Second Wind

You can't stop feeling amazing. In fact, you feel so great, you decide to do something that you know you'll regret.

"Hey. Dash..." You smile deviously. You were completely dressed now, waiting for her. She walks into the room, noticing your smile. "Wanna race?" She returns your devious look.

"You're on, babe." You both climb on the bed.

"Alright, on the count of three, we race to land. First one down wins a kiss. You ready?" She smiles, obviously excited by the idea of competition. You take a deep breath, and laugh on the exhale.

Ooooh boy. I'm gonna get my ass kicked.

"One..." You say. You notice her hooves digging down into the mattress. She was really getting ready for this race.

"Two..." Her wings burst from her sides, readying themselves for flight. You look over to her, your heart beating in your throat from excitement.

"Three, GO!" She immediately flies out of the window. You leap off of the bed, step on the windowpane, and throw yourself out of it. You see Rainbow Dash way ahead of you, almost halfway down. You fall closer to the ladder, and grab ahold of it with one hand, grinding down. If the ladder wasn't made of spongy cloud, you would probably rip all of the skin off of your hands. How does the cloud ladder work, anyways?

Eh. Magic probably.

Rainbow Dash had obviously beat you to the ground. You were now about halfway down, still grinding at incredible speed. As you neared the ground, you grabbed with ladder with both hands, slowing yourself exponentially. No need to kill yourself before breakfast.

Your feet finally hit the ground, and you stumble away from the ladder. The sudden stop from all of the movement made you feel dizzy for a moment. Rainbow Dash wandered over to you, smiling. She floated up, grabbed your head, and kissed you deeply. You could taste the inside of her mouth again, the grape flavor coming back. She broke the kiss, and smiled even more deviously.

"Hey, Lyra? Why are you riding on Alan's back?" She asked.

"Alan lost a bet to me! We were seeing who could drink a glass of water the fastest, and he choked on his, so I won!" She looked back at you with an evil laugh.

"Heh heh...hey, Aaden..." She started. You sigh, and bend over.

"Fine babe. Let's go." She climbs up on your back, her hind legs wrapped around your waist, and her forelegs around your neck. Her chin could rest on the top of your head.

You and Alan, with ponies in tow, begin your walk into town. Lyra and Rainbow Dash were talking about something that didn't quite peak your interest, so you and Alan begin to talk.

"Man. I would kill for some kind of sport here, you know? Remember that Giants game we went to?" You ask. Alan laughed.

"Hell yeah I do. Evan was losing his mind." Alan chuckles. "Good times, good times. So, where are we going for breakfast?"

"No idea." You respond.

"Ladies?" Alan asked.

"Poachies." They both responded.

"Yeah, Lyra's been talking about going to Poachies ever since she heard you say they have good food. I'm kinda looking forward to it, myself. Do they have eggs? I need some eggs."

"Eggs?" You ask.

"Yeah, eggs. You know, protein and shit. It's good for ya." The more you think about it, the more you decide you want scrambled eggs. "So, Aaden, who's your marefriend there? I never got to meet her formally after she kicked my ass." You stretch your head over to Alan, and whisper to him.

"My situation is...unique. I'll explain later." He notices the look in your eyes, and nods his head. You pull your head back, and resume talking at normal volume, just in case Rainbow Dash was listening in. "But, this is Rainbow Dash. Toughest, most cool pony in Ponyville. Right Dash?"

"Huh?" She responds, too trapped in her own conversation with Lyra to eavesdrop on you and Alan.

Thank God.

"So, Aaden here says you're pretty cool." Alan chimed in.

"PRETTY cool? Try amazingly cool." She gives you a squeeze while holding on to you, and kisses the top of your head. She then goes back to her conversation with Lyra.

"So, Alan. You ever think about going back home?" He looks at you, and smiles. He puts on a child-like voice.

