I'll keep it short: Read, Enjoy, Review!

Chapter 11: After the Storm

Tomorrow is the day.

I glanced at the clock on Twilight's bedroom wall.

Today. Today is the day, and apparently it has been the day for an hour now.

I rolled and shifted my weight in bed, attempting to reach a comfortable position. I woke up an hour and a half ago and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. Ironically, the loud and unpredictable maelstrom outside had been serving as an amazing lullaby. This new silence was both unfamiliar, and deafening.

I expected to wake up feeling sore, but for some reason I felt great. My broken left wing felt abnormally warm, but I didn't question it. What was aching when I went to sleep now felt energized, almost tingling. My flanks were bristling with energy, and my limbs felt restless. I decided to get up and give my body a stretch.

I planted my feet on the ground and started for the door when something in the corner of the room moved, catching my eye. Fluttershy had fallen asleep in the chair across from my bed, watching over me just as she had been not a night before.

Last night. Could it really have been just one night since then?

With my perception of time disoriented, I wasn't sure how long I stood in that same spot watching Fluttershy sleep. I couldn't help but think I was violating some of her privacy. She was just so peaceful, like an angel sent down from her home in the clouds to live a mortal life. All of her beauty and grace was present, even while she slept.

I shook my head, snapping out of my trance. Staring at Fluttershy only served to excite my heart, not to stretch my limbs. I reluctantly looked away and headed out the door, looking for some fresh air.

I entered the main room of the Library and looked around. I never had a chance to take in the amazing architecture of the library without being questioned, or receiving medical treatment. The entire house was carved into a large tree, and the amazing part was that the tree stayed alive, always growing and always inviting. I ran my hoof across the wall and could almost feel the tree respirate.

I surveyed the rest of the room and found my eyes drawn to a lit area, about five feet around where moonlight descended onto a rug. On the rug was a cyan form I immediately recognized as Rainbow Dash. I was surprised to see her there, mainly due to the fact that she slept so quietly. I moved more cautiously to avoid disturbing her, and looked towards the source of her illumination.

The light came from an upstairs window I hadn't seen before. The double doors next to the window indicated the presence of a balcony, and I did get up for some fresh air. I climbed the stairs towards the doors and noticed a candle sitting on a small end table beside the doors. No wax had dripped from the candle yet, indicating it was freshly lit. I pushed open the door closest to the candle and found Twilight standing out on the veranda.

Twilight did not turn around to greet me as I approached her. She instead continued gazing up at the stars. I stood next to her and looked into the same night sky.

"They're beautiful." I said calmly.

"Yes, yes they are." Twilight said with appreciation.

The sky engulfed by the tempest not a few hours ago was now clear and peaceful. The stars were speckled everywhere, providing light for the deep mysterious blue they drifted in. The swirling giants were collectively beautiful, forged by time and gravity, seeming perfect enough to be considered celestial artwork.

"The Horse Head Nebula is particularly bright tonight." Twilight continued.

"I almost can't believe this is the same night. It's just stunning…" I said, totally in awe at the sight before me.

"Luna is lucky to have the privilege of seeing this every night."

"Luna?" I said feeling suddenly concerned.

"Princess Luna. The younger of two royal alicorn sisters. She holds dominion over the night in Equestria." Twilight said sounding like a dictionary entry.

"She sounds…familiar" I said with unwarranted irritation.

"I would imagine so; she is a princess after all."

"Yea, I guess so."

Luna… Did I know her?

"The last time I saw her was after my brother's wedding. She was a little cranky that night, not sure why. Maybe the noise kept her up." Twilight speculated.

"Noise? Loud wedding?"

"Changeling Invasion. No big deal, we handled it." Twilight said non-chalantly.

There's that bad feeling again…

"I see…sounds exciting." I said flatly.

"It was an interesting ceremony." Twilight said with a giggle. I was about to change the subject when the lavender pony did it for me. "So, how are you feeling? Your injuries were fairly severe. I'm surprised you're walking!"

"I'm feeling good. Great, actually." I said enthusiastically

"Really?" Twilight asked skeptically. "You're sure?"

"Yea. I woke up and thought I should feel sore, but I felt really good."

"Hmm… May I?" Twilight made her horn glow dimly.

"Of course." Twilight began to scan my body. "Is anything the matter?"

