again.

"You bucking idiot..." She squeezed you tight and sobbed slightly. Her face was buried in your chest.

"You know you would've done the same for me." You smiled and stroked her mane, closing your eyes and enjoying the feeling of her being so close to you.

"Yeah, but..." Vinyl's tears dampened the fur on your chest. "If you died... I... I dunno..."

You couldn't help but smile at the irony. "I was thinking the same thing when I decided to do what I did."

Vinyl didn't respond. She instead sobbed a bit more, happy that you were still alive.

"Y- You didn't have to..." She sniffed as she got more emotional. "Do that for me..."

A single tear rolled down your cheek and you smiled wide.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself-"

You were about to explain more about how you felt but Vinyl broke down in tears and cried heavily into your fur. You bit your lip hard to keep from doing the same and tucked her head under your chin, wrapping your legs around her to let her know that she was safe and that you were okay.

"I- I..." She stuttered between her sharp inhales and crying. "I thought you were dead..."

"I'm sorry I made you worry..." Your lip quivered out of emotional instability. "I'm here now. I'm okay..."

You rubbed her back reassuringly and her crying started to dry up. Several warm fuzzy emotional moments went by as the two of you held each other tight and bonded. She finally lifted her head and planted the most romantic kiss you ever received right on your lips. You took a large inhale from your nostrils and kissed her back, your heart nearly exploding from how happy you were.

"I love you, babe... I- I'm so sorry..." She pulled back and returned to nuzzling her cheeks against your chest.

"Don't apologize. You didn't know what was going on. But... Why did you go to the Everfree Forest? You never told anyone..."

Her eyes opened slightly and stared into your fur. "I guess... When we were arguing a week or so ago, I got really mad and stormed out..."

You chuckled lightly. "Yeah. I remember that."

"I wasn't thinking straight... I guess I stormed off and walked around in the middle of nowhere and wound up there."

Your happy mood went away a tiny amount when you put together the pieces and realized that her illness was partially caused by you.

"Why didn't you tell everypony sooner?"

She sighed. "Because if... If I didn't make it, I didn't want you to think that it was your fault." Her hoof covered your mouth softly before you could respond. "It's not your fault, Alex. Please don't blame yourself for me being stupid..."

You paused and thought about what to say, but nothing you could think of was really worth saying at the time.

"Whatever... I'm just glad you're okay..."

You kissed her forehead and enjoyed the smell of her mane while she kept her head tucked under her chin. It was obvious that she was still sleepy and you knew that she would doze off in your grasp at any moment.

"Hey... I know this is a bad time, but... I really don't wanna wait any longer."

"Hm?" She mumbled and kept her eyes closed.

"Well... Remember the other half of your present that I was gonna give you last night?"

"Mhmm..." She nuzzled herself against you, loving the warmth of your body.

"Um..." You blushed and tried to muster the courage to ask. "I've already asked your dad and he thought it was okay... So..."

Vinyl's eyes opened and looked up at you drowsily. "What, babe?"

You hesitated and your eyes darted left and right out of embarrassment. Eventually, you took a deep breath and summoned the courage to ask her while looking her right in the eye.

"Will you... Marry me?"

Author's Notes:

If there are any grammatical or spelling errors, please send me a PRIVATE MESSAGE and let me know so that I can fix them asap. Thanks for reading! <3