" He'll be alright, and even better, he's awake. " These words from the nurse immediately lifted the worry from the hearts of the six ponies.

Rainbow Dash bolted up towards the nurse before Twilight even had a chance to say the exact same words that were about to come out of her mouth, " Is he OK?! Can we see him?! Please tell me I need to know!!" Rainbow Dash said frantically, only to be pried off the nurse by Twilight.

The little outburst from the cyan pony startled the nurse, but as she laid her eyes on the worried ponies, she could see it was a reasonable reaction, and so she nodded. A loud sigh of relief came from Twilight, " Oh thank Celestia, can you show us where he is? " The nurse nodded again before leading them through the hospital, and to a room at the very end of a long hallway.

The nurse stopped outside the door and looked at them, " He's right in there, please be cautious though, he hasn't shown any signs of hostility...but he doesn't seem to trust anypony, " she said before leaving.

Twilight looked at her five friends with slight unease, " Well...do we go in separately or in there together? " she was hoping to get a quick response, but much to her dismay all she got were silent stares. " I-I'm asking...should we introduce ourselves separately and get him to trust us one-by-one...or go in together and hope he'll trust us that way? " Twilight asked in an almost stressed voice.

Fluttershy was the first to speak up, much to everypony's surprise " U-um...m-maybe we should...g-go in together. I'm not saying I don't trust him or anything...It's just...his eyes scare me... " she shivered at the thought of being alone in the room with those blood red eyes looking at her.

Fluttershy felt a hoof placed upon her shoulder, the owner of hoof being Applejack, " Don't ya worry yer pretty little head Fluttershy, we'll all go in there with ya. " She gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile to help show the frightened pony she meant it. " And if this Feller is dangerous, I Pinkie promise ya that nothin' bad will happen. " Applejack could practically feel Pinkie Pie breathing down her neck with these words having been said, " Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. "

" Well be he good or bad, I was up all night in that filthy waiting area repairing his coat, so I intend on returning it to him and showing my hoofwork, " Rarity said while levitating the aforementioned coat in front of her. She stared idly at it, " Although I must admit, whoever made this marvelous coat in the first place must have been an expert, I've never seen such fine materials or stitching, " however the others paid no mind to Rarity as they were more worried about the condition stallion was in and what he was like.

Rainbow Dash had been staring at the door the whole time that the others had been talking. So many things going through her mind, mainly how this pony had gotten in that bad of condition, or how he was still alive. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a hoof nudge her, as she looked to her side, she Twilight standing next to her," It's gonna be alright Rainbow, we'll go in there together find out just who he is... We'll introduce ourselves and then we'll see where it goes from there. " Twilight's words had brought a small smile to her friend's face, " Besides, you did save his life, so maybe you'll get another fan out of this, " Twilight said in a slight teasing manner.

" Very funny Twi, " Rainbow Dash said, her usual demeanor having returned shortly, " I guess It's alright if we go in there together...but um...could you introduce yourself first, you know the old saying, save the best for last, " she nervously chuckled. This and the way she had said it made Twilight think she was actually embarrassed to go first.

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile, " Of course I will Rainbow Dash, don't worry. " She turned to the others, " Alright is everypony ready? " Upon receiving a nod from all five of them, she turned the door, took a deep breath, and slowly opened it. Sitting on the bed was the very stallion that each one of them was thinking about at the moment. He turned his head towards Twilight and gave her a cold glare that said "go away", but Twilight wasn't accepting that. She walked over to his bedside and looked him in the eyes, those blood-red pools that were his eyes sent shivers down her spine, but she couldn't let that stop her. " It's good to see you're alright...we were really worried about you, " Twilight said sincerely while eyeing his body, almost every inch was covered in bandages.

His gaze remained upon her but was quickly fixated the other five ponies with her, making poor Fluttershy jump slightly, " ...Why worry about someone you don't even know... " his voice was low, in Twilight's opinion it matched his appearance, he did have that whole tough as nails look to him even, when nearly covered from head to hoof in bandages.

