Scratchback

by FightorFlyT

Prologue

        I wish I could start over...

        Have you ever had that thought? Have you ever had a bad day? A shitty weekend? Got in a fight with your girlfriend, crash your car, do something so ridiculously stupid that afterward you just sit back and can't help but think, “How could I have been so dumb!”?

        Have I had any of those moments?

        Well... I guuueeess you could say tha- yes. More than I can count. I used to be a complete poster boy for screw-ups.

        Yeah. I was a nerd who got wasted at every party I went to. I drove my best when drunk. The closest I'd been to a pair of actual tits was when I fell into a paramedic's breasts after (surprise surprise) I was being resuscitated at a college rave. Granted, I wasn't even a college student, so that cooouuuld be counted as a bonus...

        Anyways, I was a complete mess. Most of my days was spent either (trying to be) hacking Blizzard to level up my WoW character without actually spending the time to level him up, trying miserably to pass the sobriety tests I had to face every two weeks due to my spotty track record, or training.

        I was, at the prime age of 19, a Senior Airmen in the United States Air Force. I had a decent job, cyberspace security. I would like to say I landed the job with ease and was the head of my own department simply because I was that awesome, but I have to admit that the only reason I was there was because of Ned, the Officer in charge of my entire department and my personal mentor in life. Recently, at least. Ned had always been a good friend to me and, whenever my dad was off at rehab, a kind of adoptive father to me. He was only ten years older than me, but if I ever were to return home, he would be the first guy I'd want to see. He gave me the chance to join the Air Force, doing a short stint as a recruiter before silver-tonguing his way back to cyberspace security.

        Actually, he'd be the only person I'd want to see. I had absolutely zilch for friends, save ol' Neddy. I mean, I had drinking buddies, but lets face it: that's ALL they were. I hardly knew them. I didn't even know their names! But they had given me the nickname 'Lycii', my new name, and that is the ONLY reason I have any need to even mention them. They said I drank more than a werewolf with the munchies, yet another product of our booze-soaked contribution to the world. Thus, my nickname. It was actually a slur of Lycan and... well, something that sounds like a drunk nerd gargling a bottle of dirty quarters. Beautiful, I'm aware.

        But that was my life before. Then, I thought I was on top of the world. Boy, was I wrong. Looking back, I can't believe that I even made it that far.

        I'm not going to tell you much more about my past life because, honestly, anything else you need to know will be told in the following story.

        Story?! That's right, story! Go grab some popcorn and a NOS, snuggle up in a cozy chair, and read on. This story is of my life. My REAL life. The life I wouldn't mind sharing with my sister and brother, if I ever see them again. The life I can die proud of. The life that I made with some help, but made right. Not some conglomerate a drowning sorrow and irresponsibility.

        I'll be honest, I'm going to get sappy at some parts. I'll be frank, I might sound angst-y at others. And lets face it, I'm going to be extremely passionate about... the rest, really.

        But this is how I changed.

        This is the story of how I went from destroying my life to saving somepony else's. This is the story of a certain lucky colt who happened to be at the right place at the right moment, and because of that was able to turn everything around.

        This isn't a new beginning. No, this is more of a...

        Scratchback.