A New Friend

by bakersong

Rating: mature
Tags: Gore, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human, Sad, Lyra, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Derpy Hooves, Sex, Applejack
Length: 284009

After a thunder storm the pegusas scheduled Applejack discovers somepony in her fields, but it's not somepony she knows or even think that it's a pony.

After a thunderstorm, the pegasus scheduled. Applejack discovers somepony in her fields, but it's not somepony she knows or even thinks that it's a pony or any other race from Equestria or country. But she takes him to the hospital in order to help him. After making sure he would be fine, she goes check it out a little bit more and finds his luggage around where he was unconscious.

Published 2013-11-03 22:00:04 UTC
Last updated 2024-11-10 19:20:58 UTC

Moving In

He was happy to finally be allowed to get up and walk around for more than ten minutes. Though he still felt uncomfortable about his arrangement, mostly due to the fact that he would have to walk through an entire town full of talking ponies. The little comfort he did take was that he at least had some friends in this strange world, but he could say that about his world as well as he seemed to remember more facts about it every day.

"Hey, don't be worried. Everypony is very accepting here, and besides if they do judge you for being different just remember you have us." He looked up from his thoughts and saw Twilight could see his nervousness. "It's good to know that you can at least walk from being cooped up so long." She said and he smiled at her.

"Yeah thanks, and I did think I would have trouble walking. I mean they really wouldn't let me get up unless I had to go to the bathroom, or to see if my legs still worked." He remembered trying to figure out how to use the bathroom here, though it wasn't that difficult. Though he did wonder how they had plumbing since to him their world looked more like medieval times from his world, but at the same time, he also saw other slightly newer technology as well.

"Well good to know that you seem to be adjusting to some of our world." She said looking behind her. "And don't worry about your stuff, Applejack said they would bring it over later."

"I understand, she and the others have other things to do. But why were you so persistent in giving me not only a tour of your house but also the town? I mean show me where you live yeah, but I could have explored the town on my own." He said.

"I just thought you would feel more comfortable if you were accompanied by a friend. I can't wait to show you around Ponyville though." Before he spoke his stomach growled and he put his hands on it to make it quiet down. "Okay let's get you to the library and feed you beforehoof, what do humans eat anyway?" She asked with curiosity.

"Well, I really haven't thought about it before." He put his hand up to his head and started to rub his temple trying to remember. "I know I told Applejack a little about what we eat, but part of that I don't want to talk about in public, but if I remember correctly I should be fine on certain things. That and from what I can tell you ponies have at least some familiar foods, in a matter of fact besides flowers and a few other things we pretty much eat the same things."

"I understand you don't feel comfortable discussing your eating diet's around town and trust me i could tell be your teeth. But anyway how about I get Spike to make some pancakes when we get back?" She asked looking at him.

"That sounds great, and I hope that no one else figures out what I eat. I know that there are other sentinel species here that eat what I do but I think humans can survive off of plants and stuff. Oh, by the way, if I remember correctly in one of the suitcases, if it's here that is, there may be a cookbook that might help shed some light on this." At this her eyes widened in surprise and then she started to jump around squealing.

"You mean that you might have books from your world?" He nodded.

"Yeah, if I remember one of the suitcases should be nothing but books. Though besides the contents of what's inside don't ask me more because I don't remember anything though. Besides of course from what I already told ya." He answered but realized that she wasn't listening. "Hey, are you sure you will even be able to read them anyhow? I mean it's lucky we seem to speak the same language with some words replacing each other, but whose not to say our written language isn't different?" She stopped and thought about it.

"You're right, it is lucky that we seem to speak the same language. Though if our writing language isn't then I guess we could teach each other how to read them." She answered and smiled at the thought of learning how to read another language.

"Well you live in a library and all, so once we get there I'll take a look at some of your books. Then when Applejack brings my stuff I'll try to find the bag and you can have a look, I just wish I could at least pay her for her trouble. I feel guilty about not going with her." He said a little bit of his guilt showing.

"Hey it's alright she understands, and besides you did say you think you would work on the farm. Even if it is more like physical therapy and all she's happy about that, and as for paying her, she wouldn't accept it. She's too stubborn to do that to a friend, especially after the experience that you had when you woke up. I think she feels a little guilty about that." She answered with concern showing.

"That's why I wish I could pay her back, that's part of the reason why I wanted to work on the farm. Yes, I figured it would help me regain lost strength, but I also thought it would be a good way to pay her back without her knowing about it. Promise you won't tell her I said that though, otherwise, she'll never let me work." He looked at the purple unicorn with a serious look.

"I promise, in the matter of fact I Pinkie promise." When she said that it made him raise his eyebrow in curiosity.

"And how would that work when you don't have a pinkie?" He asked raising his had with his pinkie pointing out.

"Oh, uhh well it's completely different here. A Pinkie promise here was made up by Pinkie Pie as her way of never revealing anyponies secret, I guess you use that little finger to make a similar promise?" She asked.

"Yeah, in a matter of fact that's why we call it a pinkie promise. This finger is called the pinkie, but I guess that makes sense calling that kind of promise after the pers... I mean pony who created it." He answered.

"Okay then, now let me start." She sat down and starting to say things with little motions that went along. "...stick a cupcake in my...ow!" Poking herself in the eye which made him start busting out laughing. "Alright now that's taken care of let's go, it seems that we've caught the attention of someponies."

After managing to avoid getting asked questions, which was mostly because neither of them wants to answer any right then, and finally got to a tree that seemed to be living. Just by looking at it though he knew it was impossible, there was a door right in front, windows, and a door that lead out to a balcony. Yet it didn't seem to be rotting and it still had its leaves on it.

"You might want to close your mouth, I'll explain about the tree after we get you settled in okay?" She asked, and he just nodded and closed his mouth. "Spike, I brought that guest I was telling you....about." When they walked in there was what looked like a white unicorn with wings sitting on the floor, and another thing was that she seemed to be taller than most of the ponies he saw. "Princess Celestia, what are you doing here?"

"Princess!" His eyes got wide as the tall pony looked at them, and he bowed his head for some reason. Though he guessed he did it out of respect for being in the presence of royalty.

"Ahh, there you are Twilight it's good to see you again. And it's good to meet this fine young," She stopped herself and thinking about how to phrase it, he didn't blame her for he knew what she was going to say.

"It's alright you can call me young colt or stallion if you want. After all, it means the same thing if someone were to call me young man." He said trying to help her out.

"Well aren't you the polite one, it's good to see that you're up and about. As my faithful student said I am Princess Celestia, one of two rulers over Equestria. But you don't have to bother with formalities right now, I came to check up on you after Twilight sent me the letter to inform me of your decision to stay with her. Though I'm quite curious as to why you picked her over Applejack, from what I heard happen I would have thought you would want to live with the pony who saved you." "The princess said, and he realized he was still bowing a little.

"Thanks, and as to why I made that decision well let me explain." After briefly explaining his decision, though he was very uncomfortable. Not only was this another pony he didn't know, but she was also one of two princesses. "And that's how I came to my choice." He finished.

"Makes sense, and that sounds like a good plan to help you get into shape. Now there is another thing I came here to do, Brandon in order for you to live here you're going to have to apply for citizenship. But don't worry as long as you fill everything out, which I'm sure Twilight would be more than happy to help you, I'll personally see it that yours is the first one to be approved." Celestia smiled at him which made him feel a little bit relaxed.

"You don't have to do that princess, I could just wait until they have time to check it out." He replied with a smile of his own.

"Nonsense, I insist. Now, how about you tell me what you remember about yourself and your world." Celestia said. "From what I hear the world you come from sounds interesting, oh and before you ask I am what's called an Alicorn. A very rare type of pony, one that has the magic of all three tribes of ponies. I and my sister are the only ones who could move the sun and moon without losing our magic forever. Though that's another story for another time, what I want to hear is as I said, about your world and yourself."

"Alright, I guess I can tell you what I remember." He said trying to think of where to start. "Ah, I think I know where to start now, how about some of my worlds myths."

"That sounds interesting, please go on." He gave her a nod.

They sat there for a while listening to him talk about the myths, though most Twilight already heard he also remembered some more. Shortly after he started to get into what he remembered from his life though it didn't take long to tell them. As he talked though he barely noticed a purple and green scaled guess had arrived and had poured them some tea.

"And so far that's all I've been able to remember, and thank you for the tea." He said turning his eyes once again going wide. "You're a dragon." Saying with his mouth hung open.

"That's right I am, I'm Spike Twilight's number one assistant. Nice to meet you, Brandon, she's been talking about how excited she was that you decided to move in." Spike said before Twilight interrupted.

"Spike!" She yelled with a slight blush on her face.

"Oh come on Twilight, all I was saying is how excited you were to, umm how did you put it? Oh yeah to have such a good looking new friend who was moving in..ahh!" He glowed in a purple aura and sent upstairs. "Hey, no fair." He screamed before he got past the last step.

"Sorry about that." She said with her blush growing stronger, both he and the princess were repressing their laughter.

"Oh I understand, after all, I am apparently good looking after all." At this the two couldn't control themselves, though his laughter was more out of control and rolling on the floor holding his sides, the princess was just giving a small laugh.

"It's alight Twilight." Celestia bent down and whispered. "He is good looking after all." This made Twilight's blush grow even deeper.

"Oh look at the time, I need to brush my teeth." She said running off.

"I think that was a little too funny, I hope I didn't offend her though." Celestia turned to see he had stopped laughing.

"Don't worry, she was just embarrassed that's all. Now tell me do you remember anything about cross-species dating in your world?" This sent a blush to his face.

"Umm from what I remember, all the species on my world, let me think of how to put this." He said trying to think.

"They weren't that intelligent?" Celestia said.

"Well I wasn't going to be that blunt, but yes. So it was frowned upon and even illegal to try, that's unless of course if we happen to come across intelligent life on another planet that just happened to look like one of the animals of my world. Then I guess that it might be fine, I wouldn't know though. Even if I did remember things might already be different. But hey can you tell me about what your year is like, you know how many months and days there are, does this world change seasons?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Well, it's good to hear that at least you have an open mind about that subject, and as for your question, there are a total of twelve months," Celestia said naming the months, after saying how many days there were.

"Sounds exactly like my world, which is a good thing I guess. The reason why I ask is that I remember my birthday, which is what you're saying is true then my birthday should be the same as it was in my world." This made Celestia raise an eyebrow in question. "If I'm right my birthday should be on August twenty-fourth."

"Well then do you remember how old you are then?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, I should be about nineteen going to twenty." He said. "Unless it already passed here?"

"Nope it hasn't yet, in a matter of fact it is only the beginning of August," Celesta answered.

"Oh I see that you two are talking about months and everything, but did I miss anything," Twilight said as she was coming back into the room.

"Oh, Brandon here was just telling me about when his birthday was, and how old he was," Celestia said.

"So you remembered your birthday and your age, that's great can you tell me?" She asked.

"Sure, I mean we are going to be roommates for a little while." He said and then quickly answering her.

"Mmm, well don't be surprised if Pinkie throws you two wild party's this month. She usually through's every new pony a welcome party, and since your birthday is coming up she'll want to through you a party for that." Twilight said and he could already see the exhaustion just thinking about it in her eyes.

"Well don't worry about it. I'm sure no matter how wild the party is I'll be able to handle it, that and though I'm still on edge about the whole being in a world with talking animals, no offense, it might be good to get to know some of its citizens." He said with a nervous smile.

"That's good to hear that you're going to do your best to adjust. I assure you though we will not harm you, and the citizens of Ponyville are very accepting. So I'm sure after the welcome party you'll fit right in." Celestia smiled warmly.

"I sure hope so, because I rather not deal with judging stares for much longer." He said remembering the looks he got on the way here.

"They were just curious that's all," Twilight said.

"Yes, as would any other creature. Well, I have to get back to the palace before my sister starts to get worried. Here are the forms that you need to fill out for citizenship." Celestia said and some papers popped out of nowhere in front of him. "And like I said, if you need any help on them I'm sure Twilight here would love to help you." She winked at Twilight who nodded her head.

"Thank you, princess." He said bowing his head. "I hope we get to talk again."

"As do I, and remember Twilight this will help you with your studies." Twilight nodded. "Well, I will let you get settled in, and don't worry about filling all those out right now," Celestia said.

"Okay." He replied, and then there was a knock at the door.

"I'm here with his stuff." A familiar voice called out, and he smiled at it.

"Come on in Applejack," Twilight called.

When Applejack first opened the door she saw him sitting there looking at her with a smile across his face, and as she opened the door more she let out a small gasp. She now saw Celestia was sitting right next to him. Though she relaxed a little because she didn't feel like the princess was here to arrest him or anything, though she didn't know why that thought had crossed her mind in the first place.

"Howdy princess, how are ya?" Applejack asked.

"I'm doing fine Applejack, I was just here to check up on Twilight's new house guest. Also to drop off some paperwork he needs to fill out in order to become a citizen of Equestria. And now that's out of the way I'll say goodbye for right now." Celestia said.

"I don't like goodbyes." He mumbled and their eyes turned to him obviously hearing him. "After what happened I just don't like goodbye anymore, that just sounds too permanent. So instead from now on, I'll be saying see you later."

"Then I guess I will see you later then," Celestia said. "And I do agree with you Brandon, goodbye does sound permanent." She said with a nod and got up and walked to the door. "It was nice to see you Applejack."

"Nice to see you again princess." Applejack said with a nod, and Celestia walked out and took off.

"Didn't expect to meet a princess on my first day, I think I'll start working on these papers later. So Applejack let me help ya." He said standing up and stretching out his legs.

"Okay, and while you're at it do you mind catching me up?" Applejack asked.

"Sure thing and Brandon remembered how old he was and when his birthday was. Which looks like I owe you five bits now." Twilight said her ears going flat.

"So you are nineteen then, and you were born this month?" Applejack asked him.

"Yeah, but how did ya know?" He asked back.

"Lucky guess then, looking forward to ya birthday party. Speaking of party's though, Pinkie told me to tell everypony I came across to come to SugarCube Corner for a welcome party. And before y' all ask, yes he is the guess of honor. So unless you want to be late to your own party I suggest we unload and head down there." Applejack said waving her hoof for them to come on.

Unloading the wagon didn't take long as there wasn't that much luggage in it. Just a big bag that must have held his clothes, a small cardboard box, and a large box. Which Twilight just decided to use her telekinesis to lift it all like it weighed nothing. After setting it in a corner and called for Spike the four of them went over to where Pinkie was having the party, which he had to stay back to let them lead the way.

"So exactly what are you?" He looked down at Spike.

"I'm what's called a human." He answered.

"A human huh? Never heard of that, but how come you knew I was a dragon? Did Twilight tell you?" Spike asked.

"No she didn't, but just because you haven't heard about humans doesn't mean that humans haven't heard about dragons, unicorns, pegasi, or any other creature here. But before you ask, most of the creatures I'm talking about are myths on my world." He answered.

"Myths huh? So this is the first time you met a dragon and unicorn then?" Spike asked.

"To be honest I don't know. I mean if I remember correctly there were some of my kind that thought they existed on our world. But I can't remember anything about it though, whether that was proven or not. And don't ask me what I think because I'm afraid I can't give you an answer, seeing how I lost my memory and woke up in a world that has all of these creatures." He looked down and saw Spike nodding in understanding. "You know you look like you're a young dragon, but you seem to have a lot of maturity to you're age."

"That's because Twilight raised me since I pretty much hatched," Spike said.

"Oh, really?" He asked looking at Spike.

"Yeah, you see Twilight is Princess Celestia's personal student. She became that when she went to go take the entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The test was to hatch my egg, and from what they told me she did it when all of a sudden she got a huge burst of magic energy. She cast multiple advance spells from transforming her parents to cactuses, to levitating four fully grown ponies, to hatching my egg, and even an aging spell on me. It took the princess herself to calm Twilight down, and after that, she became her personal student." Spike said. "So I've been with her almost ever since."

"Wow, that's quite the story. You know I may not know about my past, but I have a feeling that I always liked dragons." He said.

"Really? So what were the dragons like in the myths?" Spike asked.

"I think it depends on what part of the world you were in. Some dragons were greedy and vicious in one part, and another they were wise and all-knowing creatures who helped people who sought them out. Again it depends on what part of the world you lived in, as I remember it also depends on what kind of dragon it was." He answered.

"There are different kind's of dragons?" Spike asked with curiousness in his eyes and voice.

"Yeah, at least from what I remembered. Though it may be different here, I don't know." He could see the disappointment in the young dragon.

"Oh, okay," Spike said,

"I take it so far you're the only dragon that doesn't have wings?" He asked and Spike just nodded his head. "Hmmm, then there just might be more than one type of dragon then." This made a spark of hope in the dragon's eyes.

"Yeah, I mean I know I can't be the only one right?" Spike asked, and Brandon just nodded his head in agreement.

Shortly they had made it to the place Pinkie told them to go to. He could tell it was some kind of bakery shop of sorts, though he could have guessed that from the name. But from what he could tell the building was at least two or three stories tall, pink, with a roof that looked like a gingerbread roof, and a giant cupcake with candles on top. It made him crave for something sweet, which he figured he be getting once inside.

"Oh that's right this is your first time seeing Sugarcube Corner. This is where Pinkie and the Cake's live." Twilight said. "Let me guess now you want something sweet huh?" He nodded his head. "Yeah that's how the Cake's wanted it, they spent a lot of time to get that effect from what I heard. Now come on I'm sure Pinkie and all of the other's she invited are waiting and you're more than welcome to help yourself to anything set out on the table's I'm sure." With that, his stomach growled and he blushed.

"So umm, can we go in now?" He asked trying to cover his embarrassment, but no luck as the two ponies and dragon laughed.

"Sure thing, come on." Applejack said after calming down, and they walked in.

"SURPRISE!!!!" A lot of ponies said in unison and when they all looked at him he didn't know whether he was more surprised at them screaming it, or if it was because they were all smiling kindly at him.

"Umm, Brandon you might want to breathe." Applejack said, he hadn't even realized that he was holding his breath.

"Thanks." He said after he started to breathe again, and when he looked around again all of them were now talking to each other not even caring that there was some strange creature in the room. Which the party was being thrown for.

"So were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Were ya huh? Come on and tell me!" He looked to see Pinkie was talking to him.

"Yeah, you nearly gave me a heart attack I was so surprised." He said teasingly, and Pinkie narrowed her eyes and then laughed.

"Good one, now come on and PARTY!" She yelled and then pulled him away, and he looked back for help but only saw Applejack, Twilight, and Spike laughing.

"Guess I do need to relax more." He mumbled.

"Come on I want to introduce you to somepony. She says that her granny used to tell her old tales of humans." This made his eyes go wide in shock in surprise.

"Wait I thought none of you ever heard about humans before." He said being pulled forward.

"Apparently the stories she got told were just old fairy tales and myths passed down to the next generation of her family. She will be so surprised to find out that you actually exist, for she always had a fascination with the stories, and when I told her about you she didn't believe me. So I told her to come to the party and find out. I can't wait to rub this in her face, and she might even faint because she always wanted to meet one of you. But as I said, she always thought they weren't real." Pinkie spat out so fast that he could barely understand her. "See Lyra he is a real human!" She exclaimed proudly.

"What are you talking about Pink...." A unicorn who had a mint green coat, had a cyan mane along with her tail which had a streak of white on it, and her eyes were golden, and they looked like they glowed like the sun, turned around as she was saying that to Pinkie. Her jaw dropped when seeing him, and he just waved nervously. "Oh my a real human!" She squealed.

"Hi." He said uncomfortably.

"Hi I'm Lyra, what's your name? Oooo those are actually hands! Can I touch them?" She asked pleadingly.

"Well my name is Brandon, and I guess we could do a hand slash hoof shake." He said trying to put on a smile.

They shook and he felt like she was about to faint at the touch, and so quickly let go. He looked at Pinkie who was still standing there, more or less like bouncing in one spot, smiling. When she saw him looking she stopped bouncing.

"Oh excuse me but I think I have to check the punch." Pinkie shot away without waiting for him to respond, so he looked back at Lyra who was looking at him.

"So can you tell me what those means?" He said with a nervous smile, pointing to the lyre on her flank.

"Oh those are cutie marks, they represent each ponies special talent. Which we have to try just about everything in order to get it to show up, but it's well worth all the wait. So what about you? Do you have a cutie mark? Do humans get cutie marks?" Lyra asked excitedly.

"I don't think so." He answered and she stopped bouncing.

"Then how do humans know what their special talent is?" She said in surprise.

"If I remember correctly it's sorta how you said, we have to go around trying everything we can. Once we find something we like doing and put passion into it and make it fun then I guess we find our special talent. But we don't get cutie marks that signify what that talent is." He answered.

"What do you mean by if you remember correctly?" She asked giving a confused look.

"Well, I lost a lot of my memory mostly about myself though. It seems facts about where I come from are starting to come back though, but I barely know anything about myself." He answered a little sadness seeped into his voice and he felt a comforting touch on his hand.

"You poor thing, if you ever need to talk you can come to me." He looked down and saw her hoof on his hand, and looked up when she said that and saw she meant it. This made him feel more comfortable and he wrapped both hands around her hoof.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, I need some friends while I'm here and I think you would make a great addition to the group of them I already have." He looked back at the now six gathered ponies he recognized and looked back at Lyra in the eyes and smiled. "So how about we go get something to drink and I'll tell you more about my world that I remember okay?" She nodded and looked away and blushed, and he realized he still had a hold on her hoof. "Oh, sorry."

"It's alright they're pretty warm and comforting." Her blush deepened and he just laughed.

They got their punch and sat down and he started to tell her what he remembered. Including some stuff he didn't even tell the six who helped him, which he was surprised at. When he told her about what human ate he expected her to stop him and give him a look of disgust but she just nodded in understanding. Though he told her that as long as he was there he would never let one slice of meat touch his lips.

"Wow, so humans have myths about us as well? That's amazing, though it seems like only hoof full of ponies ever heard about humans. I'm so glad I finally got to meet one!" She squealed.

"And I'm glad to have met such a nice and sweet unicorn." He said making her blush, and he looked around and saw the party was dying down and the ponies who stayed around so far had surrounded them listening to him tell his story. Which made him blush when he realized that they had heard what he said. "So, umm how are all of you?" Saying nervously.

The ponies all started to laugh at them a little, making them blush deeper and making it hotter. After excusing himself he managed to make it outside to cool off. But before he went outside he mange to grab a slice of pie and started to eat it, and he let out a pleasurable moan when he tasted how delicious it was.

"So you seemed to enjoy your talk with Lyra." He looked to see Applejack standing there with a smile on her face. "It's good to see ya make new friends, though I do wish you had told us about some of those things." She had a slightly disappointed look in her eyes before she gave him another kind look. "But if it takes getting a new friend other than us to get you to open up I understand, that and Lyra has a way to open other's up."

"Yeah I noticed, and I also noticed that she has a lyre for her cutie mark, and her name is Lyra. So I take it she plays the lyre then?" He asked.

"Eyup, she sure does. She's pretty good at it too, so I take it you learned about cutie marks then?" She asked.

"I think I get the general idea of it. It's just a way for you to show off what you can do a little better than some others. Too bad humans don't get cutie marks, we have to work almost our entire life to find it out, and you all get to find it out when you're so young. Though if I remember some humans to know what their special talent when they're young, but that seems very rare." He said looking out at the night sky.

"So if you can remember, do you know if you ever found you're special talent?" She asked.

"I might have an impression that I loved writing and enjoyed it. But I'm not sure, and I'm scared I might never get my memory back." A tear running down his face, and when he turned around he found himself in an embrace.

"Look even if you don't get your memory back just remember what I told you, we'll always be there. And if you do then no matter what you're like we'll still be there okay?" He looked down at Applejack in surprise as her embrace tightened, and he manged to get down low enough to return it.

"I know and thank you." He said, and they broke the hug. "You know even if it looks different I can still see some things that look so familiar, like constellations, and yes I can remember them. Just looking at the night sky brought back the names of some of them, like that one right there is what I call the big dipper." He said pointing to some stars.

"You know we call it that here too. It's good to know that you can at least remember some stuff." She said giving him a smile. "Now how about we go and finish the party?" He nodded and they went back to finish it.

Author's Note

Can't have a human in Equestria without Lyra, hoped you enjoyed this chapter.

Looking Around

He was sleeping quite comfortably and having a nice dream about something that seemed so familiar but he didn't know why. All he knew is he was somewhat happy as this dream continued and he never wanted to leave this place. Though he felt something shake him rousing him, making him leave the dream.

"Hey, wake up." A familiar voice called quietly.

"Why?" He asked tiredly.

"Because it's about noon, and I figured you might want to get up." His eyes starting to open a little and saw an orange furry face in front of him.

"Aaah!" He screamed and jumped, but he managed to calm himself down and remembered where he was. At least world-wise, but as he looked around he was laying in a nice soft bed. After focusing more he saw that he was in a nice little room. "Where am I?"

"You're at my place." He looked and saw Applejack looking at him holding back a laugh at how he jumped. "You seemed to have fun last night, never thought I see somepony out drink me." She said looking at him, and for a moment he was confused.

"Oh, now I remember now." He said shaking his head. "What was I drinking though that got me so drunk?"

"Hard Apple Cider, though I will admit that I didn't think it would have the same effect on you as it did us. But to clear some stuff up, the reason why you got so drunk might have been my fault." He looked at her for a moment, and it came rushing back, most of it anyway. "So how you feeling? I know that after you put away that much you must have one heck of a hangover." She said with a little concern.

"Actually I feel fine, a little sore but fine. I think I remember most of last night, you challenging me to a drinking contest, and I won. But did I do anything, umm well you know embarrassing?" He asked, but as he asked he realized he had no clothes on. "What happened to my clothes?" Asking in a panicked voice.

"Well to answer your first question no, at least nothing that we thought was embarrassing." He let out a sigh of relief but still felt panicked. "But I know that taking off your clothes makes ya feel uncomfortable, and I promise that's all you did. Well besides puking all over them, that's why you took them off. Of course, we had to prod you to, you know you're a little more stubborn about that when you're drunk?" She let out a small laugh. "Don't worry I went over to Twilight's and got you some fresh clothes, and I'm glad to see that you don't have a hangover. Though I don't know how you pretty much drank two whole bottle's of hard apple cider by you're self."

"Well I guess I can handle my alcohol, but about those clothes?" He asked blushing.

"Oh, right sorry." She said blushing herself, but it was out of embarrassment of forgetting about the clothes. "Hold on, I'll be right back."

When she left the room he relaxed a little and trying to get rid of the burning in his face. Though he wondered why he was at Applejack's? He knew he was supposed to be staying over at Twilight's, but then he remembered something else about last night. Twilight had said that she would prefer it if he didn't puke all over her floors, so she asked Applejack to take him to her place, though he was at maximum blackout he remembered he was standing right there.

"That unicorn must have OCD or something." He said under his breath, remembering how she had rearranged the entire food table.

"Who Twilight? Yeah, she can get obsessive over stuff some times. Try not to take offense to it though, and besides, you didn't puke on me or even after we got back here." He looked in surprise to see Applejack was back.

"Uhh I didn't mean anything by what I said, and why should I take offense? I wouldn't want someone puking all over my house if they were completely wasted. But it's good to hear that I didn't vomit all over you or your house." He said putting on a nervous and uncomfortable smile, and that made her chuckle.

"I know ya didn't mean anything by it sugar cube. Though I should warn ya, Pinkie Pie will be wanting to know when your birthday is and she won't stop until you tell her. And here's your clothes." She said grabbing them with her mouth and putting them on the bed. "I will be downstairs, come down when ya are ready for some lunch okay?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to bring me a shirt you know? For some reason, I don't think I would feel uncomfortable with no shirt, but thanks I'll be down in a second." He said giving her a nod and a smile.

"I think I might have to remember that next time then, you know you're a lot more fun when you relax?" With that, she left making him grin and chuckle a little.

"I bet I am, bet I am." He said shaking his head, and quickly putting on his shorts.

After doing some stretches to loosen up his sore body he went to go find the bathroom. Lucky for him he seemed to be a fast learner though as he figured out how to use a bathroom designed for a pony. Once he managed to find one he quickly went and checked himself over in the mirror, and thought he didn't look bad for someone who had been flat out drunk.

"Oh, there you are you, young whippersnapper! What do ya want for lunch?" He turned after walking down the stairs to see an olden pony looking at him.

"What you making, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked a bit surprised that the old pony wasn't freaking out at the sight of him. But he guessed that there might be even stranger creatures here than him, so he didn't put much thought into it.

"Well I'm making some sandwiches for lunch, so what kind do you want?" The old pony asked smiling.

"Let me think." He put his hand up to his chin in thought. "I think a PB and j would be fine miss." Giving her a kind smile in return.

"You can call me Granny Smith." Granny Smith said before returning to the kitchen.

"Do you need any help? I would feel bad after I stayed over without permission and then having you make lunch for me." He called walking toward the kitchen himself.

"It's alright sunny, you're a house guess after all," Granny answered as he got to the door.

"It won't be a problem like I said I would feel bad after staying here last night and then not at least try and be a good house guess. That and I don't want to be a burden on you." He said.

"It's fine, a friend of my granddaughter is more than welcome to stay over. I guess if ya really want to help then I can't stop ya." Granny Smith said turning slowly towards him.

After making two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for himself, and helping Granny Smith make some more sandwiches for her family they went and set up the table. He found it a little easier and faster if he did it, though he knew that she would have been faster he knew she had slowed down in her age. But that didn't stop her from protesting a little bit after he told her once again he felt he had to for letting him stay here and for lunch.

"Hey, Granny is lunch ready yet?" A voice came from outside, though he didn't recognize it.

"Yeah it's ready, tell your sister and brother to come on back Applebloom. Oh and also tell your sister that her guess is down." Granny Smith called out, and when she looked at him she saw an expression of confusion. "As you might of guess Applebloom is Applejack's younger sister, and I had Applejack go out to make sure Big Mac is working."

"So I take it that's their brother?" He asked.

"Yep, older brother at that." Granny Smith said right before the door busted open with a small yellow pony ran forward.

She did look like Applejack a little but she had a red mane and tail, and she had gamboge colored eyes. Though he didn't even know that he knew that word, or it had anything to do with color. But upon seeing him she stopped for a second with curious eyes.

"Well hello, you must be Applebloom?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah, but who or what are you?" Applebloom asked.

"Straight to the point huh? Guess it's like that about any child in any world." He said under his breath. "Well I'm what's called a human, and my name is Brandon Jenkins, but you can just call me Brandon."

"Oh, well nice to meet ya. Which sandwich is mine?" The little filly looked at the table.

"Those one's right over there." Granny Smith pointing to a seat across the table they were standing from, and Applebloom zipped over to her seat.

Right after taking her seat and him taking a seat for himself as well as Granny Smith, they talked for a minute waiting for the two older siblings. They asked questions which he knew that they would ask and answered them trying to get a little more comfortable. Which he was starting to until a big red stallion walked through the door, and he looked pretty intimidating in physical statues but he released an aura of a silent and calm.

"You must be Big Mac?" He asked swallowing a little.

"Eeyup." Was all the response he got before the red stallion took his place, and then he heard another pony enter.

"I hope my family isn't causing to much trouble." Applejack said sitting down next to him, though he had to sit a bit differently. Since he didn't like going Indian style, didn't know where that phrase came from, and it would make him to short for the table if he sat on his knees. Though he had a pillow underneath so he wasn't that uncomfortable.

"Nah, they were just mostly asking me stuff I figured they ask." He said turning to look at her and smiled.

"So what are ya gonna do today Brandon?" Applebloom asked.

"Well I was thinking about looking around the town to get a little more comfortable, and then get back to the library to start on some paperwork." He answered.

"So where ya stay'n then?" Granny Smith asked.

"I'm staying at the library in a matter of fact. At least that's the arrangement until I learned more about this world, and save up until I have enough to live on my own." He answered.

"Ahh, well if ya ever need a place to stay the night again you're more than welcome here." Granny Smith told him with a smile.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He replied with his own smile.

"I know my granddaughter over there next to ya would like that too," Granny said with a wink.

"Granny! That's enough of that how about we eat before we starve." Applejack said.

But before she could hide it he saw that she had turned a little red, and both he and Granny Smith gave a slight chuckle. They quickly ate their lunch and he helped wash the dishes, to more protest from the old pony. Though he ignored them this time.

"So Applejack, you wouldn't want me to stay over again sometime then?" He asked teasingly.

"What, of course, ya could stay the night any time ya want. Let's get these darn things washed I have to get back to work." She said looking away from him a little.

"Well if you have to get back to work then I'll just finish washing these then. Which speaking of work when do I start?" He asked and he saw a glimmer of gratitude in her eyes for not teasing her more.

"I was thinking in about a week, that way you have time to get to know your way around town and meet others. Oh yeah, I just remembered, if you're going to look around town today Lyra wanted me to tell you to stop by her place for a minute." She said.

"And where does she live?" He asked.

"You can't miss it, it's called Bon Bons Sweet Shop, she lives on the second floor." She replied.

"Okay, so who's Bon Bon then?" He asked looking at her.

"She's Lyra's marefriend and owner of that shop. Don't worry though she's pretty nice, that and since you're already friends with Lyra that should make it easier." She gave him a smile and snapped her attention back to the dishes.

"Well, I guess I should keep an eye out then." He said, but a thought crossed his mind. "If they live in what I think is a candy shop, then I wish I had some money just in case I wanted something sweet. And that's good to know she has a girlfriend if I remember that sort of relationship in my world was starting to get more accepted." He said just remembering something about it.

"Yep, it's good to hear ya remembered something else. As for the money just hold on a moment." She said then going into the other room and when she came back she was carrying a brown bag on her back. "Twilight stopped by earlier and told me that the princess left ya some money to get ya started."

"She didn't have to do that, though I didn't want to feel like a freeloader or anything. But still, I should thank her again for this. How much did she send?" He asked.

"Twilight said there should be at least two hundred bits, I suggest stopping by the bank before anywhere else and opening an account. Even if you aren't a citizen yet you should be able to, and here's a map of the town just in case." She said and he took both the bag and map off her back.

"Two hundred bits huh? Is that allot here?" He asked.

"It's quite a bit yes. Well, I guess ya should get going, I'll see ya later alright?" He nodded and she walked out with the dishes finished, going back to work.

He decided to take her advice and stopped by the Ponyville Bank and quickly opened his account. He made sure that he had about thirty bits in his pockets, which the bank teller actually suggested and he continued looking around the town. Passing some houses and then going through a street market, which he was glad he didn't feel like he was being stared at or judged for being different, and he then decided to open up the map and try to find the shop Applejack said Lyra and her, as she put it, marefriend lived.

"Let's see if I just passed the open market, then that must mean I'm right about there. So if I take a right about a block down, then take a left then that should lead me straight to the shop." He said to himself and after putting the map up he started to make his way.

He guessed that it would be a good ten-minute walk but that just gave him time to look at everything along the way. The buildings definitely reminded him of medieval time, but they still seemed to have some technology. He passed by a shop selling what looked like turntables, which surprised him, the shop right next to it sold record players which he expected a little. As he walked and looked at just about everything he finally reached his destination and went inside.

"Hello and welcome to Bon Bon's Sweet Shop, I'm Bon Bon how may I help you?" A mare at the front counter said she had what looked like a cream colored coat.

Her mane had and tail had a streak of what he could tell was purple, with a pink tint to it. But most of it was a dark blue, and it wasn't until she looked up from what she was doing to see she had blue eyes. When she looked at him her jaw dropped in absolute shock.

"N-no way." She whispered. "She was right they do exist." He gave her a curious look. "Lyra can you come out here please?" At that he gave a slight chuckle realizing that she probably didn't believe Lyra that humans existed, she told him about her though he didn't realize himself that she was her marefriend until Applejack said something.

"Yes, sweetie? Do you need any hel..." When Lyra walked out of the kitchen, at least he thought it was the kitchen, her jaw slightly dropped but then she quickly smiled. "Hey, Brandon looks like you recovered well. Bon Bon this is who I was talking about, now it looks like you owe me two days off and extra cuddle time." She said making Bon Bon go red, and he just laughed.

"Yeah hey, I was just exploring the town a bit to get a feel for it. Applejack told me to stop by, and I thought since this sounded like a candy shop I might as well have a look." He said, this snapped Bon Bon out of her glare at Lyra and she smiled.

"Oh, so you're here to shop then? Do you have any money if I may ask?" Bon Bon looked at him.

"Yep, got a little bit of spending money. So what do you have?" He asked looking at the display cases and saw that they had a whole variety of sweets that he didn't expect. "Are these all hand... I mean hoof made?"

"Yes, I make all my own sweets. I make anything from simple chocolate to tarts.' Bon Bon said proudly.

"Mmm, how much would a dozen of those chocolate covered cherries cost?" He asked.

"Well normally I would charge about eight bits for a dozen, but for you, I guess I can drop the price down to five." Bon Bon said looking at Lyra.

"Well thank you very much, and I promise next time I will pay you the full amount." He replied, and while she was busy getting his order ready he looked at Lyra. "So she's your marefriend huh? She looks pretty." Making Lyra blush and he just gave another chuckle.

"Thank you for the compliment and yes we are marefriends. Do you have a special somepony?" Bon Bon said placing a box on the counter, and it took him a minute to guess what she meant.

"Bon Bon, I told you last night that he lost his memory," Lyra said.

"Oh, right I'm sorry." Bon Bon said looking at him.

"It's alright, but I don't think I had a relationship though. Is that my order?" He asked changing the subject.

"Yes, it is." Bon Bon answered, and handing her five of the coins that he had. "Thanks, Lyra why don't you talk to your friend I'm sure I can handle the rest of the day by myself."

"Thanks, Bons." Lyra said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oh and Lyra I'm looking forward to the extra cuddling tonight." This made Lyra blush which sent both him and Bon Bon into a small fit of laughter.

"So if I remember correctly you said that you were going to be living with Twilight until you got the hang of things and got some money saved up right?" Lyra asked after they found a bench to sit on.

"Yeah, that's right. Though the princess sent me some money to start out with." He replied.

"Well, that would certainly explain how you were able to pay for those cherries," Lyra said levitating one out of the box and eating it.

"So can all unicorns use telekinesis?" He asked curiosity in his voice.

"Yeah, it's the most basic spell that any unicorn can learn. Though it takes time and practice to get it down though." She said after swallowing.

"Cool, just wish I could do magic even if I could only do one spell." He said.

"Hey now, just because you're not from this world doesn't mean you can't do magic. From what you told me at one point humans could do magic, and from what I've learned every creature has magic. Though some call that magic natural ability's though." She said giving him a serious look. "So I'm sure you have magic."

"Maybe, but I'm not so sure. So anyway could you stop stealing my snack, you already ate half the box." He said, and when she looked down she saw he was right and blushed a little.

"Sorry, it's just Bon Bon makes the best candy that I've ever tasted. Once you start it's hard to stop." Lyra said.

"Well, then I guess if you can't help yourself for wanting her cherry and all." He gave her a big grin, and then busted out laughing as her face had complete shock on it with what he could tell was a deep blush. "I'm sorry...that was to easy though." Saying in between laughter.

"Oh shut up." She said with a smile.

"But seriously though if you want more of these go ahead, I already had a decent lunch today." He said after he calmed down.

"Thanks, it's good to see that you're adjusting here well enough to make that kind of joke." She smiled taking the box away from him.

"Hey, it was worth it to see the look on your face, though I will say that I surprised myself by making that joke. I mean we only met last night and it already feels like we've been longtime friends." He said laying back.

"It does? Wow didn't realize you were so desperate for friends." She said tossing another chocolate cherry into her mouth.

"Well yeah I guess I am a little desperate for friends, I mean waking up in a strange new world without any memory about who you are." His eyes took on a heavy sadness.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. I didn't mean to make you upset or anything." She said looking at him with concern.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine I know what you meant. I was just thinking if I did have special, as you all put it, somepony back on my world. If so who are they? Do they know I'm gone? Are they trying to look for me? And what about any family I have?" He was cut off when he felt something wrap around him, and when he looked Lyra was giving him a comforting hug.

"Now you listen to me if you do have a special somepony they are looking for you if they know you're gone. If not then forget about them for if they don't love you enough to look for you after you disappear then that means that they never cared for you, and as for your family I'm sure they miss you very much and would do anything to get you back. Until then you got some good friends here to wait with you until they find you okay? Never forget that." Lyra looked him straight into his eyes.

"Thanks, and I'm sure by now I've heard that speech a hundred times. But thank you for being a friend even if I'm not of this world." He said returning her embrace, then after about a minute, they broke.

"You are welcome, and hey just know I wouldn't care if you were some kind of monster as long as you're a nice monster I would always be your friend." She said, and he nodded taking a cherry and placing it in his mouth and his taste buds exploded with the flavor. "See I told you they were good." Lyra giggled seeing his expression.

"Yeah you did, and before I head back to the library tell Bon Bon she just earned herself a regular, though I may gain some weight." He said smiling, she just giggled a little. "Oh hey, that reminds me, if you play the lyre I would like to hear you play some time."

"Oh you can, that's what I normally do at the shop. I was just keeping an eye on some fresh treats that Bon Bon was making. So you can come at any time, and I'll tell her. See ya." She called as she galloped off.

"See ya!" He called back, and he started his way back to the library.

Author's Note

Had some free time so decided to go ahead with writing this chapter. And before any of you ask, why would i forget Bon Bon. Hope you all enjoyed.Oh yeah if you're wondering about the height differences in this story, I pictured them to be a little shorter on their hind legs. So when standing on their hind legs I say about a four inch difference for the average sized pony, so whatever that equals out when their on all fours.

Getting Settled

Shortly after he got to the library he couldn't help but notice that books were flying everywhere, and even had to duck as one almost hit him in his head. He then decided to crawl across the floor to avoid any more of the flying books, and he managed to get to the unicorn who stood at the center of it. After making sure it was okay to stand he managed to stand, and looked at the unicorn who had her eyes closed.

"Hey, Twilight I'm back!" He called out breaking her concentration.

"Aaah!" She yelped in surprise. "Oh Brandon, sorry didn't hear you come in. So you had fun?"

"Yeah, after I woke up and had some lunch I looked around town a little. But I think you still might have to give me that tour, still had a little trouble finding my way. So what were you doing?" He asked looking at the books that laid on the floor now.

"Oh, I was reorganizing the library. I do it about every two weeks if they don't get knocked off." She said and looked at the window like she was expecting someone to crash through it. "Anyways after I get done I will be more than happy to show you around, but after that, you should start on those papers for your citizenship. But beforehoof you need to look through your stuff, maybe find those books?"

"Yeah sure. Hey thanks for sending that bag of money over, and sorry if I did anything to embarrass you." He said looking at the boxes and suitcase in the corner.

"Oh don't worry you didn't, and how did things go with Lyra? I saw a big crowd around you two last night, seemed like you were having fun." She looked at him with a smile.

"Yeah, we hung out a little, for some reason even though I only recently met her I already feel like we're long time friends. Don't know why, I mean it took me a month to get used to all of you, and the fact that I'm in another world. I would have figured that it would take me longer to make any more friends." He said, and Twilight was nodding her head in agreement.

"I understand, trying to get used to a new world and a new life would be hard. But you need to understand ponies here are widely more accepting than some of the other creature here, so they know how to make somepony feel welcome and comfortable. Now how about I give you that tour?" She asked and when he looked around he saw that the books were all put up on the shelves.

"H-how..." He trailed off, turning his head to her giggling.

"That's what you get for not paying attention, after all, I am Princess Celestia's personal student." She said still giggling a little and his eyes went wide.

"I meant to ask you about that. If you're her personal student then why are you here in a small town? Shouldn't you be at least in the same city as her?" He asked.

"Well I was studying in Canterlot, that's the capital, but the princess one day sent me here to check up on the Summer Sun Celebration preparation. Though she had another reason, she wanted me to make friends. And I wasn't exactly too thrilled with that, as I always preferred to study rather than make and hang out with friends. But it's thanks to the other girls helping me defeat Nightmare Moon using the Elements Of Harmony and then the princess assigned me here to study the magic of friendship, after of course telling her that now that I knew about how wonderful having friend was and I didn't want to leave them. So that's pretty much why I'm now living here and not with her." She replied and looked at his confused expression.

"Nightmare Moon? Elements of Harmony?" Was all he could get out.

"I'll explain later, but let's start that tour shall we?" She asked laughing a little.

"Yeah, yeah let's go." He said shaking his head out of the daze he was in.