Something caught Twilight's attention, the way he had referred to himself, he hadn't said somepony, but she decided that now wasn't the best moment to point that out. " Well...we were worried because of how badly you were injured...and we honestly didn't know if you were going to make it or not...but thank Celestia you're alright. " She noticed he had been staring at her the entire time she spoke, as if he were taking in her words one syllable at a time. " Well...anyway I'm Twilight Sparkle, these are my friends, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Da- " her words were caught in her mouth as she looked around for Rainbow Dash, only to find her usually confident friend hidden behind the other four. " ...Rainbow Dash, please get out here, it's rude to hide, " she turned back to him, " I'm so sorry about her...this is Rainbow Dash, the pony who brought you here. "

His eyes were looking at nothing in-particular as she spoke, rather they seemed to be looking off into space. " She saved me huh...thanks, I guess, " Rainbow Dash honestly didn't know whether to be happy not with the stranger's thanks.

Pinkie Pie eagerly hopped forward, " Now you know our names, so now please tell us your name! " she said with a big grin on her face.

" Pinkie!" Twilight yelled in a scolding tone, " You don't just go up front and ask somepony their name! You need to let them warm up... " she paused, " but, while we're on the subject, a name or any form of identification would be helpful to us in order to find out who you are. "

He looked at her with a confusion on his face, " M-my...name? " she nodded, he closed his eyes and slowly moved his head back and forth as we as brought his hoof up to his head, almost like he had a headache. " My name...I-I don't..remember, " a saddened look appeared on Twilight's and the others faces. At the same moment images and words began flashing through the mysterious stallion's head, " Come on Axel! You'll never get stronger if you don't get back up! ", not caring that they were still in the room he began to speak to himself through the severe head pain, although It mostly came out as grumbles and mumbles. " Get your ass up Ryder! We're gonna be late for the scouting party, and you know better than anyone how the captain gets, and don't forget your sword again either, " his eyes clenched tighter, the pain worsening.

Twilight decided to speak up, " So you don't know who you are,,,amnesia more than likely, " she sighed as she looked up at him, only to see he was still suffering, " A-are you ok?! Here I think I know a spell that might get rid of your headache, " her horn began to glow as she cast the pain soothing spell she spoke of. At first it looked like it started to work, but without warning she could physically see his pain worsening. She was about to frantically speak again but was stopped by Applejack tapping her on her shoulder and pointing to his horn, which was glowing red, as if it were reacting to Twilight's magic.

He let out a deep growl of pain and frustration before releasing a red beam from his horn, which shot through the roof. Almost immediately after releasing the burst of magic he collapsed onto his bed, albeit still awake. Twilight could feel a great amount of heat coming from him after he fired off the magic. She could also see it had frightened her friends, or at least made them jump. But what caught her off guard the most was him suddenly speaking, " ...Ryder... "

Twilight looked at him with a confused expression, " E-excuse me...but could you please repeat that? "

He laid his gaze upon her, then sat up and spoke again, " I said, Ryder...my name is Axel Ryder...and if you want more information I'm sorry to inform you that's all I know. " Twilight and the other five stared at the stranger with wide eyes because of what he had just said.

" What in tarnation?!? Ah've never heard a name like that before, " She whistled, " partner you must be special or somethin' " Applejack said while trying to sound as friendly as can be, the others save for Twilight, simply looked at her, " Well shoot, if he trust us enough to tell us his name then I think It's OK to be friendly to him. " Applejack looked at the stallion whose cold glare had softened into a normal glance, she turned to him and held her hoof out, " The name's Applejack, I help run Sweet Apple Acres, we got the best apples in all of Equestria, It's nice to meet you partner. "

He looked at her hoof before hesitantly, and slowl shaking it, " It's...nice to meet you too, " the tone in his voice didn't exactly sound warm but she knew it meant he was opening up even if it was by a little bit. He clenched his eyes shut again as he watched more images speed through his mind, along with more words accompanying them.

