My Own Flesh and Blood

The Calm Before the Storm

"Aaaaand send!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed in exhilaration, throwing herself backward into a waiting pile of pillows just as she finished wrapping up the last of her work. Her mane was a mess again, completely neglected through a hard day of study and steady authoring on one of her finest works to date. She could hardly contain her excitement as her imagination ran overtime, conjuring up images of her acceptance speech for the Ponybel prize in Magic.

Spike picked up the carefully bound and sealed container of research material, including a letter of apology to Princess Celestia for the 'terrible imposition' Twilight was about to make on her. Indeed there was no way the package, if dispatched through the normal mail service, would ever have made it to the submission office in Canterlot before the deadline in a few hours. But Twilight was banking on her mentor's kind-hearted nature and the fact that she sent her regular letters about her experiences with the magic of friendship (that was in fact the majority of the letter, with the apology and subsequent begging for the favor sneaking its way in toward the end) to grant her the much needed favor of making the submission on her behalf. Or, more likely, having one of the castle's servants do it.

Now one would normally have been horrified to witness the result of weeks of effort go up in flames, but after living with Spike and his unique ability to send objects to the Princess with his enchanted dragon breath, Twilight did not so much as bat an eye at the feat while she reclined in her fluffy make-shift bed. The green flames completely transformed the package into ashes which, instead of simply falling to the floor, promptly swirled around once before streaming toward the nearest open window and whisking away into the steadily darkening sky.

Twilight was looking forward to a quiet evening catching up on all the sleep she had lost over the past few days. Unfortunately for her, such was not going to be the case if a certain pink pony had anything to do with it.

There was a quick and heavy knocking at the door. Three times to be exact. Twilight Sparkle groaned, covering her face with a pillow as Spike ambled over to the door to see who it was.

"MrR umfrfd!" an ever energetic Pinkie Pie tried to say with an envelope in her mouth. Spike reached up and took it from her.

"Try that again?" he asked looking at what appeared to be an invitation.

"You're invited to the Alpha's-All-Better -and-Twilight's-Belated-Birthday-Party-Extravaganza!" From her head and back mounted, semi-automatic, gas operated, glitter encrusted, pink party cannons Pinkie Pie fired off confetti and streamers with a quick hop - the huge grin never leaving her face. "Two down, four to go!" she added cheerily spinning around and beginning to trot away.

"Wait!" came a muffled call from inside the library. Twilight stumbled out of the door in less than graceful manner, a rogue pillow clinging to her back. "Pinkie! Did you say … has Alpha been discharged?" She had found his recovery just as miraculous as doctor Heartstrong did, but she also remembered the time Rainbow Dash was laid up with a broken wing. The doctor had kept her in bed until it was fully healed, meaning that either Alpha had displayed another miraculous spurt of self-healing, or … the doctor had gone easy on him?

"Well of course silly billy," the party mare beamed, looking back at her, "We can't have a party for him if he can't come to it! I just came from the hospital, he was the first pony I invited!" she finished with another big grind. Twilight's expression changed from astonishment to confusion then deadpanned.

"Pinkie how long were you waiting there?"

"Since I got off work this afternoon of course!" Pinkie trilled as if it was the most obvious thing in all of Equestria.

"Wasn't that … three hours ago?"

Pinkie looked up into the sky with a look of intense concentration, as if the answer lay somewhere among the stars. "Uh-huh!" she exclaimed, looking back at Twilight again, wide grin. "I gotta go give Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity their invitations so see yah later alligator!" With that Pinkie bounced off merrily, leaving Twilight and Spike rolling their eyes.

"The party's tomorrow Twi, we're going right?" Spike asked after quickly reading the invitation, looking up at Twilight with pleading eyes.

"Well I did promise …" she began, thoughts starting to wander a bit before she snapped her head up at a sudden realization, "Of course we're going! We have much to celebrate; after all I did finish my paper on time!" she smiled to herself, then at Spike before turning to go back up to her room. "And of course you know, there will be much sleeping tonight! Can't party on empty, can we?"

"Alright! Hey do you think Rarity will-" Spike flopped into Twilight's pillow pile, instantly asleep and snoring in mid-sentence. She giggled before giving him a quick kiss on the head and levitating a blanket over his lower body.

"Goodnight my number one assistant," she whispered before stumbling drunkenly up to her room, yawning with her eyelids feeling like they weighed a ton. 'I wonder where Alpha's sleeping tonight,' was her last thought before drifting off.