"This… this is unbelievable. Impossible." Twilight said doubtfully.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you're completely fine." Twilight grabbed the bandage on my wing and yanked it towards her.

"Hey, what are you"—

I braced myself for the pain, but it never came. I opened my eyes and looked at my wing in total shock. My broken wing was completely healed. I stretched it out, flapping both wings multiple times to make sure I wasn't insane. I t was all real. My wing healed itself in only a few hours.

"Tw-Twilight? What's going on?" The confusion and fear were apparent in my voice.

"Let me see your flank." Twilight requested hurriedly.

Before I could even process the question, Twilight once again acted of her own accord. She moved around to observe my cutie mark and planted her feet firmly by my side.

"Hmm, I wonder." Twilight levitated a nearby quill towards her. "Hold still!"

Without any specific warning (and once again without permission) Twilight slashed at my foreleg leaving a small cut running down its side.

"Why would you do that!" I yelled in confusion.

"Don't worry, its all a part of the plan."

Irritation aside, I let Twilight continue. Despite my better judgment, I trusted Twilight. She had that look about her. She was very outgoing, helpful, and above all, trustworthy.

The soft lavender glow of her horn running over my body had become almost familiar to me. I watched her work and saw a unicorn dedicated and focused on anything she set out to do. Her immersion was almost inspiring to watch.

Twilight stopped her scan and reviewed the data she collected in her head. She had a mixed reaction, moving from shock, to skepticism, and finally to intrigue.

"You… you're something else entirely." Twilight said sounding impressed.

"Uh, thanks…I guess?" I was visibly confused.

"You have no idea what your body is capable of." Twilight paused before cutting me off again. "Every cell in your body capable of regeneration is doing so at an alarming rate, and yet there's something keeping that in check. You seem to regrow all your cells to the correct point, without ever suffering from tumors or other complications. You're a walking miracle."

"H-How is this happening?"

"Look at your flank." Twilight said.

I looked back on her command and my eyes went wide. My cutie mark was moving. The static field around my white cloud was reverberating like actual electricity. It seemed to pulse faster and move more sporadically, filling me with worry. I wasn't very familiar with the anatomy of a cutie mark, but judging by Twilights reaction, my situation was far from normal.

"I knew it! Awesome!" Twilight said very uncharacteristically.

"Awesome? Last time I checked you were Twilight, not Rainbow Dash." I teased.

"Why aren't you more distracted by this? Whatever, just look at your foreleg!"

My eyes once again followed Twilights command and peered towards my scratched foreleg. The scratch seemed unchanged, but it had a sort of radiance about it. Before I could think any further, the scratch began to seal itself, moving through all the standard stages of healing in an instant. My foreleg was now totally restored, as if nothing had happened.

What's going on here, this is nothing short of insane!

"It's not insane; it's just how your body works apparently. For some reason, your body is able to repair itself quickly and effectively with little to no treatment."

"Take your mind reading somewhere else." I said curtly.

"Oh be quiet, I was mid brain scan." Twilight retorted, dismissing my annoyance.

"Oh you two are perfect for each other." I said mockingly, tilting my head towards Rainbow Dash's sleeping form.

"How did you know about that?"

"I didn't until you just told me. I'm not a mind reader."

"Ugh…" Twilight slapped her hoof to her forehead in frustration. "I may be perfect for her, but at least I'm not exactly like her. You're at least as difficult as she is."

"I'm not nearly as difficult as she is!" I said stubbornly.

Wow, that proves it Thundervolt. You aren't stubborn at all. I'm sure Twilight is laughing hysterically on the inside. Aren't you Twilight?

"You would be correct." Twilight giggled.

"Ok, so now that that's settled, why am I able to passively regenerate cells so quickly? Standard rates of mitosis for pegasi are generally much slower than what I seem capable of. This seems unnatural." I reasoned.

Wait, what the buck did I just say?

Twilights eyebrows perked up and her lips pursed. She was clearly taken aback by my sudden display of knowledge.

"Uh, well I don't know how or why. I just know how it works. I think."

"I'd love to hear it, Twilight. Care to share?"

"Of course." Twilight cleared her throat. "Your body is coursing through with electricity."

"Lightning?" I said expectantly.