" Whoa! What's this? " a small foal asked holding up an apple, he eyed it like a jeweler eyed an uncut diamond. He sniffed it before taking a big bite out of it, " Wow this is delicious!! " he exclaimed with glee as he continued to eat, not noticing the larger figure walk up behind him.

" It's called an apple, " a mature feminine voice said, " and yeah, they're pretty damn tasty", he turned around to see a tall mare looking at him, he couldn't make out their face, but oddly enough, he knew who it was.

" Mama! " He happily shouted, " this apple thing taste really good! They're gonna be my favorite food from now on!!!" the little foal declared with joy and excitement.

He opened his eyes as the memory faded, only to see Applejack waving her hoof in his face" Uh...partner are ya OK? " she looked at him slightly confused.

He shook it off and looked at her, " Yeah, I'm fine...you said before you grow apples, right? " Axel asked.

Her confused expression turned into that of a happy one, " Yer darn tootin! we grow some THE best apples in all of Equestria, er Axel was it? Why are ya wonderin? "

He slightly shook his head, " I...just remembered that I really love apples, they're one of my favorites, " his words brought a big grin to Applejack. He turned to the others and immediately saw Rarity holding his coat, " My coat, that's something I could never forget, even with amnesia... " he said somberly.

Rarity noticed the tone in his voice shift as he spoke about his coat, " Well darling, it was in tattered shreds when we found you...so I personally took it upon my own liberty to fix it for you. " She gave a smile of her own, " I must say, whoever made it certainly knew what they were doing, the stitching that was left intact was flawless, " she placed the coat at the edge of the bed for him.

After staring at it for a few short moments he lifted it up with his hooves scanning over it, a small smile slowly forming on his face, " Thank you..some..somebody special made it for me...I only wish I remembered who they were. " He turned to her with the small, but appreciative smile on his face, " I truly thank you...um what did you say your name was? "

A smile grew on her face as she fluttered her eyelashes, " Why you're absolutely welcome, and my name darling, is Rarity. "

He nodded, " Thank you Rarity, this means a lot to me... " He eyed the coat once more, looking at the sutures in the fabric,
" you seem to be very skilled at sewing, a master if you will. " His thanks and praise made Rarity blush slightly, but before he could say anything else, a pink blur was right in his face.

Her curiosity having gotten the best of her, Pinkie Pie shot forwards to the stranger, getting in his face, where she began to ask multiple questions, " Why are you so big? where did you get that scar from? Is your hair really that black? What happened to you last night? Do you have a mare friend? " With the last question being asked, Twilight quickly covered Pinkie's mouth and pulled her away.

" Eheheh, S-sorry about her", Twilight said with a sheepish smile, " She tends to get really excited easily. This is Pinkie Pie, she takes it upon herself to greet all the new ponies in Ponyville, with you being one of those new ponies, " Axel gave a nod. Twilight then went over to Fluttershy, who at the moment, was cowering behind Applejack, " Go on Fluttershy, he won't hurt you, " she said in a comforting voice. " He was probably just confused, I mean he couldn't even remember his own name, " as embarrassing as it was he had to nod in agreement.

Although she had done it slowly, and hesitantly, she did approach him before slowly holding out her hoof. He stared at the shaking hoof for a moment, before reaching his own out to shake hers. The sudden contact made her squeal in surprise, " I..I'm...my...my names... " but the rest came out as an inaudible whisper.

He looked at her with a confused expression momentarily, " I'm sorry, but could you repeat that? "

She shakily nodded, and in a very hushed but audible voice, " My...my names...F-Fluttershy... " she looked as if she could faint at any given moment.

They shared a glance for a brief moment before he spoke up, " ...Do you take care of animals Fluttershy? " She shyly nodded, which earned a slight smile from him, " I figured so, you carry the scent of many different animals, and I do mean that in a good way. " Although she didn't understand why, she couldn't help but blush at his strange compliment.