Earlier that day

A grinning pink pony walked into the hospital. Not more than five minutes pass before a scowling pink pony landed flank first in the dirt after being tossed out of the hospital. The mare made a face at the closing door, sticking her tongue out.

"They didn't have to be such mean meanie pantses about it," she grumbled crossing her forelegs over her chest. In another instant the mood passed and she stood up, her expression now one of deep thought after realizing her previous plans were foiled. She had found out the pony she sought was still in there, but it seemed that one of the receptionists recognized her before she could go looking.

With a sudden epiphany, the pink mare proceeded to bounce in circles around the nearest tree while humming happily to herself.

A few hours later

Doctor Heartstrong nudged open the door with his flank, walking backward into the room while sipping his coffee. The eerie quiet was the first thing he noticed before turning around, the next was the rope loosely piled on the floor beneath the chair he had left Alpha sitting in. He pulled the cup away from his face with a start, his head snapping up to look at the other two occupants.

Alpha was standing in front of doctor Tintenflecks with a confused expression on his face. The doctor was simply staring blankly at him. Alpha raised a hoof to wave in-front of the doctor's face, a gesture that Heartstrong immediately reacted to with paranoia.

"Whoa there son, what's going on here exactly?" he asked with a bit of the nervousness seeping into his voice as he took long strides over to the two ponies. Alpha looked around with a start, not realizing another had joined them.

"Wh- oh, it's you. I dunno, I opened my eyes a moment ago and he was just … standing there. Is this part of the procedure?" Alpha looked at Heartstrong still confused but showing a bit of concern at the same time. The doctor placed his cup on the table and used the free hoof to reach over to Tintenflecks, resting it gently on his shoulder.

"Doctor?" After getting no response for a few seconds he shook the green unicorn gently. "Doctor Tintenflecks can you hear me?" With that the heavily accented doctor blinked furiously, jerking out of his previous state with a snort and shaking his head.

"Vha-? Yes?" Tintenflecks finally said after getting his bearings.

"Are you alright doctor? Did something happen?"

Tintenflecks blinked some more, trying to recall the past few minutes before his expression went blank and he began in a monotone, "Everything is fine, there is nothing wrong with the patient."

Heartstrong frowned heavily then looked back at Alpha who simply shrugged, still looking quite clueless. He looked back at the doctor again. "Are you … certain? Were your methods successful?"

"I was not able to restore his memory," Tintenflecks droned.

"What about reproducing the … reaction we are looking for?"

"The patient does not appear to be violent in any way"

At this Heartstrong's frown deepened. In the short time that he had known the doctor he had come to expect a certain eagerness to work with this case. Quite the opposite of what he was showing now. It almost seemed as if he was in a hurry to be rid of his patient. And that voice … the way his accent had just about completely disappeared …

"Not even with … the trigger phrase?" Heartstrong asked, referring to something they had only whispered among themselves up until that point. Ever since the incident he had kept a clear memory of the last few words he overheard Twilight saying to Alpha before he … snapped.

"See for yourself," Tintenflecks state flatly, holding out a hoof toward Alpha. It had been a constant mental excersize for him, going over and over those words, picking out everything that was said before and since then with no reaction, and it all came down to one thing;

"For Celestia's sake …" he almost whispered when he'd finished staring holes into Alpha, trying to decide if it was a good idea to try without him restrained. Apparently … Tintenflecks was correct. Alpha just blinked at him slowly.

"Who's Celestia?" asked Alpha at length, an eyebrow hiked up in the air. Doctor Heartstrong breathed a heavy sigh of relief. For the past few hours since he'd realized that this was the only phrase that could have triggered Alpha, he had been entertaining all kinds of crazy ideas about Alpha's origins. Everything from griffon spies to minotaur assassins had passed through his mind. But clearly now, however, it seemed his fears were completely unfounded.

'Too many late nights spent in various works of fiction,' he thought to himself.

"Can I … go outside now?" Alpha asked after not getting an answer to the previous question, realizing that things were started to get rather awkward with the two professionals remaining silent most of the time.

Doctor Heartstrong looked back at Tintenflecks, his facial expression set as if to ask his opinion. "The patient does not appear to be violent," Tintenflecks replied again in the same monotone. "I must go now, there is nothing left for me to do here," he added, turning in a robotic fashion and walking toward the door. Tintenflecks' behavior still deeply troubled doctor Heartstrong, but when it came right down to it, Alpha did not appear to have changed in any way or exhibit any abnormal behavior when he heard the trigger, so there really was no reason that he could give to keep him any longer.

