Second Wind

You still had four days left with Rainbow Dash before you were to go stay with Vinyl Scratch and Octavia for their two weeks. But what little time you had left with her wasn't on your mind. You felt insanely guilty, and that guilt had taken over your mind.

Alan had yet to wake up. Sure, you had punched plenty of people before, but never had you punched someone so hard that you put them in a coma. Not to mention a friend. One day, you're holding Alan in your arms, begging him not to die, and the next day, you're practically killing him. It also bothered you that everypony in Ponyville believed him to some evil creature, wanting nothing more than to kill. You knew that wasn't true. You knew who Alan was. But for some reason, Alan doesn't seem to know who you are. Or who he was, for that matter.

You walk through the marketplace, on patrol once more. You snack on an egg and cheese bagel you had bought from some diner on the far side of town. The bagel itself was good, but you regret not getting a cup of orange juice or something from the diner. The bread really dried your mouth and throat. You look around you. The Sugarcube Corner stands nearby.

Perfect.

You walk inside, the bell dinging as you do. You pay no attention to the 4 ponies sitting at the table near the door, and stand at the counter. No one is there. Taking advantage of this quiet moment, your minds flood walls break again, and the questions come roaring through it once more.

Alan was a good man. He was like a brother to you. How could he do what he did to you? Did he not see your face? You run your hand along your helmet. While it did obscure your face slightly, he should have still been able to recognize you.  You take another bite out of the bagel. The voices of the 4 ponies sitting at the table finally break through to you.

"Aaden? You okay?" You turn around. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all sit at the table, eating breakfast together. That explains why the counter was unattended.

"No. No, I'm not. I'm assuming you may have heard what happened?" You sat down next to Fluttershy.

"You mean that meanie monster thing that tried to hurt you?" Pinkie Pie chimed in. You sigh.

"I was afraid of this. Pinkie, may I have a glass of water or something? This is going to take awhile."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Max, are you sure about this? This is a big operation. We're only so many strong." Carter asked.

"I am. It ends now." Carter nodded his head.

The Pathfinders all stood in the room. Ever since Aaden, Alan, and Adam had died, the Pathfinders had become the things of legend. The IMO began funding them as such. What was once 12 men, had now become 120, each dressed in the exact same gas mask, duster, and combat armor attire that Aaden had made popular. They all even had the angel wing on their right shoulder of their dusters.

You weren't afraid to admit that the boots you currently stood in were too big for you. You were never going to be like either Adam or Aaden. Adam was a natural born leader, your stereotypical stoic captain, and Aaden, Aaden was just a hero. You were neither. The Pathfinders, all in attendance, immediately quieted down their talking when you raised your hand.

"Brothers..." You started. "You have all been selected to join the Pathfinders for good reason. Each and every single one of you have displayed a willingness to do good, to uphold the right ethics and morals..." You look around your audience, and to Carter, who was standing beside you. He nodded his head once.

"As you are all aware...The IMO has threw their hat into the human trafficking ring..." You balled your right fist. "That, is a FUCKING, OUTRAGE!" You shout, slamming your fist against the wall. Your audience doesn't react. "We have lost many of our brothers to these sub-human pieces of SHIT, and for what? To join them?" You could see several of your brothers in the audience begin to ball their fists, as well.

"There is only one solution, my brothers..." You hold your rifle in the air with one hand.

"THE CHAIRMAN MUST DIE!" The crowd immediately erupts in a loud cheer, holding their rifles up with you.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You had been in Saddle Arabia for awhile now. It was pretty comfy, aside from the fact that it was damn near impossible to keep sand from getting inside of your living room. You kick back on your recliner, watching the palm tree bob up and down in the desert wind. It sure was nice of the locals to give you this house. Sure, you had to help out the irrigation workers, but that wasn't a problem. You hear a knock on your wooden front door.

"Come in!" You shout. You put the book you were reading down in your lap. Mala opens the door, and attempts to knock the sand off of her hooves.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm gonna sweep here soon, anyway." She smiles, and walks over to you.

"What're you reading?" You look down at the book in your lap.

"It's a book I found in my satchel. 'The Art of War'. I have no idea why I have it, but it all sounds so familiar to me. It makes a lot of sense. Maybe I was a soldier or something previously."

"It seems plausible. You must have been the desert for a very long time, and to survive for that long, you must have had some kind of survival skill" She stops her thinking, and looks back to you. "Anyways. I have good news, and I have bad news. The Princess has accepted our request for her audience." You jump up out of your chair.