After leaving the library and starting their tour by her explaining the history of it, as it turns out it was made from the earth ponies using their magic in order to keep the tree alive. Though he wasn't thrilled about the history lesson on the whole entire town's buildings, learning when and how they were built, he did start to think he started to get familiar with the town. Soon after they stopped at a cafe which he just ordered a lettuce sandwich and he felt like he could manage to navigate his own way now.

"So this town was started by the Apple family? Wow, that's pretty cool. You know I met Granny Smith, she was nice." He said after swallowing his last bite.

"I knew you would, and so I presume you also met Applebloom and Big Mac as well?" She asked and he just nodded in response. "Good, because the one thing everypony knows about Applejack is how her family means a lot to her. Especially after the accident with her parents."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I mean Applejack might tell me when she's ready, but what accident?" He asked knowing that this accident ended badly since he didn't meet her parents.

"Yeah, I think it would be better if I let Applejack tell you. So exactly how are you adjusting anyway?" She asked.

"Well like I said I seem to be adjusting just fine, but that's the problem though." He replied getting a curious look from her.

"Oh, and why is that a problem?" She asked.

"It's a problem because as we said, waking up in a strange new world without much memory. I should still be in all-out panic mode, but I'm not. Yes so far everyone I've come across is friendly enough but I still think I should at least be a little bit more cautious about this whole situation." He answered.

"I think I understand, maybe it's just who you were. I mean from what I've read just because you've lost your memory doesn't mean that you've lost your personality. So maybe the reason why you're adjusting so well is that you are a lot more accepting than what you realize." She gave him a concerned look before smiling again.

"You might be right, but still I'm a human in a world filled with magical talking ponies. And who knows what else." He said with a big sigh.

"And you're a human in our world like we've been trying to get into that thick head of yours we don't judge by species. We judge by how you act and what you've done, I know there will be some judging eyes but you just need to relax and try to make as many friends as possible. So please try to get that in there, because it's getting a little annoying having to tell you again and again." She said giving him a serious look.

"Alright, I'll try not to think too much about my predicament But I think we should head back to the library so I can see if I have anything on human's diet. You know to see if I can just live off of all the stuff you guys eat." He said standing up.

"You know you could just order that kind of stuff from the Griffon kingdom right?" She said and shivered. "If you do just please make sure I don't see it."

"Don't worry if there is a diet for humans to eat like you ponies then I'll stick with it okay?" He asked and she just nodded.

As it turns out the library wasn't too far from where they were, and to his surprise, he knew exactly where to go. Though he wondered why she had decided to let him lead the way instead was a little bit of a mystery. But they quickly got to the library without to much trouble.

"Alright I'll start on filling those papers out, I'll call you if I need any help. Which this will be a good chance for me to see if our written language is the same." He said.

"Okay, and when you take a break how about we start sorting through some of your stuff?" She asked pointing to his stuff in the corner.

"Of course, but I think for a majority of what's left today and a good part of the night I might just be filling those out. Want to get it done as soon as possible you know?" He asked turning his head to the stack of papers on a desk.

"I understand. I'll call you when Spike has dinner ready, you like vegetable stew?" She asked walking towards the kitchen.

"Don't think it would be that bad for me, and besides I think at very least fruits and vegetables might be healthy for me anyway." He replied sitting down at the desk.

"That's good to hear." She said before she left.

By the time she had called him for dinner he seemed to have gotten a lot done, he was surprised at how easy it was to read the language. He already knew the mere luck of them speaking the same language was extremely low, but them having the same written language as well. Granted a few words were different but he got the jiff of them.

"So how's the paperwork coming along?" She asked.

"It's going great, I've already got about a third of it done already." He said, and she nodded him in a little admiration.

"So I take it we have pretty similar written language then?" She asked after sipping some of the stew.

"Actually besides a few word replacements, like how you say everypony or anypony, stuff like that. We have exactly the same language." He answered.

"Well, then I can't wait to see what kind of books you have then, especially if I don't have to learn how to read another language." She said.

"So how many languages do you know how to read?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well I can read about, I say around twenty different of them." At this, he spat out some of the stew back into the bowl.

"You can?" He asked surprised, she and Spike starting laughing. "What? You just caught me off guard, but you must be a genius of some sort. No wonder you're the princess prized student." This made her stop laughing a bit and gave a slight blush.

"Well, I wouldn't call her a genius but yeah she's pretty smart," Spike said. "Ow! Why'd you kick me?" This made him chuckle which made Spike give him a curious look.

"Hey don't look at me, I have no idea why she kicked you." He said with a wink with Twilight, and she let out a small giggle.

"But yeah I guess that is pretty impressive, but that's nothing compared to the spells I can cast." She said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, speaking of which since I have a good idea of cutie marks, what does your's mean?" He asked.

"It means my special talent is magic, do humans get cutie marks?" She asked back.

"No. afraid not. It's more of you have to spend your entire life looking for it. Some are lucky and find it, and even get a job in that area. But if I remember that was kinda rare, but I do get the impression that I did find my talent. I believe that I might have been somewhat good at writing." He said, and she gave him a look of excitement which he knew meant she must have an idea.

"Well if you at least get that impression then why don't you start writing a book? Ooo, I could even help and be your editor. This will be great.!" She squealed.

"Woah, first let's finish eating, then let me fill out some more of that paperwork. Then we can start discussing me writing a book, besides I would need to get an idea for one and then start thinking about it. But that still may take a little while since I want to get used to some of this world still, work on the farm with Applejack and her family to regain my strength and all." He said, and she looked down in embarrassment.

"Sorry I get ahead of myself sometimes." She said.

"Sometimes?" Spike asked.

"Hey, I've calmed down in that department thank you very much." She said back.

After managing to get through the rest of the meal with some more talk like they had, which he found funny as they acted just like how a brother and sister would. But he didn't say anything, he managed to get done early and started to work on the application again. He managed to get through five more pages before the two came into the room.

"Looks like you've got a handle on things, almost done and all." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's mostly just filler on laws and stuff which I read through pretty quickly. Don't worry even if I can't remember all of them I would never break the law, even if I have the faintest idea of what the laws are." He said still writing.

"Well since you seem just about done, how about you do the rest tomorrow. That way we can see what all you have." She said, and he just nodded.

They agreed only to do the suitcase seeing as how it was just clothes, but also because it was already getting late. So taking note of the clothes inside and reorganizing them, not his idea, they put it away. She quickly showed him the guest bed, which was unfortunate for him since they had to share the room. But after the day he had, he was tired and really didn't care.

"So I take it you're not a morning pony then?" Spike asked.

"Uhh, yeah I guess you're right. But then again I was having such a nice dream about roasted peanuts, though that seemed like a strange dream as well." He said a bit cranky.

"Well, it's not as weird of a dream than what you think. I mean dreaming about food is always a good dream to have.' Spike said.

Though he didn't reply instead he looked at the tea in his cup, Spike offered to make some coffee but he declined. For some reason, tea seemed to be calling his name, and it was great tasting tea too. It did what he hoped they do and woke him a little.

"So Brandon you ready to get to sorting through those boxes?" Twilight came in asking.

"Yeah, I guess." He said getting up slowly.

"Well, I defiantly see you're starting to get comfortable, even if it was only your first night here." She said giggling, and he looked down to see that he didn't have his shorts on.

"Oh come on!" He exclaimed and ran past in a blur.

"What was that about?" Spike asked.

"He isn't that comfortable without clothes on." She said with a smile.

"Sorry about that, guess after a little bit I got used to sleeping without anything on." He said coming back down the stairs in nothing but shorts.

"It's alright, you don't have to be ashamed of your own skin you Know? And besides, it just means that you're starting to feel more comfortable. But are you sure there isn't just another reason why you wear clothes all the time?" She asked.

"Well now that you mention it, I do think there is another reason. As you can tell I don't exactly have fur covering my entire body, thus leaving me exposed to the elements. I guess the clothes are made to help protect me from them, but it's still nice enough outside that I don't need that much protection." He answered.

"Makes sense, in that case after we get through the boxes then I want you to go to Rarity's shop. If you remember she's a fashion designer and I'm sure she would be more than happy to make you some clothes for the cold months." She said.

"Yeah fine, so let's begin shall we?" He asked.

They went through the little box first which seemed to be filled with personal stuff, like a picture of himself or something. But when they finished with it they realized that there was only one picture and that was of him, none of his family or friends. Most of it was stuff he couldn't remember, so they packed it back up and she had Spike put it into storage.

"Okay now for the big box, I hope this has books in it!" She said excitedly.

She was right, as the box was filled with nothing but books. He had to make sure she was okay because after seeing all the books from a different world it seemed like she would pass out. After that had been averted they started to sort through them all.

"Hey, looky here a cookbook on vegetarian food. Now I remember that there were humans who could survive off of plants and stuff, this should come in handy. It should tell us some food that will give me the best nutrients, though after a month of living here I might have already discovered some of these." He said smiling at his discovery, but when he looked he saw she wasn't listening.

"Oh my Celestia! History books!" She yelled and pulled out thick books, which he read the titles.

"American History, World History, and Ancient History huh," He said out loud. "You know you could keep some of these, I mean I might not read all of them."

"Really?" She had a twinkle in her eye when he said that.

"Yeah, but let's get these sorted out and I'll pick out the ones I want to keep, deal?" He asked offering his hand, but he remembered to close it to make things easier.

"Deal." She said excitedly.

After making sure that they got all of them out and sorted, he started to look at them picking out the books he thought he might be interested in. Which was just a few books that looked to be apart of the same series, but what did surprise him about all of it is he seemed to have magazines. Which they seemed to be fashion ones, pretty convenient if he did say so, but the one book that popped out at him was a medical book.

"Hey, I think I should run this by the hospital just in case." He said lifting up the book.

"That sounds like a good idea, but I'll do it. I'm going in that direction anyway and you should let Rarity have those magazines, so she will get a good idea on what humans clothing looks like. That and she'll want to take measurements, which it might take her a little bit to figure out since she never worked on a human before." She said grabbing the book out of his hand with her magic.

"Fine, after that I want to finish filling out the paperwork though. I wouldn't want to do anything that might break a law and they don't know what to do with me and all.' He said standing up with his arms filled with books. "After I get done with these I'll let you put them in the library or whatever, as for the rest of the books. well, I'll leave them to you."

"Okay, you can put those books that you picked out under your bed until you finish with them. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get going if I want to stick to my schedule." She said looking at the clock on her wall. "See ya later."

"See ya." He said and watched her leave, but before she walked out of the door.

"Spike!" She called.

"Yes?" Spike answered.

"Can you put away the books on the floor please?" She asked though he knew it wasn't really a question.

"Sure, whatever," Spike said a little annoyed.

Shortly after he put his books under the bed he was using and made sure they were more in the center. Then went and gathered the fashion magazines which he still couldn't believe he had. And after telling Spike he was going he made his way to the fashionista which he was lucky he remembered where it was at.

"Aaah!" He yelled in surprise as all of a sudden the pink mare was in front of him.

"Oh sorry didn't mean to surprise you like that, unless you like surprises like that. Then I could do it more often, most ponies would tell never to do that or ask me how I just appeared out of nowhere." He recognized who it was.

"Pinkie, no I don't mind surprises like that. Just keep them to a minimum okay? But did you want something?" He asked getting up.

"Well, I was wondering when your birthday is? And where are you going with those?" Pinkie asked. "Come on and tell me."

"My birthday is the twenty-fourth of this month, and if I remember I'll be turning twenty. As for where I'm going with these, I'm heading over to Rarity's. That way she can get an idea of what fashion is like where I come from, and so she could take my measurements." He answered, though he still wasn't thrilled on the idea.

"Okie dokie lokie, then bye!" And before he could respond she was gone.

"Where did she... never mind might want to get this over with." He said with a sigh.

"Now, now darling you don't have to be embarrassed. And besides, it's just you and me right now." Rarity said.

"I know, it's just considered indecent to be nude in front of a lady.' He replied.

"And I understand that, but this is a good way for me to get the right measurements. Now off with the cloths." She said glaring at him and he gulped.

"Fine, but could you at least look away?" He asked, and she just let out a small chuckle before turning around.

In her head, she thought she never met a pony who would be so embarrassed to take off their clothes. But she could understand the whole it being indecent and all. And when she heard him say it was alright to turn around, as she did she let out a giggle as he was standing there covering himself.

"Well, I can see you still have a lot more of getting comfortable before you get to the level of not being embarrassed about your own skin." She said walking over to him with her usual tool for this job.

Author's Note

Eyup ended it there. And before you all complain that some of the chapters sound the same, that's because i'm still setting up the world. And i'll also tell ya that soon i'll explain better on why he got so comfortable in the first place, again still setting everything up plot wise. Now I would like to say his reaction in the first chapter is actually base on a friends of mine who had gotten into a car accident and had memory loss due to a head injury. I wrote that new scene based off of what he told me what he did. So hope you enjoyed.

Working Schedule

After getting his measurements done, which he still would have preferred having his shorts on for. He decided to walk around a bit trying to get to know some of the residence of the town. Though he knew he would have to go back to the library to get the last of his paperwork done.

But right after talking to the sofa and quills shop keeper he decided to go talk to Applejack for a little bit. He wanted to make sure that she had worked on his schedule there. Though he liked relaxing he also didn't like how skinny and out of shape, he had become since he had to stay in bed for so long.

"Hey Applejack you here?" He called out when he got to Sweet Apple Acres.

At first, he didn't hear any response so he started to walk up the dirt path that leads up to her house. But upon hearing a loud thumping coming from within the orchard he started to wonder towards it. He eventually found the source of the thumping, which was Applejack kicking the trees with her hind legs.

"Huh, so that's how you harvest apples here?" He asked, and held in his laugh as she jumped and missed the tree that she was working on.

"Oh, sorry there Brandon didn't hear ya nor see ya. What brings ya by to the farm?" She asked and then kicked the tree which made dozens of apples fall into baskets.

"That's really cool what you just did, though I don't think I would be able to do that. Which is why I'm here, I was wondering if you knew when I could start working?" He asked.

"You mean apple bucking? It's nothing and takes lots of practice. Don't worry about if ya can't do it, any help would only do us good. As for your question, I think if ya are willing ya could start the day after tomorrow." Applejack replied walking over to the next tree.

"Thanks, that's all I wanted to know for right now." He said looking at the falling apples.

"You're more than welcome to stay and watch to try to pick up a few pointers if ya want. Though I don't think they do any good for ya." She said noticing his curious eyes.

"Yeah I think I might, but I still have to do somethings. Maybe tomorrow?" He asked looking at a tree she hadn't done yet.

"Sure, you know you could give it a try first to see what happens." She suggested.

"Your sure, I don't want to get in your way or anything." He replied.

"Oh, you won't get in my way at all, come on just give it a try." She said and when he looked she was giving him a puppy dog look.

"Fine, you know even if I said no I don't think you let me go until the day was over." He mumbled and walked over to one of the apple trees.

He stood there a minute studying the tree to figure out how he should proceed with it. Though he thought about kicking it he knew that would be a bad idea considering his feet seemed to be sensitive. So he tested the tree by knocking on it, and after another moment he had no idea on how to do this.

"Well just don't stand there all day, show me what ya got." She called.

After that, he just slammed his head on the tree harder than what he meant to do. All he wanted to do was lean his head on the tree to try to think, but it seemed that for some reason he hit the tree a little hard. When he pulled his head back he rubbed the spot where his head met with the tree, but then a single apple fell and hit him on the top of his head.

"Great, my first attempt and now I have a headache." He mumbled and he heard laughter from behind.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry sugar cube but that was..." She let out another fit of laughter. "That was just too funny, next time why don't ya just try to pick the apples?'

"Yeah, yeah make fun all you want. I think I'm just going back to the library now." He said picking up the apple that hit him on his head and tossed it into one of the baskets. "See ya."

"Alright bye, try not to headbutt any more trees ya hear." She called, making him mumble more.

"Great that's two times in one day that I got embarrassed, what else could happen?" He said under his breath with Applejack laughter still ringing in his ears.

He decided to take a nice slow walk to the library and look around even more. Most of it he already seen, but he was still very impressed with some of their technology seeing how they still seemed to be in some kind of medieval time. Though he found that as one of these places quirks, and soon he was back at the library.

But he decided to hang outside for another moment to take in the fresh air. He found it strange to actually breathe in this fresh of air though he didn't exactly know why. But as soon as his head was cleared from it he walked in, but he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

As soon as he got inside he heard something in the kitchen and some singing. By the sounds of it, he knew it was Twilight, but something was different. He could hear her singing, but he could also hear what he now knew was the sound of dancing. His curiosity got the best of him, and his eyes widened in horror.

"So what do you say...." She spun around and trailed off upon spotting him, her own expression one of horror and shock. "Oh, umm, uh, h-hi."

He stood there in complete silence though he now had a blank expression, though his face was red. They stood there for a good minute, neither one of them really wanted to talk. Though he broke the silence when he cleared his throat and started to back away.

"I-I think I'm gonna stay the night over at Applejack's, umm I'll finish my paperwork there." He said his tone flat.

"Umm, okay." She replied with her face now flushed even more than his. "Are you going to be back tomorrow?"

"I don't know, I might but it might be late. Applejack did say she let me watch her work to get a few pointers." He said and he gathered up his paperwork and walked to the door not looking at her.

She just nodded and he walked out the door with his blank expression, and she let out a sigh. Though she knew she was a bad dancer in public her skills only got worse in private. The main thing she hoped was that she didn't make things awkward with her new roommate.

"Hey, Twilight where's Brandon going?" Spike asked coming in, and he noticed her expression. "Oh, Twilight you didn't did you? I thought you learned your lesson after the rest of your friends walked in on you, and he's supposed to be living here too."

"I know, just please try not to mention this to anypony. I think I already made things awkward enough, that and he still has doubts about him being here. I think we both appreciate it if this didn't spread all over town." She said glaring at the young dragon.

"Alright, I promise," Spike said, but then busted out laughing.

"Hey, Brandon whatcha doing back here?" Applejack said, and she noticed his blank expression. "What's the matter with you?"

"Have you ever seen Twilight dance when she thinks no one is around?" He asked in a flat tone, and she just looked at him before laughing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry ya had to see that. All of us girls had to see it too, I mean she's a bad dancer in public but when that girl gets going when no one is around it only get's worse." Applejack said in between laughing, but she stopped when she saw he still had the same blank expression.

"I was hoping to stay here tonight if you don't mind?" He asked.

"Now it couldn't have been that bad." She said after getting up.

"It's not that, it's the fact that I don't think I can look at her right now without laughing." He said finally busting into his own laughing fit.

"Now I getcha, sure ya can stay here tonight. But be warned if ya do that mean ya start working here tomorrow." She said trying to keep a straight face.

"Okay, but first I need to get these filled out.' He said finally calming down and holding up his paperwork.

"Alright then, why don't ya go inside and finish it up. I'll be in a few hours." She said, and he just nodded picking himself off the ground.

It really didn't take him long to finish the paperwork, and he talked to Apple Bloom a little. Though she mostly wanted to see if he had ideas for how she and her friends could earn their cutie marks. He thought about what she told him that they tried so far, and suggested that they try to earn a cutie mark in wrestling, though he knew he would regret telling her that.

"So ya all done with all of that work?" Applejack asked coming through the door.

"Uhh, yeah I am. And hey thanks for letting me stay here tonight, I should be fine to go back tomorrow after work of course." He said standing up and stretching his legs.

"I been meaning to ask ya, but have you gone to Rarity's for some new clothes?" She asked, and let out a small chuckle when his face turned red. "Oh, what's the matter?"

"Yes I did, and she had me..." He mumbled the last part to where she couldn't hear.

"What did she have ya do?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"You know how uncomfortable I can get without some shorts on?" He asked the shade of red getting even darker.

"Yeah." She answered and then the pieces fit together. "Oh, so she had ya undress?" Asking with a huge grin on her face, and nearly fell over with laughter.

"Yes, she did." He answered, and then turned his attention back on the paperwork. "You know maybe I should stay somewhere else tonight."

"Oh come now I'm just teasing ya." She said.

"I know, I'll be back tomorrow to watch you but not to work since I'm not staying here tonight." He said gathering up his stuff.

"So where ya gonna stay? You said you couldn't look at Twilight without busting out laughing, Rarity is too busy, Fluttershy is well to shy, you can't exactly walk on clouds, so the only other option for ya is Pinkie." She said. "And I doubt ya wanna stay the night with her."

"And why wouldn't I?" He asked.

"Well because she talks your ear off. If that doesn't bother ya she'll most likely try to force sweets down your throat for taste testing." She replied.

"I don't mind all of her talking, and I like tasting sweets." He said.

"Alright then, if ya can't handle the teasing then go right on ahead." She replied. "But don't say I didn't warn ya."

With that, he walked out of the house and made his way back to town. He thought about it for a moment and decided to stop by Bon Bons shop to pick up some more candy. After navigating through the town he arrived at the shop and could hear music being played, though he could tell it was a lyre.

"Welcome to Bon Bons Sweet Shop how can I help you today?" Bon Bon said smiling as he walked in. "Oh hi Brandon, you here to see Lyra? She's right over there."

"Thanks, I'll buy something on the way out." He said and she just nodded her head, and he walked over to were Lyra was playing.

"Oh hey, Brandon." She said when she saw him coming over.

"Wow, you're really good." He said nodding towards her lyre.

"You think so?" She asked blushing a little.

"Yeah, though I don't think I heard someone properly play the lyre before. But that doesn't change the fact that I found your playing beautiful." He simply said with a smile, and then flashes of what transpired earlier came back.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked when she saw his expression.

"Yeah, it's just right now I'm trying to find a place to stay." He said in a flat tone.

"Why?" She simply asked confused. "Aren't you staying with Twilight for now?"

"I am, but after what happened I don't think I can face her until tomorrow." He said looking away.

"Oh, hey Bon Bon I think he needs the Twilight Special!" She called, and when he looked he saw Bon Bon nodding and giving him a sympathetic look.

"The Twilight Special?" He asked turning his attention back onto Lyra.

"Believe it or not you're not the only one who caught her dancing in private. After a little bit ponies bought the same thing because of it, so we decided to name the candy after her. It's just some chocolate with nuts in it, but for some reason, it helps them get over there laughing." She said.

"That makes sense." He replied.

"So what about the other's then?" She asked.

"Well Applejack already is teasing me about something that happened, and after the day I've had she now has more ammunition. Rainbow lives in the clouds, Fluttershy as well as they say shy, Rarity I don't exactly want to confront her right now, and though I may regret it the only choice left is Pinkie Pie." He said and got a shiver down his spine.

He thought about what it would be like to spend the night with the pink mare, and the more he thought about it the more it scared him. One of the things he imagined would happen was he be dragged away in an uncomfortable straight jacket, not that they were designed to be comfortable but they probably use ones made for ponies. The thought kept making him shiver though he knew it wouldn't happen like that.

"Why don't you just spend the night here then?" Both him and Lyra jumped and saw Bon Bon standing there.

"You sure that's okay?" He asked looking at her with skeptical eyes.

"Yeah, it's no problem at all. In a matter of fact, I was about to suggest it." Lyra spoke up.

"Umm, well thank you but I wouldn't want to impose or anything." He said.

"It's no problem at all, you can have the guest room tonight. And besides I know what you mean about the whole teasing thing and not being able to face Twilight after you see her in private. Lyra why don't you show him his room for tonight?" Bon Bon asked.

"Well thank you, and if there's anything I can do to repay you just let me know okay." He said.

"Actually there is something you could help with." Bon Bon said.

"Of course, what is it?" He asked with a small worried smile.

"It's nothing big, but I need someone to make a few deliveries. I would have Lyra do it but she get's easily distracted, and I have to cook some more sweets to restock the display case." Bon Bon answered.

"That sounds easy enough. So who do I have to make the deliveries to?" He asked.

"Well here's the list." Bon Bon slid a small list of names and their orders. "Oh, and don't worry I'll have Lyra take your chocolate up to your room."

"Okay, thanks." He said looking over the list, and his face paled. "Umm, so where are these orders?"

"I'll get them, and yeah sorry but if you want to stay the night you're going to have to make that delivery." Bon Bon said going into the kitchen.

"What's she talking about?" Lyra asked grabbing the list and reading it. "Oh, well I hope Spike is back or else that could get awkward."

"Yeah, it could." He said thinking about how he might bust out laughing if he saw Twilight again.

"So here you go, everything is right there. And I put her order on top so you can get it out of the way." Bon Bon said putting a saddlebag down and then eyed him for a minute.

"Don't worry I may not look it but I am stronger than what I look." He stated and picked up the bag. "Again thanks, and if there's anything else just let me know."

He went to go start the deliveries starting with the one that he didn't really want to. As he slowly made his way to the library he prayed Spike would be there and answer. When he knocked on the door he held his breath and he heard what sounded like clawed feet coming, and his hopes were starting to rise.

"Hello..." Twilight trailed off seeing who it was. "Oh, hey Brandon I thought you were staying over at Applejack's tonight."

"I was, but I ended up making a deal with Bon Bon that if I made deliveries for her she let me stay over there." He said in a flat tone trying not to laugh, and he reached into the bag to pull out her order. "So here.." Stopping himself from laughing. "Here you go."

"Thanks, and what's wrong?" She asked looking at him straining to keep his blank expression. "Come on just let it out."

At that, he walked away holding in his laughter not finding it right to laugh in front of a friends face. But as soon as he was clear from her sight he couldn't help but to drop the bag and hold his sides. The embarrassed look she had still bore into his mind, and after calming down he picked the bag up and finished the rest of the deliveries.

"I'm back." He said walking through the door.

"Oh hey, Brandon so how did everything go?" Bon Bon asked.

"They went alright I guess, and again thanks for offering to take me in for the night. Though I do feel like I owe you a little more than making some deliveries." He said.

"Well if you feel as you own me, how about you work here for a day?" Bon Bon asked. "Without pay of course."

"Of course, when did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Bon Bon asked.

"Well I have to clear something up with Applejack first, but yeah I think I could do that.' He replied. "Here's your bags, and i'll go talk with her right now."

"What if she starts teasing you again?" Lyra asked.

"A little teasing I can handle, but it would be a whole nights worth if I stayed there." He answered, and they just nodded.

"So you're saying that you owe Bon Bon something so you have to work for her tomorrow?" Applejack asked, and he just nodded. "Alright then, but are yeah sure you ain't just saying you owe her just to get close to Lyra?"

"Please, I know Lyra and Bon Bon are a thing. That and I don't have those kinds of feeling towards her, and I do have a moral code you know?" He said.

"Oh no doubt there." She replied cracking a small grin.

"You know if I didn't say you sound a bit jealous." He said giving her a smirk and saw that she grew a little red. Though it was tough to tell in the setting sun.

"Why would I be jealous? I'm just glad ya found someplace to stay tonight." She replied.

"Well that's simple, your jealous that I decided to stay over with another friend outside of our small group. And also that I'm not staying with you." He said giving her a big smile.

"Hmmph, like I'm jealous of that." She said looking away, and he could tell that she was a terrible liar but he didn't feel like teasing her about it.

"Well, I better get back before the sun goes down all the way. See ya in a few days." He said.

"Alright, and like I said you don't have to start work day after tomorrow. And if ya decide to go for a job in the sweet shop instead just let me know." She replied.

"Well do, and even if I do I would still like to help with the harvest." He said giving her a small smile.

"Okay then, but that means you're gonna have to come by to work on your technique." She said with a laugh.

"That's fine, but that'll only happen if I get a full job at the shop. And if I don't then I got a backup job I hope?" He asked.

"Of course ya do sugar cube. Now get going or else your host might change her mind like she changes voices.' She said, and he gave her a curious look. "She has a condition with her vocal cords, she doesn't like to talk about it."

After that, he started to make his way back to the sweet shop thinking about the conversation. Though he knew they were only joking at first but the more he thought about the more he liked the idea of working there. He would have to wait until he saw how he would handle tomorrow, and then bring it up to Bon Bon since she is the owner. But the one thing he dreaded if it all worked out is how would he tell Applejack, he didn't exactly know why but that thought bothered him a lot more than any other thought did.

Author's Note

Well i'm back. Sorry if there is more grammar mistakes in this one than normal, still somewhat recovering from my injury. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Getting Along

He was now working at the candy shop full time now, as it turns out he seemed like he knew what he was doing. So after bringing it up with Bon Bon who told him she would think about it, only after about a day she told him that she would be glad to hire him. After an awkward conversation with Applejack he got everything settled, what convinced her was that he promised he would keep good on his promise of helping out with the harvest whenever he could.

As for how his and Twilight's relationship is now, he teased her a little about her dancing but he made it clear that he wasn't a very good dancer either. After showing her his embarrassing dancing they poked fun of each other, and she was glad to see he had found a job. Though she still pushed the idea of him writing a book, he just managed to avoid that by saying he still had to come up with an idea and then think about the plot of said idea.

The one thing he dreaded though was his birthday was tomorrow and that meant going to a Pinkie Pie party. Though the first one wasn't bad, and from what he heard he would most likely get drunk again. He got lucky last time with his body taking the hangover and not his head, but he still made arrangements with Applejack just in case somehow he got that drunk.

"Hello and welcome to Bon Bons Sweet Shop, how may I help you?" He asked giving a friendly smile.

"So it is true, you do work here," Rainbow said trying to hide her smirk, but failing at it when she busted out laughing.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you just now decided to check it out. I've been working here for about a week and a half. So do you need anything?" He asked keeping his friendly demeanor.

"Bwhaha!" Was the only response he got, and after a minute Bon Bon came out to see what was making all the noise.

"Rainbow Dash, if you are not here to buy I must kindly ask you to leave." Bon Bon said in a friendly but firm tone, in the week he's been working for her, her voice changed.

"A-alright I guess I'll look around for a minute and then decide," Rainbow said wiping a tear away.

He watched her very carefully because he knew that Rainbow would only bust out laughing again if she wasn't being watched. She slowly made her way looking through the display case and looking at the menu, and he gave her another quick glare. Though he had to take his attention off of her as he heard another customer walk through the door.

"Hello and welcome to Bon Bons Sweet Shop, how may I help you?" He asked with his friendly smile back on.

"Oh, umm I was just, umm, looking for Rainbow Dash. If that's okay?" Fluttershy asked, she still didn't feel comfortable around him.

"Hello Fluttershy, Rainbow is over there deciding what to get." He said a bit more loudly to make sure the blue pegasus heard.

"Yeah, yeah. I think I figured out what I want." Rainbow said, and he turned to face her. "I think I'll go with a pound of the heart chocolate."

At this, he raised an eyebrow, only because everyone knew that one didn't get heart chocolate from Bon Bon unless they planned on giving it to a special pony. But he just nodded and went to tell Bon Bon the order. When he got back he was met with Fluttershy going red, and Rainbow telling her something.

"So Fluttershy, do you want anything?" He asked feeling awkward that he just interrupted a private moment.

"Nah, she just came here for me," Rainbow answered, and he just looked in between them.

"If you don't mind me asking, but whose the chocolate for?" He asked with a slight smirk.

"That's none of your business!" Rainbow snapped.

"Alright, hope you two have a good day together." He said just as Bon Bon came out with the order, Fluttershy was now hiding beneath her mane completely red.

"Yeah, we'll see ya tomorrow for your birthday. Come on Fluttershy." Rainbow said pushing Fluttershy out the door with her order, he was about to say something but then noticed the bits on the counter.

"What was that about?" Lyra asked.

"Huh?" He had forgotten that even though it was her day off Lyra liked to hang around, so he was told. "Oh, no one really knows it yet but those two ended up together."

"Really, and how do you know this?" Bon Bon asked.

"Well, you forget that I am one of their friends, that and I live with Twilight at the moment." He answered.

"Well can't say I didn't see it coming, from what I've heard those two have been friends for a very long time." Bon Bon said, and Lyra nodded.

"So do I still get the next two days off?" He asked though he knew that they already discussed this.

Bon Bon understood that a Pinkie party would most likely take a lot out of him, she seen it happen to even the strongest of stallions. But he still wanted to make sure since he had only just begun working there not too long ago. Though she kept on reassuring him that it was fine.

"For the last time yes I am sure. That and I'm closing for tomorrow anyway, running low on ingredients. And also from what Lyra told me, you're fun when you're drunk." Bon Bon said with a small teasing smile. "Maybe we should introduce you to Berry Punch, then maybe she'll have met her match."

With that both Lyra and Bon Bon busted out laughing, he knew who Berry Punch was. To put it simply she was the town's drunk, though she was supposed to be one of those drunks who are always friendly. And from what he heard if you catch her when she is sober then she's pretty dam smart.

"Alright, my shift is over. I think I'm gonna go hang out somewhere else." He mumbled walking back to the kitchen putting away his only uniform item, which was just a cap that fit awkwardly on his head. Which when Rarity found out he worked there she came in on his first official day, and doing some over the top drama scene she offered to make him a better fitting one.

Though he tried to tell her it was fine that she didn't have to do anything else for him, especially since she refused to let him pay for the clothes she was already making for him. Rarity made it very clear to consider it a gift, at very least a birthday gift. Which he thanked her for yet for the thirteenth time, and performed his normal routine that he just got into the habit of doing.

"Hey Brandon, you want me to come along?" Lyra asked popping her head in the kitchen.

"Hmm, well I was going to Applejack's to help out with some of the harvesting. I need the exercise and all." He replied. "But you're more than welcome to keep me company if you want."

"Sure thing!" She said moving back into the main lobby area.

She wasn't allowed in the kitchen, as it turns out sometimes with unicorns their cooking could endanger everyone. To demonstrate this he actually asked Twilight if she could cook, thus falling into his plan she took it as a challenge. Long story short, somehow she made the food come to life and it tried to eat everything in sight.

"Never knew a tomato could be so violent." He gave a shiver at the fact that he was almost eaten by said tomato, luckily Pinkie Pie showed up or else he would have been its dinner.

As he checked out he met up with Lyra in the front and they both told Bon Bon bye. He thought about it for a minute but he remembered how much he got paid, though he was still getting used to the currency. From what Twilight taught him so far was he defiantly had gotten a good deal, and it wasn't long until his next payday.

"So you're helping out with the harvest right?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah, like I keep telling ya. Though I'm just not doing it just to get into shape." He said.

"Then why else are you doing it for? You don't have a crush on Applejack do you?" She raised an eyebrow, but he kept a straight face though it was getting hot all of a sudden.

"No, it's just I feel like I owe her." He stated.

"Owe her for what?" She asked stopping right in front of him.

"She pretty much saved my life Lyra, when I first got here. When I woke up and I ran out of the hospital..." He trailed off remembering how he acted, and he took on a great deal of sadness.

"Oh, I see." She said giving him a concerned look. "Hey I'm sorry I brought it up, but you never really talk about what happened back then."

"No it's fine, let's just say I nearly did something that would have hurt them. Now, why don't we go and help, you can play your lyre to help pass the time." He said trying to hide his sadness behind a smile, though it still shown in his eyes.

"Right, so I can't wait until you see what I got you for tomorrow." She said happily.

"Lyra, like I told you and the others you all don't have to get me anything. For all of you have already given so much." He said.

"Yeah but it ain't a birthday unless you get a present. That and that's what friends are for, hey how did Pinkie take it when you tried to tell her not to get you anything?" She asked giving him a knowing smile.

"Let's just say if I don't accept presents then I'm gonna have a cupcake for an eye." He smiled back. "So I guess your gift better be worth the pinkie promise I made."

"Oh, I think you'll like it." She replied giving him an evil smile. "But if you don't want it then I guess I'm gonna have to tell Pinkie about it."

"You wouldn't dare?!" He asked in a little bit of panic, he heard what happen last time someone broke one of their pinkie promises.

"But I would." She said. "Oh, Pinkie Pie, you'll never guess what Brandon told me. He told me that he didn't want my present for his birthday." Waving her forelegs in the air dramatically, but he looked around nervously.

He has been around just long enough to know that the mere mention of her name would summon her. So when someone said her name he always looked behind him to make sure. Though he knew she could just as easily pop up anywhere she wanted, and he asked about it but everyone told him not to question it for it's only Pinkie Pie.

"Alright, alright I'm sorry for saying I didn't want your present." He said his eyes pleading for her to stop.

"There ya go, that's the right attitude." She said with a small giggle. "Now let's go, I'm sure Applejack is waiting for you."

He let out a groan at what she implied with what she just said, and before he started walking he noticed a pink blur out of the corner of his eye. Though he rushed to catch up he only hoped that if what he saw was what he thought it was, then she took it easy on him. After all, he didn't break his promise for say, as he didn't actually decline the present only told her that she didn't have to get it.

They quickly made it to Sweet Apple Acres and looked around to see if they could spot Applejack or any other Apple family member. When none were apparent they decided to explore a little to see if the family was just somewhere else at the moment. Which they quickly found that the Apple family was taking a nice little break out in one of the fields.

"Hey Applejack, what's going on?" He asked as him and Lyra made their way to them.

"Oh hey Brandon, hey Lyra. We're just taking a break to watch Apple Bloom and her friends try to get their cutie marks again." Applejack answered gesturing towards a small ring. "Apparently they got the idea to try wrestling."

"Umm, wonder where they got that idea from." He replied keeping his eyes on the ring.

"Jee, I wonder?" Applejack said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey don't blame me if they decided to actually go for it." He replied giving a small smile.

"I thought you were here to work, not watch a wrestling match between three filly's," Lyra said.

"I am, but no point in working right now when the boss isn't telling me what to do right now." He replied.

"Eyup." Big Mac said in his usual manner.

"Does he ever say more than one word?" He asked leaning over to Lyra in a whisper.

"Sometimes." This came as a start as it was Big Mac who answered, and when he looked he could have sworn he saw him smirk a little.

But before he could question it Apple Bloom yelled that they were getting ready to start, and with a ring of the bell, the three friends ran towards each other. It came to no surprise when they all butted heads at the same time and all of them, excluding the three filly's rubbing their heads, into a fit of laughter. Well them and Big Mac who only smiled a little.

"Well that wasted a good three minutes, so what do you want me to do boss ma'am?" He asked in a teasing salute.

"Come on I'll show ya, but first why are you here Lyra? Want to buy some apples or something?" Applejack asked.

"Nope she's here to keep me a little company, I figured I could concentrate a little more if I had some music." He answered.

"Yup, and besides I've got nothing better to do today. So why not get some more practice while keeping somepony entertained." Lyra said.

"Well hope she won't distract ya too much. Cause I'm gonna work ya till ya drop of exhaustion." Applejack said though something was a little off.

"Really? Even if tomorrow is my birthday and all, you want me to be so tired I can't celebrate it?" He asked with a teasing smile.

"That's not what I me...." Applejack tried to reply but he cut her off.

"Because then I would have to thank you for not putting me through a Pinkie party." He said in a more teasing tone.

"What?! You don't like my parties?" All of a sudden Pinkie Pie was standing in front of him.

"How ya doing Pinkie, and before you say anything I knew you were following me." He said with a big grin.

"Really? Usually, no one can ever catch Pinkie tracking them." Applejack said in a little bit of surprise.

"Yeah, and I was super duper careful too." Pinkie said as she pouted.

"Ahh, I got pretty decent eyesight. Saw ya on the way here, wasn't sure if you were still following us though. So I decided to trick you." He said in a teasing tone towards Pinkie.

"Oh, it is on!" Pinkie said.

"And what is on?" He asked innocently.

"Umm, Brandon you might not want to start this fight." Both Lyra and Applejack said almost in unison.

"No, no if Pinkie wants to start a prank war after this that's her own bad." He replied. "But do you think it could wait until after my birthday, and you have to pinkie promise that you or Rainbow will not pull a prank on me until after the party."

"Fine." Pinkie exclaimed and did the appropriate movements and said the lines.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I have some work to do." He said moving to the apple trees.

"You know after tomorrow you're gonna regret what you just did." Applejack said.

"I know, but I couldn't help myself. That and I can handle some pranks, I'm just worried who'll get caught in the crossfire." He said.

"I just hope she doesn't do anything while you're at work, Bon Bon wouldn't hesitate to throw both of you out," Lyra said.

"Don't worry I'll get her to pinkie promise not to do anything while I work." He said though he had an evil grin on his face. "Say Applejack, what's Pinkies favorite candy?"

"Well she likes every kind of candy, but I reckon she mostly loves chocolate. Why'd ya ask?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, no reason." He smiled a little more devilishly.

The next day he woke up still feeling a little bit sore after yesterday, though he was glad that Applejack did go easy on him. He managed to get out of his bed and got ready and started to make his way downstairs. When he crept down the stairs he heard shuffling.

"Hello, Twilight? Spike?" He called out, but he already knew they wouldn't answer, but to his surprise, he heard something then felt strange energy behind him.

"Oh hey, Brandon," Twilight said.

"You know just because I can't use magic doesn't mean I can't feel it." He said looking at her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but happy birthday." She said with a big smile.

"Uh-huh, right. So you're telling me that you just didn't teleport right behind me?" He asked.

"Nope." She replied.

"Oh, so where were ya then?" He asked walking up to her with a slight glare.

"I was in the bathroom." She answered now becoming slightly nervous.

"Hmm, you mean the bathroom I was just in not two minutes ago?" He asked.

"I got in it right after you got out." She said her eyes darting away a little.

"I'm not going to play twenty questions with you Twilight, tell me what were you doing downstairs and then deciding to teleport behind me?" He asked with an intense glare.

"Fine, it was something for your party happy?" She said defeated.

"Yes, now that's all you had to tell me. I mean you could have said it's about your party and that'll be that, but nope you just wanted to try to avoid a simple answer." He said not letting up his glare.

"I'm sorry." She said bowing her head.

"And I'm sorry for messing with you like that, but again I don't like being lied to. All you had to say as I said was it dealt with my party." He said in a soft kind tone. "I just hope I can get everyone drunk enough to where I can dance without being teased."

"Oh, are you sure that's the only reason why you want to get us drunk?" She said with a sly grin.

"Yup, just so I can dance and not a one of ya will remember it." He said with a grin of his own. "Why, do you want me to get drunk myself that way I can't put up much of a fight?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" She asked her face going into a blush.

"Oh, I'm just teasing you." He said giving a small chuckle. "And besides apparently they all think I like Applejack like that anyway though," He said that under his breath.

"So do you like her like that?" She asked raising an eyebrow her smirk returned.

"Twilight like I explained, I just want to pay her back. She was the one who saved my life, well technically so did Rainbow, but Applejack did more than just save me from falling to my death. She saved me by convincing me that my life is still worth living even if I can't remember any of my old life." He said with a sad tone.

"Brandon..." She blinked back some tears.

"Just don't say it, I already know. Now I think I would like to have some breakfast, is it safe to go downstairs?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, Spike should be down there now." She said shaking her head.

"Alright then, afterward I wanted to also discuss an idea I had for a book." He said with a small smile.

"Oh really? That's great!" She exclaims. "Come on the sooner we eat the sooner you can tell me all about it."

Author's Note

Alright it's about high time I ask this, besides the grammar what do you all think I need to improve upon? Though I may not change it in this story it will help in future stories, but if you have an idea on how to improve this story do not be afraid to voice it in the comments. And yes that does goes double for people who don't like the story if any of them read this.

The Gift From Celestia

Him and Twilight, along with Spike ate breakfast and he quickly told her about the idea he had for a simple story. It was just basically about how humans interacted with magic before it disappeared from their world, though it was still only in it's most basic planning stage. It seemed he had an immense knowledge on the myth's of his world for some reason, and when Twilight pointed it out he just shrugged it off not wanting to think about it.

"Well believe it or not my world actually had a few different kinds of dragons. It depended on what part of the world you lived in. Like for example in a country called China, it was common to see serpent dragons, and yes they had a few other types as well. As for how they act around humans, well again that depends on what part of the world you're in." He said after taking the last bite off of his pancake.

"Makes sense." She said with a stare of interest. "So humans at one point was believed to be able to do magic?"

"Yeah, we called them wizards. And according to some myths, humans were actually taught how to do magic by mythical creatures, such as unicorns." He said and gave a smile.

"Really? So do you know what happen to make humans to perform magic?" She asked.

"Well, no one really knows, and don't get me wrong we do still have a little magic left. Though it's mostly just illusions, you know smoke and mirrors. Of course, there are a few people who possess abilities that are very similar to that of magic. Now if you're asking my personal opinion why humans can't do magic anymore, well I would have to say it was linked to the fact that mythical creatures started to disappear. Thus took the magic with them to where ever they went." He replied.

"What do you mean by abilities that are similar to magic?" She asked leaning forward.

"Every now and again there would be someone born with what we call psychic abilities. It could differ from person to person, say one person could be able to use telekinesis while another could use telepathy. But some of the more common of these particular abilities is being able to see the future, or so claim, to being able to talk to spirits." He answered looking at her expression which is one of awe.