Hearstrong moved over to Alpha's side and began to probe gently at his wing with one hoof. "How do your wings feel now son?" he asked as the door swung back closed after Tintenflecks' departure.

"A little sore, but alright I guess"

Heartstrong began to remove the bandages very carefully. "You're still going to need to stay off them for a little longer – can you managed that or will I have to prescribe something for you?"

Alpha tried to move the first un-bandaged wing as the doctor ambled around to his other side. It was stiff, and actually quite difficult to get it to even twitch, but when it did the dull pain that began made him quickly abort the attempt entirely. "No, I think they're providing all the incentive I need," he replied with a sheepish smile, one eye squinted.

"Okay son, now you make sure to come right on back if you have another … episode, alright? Oh and make sure you pay Bedside Manor a visit before you go, I'll never hear the end of it if she doesn't get to say goodbye herself!"

This brought a smile to Alpha's face. Not just because he had grown a bit fond of the only pony that had been able to visit him the most during his stay at the hospital, but also at the hope that he might be able to get another great meal at the same time.

"That sounds like a great idea!" he exclaimed with a grin. Heartstrong had just finished un-wrapping the last of the bandages and stepped back to look at Alpha.

"Oh, one last thing," he added, coming back in close to Alpha's face, "this," he began, brushing away the tuft of dull orange mane that usually covered Alpha's horn and nudging it gently, "may cause you more trouble than you'd like. You see … we don't have many … ponies like you in Equestria. There are plenty with wings and plenty with horns, but only a few with both. It would be a good idea if you keep this hidden beneath your mane like that, okay?"

"Wh- is it … am I a monster?" asked Alpha, looking extremely distraught all of a sudden.

"What? No! Oh goodness no boy, nothing of the sort I assure you!" Alpha sighed in relief. "No it's just that … well until you remember everything … you may want to keep that part a bit of a secret, alright?" The doctor still had his doubts. But no matter what the case was, the last thing either of them needed was a bunch of wild gossip spreading around Equestria.

"Um … okay, I guess …" Alpha mumbled, still more than a little confused about the whole thing.

"Are you … able to use magic?"

"Magic?"

Doctor Heartstrong had been expecting that reaction, and so he levitated his cup from the table and brought it to hover between them. "Like this"

"Oh … uh …" Alpha turned and looked at the stack of cards, the only item left on the table now. He started to concentrate on it, imagining it was going to float up into the air … but nothing happened. He tried again, this time sticking out a hoof toward the stack. Still nothing. After a few more tries with varying flourish involved he gave up. "Am I supposed to be able to use this … magic?" he asked looking a little disappointed.

"Well …" Doctor Heartstrong considered telling him about the night before but quickly decided against it. If Alpha couldn't will his magic to work then perhaps it was for the best. Nothing drew attention like a glowing horn, even from under that tuft of mane. "I don't know Alpha. Perhaps you'll find out when you regain your memories – something I'm sure should happen in a few days."

"I hope so … being so clueless about everything doesn't feel so good at all."

"Well off you go son. Try to stay out of trouble okay?"

"Thank you doctor, I will," replied Alpha cheering up at the thought of finally being 'free'.

It was almost dark outside by the time the hospital door opened and a grinning Alpha Centauri trotted through it looking as if he had just consumed a feast. The pink pony, still hopping around the tree in what was now a six inch track carved into the dirt around it, stopped suddenly when she noticed him and let out a huge gasp. A moment later there was only a cloud of dust where she once stood.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?" she exclaimed, suddenly appearing next to a rather startled Alpha.

"Gah- oh come on! Does everyone around here try to scare the spots off everyone else?" he exclaimed, frustrated with himself for being so jumpy.

"Only on Nightmare Night silly! Besides, you don't have any spots to scare off"

"Wha- oh, is that tonight?"

"Nooooooooo," she cooed with a giggle, "That's two-hundred and fifty six day from now," she added with a grin. Alpha just blinked at her.

"I'm sorry … have we met?"

"Yes! No. Maybe? Both? What's your name?"

"… Alpha Centauri-"

"Well then Alpha, you're invited to the Alpha's-All-Better -and-Twilight's-Belated-Birthday-Party-Extravaganza!"

