Second Wind

You were in bed with Rarity, with the comforter pulled up over your heads. You were wearing the new house pants Rarity had made for you, but that was it. She was in her silk pajamas, cuddled up on your chest.

"Alright Rarity, you ready?" She smiled.

"Darling, I've been DYING to know more about you. I'm more than ready." You grabbed your Smartphone, and pressed the button at the top, illuminating the phone. You entered the code. 6672. The phone then displayed its bright background, and slew of apps. You pressed the "pictures" button. You looked down at Rarity. She was carefully nibbling on another Crunch bar. You still can't remember why you had a backpack filled with snacks, but you were able to remember what a few things were and what they tasted like now.

"Now, bare with me on this, because I don't know if I'll be able to remember EVERYTHING, but I can try to answer as many questions as you have!" Rarity nods her head. You slide your finger across the bottom, unlocking the photo album. the first picture is one of you and your boss, shaking hands, surrounded by a horde of men in suits, clapping.

"Whoosh that?" Rarity asks with a mouthful of Crunch bar. She puts her hoof across her mouth, blushing. She swallows.

"Sorry, I don't feel the need to keep up appearances around you, darling. Who is that?"

"That's my boss. Remember how I said I was an architect? Well, that was the day my boss promoted me. I can't remember who took the photo, but I do remember they threw a party for me and everything."

"That's impressive, darling. And speaking of parties, Pinkie Pie has a day set for your party."

"When?"

"Tomorrow." You laugh. Rarity sprawls herself out across the bed, with a hoof on her forehead.

"Yes, it's true. Woe is me! There is a party tomorrow, and I have no date! Whatever does a mare do?"

"Find a date?" You smile. She re-assumes her position of using your chest as a pillow.

"And here I thought you were a gentleman." You swipe your finger over to the next photo. This is, you like. It's your roommate and his girlfriend sitting in a bar, on stools, with you between the two, with one arm around each.

"Call it a sixth sense, but I know alcohol when I see it. I'm assuming this was taken at a bar?" You nod your head.

"Yeah, that's my roommate, and his girlfriend. I can't remember their names, or the bar we were at, or why we took this photo, but I know that's them." You swipe your finger once more. This time, it's a picture of you lying in bed, a mess. The blanket is halfway hanging off you, and you are hanging halfway off of the bed, pillows strewn about the room. You hear Rarity laugh.

"My goodness, I bet this one was taken after the night at the bar!" With another swipe of the finger, comes another picture. This is one is of whom you assume is one of your friends, standing in a horizontal line facing a flag, saluting it.

"I actually don't remember a thing about this. I'm assuming one of these guys must be a friend on mine, and I believe that, when you enter military service where I come from, you have to take an oath over a flag."

"Darling, please don't strain yourself. If you cannot remember, that's okay." She nuzzles her head against your chest to express herself.

"Okay, we'll do one more." You swipe one last time. This picture kind of hurts to look at. Physically hurt. It makes you feel like you have a slight headache, looking at it. It looked like a picture of you and some friends posing outside of a bank. You quickly press the return button to make the picture fade away. Rarity uses an arm to prop herself up.

"Darling? Are you okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. That picture kinda hurt my head. But I'm alright. Hey, you wanna hear some music?"

"That sounds delightful, darling." You scroll over to the music tab on your phone, and look through the massive lists of music. You get an idea.

"Rarity, I want you to pick a song. I know you can't read English, but just use your hoof to tap one of the listings." Rarity looks back up to you, and back at the phone.

"Are you sure Darling? I don't want to press anything weird or break it." You use your hand to gently grab her hoof.

"We'll do it together." She gently presses her hoof forward, and presses a song at random.

Youtube Video

The song is called "I Remember" by Deadmau5 and Kaskade. Ironically, you do not remember this song, but you pay close attention to it's lyrics.

Feeling the past moving in

Letting a new day begin

Hold to the time that you know

You don't have to move on to let go

Add to the memory you keep

Remember when you fall asleep

Hold to the love that you know

You don't have to give up to let go

The song plays all the way through. Rarity looks up at you.

"Darling, that was amazing. I'm not one for such electronic music, but those lyrics seemed really...touching...and, well...darling, I'm just going to say it. they sound very appropriate to your situation. I know it's very hard having to do all of this journeying to locate your memories. I'm here for you. We all are. And we don't expect you to let go of your past, but we are here for you. I'm here for you. I care for you quite a bit. One might even say that I love you." She twiddles her hooves.

"I KNOW that was a little too forward, but in times as rapidly changing as this, I feel like I have to express myself. I mean, I watched you get mercilessly attacked, and then the Princess wants to see you, and then you start recovering your memories, and now the Princess wants you to come back, it just worries me immensely. I don't know how much longer you'll be around." You start to see her eyes filling with tears.

"I mean, I have friends, yes, and I have Sweetie Belle, but I've never had what you've given me this past week. I've never had another pony ever express such romantic interest to me." She sniffles.

"I just want you to be happy, is all, d-darling." You see more tears coming. You use your hand to bring her face up to yours. You look into her eyes, watching as a tear or two fall.