"So how common are these abilities if you can remember?" She asked.

"It was very rare to actually have these abilities in the modern world, but there was a time when it was a little more common. Back when there was a lot more magic in my world, but there are a few people who had other abilities besides the ones of the mind. Some people could walk in the arctic wearing nothing but shorts, but as many people believe it was more mind over matter. Which I think that's part of the reason people are able to do those types of things, but then again another part is that it could just be likely leftover magic from long ago." He answered.

"Wow, sounds like humans are quite adaptive. I mean usually, when somepony gets drained of magic or at least somewhat drained, it nearly kills them. I think that's part of the reason why humans can't use that magic is just as you said, without the creatures that taught them being there anymore the abundance of magic was taken away with those creatures. But it could just be because humans possess a completely different form of magic than what they think." She said getting a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean exactly?" He asked.

"Well I talked to the doctor that took care of you, which it surprises me he didn't tell you this, but one of the tests that they do is to gauge how much magic you have. Though it's a very new spell it's very accurate, you see every creature has some small amount of magic in them. An example of this is rabbits, the small amount of magic that they have makes them very quick allowing them to escape predators." She explained.

"So what is it you're trying to say? That a natural ability one has is because they have magic?" He asked not hiding his curiosity or frustration.

"Well kind of, it's kind of like how a unicorn can perform arcane magic, or how an earth pony can grow plants faster, or how a pegasus can fly with the wingspans that they have. Shot even being able to walk on clouds and such is pretty much a pegasus own form of magic, and those are all natural abilities that we all have but they are still considered magic." She replied with a calm tone.

"Let me ask you this, why can't a unicorn make a tree grow faster with a spell? I know that there are cloud walking spells and one that gives wings temporarily, I mostly know that because of that one story you told me about the Best Young Fliers Competition." He said giving her a slight glare.

"Well, those spells are just that, temporary. As for why a unicorn doesn't try to grow crops or other plants like how earth ponies do, well you remember that whole incident a few days ago." She said looking away in a little bit of shame.

"So what you're saying is that a unicorns spell doesn't resonate right with nature? I guess that makes sense, but what did you mean by humans might have a different form of magic?" He asked.

"Oh, well like I was explaining when the doctor did that test it was actually to see how your body would react with healing magic. Upon doing it they discovered that you seem to have a magic that hasn't actually been seen in a while. The magic of being able to adapt." She said.

"Wait, what?" He asked giving a confused stare.

"Well from what you told me so far about the history of your world, humans are one of the most, if not the most, adaptive creatures I've ever heard of. I mean I have to check those history books still, but from what you told me humans are able to survive to an ever-changing world. From a ice age to having almost the entire world flooded, to be able to live in extreme environments." She explained.

"Yeah, but can't you ponies do the same?" He asked.

"Yes, but it takes us longer to get used to something like that. From what you told me humans can be stranded in a jungle and they no nothing about how to survive, and yet somehow manage to survive for a long period of time. Sometimes to the point of their entire life." She said.

"Twilight, from what you told me ponies here can do just about the same. So why would being adaptive be a human own natural magic?" He asked.

"Think about it, you told me that one of the reasons why you think humans lost the ability to use higher forms of magic is because without the mythical creatures there wasn't enough magic in your world. But here if somepony gets their magic taken away then they might drop dead, but again from what you told me if someone took the magic away from a person then that just makes them a regular human. That's because the humans own natural magic within them aids them, the magic to adapt to not having magic anymore." She said.

"Hmm, okay I guess that makes sense. But can we stop talking about this for right now, I'm starting to get a little bit lost and confused. I know what you're saying, that apparently being adaptive is its own magic and all, but still, that still doesn't make much sense." He said rubbing his temple.

"Okay, but think about this. Why did you adapt so well here so quickly?" She asked. "I mean you switched from wanting to, well you know, to actually wanting to stay. Also, think about your diet, you went from being an omnivore to a herbivore. If a pony tried to do that they start to go crazy, granted not the best example but still. Here's a better example, if you tried to get a lion to eat nothing but a normal healthy diet for a pony, or even if somepony discovers a vegetarian diet for one, the lion won't take it. Not because it doesn't want it, but because it could get unhealthy without its normal diet." She said.

"Yeah, but like you just said humans are omnivores. Meaning that they could eat both meat and plants and be just fine." He replied.

"Yes, but take a bear as another example. They're omnivores as well, but unless you know exactly what to feed them then they to will most likely get unhealthy. Barely anypony knows how to get a bear to switch its diet, and that's to be believed that they aren't very adaptive. My point being is that humans adapt a lot faster than normal, though I should have just said that first." She mumbled the last part.

"Yes, you should have, if you would just have come out and said that it's because it seems we adjust faster then that would make a lot more sense. Granted I guess you did, but all of this talking got my mind all wrapped up and tangled I guess I didn't hear it at first." He said.

"Point taken, speaking of wrapping up it's still your birthday today so let's get done then." She said looking at his empty plate. "Oh, well I guess I better get done."

After she ate what's left of her breakfast Spike, who was just sitting there quietly took their plates and started washing the dishes. When they looked at the time they still had a few hours before the party began. So they talked a little more about the book idea and soon it turned into more of a fiction where a boy learns how to use magic from a unicorn, and it would have gotten a little further but there was a knock on the door.

"Hello welcome to..." Twilight started to say but trailed off.

"Who is it?" He asked getting up from his seat, and when he saw who was standing at the door he froze. "Oh hey, Princess Celestia, what, umm, brings you by?"

"Well first off you can just call me Celestia." He gave a nod. "And second I know it's your birthday today so I decided to drop by for a visit."

"Oh, I'm so glad you made it!" Twilight squealed.

"Of course Twilight granted I would have still come as I was there when he remembered his birthday. But I do appreciate the invitation that you sent." Celestia said walking through the door giving Twilight a friendly nuzzle.

"You mean you invited the princess for my birthday?" He asked giving Twilight a surprised look.

"Yes she did, but as I just said I would have come regardless. For I have two gifts for you Brandon." Celestia said.

"Two gifts, you really didn't have to..." He trailed off when he noticed Pinkie Pie in the window. "Darn pinkie promise."

"What about a pinkie promise?" Celestia asked.

"I made a pinkie promise that I wouldn't deny a gift, even though you've all already done so much for me." He said. "So not to sound selfish but can I have my gifts now?"

"Well you can have your first gift now, but the second one we'll talk about in a minute," Celestia said walking over to the table and sitting down. "Please, join me for you may want to sit for your gifts."

"Alright." He said shrugging as him and Twilight sat at the table.

"Now your first gift is to let you know that you've been approved as a citizen of Equestria." At this, his eyes went a little wide.

"But I thought that would take at least a month for approval!" He said in surprise.

"Normally it does, but like I told you I would be the one who would look over your application and approve it if I see that you make an excellent citizen. So that's why it didn't take long for your application to long to be approved." Celestia giving a smile at his shocked expression, Twilight let out a small giggle at him.

"Uhh, well thanks." Was all he could say. "So what's the other gift then, I mean getting approved for citizenship is a tremendous gift of its own. But if you had to wait until you told me about me getting approved the next gift sounds like a little bit of a bigger gift."

"Well that's why I asked you to sit for it is the second gift that will probably shock you the most, but first from what I understand you now have a job correct?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, I got one at Bon Bons Sweet Shop." He answered.

"Good, glad to hear it. Now before I came here I stopped by to talk with the Mayor and from what she told me there are three houses available." Celestia went quiet for a moment to let it sink in.

"Wait why would you ask about the housing market?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I figured since he got a job I would buy him a house for a gift," Celestia answered.

"What?!" Spike, Twilight, and he all said.

"Yes I know I said I would until after he saved up enough money to be able to afford the bills and everything, but the more I thought about it the more I would like to give him this gift. Not only would you have your own house Brandon, but I'll pay for a good six months of your bills until you have saved up some more money. The only catch is that you have to maintain a job, and yes I know you just started your job only a little bit ago but still." Celestia chuckled at all three shocked faces.

"Celestia, that's too kind. You really don't have to do that." He said despite the fact that Pinkie was glaring at him, which was what brought him out of his daze.

"Oh, but I insist on this. Just consider it a birthday gift, but I would like you to accompany me to look at the three houses that are available so you can decide which one you would like to live in before your party starts." Celestia said lifting a teacup that had somehow showed up to take a sip.

"Well if it was on another day I would have declined, but I don't feel like getting cupcake stuffed in my eye." He said looking at the cupcake in Pinkies hoof, and upon hearing that she ducked down and disappeared like she was never there.

"Do you mind if I come to?" Twilight asked.

"Well, that would be up to Brandon," Celestia answered.

"Yeah, you can come. But remember this is supposed to be me choosing a house for me to live in." He said giving Twilight a stare that told her that he wanted to be the one to choose the house.

"I know, I know." She grumbled.

"So shall we get started?" Celestia asked standing up.

"I'm ready." He answered.

After waiting for Twilight to give Spike stuff to do until the party they finally started to get to look at the houses. Though they got a couple of stares, they all three knew it was more because of Celestia. The first house was one that looked just like every other house in town.

Though it had plenty of room he didn't exactly feel like it was quite right, not that he didn't like the design or anything. The house itself looked great, a two bedroom single bath, kitchen, pretty much a normal house. He could defiantly see himself living there, but decided to look at the other two.

The second house they came to was more like a shophouse, like the one Bon Bon and Lyra live in, or even Rarity. But the one problem he had with the house was deciding what to do with the first floor. Granted he could open his own shop and sell something, but he like his job at the sweet shop.

"So what you're saying is the reason why didn't like that last one was because you don't know what you do with the bottom floor?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah pretty much. I know I could open my own shop, but what kind of shop?" He asked.

"Well, you like to bake and cook." Twilight said.

"Yes, but there's Sugarcube Corner and Bon Bons Sweet Shop, so I wouldn't feel right about opening another bakery or something." He said putting in a little thought. "Guess I could turn it into some kind of office, or maybe a book store. But that would only work if this was a city, as for turning it into an office I guess that could do."

"You don't have to decide just yet, we still have one more house to visit." Celestia said.

"Yeah, where is it anyway?" He asked.

"Just a little further." Celestia replied.

They kept walking for a few more minutes, Twilight suggesting more ideas for a shop he could open. One of which he did kind of like, a kind of book store were he would sell human literature. By that mostly his own work, but that would take a long time to fill the entire store with. The last idea she suggested also caught his attention, for she suggested teaching ponies how to cook a human dish.

"I hope you mean a vegetarian dish?" He asked giving a nervous glance around.

"Of course that's what I meant. Teach ponies how to cook a human dish that we don't have here in Equestria, I've seen you cook before. Whatever you cooked was really good, so I figured if you teach ponies how to prepare food like that then if more humans show up we'll be prepared. Or it could just be normal cooking classes." Twilight said.

"That's what I figured you meant. But I'm not much of a teacher, so I don't think that'll do." He said.

Before she could respond Celestia stopped and waved her hoof towards a lone cottage. They looked around and realized that they were on the outside of town. The cottage looked very nice, it sat next to a nice little stream which he would appreciate as it might help him sleep.

It looked like a one-story house, but that was just from the distance they were at. When they drew closer he could see that it was actually a two-story house, he didn't question it too much since he knew that it could have been magic. But when they got inside he let out a small gasp.

"This looks great!" He said walking inside and turning around.

The cottage had a built-in bookshelf so he didn't have to worry about where to put his own books, and he saw two sets of stairs. One leading up and one leading down, he decided to look at his basement first. When he went down he was surprised that the basement was this big.

"Yes, if I remember correctly this has three bedrooms, two baths, and the basement was actually a ballroom," Celestia said.

"A ballroom, but why would they turn it into a ballroom?" He asked.

"Well, the last residence loved to dance and have a party, from what I heard he decided to move to Canterlot though," Celestia said.

"Well let's look around just a bit more." He said walking back upstairs.

As he looked the master bedroom was pretty big, it had its own bathroom. The other was downstairs right by the stairs, the kitchen looked great. But he felt like it would be too much for him, as he felt like it might get a bit lonely knowing that there are two empty bedrooms.

"So what do you think?" Twilight asked.

"I love it, but I think I would find it lonely here." He said.

"What do you mean? You still have us to visit you, and you can still visit us." Twilight said.

"Twilight you're smart, which is why that surprises me you don't know what I mean." He said.

"Well if you love it then why not move in?" She asked.

"Twilight, what he's trying to say is that it feels to big for him to live here alone. Meaning he doesn't feel like he could live here knowing that there are two open bedrooms." Celestia said.

"Oh, so sorry guess I wasn't exactly paying attention. Umm, so you want to live here but you would have to have a roommate or something?" Twilight asked.

"That's pretty much what I'm saying, either that or a pet." He said.

"A pet, well if you wanted a pet why didn't you say so? Fluttershy could have given you one." Twilight said.

"Really?": He looked at her, he knew Fluttershy took care of animals but never thought she also runs some kind of adaption shelter for them.

"Yeah, if I'm correct then this place shouldn't be too far from her. But we'll talk about that after the party." Twilight said summoning a clock to look at the time.

"Oh, is it time for the party then?" Celestia asked.

"Just about, we got about a good hour before we have to go," Twilight said.

"So Brandon, have you made your decision then?" Celestia asked.

"Well like I said I may not like being here alone, but this cottage really does look nice." He replied.

"Excellent, I'll let the mayor know once we get back. Unfortunately, I won't be able to stay for your party." Celestia said.

"That's fine I understand, and thank you." He said giving a huge grin. "You all have done so much, I really don't deserve any more."

"Brandon like we keep trying to say we're your friends, that's what friends do," Twilight said.

"Yeah, yeah. But listen can we keep this on the down low from Pinkie, I'm pretty sure she would want to throw another party if she found out that I now have a house. And I have a feeling after today I don't want to have another party for at least another month." He said.

"Don't worry we'll keep this news just between the four of us," Celestia said.

"Oh, right Spike also knows about what's going on. Just hope while she was spying Pinkie didn't overhear that part." He mumbled.

"Well, we better get going then," Celestia said walking out of the door.

"So Twilight, you do know that once I move in here I'm going to want to fill that bookshelf right?" He asked.

"I know, though I still think you should have gone for the shop." She replied.

"Twilight, you just wanted me to get that so you can have a place for more books." He said giving her a teasing smile.

"Was I that easy to read?" She asked.

"Yup, just like an open book." This made them both give a little chuckle. "Come on let's go catch up to Celestia."

Author's Note

Probably not the best chapter so far, hope you guys weren't that confused about the first conversation of this chapter. Don't worry i'll go into a little more detail about the whole magic deal.

The Party

After making their way back into town and saying their goodbyes to the princess, and also some more thanks for her generous gifts. Twilight and Brandon started to go towards Sugercube Corner where the party was said to be held at. They talked a bit more, though she could tell that he was nervous about something.

"Hey, why are so nervous? I hope you're not planning on ditching your own party." She said as they made the last turn and Sugarcube Corner was right down the road.

"It's not the party, you sure you're not going to say anything about what the princess gave me? I don't care if you tell them that I'm now an official citizen and everything, but the house thing..." He trailed off looking at her.

"Yeah, I promise not to say anything and believe me Spike won't tell either. Pinkie on the other hoof might bug you since she seemed to have been there when Celestia was telling you about everything." She answered.

"So you did see her then, that's good. Even if she does know about it I'll just act like nothing like that happened. And thanks, and can you make me a promise?" He asked his tone a bit more nervous than it had been.

"Sure, whatever you want." She answered giving him a comforting smile.

"Well can you promise me not to let me drink, not even one drop of hard apple cider?" He asked.

"Is that it? Oh, I can definitely promise you that." She answered with a slight snicker, and he raised his eyebrow in suspicion.

"And what's so funny?" He asked still suspicious.

"Oh nothing really, like I said I promise that not a drop of hard apple cider will even be in your cup." This time she had a small smile that told him that things might not exactly go as he wanted, it's a good thing he asked for two days off though.

"So what are we waiting for?" He asked realizing that they were standing in front of Sugarcube Corner's door. "Ladies first."

"Such a gentlecolt." She said walking in the door that he opened for her and quickly following.

"SURPRISE!" Ponies screamed as they walked in.

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie popped up a little late. "Shot, I'll have to work on that. Well anyways happy birthday!"

"Thanks." He said putting a big smile on as Pinkie started to sing a random song, and some of the others joined in.

After that, he went around and mingled a little bit and had a few laughs. He could feel stares of curiosity on him the whole time but ignored them mostly. When he finished talking to an orange mare that was named Carrot Top he went over and got himself some punch.

"So sugar how ya liking the party so far?" Applejack asked walking up to get a cupcake.

"Oh it's fine, everyone here is nice and everything." He replied taking a sip of the punch which tasted like a mix between oranges and apples.

"And what's wrong if it's just fine?" She asked.

"Well it's not that the party isn't great, it's just I've had a little bit of an overwhelming gift before I came here." He answered.

"Ah, Twilight told me the princess came to visit ya. So what did she give you anyhow?" She asked giving him a curious look.

"Well, the first one was telling me I'm now an official citizen of Equestria." He said giving her a genuine smile.

"That's great, but there's something else that's bothering ya. Come on and tell me what it is." She said nudging him a little.

"Fine, but you have to promise not to tell Pinkie, I'm pretty sure she'll already be planning a 'Congratulation On Becoming A Citizen!' party." He said sighing at what would be the third most likely party, though he could kill two birds with one stone.

"Um, keeping secrets ain't really my strong suit. So if anypony ask I might end up telling them anyway, but I'll try my best." She replied.

"That's good enough, well it's the other gift that Princess Celestia gave me." At this, she raised her eyebrow. "She gave me a house, and she told me that she'll take care of the bills for six whole months."

"Wow, just wow. I knew the princess was nice and generous and everything, and I knew that once you've saved up some bits she would buy a house for ya. But to do it this early, and is even willing to pay the bills for ya? She must really want to make a good impression on you for some reason." She said a sudden smirk came on her.

"I don't think it's that Applejack. Though I do agree with you that she does seem to want to make a very good impression. I think it's because since I am the first human here she's just trying to help me fit in, and if more of my kind shows up and they see me living comfortably and not in a dungeon or anything. That'll make a good impression on my world's leaders and thus making the first bridge of diplomatic negotiations easier to make." He answered somewhat coldly.

"Look I doubt the princess would actually use you like that. And if our two worlds do come together, then yeah it would look good that one of their kind has already become integrated into our world. But I honestly think the princess might have a thing for you for some reason." She said her smirk growing at his reddening face.

"Have you tried the punch?" He asked taking another drink.

"Nah, I've been too busy talking until I came over here." She answered taking the hint.

"Oh hey Brandon, hey Applejack. What are you two talking about?" Lyra asked as she walked over.

"Nothing much, just found out today that I'm an official citizen now." He answered before Applejack could.

"That's great! So you having fun? Because you two been over here for a long time, and man I'm starting to sound like Pinkie." Lyra said making both him and Applejack laugh.

"Yeah, I think we were having fun. So what about you? You enjoying the party?" He asked.

"Yup, it's great as always. So you gonna get drunk?" Lyra asked giving him a hopeful stare.

"I wasn't planning on drinking..." He started to say.

"Aww, but you're so funny when you get drunk. Though we've only seen you drunk once, it was still fun." Lyra complained.

"She has a point, you come out of your shell a lot more. And you loosen up, and I think you need to loosen up a little. Here have some apple cider, Apple family recipe of course." Applejack said filling up a cup with it.

"Look as much as I like to drink some of it, I promised not to get wasted or anything." He said not accepting the cup.

"You don't have to get wasted, just get a little tipsy. I promise not to challenge ya this time, and I'll make sure Berry Punch or Rainbow won't either." Applejack said putting the cup in his hand, and then a sudden purple glow came around it and the cup disappeared. "What in the hay.."

"Hehe, looks like she is keeping an eye out." He said chuckling.

"Wait, who are ya talking about?" And then Applejack eyes widened remembering the purple glow. "You got Twilight to make sure you don't drink any cider didn't you?"

"Yup, and glad I did. No offense but rather safe than sorry." He answered smiling with the victory.

"Fine, but you best start to relax more and have some fun. After all, this is once again, your party." Applejack said.

"Yeah, it's no fun when the guest of honor isn't having fun. And I was so looking forward to seeing you do your drunken dance again." Lyra said but there was something up with her tone. "So do you know when you get to open your presents?"

"No, Pinkie told me that she'll let me know. Oh and by the way, where's Bon Bon?" He asked looking around.

"Oh, she had a big order to do and decided to finish today. She said she'll try to make it before the party ends. Though knowing her she'll actually be here in another hour giving her plenty of time to enjoy the party." Lyra answered.

"Well, that's good to hear." He said taking another drink from his punch.

"So how come you asked for two days off then?" Lyra asked.

"That was just in case I do drink, or if someone spikes the punch and I get drunk that way." He replied and he could have sworn he saw what look like panic in her eyes like he just caught her doing something. "You were just planning on spiking my drinks weren't you?"

"What, no I wasn't," Lyra said not making eye contact.

"Please, it's written on your face." He said.

"Yeah, you were planning something alright." Applejack said with a chuckle.

"Alright fine, I was planning on doing that," Lyra said with a defeated sigh.

"Well just make sure Twilight doesn't catch you." He said with a small wink filling up his cup again and putting it down. "Speaking of which I just might go talk to her, you mind watching my drink for a minute?"

"Yeah, no problem," Lyra answered with a big grin plastered on her face.

"I think I have to talk to her as well, how about I come with ya?" Applejack asked with a similar grin.

"Hey the more the merrier." He said shrugging his shoulders and walked over to where Twilight was sitting with Applejack.

They talked a little bit and Lyra came over and brought us all drinks, and she had to assure Twilight that the only alcoholic ones were for her and Applejack. But she gave a little wink to him and he just shook his head as he accepted his 'punch'. After that, he did start to actually relax a bit.

"There you are, Brandon! Come on its present time!" Pinkie said popping out of thin air and then dragging and chocking Brandon over to where there was a small stack of presents, and she gave him a hard whack on the back clearing his lungs of the liquid.

"T-thanks." He said after the last cough.

"No problem, now shut up its present time! Which one do you want to open first? Ooo, how about this one?" Pinkie grabbed the largest one and sat it down next to him.

"Who's it from?" He asked as he read the name on the tag. "Well lookie there, it's from Twilight."

"I think you'll like it, Brandon," Twilight said after realizing it was, in fact, her gift, though the neat wrapping along with the neat writing made it obvious.

"Come on and open it already, I want to find out what you got!" Pinkie said bouncing in place.

"Fine fine." He said and started to unwrap the gift and he couldn't help but give off a light chuckle. "Well look at that, why doesn't this surprise me?"

"What is it already?" Pinkie said her impatient's showing in her voice.

"It's a typewriter, good thing we already started to discuss that book huh?" He asked turning to Twilight.

"Yeah, so do you like it?" Twilight asked with a nervous grin.

"Well, I don't like it. But I do love it, so thank you very much Twilight. This'll save me a bit of money." He said giving her a small wink and she let out a small laugh.

"Time for the next present!" Pinkie said placing another one in front of him.

"This one is from, you?" He looked at Pinkie she had a huge smile. strange how her smile is always contagious.

"Yeah, now open it!" She said still a little impatient.

"Okay let's see what we have here." He said again unwrapping the gift and opened the small box which somehow shot out confetti out of it.

"So what's in there?" Applejack asked.

"Well, Pinkie here got me a book." He answered though his face was a little red, and he closed the box.

"What kind of book?" Twilight asked.

"I rather not say." He replied. "Next gift please?"

"So do you like your present?" Pinkie asked.

"Um, yeah I might give it a read." He answered.

"Okay, now here's the next one then." Pinkie said grabbing the next one.

As he opened them he was glad to see they weren't like Pinkies gift, something he was going to hide away. He got some clothes from Rarity, a signed picture from Rainbow, a small tool set from Applejack, and Lyra gave him a picture frame. Though he did have to wonder where Fluttershy was.

"Oh, um sorry I'm late. But Mrs. Doe was giving birth, and um sorry I um, didn't bring you anything." A quiet voice said.

"There you are Fluttershy, don't worry you didn't have to bring me anything anyways. And I understand." He said though she still seemed a bit nervous around him. "But it's a good thing you showed up, and you have impeccable timing as well. I just finished with the last git and wanted to talk to you."

"O-oh, really? Um, why w-would you want to talk to me?" She asked trying to hide behind her mane.

"Well, I've recently decided on something earlier today and need your help." He said giving her a smile.

"And what help do you need?" She mumbled.

"Now remember I have Twilight's permission as well, but I decided that I wanted a pet. She said you were..." He stopped when he heard her squeal with joy.

"You want a pet?" She asked giving him a look of pure joy.

"Um, well yeah." He answered a little taken aback by her sudden burst of confidence.

"What kind of pet do you want? I have so many to chose from, let's go and get you one then?" She said trying to pull him out of the door.

"Wait, I was hoping to stop by tomorrow!" He said the tugging on his arm stopped. "I mean I would like to finish the party and all."

"Oh, I'm so very sorry. I didn't even think about it, I'm so sorry!" She said looking away in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it, is tomorrow okay?" He asked.

"Oh yes, come by anytime you want." She replied with a big smile.

"Thanks, so how about we go back inside and you tell me about the new young deer that was born today?" He asked her eyes lightening up again as they went back in.

The next morning he woke up with his body completely sore with soreness he felt before. Apparently, Lyra went a bit overboard with his drinks and got him pretty drunk. Though this time he could remember everything that happened, then he took a look at the room he was in.

"Well, maybe not everything." He said to himself.

He recognized the room as the guest room in Bon Bons and Lyra's house, which was upstairs from the shop. Though how he got there or why was a blur, and his body hurt all over. Though since he could remember everything, he felt a sense of relief that he didn't do anything too embarrassing.

"Hey, Brandon you awake?" Lyra voice asked through the door.

"Come in." He called not wanting to move.

"Oh good, how you feeling?" She asked opening the door a guilty expression on her face.

"Well, no headaches or anything. Just really sore, but how did I get here?" He asked.

"Oh after I realized that I may have given you too much to drink..." He raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay, I did give you too much. But yeah, Twilight started to realize that I was the one who was getting you drunk, so..."

"She told you that you would have to take care of me? How Bon Bon take that news?" He asked still not moving much.

"Well she understood, but I still got an ear full after we managed to get you to bed. Neither one of us realized how strong you are since the doctors didn't let you work out in that month at the hospital? Because for somepony to say that they were only allowed to get up was to use the bathroom or to do simple exercises it sure doesn't seem like it." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Guess I'm just regaining muscle after being able to move around more. So I do remember most of last night, but there are some parts that are still fuzzy. Mind filling me in?" He asked.

"Sure, just tell me the last thing you remember." She replied sitting on the bed.

He quickly described the last thing he remembered clearly, which for some reason she started to giggle. She then told him that they stayed for two hours after that, and they got to see him dance again. Though he wished she wouldn't have told him that they managed to convince him to take his clothes off, which made him now feel that he was still in fact naked.

"Oh, don't worry. No pony is gonna judge you, especially since they think you're already weird for wearing clothing all of the time. But they understand that you're from a different culture and everything, but seriously it's nothing to be ashamed about." She said after laughing at his reddened face.

"I know, it's just that it's embarrassing for me to be naked in front of a girl. Even if they are ponies." He replied feeling self-conscious right then.

"So that's part of the reason why your face is sooo red right now? Well, your clothes are still over at Pinkies, so you're going to have to walk around naked just like the rest of us for a little bit." She giggled as he let out a groan.

"You serious?" He asked hoping this was some kind of joke.

"Nope, Pinkie says she wanted to keep the clothes you wore over there. Though if I were you I wouldn't pick them up, I mean you did start a prank war on her." She reminded him.

"Right, so she'll probably do something to them. Unless that's what she wants me to think." He said though he didn't want to actually suffer from a headache right now from trying to follow what Pinkie might be planning.

"Don't worry Twilight wouldn't let Pinkie go for the rest of your clothes, and I know Rarity would kill her if she touched the ones she made for you." She said helping him stay off that headache train.

"Yeah, probably." He mumbled.

"So come down when you feel like it, and don't worry we won't judge you for being naked. Besides you have a nice little butt." She let out a laugh as his pillow was thrown at her and she left the room.

"Great, now what am I going to do?" He asked himself, he could use the blanket to cover himself but Bon Bon might not like that.

So he just decided he would let himself die of embarrassment for one day and started to make his way downstairs. Though he did his best to keep himself covered, hoping that no one would notice him. But then again how could they not miss the only thing on two legs?

But after realizing as he walked past the counter waving bye and thanks to Bon Bon for letting him stay the night, and walking outside that he had nothing to be worried about. Though now he did get more curious stares, he figured he would have to do this at some point why not now? So he made his way to Fluttershy's cottage, a thought ran across his mind.

"Wonder who's gonna be more embarrassed, me or her?" He asked himself mostly because he was still very embarrassed himself right now.

He wound through town getting a few more stares but no questions or harsh and judging stares where given. That he was appreciative about. Upon coming up on the clearing that he knew Fluttershy's cottage was he speed up getting there much faster, and he gave a light knock.

"Oh, um coming!" A barely audible voice came, and after a moment Fluttershy opened the door. "Oh Brandon, it's you! Please come in, if you want to that is." She said moving out of the way and waving a hoof to the inside.

"No problem at all, I would love to come in." He replied stepping inside.

"Oh my, what happened to your clothes?" She asked finally noticing.

"Um, well at the party last night my clothes got left over at Pinkies. So I haven't gone and picked them up yet, mostly because I may have started a prank war with her. As for why I didn't go pick up some of my other clothes is because I might as well get used to uh, being nude." He said his face feeling extremely hot and he kept looking in any direction other than Fluttershy.

"Oh, okay. That makes sense, now what kind of pet are you looking for?" She asked walking over to the couch and sitting down waiting for him to answer.

"Well, I don't know. Can you show me what you got?" He asked looking around.

"Of course, let's start outside." She suggested.

So they went outside and she gathered all of her little animal friends that wanted to be somepony's pet. He looked at them all, and couldn't believe at her selection though. From what he could see she had Flamingos, Toucans, Bats, and some of the more impressive stuff like Eagles and Hawks.

"So, um, do you like what you see?" She asked.

"Yeah, you take care of all of these by yourself?" He asked looking at her in amazement.

"Oh yes, all of the little cute animals come to me." She answered.

"Yeah, little." He said looking at the bear that was sleeping in the sun.

He looked over his choices again having a bit of a tough time to chose one, he did like them all. But he wanted to make sure it was the right pet, and also maybe a cool looking one. When he passed over the eagle again he noticed that right by it was a little white with black spots on it, a cute little rat.

"And what's this one's name?" He asked pointing to the rat, this made the Eagle fly up and land over in the tree for obvious reasons.

"Huh, I've never seen her before." She replied.

"Really? So it's a girl then?" He asked looking at Fluttershy again in amazement.

"Yes, I've never seen her before. Hello there little one, if you don't mind me asking what's your name?" She asked the little rat, which made him a little confused until he remembered that she had the ability to talk to animals. Twilight explained that after one day a mouse had crawled into her mane and she was talking to it.

"So what's her name?" He asked after they seemed to be done.

"Oh, she says she doesn't have a name poor thing." She said giving the little rat a sad stare. "I don't suppose you don't have a name for her do you?"

"Hmm, let's see." He said squatting down to get a good look at the little rat. "How about Daisy?"

At that, the rat started to squeak something that he couldn't make out and turned to Fluttershy who was listening intently. He waited until the conversation once again was brought to an end, though that took a moment. But what alerted him that it was over was Fluttershy giggling at something.

"So what's funny?" He asked.

"Oh she likes the name, says it's her favorite flower. But she, um, wants to know if you'll consider her to be your pet?" She asked digging at the ground. "I mean you don't have to, she'll understand and so would I if you want another pet or something."

"What are you talking about another pet?" This made her look at him with curiosity. "The reason why I decided to give her a name after all was because I was hoping she be my pet, if I didn't I would've let you come up with the name." He said a big smile spread across her face.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. She said that she didn't have anywhere to go, because a mean old snake kicked her out of her old home. I would have offered her a place to stay with me, but she wanted to really go with you." She said with a bone-crushing hug.

"N-no problem, c-can't b-breath..." He managed to say.

"Oh, sorry. So you'll take her then?" She asked again.

"Of course, I think having a pet rat would be nice. So if I remember all I have to do if I have any questions or concerns I come to you right? Also for food for her and everything?" He asked.

"Oh yes, you two can visit anytime." She answered.

"Okay, great. Well better get back to the library, come on Daisy I'll show ya your new house. At least for a little bit." He said bending down holding out his hand and she climbed in and he sat her on his shoulder.

"What do you mean by a little bit?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh yeah right, I'll be moving into a new house soon. A cottage not too far from here actually, just don't tell Pinkie okay?" He asked giving her begging eyes.

"Okay, if that's what you want." She mumbled.

"Well thank you for helping me find a pet, I'll come by to buy some food for her. I don't have any bits on me right now." He said reminding both of them of his situation.

"Well here, let me go get some for you. At no charge, consider it my gift to you." She said and before he could respond she took off to get the food.

"Fine, well Daisy looks like me and you are new friends." He said looking at his shoulder, her response was a small squeak.

"Here you go, now remember to only feed her twice every day with a small dish," Fluttershy said coming back with a small bag of rat food and gave it to him.

"Thanks again, I guess I'll um, see ya around neighbor." He said waving to her as he started to make his way back into town.

"Make sure you take good care of her and remember only two times a day with a small dish. And also make sure she gets plenty of water, she seems pretty thirsty!" She called and he chuckled as she kept reminding him.

"Well this has been a good day, now all I have to do is hope Pinkie isn't going to try to pull something right now." He said laughing.

Author's Note

Well this is back for a good minute. Hope you all enjoyed the new chapter.

Nightmare Night

It's been a little over two months since his birthday party, he was so glad Rarity finished his autumn clothes for it or else he would have many cold nights. Though it's really not that cold so he decided and even now felt a little more comfortable with no clothes on. As for Pinkies gift, he had not read it yet but it was tucked away under his bed to where not a one of them could find it.

Which reminded him of when he did finally move in and Pinkie threw him a 'Congratulations On Moving Into A New House Even If You Did Keep It From Me' house party. He was grateful that this time there was no alcohol, apparently, she never brings any when she throws this kind of party. But it took about three weeks even to buy a bed, again Rarity made him some bedding stuff. Most of his furniture was given to him over the last two months whenever one of his neighbors bought new ones.

He didn't mind after all even if it was old and used, it was still very nice of them to think of him and gave him some free stuff saving him a lot of bits. Though he constantly had to defend himself from Rarity about every piece, he liked his little love seat couch, an arm chair which was a weird thing to call a chair when they're ponies, a small coffee table, and an old dining room set so far. Though it wasn't much but it was at least a start to make it feel a little more like home.

But right now that didn't matter since he was having a great time for his first Nightmare Night. Though he was reminded of a holiday that humans have that was more or less the same thing. He was playing a few games along with Lyra, she was pretty impressed that his hands were so useful even if she saw him work sometimes.

"So hows your first Nightmare Night going?" Twilight asked coming up wearing what he was told was a Starswirl the Bearded costume, which was a very important unicorn because he was one of the most powerful unicorns in history.

"Oh it's been great, I've already won a few prizes." He answered.

"A few? You had to rent out a wagon in order to carry all of this stuff around remember? Here take a look Twilight." Lyra said then pushing him out of the way to reveal a small wagon full of some small and some large prizes.

"Wow, you really won all of these for yourself?" Twilight asked in a little bit of awe.

"Well I didn't just win them for me, I got some for Lyra and the rest of you. Especially Fluttershy since she doesn't like this holiday." He replied a little embarrassed.

"But how did you win all of these though?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, you should have seen it! I knew his hands were good and everything, but you should have seen it! Only a unicorn or a pony whose special talent could pull off the stuff he did! I mean when we were at the balloon pop game he nailed every one of them! That's how he got the Manticore one." Lyra then levitated said toy, which was one of the larger ones up out of the wagon and brought it to Twilight.

"Well, I expected as much, after all, Lyra he did grow up using them in order to help him out. Just as an Earth pony has to learn how to use their hooves to help them out." Twilight replied but she had a slightly impressed smile.

"Yeah, I was planning on giving Fluttershy that one." He said grabbing the toy out of Lyra's magical grasp.

"Well, I'm sure she'll love it. Oh, how's Daisy doing?" Twilight asked.

"She's doing just fine, I had her go spend some time over at Fluttershy's to keep her company." He answered.

"There you are, come on time its candy!" Pinkie suddenly popped up making both Lyra and Twilight jump a little, but he had grown used to this.

That being said it was because of that prank war that they had after his birthday, which he had to make sure she knew not to do it while he was at work. But she always popped in and out of nowhere during that one week, he put up a good fight but he surrendered. Though because of that, he was now used to her antics.

"Oh and nice costume by the way, but what are you suppose to be?" Pinkie asked tilting her head to the side.

"Well, I'm supposed to be a superhero from my world. Though Rarity decided to add and change the costume now, so I decided to give this a new name. You are looking at Gem Man!" He said striking a pose, and he knew that it would get them laughing.

He had wanted to go as one he could remember, one who always wore blue, yellow, and red. This superhero always had a giant S on the front of his outfit, and when he did his best to describe it to Rarity she agreed. But after finishing it he realized that she had changed the color scheme to green, brown, and white and had put some gemstones on it.

"I-is that really based on a superhero from your world?" Lyra asked trying to hold back her laughter.

"Yeah, but as I said Rarity decided to change it. But hey, at least I got a costume to wear this year. And sorry Pinkie, I rather not rot my teeth with loads of candy. Mostly because I've already won a little from the games." He said.

"Fine, have fun!" Then after a cluck, she ran off.

"You seem to have gotten used to Pinkie, most of us still aren't used to her popping up out of nowhere," Twilight said.

"Yeah well, you try having a prank war with her and not find yourself not used to her popping out like that. Especially when she's loaded with a pie or something." He mumbled the last part.

"Well, what are you two going to do now?" Twilight asked.

"We were gonna go to Shadow's haunted house, you want to join us?" Lyra asked a little excited.

"Um, haunted houses aren't really my thing," Twilight answered with a nervous chuckle.

"What's wrong? Are you scared of a little haunted house?" He asked teasingly knowing a little story that she told him when she was a filly, and she thought the Boogiemare would get her.

"N-no of course not! I just don't want' to go, I have to make sure Spike doesn't eat to much candy or else he'll get a stomach ache." Twilight answered defenselessly.

"Sure, use that as your excuse. Even though Spike isn't with you at the moment." He gave her a slight smirk.

"What? Then I better go find him then." Twilight then scurried off making him laugh a little.

"What was that about?" Lyra asked a bit confused.

"Oh, nothing too much. She just had a run in with the Boogiemare when she was younger, and ever since she's been a bit too scared to go into a haunted house. Unless it's an absolute emergency of course." He said wiping a tear away.

"Really? Wow, well let's go! Or else we'll have to wait for like ever until we get in!" She said running off.

"Alright, I'm a coming." He called back as he got a hold of his wagon and started to pull it.

Author's Note

There, just something to make up for missing Nightmare Night. Next chapter will be a Hearth's Warming Eve's one, so be prepared.

Hearths Warming Eve

He couldn't believe that time was flying by like this as yet another two months went by. It was now winter and was a holiday that they called Hearths Warming Eve, which celebrated the three pony tribes coming together in friendship. Which once again rang familiar with another holiday as he sat there and watched the play.

It got everything down from celebrating the holiday with your friends and family, to giving each other gifts. They even had similar decorations like the ones he could remember from the holiday. This yet again made him feel a lot more at home, but he already felt at home for awhile now.

To top everything that's happened off so far with Twilight helping him, he was now over half way done with the book he wanted to write. But he still loved his job at the candy shop and would probably never want to quit for awhile. Which was fine by Bon Bon since he was a big help, especially moving vats of chocolate that weighed a hundred pounds.

"So basically you humans also have a holiday like this just like with Nightmare Night?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, though it did change a lot over the centuries to where a lot of the time it was just about the presents. Don't get me wrong the true meaning was still taught as best as it could be, but sometimes humans are very greedy." He answered.

Though he still couldn't remember his own life he was at least able to remember more and more modern stuff and not just ancient stuff. But once he thought he managed to almost remember something about his life when he had found a ring in a hidden compartment in his suitcase. The ring had fit his finger perfectly, which did mean that it was at least made for him.

"Ah, yeah I've read up on this part of human history from those history books. Also, some of the books you donated said it was started by a guy named Saint Nicole's right?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, he went around every year with hand-crafted toy's and gave them to the kid's of his village, and surrounding village's. But I honestly have to thank all of you, for you all have made me feel like this is my home. A real home with all of the things you've done for me now, that is all of the gifts I need." He said a big smile on his face.

"Oh pish posh darling. We love having you here, and we're so glad that you're finally that comfortable with us. Just keep that in mind if you go back to your world." Rarity said her eyes widening a little.

"It's okay Rarity, and if I do ever return to my world I wouldn't forget any of you. After all, you're all like family to me now." He said making Rarity blush a little.

"So if we're considered your family now, can you tell us if you have your eye on anypony?" Rainbow asked.

"Aww, I was gonna ask that Dashie." Pinkie said with slight disappointment.

"Then you got to be a bit faster next time, so do you?" Rainbow pressed and all eyes were on him.

"Um, no not really." He said as a slight blush came across his face, which he hoped was covered by the cold weather.

"Oh come now darling, surely there's somepony that caught your eye by now." Rarity said.

"Nope, not really. Hey, look at those lights." He said hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, they're pretty and all but I'm a bit curious myself. Since it's obvious you're trying to change the subject, that must mean that you do have a crush on somepony. So who caught your eye?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not trying to change the subject, just taking in the scenery around." He answered.

"So have you read that book I gave you then?" Pinkie asked making his face heat up again hoping the cold hid his blush.

"N-no not yet, I've been a bit busy, sorry." He replied.

"Speaking of which, you still haven't told us what she got you. So Pinkie, what book did you get him?" Twilight asked with curiosity and excitement.

"Oh that's an easy one, I got him a copy of 'How To Please The Different Kind Of Mares Guide'." Pinkie answered bouncing all over.

"You gave him that book for his birthday? No wonder he won't read it, I mean he's too embarrassed to even admit that he has a crush on somepony." Rainbow said busting out laughing.

"How could you of possibly have thought that was a good gift to him after only he was here for about two months or so?" Rarity asked.

"Because I thought he already had a crush on somepony, and I thought it was a mare. So I decided since he's new here he'll need all the help he can get." Pinkie said with enthusiasm.

"Hey, where did Brandon go?" Applejack asked and everyone started to look around in confusion until they saw a piece of paper on Applejack's hat.

"What's that?" Twilight asked lifting the piece of paper off with her magic. "It's a note, from Brandon. But when did he have time to write this? And how did he even write it without any of us noticing?"

"Who cares, what does it say?" Rainbow asked impatiently.

"Let me see...

'Dear Girls,

I knew that Pinkie would eventually tell you all about what she got me so I took this extra precaution. Please don't worry I'll probably meet you back where ever we are either staying at or I ran back to my house. Hopefully, I die of embarrassment by the time you find me, and if not make it swift and clean?

Sincerely,
Brandon

P.S, Enjoy the rest of your day.'

And that's all there is." Twilight said.

"So he probably went back to the hotel or something. But at least that explains how he wrote that without us noticing." Rainbow said.

"Yeah, just go easy on him it is Hearth's Warming Eve and all. But again Pinkie, you did seem to have his best interest at heart but why would you give him that? I mean you know how easy it is to embarrass or scare him sometimes." Twilight asked.

"Yeah, but I thought it really would help him out!" Pinkie was a bit deflated now.

"I wouldn't worry about it, he did say he was a lot more comfortable now. He'll probably just forget about it soon enough." Rainbow replied putting a hoof around Pinkie in a half hug.

"Um, yeah he'll be okay as long as we don't um, tease him about it," Fluttershy spoke up.

"Alright I get it already, I don't need to be told by my marefriend as well," Rainbow muttered.

"Well, we better get back and see if he's in his room." Applejack suggested.

"Hey, why did he want to stay in a hotel instead of at the palace with the rest of us?" Pinkie asked.

"He said he rather not deal with the Royal Guard. Especially after he visited last time on his own, they nearly threw him into the dungeon because they thought he was sent to attack the princess." Twilight said with a long sigh. "It was because Luna showed up and set everything right that he didn't get thrown in there."