"W-wait … you just made that up, didn't you?"

"No silly," she giggled as if it all made perfect sense, "It's a party for you and Twilight because you're all better now and Twilight's birthday party got crashed yesterday!"

"Party? Birthday? I … don't know what these strange things are you speak of Miss P-"

Before he could finish Pinkie Pie let out a huge gasp again. "You don't know what a party is?! It's only the bestest most amazingest super duper fun thing EVER! You're gonna love it!" Pinkie was now beside herself with excitement. Deep down she knew it was her chance to once again bring joy for the very first time to a pony that had never experienced it before, just like she had with her family back at the rock farm.

"A-and … you said Twilight's party was … crashed? Was that … my fault?" Alpha asked starting to put the pieces together; his mood sinking a bit as he began to think about how much trouble his arrival had been for everyone- especially Twilight.

"Yes. No! Kinda both? Definitely both! We were gonna have a picnic in the orchards but then BOOM and WHOOSH- BANG! And we ran and ran and ran and there you were in the bottom of this big hole! It was HUGE! Well maybe not that big, but it was big enough for a whole bunch ponies, and then we saw you in there and Applejack called out to you and Twilight pulled you out, but that was after you met Rainbow Dash and then you were all like-" here Pinkie gasped loudly, "And then," then she pantomimed feinting in much the same way Rarity would in one of her overly dramatic moments, "And then Twilight took you to the hospital and then-"

Five Minutes Later

"… and that meanie receptionist was all like 'GET OUT' and Applejack was like 'we were just leaving anyways'," Pinkie finally finished her story, beginning to pant heavily as she began to breathe again since she started. "Wow," she gasped for air, "That's the first time anypony ever let me finish a story." Alpha had just stood there taking it all in with great interest. He had been unconscious during most of the story and having no memories to go on he thought he might be able to learn something that would help. Unfortunately all it did was deepen his already saddened mood as he learned that he'd ruined things for Twilight three times since his arrival.

His thoughts began to descend into an even darker realization, 'Perhaps everyone would be better off if I wasn't here …' he was thinking when he realized Pinkie's face was so close to his that their noses almost touched.

"So are you coming?" she asked, staring right into his eyes. Alpha jumped back, completely uncomfortable with the invasion of personal space as he was jolted out of his broodings.

"W-what? Coming where?"

"To the party of course!"

"Oh, ummm … I dunno …"

"C'mon, you can't miss your own party! Especially when it's your very first party EVER! I'll make it the best party anypony's ever had ever,promise!"

"Well~ …" Alpha was sitting on his haunches looking off to the side while rubbing the back of one of his forelegs with a hoof, "I guess …"

"There's gonna be games, and party hats and streamers and cake! Oh and fudge! Can't forget fudge! Have you ever had fudge Alpha?"

"Um, no I can't say that I have"

"Ooooooooo it's the bestest most amazingest food EVER!"

"Food?" his ears perked up at that last part. "Is it anything like what they gave me in there?" he asked, waving a hoof back toward the hospital doors.

Pinkie gasped for the third time that evening, "It's a hundred times- no, a thousand times- a MILLION times better!" All of a sudden she got very serious and zipped over beside Alpha throwing a leg around Alpha, her mane deflated to a completely straightened state as she leaned in conspiratorially while casting her gaze off to the side. "Wanna hear a secret?" she said in a low voice.

Alpha squirmed a bit but managed not to freak out at the sudden contact. "O-o-okay?" he replied, his voice a few octaves higher than normal.

"Fudge is even better than …" she stopped and looked around before bringing her mouth to his ear and whispering, "cake."

Alpha just looked at Pinkie with his jaw hanging loosely open as she now stared Alpha square in the eyes. He was simultaneously confused at Pinkie's theatrics and intrigued by the idea of a food that could taste even better than what he had eaten earlier.

"I-I'll come!" he said at last.

"Great!" Pinkie grinned returning to her usual bubbly self, mane popping back to its original curly state, and started bouncing away from him. Alpha stood there for a few minutes more trying to sort out what had just happened before he ambled off down the dirt path, his previous thoughts forgotten for the time being as he looked around Ponyville with renewed wonder, enjoying the sights in a much more casual fashion than when he had been led directly to the library by Night Stick that morning.

