It took only about twenty seconds before Bird ran out of the door as the crowd stared at them leaving Knuckles there frozen. But the stallion quickly recovered and nodded toward Brandon who nodded back as the stallion left following the mare. Pinkie had slinked off somewhere before any of them saw where she went.

"That was surprising," Derpy said making Brandon shake his head.

"Yeah, definitely surprising alright," He said making Derpy give him a suspicious look.

"You knew she was pregnant didn't you?" Derpy asks making him shrug.

"What can I say except that my eyesight has improved," Brandon replied making the mare sigh. "What? It wasn't my place to say anything."

"I know, but as shy as that mare is she probably won't show up for a good minute," Derpy said making him nod in agreement.

"Well, there goes your bodyguard," Luna said in a tone that suggested she knew Knuckles would be trouble.

"Can you blame him though?" Derpy asked making Luna give a sigh and shake her head.

"No, I can't," Luna replied.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go talk to Jade for a minute," Brandon said as the party started to pick back up. Which he saw Jade in a corner looking a little sad. "You asked the Dj to play that slow song didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," Jade answered giving a sigh. "I didn't have anything to do with what Pinkie did, honestly!"

"Already figured that out, but you do like Knuckles don't you?" He asked making Jade avoid meeting his eyes even more until her eyes seemed to catch something making her stare right into his. "Don't worry about the glowing, it's just something I can't control. But are you gonna answer?"

"Y-yeah, he's quite mysterious in his own way," Jade answered though she couldn't look away from Brandon's eyes.

"So, you aren't scared of him or me for that matter?" Brandon asked making the mare shake her head.

"Why would I be scared? Because he's a bat-pony? Because you aren't a pony? Please, I've may have made my mistakes in judging others but I've never let them scare me," Jade said making him give a little smile.

"Good, I think that'll go a long way with him. Now I can't help you with hooking up with him because I don't know him well enough myself, but I do know he seems to have a bit of a sweet tooth," Brandon said before turning and walking away.

"So, what did you talk to her about?" Lyra asked as he came over to the table they were sitting at.

"Oh, just wanted to know if she has a crush on Knuckles," Brandon said and he could tell Luna almost laughed until she saw he was serious.

"She actually likes him?" Luna asked.

"Don't be so surprised there Luna, but yes according to her he has a mysterious factor about him," Brandon replied.

"Not to mention he isn't that bad looking," Derpy said making Brandon raise an eyebrow. "What? You aren't that bad looking yourself!"

"Gee, thanks," He muttered making the three mares laugh. "By the way, where are the girls?"

"Went home before the announcement but I bet they'll be mad that they missed out," Lyra answered.

"By the way, where do you think Pinkie went?" Luna asked looing around the room.

"Probably feels guilty and went to hide, which means we're gonna have to be careful because we know how Pinkie gets sometimes," Brandon replied making all of them nod their heads in agreement. "Well, anyway I think I'm gonna head home myself and make sure that Grace and Dinky aren't destroying anything."

"Alright, we'll see you in a little while. I want to get some more sweets to eat!" Derpy said before scampering off to the food table.

"I know she said 'we'll' and all, but you two staying?" Brandon asked shaking his head.

"Yeah, I think we're both gonna dance a bit. Now come on Princess," Lyra said dragging Luna with her to the dance floor.

As he exited he caught a glimpse of Pinkie in the corner looking deflated but she quickly disappeared after she caught him looking. He gave a sigh before going out the door fully into the night sky, and now that he could remember exactly what his world looked like it made him really appreciate just how beautiful it was. There was definitely a lot more visible stars in the sky than back on his world.

It took him a little while since he couldn't help but keep an eye on the sky and how beautiful it was. Though that reminded him of when he and Anna were stationed in a small camp and went stargazing. The memory gave him a bitter-sweet feeling as he also remembered doing that with Sally. But with Anna, it seemed much more special which made him think that he may have had feelings for her for a little while.

But he never acted on them even if he didn't realize it because his heart had still belonged with Sally, which when she left him it really did shatter him. Sally was the last link to who he had been before the war which just made him feel guilty as it made him think in some small part is why he wanted to stay with her. To use her as a way to link who he had been and who he was at the time.

Anna was there to really help him pick up the pieces just like how he told his friends but what he didn't tell them is he had actually tried to kill himself once after Sally left. It really was by chance that Anna had come to check on him and if she hadn't he wouldn't be alive today. After she found him hanging and freed him was when they let their feelings come out, slowly over the course of a year.

One year, just like how he managed to snag three beautiful mares and somehow managed to adopt a little filly. As he looked over everything it made him really know he had truel found his place. Even with the nightmares, and the ponies who hated him with every fiber of their being, he was still here and for the most part happy. But he knew at this point, even if it was just looking at the downside, he knew it would only be around the corner when something else happened.

Though he shook his head breaking himself out of that line of thinking as his house came into view. Once he got inside both fillies were sleeping on the couch under a blanket fort and looking at them made him smile. But it reminded him of how tired he was and quickly got ready for bed himself.