"Well, that was nice of her," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, her and Brandon got along pretty well when they meet on Nightmare Night. Though I guess that's because they have a little in common." Twilight said.

"Oh really? What did they have in common?" Rarity asked.

"They both felt out of place. I think that was what actually made them friends, and from what Spike told me he and Luna have been writing each other." Twilight answered.

"So do you think his secret crush could be Luna?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"It's a possibility, but I doubt it. From what Spike told me the letters that they send each other sound more like one's friends would send each other if they lived a long distances away from each other." Twilight answered.

"Well, I would still like to know who he has a crush on, even if he doesn't know himself. Or if he does and he's just cleverly just trying to avoid telling us, then we need to get the information out of him." Rarity said.

"Alright, but just don't try to pry for right now. After all, we need to make sure he isn't jumping off a cliff or anything." Rainbow said to everyone's surprise. "What? You all told me to not tease him about what Pinkie got him, so the least you guys could do is return the favor."

"Fine, you win." Rarity muttered but then something clicked. "You know who it is don't you?"

"Nope, have no idea," Rainbow answered.

"Tell me who it is." Rarity ordered.

"Not on your life, besides not even a hundred percent that it's her anyway," Rainbow replied.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked.

"Not gonna tell, not until I've got more information myself," Rainbow said.

"Will you all quit trying to figure out his personal feelings?" Twilight complained.

"Yeah, I think we bothered him enough about it already." Applejack said. "Besides this is still his first Hearths Warming Eve even if he did have a similar holiday from where he comes from that's pretty much like it."

"Alright fine," Rainbow said, followed by Rarity agreeing, and Pinkie doing her pinkie promise.

"Good, now let's get a going." Applejack said and speed up.

Author's Note

Happy Hearth's Warming Day so to speak.

A New Year

When they did find him in his room at the hotel he was staying on Hearth's Warming Eve they managed to drag him out. Though all it really took was a promise from each of them to never mention that book to anyone. After that, they made their way over to the palace to talk to Princess Celestia, though he mostly talked to Princess Luna which got a few raised eyebrows from them.

"Why do they keep staring at us like that?" Luna asked noticing the stares.

"You want to know the truth?" She gave a nod. "Before we came here they found out about that book that Pinkie gave me for my birthday, and before then they were asking me if I had a crush on anypony." He replied.

"Ah, so um if you don't mind me asking, do you have a crush?" She asked with a small smirk.

"No, I don't." He replied his face going red a little.

"Then why art though blushing?" She asked slightly going back to the old language she was used to.

"I think it's just a natural reaction I have. Whenever anyone brings up that subject or more uh, intimate subjects, I guess I just get embarrassed. I really don't know why, but no I don't have a crush on anypony." He answered.

"Alright I understand, and I see you're starting to use more of our words." She said.

"Yeah, I've noticed that too. I guess they're similar enough to where I could switch out those words easily enough. Don't get me wrong I still use the words from my world but I guess some things start to stick." He replied taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"I agree, though it's a bit different now that I've caught on how modern ponies speak nowadays. So I know what you mean." She said giving him a big smile.

"So, you want to hear something interesting about my world and its moon?" He asked.

"Yes, I would love to hear about it. From what you've already told me it sounds like our moon, only not being controlled by me or anypony else." She answered.

"Well, you may not believe this." He said.

"Come on now, please tell me. Even if it is hard to believe." She said giving him a sad look.

"Alright Luna, but like I said you may not believe me. But my world's moon is made of cheese." He said with a straight face, and now she had a look of disbelief and shock. "In a matter of fact, that's what supplied humans with all of their cheese needs."

"R-really, it's made of cheese?" She asked still a little stunned.

"O-oh, yeah it's definitely m-ma..." That's when he started to laugh so hard he nearly fell over.

"And what's so funny?" She asked even more stunned by his sudden laughter, and his laughter got the attention of the others.

"What's going on here?" Rainbow asked as they came over.

"I don't know, he was just telling me about his world's moon and then he just started laughing like a crazy stallion," Luna replied looking at him as he was trying to calm himself down with no success.

"What exactly was he telling you?" Twilight asked.

"Well, he was telling me about what his moon was made of," Luna answered.

"He didn't tell you the cheese thing did he?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, but I don't see what that has anything to do with him just busting out laughing like this," Luna replied.

"Uh, Luna he was joking. That's just what they tell their young, though he didn't really understand why that myth was there apparently they always told their young that their moon was made of cheese. It's made of exactly what our moon is made of." Twilight said with a bit of annoyance looking at him with a slight glare.

"I-I'm s-so very s-sorry, I w-was going to tell you that I-I was joking but I just h-had to laugh." He finally managed to get out wiping tears away from his eyes.

"Oh, so you were only pulling my leg?" Luna asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself." He said.

"Well, then I think I'll take my leave then," Luna said turning to leave.

"Hey, I said I was sorry." He called as she walked away.

"Looks like you did it," Rainbow said. "I seriously hope that she wasn't the one who you had a crush on."

"Like I said I don't have a crush on anyone. But if you excuse me I have to go talk with Luna, I think she's just messing with me. Maybe if I play along and make her think she got me that'll make her feel better about my joke." He muttered the last part as he walked away.

"You know I'm starting to think he really isn't interested in anypony right now." Applejack said.

"And how do you know?" Rainbow asked.

"Well I got to know him petty good since he got here, and I think I know when he's lying." Applejack replied.

"That makes sense, he goes to you or Lyra to talk before he talks to the rest of us. You two and Luna are probably his closes friends." Twilight said.

"It's good to hear that he has made such good friends in his time here. And to top it off from what you just said Twilight, my sister has finally got her own close friend as well. Which explains the letters she's been receiving, but I must ask have any of you notice anything out of the ordinary for him?" Celestia asked making everypony there jump a little.

"Oh, um we didn't see ya there Princess Celestia, but what did you mean by out the ordinary?" Applejack asked.

"It's fine, and please this is a social visit so just call me Celestia for now. As for anything out of the ordinary I mean has he been developing any other form of magic besides his own natural ability?" Celestia asked.

"Well I haven't noticed anything, but why would he suddenly develop more magic?" Twilight asked.

"Before I answer that Twilight I would like to hear what the rest of your friends have to say, have any of you noticed him using any form of magic? Now, remember he may not even realize that he's doing this magic, and it may be something as little as him being able to grow plants a little faster than normal." Celestia said.

"Um, nope besides him getting more muscle. But I think that's mostly because he has to lift like a hundred pounds of chocolate for Bon Bon every day, and he does work with AJ here." Rainbow answered.

"I haven't noticed anything like that either, he usually comes around my boutique to fix a tear or something in his winter clothes. But other than that, besides when we all meet a couple of times a week I haven't really noticed him using any kind of magic." Rarity said.

"Well, I know me and Fluttershy haven't noticed anything like that either." Pinkie answered.

"But how can you vouch for Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

"Because she invites me over to help her bake cupcakes for some of her animals, and so far Brandon usually only stops by to pick up food or something for Daisy." Pinkie explained.

"Well then, what about you Applejack? It seems that he is closer to you than anyone of your friends, and he's spent a little more time with you than the others." Celestia asked.

"Um, well the only thing that comes to mind is apple bucking." Applejack answered.

"Oh, do you mind telling me what you mean?" Celestia asked.

"Well, when he first tried to apple buck he used his head. Quite literally to, banged his head right against the tree but got one apple to fall down though. Ever since then when he helps with harvesting the apples he's managed to find a better and less painful way for him, he kicks the tree just like we do pretty much. At first he only got a few apples at a time, but eventually, he managed to get a whole tree harvested with one kick. I just put it off as him getting stronger and him finding better ways to harvest. Does that help?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, it does. Now let me explain this, as you all know his own natural magic is to adapt. Now due to this magic, it has allowed him to be able to adjust to our world and be comfortable with its citizens as well. Now when I first got word of this I asked the doctor if I could take a look at those scans, and I made a discovery. Because of his natural ability it may allow him to start developing the ability to use magic, and from what Applejack just said it seems he's already starting to use Earth Pony magic." Celestia explained.

"So wait, you mean he could start doing magic just like unicorns as well?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes, that is a possibility, though it makes sense for him to start to be able to use Earth Pony first. Since his species seems to be mostly earthbound now, but Twilight from what you've told me about what you've learned from his history, both from him and those books, you learned that humans at a point could use magic. Is that correct?" Celestia asked.

"Um, oh yes. At a point in their history, people could use magic, and in a matter of fact, it was very common in their ancient history up to what they called the medieval era. Then it started to vanish from their world, and only very few humans could still do the most basic of magic." Twilight answered.

"Well, that's interesting, to say the least. Now it is possible that when all of them, as his world calls us, mythical creatures had gone his kind lost the ability to use more advanced magic. But since he's in our world he may be able to use magic, so I want you all to keep an eye on him. For all, we know he may just develop only Earth Pony magic, but if he develops any more kind of magic it may be dangerous. Before any of you ask it's dangerous for it might tear him apart because his body won't be used to having that much magic in it, and if it doesn't then in all likely hood it may drive him mad. I'm not sure how powerful he may get if he starts to develop unicorn magic, and judging by his people's history his kind can be easily corrupted when they get to much power at their disposal." Celestia said grimly.

"You don't honestly think Brandon would let power go to his head do you?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know Rainbow Dash, all I know is that if he starts developing more magic then he just might. Or he might die." Celestia answered.

"Well, I don't think it would, after all, humans were able to use magic once and a lot of them managed to use it for good. Mostly anyway, and I'm sure it won't corrupt him." Twilight said.

"I do hope you're right Twilight, for if the magic doesn't kill him if he develops it then I hope you're right. For I would like to see what he would be able to do with the magic and I would rather not have him..." Celestia didn't finish and she didn't have to as the room got quiet.

After that, they tried to start some small talk hoping to get their minds off of what they just talked about. Celestia made them promise to keep an eye on him and not to tell him about what they discussed. When they all agreed a conversation finally stuck and they started talking again, but unknowing to them they had a listener.

"Hmm, interesting we need to let the others know about this. We need to eliminate this human creature before he corrupts any more ponies. And before he develops any more magic, now go and tell them." A voice ordered.

"Right." The other pony said and trotted off.

"This threat is far greater than we thought, we exiled humans for a reason." The pony who gave the order said. "But still I would like to find a little more about him before we have to enact our plan." The pony said and turned towards the party caring a plate of food towards the Princess of the sun.

A few day's passed and it was now the eve of the new year, and once again Brandon couldn't help but smile at the thought that they to celebrate the new year. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was now always being watched, and sometimes not by friendly eyes. He didn't know why but he knew that his friends were watching him, and he was aware that they were slightly nervous around him now, except for Pinkie and Applejack, and also Fluttershy but he knew that was mostly because of Daisy.

"You know if there's something wrong you all can tell me right?" He asked as he set out his own blanket to sit on.

"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked as she put a picnic basket down.

"Well, I've just noticed that the others are a little bit nervous around me ever since Hearth's Warming Eve and even you're a bit nervous around me as well. But it feels like some of the other's are trying to avoid me a little, so are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He asked looking at her.

"Nothings wrong sugar cube, we just heard something that got us a bit nervous that's all." Applejack answered, and even though he could tell she was hiding something she was at least telling the truth. She was after all one of the worst liar's out there.

"Fine, but hey do you guys have new year's resolutions?" He asked.

"New year's resolutionary what?" Applejack asked.

"It's a tradition in the human world to make a year-long promise to yourself and do your best to keep to it. It could be anything like losing weight, to making a million bits, to just hanging out with friends more." Twilight explained.

"Oh, I understand. So what's your resolution then Brandon?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I was thinking about just to adjust even more here than what I've already done." He answered.

"That's a good one, but I was hoping you say to find a marefriend or maybe a stallionfriend?" Rainbow asked as she flew down.

"I don't swing that way Rainbow, and like I keep telling you I'm not interested in finding a marefriend. Mostly because I don't have a crush on anypony." He replied. "But hey, do you mind looking at something for me?"

"Sure, what do you need me to look..." Rainbow's face was suddenly covered by a pie tin, which she pushed off and revealed cool whip smeared into her fur.

"That's for taping me upside down this morning." He said with a big smile.

"But how did you...Pinkie." Rainbow mumbled.

"Yep, she helped me set up this prank to get you back." He said after a small chuckle.

"Well let's just calm down and watch the fireworks you two," Twilight said.

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted which got a roll of eyes from her.

"Just sit down and eat something," Twilight mumbled.

They then took their seats and waited for the show to begin, and again he couldn't help but notice Twilight and Rainbow kept looking at him from the corner of their eyes. But he just ignored it for now and just ate his sandwich that had tofu on it, which he had to grow used to that taste. As he ate though he felt another pair of eyes on him, though it sent shivers down him as it felt like threatening. He knew that someone else was watching him, and they've been watching him for longer than he thought.

Author's Note

Yep, another chapter. But what's this? A threat finally appeared, did you all really think he was going to have an easy ride? Oh and any question is still welcome.

A Bad Day

It's now been almost a month since the new year came around, and thus means he had been there for about seven months now. Though his friends now seem to have gone back to normal he still felt their eyes on him when he did something, but he still felt like he was being watched by someone else. Though these eyes were a little more threatening.

"So how have you been Lyra?" He asked as he wiped the counter of Bon Bons shop.

"Oh, well I got a gig at a nice little theater in Canterlot." She answered with a slight smile.

"So you'll be out of town again, man that must suck." He said lifting his head a little to look at her.

"It's not too bad, I know Bon Bon is missing me a little. But she understands I have my music just like she has her shop." She let out a light sigh.

"You know you don't always have to take a job when it arrives, especially when it takes you away for a little while. I mean if you miss Bon Bon, and you know she misses you then why not try to find a job here in Ponyville?" He asked.

"Because not many ponies here in Ponyville are looking for a lyre player, so I have to look around. That and like everypony else I am trying to make my name known." She answered.

"Fine, I understand. A lot of humans are like that too, I'm just glad that ponies aren't just trying to kill each other in order to make it." He said as he put his rag in his bowl of water to take a break.

"So humans kill each other in order to get famous?" She asked with a bit of shock, fear, and curiosity.

"Well some of them actually do, but it's mostly just an expression. They just mostly spread rumors, bad rumors about their competition." He replied as he stretched a little popping his back in the process. "Why, you afraid I might try to learn how to play the lyre and then kill you?"

"Please, I could take you on any time." She replied with a cocky smile.

"Oh sure only because you're a unicorn." He said rolling his eyes. "So you two still coming over for dinner right?"

"Yeah, at least I know I am. But I'm not sure about Bon Bon, she's been a bit busy lately." She answered looking at the kitchen door with a bit of sadness.

"I've noticed, but hey stop by whenever okay? I'll go talk to your marefriend to make sure she still wants to come." He said picking up the bowl of murky water and going through the door before she could respond.

When he got into the kitchen he looked around in a bit of confusion as Bon Bon wasn't anywhere to be found. But he shrugged his shoulders and went over to the sink and poured out the water and began washing the dishes in the sink. As he did he heard hoof steps behind him and when he turned to see who it was, he just gave Bon Bon a slight smile.

"Hey there, so where were ya when I came back?" He asked returning his attention to the dishes.

"Oh, um I was in the storage room." She answered and he could feel her stare at him.

"You know I'm still wanting to know if you're coming over for dinner, I mean Lyra told me she would try to come. But what about you?" He asked after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"It depends." She answered.

"Depends on what exactly?" He asked turning his head to look at her once more feeling her stare intensify.

"How do you feel about Lyra?" She asked her tone taking one of anger.

"Well, she's a great friend, if that's what you mean." He answered defensively.

"But do you like her?" She asked keeping her tone harsh.

"It depends on what you mean by like, as in like her as a great friend then yes. But if you think I have a crush on her think again and don't get me wrong she is a lovely mare and all, but I'm not interested in her like that. Let me tell you this in my world from what I remember guys with a sense of honor do not try to take another's lover. And I am absolutely offended that you think of me like that even after all of this time Bon Bon. I thought I made this clear the last time me and you got into this." He said his own anger starting to show.

"You're right, and I'm sorry but I just have to make sure." She said letting out a sigh of relief. "But about dinner, yeah I and Lyra will be there."

"Good, now I already told Lyra she could show up anytime and of course the same applies to you." He said turning back to the dishes.

"Alright, I'll see you then." She said before going to do what she was originally planning to do.

When he knew she was gone he let out his own sigh of relief, this wasn't the only time they had an argument like this. For about three months ago she confronted him about whether or not he had feelings for her marefriend. He told her exactly what he told the rest of them, he didn't have those kinds of feelings towards anyone right now. And then proceeded to tell her that most human males always tried to avoid another's girlfriend or wife, and being an honest guy himself he told her that there were still those types of people that did steal lovers.

But even after seven months of now knowing him, he couldn't believe that she still thought he would steal Lyra away. If anything she would just push her away with being so distant nowadays. Like he told Bon Bon he did think of Lyra as a great friend, in a matter of fact she was his closes friend, but he didn't have those kinds of feelings towards her.

In a matter of fact, he doubted that he would ever develop those feelings towards anypony. At the back of his mind, he remembered that in his world it was taught not to have those thoughts towards animals. So he guessed that was still drilled into him even if he didn't remember his past life. But at the same time, it still wouldn't stop him from at least trying to find love.

As he finished with the rest of his normal work he got ready to head home. Giving Lyra and Bon Bon a nod before leaving and heading back to his cottage. But as he walked he did notice that he was being followed, knowing every single pony in this town he knew where they all were most likely headed. And the stallion that was behind him he didn't recognize nor did he want to meet with him either.

"Hey you, freaky thing!" He heard the stallion called, and though he knew he was talking to him he just kept walking until the stallion went in front of him and stopped. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Oh, then my apologies then. But I have to get back over to my house to prepare dinner for some company." He answered in a calm even tone.

"Hmmph, don't see why they let a freak like you even get a house. I mean a minotaur sure that I can deal with, but you're even more of a freak than they are." The stallion said.

"Yes, well seeing as how I'm the only one of my kind here it makes sense for some ponies to think I'm a freak. But look I'm not looking for any kind of trouble here." He replied his tone still calm as he looked around seeing that they were the only two on the road they were on.

"Haha, well that's too bad. You know what I'm gonna do to you is a lot better than what that one group is gonna do to you." The stallion said his smile defiantly wasn't a friendly one.

"And what group would that be?" He asked trying to stale.

"Trust me you're eventually gonna find out, but let's just say they want you dead." The stallion answered taking a step forward.

"Really, so I take it you're here to do their dirty work then?" He asked not even blinking when the stallion took another step forward.

"Nope, I'm not even supposed to know about this group. I'm here because I just don't like you, you know why?" The stallion asked but before he could reply the stallion spoke up. "It's because like I said you're nothing more than a freak, a monster that needs to be taught a lesson."

That's when everything went to chaos as two more stallions jumped from the allies and surrounded him. They all ran forward but he lost track of what was happening as he blacked out only getting cleared vision every now and again. Somehow he was fighting back all three stallions but just barely, but then a hoof connected with his jaw and as he fell he fully managed to get out of whatever trance he was in.

"You think you're so tuff don't you?" The stallion that started this asked while he spat out a little blood, and when he looked he could see that the stallions were far more beat up. "You really are just a monster though with the way you were fighting all three of us, it's like you've been trained to fight. So is that what you were sent here for? To kill all of us with your measly fighting skills? "

"N-no, I don't know why or how I got here." He managed to say as he got back up and took a defensive pose.

"Oh, so you're ready for round two huh? We'll show you not to lie to us." The stallion said before the three of them charged again.

The next thing he knew he was in the hospital looking into a bright light that made him groan a little. As he tried to get up he found that his body would barely respond, but when it finally did he felt straps around his wrist. When he looked he realized that he was restrained in the hospital yet again. Before he could call someone, the door open and standing there was the doctor and a Royal Guard.

"Now Brandon I'm sure you have many questions of your own, but first we need to ask you a few do you understand?" The doctor asked.

"Y-yes." He managed to say, but it was more like a dry whisper as he realized he needed something to drink.

"Okay, well first have some water so that'll make things easier." His doctor said levitating a glass over to his lips, to which he drunk it like a mad man. "There, now the first question is do you know how you got here?"

"No." He answered.

"Okay, well can you tell me the last thing you remember before waking up here?" The doctor asked.

"Um, well there was these three stallions and they were charging at me. And that's the last thing I remember." He replied looking at the guard now realizing why he was here and why he was strapped down.

"Now, do you remember anything before that? Like were they the ones who attacked you first, and what were you doing before they attacked?" The doctor asked.

"I-I believe they did, I was heading home when I noticed one of them following me. I tried to ignore him but he managed to get ahead of me, and we said a few things. Mostly him insulting me, and then before I knew it I was surrounded. Then everything went black, the next thing I remember was being hit in the jaw and getting sent to the ground. I then shortly got back up and that's when they charged." He answered balling his fist at the memory.

"Just calm down, well guard it looks like a simple case of self-defense." The doctor said and the guard simply nodded. "Sorry about that but we had to get your statement as well."

"I know how it is, but please can you fill me in on how I got here?" He asked.

"Well first let me explain this, for the next few weeks don't be surprised if a guard is following you, or asking you questions. You are under investigation right now, but don't worry we already have the statements of the ones who attacked you. They all admitted to attacking you." The doctor said undoing the straps.

"Well that's good I guess." He replied as he rubbed his wrist.

"Now for your question you were brought in by a couple of your friends. Though they seemed a little scared of you because they witnessed the beating you did on those stallions. According to them, they were on their way over to your house for dinner when they came across the fight. What they saw wasn't exactly pretty, as you already knocked out one and was defending yourself from the other two. Let me tell you this, you gave them some broken ribs, one with two broken legs, one had his wings broken, and the one that you knocked out first managed to escape with only a broken nose and ribs." The doctor said.

"So wait, they saw me do this to those stallions?" The doctor nodded.

"They're waiting outside right now if you want I can send them in." The doctor said.

"Before I decide that, what all happened to me?" He asked. "Why did I suddenly black out like that?"

"Well for some creatures it's natural, but for you, I think you may have had some sort of training. When they attacked you your mind took over because you didn't remember how to properly defend yourself. As for injury-wise, you had a cracked jaw, broke a nose, and your left foot was twisted all the way around." The doctor explained.

"Wait, you think I was trained to defend myself? I mean it makes sense if my instincts took over because I don't have any memory of being trained, but still." He said.

"You did come here through a portal, and you don't remember what kind of life you had before. I mean just like here you could have been taught martial arts for self-defense, or you could have been apart of an army of some sort." The doctor said.

"You know what, just forget about it. And no I don't want to see anyone right now." He said looking away and out of the window.

"Well you know that some of your friends probably won't take no for an answer, oh yeah I just remembered. You should be a little careful with your head, it seems you got a nasty concussion during the fight. Most likely when you got hit in the jaw." The doctor said walking out of the room.

"And please try to keep them from bursting in here." He called and the doctor waved his hoof. "Don't want them to be around a monster."

Though he knew that he should shove those thoughts out of his head, but at the same time he just put three stallions in the hospital. Granted they deserved it for what they tried to do, but still just knowing what he did made him feel guilty. And to top it off Lyra and Bon Bon saw him do a few of those things and probably made them so scared that they wouldn't even want to be around him anymore.

So upon having nothing else to do he laid back down and looked up at the ceiling and blinked away a few tears. He knew that a few ponies would always see him as a monster or something, but to have his friends think he was one didn't feel too good. To make it worse it was his closes friend who would now see him as a monster, he then looked at the door when he heard someone outside.

"Rainbow Dash, he said he didn't want any visitors right now!" He heard his doctor say.

"Hey look I know you have an oath or something to keep, but I just want to check up on why he doesn't want to see any of us," Rainbow said.

"We all do sugar cube, but think about it. He was battered and bruised and completely unconscious when Lyra and Bon Bon brought him here. He probably just wants some rest." He heard Applejack say.

"Fine, but if he's just trying to hide then I'll personally make sure he never leaves the hospital. The last thing we need is a repeat of last time." Rainbow said as he heard her walk away.

"I'm sure he's just fine. If he isn't then he would tell us, but for right now let's jus..." The conversations faded from his ears.

Again he was staring at the ceiling wondering if his friends already thought of him as a monster. That would explain why they kept looking at him, watching him sometimes. The only friend that didn't do that was Lyra, and he probably made her think he was one after what she saw.

Author's Note

This chapter may seem a bit rushed, but it gets the point I want across. But my question for all of you is what do you think will happen to his friendship with Lyra? And what do you think will happen with the already strained relationship between him and Bon Bon, of course I do mean their friendship?

A Friendship Strengthennd (Part II)

"Ooff!" Was what came out as he was tackled by blue and rainbow streak, and in an instant, he found himself on the ground looking up at the pony who was now on top of him holding him down.

"Rainbow Dash, get off of him right this instance!" He heard nonother than Rarity say as he also heard more hoof steps on his wooden floor.

"Not until he tells me why he avoided us while we waited for him at the hospital," Rainbow said giving him a slightly irritated and hurt look. "So, why did you sneak past us?"

"Huh, Rainbow I'm sure he would be more than happy to answer you if you weren't pinning him to his own floor." Rarity said grabbing they cyan blue Pegasus with her magic and removed her off of him.

"Hey, we heard a loud bang. Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked as she came in.

"Well, that depends. Are you okay darling? Rainbow didn't hurt you when she came in did she?" Rarity asked as he was now sitting up looking at them with surprise.

"N-no, I'm fine." He answered looking at the six mares that just came in.

"Well that's good, and I hope we didn't startle you too much Derpy." Rarity said looking at her with apologetic eyes.

"Um, a little but it was just a little jump scare. But Brandon, it looks like you're a bit busy now so I'm just going to go." Derpy said jumping down from where she was sitting, but before she got to the door he called out.

"Hey, and remember I still owe you a favor for your help." He said, and Derpy took her leave right after that.

"What help? And why was she here exactly?" Rainbow asked, who was now free from any magic.

"Yeah, help with what exactly?" Applejack asked giving Rainbow a glare to back off a little.

"Um, uh, well do you mind if I got back in my seat? In a matter of fact, why don't we all get comfortable." He replied swallowing nervously.

"Alright, do you need any help?" Twilight asked after noticing where his crutches were.

"Um, yeah a little help would be nice." He said, and then he felt magic wrap around him and pick him up.

Now, this wasn't the first time he had been wrapped in magic like this, though the first time was because he had pulled his back muscles and couldn't move. When he first felt it and being lifted off the ground feeling weightless was very strange and made him freak out. But over time he got used to it even if he only had it done to him in total four times, including this one.

"There you go, now I think you owe us some answers," Twilight said putting him on the couch and sitting down herself.

"Um, right, why I pretty much avoided you all." He said looking down.

"Well, you don't have to tell us that right now. But can you at least tell us what you meant when you said that you owed Derpy a favor for helping you?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, that. Well in um, short she helped me by giving me a little courage and hope to face you all. In a matter of fact, I was planning on coming to find you all after I got done talking to Derpy." He said looking up at Rainbow trying but failing to give her a glare.

"But why would you need courage, or even hope, to talk to us? We are friends, aren't we?" Pinkie asked tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Yeah, we are friends. But, after what happened I thought that..." He trailed off and looked back down.

"After what happened you thought we wouldn't want to be your friends?" Applejack was the one to finish.

"What? That's just plain out silly Applejack! Why would we not want the Drinking King to be our friend?" Pinkie asked with a slight giggle.

"Yeah, that was part of the reason." At that, a slight tension rose in the air.

"You mean just because you beat up some stallions that attacked you in the first place, we wouldn't want to be your friends?" Rainbow asked.

"N-not just that, I-I was afraid..." He again trailed off.

"You were afraid of what?" Fluttershy was the one who asked.

"That you all would see me as a monster." He said closing his eyes taking a deep breath, and for several moments the room remained silent until laughter burst out from one rainbow-maned Pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash, this is no laughing matter!" Twilight yelled.

"I-I'm s-sorry but I can't believe he actually thinks we would think of him as a monster! I mean this is the guy that wouldn't harm a fly on purpose, and yet after one fight of him doing nothing but defending himself he would think that!" Rainbow managed to say.

"Not just the fight, what about all the time it feels like you all are watching me? I-it feels like you all lost trust for me after the Hearth's Warming Eve party we went to." He said looking at his clenched hands, and at that, the laughter stops. "And don't lie to me, because I know that you all have been watching me. I caught you all looking at me from the corner of your eyes, or I notice that one of you seem to be following me when I'm out and about."

"Brandon, I-I wish we could explain but we can't," Twilight answered not wanting to make excuses for them watching him.

"So you all have been watching me?" He asked not looking at any of them, but if he had he would see the look of shame on their faces.

"Yes, we have." Applejack was the one who replied.

"But you can't tell me why?" He asked.

"I-I'm afraid not, but just know that we didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or for you to feel like we see you differently," Twilight said putting a hoof on his hand.

"Just answer me this, did Celestia have something to do with this?" He asked finally looking up and looking straight into each and every one of their eyes. "And please don't lie to me right now, I just want to know if she told you to watch me."

"Yes, she did tell us to keep an eye on ya." Applejack answered.

"T-that's all I needed to know, and thank you for being honest with me about it. I think I can take comfort in knowing that it was Celestia and not anypony else." He said and then put his hand up to his mouth to try to prevent the already said words.

"Wait, who did you think told us to watch you?" Rainbow asked.

"I-it's nothing, just forget I said anything." He replied.

"Brandon, if you're afraid that somepony maybe after you please tell us," Twilight said.

"I-I don't really think it's anything, I think the leader of the stallions who attacked me was just making stuff up to try to scare me." He replied.

"Oh, a-alright. So, are you sure you're fine now? I mean are you sure you're okay with us watching you?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'm fine now that I absolutely know you girls don't see me any different. And it's fine Twilight, now that I know you are watching me and under Celestia's orders. I'm sure she has her reasons, and I might have an idea on why she is having you all watch me." He answered, but there was something in his expression to tip them off.

"Brandon, tell us what's still bothering you?" Applejack asked, concern in her voice.

"I-it's nothing you all can help me with, but I have to go." He said grabbing his crutches and started towards the door.

"Well, whatever it is I hope it goes well and good luck Brandon," Twilight said as he walked past.

"Thanks, and uh, you all can show yourselves out anytime you want. There should be something to drink in the fridge." He said as he got to the door.

Though he now had far more confidence than what his day started, he couldn't help but still feel uneasy and nervous. After all who he was about to go see now saw him when he was beating down the stallions. And despite knowing he still had friends to lean back on, this one was his closes friend and losing her friendship will hurt.

As he made his way through the town and noticing some stares and whispers, but he really didn't care about those. He honestly cared what a handful of his closest friends thought about him, and he knew that Luna would most likely understand. But at the thought of her, he mentally slapped himself for nearly forgetting about the pony who he had most in common with, despite not being as close friends like how he was with others.

But he was making slow progress to his destination which was now only two blocks away, and once again his fear of being seen as a monster by a friend started to climb it's way back up to the surface. Though he continued as he at least needed to get some closure if Lyra saw him as a monster now. That and he at least owed not only the rest of his friends to get this off his mind to not worry them, but he owed it to Derpy for helping him, and he finally made it to the front door of Bon Bon's Sweet Shop.

"Maybe I shouldn't." He muttered to himself, but then he heard himself knocking on the door.

"Coming, sorry but the Sweet Shop closes at six on the dot..." Bon Bon said before realizing who was standing at the door, she was looking away so he couldn't blame her for not noticing him.

"Um, h-hey Bon Bon. Do you um, mind if I come in?" He asked his nerves coming through his voice.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea right now." Bon Bon said as she looked towards the door that held the stairs. "But, we can talk outside."

"A-alright, I understand." He replied giving that very same door a sadden expression.

"Listen, Brandon, I know you're here to talk to Lyra but I'm afraid she doesn't want to talk to you." Bon Bon said as she closed the front door not looking at him.

"C-can you at least tell me why?" He asked.

"Brandon, you already know why. She's afraid of you, but don't get me wrong. I know, and she knows that what you did was out of self-defense, but you should know that just seeing that scared us both. Before you ask, yes we did get you to the hospital but that's it. That was only because we couldn't just leave you there, passed out with at least one stallion that could have woke up before you and killed you." Bon Bon explained.

"Then how come you don't seem afraid now?" He asked.

"Brandon, not once have I looked at you in this conversation. But, I think you should leave before Lyra sees you, and I'm afraid that this does mean the end of your employment." Bon Bon said, but he didn't say anything, and after a moment she could hear his crutches going down the street. She let out a small sigh of relief and walked inside and up the stairs, and went to their bedroom.

"Who was that Bons?" Lyra asked as she came out of the bathroom.

"Nopony important, just some traveler looking for some sweets." Bon Bon answered.

"Oh, well okay. I wonder how Brandon's doing?" Lyra asked looking out the bedroom window.

"I'm sure he's just fine, now come to bed please." Bon Bon said lifting the blanket up for her marefriend to crawl under.

He couldn't say anything, as he had nothing else to say or ask. So he turned around without saying a word and started to go back down the almost empty street feeling completely numb. Though he had expected that Bon Bon would most likely be afraid, he still held onto the small thread of hope that Lyra would still be his friend.

But he expected to feel something along the lines of being sad over losing such a good friend, he didn't know why he didn't feel anything at all. He wasn't even sure where he was going and he wasn't paying attention to the surroundings, as all he did was stare straight ahead making him walk straight. So when he came upon a familiar spot he couldn't help but take in his surroundings now.

"T-this is the spot where I tried to jump, and the spot where I made my first friends." He mumbled to himself as he remembered his first day of being awake on a new world without any memory of who he was, besides his name.

He hobbled over to the edge of the cliff and remembered how it had been Applejack who had first saved him, and then as he fell it was Rainbow who managed to go and catch him. That memory still playing in his mind, he sat down hanging his feet over the cliff and looked up at the now almost completely nighttime sky. And he couldn't believe after everything that happened to him so far this was the worst he ever felt.

"Brandon, is that you?" He didn't even jump when he heard the sudden voice behind him, his only response was a slight nod that was barely seen. "I heard about what happened the other day, so I came to visit to see how you are doing," Luna said coming next to him and sitting down. "So, what is bothering you? I ran into Twilight, and she explained what happened at your house. She said that you seem to be still worried about something, is that something that has to do with your best friend Lyra?"

"Yeah, yeah it does deal with her." He answered, his voice completely void of emotion.

"Brandon, you must know that just because one pony sees you differently then what they did before isn't the end of the world." She said.

"I know, but as I told you in a letter she was my closes friend. The one who I could really talk to, tell her what was bothering me, tell her my secrets without them being spread all throughout town. To lose such a good friend..." At this point, he couldn't help but plant his face in his hands as the dam of emotions finally broke again.

"Shh, it's okay Brandon. I know how it feels to lose your closes friend, it's very painful. Just remember you are not the only who has suffered from this pain, as I had to suffer through it for a thousand years. But that's the difference between you and me you know?" She asked, and despite him still shedding tears he could now look at her. She was staring up at the moon with a sadden expression. "You have wonderful friends, even if the one that is closest to you thinks of you differently you still have friends to fall back on. Back then, I did not and that was part of the reason why I did what I did."

"B-but, haven't you and C-celestia made up?" He managed to ask.

"Yes, but as I said she sees me differently now. We are close, possibly even closer than before, but there will still be that air of distrust between us. Though I cannot say that Lyra will eventually become your friend again, just remember as long as you still have friends to rely on then you should have no reason to be sad, nor should you let your heart be blackened the sadness." She replied putting her hoof on her chest, and the look of her sadness just made him feel even worse.

"L-Luna, I-I'm so sorry. I d-didn't mean t-to bring you into this..." He was cut off by her putting a hoof to his mouth.

"Please, do not feel bad for me. I have already made amends, and I would not be a true friend if I did not get myself involved. If anyone here needs to apologize, it's me for letting my own problems come up when you already have more than enough of your own. Just know that I will be here for you just like your other friends will be." She said removing her hoof from his mouth and wiped away some tears. "Now, let's get you home before anypony gets concerned."

"A-alright, and by the way Luna." He said still sniffling a little.

"Yes?" She asked helping him up despite him now somewhat refusing the help.

"Thanks, and you remember that I'll be here as well if you need to talk with someone." He said giving her a weak smile. "Now, like you said I better get home if they are waiting for me."

"Actually I said we, as in me and you Brandon. After all, for the next few days, I will be staying at your place to make sure you are actually alright." She said walking past him.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" He asked his voice strained from him crying so much that day.

"No it is not, Brandon I will be living with you for the next two weeks to make sure you do not do anything that may risk you more physical and emotional harm." She replied with the most serious tone she could.

"But, couldn't one of the others do it?" He asked.

"They offered, but I thought it best if I was the one who took care of you. And don't try to argue anymore, I know you need somepony who knows what you're going through right now to help you." She answered.

"Well, it's not that I don't want your help it's just that, aren't you a Princess?" He asked.

"Yes, and I can still perform my royal duties while here. But making sure my friend isn't at harm by anypony else, or by himself, is my top priority for right now." She replied. "Though, it is impressive that with your leg you were able to get all the way out here."

"Yeah, well I wasn't paying attention and I guess my body just guided me." He muttered.

"Exactly why you need somepony to help you because if you hadn't known about that cliff you could have very easily walked straight off." She said. "As for anypony else that might decide to try to hurt you because of your difference will now have to go through me."

"As much as I appreciate that, could you at least disguise yourself?" He asked.

"I already planned on it, don't want to draw even more attention to you while I'm here." She answered with an understanding tone.

"Well, uh, thanks for being so concerned about meeeee...." He said as he tripped over a root, and this fall made him grab at his already injured leg.

"Brandon, are you okay?" She asked as she looked over him.

"N-no, my ankle. The root got caught on it and it really freaken hurts." He said through gritted teeth.

"Here, I'm about to cast a spell to help with the pain. Now you might also end up falling asleep as well, but don't worry that is only the side effect of the spell when the pony never had the spell cast on them before." She said lighting up her horn and her magic surrounded his ankle, and as relief flooded over him so did drowsiness as sleep took hold.

Author's Note

I would like to thank flutterdash1257 for doing some proofreading for this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A New Day

He could hear voices that sounded very distant and muttered, and he felt something nice and warm around him. Though he couldn't piece together who the voices are and what was around him as his mind was still far too groggy, slowly his mind started to catch up with everything. When he opened his eyes, at first he only saw silhouettes that looked oddly familiar, and that's when he heard someone speak again.

"Hey, he just opened his eyes!" The voice called, and he heard something walking across what sounded like wood.

"Ah, so you are finally awake." Another voice said, and by the time that voice spoke things were starting to come into focus.

"Oh, my head." He said laying up in what he now knew was his bed at his home. "Man, what exactly happened to me?"

"I am afraid that is my fault, that is a rare side effect of the spell I cast on you. For that, I am truly sorry." He turned his head to look at Luna who had a look of guilt.

"Right, my ankle." He said as the memory of what happened came back. "It's fine, not like you knew it would give me this dang headache."

"That's what I told her, that and magic could have a slightly different effect on you," Twilight said walking into the room. "The spell she cast was one that was casted onto you during your first wok up at the hospital here. They had said that it made you sleep a little longer than normal, and have the headache."

"And I am still sorry for not knowing that." Luna apologized again.

"Again, it's fine. You were only trying to help after I tripped." He said reaching a hand out to pat her on the head and smiled at her despite the headache.

"Speaking of which, what were ya doing in the EverFree Forest near that cliff again?" Applejack asked giving him a slight glare, making him swallow in nervousness.

"I-I don't know." He answered receiving another, though a little bit harsher glare from everyone in the room, and he looked down in pain. "I-I guess to think..."

"To think about what? If you don't mind me asking?" Fluttershy asked, and he let out a sigh and looked up from his lap.

"You all know Lyra right?" They all gave a nod.

"Of course, she and you are pretty close and she was one of the ones who took you to the hospital," Twilight spoke, and as she said that Applejack gave him a look of understanding like she just picked up on what happened earlier.

"Yeah, that's her." He said again looking down. "She and her marefriend Bon Bon were the ones who took me to the hospital after seeing what I did. After I left here earlier that's where I went, to talk to at least Lyra..."

"Look, are you going to tell us what happened or what?" Rainbow asked, making him flinch a little.

"Rainbow, if he doesn't want to tell us then he doesn't have to." Rarity snapped at the blue Pegasus.

"No, I-I think it would be better if I did tell you all what happened." He said taking a deep breath. "As you all know, my worst fear is being seen as some sort of monster by my friends..."

"You got that right," Rainbow muttered under her breath.

"When I went to talk to them, I ran into Bon Bon at the door. Sh-she told me how she and Lyra now were scared of me and...and..." He couldn't finish, but what he already said had given them the pieces that they needed.

"Brandon, we are so sorry. We know that you two were close, after all, she was probably the one who knew you better than anyone of us." Twilight said looking around the room. "It must be painful to lose a friend that close, but just know that we will be here for you no matter what."

"Yeah, as long as you got us around you won't be lonely," Rainbow said dropping onto the floor since she had been hovering for a good part of the conversation.

"A-and I appreciate that, but do you mind if I have some time to myself?" He asked not looking at them.

"Of course, come on girls let's head home," Twilight said, and a few seconds later the only one in the room with him was Luna.

"I will be in one of your spare rooms, and please don't be afraid to call me if you need anything." She said, and he gave a nod and after that, he was the only one in his room.

He sat there for what felt like hours thinking about what happened after he was released, from his run-in with Derpy to making up with his friends, to the painful memory of knowing he had lost his closest friend. Though he still felt like he should cry, he couldn't bring himself to knowing that Luna might come to see what's wrong. So he sat there not only thinking, but trying his best to not break down for the third time when he felt something climb on his bed.

"Oh, there you are Daisy. At least I know you will still be here for me." He smiled as the little rat climb up on his shoulder, and he gave her a little scratch on her back.

A week later he was laying in his bed yet again as the morning sun started to rise. He never really was a morning person, but ever since what happened, he seems to despise morning a little more. That added with the fact of apparently what holiday it was didn't put him in any better mood.

"Brandon, are you still moping around in there?" He heard Luna ask through his door.

"Go away, I'm still trying to sleep!" He called back.

"It's already nine in the morning, I think it's time for you to get up already." She said opening the door and coming in with a smile on her face. "And besides, today is Heart's and Hooves day."

"I know, it's just like Valentine's day back where I come from. It's the day that you're supposed to spend with the one you love." He said, showing no signs of moving.

"Yes, but you can also spend the day with friends if you chose." She said using her magic to lift him and his crutches away from the bed.

"Luna..." He was interrupted when she spoke up.

"Star Light." She corrected as that was the name she gave her disguise.

She still had the same coat coloring as before, but she was a bit shorter now. Her mane and tail were now black, and she changed her cutie mark to one of a telescope that was supposed to represent her passion for star gazing. Though she also changed her voice as well.

"Star, did you forget that all of my friends are busy? Rainbow had a big date planned for her and Fluttershy, Rarity has a date with Dr. Hayseed, Applejack has work on her farm to do, Pinkie was hired to throw the school a Heart's and Hooves day party, and Twilight is to busy getting a schedule ready for Winter Wrap up." He said.

"No, I did not forget any of that. But you are forgetting about somepony." She said with a slight smile.

"Who, Derpy? She's to busy delivering mail, that and she barely said two words to me since she was here a week ago." He said putting a free hand on his chin in thought. "But, I can't say I can think of anyone else."

"So are you saying we are not friends?" She asked sounding a little offended, and he walked over to her.

"Of course I do Lu...I mean Star, but we seem to be hanging around each other a lot more ever since you moved in." He said giving her a small smile.

"Yes, but we only hang out here." She said with a slight pout.

"Fine, how about this. Since I barely left the house since last week, why don't I treat us to a nice friendly dinner?" He suggested.

"That sounds...wait, why do you have to pay?" She asked.

"Because you've been taking care of me for the past week and I know I haven't been the easiest person to get along with during that time. Just consider it a thank you for what you've done so far." He said giving her another smile.

"I knew you were still in there, and I am grateful that your mood seemed to changed from being depressed to something a little more happier." She said returning his smile.

"I think that's because I still have good friends." He said as he walked past her.

"And where are you going?" She asked.

"To take a shower. After all, you don't want to get something to eat with somepony who smells the way I do, do you?" He asked turning his head towards her.

"No, I guess not. Then go take your shower, I'll do a little bit of cleaning." She replied looking at his messy bed, but before he could respond there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." He said and started towards the front door, and when he got to it and opened it he was a little surprised. "Oh, hey Derpy. I thought you had to work today?"

