Second Wind

"Good God! It is DUMPING out there!" You exclaim. You walk over to the counter, and set down your keys. Rarity is inside of her sewing room, wearing her work glasses, carefully stitching together a special order.

"Really darling? Dumping?" She calls.

"I'll think of something better next time, promise." You pick your phone up from the couch. You liked how the battery wasn't draining at all. It spooked you, but it was nice not having to charge it. You click in the central button, making the screen illuminate itself. It's only 1 PM.

"Hey, honey? Not to sound rude, but I'm kinda bored." Rarity doesn't look up from her sewing machine.

"Well darling, Pinkie Pie has been dying for you to teach her some of the baking you spoke of, the kind from your home? It IS raining outside, so I don't foresee it being very busy at the Sugarcube Corner. Just make sure you come back by 6, my parents are bringing Sweetie Belle over, and I'm baking a pizza for dinner. You smile. Although the pizza didn't have any meat on it, it certainly wasn't any less greasy than what you were accustomed to.

"You aren't gonna come with me?"

"Sorry darling, but I must finish this order. I also have to get the pizza prepared here soon." You walk inside, and gently kiss her forehead, not interrupting her work or concentration.

"Alright. But I'm bringing back dessert." You take advantage of the fact that she's busy, find a sticky note, quickly scribble a crude heart on it, and stick it to the wall by the oven. You pick up your backpack filled with candy by the door, thinking that Pinkie Pie would like to try some. You decide to take an umbrella this time, to avoid getting completely soaked. It's kind of funny, how beautiful the town was, even when it was raining.

Something about Equestria made you feel amazing. You had thought a lot about it, and this was your theory: Your childhood died on Earth when your imagination dwindled. Once you had became more knowledgeable, and started to see for yourself what exactly was possible, and what was impossible in the world, your childhood, your imagination, they took a fatal blow. You used to be able to just wander the streets of Manhattan, with no purpose, no aim, but because of your imagination, you would have the time of your life. Who knew what kind of mysteries the streets held? Maybe that building was haunted, or maybe super heroes met in that building. Now, you hated being on the streets. You just wanted to get to where you were going. But here, in Equestria, things are so completely different. You have yet to see anything that is impossible in this world. A sense of mystery and whimsy wash over you just thinking about it. Here, your imagination flourishes. You enjoy life in a way that you haven't enjoyed in a very long time.

While you are in philosopher mode, you almost walk past the Sugarcube Corner. You walk in, and place your umbrella in the tall bucket they had sitting out for wet umbrellas. Pinkie Pie sees you, and leaps back up onto the counter.

I got you this time.

She leaps off, but rather than tackle you to the ground, you catch her.

"AADEN!" She squeals. You sit her down, and she bounces up and down with excitement.

"Rarity is busy today, so I thought I'd show you what I know about baking!" Pinkie Pie squeals again, and leads you into the back. She starts to gather various bowls and tools while you set down your backpack. You fish out one of each candy bar you had in your backpack, and set them along the table.

"Hey, Pinkie, come here a moment." She happily hops over to you.

"Yeah Aaden? Ooooh, what are those?"

"These are various candies from where I come from. I like them quite a bit, and so does Rarity and Sweetie Belle. I was thinking, maybe I could share them with you, and we could try to replicate them!" Her pupils dilate, her voice becomes eerily quiet.

"That...is...candy. From your world. And you wanna share it. With me?"

"Well, yeah! It would be great if we cou-" You are cut off by the most ear piercing screech you have ever heard anything emit. It sounded like a jet taking off right next to you. Pinkie takes a deep breath, preparing for what you think is going to be another screech, but to your surprise, she just mutters quickly and quietly.

"letsdothis" She pulls up a chair, sits in it, and pulls out a stack of paper and a pencil. She starts with the bar labeled "Three Musketeers". She unwraps it between her hooves, and takes a bite out of it.

"hmm..." She hums while chewing. She quickly scribbles down something while chewing. "Kit-Kat", "Hershey's", "Reese's", "Crunch", she plows through all of the candy bars, scribbling down something after a bite of each candy bar. She taps her pencil on her lips.

"Aaden, do you have another of the yellow ones?"

"The Butterfingers? Yeah, I do. Why, do you need more notes?" She smiles.

"No, I just really like that one." You laugh, and hand her another bar. She unwraps it, and begins eating it, and talking with her mouth full.

"Sho, what I'm sheeing here, ish that mosht of these contain a whole bunch of sugar, and lotsha chocolate. I can EASHILY make thesh!" She crunches off another piece of the bar.

"Now, show me what you know about baking!"

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Aaden only had a few days left before he was to report back to Canterlot for his knighting ceremony. It warmed your heart to think that the stallion, or man, rather, that you had fallen in love with, was turning out to be so successful here in Equestria. Something about watching him succeed, watching him be happy here in this new world with you, it made you happy. Very happy. You imagined Aaden in the same golden armor Oliver wore. You imagined him marching with the other Honor Guards, leading the Royal Guards in parades. Every girl has her fantasies about a knight in shining armor, but yours was actually coming true!

You really hated to admit it, but the way Aaden handled that manticore was very professional. He may not have had the training to avoid getting injured, but his quick thinking and ingenuity while under pressure saved his life. He may not like fighting, but he was good at it. You go back to thinking about him in the golden armor. You imagine him removing his helmet, his hair all rustled, his muscles shimmering with sweat and his eyes radiating, his armor with a patch of dirt here or there, his smile still completely white, even with a little dirt on his face.

Stop it Rarity!

You collect your thoughts, and finish your dress. You prepare the pizza for dinner, and get it inside the oven. You see the note with the heart on it on the wall. You peel it off. He wasn't exactly the classic romantic. Your mind goes back to him. While you wait for the pizza to cook, you go over to the couch, where he left his phone. You enter in the code you've seen him put in so many times, and click on the little square that had a camera on it. You flip through the pictures. One was of him with an enormous shiny black dog. Another was of him and the other human he identified as his roommate, throwing some kind of a ball back and forth. The one that you saw that particularly touched you, was one of him with a bunch of male humans, including his roommate, inside of some kind of stadium, with thousands of other humans, watching what looked to be some kind of game. They were all shouting, but smiling at the same time.

You always knew that Aaden had a life before here, but you never really thought about what it may have been. I mean, you knew he was an architect, and that he liked stars, but that was it. You tried to imagine what it would be like in his position, being put in a world that isn't your own, without remembering any of your friends, or even your hobbies. The loneliness, the confusion, it would be too much for you, personally. You don't quite understand how Aaden does it. Everything about him seems so calm. Even in mid-conversation, or when he was at Pinkie's party, jumping and shouting, he has a calming effect about him. You decide not to question it.

All you know is that you love him, and he loves you. That's all you care to know.

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It broke your heart to think about what happened to Aaden. It had been about one month since he was murdered at the bank, and his dog still waits for him by the door. Every time he hears footsteps in the hall, his eyes light up, and he immediately begins wagging his tail. But as soon as he hears them pass, his tail lowers itself, his eyes half close, and he lays by the door with a whimper. It really hurt to watch him do that. You walked into Aaden's room. Completely untouched, even after the month had passed. His Mom had come by recently, left a bouquet on his bed, and a photo on the nightstand. The photo also hurt to look at. It was you, him, and his family, when you all went on vacation together when you were younger. Aaden was your essentially your brother. You didn't want to lose him. But then again, you didn't want to lose anyone.

You sat down on the couch, and watched the rain hit the window. It won't be the same without him.