"Yes and no. The lightning didn't actually cause this condition in your body. If anything, it served to recharge or amplify the high amounts of electrons already present in your body. Judging from how we found you in that crater, I shouldn't be so surprised. You were almost totally healed. Anyway, everypony has some kind of electrical charge in them, but your charge is much more prevalent. It's almost like the charge is coming from your bloodstream, and the surrounding cells in your circulatory system. The electricity is working in conjunction with your nervous system, speeding up your body's reaction to…well, everything!"

"Everything?"

"Just about. Metabolic processes, muscular response time"—

"Cognitive regeneration?" I blurted out hopefully.

"Somewhat… If nothing else, it seems to have boosted your vocabulary quite a bit in the past few hours." Twilight said suspiciously. "Are you ok? You seem a bit…twitchy."

"Uh, no…no. Everything is fine." I turned away from Twilight.

"Well thanks for confirming my suspicions that you are in fact, not fine." Twilights face softened. "Come on, you can tell me what's bothering you. I'm almost as nice as Fluttershy."

I was reluctant to tell Twilight of my concerns. It didn't seem like my place to do so. I glanced over at Rainbow Dash and a look of worry flashed across my face. Twilight picked up on this immediately.

"It's about her memory, isn't it…?"

"So she told you then. I was worried about this, and I had to see if she was affected. She has it so much worse than I do." I said plainly.

"What do you mean?"

"I have no idea who I was. Everything I know at this point, I learned in the past 48 hours. In other words, I'm new here. I don't have much to lose should something happen. Anything I can remember anyway."

"Don't talk like that, you have plenty to lose!"

"I'm not here to sound depressing, I'm just stating fact. I'm sure I've gained things worth losing, but that's not the point right now. The point is that Rainbow Dash already has a life. The loss of even a part of her memory, even old memories that don't seem to make a difference, must be terrifying for her. She's brave, but I just don't know how she's going to deal with it if for some reason this stone doesn't do what you say it will."

"Well…" Twilight trailed off, at a loss for words. "It's going to work."

"I hope so."

"I'll make it work for her. She deserves that much, and so so much more." Twilight said, more passionate than I'd ever seen her.

We both turned our attention to the cyan pegasus bathed in the moonlight. Her sleeping frame was undisturbed and peaceful, free from our concern and doubt. Twilights eyes were filled to the brim with emotion. Happiness, appreciation, and love simultaneously burst from her gaze. My eyes were not as blessed as hers. Concern, doubt, guilt. I felt as though I was the one to bring this upon her.

"You know you didn't though, right?" Twilight's voice echoed in my head.

You're going to make a point of constantly reading my mind, aren't you?

"That's right." Twilight's voice chuckled smugly.

Rainbow Dash uncurled and rolled onto her back, taking in a deep breath. She was completely stretched out and yet completely motionless. Twilight and I leaned forward, unsure of what the sleeping pegasus was doing. After another few moments, the previously statuesque Rainbow Dash let out a satisfied sigh, rolled to the opposite side she came from, and curled up into another ball. Twilight and I looked at each other, stifling adoring laughter.

"She's really good at that." I said

"What, sleeping?" Twilight asked doubtfully.

"Draining my energy." I said.

"Haha, she's good at draining everyone's energy. Though I think Pinkie Pie has her beat."

"Probably. I've never seen such a rambunctious pony."

"Definitely not. Well, I think we should take Dash's cue and get some rest. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."

"Today."

"Today starts when I wake up." Twilight said, brushing my comment off. "Goodnight Thundervolt. Get some sleep."

"Goodnight Twilight."

As she left the balcony, I couldn't bring myself to go back to sleep. I stayed out in the cool, damp night air for a while longer, letting all my worries slip away. One thought pierced through my head the whole time however. After the last few days of dealing with random injuries and rampant amnesia, only one thing seemed to matter at this point. I was not the only pony to be stricken with memory loss. I was not the only pony with something to lose. I was not the only pony about to risk life and hoof in the Everfree forest.

Content with my reflection, I moved off the balcony and towards the comfortable bed I previously left. I passed by Rainbow Dash and found that Twilight had inserted herself into the cyan pegasus's blissful bubble. Rainbow Dash was wrapped lovingly in Twilights arms, safe from all harm. Seeing this only served to strengthen my cause, and further sharpen my resolve.

I entered Twilights room, slipped under the covers, and rested my head on my pillow.

"For Rainbow Dash" I said quietly, before drifting off to sleep.