"I-I did, but I managed to switch shifts with Dust Shelves so I'm free today." She said giving him a pleasant, but also a somewhat nervous smile.

"So, um, what brings you by? The only time I've seen you is when I went to the library the other day." He said.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. It's just I've been really busy with my mail route, and I was also thinking about what you said about you owing me a favor for giving you that um, pep talk..." She started to ramble.

"Derpy, please I understand that you're busy. So, have you thought of anything? Because I need another excuse to get out a little more since I um, got fired." He said scratching the back of his head blushing a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She said in a genuine tone. "But, um, actually I wanted to ask you this before your friends arrived."

"Yeah, I remember you started to say something." He said giving her a comforting smile, after noticing that she seemed to be really nervous.

"Well, um, I-I was wondering if you would um, like to have d-dinner with me?" She asked blushing heavily. "But, only as friends, that's all I mean."

"Um, uh, that sounds nice. Then maybe you would like to join me and Star then?" He asked.

"Star?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah she's the one that's been taking care of me while my ankle heals, and while I've been down in the dumps lately." He answered.

"Well, I don't want to be a third wheel or anything..." She started, making him give a slight chuckle.

"We are only friends, she pretty much forced me out of my bed today so we could do something since I thought all my other friends were busy. The dinner is only a friendly dinner, you know for friends? So any of my friends are welcome to join if they want." He said.

"Oh, so you two aren't going out or anything?" She asked.

"No, we aren't going out. But why do you ask?" He asked.

"Um, no reason. So I'll see you later for dinner, along with that Star?" She asked.

"Yeah, how about we meet in the town center, say around five?" He asked.

"That sounds great, and can't wait to meet your new friend. See you later!" She called while rushing away.

"She was acting a little weird just then, wonder what that's all about?" He muttered under his breath.

"So who was it?" Luna asked coming out of his room carrying a small, but a familiar rectangular box in her magic grasp.

"Well, Derpy and we have another pony for our dinner tonight. Is that alright, and where did you find that box?" He asked.

"I have no problem with another one of your friends joining us for dinner, and as for this box I found it hidden under your bed." She answered.

"Luna, why were you snooping through my stuff?" He asked a little nervously eyeing the box.

"I was only making sure that the underneath of your bed didn't need to be cleaned when I came across this, what's inside?" She asked putting it on the coffee table.

"A birthday present, now I'm going to take it back and hide it somewhere else." He said making a grab at the box on the table before it was snatched away.

"What kind of birthday present would cause you such embarrassment that you would have to hide it away?" She asked, her curiosity becoming more apparent.

"Luna, please give it back to me." He said trying one more time to try to grab it out of her magical grasp. "You know for a Princess, you don't seem to have respect for other's property."

"Well, forgive me but I do dream walk so invading one's personal life is part of my job." She said with an evil little grin. "Now, let's see what could be in here that you don't want me to see."

"Luna, please don't, I'm begging you! I'll do just about anything if you don't see what's inside!" He begged in a panicked tone, that accursed book for some reason always made him extremely embarrassed.

"Oh, anything huh?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, I did say just about." He replied nervously.

"Then I want to see what's inside this box." She smirked and opened the box peeking inside. "Oh my, so you are interested in mares after all if you have a copy of this."

"Uh, yeah um, most people where I come from are mostly into the opposite sex." He answered dying a little inside as he knew the torture that would come of this. "But why did you think I wasn't into girls?"

"Well, it's not easy to read you at times so I didn't know what your preference was." She replied looking at him with an evil smirk. "So, who gave you this then? I doubt you had the courage, by the way, you're acting, to buy it on your own."

"I-it was Pinkie, but that's beside the point right now. What I'm more concerned about is how you're going to torture me about this." He said.

"Why, I take offense in that! Why would you assume that I would use this against you, especially since it doesn't look like you read it? That and you have to know I was only kidding about not knowing your preference." She said giving a chuckle at his confused expression. "As I said, I dream walk and that also means I've been in your dreams as well. Though more so the past week, because you seem to be having far more nightmare's than normal."

"Oh, so you've been in my dreams? Wait, you've been in my dreams?!" The realization hit him.

"Of course, as I just said it is actually one of my duties as Princess of the Night." She explained. "And like I said, you have been having far more nightmare's then normal for you. That's why I wanted to get you out and about today, I was hoping that it will make it to where you won't have anymore."

"And I appreciate that, but what you need to understand is that humans are used to having nightmares. Though I'm not a psychologist I believe that having a nightmare every now and again is supposed to be healthy. That and I am grown, so I do know how to deal with nightmares, but you have to promise not to say a word about what goes on in my head when I'm asleep okay?" He asked.

"Please, I may go into dreams but I never reveal what they are about. And I agree that a nightmare every once in a while is healthy for the mind, but as many nightmares that you have makes me concerned." She said and as he looked in her eyes he could see her concern.

"Listen, I may not remember my own life but I do remember a lot about my world. It's perfectly normal for a human who had a bit of a rough time in their life to have many nightmares, but it's up to that person what to do with it. Not that I don't appreciate you jumping in and changing them, but I think it would be better if I did have some nightmares." He said kneeling down a little to reach eye level with her current form. "I really do appreciate you helping me through all of this, but my dreams I feel like I should deal with them and not you. Now, I know it's your job but you've already helped me enough. Let me handle any of my nightmares myself no matter how bad okay?"

"B-but, it wouldn't feel right to just sit back and watch you toss and turn like that." She replied.

"As creepy as that sounds knowing that you watch me sleep, I think I can handle it." He said giving her a small smile.

"I-I guess you are right, that does sound a little creepy, and alright if you think you can handle it. But if the nightmares get to become too much for you, then just say something okay?" She asked.

"Fair enough, and thank you for all you've done so far." He said pulling her in for a hug which caught her off by surprise.

"Y-you're welcome." She said returning his hug, and she was the one who broke the hug and looked at him. "Now, how about you go take that shower and get ready. We wouldn't want to keep that other mare waiting if we are to meet at five now would we?" She asked.

"You do know it's only like ten now right?" He asked giving a slight chuckle.

"Yes, but it'll take a few hours for me to get ready." She answered. "And I would need a lot of that time in the main bathroom."

"Alright, I get what you're saying. So better hurry up then." He said standing back up wincing a little because of slight pain.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, just stayed in that position a little too long. I'll be out in about ten minutes." He said heading towards the bathroom, and once he was gone she let out a sigh of relief.

"He actually hugged me! He actually hugged me!" She said in excitement, but after she calmed down she took on a look of concern and seriousness. "But despite going into a slight depression, he still seems to try to be as good-hearted as he can be. I wish he would let me help with his nightmares, it's a wonder he is as good of a person as he is with the kind of nightmares he does have though, and no pony deserves to suffer through that."

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Friendly Dinner

He let out a sigh of relief after taking his shower, he really hadn't taken one since about four days before and it felt great to be cleaned again. As he finished drying himself off he wrapped his towel around his waist, mostly out of habit, and went to his room. Though it did seem to be getting a little warmer, it was still late winter and he still needed to wear clothes, and since he was going out to dinner with two of his friends he decided to get a little more dressed up than normal.

"Hmm, can't believe Rarity actually made these. They fit so perfectly, but which ones should I wear tonight?" He asked himself searching through his clothes. "No, not that one, after all this is just a dinner for me and my friends. Don't want to go to fancy for just hanging out."

As he continued his search, he thought he heard someone behind him but he quickly dismissed it as Luna cleaning outside his room. But thinking about Luna made him wonder why it would take her so long to get ready if they were just going out for dinner for friends, especially when ponies didn't normally wear clothes.

But as he thought about it, at least it gave him time to look for a place to eat. Though he doubted he could actually get into some of the bigger restaurants considering what day it was, and from what Rainbow was complaining about they would be out of reservations. At the same time, he didn't really want to go to a fancy restaurant, maybe just a small cafe or something just to get out of the house.

So, after deciding what to wear for the dinner he threw on some regular clothes that Rarity made, which the reason why is because he knew he would be back with enough time to get ready. Though he had to be careful with his shirt, not because it was made out of easy to break material, but for some reason, part of his back seemed to be a little sensitive, and sometimes he would get some pain in his shoulders. He just figured that it was just him working with hundred pound vats full of chocolate, and then there was the fight.

"Hey, uh, Star I'll be back in a little bit!" He called out.

"Oh, and where are you going?" She asked coming out of the kitchen.

"To tell you the truth, I figured I jump off a cliff." He smiled teasingly.

"Haha, that's so funny I forgot to laugh." She said rolling her eyes.

"You gave a fake laugh, so that's good enough for me. But seriously, I'm going to go see what I can find for us tonight." He said making her roll her eyes again a little.

"Alright, well I'm about done with the cleaning. So I'll be getting ready soon." She said.

"Okay, see you later then." He said making his way to the door.

"Oh, and Brandon?" He turned his head to look at her. "Be safe, and if you need any help just call out in your mind and I will come."

"Sure, and we'll talk about that telepathic spell that you seemed to have cast later." He said giving her a smile before getting to the door and leaving.

He was now headed towards the town thinking about all the places he could remember that might not be that busy. Sugarcube Corner wouldn't work, and he knew that most of the more fancy restaurants would be booked up till a year from now, and some of the smaller ones might be closed because the owners are out having dates themselves. But thinking about all of the places he could go, he didn't realize that he was already in the shopping part of town only a block away from where the restaurants are.

"Hey, Brandon do you want to buy some sweets for your sweets?" A vendor called, and he only shook his head.

"No, but do you know which restaurants still have any openings?" He asked after walking over and thinking about it.

"Hmm, well normally they all are pretty booked so getting in at last minute is nearly impossible." The vendor replied.

"I know, but I'm not talking about one of the bigger ones. More like one that would still be open, and doesn't take reservations?" He asked.

"Well, there's always Hairies Buffet. He's always open it seems, but his restaurant isn't very romantic. Now if you want a good romantic place that will accept walk in's this time of the year, then try Little Roses." The vendor replied.

"Well, I'm not really looking for anything romantic. I'm just trying to find a place to hang out with some of my friends, so any other places like that buffet?" He asked already knowing where the stallion was going.

"Oh, well why didn't you just say that? There's Sugarcube Corner, of course, then there's some bar's that are open, then if you just don't want to sit around and drink, there's a place owned by this DJ and she turned it into a dance club. But if you're into just having a nice dinner, then I suggest you try Red Hop. They may not be too classy, but that may be what you want. That restaurant lets in anypony who walks in, and from what I've been told they have great food, and live music." The vendor answered.

"Okay, thank you." He said giving the vendor a smile before walking off, now having an idea of where they were going.

Though as he continued to walk through the streets he couldn't help but now feel like someone was watching him, and following him. He knew he couldn't pick up speed because of his crutches but he did his best to try to lose whoever was following him. But to no avail as whoever was behind him kept getting closer and closer, until she landed right in front of him making him jump.

"Oh, I'm sooo sorry Brandon I didn't mean to scare you. I just saw you talking to that vendor, and I wanted to see what you were doing." Derpy said, giving him a look that did tell him she was sorry.

"Ah, it's fine I'm used to Pinkie doing that to me. As for what I was doing, well I was asking him about any places that we might be able to go without the hassle of trying to get a reservation." He answered.

"So, do you know where we're going tonight then?" She asked, her eyes lighting up a little.

"Yeah, I was thinking about that Red Hop place." He replied, and her eyes lit up even more.

"Oooo, that place is so great! We're still meeting at five right?" She asked in an excited tone.

"Of course." He answered.

"Then I need to go get ready, I only have an hour and a half." She said looking at the clock tower and then jumping up into the air and taking off.

"Huh, guess I should get back. Why does it seem time fly's by now?" He muttered to himself.

Not long after he finally managed to get home, with only about forty-five minutes to spare. Though for him that was still plenty of time, and as he walked through his house he heard Luna in the main bathroom. So he went straight to his room to get ready himself, which only took about twenty minutes. After he got ready though, he decided to wait for Luna in the living room.

But he quickly got bored and decided that a glass of water wouldn't hurt, so once again looking at the clock that hung on the opposite wall he went to the kitchen. He quickly grabbed the nearest glass and went over to the sink. After filling up the cup and gulping it down he set the cup down, and started back to the living room, though he wasn't really prepared for what he saw.

"Oh, there you are Brandon," Luna said giving him a smile before it turned into a frown. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Um, uh, y-you look..." He stammered a little causing her to blush.

"W-well, thank you. I didn't know where we were going, so I decided to put on something nice. Though, that's mostly because I saw you looking through your clothes and that's what made me want to put this on." She said giving him a smile. "And you look nice to Brandon, but do you really like what I put on?"

"Yeah, you look great." He said giving her a big smile, though his face was completely red from his momentarily stammer.

"Thanks, oh um, look at the time. We should get going if we want to meet that friend of your's." She said looking at the clock.

"Okay, then let's go." He said.

As they walked he kept glancing at her in that dress she wore. He could tell it was from Rarity judging by the gems along the trim, but it was still a surprise to him. But once again him losing himself in thought made everything go by quicker, and they were about to where he told Derpy to meet them.

"So, Brandon, I've heard about this mare before. But I haven't really had the time to meet her, so anything you can tell me about her?" She asked breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, um, well she's a mailmare for starters." She gave a nod to that. "She's very sweet, in a matter of fact she was the one who actually gave me the courage and hope to talk to my friends after what happened."

"Oh, so far she does seem interesting." She said.

"Yeah, but uh, let's see here." He concentrated for a moment. "I believe she has a little filly of her own, goes by the name Dinky I believe."

"You' don't know?" She asked.

"Well, I really haven't hung around Derpy before. So I don't know everything about her, I mean we just recently got a bit closer as friends. Oh, that reminds me. She's a bit wild-eye if you know what that means." He said looking at her.

"Yeah, I know what it means. Poor thing, but hey do you at least know if she's in a relationship?" She asked.

"Um, well I don't think so. I think her last relationship ended with her husband just up and left, at least that's from what I heard from the other's around town." He answered.

"So she was married, and the scum bag just left his wife and daughter alone?" She asked sounding a bit angry.

"Not alone, from what I heard a lot of her friends were there to support her." He said.

"Well, that's good to know at least. Though back in my day, if a stallion left their family without probable cause, they would be treated like the scum of the earth." She spat out.

They walked in silence for a little while, they were still a few blocks away from where they were supposed to meet Derpy. According to the clock tower, they had a good five minutes till five, but the silence killed him a little. So as they made their way he told her where they were going to eat, and she seemed pretty excited.

"So, it looks like we're here. Now, where's Der..." He trailed off again as he spotted the grey mare in a dress that once again made him forget to speak.

"Oh, hey there you are! You must be Star, I'm Derpy nice to meet you!" Derpy said offering a hoof, which Star accepted gladly. "What's wrong with him?"

"He had the same reaction when he saw me, I think he's not used to seeing how beautiful mares can be in a dress," Star said, making both mares giggle.

"Hey, wait a minute. You may be right about me not seeing how good you all look in dresses, but that's not the reason why I couldn't speak." He said breaking out of the state he was in.

"Oh, and then why don't you tell us why when you saw both me and Derpy in our dresses you were stunned silent?" Star asked.

"Because it just caught me off guard." He defended.

"So, it's not because you have a crush on either of us?" Star asked.

"What is it with every one of you thinking I have a crush or something on somepony?" He asked mostly to himself.

"I think I know, it's because you get embarrassed easily," Derpy replied.

"Yes, at least that's what Twilight and your friends have told me so far. But are you sure you don't have a crush on somepony?" Star asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He answered.

"Then why don't you look us in the eyes when you say it?" Star asked, both mares smirking.

"I don't have a crush on anypony right now." He replied looking between both mares. "Now, I think before this gets to become even more torture we should head to Red Hop."

As he said that he started to walk, and as he walked past the two mares and looked at them in their eyes again he could have sworn he saw the disappointment in their eyes. But he shrugged it off as them not being able to torture him about it right then. They soon made it to the restaurant and went inside.

"Oh, hello how may I help you?" A mare asked at the front desk.

"Yes, do you have a table for three open tonight?" He asked hoping they did.

"Hmm, well we're pretty full right now. But I think we have a table open for you and your dates." The mare said with a smile, looking between the three of them.

"They aren't my dates, they're just friends. We just decided to hang out together tonight." He said narrowing his eyes a bit.

"Mmhmm, whatever you say, sir. Come with me please!" The mare said grabbing three menus and putting them on her back. "Right this way."

"I have a funny feeling that's not the only one who will think that." He muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Derpy asked.

"Oh, uh, just that I hope that the food here is good." He answered.

"Well, take it from me it is," Derpy said giving him a big smile.

As the mare lead them to their table, he could see that she wasn't lying about being full as they walked by table after table of couples. Though he could feel some stares from some as they walked by, though he managed to hide his discomfort. But as they passed each table he could also hear some music being played, and when he looked around he saw four ponies playing some classical music, at least from what he could tell.

"Mmm, I love this song. That ensemble plays at the Gala every year you know?" Star said smiling.

"Oh, so you've been to the Gala a lot?" Derpy asked.

"No, I've only been there once. Though from what I've been told, that's who plays the music every year." Star answered truthfully.

"Okay, here we are!" The mare that was leading them said. "Now, a waiter will be with you in just a few moments. Please enjoy the music while you wait, and have a good night."

He glared at the mare for a moment because as she said that she gave him a wink, a wink in which he knew meant. But he let it go and sat down with his friends. They started by making small talk while waiting, though mostly about what they might want for an appetizer.

"Hello, I'm your waitress for tonight." A perky voice suddenly said. "Oh, hey Brandon, Star, Derpy what are you three doing here? Are you three on a date?" As he turned around at first his face turned bright red before the color in his face completely drained.

"P-Pinkie, y-you work here?" He asked shocked.

"Well, not normally but Silver Platter was sick so I decided to try out being a waitress for a night! So, are you three on a dater or what? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie kept getting closer and closer with every word.

"No, we're just having dinner together with friends," Star answered, saving him from having to be the one to explain.

"What, and you didn't invite me or any of the other girls?" Pinkie asked giving him a bit of the stink eye.

"Um, last I checked all of you were busy for today. That and apparently you're working anyways." He replied gulping a little.

"Oh, okie dokie lokie then. What can I start you all with then?" Pinkie asked.

"Hmm, I think I want a glass of Red Wine," Star answered.

"I'll have a glass of White Wing thank you," Derpy said.

"I think I'll just have a glass of water, and I think we all agreed on the Fruit Salad for the appetizer." He said.

"Okay, got it. I'll bring it out to you right away!" Pinkie said before suddenly disappearing.

"For some reason, I think she actually followed us here." He muttered under his breath.

"So, Derpy, from what I hear you are a mother?" Star asked.

"Yeah, I am. I have a little filly of my own named Dinky, she's ten years old this year." Derpy answered.

"Oh, so she's about the age to get her cutie mark then. So, has she managed to get it yet?" Star asked.

"No, but she tries. She even tried to do some stuff with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but that didn't work out. Last time she did, she ended up being covered in tree sap for an entire month." Derpy replied.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Star asked.

"Yeah, they're these three little filly's who try to find their cutie marks by doing different stuff. Most of the time it either ends up with them covered in something, accidentally blowing something up, or one of them getting hurt a little. Though, wonder what they have planned for today?" He asked after explaining.

"Hmm, sounds interesting. So, tell me Derpy, Brandon told me that you were the one that gave him the talk that gave him what he needed to confront his fear." Star said.

"Oh, um, yeah I guess that was me." Derpy gave a nervous chuckle and looked down at the table with a slight blush.

"Don't be embarrass Derpy, if it wasn't for you I don't either one of us would be sitting here with him," Star said giving Derpy a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," Derpy replied looking up at him giving him a smile.

"Oh, that reminds me. You know this doesn't count as your favor." He said.

"Here you all go, Red Wine for Star, White Wing for Derpy, and for Brandon a glass of water. Then here's the Fruit salad you ordered." Pinkie said as she passed out the drinks and placed the salad in the middle of the table. "Now, are you all ready to order?"

"Um, I think we need a few more moments Pinkie," Star replied.

"Okie dokie lokie, I'll be back to get your order!" Pinkie said and once again disappeared.

"So, what do you me this doesn't count as my favor?" Derpy asked.

"Well, because if I would have had dinner with my friends I would have invited you anyways. So me treating you two to dinner right now doesn't count as your favor, so take a little more time to think of one okay?" He asked giving her a smile.

"What is this favor you two are talking about?" Star asked.

"Oh, well you see a-after I talked to him he told me that he felt like he owed me, and wanted to do me a favor," Derpy answered.

"And, well she came over to turn that favor in. As it turns out she wanted to go to dinner with me, so I invited her along with us. Though I would have anyways like I said, and I wouldn't have counted it as me repaying a favor because of that." He replied. "You know, I would have gone to dinner with any of my friends."

After he said that Star gave her a look that he didn't notice, as he was picking the fruit he wanted. Though they continued their talk and ordered when Pinkie came back, but shortly after they ordered they heard some yelling from the kitchen. Then Pinkie ran out and through the front doors in a blur, they just shrugged it as Pinkie being caught.

"She's going to bug me about this for days." He mumbled.

"You know we can't hear you if you keep talking to yourself like that," Derpy said giggling a little.

"Yes, I think you need to speak up if you have something to say," Star said.

"It's nothing, here comes our food." He said noticing their new waiter.

"Here you go, and we are terribly sorry for any trouble Miss. Pie brought you. To make it up, we'll give you free desserts and ten percent off your total bill, is that okay?" Their waiter asked.

"Well, she really wasn't that much trouble. But thank you for your generosity." He said giving the waiter a smile.

"Very well, if there's anything else you need just raise your..." The waiter looked at him and raised his eyebrow. "Uh, paw and I'll be here as soon as I can."

"Thank you again." He said, and the waiter took a bow and left.

"Hmm, free dessert." Both Star and Derpy said at the same time, making him chuckle a little. "Well, let's get eating then we'll order dessert to go, does that sound like a deal?"

"That sounds fine to me, how about you Derpy?" Star asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Derpy replied, though there seemed to be something in her voice.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Huh, oh it's nothing really. I was just having fun, and after we finish and order our dessert it'll have to end." Derpy said.

"That's it? Say, where's Dinky at?" He asked.

"Oh, she's at a sleepover tonight, why?" Derpy asked.

"Well, you're just a little bit tipsy and I think my house is a bit closer to here. So why don't you come over and stay the night, don't want one of my friends to get hurt, and is that okay with you Star?" He asked.

"Of course it's okay, you seem like a very nice mare to me," Star answered.

"So it's settled if you want you can stay the night over at my house." He said.

"I-I uh, this is just so sudden. I mean I would love to spend the night at your house, especially if you're okay with it." Derpy started to ramble, blushing like mad.

"Yeah, I insist after all." He replied, and Derpy nodded her head and started to eat, and soon he paid the bill and they all left.

"This place is great Bon Bon, but are you sure you don't need any help tomorrow? I mean for the past week you've been having me help out more often than usual." Lyra asked.

"No, go ahead and take the day off and practice your music." Bon Bon replied.

"Alright, but I really wish I could go see how Brandon was doing." Lyra let out a sigh.

"Well, according to his friends he's still recovering. I'm sure he'll be fine, and back at work in no time though." Bon Bon said wrapping a comforting hoof around Lyra's.

"If you say so, but still I don't feel right not visiting him. He must think I'm afraid of him by now." Lyra said.

"Trust me, if he thinks you are afraid of him for defending himself from those stallions, then that means he doesn't actually know you." Bon Bon said.

After that, they smiled at each other and continued to eat their dinner, but Lyra still had a hard time concentrating on anything as she felt guilty for not seeing how he was doing herself. After all, she was his most trusted friend and what kind of friend would she be if she wasn't there for him? But as she was eating and thinking about this, she noticed somepony leaving, and as she looked she could have sworn one was standing on two legs with crutches.

"Was that Brandon?" Lyra asked out loud.

"Hmm, what that couldn't be dear. He's still in the hospital from the injuries he received, after all, no pony can recover from internal bleeding overnight even with magic." Bon Bon said.

"Yeah, guess so. I mean they would probably want to keep him under observation or something to make sure he's alright if he got internal bleeding. But I'm sure that was him." Lyra said.

"It could have been a Minotaur, even if they are rare to see here in this part of Equestria." Bon Bon said.

"Could have been," Lyra said, though she now wanted to check up on him now more than ever.

Finding The Truth

He was trailing behind Star and Derpy, not because of his leg but because his facade had started to fall apart. Though for the most part, he was actually happy to be out of the house and hanging out with some friends, he had to put up an act to hide that he was still depressed. Some might think he was pathetic for still being depressed for losing a friend, but once you've grown close enough to them then losing them hurts.

"Hey Brandon, what's wrong?" The question snapped him back, and he looked up to see both mares looking at him with concern.

"It's nothing, really." He lied a little, trying to put a smile back on.

"Are you sure, because you seem to be distant right now," Star said.

"Trust me, I'm fine I was just thinking." He said.

"Um, okay. So Derpy, you were saying something about your normal route?" Star asked turning her full attention to the grey mare, who was still looking at him with a little concern. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. If not still upset about Lyra." She said in Derpy's ear to where he couldn't hear.

"If you say so, but yeah I normally go...." Derpy started to say, and once again he tuned them out and let his thoughts run around freely.

They kept walking around and talking about little things about themselves, and it didn't take long before they had reached his house. Once the door was unlocked and the three of them were in, they all sat around the nice little fireplace in silence. It wasn't long before the two mares decided to move into Star's room.

"Call if you two need anything." He said as the two walked past him. "I'll be up for a little while."

"And why are you staying up so late?" Star asked.

"I just want to do some writing for my book, that's all." He gave her a smile.

"Alright, well do you need anything Derpy?" Star asked.

"Oh, um, no I really don't want to be a bother," Derpy replied.

"Hey, you are my house guest for tonight. The least I could do is offer you something to drink, or a little snack." He said grabbing his crutches and standing up.

"Um, can I get it myself?" Derpy asked.

"Sure, if you want. The kitchen is to your left, and you can have anything you want." He said, and he received a nod as she made her way to the kitchen.

"You know she is a pretty mare, and very nice," Star said gaining his attention.

"Yeah, she is nice but then so are the rest of my friends." He muttered.

"Hmm, true but what about her being pretty?" Star asked.

"Look, not to offend anyone here but I don't look at anypony like that. Not that I don't want to, it's hard for me." He said, his cheeks gaining a touch of red.

"Why is it hard for you to look at anypony like that?" Star pressed.

"That's honestly none of your business." He said giving her a slight glare.

"Point taken, but you really need to open up and let others help you though," Star said.

"Like I said earlier Lu...Star, I'm fine. There really is nothing wrong, I promise. Now is that where you wanted this to go, or are you going to keep asking me about my love life?" He asked.

"No, but you should open your heart to that as well or risk letting the darkness inside consume you because you were too stupid to talk about them." At that, he heard her deep remorse.

"Hey, it's fine Star really. If I don't think I can handle it, I'll go to one of you." He said putting a comforting hand on her back.

"Oh, um, am I interrupting something?" They both looked to see Derpy staring at them, and both gave a little laugh.

"Nah, we were just having a moment together after she was teasing me about how good you looked tonight." The last few words left his mouth before he processed them, and his face was on fire at that very moment.

"Oh, so you did think she looked pretty tonight then?" Star asked.

"Yeah, well so did you. But then who am I to deny two mares complements that they deserve?" He asked, and the room seemed to get warmer by the minute.

"Well, um, th-thanks for t-the compliment then. You looked handsome tonight as well." Derpy replied, though something he noticed was both mares were blushing, though not as bad as he was, he could still tell.

"Yes, thank you and I do have to agree that you did look dashing," Star said.

"So, um what did you get to drink?" He asked Derpy.

"Oh, well I got a bottle of Rainbow Juice. I hope you don't mind." Derpy said giving him a nervous look.

"No, it's fine I told you to get whatever you wanted. Though I am surprised that you still wanted to drink." He said raising an eyebrow.

"Um well, I just thought we all three could talk still while having a drink together. You know, just the three of us having our own little party." Derpy said giving both of them a smile.

"Sure, that sounds great," Star said, and she looked at him.

"Fine, I guess I could use a little relaxation. But, try not to say party another time or else." He said.

"Or else what, the boogiemare will come to get us?" Derpy asked, and the sarcasm made him give another chuckle.

"No, but Pinkie Pie will." He warned.

"Oh, really? So If I say that one word again, she'll just pop right up?" It was Star who asked.

"That seems to be how it works, kind of reminds me of an urban legend really." He said.

"Hmm, maybe I should say it then," Star said and the smirk she wore made his eyes go wide.

"Star, please whatever you do don't say that word one last time!" He begged a little.

"Oh, and why shouldn't she say par..." Derpy started to say.

"Please, if she pops in here while you're here then I'll never hear the end of it!" He was still standing, but the pleading of his voice was very evident.

"Fine, I won't say it," Derpy said.

"Thank you..." He trailed off when he saw a little evil smirk on Star's face.

"Alright then, I guess we should get this party started," Star said walking back to the couch, and at first it was silent until they heard a knock on the door.

"Wonder who that could be?" Derpy asked looking at the clock that read ten thirty.

"I'll get it, though you might want to stand back Derpy." He warned, seeing where she was standing he knew she wouldn't escape what was about to come.

"Um, alright I'll be over here then," Derpy said going to sit down, and he went to the door and opened it while standing behind it as a blast of confetti and streamers came through.

"Hey Pinkie, haven't seen you since dinner." He said coming from out behind the door. "What brings ya by?"

"Weelll, my mane went wild and that means that somepony mentioned that there was a party three times. So, I went all over town trying to look for the party and then I saw that your lights were on and knew that it was you who was having a party!" Pinkie explained.

"Uh-huh, well you can come in for a little bit. But all we were gonna do was have a little drink and talk." He said, trying to make it sound as boring as possible.

"Ah, that doesn't sound to much fun. But if that's all you three are gonna do, then here at least let me give you a bottle of my special drink." Pinkie said, pulling a bottle out of nowhere, and the label read 'Pinkie Sense Special'.

"Um, what's in it?" He asked.

"Well, if I told you then it wouldn't be special or a secret now would it?" Pinkie asked giggling and placing the bottle on a table by the door. "Anyways, I got to go. Have fuunn you three!" She said giving him a wink before bouncing off.

"Told you she would show up, but how did this table get here?" He asked looking at the table that had the bottle of alcohol on it.

"That would be my doing, I didn't know where to place it so I thought it would look good right there," Star replied, still a little shocked that the pink party mare really had shown up. "But how did she know there was three of us?"

"Oh, that's apart of her being able to detect ponies saying parties three times I think. Also, she could very well a see all three of us from the door." He answered.

"Um, I'm wondering what she meant by the way she said for us three to have fun though?" Derpy asked, making him blush.

"That's something we don't need to worry about, let's just start drinking and forget about that part." He suggested.

"That sounds good." Both mares said at the same time, and so for the next few hours, they drank both the bottle of Rainbow Juice and the bottle that Pinkie gave them.

It was mid-morning when she woke up, and she still felt a little tired like always. She could smell something very delicious cooking, besides the normal chocolate or other candy that Bon Bon normally cooked. As she walked down the stairs, she knew it was scrambled eggs and some french toast.

"Hmm, hey whatcha doing? You never cook breakfast this late in the morning." She asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Well, I knew you would be awake right about this time and wanted to treat my marefriend to a nice breakfast when she woke up, and before she started practicing her music." Bon Bon replied, turning her head to give her a smile.

"After you paid for dinner last night? I should be the one who should be making you breakfast." She said.

"Then I guess you don't want some of my eggs or toast?" Bon Bon asked once again turning around, only this time supporting a pout.

"Bons, you know that's not what I mean." She said rolling her eyes. "But thanks, and after breakfast, I think I'll go practice at the park or something."

"Oh, you aren't going to practice here?" Bon Bon asked.

"Afraid not, I can't really concentrate on practicing when it seems a little busy." She replied.

"But you've done it before." Bon Bon pointed out. "And I always enjoy working while listening to your music."

"I know, but I think I just want to be in a more open place today, and maybe when I come home I'll stop by a certain store that you always like to pick up a gift." She said giving her marefriend a big hug, making her squeak in surprise.

"If you want..." Bon Bon said with a blush, giving in to the hug.

"Thanks, so how them eggs coming along?" She asked breaking the hug.

"They'll be done in a minute." Bon Bon said.

"Okay, call me when they're done okay my little sweet." She said kissing Bon Bon on the cheek before leaving the kitchen.

After a few minutes of waiting, Bon Bon finally called her in to get her breakfast. Though she still wondered why Bon Bon had made her breakfast in the first place so late in the morning, and have the store closed for lunch. For as long as she knew her, Bon Bon had never once done this even for her.

"So, have you found a restaurant that would hire you yet?" Bon Bon asked.

"Huh, oh yeah I did. As it turns out, that one restaurant like two blocks away from Sugarcube Corner was looking for live music. They were offering a permanent position, and in order to get it you have to perform once and if both the owner and audience likes it, then you got it." She answered after swallowing a piece of toast.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get it, and it's called Little Roses dear." Bon Bon said, giving her a small smile. "All done?"

"Yeah, I'll wash the dishes before I leave." She said standing up.

"Oh, no you go and practice. After all, you always did want a more permanent position here in town." Bon Bon said, grabbing the plate out of her magic grasp.

"But Bon Bon, you've done enough! I think I should wash them." She said.

"There's no but's about this, you are going to practice now." Bon Bon glared at her, making her shrink back a little.

"Fine, but I'm making you dinner tonight whether you want me to or not." She said.

"And that's fine with me, did I ever tell you that you were cute when you're angry?" Bon Bon said, giving her a peck on the nose.

"Yeah, and you're scary when you're angry." She muttered.

"Hmm, what was that?" Bon Bon asked as she walked towards the kitchen door.

"Oh, nothing just saying love you and see ya later." She said, taking her lyre case with her.

"Okay, love you too and have fun." Bon Bon said though she knew Lyra was already gone, and she had a bad feeling that maybe she should have had her help her today.

As she walked around she decided to actually do a little practicing, after all, Bon Bon did have a point that she did want a more permanent position in town that wasn't the sweet shop. Once she found a nice shady spot near the town's new fountain, she began tuning her instrument. After that, she began playing a new song she had been working on, and all the while she was thinking about what she saw last night.

She knew that it was Brandon, no Minotaur would be that skinny nor would they not have horns either. Even if they were fake horns, she knew that at least. But if it was him, then why would Bon Bon lie to her? Why wouldn't he come in for work like he normally did, even if he did have a broken ankle? Did he not want her as a friend anymore?

A sudden roar of applause snapped her out of thought, and taking a look around she noticed that she had drawn in quite the crowd. After getting praises, and doing another song as an encore she started her way to the hospital, much to the crowds' disappointment. Though the good thing is, she now had some bits to spend so she might actually go to the shop that Bon Bon likes so much to pick up some candles.

As she made her way to the hospital, she decided to take a short cut out of excitement of finally being able to see her best friend after a long week. Before she knew it though she was out of breath, and she was only a few feet away from the main door to the hospital. She walked in and was instantly greeted by the nurse at the front desk.

"Oh, hello dear how can I help you?" The nurse asked.

"Yes, I was wondering about a patient here. Whether they had been released or not?" She asked.

"Okay, well what's the patient's name?" The nurse asked.

"Brandon Jenkins," she said.

"Well, let me check." The nurse said going into a back room, and shortly after came back out. "I'm sorry, but it seems that I don't have access to his file."

"Wait, what do you mean you don't have access?" She asked, surprised.

"Well, it seems that the only ponies that are allowed to view his file is his doctor, or if any nurses who are working with the doctor at the time he was being treated." The nurse explained.

"But that makes no sense." She said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Yes, I know but it seems that it was ordered by the princesses so there's nothing I can do about it." The nurse said, giving her a sympathetic look. "If you want, I could see if one of the other staff knows if he's been released or not?"

"Yeah, go ahead and thanks." She replied.

"No problem, I'll be back in a few minutes." The nurse said, then took off and started to ask around.

"I just hope it won't be too long." She said, letting out another frustrated sigh.

"Um, h-hello?" She turned to the young sounding voice to see a filly with only one wing.

"Oh, hello there." She replied giving the shy filly a friendly smile.

"Um, I-I overheard you say that you were looking for somepony?" The filly asked.

"Yes, I'm hoping to find out if he's still here in the hospital. You wouldn't happen to know would you?" She asked.

"Well, um, this Brandon is he not a pony?" The filly asked. "And walks on two legs?"

"Yes, that would be him." She said, continuing giving the filly a friendly smile. "So, do you know him?"

"Uh, I only met him once and he found my doll for me." The filly said, showing her the doll.

"Well, that certainly was nice of him." She said, giving a little chuckle.

"Yeah, he was really nice to me. Why are you looking for him? Are you his marefriend?" The filly asked.

"No, afraid not. I'm just a friend of his, but do you know where he's at?" She asked, slightly blushing.

"Oh, he was released a week ago. That's when he found my doll." The filly answered.

"Really, well thank you for the help. By the way, my name is Lyra Heartstrings. What's your's?" She asked.

"My name is Grace Falls, it's nice to meet you!" Grace said, giving her the cutest little smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you as well. But hey I got to go check up on my friend, do you think you can tell the nurse that was here that you told me what I needed and I appreciate her help?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah I can do that. See you around!" Grace said zipping past her, going in the direction the nurse went, and she left the hospital with a little anger in her eyes.

"He's been released for a week now? How could he not tell me, and why would she lie to me?" She huffed, and she was going to find out the truth no matter what it took.

Author's Note

Well, hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile,smile,smile!

Finding The Truth (Part II)

He let out a long groan as he was awakened by a knocking at his door, though it wasn't due to a headache. Like normal, his body was sore from a night of drinking. Though he guessed he should consider himself lucky since he knew how painful it could be to wake up with the other symptoms, as he had seen Twilight afterward.

"Brandon, are awake?" He heard Luna, or Star as she's currently known called.

"Yeah, come in." He replied as he started to move and stretch his sore muscles.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked as she came in.

"Sore, like I always do after drinking. But I'm guessing you're not really here to hear about that." He said.

"Yes, well Derpy is suffering from a very bad headache and I was hoping you could go out and fetch some medicine?" She asked, giving him a look that told him she also needed it.

"Well, like I have much choice in this right?" He asked, giving her a slightly depressed look.

"Not really, I honestly believe that if you got out of the house more you start to feel better. Like how you were last night." She said, giving him a slight smile.

"I don't really see how it would help." He mumbled.

"Fresh air does one good, and after last night I think you need more fresh air. You did seem to be in a better mood then you had been in the past week." She said.

"If it get's you off my back for a little bit about doing more stuff, then fine." He said, getting up after grabbing his crutches and wincing a little.

"What's wrong?" She asked, after noticing the wince of pain.

"It's nothing, really. Just my back is a little sorer then I figured, I'll be back." He answered starting to walk pass.

"Oh, and Brandon?" He stopped and turned his head to look at her, and she had a concerned look. "I know how hard it is to lose someone so close to you, especially when they see you as a monster. If you do decide to open up about it, which I suggest you do unless be consumed by dark emotions, I will be here with an open ear. And I know Derpy will be to." She said, and he just nodded.

As he started to walk towards the front door, he saw Derpy in the guess bedroom, and he tried to be as quiet as possible. He knew that she would have to go to work at three today, and she was put on sorting the mail. From what he remembered from last night, she told them that they use a loud machine to help.

When he got to the living room, he looked at the clock and it said it was five past ten in the morning. He could only let out a sigh as he walked out, knowing that most of his friends were probably out and about today. His only hope to get back soon if he managed to keep the conversations short.

"What am I so worried about anyways, I mean what else could go wrong?" He asked himself as he walked outside.

She was making her way to his house, not showing any signs of calming down since she found out he was released only a day after her and Bon Bon had brought him in. Though she still wanted to know why he didn't tell her, or why Bon Bon had lied and said he was still in the hospital, she wanted to give him a piece of her mind. For she thought they were friends, good friends, close friends in fact.

As Brandon's house came into view she slowed down her pace a little, and she started to take deep breaths to make herself look calmer. After all, she didn't want him to automatically think she was there to hurt him or anything. She knew a few things about him that would, in fact, hurt him, and she didn't want him to think she would actually use any of them.

When she finally got to his front door, she again took another breath and started to think about why he didn't tell her he was up and about. She knew he was working on a book with Twilight, but she knew he wouldn't let that interfere with his work at the Sweet Shop or their friendship for that matter. But that was the one she hoped was true, as she only thought of one other explanation, and not wanting to think about it she knocked on the door.

"Coming!" She heard someone call, and it sounded feminine too. "Hello, what can I do for you?" A tall unicorn opened the door, and she had a black coat with a purple mane and her cutie mark was one of a shooting star.

"Um, yes who are you?" She asked, giving the mare a strange look.

"My name is Star, and may I ask what your name is and what you want?" The dark unicorn asked in a tone that reminded her of Canterlot.

"I'm Lyra, and I'm here to see Brandon." She answered with a small smile, but that quickly faded as the look on the other mare's face went from one of friendly to one of scowl. "Is there something wrong? I mean I haven't seen Brandon in a week, and you see we're pretty close as friends. I just want to know...."

"You just want to know if he has suffered for what you did to him?" Star asked her tone one of anger.

"W-what I did to him? I-I don't know...." She tried to say but started to shrink away from the other mare's scowl.

"You don't know? What you don't know is how much he has suffered because of what you did, I have been here since last week nursing both his physical and emotional wounds. After putting this much time in it, I finally got him to start leaving his bedroom again and he was finally starting to return to normal. But now you're here to put him back into his depression?" Star asked, her voice raising tremendously.

"I-I honestly d-don't know what you're talking about!" She tried, but that only seemed to anger the other mare more.

"Like I would believe such a lie, your marefriend has more courage then you do. For she admitted to Brandon, that you were afraid of him, that you never wanted to see him again because of how you view him as a monster! He took that harshly, and fell into a depression that I and his other friends have been trying to cure him of." Star yelled, tears starting to form. "And it pains me to see him in such a state, even if we only ever write each other before."

"I-I don't see h-him as a monster though." She said, her own tears started to form.

"Sadly I don't believe you, for it was what your marefriend said that hurt him so much. You didn't even have enough courage yourself to tell him how you felt about him, and now you're here to do what? Hurt him even more then what you've already done? To tell him that he will always be feared by the one who he thought he was closest too?" Star asked her tone a mixture of anger and pain. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to be viewed as a monster, a beast, by the one you are closest too?"

"But I don't see him as a monster or a beast! I-I just wanted to now w-why he h-hasn't come to visit me!" She exclaimed tears were starting to stream freely from both mares.

"I think you better leave before he gets back, I do not wish him to see you and it brings him back into depression," Star said, walking back inside not waiting for an answer.

As the door closed, she turned around and started to run off not paying attention where she was going as tears stung her eyes. Partially because she did feel it was her fault for what happened, and because she felt betrayed by the one she loved. She couldn't believe her Bon Bon had said such horrible things to one of her best friends, the one that had needed friendship because of how lonely she knew he was, the one that despite not knowing exactly who he was and was the only one of his kind here who tried to fit in.

"Why Bons, why would you do this to him of all ponies, why would you do this to me?" She screamed, after collapsing in a ball on the ground not holding back her tears.

As soon as she closed the door, she heard the mint mare gallop away. Her heart felt heavy, her mind was wondering if the other mare was telling the truth. But her mind was still fuzzy and clouded from the anger and pain she had felt while she yelled at the mare.

Her own tears were still coming and showed no sign of stopping. She had made a promise to him not to let anything hurt him while she was here, and she would uphold that promise. But what she had said to the other mare, despite her saying it to Brandon before he left, had brought back painful memories of her own.

As she walked through the empty house she got to her room and fell on her bed releasing her disguise. She had used her magic to rid Derpy of the headache and only sent him out to get medicine to get him out of the house. Though she did not know how long he would be gone, knowing the house was empty let her let the tears go.

She did care for him deeply as a friend, and never want him to feel out of place. For they were two peas in a pod, they were both out of place in a time and place they barely knew. When they had first met, they instantly connected because of that same bond. But remembering that seemed to only bring more tears, and she had no idea why.

When he got back to his house, he couldn't help but think that he should take some of the headache medicine after having a talk with Pinkie. But decided against, knowing that Derpy and Luna would probably need it more. Once inside though he could feel something was wrong, and he started to walk towards Luna room. And as he drew closer, he started to hear what sounded like her crying.

When he got to her door, it only confirmed that she was, in fact, crying for some reason. Instead of knocking, he slowly opened the door a crack. He could see Luna on her bed, curled in a ball and as soon as he saw that he forgot everything else and walked over to her bedside sitting down.

"Luna, what's wrong?" He asked, this time he had concerned tone in his voice but he only received a sob in response. "I'll be right here when you're ready."

As he sat there, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and started to sub-consciously pet her. After awhile, her sobbing slowed and not long after that, all crying stopped. But all still remained silent between the two, until finally, she spoke.

"Lyra, she stopped by to see you." Though he could barely hear her, and despite not seeing his face but feeling his hand tense up she knew his reaction.

"And what did she want?" He asked, his voice soft and comforting to her even if it did have an underline tone of hurt.

"S-she wanted to know why she hadn't seen you for the past week. I-I told her the truth, but I let m-my emotions get the best of me and I-I started to yell." She answered.

"Luna, you were only trying to protect me. Though it doesn't make sense that she would come to see me after what Bon Bon said, and all you knew was that it hurt me. You know that I'm still hurt by it." He said, and she felt the weight on her bed shift and felt his arms wrap around her making her blush.

"W-what are you gonna do?" She asked, still in slight surprise by the hug.

"About Lyra, I'll go and talk to her. I think that's the best option. As for you, I'll stay with you for as long as you want just like you stayed with me all of this time. Even if I haven't been myself." He said, his grip around her tightening a little, and just by him saying that she almost started to cry again.

"Brandon?" She asked, and started to turn to face him.

"Yes?" He replied, giving her a kind smile, the one that he gave her when they had first met.

"I-I really never want to leave this moment, nor do I want to leave you." She said, moving her head forward and giving him a kiss, and after moving her head back she closed her eyes not wanting to see the rejection.

While she had been alone crying, she thought about how she actually felt about him and why she felt the need to protect him the way she had been. She knew her feelings when he had started to comfort her, and she was afraid that because she was a pony he would not want to be with her. And she expected him to let go of her, and tell her that it was time for her to go. But she let out a squeak when his grip tightened even more.

"Hey, why are you closing your eyes like that?" He asked, and she noticed there was nothing that she expected and she opened her eyes only to see his.

"You're not angry or disgusted?" She asked.

"Why would I be disgusted? Because you're a pony?" She nodded. "I know Twilight told you and your sister about my world, but you all aren't normal ponies now, are you? You all are capable of the same things I am, and who am I to judge when I'm not even in my world? As for angry, I would never be angry at you. Not after all you've done for me, like putting up with me for the past week despite me being depressed. Now, will you look me in the eyes again and tell me what you see?" He asked she hadn't realized that she was avoiding eye contact and when she did make it she couldn't look away.

"I-I see no anger, n-nothing that I expected." She answered.

"Do you see anything else?" He asked.

"I-I don't know...EEp!" She was taken by surprise when he gently kissed her on the nose.

"Does that answer your questions?" He asked, and she could only nod. "Good, now you look tired. Why don't we just lay here for a little while?" Another nod from her, and she moved closer to him.

This is what she had been waiting for since they had met, though she did not realize it. Just wanting to be in somepony's embrace, somepony that was like him. And knowing he had feelings for her now, she instantly fell asleep.

He wanted this as well, and though he still had to sort out some other feelings he knew this is what he wanted. To have someone this close to him, and though he had other feelings to sort out he knew for sure he cared for Luna. Like he had said, she was there for him through his short depression, and he knew she only means to protect him.

One thing was evident for him now more than ever, that was now that they knew each other's feelings for each other the last of his depression was finally lifted. And he knew that even without her dream walking into his dreams, his nightmare's would be gone for now. As he felt her drift off to sleep though, so did he only this time he wore a smile knowing that his sleep will most likely be filled with nice dreams for once.

She had finally managed to stop crying, and when she finally looked at where she was she recognized it immediately. Somehow she was in the park, where she and Brandon met up every now and again to hang out. Though that almost made her cry again, she knew she couldn't afford to waste time. For she had to talk with Bon Bon, and she had a bad feeling.

As she slowly made her way back to the Sweet Shop, she noticed how late in the afternoon it had gotten. She knew Bon Bon would be worried that she hadn't returned from practicing, and normally that would encourage her to hurry up. But this time it only slowed her down, and by the time the shop came into view, the sun was starting to set.

"Bon Bon, are you down here?" She asked as she walked in the front door.

"Oh, Lyra your finally home! So, did you stop by to get me a candle?" Bon Bon asked, as she walked into the main lobby but stopped when she saw her. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"Tell me, is Brandon in the hospital?" She asked.

"Yes, from what I heard anyways." Bon Bon answered, and then winced when she saw the look on her face.

"Why are you lying to me, Bon Bon? Aren't we suppose to be marefriends?" She asked, her tone full of hurt.

"What are you talking about? I haven't lied to you at all." Bon Bon said, though now she was avoiding eye contact knowing that she had been found out.

"And you're still lying to me, I know he's been released! He was released only a day after we took him! Then when I went over to his house, one of his other friends was there and said that he has been depressed and hurt because of what you told him. That's why he hasn't come to see me, isn't it? Because you told him that I thought he was a monster and never wanted to see him again, isn't that right?" She asked, and was now yelling.

"L-lyra, I-I don't know what to say." Bon Bon said, hanging her head.

"Just tell me the truth Bon Bon, tell me that you told him that I didn't want to see him and have been keeping me busy so I wouldn't go see him!" She yelled, looking directly at Bon Bon.

"I...I...yes, it's true. I lied to him and told him we saw him as a monster, and you didn't want to see him because you were afraid of him. And yes I did keep you busy because I didn't want you to go see him so neither one of you would find out." Bon Bon replied.

"Do you know what you probably put him through? Do you know what you've put me through because of this? Do you even care?" She yelled, stomping her hooves on the ground making Bon Bon flinch.

"I-I do care.." Bon Bon tried to say.

"If you cared then you wouldn't have done it! Bon, I was his closest friend and because of what you did you made him think I didn't trust him because he just defended himself! I can only imagine, no I don't have to imagine what it feels like. Because I was betrayed by you, and I don't think I can handle that." She said, calming down and once again tears found their way out.

"L-lyra, what are you saying?" She asked, her ears drooping low.

"I-I think we need a little time apart Bon Bon, I mean I'm not the only you hurt. You hurt somepony who needed a close friend like me, someone that they were comfortable with to tell their secrets to. Do you know how hard it is to find that one friend? And because of what you said, he probably got hurt a lot worse than any physical wound." She replied, turning towards the door. "And you hurt me as well."

"Lyra, wait!" But she had already galloped out the door. "I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know it would hurt him that much, or you." Bon Bon said, as she fell to the floor and covering up her face. "I'm so sorry...."

Author's Note

So, the truth is out. now what will happen? Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and remember to smile, smile, smile! Also, after writing this chapter and then getting an hour of sleep I was in this mood

A New Bond

He woke up feeling a bit groggy, and as he tried to move he realized that his arms were wrapped around something warm, soft, and fuzzy. When he looked down, he could make out the smile on Luna's face as she snuggled up to him. Though he remembered all that happened, to see her smiling like that made him fill with warmth.

Though he just wanted to lay there with her in his arms, he knew that he still had something very important to do. Looking around, he managed to spot a Coco Clock that said it was about four seventeen. He gave a sad sigh as he slowly unwrapped his arms, and getting out of the bed.

When he looked down at her, he could see her shiver and reach her hooves out in search of him. This made him move automatically, placing her blanket over her and he leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek making her give a satisfied sigh. But that did seem to have made her calm once again, so grabbing the crutches he quietly left the room.

Making his way into his typing room, which he turned part of the basement into, he sat down and typed up a quick message. Once he got back upstairs, he placed his little letter on the table knowing that once she raised the moon she would want to sit down on the couch. But he remembered that she would have to raise the moon, he hesitated leaving but knew that she would wake up when it was time.

As he left his house though, instead of going straight to Lyra's he decided to head to the park. It's not that he didn't want to get it over with, and it wasn't because he was afraid to see her again. He just wanted to have some time before seeing her to think, to think about what he might say or do when they confronted each other.

When she woke up to the sound of her clock going off, she let out a happy sigh as she tried to reach out and wrap her hooves around him. But she discovered her hooves were already stretched out, grasping nothing. Her eyes shot open, and she saw the empty space in her bed.

"Oh no, please don't tell me that was a dream?" She asked herself, her panic started to rise as she remembered the events before she had fallen asleep.

But as she played them throughout her mind, she started to calm down as she remembered the feeling of him wrapping his arms around her. That alone made her know that what happened actually happened, and a big smile grew as she remembered that he had kissed her on the nose to show his feelings for her. Still, even though she knew that it was real she wondered why he didn't stay with her until she woke up?

She got out of bed, looking at her blanket that she knew he must have put on her before he went and that only strengthened her smile. But as she looked from the bed to her clock, she knew that she had to get ready to raise the moon. Though she could not believe how late she had slept, for it was already six o'clock and the sun was already meeting the horizon.

Knowing she had time though, she went into the kitchen to fix herself something to eat and drink. After getting something, she went to the living room to sit down to enjoy her snack. But once she sat down in her usual spot on the couch she noticed a piece of paper on the table, and upon picking it up and reading the very first line she gave another warm smile.

"Dear Luna,

I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up, I really did just want to hold you because you really are cute when you sleep. But I have to go and talk with Lyra, the sooner it's done the better I guess. Hopefully, it'll solve this mystery of why she came to visit, and if not then maybe I can get a little closure from losing her as a friend. I'll probably be gone for a few hours, and just know that I really did mean what I said.

Though something I never got to say is thank you. Thank you for being my guardian angel, as cheesy as that sounds. But I think without you there, I might not have recovered.

Sincerely Your's,
Brandon.

She still couldn't help but reread the last few lines over and over, each time making her smile grow. As she quit reading through it she set the little letter down on the table, as she levitated her sandwich and took a bite. Everything for her seemed to be going well, she seemed to finally expel not only his emptiness and his loneliness but also at the same time got rid of her own as well.

"Hmm, I hope he gets back soon. I just hope that everything goes okay with Lyra." She said, staring out the window thinking about if things don't get fixed between them.

Though she knew she didn't have to worry that much since he seemed to have managed just fine. But she also knew that he would probably still be crushed if that mare still saw him as a monster. Just thinking about that sent a stab of pain to her own heart though.

"I will be there for him if he is crushed again. Just like I have been, nothing will ever change that." She said, taking a deep breath while lighting up her horn and started to slowly raise the moon.

He kept walking, forgetting how far the park was from his house mixed with the fact he still wasn't used to his crutches. His thoughts were a little jumbled, mostly out of confusion for why did Lyra come to see why he hadn't visited her? If she already knew why, then why would she have asked that?

Then there was the fact that he knew her a little better than anypony else, and him remembering that made some of the pieces fall into place but the puzzle was still too big to solve. Though one possible answer kept popping into his mind, and that was what if she wasn't actually his friend from the start? But he pushed that thought away every time because he really didn't think she would be that cruel.

"I should really just talk to her instead of just thinking, I'm only making it worse for myself." He muttered, letting out a deep sigh and took a look around.

As it turns out he had entered the park, and was now where him and Lyra normally met when they just wanted to hang out. It was funny really, the first time they had met here. The spot had a particular bench that Lyra just loved, and until that day he didn't know why.

He did know that she could sit in a bipedal position from working at Bon Bons shop, but apparently, that particular bench was the one she learned how to sit on. It was also the only place she could sit like that for more than a few hours. Though he remembered that he couldn't stop laughing at how odd she looked, which earned him a nice little bump on the head.

"She sure has good aim when throwing stuff." He said, rubbing that spot and again he let out a sad sigh. "I guess I better get it over with, I'm sure Luna will be wondering where I am."

When he turned around, he started making his slow way to the town. He really didn't need a clock to know what time it was, since the two royal sisters always set and raise the sun and moon at about the same time each day. So just by looking at the sky, he knew it was between six and seven and as he looked down he stopped in his tracks.

There before him, Lyra was walking very slowly with her head hung low. From what he could tell, she had been crying and judging from the streaks he could see, it hit him though that she was still crying. Feeling bad for the mare, he wanted to speak up and comfort her like he had done in the past when Bon Bon wasn't around to help, but he was frozen in place.

As she drew closer, he could definitely see the fresh tears that seemed to be like little streams by now. Though as he stood there, it wasn't until she almost ran into him before she noticed him. When she looked up, her eyes widened in surprise, shock, fear, and regret.

"I-I..." She tried to say, but couldn't due to her trying to hold back a sob but that wasn't what caught him off guard, what did was her practically tackling him making him lose his balance. "I'm so very sorry, for everything!"

He laid there, in more or less a daze not really knowing what to do or say. Though it seemed his body seemed to run faster than his mind, as he placed a hand on top of her head and started to pat it. When his mind did catch back up, he lifted his head up to see her sobbing into his shoulder, and after a little bit of this she finally looked him in the eyes and she hurriedly got off.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She sobbed as he managed to get into a sitting position not saying anything as he looked at her. "I know it mustn't mean much now, but I am sorry and I-I can understand you don't want to see or forgive me."

"Lyra..."

"I think it would be better if I just left town for a while, s-so I'm glad I at least got to see you one last time before then and say that I'm sorry." She said, starting to back off and his eyes widened in surprise at hearing that and before she could turn around and gallop away he spoke again to get her attention.

"So you do actually think of me as a monster if you're just leaving town like that." He said, his words cutting through her like a heated butter knife in butter. "And after apologizing, and not even seeing if I forgive you?"

"W-what?" She asked, turning around everything else just now replaced with shock and pain at the accusation. "Brandon, I never ever thought of you as a monster..."

"Then why did Bon Bon say that you did? How come you haven't tried to visit me in the past week since you seemed to want to know the same thing?" He asked, trying to keep calm but a little anger seeped into his voice. "Do you have any idea what happened to me thinking you thought of me as a monster? I went into a depression so deep that I could barely even get out of my own bed! It took somepony very special to me to finally get me past it, and I only just got out of it earlier today. So tell me the truth, do you think of me as a monster or not? I actually want to hear you say it, and not someone else!"

"I don't see you as a monster! As I said, I never will either! What I saw you do, I know it was only in defense! Whatever Bon Bon said, I know it hurt you that much because of what your friend told me. After I found out that Bon Bon was lying to me about you still being in the hospital, I went over to your house to find out why you hadn't come in like you normally did. When I confronted her about it, she told me that she was trying to keep me busy so I wouldn't be able to come over.

A-after she admitted what she did, I-I broke up with her. All because of how much hurt I know must have run through you, and because she betrayed me. She ran off my best friend, a friend I never wanted to lose. I don't know why she did what she did, but I never will see you as a monster. Because you're just too special to me, you're the only one I've ever told my biggest secret too!" She screamed, and after plopping down and shoving a hoof in her mouth she looked at him out of fear.

"W-what did you just say?" He asked, knowing the answer but was to busy to really process it.

"Y-you're very special to me." She said, hanging her head in defeat.

"Lyra, what are you saying exactly?" He asked, and this made her look up another round of fresh tears in her eyes.

"I-I'm saying that I have feelings for you." She whispered, a slight breeze blowing by. "But I don't think it matters, not after I hurt you. Even if it wasn't my fault, a-and after what you said about it took somepony very special to you to get out of your depression, I know there isn't a chance."

"What about Bon Bon? Don't you love her?" He asked, in shock.

"Of course I love her! We had been marefriends for nearly two years! B-but, over the past few months it seemed like we were growing apart. It doesn't matter now, because it seems like I lost both ponies that I love in a single week. I-I'm sorry, but I have to do this at least once before I say goodbye." She said, leaning in and giving him a kiss. "G-goodbye."

"And where are you going?" He asked, grabbing her tail making her yelp in pain and surprise as she was trying to run away. "I am not just going to let you run off after what you just admitted."

"B-brandon, please let me go." She said, trying to use her magic on him.

"I am not going to let go of one of the mares I care about most!" He snapped, and despite her best attempts his grip wouldn't loosen, but it didn't matter as she already gave up on trying after what he said.

"What did you just say?" She asked.

"I am never going to let go of one of the mares I care about most." He said, letting go of her tail knowing he had her attention.

"B-but aren't humans monogamy?" Was the first question that popped into her mind.

"Yes, it is typically human nature to search for only one life partner." He answered, only making the green mare more confused.

"But then how can you say that you have feelings for me and that Star girl I met?" She asked, and to her surprise, he looked at her understanding her confusion.

"I have no idea, maybe I'm one of those humans who are able to have more than one relationship. Maybe it's being here for so long, and it changed me in that regards. Or maybe it's because I'm not even human for all I know, but what I do know is that I do care for you as much as I care for Star." He answered, looking her straight into her eyes.

"B-but, will she be okay with it? Are you okay with it?" She asked.

"I'm sure she will be okay with it after we explain what happened, and as for myself. Of course, I'm okay with it, though to pick you up on rebound seems kind of sleazy to me. But speaking of her, just to let you know her name isn't Star it's Luna." He gave a chuckle at her expression.

"Y-you mean Princess Luna?" He gave a nod. "But how?" She asked.

"We came instant friends when we first met on Nightmare Night, and we kept in touch. When she heard about me being jumped she came to help take care of me, and by the time she got here, it was after what happened. She was the only one who actually got me out of my bed, and today after you visited I found her crying in her room. She felt horrible for not giving you a chance, and when I comforted her she admitted her feelings to me and I returned them." He replied.

"S-she actually felt bad about yelling at me? But are you sure she'll accept starting a, um, herd with me though?" She asked, giving a blush.

"I'm sure, she may seem intimidating but she's very sweet. She'll most likely put you through some kind of test though, but like I said once we explain I know she'll be open to you." He said, putting a hand under her chin. "Now, how about you stay with me for a little while? Maybe work on mending that heart of yours, like I said I feel a little sleazy getting you off rebound like this."

"That sounds great, and also you didn't pick me off a rebound as you put it. Because you already had me." She said, giving him a loving nuzzle. "But I have only one question left."

"Ask away." He said, waving his hand.

"How did you know that here we have herds?" She asked, knowing that he probably would have just figured that a group of ponies dating were just friends.

"That would be Twilight's doing when she was teaching me the history of Equestria. That's what made me start to feel comfortable with having feelings for more than one mare." He gave her a smile. "But if you want to know something, I honestly knew about my feelings as I said. But I didn't know whether what I actually felt were actually these feelings until you two admitted them."

"Really?" He gave another nod, and she took a deep breath. "Okay, well I lied I do have another question. Why me?" She asked, looking away from him.

"Is that a rhetorical question? Because if not, here's the answer. You are kind, sweet, you were my closest friend, you were my first real friend outside of the Elements, you always listened to me, like you said you kept my secrets and I kept yours. I have always thought of you as adorable, especially when your eyes light up when you're talking about mythology and when you create a new song." He replied. "It's no wonder though Bon Bon was jealous, you are a great catch."

"You honestly mean those though?" She asked.

"Of course, after all, if I didn't mean it I don't think I would have gone into such a depression. And if you ask me why Luna, then let me answer that real fast as well. Though her reasons are a bit different of course. I have feelings for her because we had a connection when he first met, one of being out of place. She was there for me in my darkest moment, all she wanted to do was protect me, so that proved to me that she did care for me, and she knew how to get me out of my dark hole and for that, I can never repay." He said, looking up at the moon.

"Aww, you really can be a sap when you want to be." She said.

"Hey, I can't help but want to pull at your heartstrings." He gave a smirk.

"Oh, you... you're not going to let up on that joke after tonight are you?" She asked, giving a sigh.

"Nope, especially now that I do have my own heartstrings to pull." He gave a playful tug on her tail, making her give him a slight glare. "But for right now, let's head home okay?"

"Okay, and I'm really glad we're finally together." She said, giving up her glare as she helped him get up and they started walking.

"Yeah, me too. Though like I said, don't be surprised if Luna puts you through some kind of test." He reminded her.

"I know I would pass." She gave him a smirk, but that quickly faded as she saw him grimace in pain. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really." He said.

"Brandon, the look you just made isn't nothing. Tell me what's wrong?" She asked again, concern in her voice.

"It's just my back's a little sore is all, it'll be fine in a day or two." He said, giving her a smile.

"If you say so." She said, still giving him a concerned look.

Author's Note

Alright, the cheese has been doubled! HUZZAH! Anyways, bet some of you didn't see this coming did you? But enough of that, it's random author fact time! Did you know that when I was in second grade I was considered legally blind? Hope you all enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

The First Night

They were slowly making their way through the park in comfortable silence taking in the nighttime scenery around them. Though he couldn't help but take a few peeks at the mare next to him, who had to slow down for his benefit. She had a beautiful smile that slightly faltered when she looked at him.

"You know you look better if you keep smiling." He said, making her look at him in a little confusion. "Your smile, you let it slip when you look at me."

"Oh, um, sorry I'm just thinking." She said, giving him a full smile.

"Thinking about our relationship?" He asked.

"That's part of it, the other part is even if Luna forgives me would she even allow us? I mean all three of us together?" She asked, her nervousness seeping into her voice.

"I think she will, I mean I know she wants me to be happy. So, I think she'll at least consider it. But seriously, you don't need to be worried about that because I won't just let her tell you to bug off. I'll actually try to convince her if she doesn't give it a chance." He replied, stopping making her turn around and look at him.

"Why'd you stop walking?" She asked, in slight confusion.

"Because I just want to make sure you know how much I do care about you." He said, bending over making their lips meet. "I do promise that it'll work out."

"Y-yeah, I guess I should stop worrying about it." She said, a blush spreading across her cheeks making him give a slight chuckle.

"You know, I'm probably going to die of cuteness overload if you and Luna keep this up." He said, starting to walk again.

"Hmm, then I wonder who'll be the first one to give you mouth to mouth?" She joked, after managing to recover and catch up making him laugh.

"Well, whoever does do it I just hope they're a good kisser." He said, giving her a smirk but that quickly morphed into another grimace.

"Are you sure it's just your back being sore?" She asked, her expression concerned and worried.

"I-i'm sure, it's just a little sorer than I thoug...AAGGHH!" He screamed as he fell to his knees.

"Brandon!" She yelled in surprise and running to his side to see him sweating and panting. "You are not okay, tomorrow no matter what we're taking you to the hospital."

"I-i'm fine, really. I just need some rest." He replied, trying to get up only for Lyra to put a hoof on his shoulder.

"I'm sure you do need some rest, but that doesn't change the fact of what just happened. I think you need to see a doctor, and I'm sure Luna would agree with me on this." She said, her tone and eyes making him surrender.

"F-fine, but only because it's you." He said, grimacing as he stood up.

"What if it was Luna that told you to go?" She asked, watching him carefully.

"I wouldn't have much of a choice in the matter, I would've just been teleported there." He answered, catching his breath. "So, um, you ready?"

"Yeah, but are you?" She asked, and in response, he nodded.

They once again started to walk, though now there was a bit of worry and tension in the air. She kept a watchful eye on him, having a spell ready if he did decide to fall over again. Though she didn't know if her magic was actually strong enough to lift him, seeing as how he managed to fight it when she was trying to leave.

Though she felt a little relief when his house came into view, and she couldn't help but start to get nervous again. But looking at him again, those nerves seemed to disappear and she smiled again. She just couldn't help it, for some reason just thinking about his confident words and expression just made her relax.

"So, whatcha looking at?" He asked, and as she looked up she could see that he had managed to recover from what happened.

"Mmm, nothing in particular." She replied, looking around.

"You ready to go inside then?" He asked, pointing his head to the door in front of them.

"We're already here?" She replied in response, even though she knew that they only had a few minutes when his house was in view.

"Yup, we actually got here a minute ago but you were too busy staring at me." He said, raising an eyebrow making another blush appear.

"Oh, um, t-that was nothing. Yeah, I'm ready whenever you are." She said, looking down at the ground.

He didn't say anything, only giving her a smile which she couldn't see and starting to open the door. When he cleared his throat she looked up and saw him waiting for her to follow him in. As they entered, they could hear humming coming from the kitchen and when they entered Luna was standing there doing dishes.

"Luna, I'm back." He announced, making the alicorn princess turn around with a huge smile.

"There you are! So, did your talk with Lyra go alright?" She asked, not knowing the mare she was talking about was just behind the door frame.

"It went far better than what I thought it would." He answered, swallowing in nervousness.

"Well that's good, but I feel like you need to tell me something else." She said, giving him a look that told him to go ahead.

"Um, yeah I do. But first I need to ask you something." At this, she gave a nod and he took a deep breath. "How do you feel about herding?" He asked.

"I think it's quite admirable when one simply cannot choose between lovers and they manage to get them to agree to be in a big relationship. Though from what I've heard, it's very challenging." She answered.

"W-would you ever want to be a part of one?" He asked, his face going completely red.

"Are you suggesting that you want to add another to us?" She asked, and he gave a weak nod. "Brandon, you must know that I do care for you deeply and want to make you happy. If you want to start a herd, then I see no problem in letting another mare in. As long as it's somepony you actually care about, and you know you can trust then I could also give her a shot." She replied, walking up to him giving him a loving nuzzle and light peck on the cheek. "But I must ask, how long is she going to hide behind the door frame?"

"H-how did you know I was here?" Lyra asked, peeking from behind the door.

"Because, when you two came in I heard your hove steps. Though I wasn't sure who it was until he told me that your talk went great, on top of that I saw part of your mane." Luna answered, giving her a distrustful glare. "So, am I to assume that you're the one he wants to add?"

"Yes, she is the one." He answered, making both mares look at him. "Luna, what happened was just a misunderstanding."

"You mean her calling you a monster thus making you depressed?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't what she actually thought about me. It was a lie told to me by her, um, ex-marefriend." He explained, keeping eye contact.

"And what about her not coming here in a week letting you suffer?" Luna asked, her tone taking in a little venom.

"I was kept busy by my marefriend, and she told me that he was still in the hospital." Lyra jumped in.

"So, this ex of your's lied to both you and Brandon, and kept you busy so you wouldn't be able to come here?" Lyra gave a nod. "And are you sure you have feelings for her?"

"Yes, I do just like I have feelings for you." He replied, giving a peck on her cheek making her blush. "And why are you blushing? It's not like she won't be seeing that since she'll be staying here."

"Wait, what do you mean she's staying here?" Luna asked, making him and Lyra look at each other and it was him who spoke.

"Luna, she lived with her ex-marefriend. When she broke up with her, she had to leave and I don't think it would be a good idea for her to go back." He answered, and as Luna looked at Lyra she could see the tears that were being held back.

"And you don't have any other friends or family that would let you stay?" Luna asked.

"N-no, I don't. Most of my friends and family live in Canterlot, which I was planning on heading there tonight before I bumped into Brandon." Lyra answered, making Luna give a sigh.

"I suppose if you don't have another place to go then I guess you can stay with us," Luna said, giving him a small smile.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lyra screamed, wrapping Luna in a tight hug which she didn't let go until Luna cleared her throat.

"You're very welcome, but I must warn you. If I find out that you hurt him, I do have the power to send you to a dungeon." Luna whispered, making Lyra gulp and nod.

"Yeah, I understand and I don't want to hurt him. I never have wanted to hurt him he's my best, no our coltfriend now." Lyra replied, and when she looked at him she nearly fell over laughing as he was redder and had an eyebrow raised.

"And what is so funny?" Luna asked, looking back at him and noticing his expression. "Oh, so tell me, Brandon, what were your thoughts when Lyra hugged me?" This only made him more embarrassed, and he let out a slight cough.

"Um, well I-I thought that it's great that you're willing to give her a chance and very cute when she hugged you." He said, not looking at either of them. "I-is it hot in here?"

"Nope, sure isn't must just be your imagination," Lyra replied, but both mares seemed to have a teasing smirk.

"I must agree with Lyra, it must be your imagination running wild." Luna said.

"M-maybe," he said, getting more uncomfortable by the second. "Um, hey I think I'm pretty tired. So, I'm just gonna turn in."

"Oh, and what about our nap earlier?" Luna asked, giving him another evil smirk.

"Wait, you two took a nap together?" Lyra asked, in surprise.

"Yes, we did and it was the best nap I've had since I returned. Being cuddled by my coltfriend, he's like a teddy bear really." Luna teased.

"Hmm, sounds like fun. You know maybe we all should turn in?" Lyra suggested, making him freeze and Luna blush like crazy, but after a second she recovered.

"I think that sounds lovely, and I think you would definitely love having two mares in the same bed as you," Luna said, and by this time he was completely frozen in shock at what he was hearing.

"Yeah, so what do you say Brandon? Would you like us to join you?" Lyra asked, and suddenly he turned his head with a huge smile.

"Actually, if you two wouldn't mind..." He took a pause, and both mares were waiting in anticipation even though they thought they knew the answer already. "I would actually appreciate that I mean as Luna can say I've had terrible nightmares. And when I and Luna were napping, I didn't have a single one."

"Wait, what?" Both mare's asked at the same time, both with a slight blush.

"You mean you actually want u-us, all three of us in the same bed?" Lyra asked, and he gave a nod.

"I mean you don't have to, but it would make me feel better to have you two there laying next to me." He said, giving them a smile.

"Well, um, I-I really don't mind. But, what a-about you, Luna?" Lyra asked, and as they looked over to her she was switching between expressions, first happy, then conflicted, then nervous, and it repeated like that until she spoke.

"I think that as long as we sleep one either side of him, it would be okay by me," Luna said, giving them a smile.

"That's great, now let's go to my room." He said, and starting towards his room.

"You mean right now?" He stopped and gave a nod towards Lyra. "You were serious about being tired?"

"Of course, that walking made me tired. Especially after my back acted up." He replied.

"Your back was hurting earlier?" Luna asked, concern in her voice.

"Don't worry about it Luna, I'm fine for right now. And we can talk about it tomorrow, okay?" He asked, giving her a pleading look of not pressing the issue any further.

"Alright, but tomorrow you are going to the hospital," Luna said, making him give a bit of a snort. "And what was that?"

"It's nothing, just great minds think alike, right Lyra?" He asked, giving her a tiny poke.

"Y-yeah, I told him the same exact thing," Lyra answered, giving a blush.

"Hmm, very good then. Now, how about we go and lay down?" Luna said though something in her tone made him shudder.

Author's Note

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

Back To The Hospital

As he slowly woke up, he couldn't help but feel relaxed and happy for the first time in a while. On either side of him were two of the most beautiful mares he had seen, even with bed head. But he knew that he couldn't lay there for too long since he promised he would go to the hospital when he woke up.

Though as he managed to untangle himself and get out of the bed without waking the two sleeping mares, he wished they were awake to go with him. But he knew that both mares had a rough day, and Luna would have most likely have been doing her dream walking. So, he managed to get ready and made sure to leave a note for them.

When he got outside and shut his front door as quietly as he could, he turned around walking along on his crutches. He had made sure to look at the clock before leaving and knew it was about nine in the morning. So, he knew the lobby to the hospital would be open.

"Hey, look at that! You actually are getting back out!" He turned his head to see Applejack standing next to her apple cart giving him a big smile.

"Oh, hey AJ and yeah you could say that." He said, returning her smile and walking over.

"Well, I'm mighty glad then. I mean after what happened, you seemed to have disappeared on us. But you seem like your good old self now, and I can't put my hoof on it but you seem to be in a lot better mood." She said, waving her hoof at him.

"And why wouldn't I be? I mean, after what happened to me last night I don't think anything could have made me happier." He said, a dreamy smile starting to form.

"Oh boy, I recognize that look and it fits you." She said, giving him an even warmer smile but as he looked closer he thought he could see something else but decided not to push.

"What look are you talking about?" He asked.

"You know exactly what look I'm talking about, the look that says you got yourself a special somepony." She replies, giving him a proud smile. "So, tell me who did ya end up with?"

"Um, well, uh, first I don't have a special somepony..." This caused her to give a slight frown and a worried look. "...I have two special someponies." He said, giving her a big grin and almost laughed at her shocked expression.

"Woah, I thought you humans believed in only having one special somepony?" She asked, after recovering from her shock.

"Well, a majority of humans do but there are a few who have more than one. If I remember there's even a religion from where I'm from that allows people to get into that sort of relationship." He answered, tapping his chin.

"Good to know, and hey I'm glad to hear that. So, you gonna tell me who they are or what?" She asked, poking him in the gut.

"Or what?" He replied, giving her a smirk.

"Don't ya tempt me now, I don't want to fight with a stallion whose already hurt." She said, pointing to his ankle. "That, and whoever you ended up with probably wouldn't like it if you met up with them with more bumps and bruises."

"Guess you're right, I mean Luna would definitely have a fit about it and Lyra would probably want to wrestle me as well. That and I'm already supposed to go to the hospital." He said, and once again he saw a look of shock on Applejack's face.

"Luna? Lyra? Hospital?" She asked, and shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, we all kinda guessed you and Luna had a thing for each other, but Lyra? The mare that backstabbed you when you needed her most? I mean, when did you two even have a chance to talk? From what I heard, Bon Bon was keeping her busy."

"Yeah, she was keeping her busy. But that was all her plan on keeping us from discovering her lie." She looked at him in slight confusion. "You see, Bon Bon lied to me about what she and Lyra actually thought about me, and then lied to Lyra about me getting released and kept her busy so she wouldn't visit me." He answered.

"That backstabbing little...and to think she was your boss as well!" He could see the anger in her eyes, and before she could say or do anything else he put her hat down across her face. "Hey, what was that for?"

"To get your attention, I mean you look like you're getting ready to go over there and bust up her shop." He replied with a stern look.

"And why shouldn't I? I mean, I saw first hoof what she did to ya!" She said, somewhat calming down.

"Because I think she had enough, I mean after Lyra learned the truth she broke up with her because of it. I think a broken heart is punishment enough, now promise me that you won't ruin her shop." He said, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Fine, but if I see her I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind." She replied, and he just nodded.

"Now, why don't I tell you exactly how me, Lyra, and Luna officially got together." He said, and started on the events from Hearts and Hooves day and ended with the three of them went to bed, though he may have forgotten to tell her that they shared a bed.

"Wow, never would have thought you were so good at comforting mares." She said, taking a sip from her cider.

"I just don't like to see other's crying, especially mares. Though I guess it works for me, I mean getting them to admit their feelings and the same about me." He said, giving another dreamy smile.

"So, you want some company?" She asked, looking at the clock tower making him look up at it to read that it was now eleven-twenty.

"Sure, if you aren't busy." He replied, looking at the apple cart.

"Nah, these here were going to the hospital anyway. Just let me know if you have another fit." She said, hooking herself back to the cart.

"Trust me, I think you would be able to tell if my back is bothering me. I mean everypony else seems to, no matter how much I try to hide it." He muttered the last part under his breath.

"What was that last part?" She asked.

"It's nothing, just remembering when this back pain actually started." He answered.

"Oh, and when did it start?" She asked, and started to walk.

"Well, you remember when I pulled my muscle in my back?" He replied, trying his best to keep up.

"Yeah, that was the first time you had contact with that levitation spell." She answered, nodding at the memory.

"It was a few days before that, only back then it only felt like I was sore then it started to get worse." He said, still struggling to keep up with the cart.

"That long huh? Wonder if your doctor noticed anything that he didn't tell ya?" She said, finally noticing his struggle and slowed down.

"Well, if he did he hasn't told me anything." He said, giving her a grateful smile.

"Hmm, then I wonder what could cause ya back pain for that long?" She asked, stopping at an intersection.

"I don't know, I might have suffered some kind of back injury on my planet? Or maybe I'm just growing wings because I died and went to heaven?" He joked, getting a little chuckle from her.

"You with wings? That would be an odd thing to see, I would pay money to see that." She joked back.

They continued on their way, getting caught up from the past few days since they last talked. She kept pushing for more details about his relationships, and he just simply told her that they've only been a thing for a day so he didn't have much to tell. He did almost tell her that they shared a bed with him, but he quickly managed to avoid it.

"At least tell me you're gonna take them on a date? I mean, both of those mares are living with ya right now and you haven't even taken either of them on a date!" She said, making his face go red.

"I was planning on it, I mean I was gonna look around and make a reservation somewhere. But you have to remember that I have to pay my bills now, and I don't have a job anymore." He said, making her think.

"Well, how about this. Since you did a decent job helping out with harvest, instead of part-time how bout I hire ya full time?" She asked, making him stop in surprise. "Once ya get that cast off of course, and don't give me that look. I understand that it might be hard for ya to find another job, and like I said you did do a decent job. If ya don't want to buck the trees, then we have a few other things that you'll be able to do."

"Applejack, thanks." He said, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Hey now, no need to get go all emotional now." She replied, and if he had looked he would have seen a little blush.

"I'm not being emotional, I'm just showing you how much I appreciate your help." He said, breaking the hug giving her a big smile. "And you know you still have a soft coat, though I will admit not as soft as Luna's or Lyra's."

"Oh, so there is something that happened last night other than you getting two mares?" She said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I never said that." He answered.

"But then how do you know exactly how soft their coats are?" She asked, giving him a smirk.

"Hey, you're not the only one I hug you know?" He replied, making her get a knowing smile.

"Oh, I bet you did hug them. You hugged them all night long didn't ya?" She asked, his face once again going red. "I knew it, you can't hide anything from me. Shot, you're almost as easy to read sometimes than Twilight."

"Fine, but to let you know I've been suffering from nightmares and last night was the first restful night of sleep I had in months." He said, defeat in his tone.

"Aww, ain't that sweet you need somepony to snuggle up to so they can protect you from your nightmares." She teased, making him groan.

"Just, don't tell Rainbow okay?" He asked, his eyes pleading.

"And why not? She would have a field day with this little information." She replied, giving him an evil smile but that quickly faded when she saw his serious expression.

"Applejack, my nightmares have been keeping me up for the past two months now. If snuggling with the ones I care about most makes the nightmares go away, then I rather do that than let them continue." He said, not once looking away.

"But, doesn't Luna go into your dreams and help ya?" She asked, mostly out of concern.

"No, I had her promise not to. But don't worry, I'll talk to her about it and we'll see. In the meantime though, I think snuggling with them will be enough. Just promise not to tell Rainbow or the others about it. I don't care if you tell them I'm in a relationship, I just rather not be teased by them." He said.

"Don't ya worry, I won't say a thing. Besides, it's your relationship so it's not my place to tell our friends about it. Now, how about we get to the hospital?" She asked, and he gave a nod before his expression started to contort in pain. "Oh no, is it your back?"

"Y-yeah, but don't worry it'll go away in a few seconds." He replied, his voice a little strained.

"Sheesh, now I know why they want you to get checked out. That looked like it hurts a lot more than what I think you're leading on." She said, giving him the very same concerned look that both Lyra and Luna gave him.

"It's fine, let's just get to the hospital." He said and started walking.

"Ya know you don't have to act all tough like that, right?" She asked as she matched his pace.

"I'm not acting tough, I just know how to deal with physical pain." He answered.

"Fair enough, especially after what you've been through. That's why I'm glad you finally found somepony or someponies." She said, making him give a sigh to help calm down.

"Yeah, I just wish I could shake this dam fear of being seen as some kind of monster." He muttered.

"Hey, it's fine to have one big fear, everypony does. Like for example, ever since my parents passed away, I've always had a fear that my family will be gone just as early." She said, and he turned to see her looking down.

"Trust me, that fear sounds better than fearing your only friends will see you as a monster and leave you. All I have to say is, at least you actually have a family." He said, giving a sad sigh.

"But you do have a family here, I mean didn't ya say that you thought of us as your family?" She asked.

"I did, but you know that's not what I mean." He replied, closing his eyes taking a deep breath.

They walked in silence the rest of the way, and when they got to the hospital they said their goodbyes as she went to deliver her apples. It didn't take long before he was checked in and was in a room waiting for his normal doctor. Though, he hummed a little tune

"So, Brandon you're back already, and speaking about back it says you're here because of some pain you've been suffering for the past two or three days?" Dr. Hayseed said as he came in.

"Uh, yeah that's right." He answered.

"Well, okay I'll take a look. But it is a good thing that you came by because I wanted to take a look at your ankle." Hayseed said as he started to inspect his back. "Tell me if it hurts when I prod."

As Dr. Hayseed continued to prod his back, he got to thinking about where he would take Lyra and Luna. Though that train of thought got cut off as his doctor prodded a sore spot, and upon noticing he let up and continued only to find another sore spot directly across from the first one. That was all he needed though, as he stopped and got his clipboard and wrote something down.

"Well, all I can think of for your sore spots and back pain is that you're suffering from stress. Most likely due to what happened last week, and as for you experiencing soreness that far back, all I have to say is that you were probably just suffering from one of your injuries when you arrived. Either that or you were straining your back too much." Hayseed finally said. "I suggest getting a massage, that might help relieve some of the pain."

"Um, okay but where would I get a massage?" He asked.

"Well, there's a spa here in town or you could have a marefriend or just a close friend give you one. Before you argue though, that's the fastest and safest way to help with the pain. Now, if you'll follow me I would like to get a look at that ankle." Hayseed said, starting to move towards the door.

"Oh, hey do you mind if I go visit that little filly I met here a week ago? I mean after we're done of course." He said.

"That's fine, though you'll have to go check in as a visitor. Here we are, now it'll only take a few minutes." Hayseed replied, and opened a door for him to walk through

When he entered the room he got onto the examination table and waited for when his doctor was ready to do the x-ray. But once the process started, it really did only take a few minutes. What took forever was waiting for the x-ray to print.

"Hmm, this is interesting," Hayseed said, as he came over looking at the x-ray with curiosity. "It seems you're all healed up, and ready for the cast to come off."

"Really, I thought it would be healed by next week?" He asked.

"Well, that's what we thought as well. But this isn't lying to me, so how about we make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon to remove it?" Hayseed asked.

"That sounds great, but how much do I owe you though?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it, Princess Celestia said that she'll take care of your medical bills. But you do need to remember to get a massage, or else the stress you seem to be suffering from might get worse." Hayseed replied.

"Fine, but I'm not going to the spa." He said, not planning on backing down.

"That's fine, as I said it could be a close friend or marefriend who gives you one," Hayseed said, opening a file and putting his x-ray in it. "Now, I believe you said you wanted to go visit Grace?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Well, come on then I'm going on lunch break right now and I'll help you out," Hayseed said, walking out the door not waiting for him but it didn't take long for them to get to the front desk, and there he saw a familiar grey mare.

"Hey, Derpy, what you doing here?" He asked, surprising her.

"Oh, hey Brandon! Nothing much, I'm just dropping off a letter from the school for that little pegasus filly with one wing." She answered.

"Well, this is good timing then. Brandon here was just about to go visit her, why don't you two go drop the letter off together?" Hayseed suggested.

"I-I don't know.." She replied, a hint of blush on her.

"Well, I think it's a great idea. I met here a week ago, and she seemed like a sweet little filly. I think you'd like her." He said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Alright, but was that all you were here for though?" She asked, not hiding her curiosity.

"Actually, no I came here to get my back checked out. Also found out that I can get my cast off tomorrow." He said with a smile.

"Well that's good to hear, but what's wrong with your back?" She asked.

"Oh, um, as it turns out I'm suffering from stress and it's causing me a little bit of pain. Hayseed over there suggested I get a massage from a friend." He replied.

"You do know you could just go to the spa right?" She asked.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm not really a spa person." He answered, and she took on a deep blush.

"Well, um, if you don't want to go then I could, um, uh, g-give you o-one?" She said, hanging her head in embarrassment and scuffing at the floor.

"That would be great, but I already owe you for what you did." He said, giving her a grateful smile.

"Oh, no it's fine you wouldn't have to repay me for giving you massage." She said, looking up to give him a smile and then something lit. "I know, for your favor, could you give me massage?"

"Well, um, I-I guess that sounds good. I'll even give you two massage treatments if you like it, as payment for taking up your time for you to give me one." He said, giving her a nervous smile.

"Great, so how about I come over tomorrow? I just hope Luna doesn't mind me giving you a massage." She said in excitement.

"Wait, how did you know that Star was Luna?" He asked in confusion.

"Well, after we went over to your place and you went to the bathroom she told me. Which by the way, are you two, um, uh, a thing?" She asked in embarrassment.

"Uh, actually yeah we are. But, the thing is that I seem to have started a herd as you all call it." He said, and it was his turn to be embarrassed.

"Really? So, who're the other mares then?" She asked, and he could have sworn he saw a little bit of hope in her eyes.

"Well, um, now don't freak out and let me explain first. The only other mare besides Luna is Lyra." He answered, and he saw the surprise in her eyes but she kept silent as he explained.