"Gee, I dunno Aaden. What if everyone is mean to me when I get back? What if-what if they smell all of the ponies on me, and they're like, 'Where have you been, pretty boy?' and then whip my ass?" He then adopts an incredibly stupid look on his face, followed by an imitation of a young boy giggling. You immediately begin laughing, as does Lyra, who must have overheard his high-pitched voice.

"God damn it, Alan." You laugh. As the laughter dies down, and Lyra goes back to her conversation, Alan looks back over at you.

"Look, man, of course I think about it. I think about it all the time. I dunno if I can go back. And to be completely honest, I don't want to. I remember what I did before I was here. I know you do, too. So it's either killing and acting like mindless drones, or living here with ponies. PONIES, AADEN. How fucking awesome is that?" He then takes a more serious look on his face. "Aaden. I know this doesn't make much sense, but...I think we're dead. One of the memories I recovered, it's of me dying. In your arms. And I don't remember anything after that." He explained.

"Alan, you spoke my mind. We'll talk to Celestia about it. About being dead, not going home. I'm kinda happy here, too. Hey, Alan?" You ask.

"Yeah man?" He responds.

"Why do you take shit that's super serious, and make it seem hilarious?" You ask, smiling.

"Man, Adam, you remember Adam? He's the one that taught me that. If something ever scares you, ever bothers you, joke about it. Laugh at it. It makes it far less scary."

"Clever. It works pretty well."

You feel Rainbow Dash poking your sides with her fore legs.

"We're here babe!" She said. "Let me down!" You kneel, as does Alan, and let your payload of ponies off of your back. You and Alan both get up, and walk over to the double-doors, both of you holding one door open apiece. Rainbow Dash and Lyra both blush as they walk into the restaurant.

"I love it when she does that..." Alan said, trailing off in thought. You both walked over to a booth that had an open window, and sat down next to your respective dates. You put your arm around Rainbow Dash while Lyra leans her head on Alan's shoulder, wrapping her hooves around his arm. The waiter comes over to the table.

This day just cannot get any better!

You smile uncontrollably as Poachie himself walks over to you to wait your table. You really liked Poachie. The few times you've been here, he really did very well as your waiter. You still felt absolutely amazing, and this feeling of pure elation made everything, no matter how big or small, seem infinitely pleasing to you. Having the waiter of your choice was one of those things.

"Poachie! What's up?" You nearly shout. Poachie laughs, and takes out his notepad for the orders.

"Nothing much. Been real slow today, it's good to have you guys here. What can I get you to drink?" Lyra and Rainbow Dash both get sweet tea, while you and Alan get cola. You hand everyone a menu from the stack that Poachie had left on the table.

Laugh at the things that scare you...

I'm gonna have to try that soon.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You were standing in a circle of light with 3 other human figures, surrounded by complete darkness.

One was a knight, in shining golden armor, with a single large angel wing protruding from his right shoulder blade. He held a big golden shield, and a sword that seemingly radiated light. He turned around and looked at you. Shadows encompassed his eyes and nose, only leaving his mouth and chin visible. It had very short stubble around it, which complemented his white teeth.

Another was what looked like an assassin. He wore a long black robe over black pants, and had the hood pulled up over his head. The hood also had an odd like cover to it, completely covering his face, except for the two eyes holes. You couldn't see his eyes, but you could see a small pinprick of white light emanating from the center of each eye hole. He turned around to face you, revealing that he was holding a curved sword in one hand, and smaller dagger in the other. He had a single cyan sash tied around his right shoulder, and it had what looked like a harp drawn on it, which fluttered carelessly in the wind. You could also see his breath, which really bothered you. It was nowhere NEAR cold enough for that.

The last human figure was wearing a lighter armor than the knight, but was still intimidating in appearance. He also wore a duster over his armor, fluttering in the same wind that the Assassin's sash did. This man turned around, showing his front to you. He wore a white bandanna around his face, covering everything but his eyes, which were also obscured by the shadows. He held a mace in his right hand, and was seemingly charging some kind of spell in his left hand. The fingers on his left hand twitched and convulsed as a small white ball of flames sparked and formed in it.