He woke up at around five that morning with Lyra, Derpy, and Luna sleeping peacefully next to him like normal. Getting up he quickly went to the kitchen to start making breakfast which was admittedly harder than he thought with his shoulder still in pain. But by the time Luna walked in he already had some toast and one egg on the plate working on the second.

"Good morning, and sorry if it's not very good. Been having a bit of trouble," He said as he got the second egg onto the plate and placed it on the table for her.

"I'm sure it's fine, but are you okay? You seem a bit more sweaty than normal?" Luna asked as she sat down.

"Shoulder still hurts like heck, but other than that I'm fine really," He replied giving her a small smile as he sat down with just toast.

"Well, try to take it easy with it then. By the way, you over-salted the eggs..." Luna said laughing as he rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, they're just fine."

Soon the rest of them woke up and joined them and made their own breakfast with Lyra and Derpy getting eggs and toast as well, Dinky and Grace got bowls of cereal. It really was a nice little morning as a nice little family, if he could call it that. But either way, it's just the feeling it gave him and again he got a bitter-sweet feeling remembering mornings like this with his brother and mom, then the knock came.

"I'll get it," He said before any of them said anything and got up calling out that he's coming.

"Well, good morning Brandon, glad to see you're up and about!" Celestia said as he answered the door.

"Yeah, I'm glad about that as well, and good morning to you. You wanna come in?" Brandon asked giving the white alicorn a welcoming smile.

"Yes, that would be lovely thank you!" Celestia said with a smile, and as she entered Brandon saw the shadow under a tree seem to shift uncomfortably. "Oh, and tell Knuckles out there he is more than welcome to come inside. I won't bite, I swear!" This made Brandon shake his head though he wasn't surprised she knew about Knuckles.

"I know you heard her, now are you coming in or not?" Brandon asked and Knuckles melted out of the shadows with a stone expression as the stallion came into the house.

"Sister?" Luna said as she came out of the kitchen followed by the others.

"Hello Lulu, Derpy, Lyra, Dinky, and of course Grace!" Celestia said giving them all a warm smile.

"Um, so what brings you by?" Brandon asked as he sat down at the couch.

"Just wanted to check up on you after you came back and had some time to relax," Celestia answered though he raised an eyebrow at that.

"Look, I'm not gonna play stupid here, so let's just cut to the chase and let me tell you what all has happened since I woke up," He said and managed to convince the fillies to go play outside with the help of Derpy.

Once they were all settled he started to tell Celestia about most of his memories that had returned but there were still some gaps. Though as he talked he saw Celestia tilt her head looking him right in the eyes making him know his eyes glowed again, but to her credit she let him continue without interrupting. He did wrap up what he remembered, mostly, and then started to explain about his eyes.

"I see, so far you've noticed better vision even at nighttime, seemingly able to when somepony is telling the truth, and something like ropes made of light connecting ponies to each other?" Celestia summed up.

"Yeah, and as for that last one, I think it's more of me being able to see the connection between ponies. You know, like their friendships or family relations, but I'm not sure," Brandon explained a little more.

"Hmm, I see and it does sound like it might be the case. Now, why don't you explain why Knuckles here seems to be in your service?" Celestia asked, though despite her warm and comforting voice him, Luna, and Knuckles could sense the bitterness in her words.

"For my own protection, I mean I was kidnapped and got stabbed in the shoulder just in case you missed that," Brandon answered meeting Celestia's gaze for a good minuter before she gave a sigh.

"Very well, but as you figured I do not like this. But thank you for being honest about everything, but I would like to talk to Knuckles about something," Celestia said her tone made it clear she meant alone.

"Tia..." Luna tried but Celestia held up a hoof.

"Don't worry, I won't break him or anything. I just want to discuss a mission for him, one that involves the organization that orchestrated Brandon's kidnapping," Celestia said making Brandon nod.

"Alright girls, let's head to the room," Brandon said and before any of them had a chance to speak up he was already on the move.

"Are you sure about this?" Luna asked as they closed the door.

"Yeah, because she just gave us all the information we needed which you should know that with what she did give us is a lot more than she should have. Before any of you ask, and you Luna should understand this better than any of us, but if we know what she wants him to do then it might cause us to look into it ourselves," He explained and as he met each of their eyes they knew he didn't want to know.

"Fine," Luna said but he could tell that she had somewhat figured out more than the other two but was keeping it quiet. After a few minutes, Celestia called out that she was done.

"So, I see Knuckles is gone so that was fast," Brandon said not even feeling the presence of the stallion.

"Yes, well the matter is very important and he needs time for his mission. But in the meantime, I've asked Twilight to contact her brother to act as your bodyguard until then," Celestia said calmly as she took a sip of tea that she must have served herself from their fridge.

"Tia!" Luna complained though Brandon held up his hand.

"It's fine, I like Shining and his shield spells are second to none. He would have been my second choice if not for Knuckles, thank you, Celestia. But I do hope you aren't going to use him to spy on me like how you did with my other friends," That made Celestia wince a little and give a sigh.