"I see, so it was Bon Bons fault. Well, I guess I'm happy for you then." She said, giving him a smile though he could tell it was half-hearted like she was disappointed or depressed.

"Yeah, so how about we go visit Grace?" He asked, giving her a comforting smile.

"Sure, let's go." She replied, and they started walking towards the front desk but as they got done checking in as visitors she spoke up again. "Oh, um, do you mind waiting? I have to go to the bathroom."

"Nah, go ahead I understand." He said, and she took off where the bathrooms were.

As he waited, he looked around the lobby and saw Dr. Heart Throb at the nurse's station hitting on them like usual. He could see Thunderlane who seemed to have caught some kind of flu. The last thing he noticed was Berry Punch who had an ice pack on her head before his attention was drawn on Dr. Heart Throb again who was now flirting with Derpy, who seemed to be uncomfortable.

"...um, thank you but I really..."

"Nonsense, I'll just have one of the nurses drop off that letter for you." He heard Dr. Heart Throb say as he walked up.

"Hey, Derpy I've been waiting for ya!" He said, surprising both Heart Throb and Derpy, though the latter quickly recovered and had a relieved smile. "So, we gonna go visit Grace?"

"Oh, hello Mr. Jenkins. So you're going to go visit Ms. Falls?" He gave a nod. "Then why don't you take this letter with you? I'm sure Derpy here would like to accompany me to have some lunch rather than spending time with you or a little filly." Heart Throb said, giving her a wink.

"And why would she prefer that?" He asked.

"To put it simply, you don't belong here and the little filly is a crippled pegasus." Heart Throb said, though only quiet enough to where only the three of them could hear, making him raise an eyebrow. "That, and I can't see why your so-called friends would give a creature like you the time of day."

"Take that back!" All of a sudden all eyes were on Derpy. "If you didn't notice, I also have a handicap so you don't ever talk bad about anypony who is disabled! Especially a little filly who lost both her parents! As for Brandon, the reason why I and his other friends are friends with him is that he's kind, strong, brave, and will actually try to be there for you when you need him! So take back what you said about him!" The attention switched to the doctor, who was now sweating and his eyes darting around.

"Yes, I must agree with the young mare. You need to apologize to Brandon and all these patients who are waiting for creating a scene. Then I want you in my office afterward." A voice said from behind them, and when they looked Dr. Stable's was standing there with a scowl aimed at Heart Throb.

"Fine, I'll apologize to you all but not to this thing!" Heart Throb said, pointing at him.

"My office now!" Dr. Stable's yelled, and as Heart Throb went he turned around and looked at him. "Sorry about that, don't worry about him. I'll make sure he learns his lesson."

"It's no problem, I stopped caring about what other ponies thought of me. At least ponies who aren't my friend anyway." He replied, and Dr. Stable's nodded and went to his office. "Now as for you, thanks for sticking up for me. But you know I had a plan."

"Y-you're welcome, I-I just don't know what happened. I just heard what he said about you and that filly and something snapped inside. But what were you gonna do?" She asked, looking at him her eye's tearing up from frustration.

"Well, I was simply gonna tell him me and you were going out and drag ya away." He said with a big smile, and she got a blush.

"Y-you would have told him that? But why?" She asked, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks even more as he bent down to look her in the eyes, as best as he could anyways.

"To be honest, I was planning out a date for Luna and Lyra when I came out here. But since I saw you again, for some reason I started to plan a date for me and you as well." He replied, giving her his best friendly and hopeful smile.

"A-are you really asking me out?" She asked hesitantly, and he just nodded. "I think that sounds great! But what kind of date were you planning and when?"

"Don't want to ruin it, all you need to know is that it'll be tomorrow after our massage session okay?" He asked.

"Of course, I-I just can't..." she couldn't help herself, as she jumped up and wrapped him in a tight hug. "I just can't believe you would want me in your herd though." He could hear the question and doubt.

"How about I tell you why tomorrow because I think we're making another scene." He said, and she gave him one last squeeze before letting go.

They made their way to Grace's room, and when they entered the little filly was taken by surprise that was quickly replaced with hyperness that she finally had some visitors. They spent a little time talking, mostly him answering her questions about what he was. When it was time for them to leave, Derpy gave the filly the letter and left.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow okay?" He asked a happy smile spread across his face.

"Yup, see you tomorrow!" She replied, returning his smile before taking off.

"Well look at you go, three mares in less than twenty-four hours. That has to be a record of some kind." He turned to see Applejack standing there with a huge smile. "I'm really happy that you seem to finally have a genuine smile, it's been a long time since I've seen ya wear one. I believe the last time was when he had a game night two months ago, and you were having a blast crushing Rainbow at every game."

"Yeah, I remember that and thanks." He said.

"I heard what happened with Heart Throb, you ain't upset about it are you?" She asked.

"Nah, I don't really care what other ponies think about me. The only ones that opinions matters are the ones that I love." He said, putting a hand up to his mouth.

"Heh, don't worry like I said it's your relationships, so I have no right to tell anypony anything unless you say so." She said, giving him another smile. "Well, I guess we better get home. I'm sure Big Mac needs my help with something, and your marefriends are probably wondering where you're at."

"Yeah, I'll see ya later then." He said as he started to walk off.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Twilight wants all of us over the day after tomorrow, and that means you too." She said, and he just nodded.

"I'll be there." He said and continued his way home.

Author's Note

There you guy's go, a nice long chapter! Hope you all enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile! Also, random author fact time again! The fact is, despite how she's been acting in a lot of episodes in season four Pinkie is starting to really grow on me. :pinkiehappy:

Cursed Words

On his way home, he had stopped by the place where he wanted to take Derpy to set everything up. Once he managed to make a reservation and requested a song, afterwords he once again set off towards his house. Though as he walked he started to think about his plans for Lyra and Luna.

He knew he had the money in order to pay for everything since he had a little while to save up. Though he had almost forgotten that Celestia said she would pay for the house up till now, so it was next month he had to start paying the bill. So with that in mind, he set out towards his house knowing he had plans for the next four days.

Once his house came into view, it was a little past four and he had to stop for a moment to think about how to tell Lyra and Luna about him taking Derpy out. Both of them were open to starting a herd, but he was a little scared that they might not like him just asking out another mare so suddenly and taking her on a date before them. But he figured he would make it up to them when he took them on their dates.

"Hello, anypony up?" He asked as he walked inside.

"Oh, hey your back! Didn't think going to get your back checked out would take so long." Lyra said, popping her head up from behind the couch.

"I agree, a simple check-up shouldn't have taken you this long," Luna said, stepping out from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head.

"Yeah, well I kind of ran into Applejack and we talked for a little bit. Then after my checkup, I ran into Derpy at the hospital. We talked and went to go visit a little filly that I met a week ago." He said, taking note of how each mare was staring at him.

"You mean Grace? Well, that was sweet of you, and that's cool that you talked with some of your friends. But what did the doctor say?" Lyra asked, getting up and walking over to him.

"Depends on which doctor." He muttered.

"What was that?" Luna asked before Lyra.

"Nothing, just one of the doctors being a jerk. But yeah, my doctor said that I was just suffering from stress and just needed a massage. Also, I'll be getting my cast off tomorrow." He replied, giving them a little smile.

"Well, that's great to hear. I'll set up an appointment at the spa." Luna said, but before she could make one step he spoke up.

"Um, actually that won't be necessary." This made both mares look at him with a little bit of concern. "Well, it's not that I wouldn't appreciate it but I've already set up getting a massage." He said, starting to feel very nervous.

"Oh, well that's great to hear that you're planning ahead. So, which of the spa ponies will be giving you the massage?" Lyra was the one to ask. "Because Lotus gives great massages."

"It's not any of the spa ponies." He said quietly, making them look at him. "Well, you see when I ran into Derpy and told her about my back she offered to give me a massage."

"Well, that was nice of her, though I'm surprised you accepted since you already feel like you owe her," Luna said, and Lyra just looked confused.

"Wait, owe her for what?" Lyra asked.

"You see, after Brandon was released from the hospital he was actually trying to avoid talking with his friends. That was until Derpy crashed into him, and she helped him by giving him the confidence he needed to talk with them." Luna answered.

"I see, so has she turned in the favor then?" Lyra asked, this time it was more directed at him.

"Um, actually yeah she has. She wanted me to give her a massage in return." He said, looking down slightly.

"Well it seems fair, but there's something else isn't there?" Luna asked, and he knew he couldn't hide it so he only nodded for now.

"What happened then?" Lyra asked, prodding him to give a verbal response.

"Um, well you see before we went to visit Grace she had to use the restroom." Both Luna and Lyra raised an eyebrow at this. "No, I didn't go follow her or anything. But while I was looking around, I eventually saw that she had finished but she was talking to a doctor. It was actually Dr. Heart Throb."

"That sleazeball?' Lyra asked, giving a tisst.

"Yeah, he was flirting with the nurses at first. But I guess when he saw Derpy, he started to flirt with her and I saw how uncomfortable it was making her. So I stepped in, but before any of us knew it we were making a scene. You see, he had said something about me and Grace, and before I could say something Derpy snapped and started to yell at him to take back what he said." He said.

"Serves him right, but what did he say about you?" Lyra asked, and he could tell Luna wanted to know as well.

"It doesn't matter, he already got into trouble with both Derpy and Dr. Stables. But you see, that leads me to the more difficult part of the story." He replied, hanging his head.

"You asked her out?" To his surprise, it was Lyra who had asked and he only nodded.

"I figured as much as well, I mean the way you were acting around her I knew you had some feelings for her," Luna said. "Though I must ask, when did you set up your date?"

"Um, t-tomorrow..." he said, going very red. "But don't worry, I already have a date planned for you two as well."

"Well, you better because I would really like to see your idea of a date," Luna said, walking over and giving him a light peck. "And cheer up, I was expecting you to make a move on Derpy or vice virsa."

"I didn't even know, I just assumed that you asked her out by the way you were acting. So, I want a full update on when you two became so close." Lyra said, also giving him a peck and he saw for a split second her giving Luna a smirk before giving him a deep and long kiss. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's my turn to use the shower."

"Um, uh, o-okay...hmmph!" He suddenly found himself on the floor staring into a pair of teal eyes, and the mare who was on top of him was giving a deep blush before she locked their lips together.

"T-that was nice," Luna said, after breaking the kiss and giggling at his shocked expression as he just stared at the ceiling.

"I think you broke him," Lyra said, giving him a poke.

"Me?! You're the one who started it!" Luna said.

"Hey, I just gave him a kiss. You're the one who jumped on him, and made out with him! Besides, you're the one who gave him the peck so you're the one who started it!" Lyra argued.

"Girls..."

"So, that's what I'm supposed to do, is it not? I mean giving my coltfriend a small peck to show my affection?" Luna argued back.

"Stop..."

"He's my coltfriend to you know! Just because you two became a thing a few hours before he invited me to join doesn't mean anything!" Lyra said.

"Will you two stop arguing over such a childish matter?!" Both mares stopped staring each other down and looked over at Brandon who had managed to prop himself in a sitting position leaning against the couch. "Okay, now that I have your attention as I said you two are arguing like little kids here. Now that you two stopped, will you help me up?"

"Oh, we're so sorry Brandon!" Luna and Lyra said, going over to him helping him up and before either one of them had time to react he gave both of them a kiss on the cheek.

"There, I think that should even things out. Now, please don't argue anymore, especially over matters such as who started a kissing war. Because no matter what, I think the winner will always be me." He said, letting go of the mares and limped over to the other side of the couch.

"Hey, what about your crutches? And what do you mean you'll always be the winner?" Lyra asked.

"My ankle's fine remember? As for why I will always win in those arguments is because they start because of me, that and I get to see how far you two will go to show each other up which is always a plus." He said, giving them a cocky smirk. "And I have to agree with Luna, it's very nice."

"Hmmph, guess you're right you will be the winner in that situation," Luna said, as she hopped over the couch and landed on the cushion next to him, and wrapped a wing around him. "Then again, I think plenty of ponies will think you're a winner because now you three beautiful mares."

"Yup, now before I join ya on the couch I'm gonna take that shower now," Lyra said, giving him a peck on the cheek and she finally went to the bathroom.

"Well?" He asked once they were alone.

"Well, what?" Luna asked.

"No retaliation for her giving me a kiss on the cheek?" He asked jokingly.

"And let you win again? I think not." She replied, giving a slight laugh at his disappointed look. "But then again, I think I like letting you win." Once again, she locked their lips for a brief moment.

The next day, he again woke up before the two mares but he knew he didn't have to be anywhere until the afternoon. So he decided to start cooking breakfast, which by the time he was halfway done both Luna and Lyra were up and waiting. He had decided to go with something simple, some pancakes and eggs though with the pancakes he had two different batters, one was blueberry and the other was strawberry.

"Mmmm, those smell delicious," Luna said.

"Thanks, I'm making your favorites." He said. "I've got blueberry for Luna and strawberry for Lyra."

"Then which one will you be having?" Lyra asked.

"I'm having both, pancakes are the best don't you know?" He replied. "And done, here you two go."

"So, what're your plans for today?" Luna asked, speaking between bites.

"Well, first gonna go to the hospital then come back here to meet up with Derpy. That's uh when we'll be doing the massages and after that, I'm planning on taking her out to a nice little restaurant to eat and dance." At this, Lyra nearly choked on her bite.

"What, you can't dance," Lyra said, holding back laughter from the last time she saw him try to dance.

"I've taken some lessons, maybe I'll show you two what I can do now." He said, not really caring for the look of doubt coming from Lyra.

"Well, I must say that sounds very lovely for a first date. I'm sure Lyra will agree, but I can't wait until I see what you have planned for our first date." Luna said, giving him a little wink.

"Yeah, I'm sure whatever you plan will be great," Lyra said.

"Uh, yeah I think it's time for me to head over to the hospital." He said, taking his plate over to the sink.

"Oh, don't worry about doing dishes right now, I've got it," Lyra said, getting up and going to the sink.

"Okay, if you want." He said, giving a little sigh wanting to get back to doing stuff around the house.

"No, it's fine just let us handle the chores today while you go get ready," Luna said, giving him a smile.

"Well, my appointment isn't until one and it's only eleven." He said.

"Then how about sitting down and relaxing for a bit before you go," Luna said, pulling out a chair behind him.

He didn't really argue, even if he did want to help out around his own house now that he was feeling both mentally and physically better. Though as he sat there, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander over to the two mares who seemed to be getting along again. But his eyes only went to their smiles for a second, and instead went someplace else.

"Doing a little stargazing?" He jumped at the question, his face going red as he looked to see both Luna and Lyra looking at him with very evil smirks.

"Um, uh, n-no I was just...just thinking." He managed to sputter out.

"Uh-huh, oh I know what you were probably thinking of," Lyra said, going a bit half-lidded making him gulp.

"I think I better get going, after all, I want to get this cast off before my date with Derpy." He said, and with speed that neither of the mares thought he was capable of with a cast, he zipped out of the door.

"Well, I only hope Derpy won't tease him as much as we do," Luna said, giving a little giggle at the joke she would have made if he didn't rush out.

"Eh, I doubt she will. She's way to nice for that, though I'm surprised to hear that she actually snapped at Heart Throb. She must really like him." Lyra said, giving a little sigh and put on a smile.

"Yes, she does because she actually told me her feelings for him. Apparently, she's been trying to get his attention for the past few months, but something always came up for either one of them. Also, you have to remember that the doctor was also talking about a little filly with one wing, and she herself has a handicap." Luna said, giving a nod of understanding of what might have gone through Derpy's mind.

"It's strange to think that he finally got into this kind of relationship all because of what happened only a week ago. I remember he would always say that he didn't have any feelings for anyone, to think that he meant he had feelings for at very least three of us." Lyra said, changing the topic and getting back to the dishes.

"I remember him telling me that every time I asked in a letter, though I at least know of one other mare he has feelings for," Luna said, helping with the dishes.

"Oh, how do you know that? And would you tell me who it is?" Lyra asked, and Luna only smiled for a moment.

"Because, before he made me promise not to enter his dreams he kept having these dreams about who he has feelings for. There was always a dream about you, and I doubt he even remembers but he did have a few dreams about Derpy, then there were occasional dreams about me, but the last mare surprised me at first." Luna replied.

"Well that's cool and all, but who is it?" Lyra asked.

"It should be obvious, so I'm not going to say. That and a ponies dream is apart of their personal life, so I wouldn't feel right telling something that personal." Luna replied, making Lyra give a huff.

He didn't think he could get out of there quick enough, though to his own surprise he seemed to be a little faster than normal almost like he was a little lighter, even with a cast. But he didn't really care as long as he managed to escape the torrent of teasing he knew would come. Though he knew he would most likely have to hear it anyways when he got back after all Derpy wasn't coming over until about three and their dinner reservation wasn't until six.

As he walked through town again, he took notice that he didn't have as many judgmental eyes on him which made him grow a smile. Things seemed to be getting better for him after all his ankle seemed to heal under what was expected, he managed to get out of his depression, and he now had three marefriends. This made him get a slight skip in his step, even with crutches.

"What could go wrong now?" He asked himself, and he stopped and facepalmed. "Why did I just say that usually, something bad happens in these things when someone says that."

Taking a breath, he decided not to worry about and just continue on hoping that those words won't haunt him today. But he knew with his luck that they most likely would. He shook his head again to clear his mind and focus on the happy things that happened in the past day or two.

It didn't take long before he made it to the hospital, and he quickly checked in and waited in the lobby. After all, he did make it twenty minutes early for his appointment. As he waited, he took a look around just like yesterday only he was the only one waiting, and he was glad that he didn't see Heart Throb anywhere.

"Brandon, Dr. Hayseed will see you now." The nurse said, and he gave a nod and followed him.

Once they got to a patient room, the nurse did the normal checkup before the doctor came in. He didn't really mind since his luck was hopefully turning around even if he did feel that deep-rooted fear that seem to pop up. For some reason, his mind had not thought about it since Luna admitted her feelings until now.

"Good afternoon Brandon, how are you feeling?" Dr. Hayseed asked walking in.

"Oh, doing a little better. Back had a bit of a fit this morning, but it was more of a cramp than anything. So, we gonna get this thing today?" He asked, holding out his left ankle.

"Yeah, but first did you get everything set up?" Hayseed asked.

"You mean the massage? Yeah, somepony offered to give me one." He answered.

"Good, I take it that was Ms. Derpy who offered?" Hayseed asked, a little smile on his face.

"Yeah, and speaking about that where did you disappear to?" He asked, remembering that the doctor went missing after he started to talk with Derpy.

"Oh, well I figured you two were already going to the same place and I could tell that you two were friends already. And I know Dr. Stables already apologized, but I'm also sorry for what Dr. Heart Throb said." Hayseed said.

"It's fine, if I let things like that get to me I would probably have gone into an even deeper depression or something. Now, how about this cast?" He asked, once again lifting his leg.

"Oh, right here hold still for a second." Hayseed lit up his horn, and a grey magical aura went around the cast and before he knew it the cast disappeared and reappeared by the bed. "There we are, now I want to run a few tests to make sure your ankle is working properly."

At that, the test began and it only took about another ten to twenty minutes. It started with a simple rotating the ankle, then he had to put pressure on it but slowly at first to make sure it could hold his weight, the last test was to see if certain parts of his foot had lost feeling. Lucky it didn't seem that there was no nerve damage.

"Hmm, good it seems that it's completely healed. No nerve damage either, though I want you to be careful just in case the bone is still a little week okay?" Hayseed asked.

"Um, does that include a slow dance?" He asked, giving a nervous smile.

"Well, if it's a slow dance it should be fine. Also glad to hear that you asked Ms. Derpy out." Hayseed said, putting some papers in what he knew was his personnel file.

"What makes you think it's Derpy?" He asked.

"Oh, I only assumed because when I came back you two seemed to be hugging more like a couple, that and the smile that Ms. Derpy had said everything," Hayseed said.

"Well, you would be correct I did ask her out. But I've, uh, actually got three marefriends now." He said, a little embarrassed.

"Really? Three, now that's quite impressive. But do they know about each other?" Hayseed asked.

"Of course they do, in fact, two of them are actually living with me." He answered.

"You move fast then, now how about we get out of here so you can get ready then?" At that, he gave a nod and they started to walk only for the door to slam into his face. "Are you alright Brandon?"

"Ow, my nose doesn't feel right." He said, laying dazed on the floor.

"Hmm, well I can see why it's broken. Now, Brandon, this may hurt just a bit, and I'm going to do it on the count of three okay?" Hayseed asked, and he nodded. "Okay, one..." Just as Hayseed said that he felt a pain coming from his nose. "Sorry, less pain when you're not expecting it."

"Oh, I'm so so so sorry!" He heard a voice say, and then as he sat up he locked eyes with the one and only Bon Bon.

Author's Note

So, yeah that just happened. Remember to always be cautious when saying those particular words people! But now how will Brandon deal with this, and why is Bon Bon at the hospital right now? Also, to my proofreader after you finish go ahead and send me the mistakes that you found. I got bored and went over some of it myself, also for everyone remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Date With Derpy

He felt his body tense up as the pain of what happened a little over a week ago started to resurface. Though as he continued glaring at the mare, he let it soften as he could actually see the regret and heartbreak she had been through. That's when he finally got up.

"Thanks again doc, I'll see you around." He said, starting to walk towards the door.

"Okay, come back if that nose gives you any trouble," Hayseed said, watching him slip past the mare who seemed to be looking at the ground with tears in her eyes.

Once he was in the hall and was far enough away, he gave a depressed sigh as the memories of last week was starting to weigh him down again. As he walked through the hospital he could hear patients, nurses, and doctors talking. Though one thing stood out, something he been hearing since he left the room.

"Why are you following me, Bon Bon?" He asked, and he heard a frightened squeak and realized the harsh tone he used.

"C-can we talk in a p-place more private?" She asked.

"Why? Haven't you caused me enough pain? First, there was you telling me that both you and Lyra thought of me as a monster, making me go into a depression. Now you just broke my nose, so why should I trust you alone?" He asked, clenching his fist. "To top it off, I'm not the only one you hurt. You hurt yourself, and you hurt Lyra."

"I-I know, that's why I want to talk in private, so I can explain." She said, and he could hear her holding back a sob.

"I already know why you did it because you let your jealousy get the best of you. You saw a perfect opportunity to get me out of the picture, and you took it." He said and started to walk away.

"Yes, but can you blame me for being jealous? Especially now that you're dating her? Living with her?" That made him turn around, and the look on his face made her want to run for cover.

"You brought that onto yourself! You're the one who lied to her! You're the one who pushed her away from you! I wouldn't even have made a move on her, because she was happy with you! I didn't want to take that away from her by admitting my feelings! I could have moved on, I would have been happy with dating Derpy and Luna! It might have taken longer for our feelings to come out, but that doesn't change the fact that I love them! You only pushed Lyra away, and into my arms. So don't you dare try to put all the blame on me for what happened!" He yelled, calming down at the end.

"I-I..." She couldn't speak, tears were streaming down her face.

"For that, I am sorry. I know you love Lyra, and I honestly didn't want to do anything to break you two up. I do accept some responsibility for what happened, and I really am sorry that I was the cause of it in some way. But, I also feel like I need to thank you." He said everything from his expression and tone seemed much more calm and relaxed taking her by surprise.

"W-why? Why thank me? You're right, I did push her away with what I did hurting her and hurting somepony who didn't deserve to get hurt. I know that my jealousy wasn't justified, but I should have handled it better. I should have talked to Lyra about it, and not try to separate you two. I understand you needed a friend like Lyra, but I let my jealousy cloud my mind and I thought you would steal her away." At this point, she was practically curled up in a ball sobbing and was surprised when she felt a gentle hand stroke her mane.

"Love can make anyone do crazy things, even hurt the one they love. The reason why I say thank you is that in the end, I turned out happy. I would have been happy with just Luna, maybe that would've given me the courage to ask out Derpy. But I don't think without you doing what you did, none of this would probably have happened. Luna wouldn't have admitted her feelings for me, getting me out of my depression. Me stopping Lyra from leaving town, and then that gave me the courage I needed to ask out Derpy.

Though one thing didn't turn out alright, and that was you getting your heart broken as well. I hope you understand what I went through when I thought I lost Lyra, even as a friend. But like I said, if it wasn't for what happened I wouldn't have even gotten with Luna. So, as I said before thank you." He said, giving her a gentle smile. "And know that I really am sorry for being the cause of the problem in the first place. I honestly don't think I deserve any of them."

"B-but you d-do deserve them." This made him look at her in surprise, as he saw the same kind eyes that gave him a job and a new friend. "Y-you didn't deserve what I put you through, even if in the end you ended up happy. You were a-already happy with just being friends with Lyra. I-I'm so very sorry that I tried to take that away, and despite what you may think of yourself. You do deserve all three of them, I-I'm the one who doesn't deserve her. A-after I hurt somepony who honestly needed a close friend, I-I took it away and broke what must have been what was holding you together."

"Bon Bon, you do deserve happiness. But I'm afraid if you can't believe that yourself, even after I've told you that I am sorry, then there is no point in trying. Though I will say this, just know that when Lyra admitted her feelings I asked if she still loved you even after what you did." The look on her face asked the question she couldn't voice. "She said that she still loved you, but I'm not going to lie. To her, it felt like you two were drifting apart a little bit. She had said that it started a few months ago."

"W-when I s-started to get jealous." At that, he just nodded.

"Now, I have to go get ready for a date. How about this, we can still be friends and I'll come to visit you every week, does that sound good?" He asked.

"I-I would like that." She said, and as he started to get up and walk away she called out. "And please, if it's not much to ask, tell Lyra that I still love her and I'm sorry."

At that, he turned around and nodded and continued to walk away. Though as she looked around, she was surprised to find that they were outside of the hospital and had no idea how they got there. But wiping away any stray tears, since it seemed that she had cried herself out, she walked back home.

As he walked home, he couldn't help but give a sigh of relief as he thought about what just happened. He had just forgiven the one who had hurt him the most, but what he said was the truth. She had, in fact, helped him find his own special someponies, even if that meant he had to suffer for a little bit.

Though he looked up at the clock tower and saw it was ten past two o'clock. That gave him plenty of time to get cleaned up and ready for Derpy to come over. It should also give him enough time to look over something that he thought would be a nice surprise for when he gives her a massage.

"Thinking about what'll happen when she comes over?" He jumped at the sudden question, realizing that he had already made it home and was inside.

"Um, uh, I was thinking about the date." He answered, giving the two mares a smile.

"Yes, but I meant about what'll happen after the date. I mean, are you hoping to get lucky on your first date?" Lyra asked, giving him a little smirk.

"No, I just want us to have a good time. I don't plan on us going that far, especially on the first date." He replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that's good to hear. From what my sister and Twilight has told me, usually ponies nowadays go that far on the first date. But back in my time we at least waited until their honeymoon." Luna said, at that he went a little red.

"So, does that mean you won't try anything with us when you take us out on our dates?" Lyra asked.

"No, like I said I will wait. After all, it makes me happy just to know that you'll at least give me the chance to take you out on a date." He said, giving both Lyra and Luna a peck on the cheek.

"Hmm, well now that's out of the way I think me and Lyra are gonna head out for a little while," Luna said, and before he could ask she spoke up. "You don't want us here when you two start the massages, after all, we just might join in." At that, his face went completely red making both mares laugh.

"Y-yeah, wouldn't want a repeat of what happened yesterday." He said, making both mares instantly go quiet making him laugh. "Well, you two have fun."

"You too, but not too much fun okay?" Luna said, and at the same time, both mares leaned in and gave him a kiss on each cheek.

"Did you two rehearse that?" He asked, with a big smirk.

"You wish," Lyra said, and both of the mares went out of the door making him give a sigh and look at the clock.

"Guess I better get started before she arrives." He muttered and went to go get ready.

After taking a shower and eating a quick snack, he went to his room to get a book. He sat down and started to read through a particular chapter of the book and he couldn't help but shake his head for he didn't think he would actually read it. Though he got caught up in reading he barely heard the nervous knock.

"Coming!" He called, and put the book down and went to answer the door, though once he did he couldn't help but stare in amazement.

"Um, hey are you alright?" Derpy asked, shifting nervously.

"Y-yeah, you look beautiful. But, d-don't you think that's a bit much for massages?" He asked, face going red from embarrassment.

"Maybe, but I thought I would get dressed up anyways for later." She said, giving him a nervous smile. "I hope it's alright."

"Of course, come on in. You want something to snack on or something to drink?" He asked, stepping aside letting her in.

"Yes, I think I might want something to drink. Do you mind if I look around in your fridge?" She replied.

"Go right ahead." He said and watched as she went into the kitchen but then a single thought crossed his mind making his eyes widen.

"So, were you reading while you waited for me?" He heard her ask, and he ran into the kitchen and saw the book on the table with Derpy walking towards it.

"Um, y-yeah I was." He answered grabbing the book before she had the chance to read the title.

"Hey, I just wanted to know what you were reading." She said, giving him a pout.

"S-sorry, but this is more of a private book." He said, and after saying it wanting to facepalm as it made it sound like something else. "I mean I don't want anypony else finding out what I'm reading right now."

"It's fine, it's your book after all. But can't I just...." She started, but her eyes drifted towards the binding of the book. "Oh, I-I see."

"It's not that kind of book, at least not from what I've read! I promise!" He said, feeling like he might burst into flames and avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, so what have you read from it?" She asked, giving him a cute little smirk.

"Um, uh, w-well i-it has a chapter on how to give massages to pegasi. Not that I don't know how to give one, but I-I just wanted to know if there was something I could do differently. Maybe get a few tips." He said, and he felt a hoof on his back making him slightly shiver from the light pressure.

"Well, how about we get started on the massages then? Because I want to see if that book gave you any good tips." She said, rubbing his back and he looked back at her to give her a smile. "But since you're the one who has the doctors orders to get a massage, you need to go first."

"A-alright, and really Derpy thank you." He said, giving her a hug making her squeak in surprise. "You don't know how much you agreeing to go out with me makes me happy."

"Y-you're welcome, and I'm happy that you asked me out. It makes me happy to feel like somepony actually likes me like this." She said, returning the hug but he only squeezed tighter when she said that.

"And why wouldn't anypony like like you? You are beautiful, kind, sweet, make me smile whenever I'm around you, you helped give me the courage I needed to confront my friends. If those aren't good reasons for somepony to go out with you, then I don't know what else there is." He said, breaking the hug to look in her eyes which were slightly off.

"B-because I have a daughter that still lives with me." She said, looking away.

"If that's the only reason, then those stallions aren't actually really stallions. For if they fear going out with somepony with a child, then they fear commitment. I promise you that I will not break up with you just because you have a daughter, that just adds more to your charm." He said, making eye contact again and before he knew it she had leaned in and given him a kiss.

"Thank you." She said, taking him back into a hug nuzzling him.

"I'm only telling the truth, now how about we get these massages done before miss our reservations?" He asked, making her giggle a little.

"Alright, but I hope that chapter on massages is the only one you've read so far. Because I know what's in that book." She said, giving him a small wink. "Now, where are we going to do this?"

"Well, um, I-I was thinking about doing it my room." He said, face going even redder as she gave him a slight glare but then busted out laughing.

"I-I know what you mean, that s-sounds great. Who knows, we may end up needing it anyway. I mean, who needs dinner right?" She asked, making him gulp nervously. "Oh relax, I'm only kidding. I just know what to say to push your buttons."

"Yeah, you and the rest of my friends." He muttered, his shoulders sagging a little.

"Hey, don't worry I'll try to hold back later. But for right now, let's just try to relax and enjoy each other's massages." She said, giving him a kind smile.

"Okay, but if what you did in the kitchen when you put your hoof on my back then I'm definitely going to enjoy this." He said, opening his bedroom door and once he looked inside he nearly slammed the door shut. "Those two are really going have some explaining to do."

"So, you think they set this all up?" She asked, taking in all the lit candles in the room.

"No doubt in my mind, they had the time to do this." He said, not looking at her out of more embarrassment.

"Oh, they're just trying to make this a little more romantic for us. I think it's sweet of them that they set all of this up for us. So, how about you get on the bed and I can start." She said, pushing him into the candlelit room.

"Alright, alright don't have to be this pushy. It's like you want to take this further than what I planned." He smirked, and from what he could see she was blushing.

"No, I just don't want you to go against doctors orders is all." She replied.

"I know, now be careful around these two spots." He said pointing at two spots in between his shoulder blades. "They seem to be the more sensitive areas."

"Okay, now hop up on your bed and we can get started." She said and watched him lay on his stomach.

She hopped up beside him and put a single hoof on his back, putting little pressure at first and then began to slowly rub his back. Soon enough she had both hooves working, and she gave a blush when the first moan came out. Though as she worked her way up his back, she noticed him starting to tense up a little.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, slowing down.

"A little, but it ...ooohh...still feels good." He said, letting out a sigh and his body starting to relax.

"Well, it certainly sounds like it." She said, letting out a giggle at another moan feeling less embarrassed now.

"S-say Derpy, h-how...right there....how are you this good?" He asked, and she could tell that he was fighting to get that sentence out.

"Well, I have an older daughter that I used to give massages to when she was younger. She had a condition that she outgrew, but I didn't really have the money to take her to a professional so I learned how to give massages." She answered, sticking her tongue out in concentration.

"That sounds n-nice, so you have...ooh...two daughters?" He asked.

"Yes, you know about Dinky my youngest. Then there's my oldest Sparkler who moved out a couple of years ago." She replied.

"W-well I would like to meet them sometime. A-and I know this is rude to ask a lady, but how old are you?" He asked, and she could tell that he was in fact nervous.

"Don't worry about it, I'm twenty-five. I adopted Sparkler a few years after I moved out of my parents." She said, knowing that was what he wanted to know, and then when she passed over a certain spot on his back her entire face turned red as he let out a long moan.

They continued some small talk as she continued with his massage, though as she got closer to the spots that he had pointed out she grew a little hesitant. But as she gently rubbed the spots, she almost squeaked in fright as she felt two hard knots in the spots he pointed out. She knew that it was normal for stressed-out ponies to develop knots in their backs when they became stressed, but these knots seemed different.

"Are you alright Derpy?" He asked, noticing her look.

"Um, uh, y-yeah just got spooked a little by a fly. Thought it was a bee." She said, and she felt his eyes narrow.

"If you say so, but I feel great Derpy. How about we switch?" He said, getting up.

"Are you sure? I mean I wasn't all the way done." She replied.

"I'm sure, now lay down." He said patting her head, and she laid down where he had. "Now, I might not be as good as you but I'll try my best. Tell me if I hurt you or anything, okay?"

She gave a nod and felt his hands on her back slowly building up the pressure. Though she had gotten a few massages by other ponies, getting a massage from a human was a completely different experience for her. His fingers adding just the right pressure in the right spots, and she nearly let out an embarrassing moan.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, and she could hear his nervous tone again.

"It feels amazing, it's not like any other massages I've gotten. Y-you...hmmm...should get a job at the spa." She said, making him chuckle a little at her little moan.

"Well if I apply then so do you. But I'm going to do something that book suggested." He said, and before she could ask or respond his hands moved to the base of her wings.

"W-what are...oooohhhh!" She bit her lower lip as he gently pressed into the very base of her wings, though he didn't go any higher than that.

"The book said that pegasi build up a lot of their stress in their wings, but it also mentioned that their wings can be uh, well sensitive. I hope I'm not crossing some kind of line, am I? B-because I know this could be considered an intimate act." He sputters nervously.

"N-no, i-it's preening that most pegasi consider the most intimate. M-massaging the bass like that is f-....ooohhmm...fine, just as long as you um, d-don't go any higher." She said quietly, making him a little more nervous.

"Um, are your wings that sensitive?" He asked, both of them completely red from the awkward conversation.

"O-only when I f-feel really g-good or relaxed." She squeaked out, him accidentally moving one of his hands a little bit higher on her wing.

"Sorry, sorry!" He said and was about to remove his hands before she spoke up.

"It's okay, I-I know it's your first time giving a pegasus a massage. And you wouldn't know everything about it. I won't blame you for trying to massage me there, I know you don't mean to make a move like that. You're too nice, and more of a gentle colt for that kind of move. But please don't stop, it really was good." She said, giving him a little pout.

"I-if you say so, but I think I can only do it for ten more minutes or else we'll be late for our date." He said, looking at the clock.

"Alright, oh what happened to my dress?" She suddenly asked.

"You put it at the end of my bed, don't worry." He said and resumed his massaged helping her to relax again.

Over the next ten minutes, he continued the massage keeping track of the time, knowing he should also get dressed as well. Though that reminded him that he hasn't told her what they would be doing. But that only made a smug grin appear as he thought it would be a nice surprise.

"You ready to get ready Derpy?" He asked, taking his hands off her back.

"Mmmhmmm..." she replied, he just looked at her with a bit of curiosity.

"You do know that I've stopped right?" He asked, and she looked up at him as he was standing up beside the bed.

"Oh, um, uh, yeah I'll go get ready." She said, a blush forming and as she tried to stand up her legs seemed to wobble.

"Do you need any help?" He asked, knowing that the release of stress and tension can sometimes do that.

"N-no, I'm fine." She said, spreading her wings and gave a flap lifting her into the air.

"Well, if you say so. You can get dressed back up in here, I'll just go get ready in the bathroom." He said, taking a nice outfit that Rarity had made and started towards the door.

"You don't have to do that." She said, though he just looked at her.

"I know, but I still have a few things from my world. Like not being in the same room with a lady when they're getting ready." He said, giving her a smile before walking out of his room.

It only took him a few minutes to actually get dressed and make sure that everything was in order. As he waited he couldn't help but think about how beautiful Derpy had looked in her dress when he first saw her. For some reason that dress made him have something nagging at the back of his head like he was trying to remember something.

"Hey, are you alright?" He turned to see Derpy standing there with concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, and you look beautiful." He said, pushing the thoughts deep into his mind.

"Thanks, you look handsome yourself." She replied a slight blush on her cheeks again.

"You know, we seem to blush a lot around each other." He said, giving a big smile.

"Yeah, so where are we going?" She asked, and his smile just grew.

"I like that to be a surprise to you." He answered.

"Oh, but I really wanted to know if I overdressed." She said, giving him a little pout.

"Trust me, where we're going you'll look perfect. Now, shall we go?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"We shall." She giggled, putting a hoof into his hand.

As they walked in comfortable silence, he couldn't help but keep glancing over at his date. For some reason, she felt familiar especially in her dress. it felt like he knew her before, but he knew that couldn't have been right. So that left him with one other thought, that she reminded him of someone he couldn't remember.

"Are you okay? You seem distracted." He heard her ask, and felt her hoof on his hand.

"Yeah, just something keeps nagging at the back of my mind. I'm sure it's nothing, but we're almost there." He replied, giving her a smile that said he was fine. "And again, you look beautiful."

"Thank you, but you keep saying that." She said, blushing a little.

"Just because I said it many times doesn't make it any less true." He said, putting his hand on her cheek and felt her heating up. "We better get going, we only have one more block."

"O-okay, but I still wish you would tell me where we're going." She said, and as they turned a corner he went to straight to a door and opened it for her.

"This is the place." He said giving her a smile, and she read the sign above the building and her mouth hung open.

"But I thought it took months to make a reservation here." She said, still in amazement.

"Normally, but they owed me for when I did an ad for them in the newspaper." He replied. "Now, after you."

"T-thank you, but don't you think Luna would enjoy a place like this more than I will?" She asked.

"To be honest, no she doesn't exactly like to go to fancy places. But that shouldn't treat my other marefriends to fancy dinners." He answered. "And I think you deserve a nice dinner and a little surprise after."

"What do you mean?" She asked, feeling a bit more self-conscious thinking that she wasn't dressed up enough now.

"You'll see, now after you." He said again, waving his hand for her to go and she just walked in a bit more nervous.

"Ah, welcome to The Gala where we serve the finest dishes from all across Equestria and more! How may I help you this fine evening?" A mare, with a slight accent, asked.

"Yes, I have a reservation under Jenkins." He said walking up to the desk.

"Ah, Mr. Jenkins it's nice to see you again. So this is your date, she's very beautiful. Right, this way to your table." The mare said, grabbing two menu's and guiding them to their seats. "Here we go, and your song and dance will be at seven, please enjoy the food."

"Song and dance?" She asked as the other mare walked away.

"Yup, when I made the reservation I paid a little extra to request a song for us to dance to. I hope that's all right." He said, giving her a small nervous smile.

"But you already took me here, you didn't have to pay anything extra for me. I think it might be a bit much." She said, looking down at the table.

"Hey, listen Derpy I don't think anything is too much for you. You deserve to be treated like a princess if you ask me." He said, taking her hooves in his hands. "Just remember what I told you, you are sweet, kind, beautiful, and make me smile when I'm around you. I think you really do deserve this. Now, how about we order?"

"Y-yeah, you're right I think we should order. Oh and Brandon?" He looked up from the menu in time for their lips to meet. "Thank you for saying all those things."

"N-no problem, and I wouldn't say them if they weren't true." He said, looking at her in surprise making her giggle.

"I know, but I think we should find something before our dance." She said, and he nodded.

Once they ordered, they talked a little more and took in the scenery around them. The interior of the restaurant was very nice, it made it feel like autumn. And once their food came, they still made some small talk but mostly focused on the good food.

"So, um, what kind of ad did you do for them?" She asked, after taking a bite out of her side salad.

"Oh, well they asked me to do a photoshoot to attract Minotaur's in to eat." He answered.

"Minotaur's?" She asked in a bit of curiosity.

"Yeah, when they travel here or to Canterlot. Since Ponyville is the closest town to it, the main train comes through here." He replied.

"Wow, that's so cool. So, instead of getting paid they just told you that they owed you a favor?" She asked.

"No, I got paid to do it. But part of the deal was that I get a reservation whenever I want, and since they actually always have a table open it was easy to get in tonight." He answered, taking a sip of his soup.

"I see you are enjoying your meals." Their waitress said a light pink Earth Pony. "But, it's time for your dance. Don't worry about your food getting cold, the plates and bowls have a little enchantment on them. You two have fun out there."

"Thank you, you ready Derpy?" He asked, both of them feeling nervous about it.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She answered, and they got up and followed the waitress to the dance floor.

Once on, they could feel the stares of the other patrons on them. The waitress told them to have fun and to not to worry about the other's who were staring. Though they waited a few moments for the song to start.

"Oh, I love this song!" She said, with a big smile. "My mom used to play it whenever we did a big house cleaning party."

"Glad you like it, now let me lead." He said holding out his hand, and once she put her hoof in it they were dancing with her on her hind legs.

"How did you do that? And how are you this good? I thought you couldn't dance." She manages to say.

"Well, I took a few lessons on how to dance with ponies. It was one of those traveling Minotaur's I was talking about, she taught ponies how to dance with bipedal species." He answered, helping her keep her balance.

"It seems that they paid off...Eek!" She squeaked in surprise as he dipped her.

"You okay?" He asked after bringing her back up.

"Yeah, just caught me off guard is all. But it was really fun!" She said, with a big smile but that quickly faded.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Well, I know I should be passed this by now. But I still think you doing all this for me is too much, I mean I'm no pony special. I'm not a princess who can control the moon or sun, or a known lyre player. I'm just a plan mailmare in a small town." She said, not meeting his eyes.

"Derpy, that's all I need you to be. I didn't fall for you because you were a princess, or a lyre player, or even a mailmare. I fell for you because you seem to always make me happy, you gave me the courage to face my biggest fear, you gave me friendship when I thought I didn't have it. You didn't see me as a monster after hearing what I did, despite us not knowing each other that well. You saw a poor creature who needed help, and when you did that poor creature looked into your eyes and fell in love instantly." He said, and by that point, they were making eye contact and her eyes were wide in shock and surprise.

"D-did you just..." She couldn't get the question out as he put a finger up to her mouth.

"I did, I said I fell in love with you when we first made eye contact after you helped me. I love all three of you, but I'm telling you right here and now that I love you." He said, leaning down giving her a gentle kiss and they were both startled when applause and whistling went throughout the room.

"That was very sweet you two, and you have some nice dancing skills as well. Hope we see more of you two here, especially if you put on more cute shows like that." A voice over some speakers made them look at the stage, both completely red. "Now, how about you two go back to your seats and finish your date in private?"

"Sounds like a plan, you ready..." He didn't get a chance to speak after that as he felt their lips lock.

"Sorry, but I'm ready to go back to our seats now." She said though he didn't say anything as he was stunned as more whistles and even a pony telling them to get a room rang out once more.