"Get ready! Here they come!" The Knight shouted. You looked in your hands. You were holding an intricately decorated bow, one that looked almost as if it was crafted from crystal. You instinctively pulled the string on the bow back, and watched in amazement as a single crystal arrow burst into existence, nocking itself on the string. The three humans jump into action.

The shadows which surrounded you began to form human-like figures with bright orange eyes. They began to stumble and sprint towards you.

The Knight dropped his shoulder, and propelled himself off of the ground using his single angel wing, sending him rocketing towards the group of shadows. He slammed his shield into the group, dispersing them. Then he started the massacre. He lunged forward, stabbing one, making it explode in a cloud of shadows and tendrils. He turned around, slashing another. He turned around again, impaling another. He ducked while one of the shadows tried to claw him, instead reaching over him clawing another shadow. He then jumped back up, slamming his shoulder into the shadow, making it explode, as well.

The Assassin seemingly blinked out of existence. You looked all around, until you saw him again. He would blink and reappear all over this new battlefield. He burst into existence, using the curved sword to slash through groups of them, then blink back out of existence, only to appear immediately behind the group, and continue his slaughter.

The last man was still standing next to you. He was chanting something. When the shadows finally approached close enough to him, the spot where his eyes should have been immediately began radiating a white light. His left hand was really beginning to twitch violently. He threw it out, releasing an enormous ball of light which ripped through the shadows, causing them to disintegrate immediately. One shadow dodged the ball of light, and tried to approach him, but he simply swung his mace, tearing it in half. He was breathing very heavily, whatever spell he just used, it wore him out. With his hands on his knees, he looked to you, his eyes now covered with shadows once again.

"Leave me! He needs help!" He shouted, motioning his head towards the Knight. You looked back over to the Knight, who was completely surrounded now. Thousands of these shadows surrounded him, and he still fought viciously, now using his wing to knock back the shadows when too many got close. The Assassin blinked over to him, helping him fight them off. The man beside you dropped to his knees, and began chanting again.

You look at your bow, the crystalline arrow still there. You pull back on the bow, aim, and release the arrow. It whistles through the air, impaling one of the shadows, which fell backwards. The arrow then detonated in a ball of light, taking a bunch of other shadows with it.

You look back at the man beside you. His eyes were starting to glow white again, and his chanting was getting louder. His right hand also started to twitch and shake with the left one. He dropped his mace from all of the shaking. Two more white balls of sparks and flames formed, one in each hand. They were growing bigger.

You took one last look at the Knight and Assassin. The Knight threw himself vertically in the air using his wing, and then used it to sling himself back down into the ground, slamming his shield against the earth, knocking back the shadows even more.

"Max..." You heard the man beside you grunt. His voice sounded completely distorted, like 10 of him were talking at once, and his eyes were now glowing violently, to the point that it hurt to look at them.

"Move..."

_________________________________________________________________________________

You wake up, and see that Trixie had left the bed.

I have the some really weird dreams, that's for sure...

She must have gotten up already. Hopefully you didn't shout or talk in your sleep and scare her off.

You slide out of the bed, and get yourself completely dressed, ready to catch the train. You notice everything in the room that belonged to you or Trixie had been taken. You walk over to the door, and open it. As you do, you find Trixie standing on the other side, now knocking on thin air.

"Good, you're awake! C'mon, we're gonna miss the train!" You nod, and run after her, down the hallway, down the stairs, and out of the doors of the hotel. You both make it to the junction, buy two tickets, and board the train, which immediately released a metallic groan, then rumbled off down the tracks. Trixie leads you down the corridor of one of the cars, and into the room Bakir and Mala were sitting in. Bakir laughs as you enter.

"Trixie insisted we let you sleep as late as you needed. When you were beginning to sleep TOO late, she went to go find you. Good to see you made it." You sit across from him.

"Trixie's a good friend." You said. You know she heard you. "I SAID, Trixie is a GOOD FRIEND." Trixie giggles and blushes, taking the seat next to you.

"I heard you..." She said. You look out of the window, amazed to see something other than the desert for a change.

"Trixie, you said that you had been through these parts before. Care to give me a little rundown on these places?"

_________________________________________________________________________________

The food arrives rather quickly. You think it's because of how dead Poachie said they were. Everyone universally got pancakes, but fruit, oatmeal and other breakfast foods were distributed among the others. You personally ordered some hashbrowns. It had been awhile since you had some of the crispy, fried potatoes you frequented back home. You

remember being summoned to Canterlot by the Princess.

"Yo, Alan. I forgot to mention," You swallow your mouthful of pancake. "You and I have to go see the Princess in 5 days. She wants to meet you, and she wants me to be there for it."

"Really? What's she like? I heard a lot about her from the Queen, but most of it was extremely negative. Anything I should know?" He takes his fork, harpoons a big egg cluster off of his plate, and puts it in his mouth.

"She's very nice, I think you'll find. Very nice. And I know this sounds like political suicide, but DO NOT lie to her. I know our pasts aren't exactly wrought with gold, but she already knows. She read and projected my memories. Rainbow Dash here knew who you were before you knew who she was. Lyra wasn't there, which may be good for her. Rainbow Dash claims that what she saw didn't change her opinion of me, but it's not every day you see the person you love doing deeds as dark as killing." Alan looks over to Rainbow Dash, who was looking at you.

"Aaden, it really didn't change the way I feel about you, and it didn't make me like you any less. It just kinda helped me to better understand who you are. You're still pretty cool for a human." You look over at Lyra.

"Alan is a great guy. He may be goofy at times, and regardless of his violent past, he still is a great guy. Has he told you about his mercenary life?" Lyra nods her head.

"Yep! He told me the first night he stayed with us, actually!" She beams with happiness.

"Good. Lyra, like I said, Alan is a great guy, and you are in zero danger. Remember that when you inevitably witness his memories. I was lucky enough to have Rainbow Dash understand." Lyra nods her head rapidly, sipping on the sweet tea she had through a straw. "Now, lets move back on to a happier note. Dashie over here hasn't coated everything in ketchup yet, so that's a plus." She punches your shoulder. "And Alan here has went 5 minutes without cussing."

"Fuck you." He said, smiling. Lyra giggles, covering her mouth with a hoof again. You laugh as well, and go back to eating. It was nice to be surrounded by friends, sharing a quiet lunch complemented by laughter.

You still hadn't fully decided if you were dead, or you simply had just lost your mind. Either way, even though you didn't show it, you were in mental anguish. You still hadn't gathered all of your memories. Alan remembered his death. But you didn't remember yours.

And what if you were dead? Does this mean there was a God? Why, of all people that had ever existed on Earth, were you and Alan the only humans to ever show up in Equestria?

You didn't like thinking about all of these things. You go back to not thinking about any of it, which is what you had been doing since the very moment you arrived. It put your mind at ease to just go with what was happening. Plus, you ultimately believe that, if this is the Afterlife, or if you are insane, it would be best not to fight it. You'll just make things worse.

Alan noticed you staring off in space. He seemingly knew what you were thinking about, and attempted to change the subject.

"So, uh. Why exactly are you ponies so accepting of us? We're big, scary aliens from another dimension." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. That usually means she's about to explain something.

"Well, you're creatures we don't exactly see everyday, so of course we're cautious on the inside, even if we don't act like it on the outside. It's hard to explain, but you both seem so appealing. Just hearing the way you speak, watching you walk, it's all very interesting. We were taught as fillies that we should accept anypony and everypony. We gave both of you a chance, and you both kind of proved that you're just as amazing as we thought. I dunno, it's hard to explain. How would you explain it, Lyra?"  Lyra put her sweet tea down.