"In truth, partly but considering you don't seem to have control over your eyes just yet it's only a precaution. Before you ask, it's a yes and no situation on me sending Knuckles on the mission. After all, he is very well trained for stealth missions like the one I sent him on, better trained than any of my own guards. So it did provide me with the excuse of getting somepony would be able to keep an eye on you," Celestia explained.

"Not to mention, casting a shield around me to keep me contained just in case I lose control," Brandon said and though Celestia didn't react they knew it was true.

"Anyway, I think I should be leaving though I will return soon for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all there," Celestia said as she started to leave but stopped at the front door. "Just know it's not that I don't trust you, Brandon, I really do. It's the magic I don't trust."

Then she was gone leaving the three of them to think about what just happened though Brandon just shook his head. He knew what he had to do, and that was to find Knuckles which luckily he knew where to start looking. Locking eyes with Luna, she gave a nod and quickly helped make an excuse for the two of them to leave.

"Well, as interesting as that was I think I and Brandon are gonna go pick up some more groceries. Do you two want anything while we're out?" Luna asked.

"Uh, could you pick me up some of that good kind of ice cream?" Lyra asked making Luna nod and then look at Derpy who shook her head.

"I'm fine thank you, and you two stay safe!" Derpy said, and soon he and Luna were on their way.

"Thanks for that Luna," Brandon said as they made their way into town.

"It's no problem, now go find Knuckles and I'll take care of the groceries," Luna said leaning over and giving him a kiss before heading to the market.

He started to make his way toward the Inn that Knuckles had told him about and tried to hurry since he didn't know when the stallion was gonna leave. Celestia made it quite clear his mission would heavily rely on stealth. But it didn't take him long to see Knuckles walking up a street that he knew would lead to Spark's house.

This made him follow at a distance since he didn't want Sparks to see him and go into a panic but thinking about it and the other night he wondered how the two met. He watched as the stallion knocked on her door where she let him in. Brandon waited just down the block a bit and a few minutes later Knuckles came out and Brandon continued following until they were far enough away from Spark's place.

"Yo, Knuckles! I know you know I'm following you!" He called out making the stallion stop and turn his head as he waited for Brandon to catch up.

"So, I assume you want to know what the mission Celestia gave me is?" Knuckles asked making Brandon smile.

"Yeah, but first there's something I want to talk to you about before that part," This made Knuckles tilt his head with a bit of curiosity.

"And what would that be?" The stallion asked.

"It's about Sparks..." Brandon said making Knuckles narrow his eyes before giving a sigh.

"So you know her?" Knuckles asked.

"You could say that we actually had a little date. Which I'm gonna say she hasn't built up the courage to tell you about why she was beaten like that, not that I can blame her nor blame her for not wanting to see me again," Before Knuckles could react even with speaking Brandon started to tell the stallion about his and Sparks relationship.

He did not spare any detail, except for the part of their date when she tried to seduce him. Though the next part of the story he told was still very much painful since he had been partially awake when she was beaten. Knuckles listened very intently and after Brandon finished the stallion had a look in his eye.

"What?" Brandon asked.

"When I first met Sparks as you call her, she was at a cliff to end things," Knuckles replied making Brandon stop in his tracks as a new wave of guilt washed over him, she had tried to kill herself because of what happened. Though he himself had tried to take his life in a similar way and he couldn't blame her for being in so much pain since she couldn't even trust her own brother now.

"I-I..." Knuckles lifted a hoof.

"Don't worry about her, I've been keeping a close eye on her. Though I am just a bit worried about going on this mission because as you suggested, she doesn't have much support. But I believe I've helped her enough to where she should stay safe and with luck I should be done with the mission shortly," Knuckles promised which brought them back to Celestia's mission.

Knuckles gave him some information about it but it was enough to connect the dots if he thought about it. He then left the stallion to make his final preparations for the mission and Brandon needed a little time to digest the information. Which he met up with Luna on his way back to the house.

"So, did you find anything out?" Luna asked and he nodded which Luna didn't ask more about it than that.

"Did you get everything you needed?" He asked making her smile.

"Yup, I also got these new snacks..." She then pulled the snacks out with a big smile as she explained she always wanted to try them but could never find them anywhere. Though as Brandon looked at Luna, something seemed different about her.

He couldn't put a finger on it but there was definitely something different about her, not physically or personality-wise. Part of him wondered if she even noticed the change, but judging by how she was acting he knew she didn't. It seemed that night just didn't rid her of her heat but it had changed something, which he really couldn't put a finger on it. After a few more moments of walking and talking, he stopped seeing the change.

It took him a second before he realized that what he had been seeing was because of his newfound sight. But once again he didn't know what had changed about her because she really did seem like her same old self. So he just figured it was nothing and though Luna tried to ask him about why he was so distracted he gave his answer.

"Can't help it, a beautiful mare is walking next to me," He said leaning in and locking lips with her which he timed it just perfect as the door flew open to reveal Lyra and Derpy on the other side. Both mares giving Luna a little jealous stare as they broke their kiss.

Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile!