Hey guys, this is my first FanFic, but I'm sure you'll like it.

It was your average Friday night, my marching band buddies and I walking to our respective houses after a home team win. Tired, my "twin" (merely because we have the same name) Evan and his girlfriend Alexis were chatting about weekend plans. I glanced at them, feeling happy they had each other, but saddened at the same time. I had once had a thing for Alexis, yet it never worked. By them, it was Elizabeth and her lover, Allen. I once had a petty rivalry with Allen, but we had set aside our differences and tolerated being in the presence of one another. I looked at my small group of friends with a small smile, remembering the year that brought us all together.

Lost in my memories, I nearly missed the alley shortcut towards my house. I readjusted the grip on my saxophone, said my goodbyes, and started towards the dark space between the fences.

"Wait", I heard someone say. Turning around, I saw Alexis walking towards me, a look of concern and worry on her face. She glanced at the shadowy path. "Are you sure you want to go that way? It looks dangerous." She asked.

I barked a small laugh. "I survived suicide and the therapy afterwards. Do you really think anything in that alley could hurt me?" I replied.

"I guess you're right." She touched me on the shoulder. "Be careful, all right?" She said with a weak smile. I just waved over my shoulder and entered the gloom of the alleyway.

About halfway through, I heard the slightest noise. On my guard, I continued walking, eyes moving constantly. Suddenly, a figure glided out of the darkness ahead of me, blocking my path. I simply stopped, put down my instrument, and waited for him to talk first.

"Nice case you're carryin'. Anything worth cash?" inquired a gruff voice. Now that he had stepped out of the shadows, I saw that he was an imposing man, a good six inches taller than me. He had a wide build, broad chest and shoulders supporting a meaty neck.

"Yes, but I'm not looking to sell," I replied sarcastically. He chuckled, and looked me up and down, as if considering if I were a threat or not. I was six feet tall, yet incredibly scrawny. Despite that, I had thick shoulders and strong legs from marching. I had a nice buttonup shirt on, and my signature jeans. I was nothing the brute couldn't handle.

He grinned a sinister smile. "I ain't looking to buy. Just to… Take." He lunged at me, a knife appearing out of nowhere in his hands. He jabbed towards my stomach, looking to end this quickly.

Amusement twinkled in my eyes. He had underestimated me. I quickly dodged to the side and elbowed him in the back of the neck. He fell to the ground, stunned. Still facing him, I picked up my saxophone. Out of the blue, I felt a blade slip between my ribs from behind. Despite the pain, the smirk on my face was still there. He was smarter than he looked, smart enough to bring backup. I turned my head. In this horrific situation, sarcasm still laced my voice. "You know, that wasn't very nice… That'll leave an ugly stain on my nice shirt"

Then all was black.

I woke up in a hospital bed, a splitting pain in my back, close to my spine. The white ceiling stared at me blankly while I recalled the events of the night of the attack. A sudden burst of sound pulled me back to the present; I looked towards the sound to see Alexis, Evan, and Elizabeth almost trip over each other trying to get through the door. They had relief and sadness on their faces, and Alexis hugged me as I was lying down. I winced.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Evan. Err… I mean, Aster. Did I hurt you?" She said, concerned. I blinked. She had used my middle name. I had told people to use it to keep me and Evan from getting confused, but Alexis had always called me by my first name, in spite of all the pleading and confusion based headaches I had gotten. What had changed after I was attacked?

"I-I'm fine," I lied. "It's just a knife to the chest. A scratch."

"Do you know how long you were out?" She asked

I thought about the question for a moment. "It couldn't have been more than a night or two," I replied.

"Wrong. A week and a half," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

My eyes widened in shock. "A week and a half? You're joking." She simply shook her head. "Damn. Missed a performance," I said with my trademark smirk.

Evan and Elizabeth chuckled, and Alexis had a face of appalled shock. The room fell silent when she practically screamed at me.

"I was worried SICK about your ass! You took a knife to a vital organ, you realize that? And all you can do is JOKE about a marching band performance!" Tears were streaming down her face now. She fell to a softer tone. "I'm… I'm sorry, Aster." She did it again. Something must be wrong. "I want to point something out to you. If you want to live, it'll be in this bed. For the rest of your life." I was shocked. "You see this?" She made a weak gesture to an ensemble of medical instruments that I hadn't noticed before. "The only reason you're alive right now is because you're on life support. You are extremely lucky you can have a stable thought process as of this moment."

I looked around the room. Alexis looked plain out exhausted. Evan's face was crestfallen, dark and grim. Elizabeth sat in a chair, face in her hands, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. "Hey," I said quietly. Everyone looked at me. "Come here, you guys." They gathered around me. I painfully reached up and hugged all of them at once. Sitting back, gasping, I said, "Now, I have something to tell all of you."

They showed an interest in what I had to say, and leaned closer. "Evan." He looked at me. "Do you remember that Beethoven piece we played in eighth grade, Allegretto?" He nodded. "Play that at my funeral." He stood up in shock.

"Elizabeth." She looked at me, grief evident in her eyes. "Allen will treat you right, I know it. And if he doesn't, then I'll haunt that bastard's ass." She stood back, grateful for my words.

"Ah, Alexis. My words for you are quite special." She leaned in, intrigued. I took that opportunity to kiss her, for my first and last time. Her eyes widened in surprise. After a moment, I finally broke the contact. "You know I've always loved you. Evan is a better man than me, so I respect your choice." She simply stared at me.

"Aster-" She started, but I cut her off.

"If you truly love me, Alexis, even as nothing more than a friend, you'll do me one last favor: Pull the plug." She shot up, eyes like plates. She opened her mouth. "NO! Alexis, not one thing you can say will change my mind. I can't burden you with living like this. Do me this last favor. But before you do, I must tell you where you can find me." I addressed all three friends at the same time. "You all remember the fateful eighth grade year which brought us together. And I gained a new interest during that year. A slightly stranger one. If you don't find me in hell, then you'll find me in the land of that interest." I looked at Alexis. "Do it now." One simple sentence. As I lie down for the last time, Alexis pulled the plug from the wall, fresh tears wetting her cheeks.

POV change: Third person after Evan (Aster) dies.

The three friends sat together mourning Aster's death. In a sudden realization, Evan shot up from his chair. The two girls looked at him curiously. "I know where he went." He said, his voice soft. The girls eyed him again. He stared at them.

"Equestria."