"Weeeell..." She said, spinning her straw around with her hoof. "I just really like hands..." Alan looked at his hands, making sure that they were still hands. "And, well, when I met Alan, he was incredibly nice to me. I mean, everypony is generally nice to me, but something about Alan was different. Like, he wasn't being nice because it was the polite thing to do, he was being nice because he wanted to. If that makes sense."

You nod your head.

"Makes sense to me." You said. It didn't make very much sense to you, but you remembered to just go with the flow. You could press Celestia for answers at this little meeting she's arranged.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The ride on the train had been pretty smooth, so far. You were unable to read whatever language these ponies wrote, and there was no TV or anything that could be used for entertainment, so you were pretty much forced to talk to Bakir, Mala, and Trixie. Which wasn't a bad thing. The train was currently chugging through rolling hills, and was about to work its way through a very large forest.

"Where are we now?" You asked.

"We're about to enter Everfree forest. One of the biggest and oldest forests in Equestria. It's also home to many creatures, the majority of them very dangerous." Trixie explained. "Trixie used to use the mighty Ursa, an inhabitant of this forest, in her claims of being great and powerful." You can tell that this is a touchy subject for her. Nobody likes to have their self esteem hurt. You decide it would be best not to push the issue any further.

"So. Adam. Remember anything about home yet?" The moment Bakir asked the question, there was a knock on the  door to the little room you were in. It slid open, revealing a white pony with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed like a soda jerk from the 1950's.

"Can I interest you folks in anything to drink? Maybe a sandwich or something to snack on?" Bakir and Mala politely decline, but you were really thirsty. And kind of hungry, too.

"What all do you guys have?" The Soda Jerk smiled, and leaned against his cart.

"Well, I have never in my life seen something like you, so I'm just gonna assume you've never been on a train before. At least not one like this. We have a deal going right now, 3 bits, and you get a whole sandwich, a soda, and a lollipop. That ouaghta fill your needs." You nod your head, pulling out some bits you had from your irrigation work back in Saddle Arabia.

"Trixie would like one, too." Trixie went to reach into the bag she carried with her when you stopped her.

"I got this. Here's 10 bits for the both of us. Keep whats left." The Soda Jerk slid open the door to the little cart he had with him, and pulled out two sandwiches, two bottles of soda, and two lollipops.

"Mighty kind of you." He said under his smile. He tips his hat to you, and continues his walk down the hallway, knocking on the doors to the rooms of other passengers.

"Thanks Adam." Trixie said, unwrapping her sandwich with ease. You however, were having some serious difficulty. You were half tempted to just rip it open, but you didn't want to seem THAT impatient to eat. You grab the slip at the top and bottom, and pull. The sandwich is released from it's prison, but it falls out of the bottom. You watch as the sandwich almost hits the floor, but stops just inches from it.

It was floating, and surrounded by what looked like a pale magenta cloud. It floated back up to your hands, which you had opened to accept said sandwich. It landed in your hands, and the magenta cloud disappeared.

"So...did anyone else just see that?" You asked.

"See what?" Mala responded. You look at the sandwich suspiciously.

"You're fucking kidding me. No one saw that?"

"Saw what?" Mala repeated. You point at the sandwich.

"This thing literally almost dropped to the floor, then floated back up to my hands. Nobody saw that?" Trixie giggled.

"Trixie saved your sandwich from it's doom." She said.

"You did that? How?" She looks at you, no longer giggling, but still smiling. She then looks over to Bakir and Mala.

"Is he unfamiliar with magic?" She asks.

Magic?

"None of our kind can harness magic. So he's never seen it before. And we never really thought about telling him about it, either."

"So, wait, wait." You sit up in your chair. "You mean to tell me that you did that using magic?" Trixie nods her head.

"Do humans not have magic in your world?" She asks.