She was running and she didn't know why. Heaving breathes indicated that it had been for a while, but in the darkness it was difficult to make out where she was going or came from. There were trees, that much she could discern, but only their silhouettes cast against a dimly moonlit sky gave any indication of this. There were no colors, just pitch black shapes against a dim grey sky.

Just as she was considering slowing down she heard it, the sound of galloping behind her. Instead of slowing down she kept going but looked back quickly, her eyes going wide as she saw a pair of glowing red beads of light gradually gaining on her.

She became aware of her heart hammering away in her chest as it kicked up another notch. Looking around frantically, trying to literally will detail into her surroundings to no avail, she just keep going trying to think through the abject terror she was now feeling.

'How did I get here? Where is here anyway!' she managed to squeeze these thoughts in-between raw survival instincts. Then another thought occurred to her and she tried to focus on a spell but quickly noticed that there was no familiar purple glow. It was as if the darkness all around her was simply drinking away all the light … all except for those glowing red points behind her.

Whatever was chasing her was now close enough that the glow began to faintly illuminate the ground beneath her hooves, just enough to see that it wasn't the dirt or leaves that she had assumed, but a writhing mass of worms, or snakes or some such creepy crawling thing.

In renewed panic and now revulsion, she began to lose her steady pace as she became much more aware of the feel of this strange ground under her hooves, squishy and uneven, causing a huge lump in her throat to form while unsteady hooves tried to pick their way through the mess as quickly as they could manage without tripping.

Suddenly she became aware of a low growling. Despite the new levels of terror it brought she couldn't help but feel that it sounded so familiar. She stole a quick glance behind her again, finding the glowing to emanate from the silhouette of a pony, right around the region where the eyes would be. Their illumination lit up a familiar mane, though its color appeared blood red in the light instead of the dull orange she was thinking of.

Looking back in front of her again, her breathing turning into desperate gasps for air as the physical exertion took its toll, she realized that she was coming up to the edge of a cliff. The closer she got, the more she realized there was only that awful grey all around and beneath the edge, something her senses would have told her was completely impossible if not for the fear overriding any possibility of analytical thought.

She didn't need to glance behind her to tell that whoever or whatever was chasing her was almost within biting distance of her tail and with nary a conscious decision she ran straight into a leap right off the edge of the cliff. As time itself slowed down, she twisted around in the air just in time to see the silhouette resolve itself through the strands of her mane still slowly splaying out in front of her eyes, and she realized in horror that she had been pursued by a twisted form of the very stallion she had given a name just hours ago …

Twilight Sparkle bolted upright in her bed, covered in sweat with her mouth wide open in what must have been a silent scream. She was breathing heavily with wide eyes as her head jerked back and forth, anxiously trying to figure out where she was but only vaguely aware of the soft bedding beneath her at first. In the darkness of her room, every shape and shadow cast by the moonlight flowing in from her window seemed like it a malevolent entity about to pounce on her woefully vulnerable form as she pulled the sheets up to her face with the childish notion that they might protect her from harm.

After a few minutes of silence and stillness, her thoughts began to take on more coherence as her scholarly mind kicked back in, finally released from its prison of terror. By now the sheets were a balled up mess that she had been gnawing on up until a few moments ago and she threw them across the room at one of the more ominous shapes, frustrated at her delayed cognizance after the nightmare. She had not had that sort of reaction since magic kindergarten and she definitely considered herself way too old to be repeating that kind of behavior, but … the dream had felt so … real.

With an involuntary shiver she quietly got out of bed, glancing over at Spike's basket now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark. In a brief moment of panic she realized that it was empty, only to remember that he had fallen asleep in the pile of pillows downstairs. She was thankful for this now as she realized she must have been making some rather disturbing noises during her nightmare, probably enough to wake up even a heavy sleeper like the baby dragon.

She slowly made her way over to the window, opening it and peering up at the moon. Luna always did do a wonderful job on the night sky, it really was a shame so few ponies seemed to appreciate it. Subconsciously she had begun to identify the stars and constellations she knew, becoming aware she was doing it only when her eyes came to focus on the star she knew was actually two. With a start she began to think back on the nightmare and about how the pony chasing her had looked so much like Alpha.

Intellectually she knew that the mind could do some very strange things with dreams. In her studies she had read that they could be the mind trying to organize itself, sorting out all the information it had gathered during the waking hours. Perhaps this had just been her way of dealing with the strange encounter she had had with Alpha that morning. Thinking back on it now, she became curious about something he said. She had not thought about it in the moment, but now that she did it seemed a little strange. He said that it was not him when he had tried to explain his behavior at the hospital.