The "compliment" might not have bothered Fluttershy, but it didn't exactly sit right with Applejack, " Now hold on a darn second, how could ya have possibly know Fluttershy took care of animals if yer just now meetin her?! " She waited for his answer.

He gave a simple shrug of the shoulders, " I honestly don't know, I guess my sense of smell is that good. " Applejack sighed in response, he did have amnesia after all, how could he know? So she gave an understanding nod before walking over to Twilight. Axel's gaze was then fixated Rainbow Dash, who at the moment was trying her best to stay out of sight," You know, you don't have to hide. "

His words made Rainbow Dash jump slightly, causing her to face him " I-Uh...sorry about that, I..I'm R...Rainbow Dash. " She stopped and shook her head, " The fastest flier in all of equestria, " she said the last part in an attempt to keep her calm and cool as possible, yet failing terribly at it. She scolded herself mentally, " Get it together Dash! You're starting to become more a nervous wreck, just like Fluttershy! You just gotta stay cool, It's not like he's anything special...although...he does look kinda strong, I bet he'd make one hell of a pegasus... " she lost herself lost in thought to the point that she hadn't realized she was staring right at him.

After a minute of awkward silence, Axel clapped his hooves in her face to get her attention, " Uh...Rainbow Dash was it? You said you were the one who saved me...correct? " She was blushing madly from having been caught staring. She quickly nodded, and he looked at her for a moment, " I...I truly thank you, I am in your's and Rarity's debt, for saving my life and fixing my most prized possession. " He then surprised everypony present by climbing out of the hospital bed standing on all four legs.

To say he was tall was far from a lie, he stood almost half a head higher than Big Macintosh, and had a body built to match his height. " Well shoot! you're a big feller ain't ya? " Applejack asked, in a surprise and almost admiring way. " You're just as big as my older brother, and he's one of the biggest stallions in Ponyville, " she and the others watched as he removed the bandages from his forelegs, he wasn't the most muscular colt she had seen, but he sure was up there. His body in her eyes looked more like a farm worker's body than that of a typical unicorn.

"Is, that's a bad thing?" he questioned her statement.

She started to quickly shake her head in response to his question, " No, no, no, no, It's not a bad thing. Ya...ya just surprised me," her hectic speech caused him to chuckle.

When Twilight saw him getting unbandaged, she quickly and sternly walked over to him, " Just what do you think you're doing?! You're not supposed to leave this bed until you're bett-" she froze and stared wide eyed at his body, besides the bruises that littered his body and the scars both new and old, there wasn't a scratch on him. She wanted to say and ask so many things at that moment but only one thing came, " but...but how?!?! You were covered from head to hoof in wounds yesterday! N-now you look like you were only in a small scrap... "

He shrugged before clenching his eyes shut once more, feeling another memory force It's way into his head. Fluttershy took notice of this and spoke up, " Um...girls...if..if he can't remember anything, don't you think him doing this is him trying remembering? " Then it dawned on Twilight that he wasn't experiencing headaches, he was attempting to find all his lost and mismatched memories.

Upon getting his composure back he looked at her and said, " I don't know, I guess I just heal fast... " he shook his head and mumbled, "damn that was a pointless memory. " he slid his coat on and made his way to the door, " You ladies coming? " He walked out leaving the six ponies speechless and awestruck, just five minutes ago he helplessly laid in bed, now he was and walking around just fine.

As if by sheer coincidence a single thought popped into the girl's head's, save for Pinkie Pie who was thinking about what sweet she'll eat when she gets home. That thought was, " Just who or what is Axel Ryder?! "

Author's Note

Well mares and gentlecolts i hope you enjoyed this chapter, I worked really hard on it, looking over it with the advice that my readers gave me. I thank all of you and I'll try my best to get another chapter up later today. So stay close by you wouldn't want to miss whatever will happen next