"Magic in my world doesn't exist. At least, I don't think it does. Usually, when someone says they can do magic, it usually means that they have some sleight of hand and some serious mind-fuckery skills. Nothing really supernatural." Trixie's horn glows, coating her sandwich in another magenta cloud, lifting it up to her mouth. She takes a bite of it. "See, I'm just going to go ahead and assume that there are no wires involved, and that this magic is the real deal." She giggles again, and swallows her mouthful of food.

"Trixie's happy she could help explain."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"We should build a makeshift basketball goal." Alan suggests, reaching for a slice of toast.

"Honestly, that isn't a bad idea. Something for you and I to do." Lyra immediately looks confused.

"Basket-ball? Huh?" She asks. Alan holds a finger up to signal that he'll speak in a moment. He swallows his toast, takes a swig from his cola, and coughs.

"A sport from back home. Aaden and I, along with some of our buddies, would get together and play on Friday afternoons, then go to a bar or somewhere to eat. Fun stuff." You can't help but laugh.

"Oh man. Good times, good times." Lyra shares the smile you and Alan had.

"I wanna play!" She objects. "I could probably do it on two hooves and everything, just like you!" Alan lifts his arm up, forcing her to release it. She looks momentarily shocked, but Alan then put it around her, pulling her to him. She smiles, and nuzzles his shoulder.

"Aaden, you think ponies could play? Like, walk and run on three legs and everything? As much as I would love to kick your ass one-on-one constantly, I wouldn't mind getting a bunch of ponies together to play. It'll be just like old times, except, you know. Ponies." He used an oddly shaped butter knife to spread jam over an other slice of toast. You look over to Rainbow Dash, hoping she would respond, because you had no idea.

"Well, yeah, we can run on 3 legs! It's a little weird for us, but we can do it!" She then smirks at you. "Plus. I'd also like to beat Aaden." You pull her close, and kiss her forehead.

"You can try, babe. There any hardware stores in town?" She nods her head.

"Fixer's Home Improvement, in the Marketplace." You look over at Alan, who was now eating yet another piece of toast.

"We should swing by sometime. Whatcha think?" Alan covers his mouth with a hand, like he's going to say something, but then just gives you a thumbs up. He swallows, wipes his mouth, then bends his head down to kiss Lyra. He does so, and Lyra giggles.

"You taste like grape jam."

"YOU taste like grape jam." Alan teased. He kissed her again, and leaned back in the booth. "Well, you guys were right. This place was pretty damn good. Lyra and I will have to come back sometime soon." He looks down at Lyra. "Maybe take Bon Bon with us?" Lyra nods her head, finishing her tea.

"She'd like it a whole bunch!"

_________________________________________________________________________________

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X0148220-1314.

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X0148220-1314

You felt like you were falling. Like you were going to vomit. Everything was completely white, and you could feel your mind slipping away from you. You could feel yourself losing memories. You already couldn't remember your family. If you had one. Did you have a family? You repeat your name over and over again inside of your head, hoping to hold on to what you know.

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X0148220-1314.

Memories flashed before your eyes. The memories you were losing. Your first kiss. The death of your brother. Enlisting in the military. Enlisting in the IMO. All of it was leaving you. You fell to your knees in the white limbo you were trapped in, putting your hands around your head, and squeezing tightly.

"No...please..." You whisper. Your first bike ride without training wheels. The Christmas where you got a car. The first time you broke a bone. Hunting trips with your Dad. It was all leaving you.

"Please...I don't want to forget...please don't make me forget..." You begged. You weren't sure if anything was listening, but you were terrified to your core.

Memories made you who you were. To lose ones memories, is to lose ones life. Memories, all of your experinces in your life, they crafted you into the person you were. Without them, sure, you'd be a blank slate, but you would never be the same person ever again. Maxwell L. Owens would die. You didn't want to die. Not here. Now now. You hold back tears, and try to remember.

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X0148220-13...

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X0148220...

You were starting to forget your name. You had already forgotten what the "L" stood for in your middle name. Your head started to hurt, burning as the memories escaped your grasp.

"No..." You said, raising your voice slightly.

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X01...