'What could that possibly mean?' Before she could ponder any more heavily on the topic, however, she realized that she was staring right at the stallion in question. Her gaze had wandered down from the sky and was now resting on a grassy hill a short distance away from the library. Lying on his back on that hill, forelegs behind his head and a back leg crossed over the other was Alpha himself. He appeared to be awake, staring up at the sky, and she could almost make out a serene smile on his face.

Levitating a coat over herself Twilight quietly made her way down to the front door. Spike was still sleeping soundly in the soft pile, but the blanket she had laid over him was now being hugged closely to his chest and face as he slept on his side with a thumb claw stuck in his mouth. She smiled at the image, feeling the protective instinct most older siblings did when they looked upon their vulnerable counterparts, even though she was in no way related to him by blood. Twilight pulled the door shut as gently as she could and adjusted her coat as she half-walked half-trotted over to the hill where she had seen Alpha laying.

The night air felt good on her coat as the sweat from her previous experience finished drying. She became acutely aware of how different the air smelled at night. Less … mixed smells, more nature. The grass, the trees, even a hint of the stream near Ponyville was present.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she asked, coming up quietly behind Alpha. He twisted over onto his side, muscles tense, startled by her sudden presence, but quickly relaxed as he realized who it was before averting his eyes, an embarrassed blush coloring his normally snowy cheeks.

"I … ah-heh … hello again. I'm sorry, I still have not gotten used to … surprises- not to say … I mean … I don't-" Alpha stammered, trying in vain to translate what he was thinking into understandable sentences.

"I'm guessing you didn't spend a lot of time with other ponies before your accident," Twilight tried to help him out, staring down at him from where she stood by his side now, pulling her cloak tighter around herself with the cold night air finally bringing her post-nightmare body heat down to normal levels.

Alpha turned his head to look in the opposite direction, suddenly finding a distant tree of some interest as the subject of his state of memory came back up again. "That's probably a good bet," he said sheepishly. "To answer your first question … I slept last night and most of today … right now I feel like I could stay awake for the rest of my life." He looked back at Twilight as she was settling down on her haunches and then into a complete sitting position, head turned to meet his gaze. "How about you?"

She tried to put on a convincing smile, "On any other night I might be up right now studying … but tonight I did turn in early." He tilted his head, regarding her words carefully before she continued. "I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it but … I had a bit of a nightmare," she finished looking down and poking at the grass.

"Night … mare? But … Pinkie Pie was it? She said nightmare night was … a long time from now-" Alpha was cut off by the mare's giggling. Ordinarily he might have felt like he was being made fun of but for some reason he actually enjoyed the sound and smiled despite himself.

"I'm very curious about if it's the amnesia or your past that causes of your lack of vocabulary. Nightmares … they're like bad or scary dreams- you know … those things you experience when you're asleep?"

Alpha found he rather enjoyed her playful ridicule, if nothing else it at least felt like he wasn't being treated like he was fragile. Bedside Manor meant well, but sometimes her view of her charges as foals, regardless of their age, made him feel … less masculine.

"I know what dreams are Twilight Sparkle," he started with a smile on his face, "maybe I just never had a nightmare … until yesterday …" he trailed off, his smile morphing into a slight frown as he sat up on his haunches, looking at the grass beneath him.

"You … had bad dreams?"

"Bad would be an understatement … honestly I dreaded the idea of closing my eyes again. I was not entirely truthful about what I said earlier … although I am not particularly tired right now, it is just that fact alone that keeps me up."

She looked at him with eyes full of sympathy. To have awoken in that hole yesterday in pain, disoriented and without any memory, and on top of all of that to have horrible nightmares every time you close your eyes … just imagining it brought shivers to her not borne of the cold night air.

After a moment of silence and failing to find anything comforting to say she switched the topic a bit, "Aren't you cold?"

He noticed the concern in her tone and smiled to himself. Even now, after ruining her … party … and attacking her, this mare still could care for his well-being. He silently wondered if every pony was as kind as the few he had met so far. "I seem to be … used to it," he said, shrugging.

"It must have been … difficult … whatever kind of life you led before this," she thought aloud, her gaze sweeping slowly across the landscape before them. Alpha was looked back up at the sky now, laying back into his previous position from before Twilight arrived.