"Hey, that's amazing news!" She looks down at her hooves. "Wait. What's the bad news?"

"She cannot teleport us. We must walk through the desert once more." You sigh. You really would prefer to not walk through the desert. But it's your only chance to figure out what's going on.

"Well God damn it all. When do we leave?" You ask.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Another memory was starting flooding back into your mind.

You walked into Aaden's apartment, and sat down next to an enormous labrador retriever, who immediately attempted to climb in your lap. Adam walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of chips. Aaden walked in about 5 minutes later, watching Adam eat his chips.

"Well damn Adam, help yourself." He said. Adam gestured with the bag of chips, and shrugged his shoulders. "I see you've met Pepper, Alan." You look up over the couch, Pepper attempting to nuzzle you.

"Oh yeah. This was your payment, wasn't it?" You ran your fingers through his black coat.

"Yep. And be careful, his damn tail will give you a black eye." You watched his tail thump against the couch. Evan and Sarah then walked in the apartment, too.

"Hey, what's going on fellas?" Sarah asked as she walked in, sitting her keys on the kitchen counter. Adam swallowed his mouthful of chips.

"Aaden, Alan and I are going down to some bar off of 4th Street. You guys wanna come?" Sarah seemed finicky.

"Oh, I dunno...I'd hate to just invite myself, Adam."

"Oh, quit being silly." Aaden said. "Evan, Sarah, you're coming with us." You all put on your coats, and start off through the bustling streets of Manhattan. You all made it to the bar, and had your dinner. Afterwards, you sat around the table and had drinks, sharing small talk and gossip. Soon, Adam decided to go "socialize" with a girl he found attractive, and you decide to do the same with a girl you had been looking at for a good part of the night.

"Aaden, you wanna go mingle? You can be my wingman." Aaden shook his head.

"Nah. Bar chicks aren't exactly my type." You look at him in confusion. Evan chimes in.

"He won't budge, bro. Aaden's a bit of a romantic. He's not one to...indulge. If you know what I'm sayin'." You smile.

"Suit yourself, brother."

Wait.

Brother.

You didn't have any brothers.

You were an only child.

The Queen lied to you.

There is going to be Hell to pay.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You take another deep drink of the glass of ginger ale you had, and set the glass back down on the table, wiping your mouth with your sleeve.

"Wowzers. So you know him?" Pinkie Pie asks. For once, she was sitting still.

"Oh yeah. But there's something that bothers me about this. You guys remember watching that memory of me holding that soldier, begging him not to die?" They all nod in unison. "Alan was that man." Twilight cocks her head in confusion.

"Wait. Didn't he die?" You nod your head.

"Exactly. He's dead."

"But then wouldn't we have a bunch of humans here in Equestria if this is where you guys go when you die?"

"I don't know. I'd like to think that I'm not dead. But then again, I really don't know why I'm here. Why he's here. Surely there is a reason behind it all." You look outside, and watch rain begin to fall from the clouds. "Twilight, I need to ask a favor of you."

"Sure Aaden. Whatcha need?"

"I need to find out, for sure, if I'm dead or not." Twilights eyes widen slightly.

"Surely you aren't. I mean, you're here right now, right? You can't be dead."

"Twi, I watched Alan die in my arms. He's dead. And if he's here, that must mean I'm dead."

"Okay. Come by next week, and I'll see what I can do for you. Though, you might wanna consider just going directly to Celestia." You finish off the ginger ale Pinkie Pie gave you, and wish the girls a good day. You wanted to get home before it got too stormy. You prayed Rainbow Dash would be home to give you a lift.

I am NOT about to climb that friggin' ladder in the middle of a storm.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You had been watching this human for some time now. You had to sneak past the doctors, and sometimes you had to resort to watching him from the window, using magic, but it was well worth it. At least, to you it was.

Humans absolutely fascinated you. You had always heard myths and stories about Humans when you were a filly, about how they walked on two legs, and how they had forelegs and hind legs with digits on the ends, called fingers and toes. Just the idea of humans and an entire civilization of them makes your mind swell with curiosity. When Aaden, Ponyville's Honor Guard first arrived, you nearly went into a catatonic state. A real, live human. In your town. You started to feel light headed again, but then composed yourself.