X01...

X014822...

You try as hard as you can to fight it.

Maxwell L. Owens. IMO. Pathfinders. X...

X...

You cant remember what comes next.

"NO!" You shout. You were losing ground. "NO GOD DAMN IT!"

Maxwell Owens. Pathfinders.

Maxwell Owens. Pathfinders.

Maxwell Owens.

Maxwell.

It was slipping too fast. No matter how hard you tried to hold on, no matter how hard you fought it, it all slipped through your fingers. You couldn't do it, This was happening. This was inevitable. You can't hold in the sobs anymore.

Max...

You can't remember why you were crying. You sniffle, and wipe your nose. Come to think of it, you can't remember anything. You feel incredibly sad, however. You stop the crying. It felt silly to cry about something that you couldn't even identify. You wipe your eyes again, and try to stand up.

Where were you? Why was everything white? Were you blind or something? You begin to feel like you were falling, forcing you to drop back to your knees. You begin to hear an extremely loud ringing in your ears, your hands leaping up from your sides to cover them. The ringing was still there.

Then it all just stopped. The feelings of falling, the ringing, it all stopped. The sadness remained, but everything else had stopped. You slowly opened your eyes, and had to blink several times to get them to focus from being blurry. When you finally could see once more, you gazed around your environment.

"What the Hell?" You whispered.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"The only thing I need to compliment this big-ass lollipop is a bitchin' propeller hat..." You said to yourself. Trixie overheard you and giggled slightly. You liked it when she laughed. You couldn't tell if she actually understood what you meant when you cussed like that, or if she just simply laughed because you were cussing, but either way, you liked it.

You had been on the train for several hours now, and were beginning to get incredibly bored. You and Boredom didn't exactly get along. You begin to wonder if these ponies had any comedians. Or music. Or anything you could do to pass the time.

You begin to unwrap the lollipop you had saved from your earlier lunch, being careful not to send this one to the ground. Trixie already rescued your food once today. You successfully unwrap your treat, and take a few licks off of it. It was pretty good. It carried the sweetness of sugar, but the tartness of a lemon. You enjoyed it quite a bit. You feel a hoof poke you on your shoulder. It was Trixie.

"Mm-hmm?" You hummed, licking the lollipop.

"May I have a lick?" She asked.

Whaaaaat.

Did she know what she was doing, or was this just like pony culture or something? Maybe it was something friends did. You decide it would be best not to upset her or break any customs, so you reach your hand out, holding the lollipop in front of her mouth. She sticks out her tongue, and gently swipes it over the lollipop. She looks back at you, and takes a few more licks. You then pull it back, and stare at it for a moment.

She just licked that.

You put the lollipop back in your mouth, albeit slightly reluctantly. You didn't know what to think about sharing a lollipop with a pony. But maybe it really was custom. That's when you look across from you. Bakir was laughing, and Mala had a hoof over her mouth.

"Aww..." She cooed. She wasn't teasing either, she legitimately thought it was cute. You look over at Trixie, who was now blushing, and looking out of the window.

She knew damn well what she had done.

At least she was cute, otherwise this wouldn't fly with you.

The forest outside of the train was beginning to get less dense. You were finally about to come to its end, which relieved you. You were excited to see what this high and mighty Canterlot looked like. After being trapped in a desert for so long, you were excited to be in the streets of civilization once more, even if this civilization was a race of sentient ponies. You felt another hoof poke your shoulder. It was Trixie again.

"Adam." She said. "You still promise to protect me,and keep others from being mean, and keep them from staring, right?" You shook your head.

"Of course. You saved my sandwich, I owe it to you now." Trixie blushed harder, her cheeks almost turning completely red. She looked back out of the window. You look back across from you. Bakir was laughing again, and Mala was cooing even more.

"AWW..." She gasped. "That is so cute..."

You put the lollipop back in your mouth, and raise one eyebrow at her.

Eh. This is still a Hell of a lot better than the desert.