"Though I remember next to nothing about it, somehow the sky looks so very familiar." This piqued Twilight's interest and she found herself staring at the underside of his head in wonder while he gazed upward. He began to point at different star formations, describing them as best he could and she followed up by providing the 'official' name for each of them. They started to get into a rhythm as the game progressed until his hoof stopped on a lone bright star he did not recognize.

"I … don't remember that one." Twilight tried to follow where he was pointing but could not figure out which one he meant from the angle she was sitting. Absent-mindedly she shimmied over to him, bringing her head close to his as she tried to align her sight with his pointing hoof. Alpha tensed up at her sudden close proximity and she noticed this, quickly pulling away, a little out of fear but mostly out of concern.

"Sorry I … was just trying to …" she found herself stumbling over her own words for the first time in a while. "It's you."

"You're right, I am the one who should be sorr-"

"No I mean … that star- or I should say, those stars … they are Alpha Centauri," she interrupted.

"… oh …" was all he could get out. The celestial body looked so foreign to him, and yet …

He chuckled lightly to himself. "It seems this is all I am good for huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Awkward moments … poor conversation … boring you to death with my pointless stargazing-"

"Are you kidding?" her mood picked up a bit, "this is the most fun I've had outside of my studies in a while! Do you know how hard it is to find ponies around here that can appreciate astronomy the way I do?"

He turned to look at her again and realized she had been staring at him for some time. He smiled a bit, "Really?"

"Alpha you have no idea do you? If it's not about bucking apples, the latest fashion, poor defenseless animals, flying or how to throw an amazing party … there's just not that much in the way of deep conversation with my friends. My teacher is way too busy running Equestria, not to mention she's all the way over in Canterlot, and Spike … well he tries but … he's still a baby after all, his attention span lasts about as long as Fluttershy's confidence," she sighed in exasperation. "I mean, these last few months with the others have been great and all but … when it really comes down to it, books are all I've ever had …" she trailed off, a mixture of fond memories and lonesome nights vying for control of her facial expression as she stared down at her hooves now.

Alpha tried to guess what was going on in Twilight's head, but having absolutely nothing to work from he just gave up in a few moments. "It sounds like we may have much in common … if only I could …" it was his turn to trail off, the only emotion he felt winning uncontested to produce the frown he now wore. "But you didn't come out here knowing that things would turn out like this did you? There must have been some other reason that brought you out- not that I mind or anything, I mean this is your home after all, who am I to say where you can and cannot-"

"Shhhh," she moved her hoof just in-front of his mouth without touching it and he tensed again, very briefly this time. "You're doing it again," she smiled after letting a small giggle slip out. "But you're right … none of this was on my mind when I decided to come over here. Actually … it was something you said … this morning when you came by …"

He looked at her in confusion at first before jumping to conclusions, "Oh did I not do it right? The doctor said I should apologize but I was not quite sure how mmf-" This time Twilight did touch his lips as she laid her hoof against them. Alpha's eyes went wide but for a different reason this time. Her touch was so … different … he was not quite sure what it was he was comparing it to but this time it felt … gentle … not at all as unpleasant as his own inner fears had dictated. Gradually his expression softened as she just stared at him silently, carefully examining his reaction, ready to act if he lashed out again.

"It seems we'll have to work on that," she smiled weakly, referring to both his verbal diarrhea when nervous and his reaction to another pony's touch. "You said that … it wasn't you," she began again, removing her hoof and tucking it back underneath herself as another shiver briefly racked her body, "What did you mean by that?"

Alpha looked at her for a moment trying to collect his thoughts before raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, now is good," she giggled, involuntarily bringing another smile to his face only for it to quickly fade as he tried to organize his response properly in his head this time.

"When you left … the doctor had to explain to me what happened because … I didn't know."

"Huh?"

"I had absolutely no memory of doing any of the things he described to me, I had to imagine it all, and I am ashamed to say … he had to help me understand exactly what I'd done to you even though you were physically unhurt." He had looked away from her halfway through, unable to meet her eyes with the intense emotion he was feeling. "If not for doctor Heartstrong, I may have just ended up making things worse between us …"

Twilight was too busy trying to puzzle out what could have caused his lapse in conscious memory to notice his state of mind at that point. She was replaying the events of that morning over and over in her head but gaining very little insight for her trouble.

"… Twilight?" Alpha called patiently for the third time.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I seem to have gotten lost in my thoughts there, what were you saying?"

