Second Wind

You've never felt closer to Rainbow Dash, You hadn't forgotten Rarity, nor the fact that you would be spending two weeks with Vinyl Scratch. This was certainly going to complicate things slightly, but you'll face that music when it plays. Rainbow Dash must have felt the same way about you, judging by the fact that not only was she completely on top of you, but her fore legs and her wings were wrapped around you. You open your eyes.

Sunlight poured into the room from the window, bathing the entire room in light. Rainbow Dash had pulled the cloud blanket up over her head at some point, so the light wouldn't wake her. It was a little too late for you.

You're still completely naked. It didn't bother you as much as it should. You trusted Rainbow Dash. In fact, you think you loved Rainbow Dash. You reach your hand up, and go to scratch your head. You wanted to spend time with Rainbow Dash today. You never really got to out to a restaurant or anything with her. Maybe she could come on your patrol today.

Ponyville was certainly safe enough. Maybe you could go to The Sugarcube Corner together. Or maybe to a bar for some lunch. You look down from the ceiling, and see Rainbow Dash, fully awake, staring at you.

"WHOA." You flinch. You liked how big these ponies eyes were, but they would still startle you here and there. "Uh. Good morning, Rainbow Dash." She smiles, and rubs one eye with a hoof.

"Good morning to you too. Are you about to leave?"

"Well, actually, I have an idea. I wanna spend some time with you, Dashie. And I would like to avoid free-falling from the clouds again. Would you like to come with me on my patrol today? We could get some lunch." Rainbow Dash lifts herself up almost immediately, her face getting closer to yours.

"You mean it?" You run a hand through her mane.

"Absolutely." She kisses you, and hops off of your chest.

"This is gonna be awesome! Let me shower real quick, and we'll go." You climb out of bed.

"I'll join you." She winks at you. You could find no way that this day could end badly.

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The Queen always told you that the Ponies and their allies were fascist oppressors. That they denied your people food. That they would rather let them starve then help them. You didn't remember much of anything before appearing in The Queen's kingdom, but what you did know, is you were a good guy. You weren't going to stand by and watch as these creatures suffered. You and one of The Queen's servants, Ghoul, walked through the Everfree Forest, towards the town named Ponyville. Ghoul briefs you as you walk.

"Thisss Honor Guard isss...different." He started. His tongue hissed and clicked. "You will sssee when you arrive. We attempted to kill him not long ago, by angering a local manticore in his ssshape and form, then leading it to him. He defeated it." You scoff.

"It was only a manticore. I am far more deadly. The oppressor will die." Ghoul laughed, the clicking noise slightly louder. You both continue to walk through the forest, your chitin-armor creaking with every step. After awhile, you reached a path. Ghoul stopped.

"Alright, Alan. Thisss isss asss far asss I go. Continue along the path. You will reach Ponyville in three to four hoursss." You nod, and salute him.

"For The Queen." He hisses.

"For The Queen." You smirk.

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You both sit down at a table inside of a bar/grill named Poachies. You removed your helmet at the door, and took a booth near the door. You sit down across from Rainbow Dash, and flip through the menus they have on the table. Rainbow  Dash looks curiously up at you.

"Aaden, did you eat meat back home?" You freeze. Slowly looking up from the menu, your eyes meet hers.

"Ah...well. Yeah. Humans are omnivores." She smiles at you.

"No sweat, dude! Gryphons eat meat ALL THE TIME!" You let out a sigh of relief. "A friend of mine, Gilda, she had me try a bite once. I didn't like it very much, and it made me pretty sick, but hey, to each his own, right?" You nod your head. "That being said, this place has a mean veggie burger. That's what I'm getting." She sets the menu down, and picks up the glass of cola she had ordered to drink.

You quickly flip through the menu, hoping to see something with meat. It appeared as if Rainbow Dash had got your hopes up for nothing, however. You still couldn't read Equestrian, but you were getting a little better. You find a picture of the veggie burger, all blown up, and attempt to read the few words you understand. "Black Bean, Tomato, Lettuce..." You cannot read the rest.

"Dash, what all comes on this burger of yours?" She sips at her glass, and puts it down.

"Well, the patty is made of grilled black beans, and then you can pretty much get whatever you'd like. I'm getting a little bit of everything on mine. What did you like back home?"

"There was one burger I really liked from this little diner back home, it had onion rings, cheese, and barbecue sauce."