"Rarity, listen to me. I know I just came out of the blue. But I won't leave that way. I'm happy here. While recovering my memory would be nice, I could spend the rest of my days like this, with you, and be perfectly fine. I mean, there has to be some reason for why I'm so attracted to you, right? I'm still me, I'm still Aaden. I just don't remember much anymore." You stroke her mane. She's still crying.

Alright, Aaden, you can do this.

You put your hand behind her head, and slowly pull her towards yours. She stops whimpering and looks up at you, as your heads come closer.

No resistance. This is what she wants.

As your heads get closer, you begin to feel adrenaline pump through you once more. You start to feel your extremities get numb, cold almost. As your heads get closer, you notice her close her eyes. You do the same. You slowly slide your hand away from the back of her neck to her cheek. she's moving towards you on her own now. She smells of lavender and other flowers. Finally, after what felt like 5 minutes, lips make contact. She lets out a low, but quiet moan, as the embrace occurs. You hold it for just a moment, savoring the moment between you two. you release her lips, and open your eyes to meet hers. She nuzzles her head against your chest again. In a matter of moments, she falls back into the arms of sleep. You kiss her forehead one last time, and lay your head back, as well. Sleep also takes you in a matter of moments. Not a single word was said after the embrace. None were needed. Clear eyes and full hearts took the place of words.

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You awake in your bed to see Aaden has left. Your heart begins to race.

Oh no.

You quickly throw on your silk pajamas, and dash downstairs. His backpack is still here, as is his briefcase. You let out a sigh of relief. You still wish you knew where he went. You walk back over to the counter, and once again, there is another sticky note. Well, several sticky notes. In a series of crudely drawn pictures and symbols, you take it to mean that he is out helping Pinkie Pie with the party today. This, of course, was represented by a pink pony, a smiley face, and a series of balloons. There's also another Crunch bar out on the table, with another sticky note with yet another crudely drawn heart on it. You can't help but to smile. You've never opened up like that before, told anyone your purest emotion, and not only did you do it last night, but he seemed to not only listen to your feelings, but share them.

You notice the warehouse letter still sitting on the counter. In the excitement of last night, you forgot to mention it to him. You decide to do so tomorrow, when he's winding down from the party.

After a light breakfast, you go onto the sales floor of your business. You'd like to look good for Aaden tonight, especially since it's a party in his favor. You ultimately decide to surprise him with a new outfit to wear tonight, as well as make something for you to wear that matches his new outfit. You stretch and yawn.

Lets get to work.

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Through some kind of method you don't quite understand, Vinyl Scratch now has all of the songs stored on your phone. At least you'll have music you are somewhat familiar with at this party. So far today, you have met with Pinkie Pie, and have picked out what kind of sweets you would like served. You met with Applejack to get cider for the party. Now, you've just finished up getting Vinyl to pick out music. You decide to walk home, take a break. Maybe have some lunch with Rarity. As you were walking home through the marketplace, you hear a familiar voice call out your name.

"Aaden!" You turn around. Oliver is walking towards you, a smile on his face. He's still in his golden armor.

"Hey Oliver. Here to spy on me again?"

"Actually, yes. I am. But I know you're a good man. The Princess may be a tad suspicious if i return early. Would you like to go grab a drink or something?"

"Sure, sounds great. I'd hate for you to get in trouble, though."

"Well, I cannot say why I am watching you, but, it involves our meeting here in two weeks. We need to make sure you are fit for our offer. I have to watch you for a certain amount of time. That could either be over some drinks and lunch, or over me following you for an hour." You laugh.

"Alright, lead the way." You follow Oliver to a small bar called "Wizzies". You both sit up on the bar stools by the bar, and place orders for food and drink. Oliver slides his helmet off, and puts it at his feet.

"So. Oliver. What's it like being an honor guard? Travel much?"

"Too much, brother. From the Frozen North to the Haysead Swamps, you name it, I've been there."

"Sounds like fun."

"Not as much as one would think. I ever tell you about my family?" You nod your head.

"Got a wife back home. 2 kids. I spend about 6 weeks on duty, then 6 weeks with them." He takes a deep drink of his beer.

"Not exactly ideal." You didn't want to drink before the party, so you just ordered a soda with your food. You drink out of it while he recounts his journeys. Well over an hour passes.

"...lost 6 in the Badlands. Damn shame, too. Heard they had family back home, too." Oliver looks up at the clock.

"Well, thanks for the company, brother. We will cross paths again soon." You decide to say the exact same thing you said to him yesterday.

"Safe travels, Oliver." Once again, he nodded, and darted off into the sky.

You begin your walk once again, passing by the groups of ponies setting up a large tent-like thing that says "WELCOME AADEN!" on the front of it.

Pinkie must be behind that.

You didn't mind it. You were excited to get out and socialize, talk to everyone. It made you feel good to know that so many ponies were putting an effort into making this party great. Pinkie was baking, Vinyl was getting the music together, Applejack and Big Mac were getting barrels of cider into the area, not to mention how many ponies were simply spreading the word. Tonight was going to be a night to remember, that's for sure.