"You asked me for forgiveness this morning, but truly it is I who should be asking you. And I meant what I said … about making it up to you I mean," here he sat up and looking very serious as he gazed at her. "There is little I can think of that could ever repay you for this life that you have saved, but I am sincere when I say, if there is anything … anything at all I can do … you need only name it!"

Twilight just sighed at him. "I don't know where you got this idea that you owe me anything Alpha, but here in Ponyville we don't keep score. If somepony needs help … you help them. It's as simple as that. If you really feel you must do something for me then … follow that creed. And no more spazzing out like this morning, okay?"

The fact that she could make light of the incident comforted Alpha immensely. He still wanted to do something for Twilight specifically, but for now he decided to just go along with it and nodded at her as they both began to smile in unison.

"I don't think we have to worry about that anymore. Doctor Heartstrong made it pretty clear that he wasn't going to let me out until he was sure I wasn't going to do that again … he even had some strange pony come in that Shpvoke lvike vziss oond shvowed me stchrangecht peekchoors," he made a complete mess of the accent, although to Twilight his honest attempt seemed like the funniest thing in Equestria as she broke into a giggle fit. Recounting the events was frustrating at first but when he noticed how Twilight reacted to his impersonation of doctor Tintenflecks he found himself grinning like a ninny.

"Schktop lawfink acht mein, I am sze fverry schmart dochtor!" One or two lights appeared in nearby windows as Twilight's laughter pierced the night on a particularly loud squeal before she tried to contain herself.

"Get a room you two!" called one of her neighbors sleepily before pulling her window shut as the lights went back off. They were both trying desperately to stifle the remainder of their laughter as their sides heaved and they tried to catch their breaths.

"Wh-" Alpha tried to say before take a couple more deep breaths. "What did she mean by that?" he asked still trying to completely get over the snickering that threatened to take over again if he lost control. At the question Twilight's cheeks turn a rosy shade as she tried to figure out just how to answer that.

"Uuuhhhhh- I'll e-explain that s-some other time," she managed to stutter out while averting her eyes. Before she could speak again she started to yawn before laying a hoof over her mouth, barely remembering her manners. Alpha just looked lost. Twilight tried changing the subject.

"Maybe you could tell me what you remember so far … it might help jog your memory," she ventured. Alpha turned his attention back to a random blade of grass, his expression quickly turning to a frown.

"I remember laughing like that … a long time ago … but whenever I try to remember anything else about that time … well that's when the dream turns into the nightmare …" Twilight remained silent, laying her head on her fore-hooves at an angle that allowed her to see his face. "That's the only way I can remember anything it seems … in terror as I stumble through one bad dream after another …"

"It's only been a day Alphaaaaaa~," Twilight began sleepily, breaking off into another yawn as she said his name, "These things take time … you'll remember eventually." She had gradually closed her eyes as she said this.

Alpha, still staring at that single blade of grass, continued without noticing, "Yea well … sometimes I wonder if it might be better to just stay this way. I mean … most of the time I'm frustrated with being so … purposeless … not knowing why I'm here or what I'm supposed to be doing … but then on the other hoof … with all these nightmares I keep having I wonder … do I really want to know?" He looked up at the sky again searching for answers. "Does that make any sense?"

Instead of an answer, Alpha was met with silence and, as his ears adjusted, he was able to discern the steady but barely audible whistle of the slow, rhythmic breathing that was characteristic of a sleeping pony. He looked down at Twilight with a quizzical expression before it melted completely into a look of content as he regarded her peaceful form.

The moment was interrupted, however, when he noticed her shivering despite the coat she had wrapped around herself. He still found it odd that she was shivering while he felt the same now as he did during the day, but he pushed those thoughts aside as he nervously contemplated what to do.

Both picking her up to carry her back to the library and trying to keep her warm with his own body heat involved a level of contact he was still not quite sure he was ready for. But it pained him to see her suffering like that on his account. After all, the only reason she was out here in the first place was because of him.

Opting for the latter, he slowly edged his way closer to her, tentatively reaching out to put a leg around her shoulders as he settled down beside her, trying hard not to shrink away as their sides touched. He adjusted her coat as gently as he could manage to cover more of her opposite side and then laid his head down in the grass beside hers, not knowing what else to do. It was all very awkward but, at the same time, a peace unlike any he had ever felt before began to descend on him and with it, a deep restful sleep that he had almost lost hope of ever enjoying again.