"You're in luck! You can those things here!" You smile, and put your hand on her hind leg from the table. Rarity may have made you feel accepted, but Rainbow Dash made you feel at home. You decide to immediately cease thoughts of having to pick between the two. The waiter comes by, and takes your order. He also brings Rainbow Dash another glass of soda. As he leaves, you laugh.

"Whats so funny?" She asks.

"You ordered extra ketchup. I dunno, I've just never been a fan of ketchup."

"Are you kidding? I put ketchup on my ketchup! You really don't like it?" You shake your head.

"Nah. I like barbecue sauce a whole bunch, like, I use that for dipping fries and as a burger topping, but that's about it."

"Isn't barbecue sauce made from ketchup?" She picks up her glass, and takes another swig.

"Sometimes." You think about how much ketchup is going to be on this thing. "Blegh." She laughs at you.

"Whatever. You'll still kiss me."

"Yeah. Yeah, I will."

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The forest was beginning to unwind itself. The path was getting larger, and you could see far more hoof prints. you were nearing the exit of the forest. You were nearing the town of Ponyville. This Honor Guard was supposed to be in golden armor, and I was supposed to "know him when I see him".  You pick up your pace out of anticipation.

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"Well I'll be damned. This desert DOES end, huh?" You muse. A settlement in the desert was coming into view.

"Yes. Welcome to Saddle Arabia, human. We will request audience with The Princess. Perhaps we can have you teleported to Canterlot."

"Teleported? Alright." You had given up hope on understanding this new world.

"Mala, are you sure it's safe to bring this...thing...into town?" The other horse asked.

"It is absolutely safe. He barely remembers his name, much less anything else. Even if he WAS a violent man, he isn't now." The other horse looks off to the town, in deep thought.

"You are right, Mala. I apologize for my doubts."

"It is only natural, Bakir. Now go ahead while we wait here. Alert the town that a NON-HOSTILE visitor is coming." The horse identified as Bakir nodded his head, and dashed off across the dunes, kicking up sand as he went.

"So. Adam, was it?" You nod your head. "We'll get you taken care of. If anyone knows what to do, it's The Princess."

"It's no skin off of my bones. While it would be nice to remember exactly who I am, I think of this as a fresh start!" Mala smiles at you.

"Very brave, for a foreign creature in a foreign land."

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Your food comes out rather quickly, two burgers, each on top of a hoof-full of fries, were sat down in front of you. Rainbow Dash's oozed ketchup. You shudder, and pick up your burger. As you do, you hear somepony start shouting.

"GUARDS! GUARDS, HELP! SOMETHING IS COMING!" Rainbow Dash looks to you. You were already on your feet, running for the door, strapping your helmet back on, and unsheathing your sword. You look out to where the other ponies where looking, and see a black, bipedal creature in black, scaled armor, with a sword that looked like a long, black tooth. His helmet made him look like a giant insect, two mandibles and disgustingly bright blue eyes. You look over at the civilians.

"Get back, go! Get to safety!" They nod, and run inside all of the local buildings.  The creature picks up his pace from a fast walk, to a run. He was coming for you. Just like that, all of Ponyville was watching you. The creature begins to shout at you.

"DIE, OPPRESSOR!" He leaps on top of you, knocking you to the ground. The mandibles on his helmet click and squirm in your face. You bring your legs up, and kick it in it's head. It stumbles backwards, it's mandibles now shattered. It had it's hands on it's head, stumbling around in pain. You get back on your feet, and ready your sword. It stops stumbling, and looks over at you. As it draws it's sword, two new mandibles ripped from the helmet, replacing the ones you just broke.

That thing's sword looks heavy...hmm...

You sheathe your sword, and decide to wait for it to attempt to stab you. Sure enough, he follows suit, lunging in at you. You catch the blade between your arm and chest, and clamp down on it. Before he could react, you kick him back again. You now have it's blade. It stomped in frustration, but began another sprint at you.

"FOR THE QUEEN!" It screamed. When it got close, you lunged forward, stabbing him directly in the chest. He doesn't react, and throws you aside. You hit the ground hard, but still get back up. You notice the sword sticking out of his chest. You watch in horror as it seemingly melts into his armor with a grotesque ripping sound, and then bursts into existence from his hand again. He comes in close, swinging his blade vertically. He misses, so you grab him by the neck, and smack him in the helmet with the hilt of the sword, knocking him to the ground on his stomach. You run over to him, kick him over on his back, and bring your foot down on his head. Not only does it not squish liked you hoped it would, but a spike thrust out of it, ripping through your boots, through your foot.