Rarity may have beaten you to befriending Aaden, but no one was going to beat you to befriending this new human. You crept down the hallway on the tips of your hooves, making sure to be as quiet as possible. You then darted into the room, using your magic to close the door. You then look over at the human.

His entire head is covered in bandages, except for his eyes, which were closed. The heart monitor hooked up to him beeped consistently, signalling his health. Aaden hit the poor guy really hard. You weren't there when this little battle took place between the two, but you didn't believe such violence was necessary. And that's when you see them.

Hands. Hands with fingers on them. Hands connected to arms, which led up to shoulders. You could see his fingers, each one long and slim, with a clear nail on the end of each of them. You walked forward, very, very slowly, your eyes widening with every step. His arms were strapped to the bed, as were his forearms, so even if he did wake, he couldn't stop what you were about to do.

Your eyes now open as wide as possible, pupils dilated with excitement and glistening with anxiety. You reach out a hoof, and touch his hands. His hand gently moves, giving way to your hoof. You nearly burst as one of the fingers found its way up on to your hoof. You gently slide your hoof back out from his hand, putting his fingers back down with care. Bon Bon loved to tease your beliefs in humans, and here you were, literally fondling one of their hands.

Oooooh. Sweet, sweet hands.

As you stand, your mind drifting off to thoughts of hands and feet, you fail to notice the eyes of the human open. You turned back around, wanting to touch his hand again. You still failed to notice his eyes were now completely open. You slid your hoof back into this hand. Your blood then went ice cold as you watched his fingers curl up over your hoof, holding it carefully. You look up to his face. Two bright brown eyes gaze down at you.

They said that this human was violent. That he tried to kill Aaden. By looking in this human's eyes, you didn't see any of that. All you saw was a hurt human. One that was obviously scared, confused, and alone. You knew he wasn't a killer, like the others had said. Bon Bon was known to over exaggerate, anyways.

"B-...br-bring...Aaden..." He said. His eyelids then twitched erratically, and then fell back to their position of covering his eyes. His hand also released its gentle grip on your hoof. You feel slightly disappointed about that. You suppose you should go alert Aaden that this human requested his presence. And you'd do that. Just as soon as you had finished with his hands.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You were no longer unconscious. It still took a superb amount of energy to move even an inch. You hoped that aquamarine unicorn pony with the amber eyes listened to you, and was bringing Aaden to you. While you hadn't collected the majority of your memories, you remembered quite enough. And you were pissed beyond comprehension.

Your "Queen" had lied to you. All of it was some elaborate lie, against what appeared to be completely harmless ponies. Hell, even in your brainwashed state, you doubt you could bring yourself to actually hurt one of them. You decide to start harnessing your energy for this meeting with Aaden.

Let's see...what do I know for sure? The Queen lied. I have no brothers or sisters. I was a solider of some kind. I was close friends with Aaden and a man named Adam. Aaden, while he isn't my actual brother, is certainly like one. And...

The scene of Aaden holding you, of life slipping from your grasp comes back to you.

I'm dead, I guess. Awesome.

You go to scratch your head, using some of the energy you were building up, and realize you are completely strapped down to the bed.

Eh. Can't blame em'. I did just try to kill someone.

Then the guilt came. Aaden was a good friend. You can't remember why he was, or what he did for you, but you knew enough to confirm that he was very close to you. And you tried to kill him. You put him through the pain of hurting you.

God damn it, I'm dumb.

You feel as if you should have questioned the Queen more. You knew her story seemed a little off here and there, but you never questioned here. You let her manipulate you. Brainwash you into her filthy little knight, for some stupid vendetta she held against a race that, as far as you knew, simply wanted to live in peace.

You can feel yourself getting more and more pissed as you thought about how badly you were used. Then your mind starts to think about the pony that visited you. She certainly was pretty. And you knew she had to have heard what you did. Yet, she didn't run, or scream for that matter, when you awoke. When you touched her.

Her coat really was soft...

It was nice to feel the warm coat of a pony for a change. Any time you touched a changeling, they always felt like giant, cold fingernails. You use thoughts of this pony to bring yourself down from the growing hate inside of you. You already owed Aaden an apology. A big one. If it's laced with anger, you might get the other side of your skull broken.

You rustle around in your bindings, attempting to make yourself slightly more comfortable. You smile. While you certainly had some explaining to do, Aaden had just as much. He was an Honor Guard now? How long had he been here? Who was the rainbow pony that kicked my ass?

Eh. I'm sure he's just as confused as I am.