"FUCK!" You yell, and step backwards, ripping your foot from the helmet. It now hurt like Hell to even think about your right foot. You watched the creature start to get back up, when you heard a familiar voice call out.

"COMIN' IN HOT!" You knew what that meant. You threw yourself on the ground, and watched as a rainbow blur was rocketing towards the creature. It made impact with the creature's chest as it was getting up, and sent the creature into the fountain in the marketplace. You see Rainbow Dash coming back in for another hit, and sure enough, she hits it again, putting him back down into the fountain. She then flies back over to you.

"I got his helmet off, go finish it!" You nod, and begin your walk over to the fountain.

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You were defeated. Even with your living armor, you couldn't best these ponies. The Queen deserved better. It was a shame that the only other human in Equestria was working for the oppressors. It would have been nice if you had actually known him. You lay back in the fountain, tilting your head back, and closing your eyes.

You're going to die. Might as well make it easy for them.

You feel yourself get lifted from the fountain by the neck. You hear the Honor Guard start speaking to you.

"You are charged with attempted murder and treason against Equestria, you-" You open your eyes, and meet his.

He was a human taller than you, and was built slightly better, as well. Maybe that's why he won. That and the damn Rainbow pony. His eyes opened wide, and he immediately dropped you.

"Alan. Is that you?" You feel your blood run cold, and your head begin to hurt. That voice sounded so familiar. "Alan. Talk to me." You look up at the Honor Guard. He was wearing a gas mask with bright orange lenses, and a long duster over orange and black armor. He held his hand out to you, as a gesture of helping you up. "Alan."

You blink again, and everything returns to normal. He was back in his golden armor, but was still offering you a hand. This was your chance to avenge your loss. You grabbed his hand, and as you did, your living armor ripped a spike through the hand, impaling the Honor Guard through his left hand. He looks down at you in shock, cocks his right hand back, and punched you as hard as you had ever been punched in your head. The metal of his gauntlets amplified the pain, not to mention your head hit the cement of the fountain. Your vision started to get very bright. It wasn't too soon after that when you lost consciousness.

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How was Alan here? Wasn't he dead?

Oh God, am I dead? I'm not dead!

What was he wearing? Oppressors? Who was he working for? Why didn't he recognize you?

Your mind was racing. The pain in your foot began to amplify itself. You slid your hand off of this new spike that had penetrated it. Ponies started to come out of their hiding places. Rainbow Dash flew over to you and landed beside you.

"Oh buck! Aaden, we've got to get you to the hospital!" You look down at the unconscious Alan.

"He needs to go, as well. I may have broken his skull."

"What? Aaden, he tried to kill you! You can't be serious!" You look down at her.

"Rainbow Dash. That's Alan. From my memories." She looks at you in a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"What? I thought he was a good guy, though! Wasn't he your friend? Why was he attacking you?" You lean down, and pick up Alan's unconscious body.

"You know as much as I do, Dash. We'll take him to the hospital, get that damned armor off of him, and interrogate him when he wakes up. He was a good man. I want answers for this as much as everypony else does." Rainbow Dash nods her head.  "Now, Hospital, yes?"

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You wait anxiously for Aaden in the waiting room. You had two styrofoam boxes containing both of your untouched meals from earlier that day, sitting in your lap. you thumped your hooves on them out of anxiety.

Every tick of the clock, every move of it's hands made the wait all the more tense. You knew he wasn't going to die or anything, but you still wanted to make sure he was okay.

You also hope he wan't mad at you. You know he could have handled Alan on his own, but you didn't want that fight to last any longer than it had to. Aaden comes out, a series of thick bandages over his left hand, and he was walking normally. You leap up, and dash over to him, hugging him.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"Yep. Doc says that my foot will hurt for a week or two, but it'll be okay. My left hand though? Broken. That may take awhile to fix. The spike that hit my foot was smaller than the one I got through the hand."

"What about Alan?" Aaden looks down at his right hand.

"I cracked his skull. Doc says he'll make a full recovery as long as they keep his brain from swelling too much. That disgusting armor of his was removed and destroyed, and he has been strapped to his bed. He's not going anywhere." You hug Aaden again.

"You did what you had to, big guy." Aaden hugs back.

"Not exactly the ideal reunion. And Rainbow Dash?" You break the hug, and look up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever risk yourself for me again." He then pulled you into a deep kiss, holding you tight.

Called it.