Author's Note

Yeah, sorry that there is a little more mistakes in this chapter than normal. I'm to tired to really go over it myself, and I think my proofreader is having a few computer problems. So, if you're reading this go ahead and send any mistakes you find my way. Also, I bet none of you saw him forgiving Bon Bon in the way he did, did ya? And remember to smile, smile, smile!

The Friends

He couldn't stop looking at the beautiful mare sitting in front of him, though every time she caught him looking he blush and look away. For some reason, after the kiss, she had given him after admitting he fell in love with her, after she helped him get the courage he needed, had made him more self-conscious. Though his thoughts were cut when he felt something go across his thigh making him shiver, and as he looked he saw a grey wing withdrawing.

"You ready to go?" She asked, giving him a cute little smirk.

"Yeah, let me just pay the bill then we can go, okay Derpy?" He asked, calling the waitress over.

"That's fine, do you know what time it is by the way?" She asked, looking around for a clock.

"It's twenty past eight, and here's your check. Oh, and I loved your dance that you two did, it was so amazing. I never thought I see the day when a pony would dance with a two-legged creature." The waitress said, giving them a smile.

"Well, I will say that it was fun and here you go. Keep the change, and tell the chef he did a wonderful job with our food." He said, getting up and walking over to where Derpy was sitting to pull the chair out for her to stand up.

"Thanks," she said, giving a tiny blush.

"Well, you two take care and hope we see you here again soon, and I'll make sure to pass your compliments to the chef." The waitress said, leaving with the bill in her apron.

"So, you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yup, let's go I didn't realize it was so late," she said, starting to walk to the door.

"It might be late for you, but I'm used to staying up past eight." At that, he avoided a jab to his gut. "But, I would like to walk you home if that's alright with you?"

"Of course it's alright!" She gave a blush after realizing she had just said that a little louder than she meant it. "I-I mean, yeah that would be great."

"Good, because I wouldn't have taken no for an answer. Especially from walking a mare I'm in love with home," he said, giving her a little smile while putting a hand on her head.

After that, they walked in comfortable silence taking in the night air and the stars above. As they continued to walk, he felt her draw closer to him and giving a little sigh. Again, he shivered as he felt something go down his thigh and once again he caught her retracting her wing.

"You know I know what that means right?" He asked, giving her a knowing smirk.

"You know what means?" She asked, putting an innocent tone in her voice.

"I'm friends with two pegasuses who are dating each other, I don't need a book to tell me what certain actions might say," he replied.

"Oh, so you know exactly what it means just from watching others do it then?" She asked.

"Nope, I also researched it after becoming curious on the subject," he replied, giving her another smirk. "I know that it means, at least for pegasi, that you marked me."

"It just doesn't mean that it's also a way for a pegasus to tell his or her special somepony that they love them without saying it," she said, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Really? Because that kiss back there at the restaurant certainly told me how you felt, speaking of which I need to repay you for that." Taking her by surprise, he locked their lips in a gentle kiss. "There, now let's get you back home and out of that dress."

"O-oh, I-I don't know about that Brandon. I mean this is only our first date and all." Once he heard that, he stopped and hoped that it was dark enough to cover his embarrassment.

"I-I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that you don't look like your quite used to wearing dresses is all. I honestly didn't mean like it like that..." A hoof came up to his mouth cutting him off.

"I know, I was just messing with you, I'm not really bothered by wearing a dress every now and again. Besides, I might want you to help me get it off." She gave a wink, making him go silent again as she started to walk forward. "Are you gonna walk me the rest of the way?"

"Um, uh, y-yeah." he managed to say, though as he took a step he couldn't help but wince as his back seemed to have stiffened.

"You okay? Is it your back?" She asked, her tone switching to concern.

"It's fine, just a little stiff is all. Now, let's go." Before she could say anything else he started to walk again, and it wasn't long before they came to her house.

"Well, here we are, do you want to come in for a bit?" She asked, giving him a slight puppy dog eyes.

"Sure, I can stay for a bit," he responded, and at that, she grew a huge grin, and she opened the door.

"You can have a seat on the couch, I'll go get this dress off and I'll be right back," she said, pointing to the couch he could barely make out in the dark before a sudden rush of light was turned on. "There, now we can actually see."

After that, she went off to where he assumed her bathroom was giving him a good chance to relax and look around the living room. There were pictures hanging around the walls, some were of who he knew was Dinky, some were of a pink unicorn who he assumed was Sparkler, and other's were of the three mare's together. Though the more pictures of Derpy, the more familiar she seemed to him, especially when he came across one of her and a brown earth pony.

This earth pony had an hourglass as his cutie mark and was wearing a white collar with a green tie, but it wasn't the stallion himself. It was the picture itself, the pose they were that made him have a nagging feeling at the back of his mind like he was trying to remember. Though he was cut off when he heard hoofsteps coming down the hall that Derpy went down.

"Ah, I feel so much better now that I've gotten that off." After saying that, and looking at him one eye stayed on him while the other looked at the picture. "Ah, the one standing by me in that is the Doctor."

"Who?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Well, that's what he likes to be called, the Doctor. But in truth he also goes by Time Turner, we were best friends for a long time before he went away." She said, giving a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, how close were you two?" He asked.

"As I said, we were best friends. But that was a different time, I've moved on since he went to go on more adventures," she answered, and let out a little squeak when she felt him wrap her in a hug.

"If it makes you feel any better, I won't leave you." Breaking the hug, he looked into her eyes. "How about we sit together for a bit before I head home?"

"That sounds great," she replied, her smile turning into more of a happy one, and once on the couch she started to turn about to get a more comfortable position and she let out another surprised squeak when she felt his hand run down her back.

"Here, sit down." She did what he said, with her back towards him and before she could ask what he was doing, she let out a moan of pleasure. "I told you I would give you two massages, now just relax."

She didn't feel like she had a choice as it felt like his hands were enchanted. Despite her efforts, she couldn't help but let out more moans and groans as he worked. Though she wondered why he was laughing.

"You must be really enjoying this, I mean I know pegasus wings can act based on emotions sometimes. So, unless you're angry or something, you must be enjoying yourself." This made her blush madly, as she looked both of her wings were fully extended and stiff.

"I-I'm sorry, y-your hands are magic," she sputtered out.

"It's fine Derpy, it's only a natural response. It just lets me know I'm doing it right, now hold still for a second." She let out a sharp gasp as one of his hands touched her most sensitive spot on her wing. "I'm so sorry Derpy, I should have paid a little more attention were I was...Mmmph!"

"You need to be quiet, you're doing fine now I want you to massage my wings for me." Breaking the kiss that she gave him to shut him up, and gave him a certain look.

"Derpy, as much as I would like to take our relationship to that level, especially with that look you're giving me, I think we should wait." At that, she looked a little disappointed. "I'm sorry Derpy."

"No, it's fine it's my fault. When you touched my wing, it just made me lose control. But I think you repaid me enough, I'm sure our other herd mates are waiting for you, I mean it's... Is it really that late already?" He followed her shocked eyes up to the clock that read twelve o'clock.

"Yeah, I think it is time to go," he said, wanting to get up but the mare was still on top of him. "And as much as I like this position Derpy, I do think it's time for me to go."

"I'm not going to let you leave this late when your house is on the other side of town! Nope, no way in Tartarus am I letting my coltfriend walk home in the middle of the night where he could be mugged, even if this is a small town!" She said, giving him a stare one would give a child when saying no to be firm.

"So, you offering for me to stay the night then?" He asked, and received a playful poke.

"Of course," she replied leaning down to give him another kiss.

"Alright, I think I'm fine where I'm at right now. But unless you want to be used as a blanket, I think you best get down." At that, she gave a smirk. "And please don't make a joke, I get enough of that from Luna and Lyra, I don't think I could handle it if you started it too."

"Fine, I'll go get you a spare blanket and pillow then. Shame too, I was looking forward to having you as my own body pillow. Though, if you're a healthy male I think the morning would be a bit interesting, don't you think?" She smirked, before walking off.

"Great, that makes three that tease me like that. I'm betting I'll die of embarrassment, any takers out there?" He looked around and groaned. "I think Pinkie is wearing off on me, now I'm the one who's talking to people who don't exist."

"Well, then maybe we need to get you checked out then." He jumped and turned to see Derpy there with a blanket in one wing and a pillow in another.

"Haha, I don't think I'm that far gone yet. Here, let me take those for you," he said, taking the pillow and blanket but made sure not to touch her wings with his hands.

"You know you can touch them now, they only get that when I, um, well get excited or something." She gave a blush after saying that.

"As I said, it's only a natural response. I learned a lot while watching others and from Twilight as well. But I will rather be safe than sorry, next time I probably wouldn't be able to say no to those beautiful eyes," he said, giving her a tiny peck. "Now, goodnight and have sweet dreams."

"Goodnight and you have sweet dreams too." She returned the peck with one of her own.

At that she went back to her room, giving a joy-filled squee after closing her door flopping down on her bed. Her main thought was that she couldn't believe he was actually staying the night, even if he didn't take her up on her offer to share a bed together. Though she didn't really mind as that showed what a good stallion he was, and as she drifted off to sleep she kept hearing him saying those three simple words to her.

She woke up with a start as a loud scream cut into the quiet night, and listening to it she realized what it was. The pony who was screaming was Brandon, and as she got up she managed to look at the clock before rushing out of her room. Though it didn't really register as she kept asking herself why he was screaming? Was he in pain? But as she got closer to her living room the scream turned into what sounded like talking, and once she was close enough she could make out what he was saying.

"Please don't, it's not right, please!" Was he having a night terror?"She's just a kid! Noo!" At that she covered her ears as he yelled out into the night again, and she couldn't take hearing him being in this much pain.

"Shh, it's okay I'm here." She cradled his head in her front legs, gently stroking the side of his face and feeling tears roll freely in his sleep. "It's okay, no pony is getting hurt."

"P-please no, don't leave me i-it wasn't my fault." Though it seemed the dream had changed, the pain she could hear was even more present.

"I'm not going anywhere, It's going to be okay sweetie." As she said that, his expression seemed to soften a little but the tears didn't seem to slow even as his eyes slowly opened.

"D-derpy...." She didn't let him finish as she brought him closer to her chest.

"It's okay, I'm here for you. I won't leave you like whoever did in your nightmare, no matter what you did." She felt his arms go around her, as he sobbed into her chest and she gently nuzzled him on the top of his head.

"T-thank you..." She heard him say, and her heart still hurt from seeing him in such pain. Whatever his nightmares had been about, it was obvious that they seemed to be worse than what she could imagine.

"Come on Brandon, you're sleeping with me," she said in a soft and soothing tone, and he didn't argue as she led him back to her room and as they laid down she snuggled up to him. "It's going to be alright, just rest your head and I'll be here no matter what."

"A-another reason to love you...." he said drifting off to sleep, and as she waited she let out a sigh of relief as it seemed he was sleeping peacefully now.

"What could have made you have these nightmares? And what do they mean?" She asked laying her head down resting her eyes.

As he woke up he couldn't help but turn a little red as he saw Derpy sleeping face to face to him with a cute little smile, and she also seemed to be letting out cute little snores. It was like a magnet as he leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the nose, making her scrunch her muzzled a little as she woke up. Though he could tell that it was taking her a moment to register him.

"How was your sleep?" She asked, and he could see the concern in her eyes.

"Well, since it seems you got me in bed with you I say it was a good night," he replied, though the look on her face kept him from giving a chuckle. "What's wrong?"

"You don't remember the nightmares you were having?" She asked, making his eyes go wide.

"I-I don't really remember the nightmares, but I remember a dream with a voice that was so comforting, almost angelic. But I guess that wasn't a dream, was it?" He asked, seeing a light blush appeared on her.

"N-no, I heard you screaming and you sounded like you were in pain, and so sad. So I comforted you until you woke up and I made you come with me to bed, and well here we are." Taking her hoof, she began stroking the side of his face and his hug tightened.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Derpy, I thought I would be fine one night without having to ask one of my special someponies to snuggle with me," he said.

"Brandon, don't ever be afraid to ask me to snuggle with you. In a matter of fact, last night was the best night sleep I had in years my little snuggle muffin," she said, nuzzling him.

"Snuggle muffin? What happened to you calling me sweetie?" At that, she looked back at him in slight confusion. "Well, in my dream I heard you call me sweetie."

"That just must have been apart of the part of you that was still sleepy," she answered. "And what, do you not like being my snuggle muffin?"

"I-it's not that, just, well it's a bit embarrassing a little." He admitted.

"Well, too bad because that's what I'm calling you from now on," she said bopping him on his nose, and before either one of them said another word a knock came at the bedroom door.

"Hey mom, I made some coffee so if you and your friend are done in there, I'll be waiting in the kitchen." At the sound of the voice, Derpy turned completely red.

"Um, w-was that one of y-your daughters?" He asked nervously, only to receive a tiny embarrassed nod in response. "W-well, guess I would have to meet your daughters sooner or later."

"What are you doing?" She asked suddenly, seeing him get out of the bed making sure he looked presentable.

"Well, at least one of your daughters know I'm here so why delay meeting them?" He replied.

"No, I mean why are you still wearing your clothes? I mean I know you aren't comfortable in the winter, but it's spring right now," she replied.

"For one, you have a little filly and I rather not explain the whole decency thing. I mean if I wear these, I can just use our date last night as an excuse. Second, I rather not carry them all the way to my house. Besides, I have to go to Twilight's today for a friend meet up I guess." He said.

"So, you're just going to wear such nice clothes to such a casual get together?" She asked.

"Um, well since I probably won't have time to go back to my house, yeah I was. That, and I was hoping that if you weren't busy today you could come with me? It'll be lots of fun, we usually play a bunch of games and stuff." He turned his head back, giving her a hopeful smile.

"Well, I don't know. I mean you didn't seem you wanted to play my game last night," she gave a smirk as his face turned red. "But, yeah I think I'll go with you. I can always ask Sparkler to take care of Dinky again, at least for the day."

"Great, now how about you introduce me to your daughters?" He asked, and she just giggled a little.

"Alright, and just be careful around Sparkler. She can be a bit touchy about me dating," she said hopping out of her bed.

"Strange, usually it's the other way around," he said.

"True, but try not to take offense if she tries to push your buttons." She looked at the closed door with a slight smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not that worried about it," he said, opening the door for her.

"Thank you, my snuggle muffin." Giving him a peck on the cheek before walking out of the open door and into the hall, where he followed her to the kitchen where a mare and filly were sitting at a table. "Morning girls, how was your day yesterday?"

"Oh, it was great! In class, we learned about the Griffon's and how we met them. We even got to meet one who was a soldier who talked about his home town!" The little filly who he knew was Dinky said.

"That certainly sounds like it was interesting, but how about you Sparkler?" She asked, turning towards the pink mare at the end of the table.

"It was pretty good, I had tons of fun playing with my baby sis over there." Sparkler said, getting a little glare from Dinky.

"I'm not a baby!" Dinky yelled, still giving her glare.

"I rest my case, but who's your new friend?" Sparkler asked, with a slight stare getting Dinky's attention.

"And why is he so tall? And why is he walking on two legs? Is he friends with Lyra?" The little filly started to ask, only to be hushed by her mother.

"This is Brandon, our very own human and that's just how they were made my sweet little muffin. And yes, he is friends with Lyra." She answered for him.

"So, if what I saw when I went into your room is anything to go by, I take it that he was the one who asked you out?" Sparkler asked.

"Wait, mommy, you went out on a date last night? That's why I had to stay over at Sparkler's last night?!" Dinky said, groaning a little.

"Yes, mommy did have a date last night and it didn't end how you think it did Sparkler." She said, and looking at him seeing his slight discomfort. "Why don't you go have a seat at the table? I'm sure my daughters won't hurt you."

"Why would we hurt him? He seems pretty cool looking." Dinky said, giving a huge smile and Sparkler snorted a little.

"It's your life mom, you can date anypony you want. Even if they aren't an actual stallion or even a pony for that matter." Sparkler spat out.

"Sparkler, that kind of talk isn't allowed in this house and you know it! And why does him not being a pony have to do with anything? I mean, and I'm sorry for bringing this backup sweetie, but you used to date a Griffon yourself." At that, Sparkler tensed up and then gave a sigh of defeat.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for being harsh on you." Sparkler said, turning towards him.

"It's fine, I'm used to ponies having trouble with me because I'm a completely new species to them." He replied, relaxing a little.

"Yeah, you've been here what? Eight months now, and this is the first time I think I actually got a good look at you. So, is it true that you eat meat?" Sparkler asked, and he could see the curiosity in her eyes.

"I could, but I don't. Humans are omnivores, and we can survive on vegetation and other things that can be grown." Once he was done talking, he could see Sparkler looking at his teeth, or he assumed that what she was looking at.

"Well, that's good to know. Wouldn't want you to gobble up any little fillies now would we?" At that, Dinky let out a little frighten squeak.

"You don't eat little fillies do you mister?" Dinky asked, ducking under the table.

"Of course he doesn't my little muffin, Sparkler is only teasing you," Derpy said before he could.

"Then Sparkler is even more of a big meanie then!" Dinky got up from under the table to stuck her tongue out, having Sparkler do the same in response.

"Um, well as nice as it was to meet you two I think it's about time for me to go meet my friends. Are you still coming Derpy? I wouldn't want to pull you away from your family," he said, looking at a clock that read it was a little past eleven.

"No, it's fine just give me a second." At that, he gave a nod and left the kitchen. "Sparkler, do you mind watching Dinky for today?"

"But I don't want to go back over to her house!" Dinky argued.

"You don't have to, I'm sure she won't mind staying over here to watch you until I get back. But why don't you go to your room while I and your sister talk about this, okay?" She asked, nudging the little filly.

"Fine, but this time we're having what I want for lunch!" Dinky said, running off to her room.

"Mom, I really don't mind watching her today." Sparkler said.

"I know, but this is about your little comment about him not being a pony." Sparkler looked down in slight shame.

"I already said I'm sorry, and I didn't mean for it to sound so racist or anything." Sparkler said, still not meeting her mother's gaze.

"I know sweetie, but it was still very rude. But please, I really do like him and he's a really good guy. He's been through a lot since he's been here as well, so please just try not to scare him away." Derpy said, making Sparkler look her in the eyes.

"So, does that mean you two actually did it?" Sparkler smirked a little at her mother's reddening face.

"No, we didn't do anything of the sort," she answered.

"Then why was he in your bed, with you two being all cuddled together then?" Sparkler asked.

"That's because I suffer from chronic nightmares, and the only way I found to help me through them is by having another warm body near me." Both mares looked towards the doorway and saw him standing there with a slightly depressed look. "I was sleeping on the couch last night when your mother heard me screaming out, and she comforted me. I was still pretty out of it though, so I don't exactly remember going to her bed so the next thing I knew I was staring at her while she was sleeping. As creepy as that sounds."

"So, what you're saying is that you had a bad dream and had to have somepony snuggle you to make it go away?" Both Derpy and he could see that she was trying to hold back the laughter.

"It really wouldn't be a problem, if it didn't happen almost every time I sleep alone nowadays," he said, his expression turning very serious. "And if my nightmare was so bad where I was even screaming out, then I'm glad I was with your mom. Just knowing that she cares enough to comfort me, only makes me feel more in love with her." Taking a step forward, he laid a gentle kiss on Derpy's head.

"I love you too." She blushed and shifted uncomfortably in front of her daughter.

"Wait, you two already told each other that you love each other? On the first date?" Both of them could see the shock in Sparkler's eyes.

"Yeah, we did and I couldn't help myself but to say it to her," he answered, not looking at Sparkler.

"Well, I-I think it's time for you to go then." Sparkler said.

"Sparkler..." Before Derpy could say anything, Sparkler spoke up again.

"Both of you, like I said mom it's your life. If you think you are in love with a stallion after one date, then that's up to you. Isn't that what you taught me?" Sparkler asked. "Besides, he seems good enough to me. So I'm not really gonna argue."

"Oh, thank you sweetie and I promise I'll be home before it gets dark," Derpy said, hugging her daughter very tight.

"You best not be lying when you said you love my mom, you got that?" Sparkler asked, still being held in a tight hug.

"I wasn't if it wasn't for her I don't think I would even have any friends right now. Just trust me, I really do love her," he said. "So, you ready to get going?"

"Sure snuggle muffin, see you later sweetie! Love you!" Derpy said, letting go of her daughter.

"Love you too, and really? Snuggle muffin is what you came up with for him?" Sparkler asked, feeling bad about the pet name.

"I like it," he said, getting a huge smile from Derpy and a look from Sparkler that told him she knew how embarrassed he must be.

"See, at least somepony appreciates the nickname I gave them," Derpy said. "Now come on, I think I'm in the mood for a few board games."

At that, Derpy dragged him out of the door with Sparkler looking at him with slight pity now. But she didn't dwell on it and went to go check on her little sister. Hopefully, this one will actually stick around and not break her mother's heart.

As they walked together, he couldn't help but take in her smile that she had been wearing since they left her house. But as they walked, he couldn't help but think about what he did remember about his nightmare, which wasn't much. It felt more like he had actually experienced it rather than just dream it.

"So, have you told any of your friends that you're now dating three mares? And one of them happens to be a princess! Also, the one and only mailmare of Ponyville!" After saying the last part, she gave him a wink.

"Um, well Applejack knows but since everything has happened in only two days, I haven't really gotten a chance to tell the others," he said.

"So, it'll be a surprise to them then?" He gave a nod. "Well, how do you want to tell them then?"

"Well, uh, I hadn't really thought about it," he said, scratching his head.

"Then we're gonna be winging it then? Tell them when it seems like a good time?" She asked.

"I guess, but I'm somewhat hoping that with me bringing you one of them would bring up the topic. Maybe since Applejack already knows, she might do it." Seeing him think about it a little, she couldn't help but giggle.

"So, you nervous about them finding out that you are now dating?" She asked.

"Of course, they have been my friends since I first arrived here. They're like family to me," he said with a little smile.

"Well, if you play your cards right we might become family as well." At that, he just looked at her with an even bigger smile.

"Maybe someday, but one step at a time," he said. "Now, we're almost there. You nervous about meeting my friends as my marefriend?"

"Not really, I'm more excited," she answered.

"Well, then here we go." Stopping in front of the library, and knocking on the door.

"Coming!" They heard Twilight call, and before they knew it the purple unicorn was standing in front of them with a smile. "Oh, Brandon you finally made it."

"Yeah, and I um, brought Derpy along. Hope you don't mind," he said pointing to the grey pegasus.

"Oh, of course, I don't mind. The more the merrier right? Come in, and have a seat we're just waiting for Rainbow Dash now." Twilight said, opening her door for them.

"Thanks, Twilight, come on Derpy." He said, walking in.

"Okay, and it's good to see you Twilight," Derpy said, walking in behind him.

As they sat down, they got to talking with the other's that were there while they waited for Rainbow to finally arrive. But it wasn't a few minutes later that the blue pegasus finally did come, using excuses left and right as Twilight was giving her a lecture. Once she got settled in, she took notice of Derpy.

"Hey, Derpy, what you doing here?" Rainbow asked.

"Brandon brought her, I told them that it was alright," Twilight answered.

"Cool, more ponies for me to beat when we get to the games. So, how did you get Brandon to invite you?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow!" Twilight and Applejack both yelled.

"What, I was just asking." The blue pegasus said with a cocky smile.

"It's alright, I don't mind answering. I mean he is my snuggle muffin after all." Derpy said, leaning in and gave him a peck on his red cheek and after that, there was a deadly awkward silence that hung in the air.

Author's Note

So, any takers on the bet of him dying of embarrassment? Only bet with bits though. Hope you enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

No Escape

"Bwahahahaha!" Rainbow hit the ground holding her sides.

"Oh...oh my," Fluttershy had a slight blush looking at her fallen marefriend. "Dashie, would you mind stop laughing."

"B-but, she called him her snuggle muffin!" Rainbow manages to say through her laughter.

"Dash, I swear if ya don't stop laughing I'm personally gonna through ya outside." Applejack said it seemed to at least make Rainbow go from all-out laughing to snickering.

"I think it's a very nice name, and I thought you liked to snuggle with me by the fire Dashie?" Fluttershy said, making even the snickering go away replaced by her turning completely red.

"Hey, where do you think you're going buster!" Pinkie suddenly said, jumping up and running towards the door making the other distracted mares look to see he was trying to leave. "You are not leaving this party early, not when we just found out you have a marefriend!"

He was frozen facing towards the door with his hand extended out for the doorknob. They could hear him let out a sigh of defeat hanging his head, and turning around walking to his seat next to Derpy. Who put a hoof on his hand to comfort him, though that only made him sink down into his chair even more.

"So, Derpy dear since it seems Brandon doesn't seem to be in a talking mood. How did you two end up together? I mean it's been about four days since we last actually saw him, and he was still suffering from what happened." Rarity said, talking very cautiously.

"What are you talking about? I saw him on Hearts and Hooves day eating dinner with her and Luna!" Pinkie exclaimed, making the group look at him even more besides Applejack.

"W-well, um, t-that was...." Derpy was trying to say but as soon as she started speaking all eyes were on her.

"That was just a dinner between friends and all you were busy that day so I knew I could only really invite the two of them." He spoke up.

"Oh, so it wasn't a date then?" Rarity asked.

"Yes and no, depends on how you look at it. I did take them out and paid for the dinner but I was doing it out of being a friend." He answered, not looking at any of them.

"So, when did you two become a thing?" Twilight asked, pushing the subject.

"Yesterday," Derpy blurted out.

"And what about that nice little pet name? Where did that come from?" Rarity asked, and they all could see him physically tense at the question. "Neither of you actually have to answer, I was just curious since you just said it was just yesterday since you two got together."

"I...I spent the night over at her place last night." He replied, taking the hoof on his hand in his hand making all of his friends have a questioning look, but Rarity seemed to smile at the small gesture he made by taking her hoof.

"So, you two did it?" Rainbow asked, a smirk spreading across her face.wiggling her eyebrows. "Did ya? Did ya?"

"Yeah, how was it?" Pinkie asked, getting caught up in the moment.

"Was it awkward? How long did he last?" Rainbow asked.

"Will you two quit asking such personal questions! I mean I doubt he would do that on the first date, and I doubt he would do that to his other marefriends!" Applejack snapped, making the room go silent again.

"I would have to agree with Applejack, I don't think Brandon would want to take it that far," Twilight said.

"And I would have to agree as well, and besides even if they did its none of your business Rainbow Dash. I mean how would you like it if we asked you about if you..." Rarity was trying to choose her words carefully. "Did it with Fluttershy on your first date with her?"

"I would say it's none of your business!" Rainbow said. "Fine, I get what you guys are saying. But what did you say about him having other marefriends Applejack?"

"I, uh, I promised I wouldn't tell y' all." Applejack replied, giving him a pleading look.

"Fine, for one no we didn't do anything like that Rainbow, we just cuddled. And yes, I have two other marefriends besides Derpy." He said though it looked like he really wanted to die of embarrassment.

"And before any of you ask, yes I knew about his other marefriends. Though I'm the first one he actually took out on an official date last night!" Derpy said, moving a little closer to him.

"So, then you have a herd?" He gave a nod to Twilight who asked. "Then who are the others?"

"First, you all have to promise not to say anything until I finish explaining." He said, finally making eye contact with them and they all agreed. "Alright, the other two are Luna and Lyra."

"The big meanie pants who made you all sad?!" Pinkie yelled, making them all back away.

"J-just calm down and let him explain Pinkie." Applejack said, putting a hoof on the fuming mare.

"Fine, but if you're with her then it best be a good reason after what she did!" Pinkie said, sitting back down.

After that, he started to tell them what all happened in the last few days, excluding the nightmare he had from last night. Once he was telling them about what exactly happened with Lyra, they seemed to calm down. Which helped him get a little more relaxed, and when he was telling them about his date with the mare sitting next to him he couldn't help but give her a big smile.

"Well, that sounds lovely for a first date Brandon," Fluttershy said, giving them a heart warming smile.

"It sounds more than just lovely, it sounds outright divine for a first date! I mean it would even take me at least three weeks to get a reservation there, and you got one in under a day!" Rarity said, letting out a jealous huff. "But, I'm more surprised that Applejack here kept it to herself all night long!"

"Hey now, it was his business to tell not mine." Applejack defended. "Oh, by the way, Dash you owe me five bits for being right about him having a big ol' crush on Derpy here."

"Wait, you had bets going over who I liked?" He asked, jumping up but then just sat right back down with a sigh. "What am I saying? Of course, you all did."

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are Brandon," Twilight said, giving her two friends that were exchanging bits a glare.

"Well, it's really no surprise. But Brandon, you say you went out on a date last night would explain why you're wearing those particular clothes I made you." Rarity said, with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Oh, yeah he looks very dashing if you ask me!" Derpy spoke up, making to stretch her wings, but he shuddered as he felt her primary feathers once again rub against his out thigh which didn't get past Rainbow or Fluttershy, the latter blushing slightly.

"So, are you sure nothing else happened last night?" Rainbow asked, once again smirking.

"I'm sure Rainbow, why do you ask?" He replied, taking a sip from the tea that seemed to have magically appeared in front of him.

"Don't play games, I saw what Derpy just did!" Rainbow said, her smirk growing even more.

"What are ya talking about Rainbow?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, just look at her, she knows what I'm talking about." Rainbow said, pointing to Derpy who took an interest in the table with a slight blush but that just made him put an arm around her shoulder. "She just marked him, saying she loved him the pegasus way."

"And it's true, I do love him!" Derpy said, looking up from the table. "And I know he loves me because he told me so himself." At that, all eyes were on him, and now there was no escape.

"Yeah, I did and I meant it. In truth, I love all three of my marefriends. They've been my closets friends, even if I only just now got a chance to actually know them. I've finally had something in awhile that makes me happy, feel safe, and to know my secrets can be kept. I would not help myself by denying the fact that I love them." He said, giving every one of them a stern look. "If you all don't think it's right just because I only went out with one for one date, then oh well."

"Brandon, ain't none of us judging ya for having the feelings ya do. I think I can speak for all of us here, we're happy that you're happy. If ya say you're in love like I said it ain't my or our business in telling ya otherwise." Applejack said, and the others nodded in agreement but in the moment of silence a chair squeaked and he fell backward with a grey mare on top of him.

"Oh my." He could hear Fluttershy say, though it was hard to hear over the pounding of his own heart as he was locked down by a simple kiss.

"Okay, enough of that Derpy let him up before ya suffocate him." Applejack said, managing to get Derpy off of him leaving him stunned and out of breath.

"I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help it!" Derpy was saying, embarrassment evident in tone and body.

"It's alright Derpy, I think we all know why you did it. You okay Brandon?" Twilight asked, looking at him in concern since he hadn't even moved a muscle.

"Brandon?" Derpy asked, starting to walk over to him when they all let out a gasp when they saw a small puddle of blood starting to spread from his back. "Brandon!"

The Previous Night

"So, how do you think they're doing?" Luna asked.

"Hmm, probably doing what he said they would be doing. Giving each other massages right now, followed by dinner." Lyra answered.

"So, what do you want to do for fun?" She asked, after all, she really hadn't had the time to check out the town while she was Star.

"Well, we could go to the arcade," Lyra suggested, making Luna's ear's perk up.

"Little old Ponyville has an arcade?" She asked, not holding back her excitement.

"Yup and they have the latest games too!" Lyra suddenly got a big smirk. "I bet I could beat you in any game of your choice."

"Tis not wise to challenge me little pony, especially when it comes to games!" She replied, giving a winning stare.

"Bring it on, and whoever loses has to sleep in one of the spare bedrooms while the winner gets to share the bed with Brandon," Lyra said, each mare now exchanging determine looks.

"Where is this arcade so I can put you in your place?" She asked.

"Follow me, and remember it's your choice and don't expect me to go easy on you," Lyra replied, starting to go down a street.

"Neither will I," she said.

As they made their way to the arcade, they got a few stares, or she got the stares and remembered Nightmare Night. The night where she officially met Brandon, and they had an instant connection from feeling alone. But her thoughts were broken when they entered into a building full of arcade games, which she instantly grew a huge smile.

"Best four out of seven!" Lyra yelled at yet another game lost.

"Sorry, but even if I did agree with that you wouldn't catch up anyways. If I remember correctly, that puts me exactly at three straight wins." She said, giving a winning grin. "So, it looks like I get to share a bed with Brandon tonight."

"If he comes home tonight," Lyra mumble noticing the time, they had spent a few hours just playing other games before they started with their contest.

"Why wouldn't he come home tonight? I did believe him when he said he wouldn't try anything." She said, in slight confusion.

"I did too, but I think he'll most likely walk her home and stay for a bit. With how Derpy can be, I doubt she let him go home alone after ten." Lyra answered, seeing that it was almost ten.

"Hmm, so then that means I get to share his bed with him when he comes home tomorrow." She said, still with a big grin.

"Don't rub it in, you already beat me," Lyra said, hanging her head.

"Hey, it's alright. It'll only be for one night, and besides I never really seen a pony stand on their hind legs that long and still play games with that much skill. You did almost beat me there." She said, draping a wing over Lyra making her squeak and look up in confusion. "We are in the same herd, so I think it won't matter if we show each other a little romantic interest every now and again."

"R-romantic interest?" Lyra stuttered out.

"Of course, do you not know that draping my wing over you like this is a romantic jester?" She asked, giving a warm smile.

"N-no, I j-just figured it was used to give hugs or comfort somepony," Lyra said, blushing like mad.

"Yes, but since we have the same stallion in our lives it takes on a different meaning especially when we walk together like this like how we been." At that Lyra looked around, and saw that she had been leading her.

"W-well, I think I could get used to this. I mean despite us getting into little fights, it's still nice to know we can be this close." Lyra said, stepping a little closer to the alicorn. "Besides, I can see why other ponies like pegasus wings so much. They're just so soft, and comforting."

"T-thank you for the complement," she said growing a little blush. "But this is not an invitation to my bed." That made Lyra laugh hard.

"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you? I wasn't thinking this was an invitation to do that, I just thought you were at least trying to make me feel a little more welcomed after what happened." Lyra said.

"And I am sorry for what I said, I really didn't know." She said, looking away with guilt.

"No pony knew, not even me," Lyra said, nudging her. "Oh, and see he isn't home so he's probably staying the night over at Derpy's."

"I really do hope he meant what he said, about not going that far with her on the first date." She said.

"I doubt it, even if she were to make a move he probably save himself. Or if he were to make the move, which I seriously doubt he would, he would stop himself before it got that far. But why are you so concern with that?" Lyra asked.

"Maybe it's because I still hold on to my beliefs that sort of thing should wait until marriage. But I will not judge if he and one of you do go that far, but I will wait until our honeymoon if we make it that far." She let out a sad sigh.

"And why wouldn't it go that far?" Lyra asked, though her tone suggested it wasn't really a question. "I mean I can tell that he seems a lot happier than he's ever been since he got us as marefriends. I doubt he will let that go."

"I hope so, for I know what it's like to be lonely as well. It's part of the reason why I started to have feelings for him because we seemed to share that trait." She replied, walking through the front door. "I think it's time for me to make my rounds in the dream realm, goodnight Lyra."

"Wait, um, d-do you want any company?" Lyra asked, scoffing at the floor.

"I would like that, thank you." She said, and they headed to her room.

She woke up with a few tears in her eyes, she had heard him screaming out in pain in the dreamscape. Though she had made the promise not to intervene in his nightmares, this one felt so different but she didn't make it before he had woke up. But knowing he had been awakened from that awful dream did make her sigh with relief, but she still heard his pain.

As she moved she felt hooves wrapped around her, and then remembered the mint green colored unicorn that was sleeping with her in her bed to keep her company. It was a nice jester on her part, and she did find the light snoring cute. But she knew that it was time to start lowering the moon.

"Morning, how was your sleep?" She asked as Lyra came walking into the kitchen.

"Good, so Brandon isn't here yet?" Lyra asked, and looked at the clock to see it was around noon. "Man, I must have been exhausted."

"No, I believe he mentioned something about meeting up with Twilight and the other elements. From what I remember from his last letter about these get together's is that they take a better part of the day." She answered.

"Oh, well hopefully he'll tell them about us so they won't buck my face in next time they see me." That made Luna give a slight giggle.

"I doubt he wouldn't tell them, but maybe I should teach you my disguise spell if that's what you're worried about." She said with a teasing tone.

"No thanks, but what do you want to do then at least until he comes back?" Lyra asked.

"Well, I figured we could get some lunch." At the mention of lunch, Lyra's stomach agreed making her give another blush. "Then I think I would like to go to the park for a little bit."

They got ready, and went to town and ate at a nice little fast food place that was known for its haybugers. After eating they started walking towards the park, making some small talk. It seemed to be going great, that is until they heard a commotion that sounded like it was heading towards the hospital.

"What do you think that's about?" Lyra asked.

"I don't know, but is that Derpy?" She asked, pointing to a pegasus who looked like they were in a rush.

"Yeah, I think it is but why would she be apart of the..." Both mares eyes widen, and Luna quickly picked Lyra up and started to fly towards the hospital, whatever the commotion, they had a feeling it was because of Brandon.

Author's Note

Aww, Luna and Lyra were bonding. Hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Explainations

They all gathered around in his hospital room, all wearing concerned expressions. But out of all of them, Derpy was taking it the hardest as she was sobbing in Lyra's shoulder, who was trying her best to comfort the crying pegasus. Even with the doctor's reassurance that he would be fine, he was still in a coma-like state.

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault..." Derpy sobbed out, getting another tight hug from Lyra.

"Hey now, it's fine nothing is your fault," Lyra whispered and looked to see Luna sitting next to the bed trying to hold back tears.

"She's right, it's not your fault Derpy." At that, all of them except Derpy turned to see Dr. Hayseed standing there with what they presumed was his medical charts.

"Doctor, before you explain, can you at least tell us how long will he be like this?" Luna asked, not taking her eyes off of his sleeping form.

"Hard to say really, his body went through a traumatic shock. Though he should wake up, it could be tomorrow or it could be next year. I mean suddenly growing wings like this can take a toll." Dr. Hayseed answered, expecting the sudden gasp.

"Y-you mean he w-won't be awake for a-a year?" Derpy asked, fresh tears coming forth.

"No, I was saying that he could be in this coma for a year. But all the scans we did suggest he'll be awake in about a day, a week at most. Just be glad his wings didn't grow all the way, other wise he might never wake up." Dr. Hayseed said, and that seemed to make the whole room relax a little.

"P-please, can you tell us how he is now growing wings? I thought it was impossible for his species to grow wings, or fly without some other means." Luna asked as a few tears escaped.

"Well, yes most of his kind can't grow wings. But from what he and Twilight have told me, there is a mythical creature from his world that is called Angels. From their description, they are humans, or at least take the form of humans, with wings. But they are just considered myth in his world, but our world is full of myths from his world." Dr. Hayseed stated.

"But that does not answer the question, how do these creatures from his world being myths have to do with anything?" Luna asked, her wings slightly ruffling.

"If you would please Princess, calm down and let me explain. What I'm getting at is that I do not believe these Angels are not as a myth as what his people may have thought. From his history books, it was believed they could do magic, but eventually, for whatever reason, they could not access that magic. Thus I believe that at one point in their history they were like us ponies, some were like Earth ponies, some like unicorns, and some like pegasi.

"So before any of you ask, I think when his people lost the ability to use magic these angels lost their wings. Now don't get me wrong here, but I believe our human friend here may be a descendant from one of these angels and once exposed to the magic of our world he started growing his wings back. Which could also explain his back pains, of course, there is no actual way to prove this. But it's the best I could come up." Dr. Hayseed finished, leaving the room silent.

"T-that's all good to know doc, but you're missing something." They all jumped at the near whisper of the voice and saw Brandon's eyes opened.

"And what's that?" Dr. Hayseed asked, cocking his head to the side in both surprise and much confusion.

"A-angle's are also k-known to be very powerful m-magic users as well. I-in the religion where t-they came from, in one story t-two of them destroyed a-an entire city b-by disintegrating it. B-but in that r-religion it is believed that a-angels don't have wings, w-well only a f-few, but t-those are different kinds of a-angels." They all sat in even more silence at what they had just heard.

"But then where did the whole they have wings come from then?" Twilight asked, making his eyes wander over to her.

"B-because over time people s-started to b-believe you couldn't fly without wings. S-so I'm guessing someone d-decided to add wings to angels t-to explain how they fly." He answered, his voice still strained and a whisper.

"Makes sense, but I still believe that you may have some form of angel's magic in you that reacted to the immense magical field of our world. But right now I'm curious has to how you seem to be awake right now, even if you did have improvements since our last scans. You should be too exhausted to be able to wake up." Dr. Hayseed said, walking to him and looking him over.

"Um, hey Doctor?" Twilight asked, making Hayseed attention shift. "I know you performed the N.M.S on him again, and I was wondering if there was a change in his natural magic?"

"Ah, yes there was. It seems that his flow of magic did change a little, making it seem more like pegasus magic but not fully. He will be able to fly, do cloud manipulation, and any other thing a pegasus can. But at the same time, his own natural magic seemed to have increased. Probably compensating to adapt to the new magic in his body." Dr. Hayseed explained, then let out a sigh. "But it still doesn't explain how he is able to heal so fast, I mean first it was his ankle healing a week before. Which may not seem strange, but it wasn't a sprang, and now him waking up only a few hours of going into a coma-like state."

"I-I don't know what t-to tell you, Hayseed, e-except maybe I'm j-just a fast healer is all." He spoke up.

"Yes, well I still want to take a look over you now that you're awake. If you ladies would please wait outside, it'll only take a few moments?" Dr. Hayseed asked, and they all nodded and started to leave except for Derpy and Luna.

"I'm so sorry Brandon," Derpy said hanging her head.

"F-for what? You're one hell o-of a good kisser." He said, and from what he could see she had a blush but was still crying, but left to join the others.

"Princess, if you wouldn't mind?" Dr. Hayseed asked, looking at Luna.

"Brandon, I-I..." She started but couldn't finish.

"L-luna, it's fine. I'm okay, you d-didn't break your promise to me. W-what happened was n-natural." He said, managing to lift his hand up to gently stroke her cheek. "N-now, go wait with t-the others while the d-doctor does his job." And with that, she nuzzled his hand and left the room.

"So, Mr. Jenkins how are you feeling?" Dr. Hayseed asked once Luna had shut the door behind her.

"I-I've lost a l-lot of feeling in my a-arms and legs," he answered getting a nod out of the Doctor.

"That was to be expected, there was some minor nerve damage in the surrounding area. But nothing permanent, so don't worry about it." Dr. Hayssed said, and his horn started to glow with his normal grey glow. "Hmm, it seems that you'll only be held here for about two days in order to get treatment and to recover. But everything seems far better than expected, so are there any other complaints you like to get out of the way?"

"N-no, not really," he answered.

"Okay, I'll call your friends back in and we'll have a little discussion." Dr. Hayseed said, getting a weak nod from him before the doctor left the room for a moment with his friends behind him, and Derpy seemed a little better.

"So, what did ya need to talk to us about?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, well as I said before he will be able to fly with his wings due to, well let's call it Angel magic for now. Though that does mean he will have to learn how to fly, and how to maintain proper wing cleaning." Dr. Hayseed answered once the door was shut. "But also, before any of you ask he'll be fine to leave in two days. But I think it would be better if he would stay for at least four just in case there are unforeseen consequences."

"That sounds fair, but what were you saying about him learning to fly?" Lyra asked.

"Yes, well when his wings are fully grown he'll need a helping hoof to learn how to fly." Dr. Hayseed answered.

"Oh, well then leave it to...." Rainbow started but was cut off when Luna and Derpy gave her a glare. "What?"

"I think if anypony is going to teach him how to fly, it will be one of us," Luna said, and Derpy nodded.

"I want to volunteer to teach him how to fly if it's alright with you Luna?" Derpy asked, looking at her with guilt.

"Hold on there, let me at least tell you all this. His wings bone structure will most resemble that of an Alicorn, though I don't doubt that a normal pegasus could teach him how to fly because of how similar this magic seems to be with pegasi magic. But I think it would be better if the Princess here were to teach him." Dr. Hayseed interrupted, making Derpy look at the floor with even more guilt.

"Derpy, listen you may not teach him how to fly, but how about I let you teach him how to preen his wings?" At that, despite him being physically capped out, he let out a shiver knowing that was a very intimate action between pegasi. But that did make her look up in surprise and having reformed her blush.

"Well, that certainly sounds like a plan. But I must warn you of this, no strenuous activity until I give him the green light. And I do mean no strenuous activity." Derpy's blush went to completely crimson at the way the doctor had said it. "Now, if you'll excuse me I'm off the clock now. Goodnight everypony, and try to let him get some sleep." With that, Dr. Hayseed left.

"D-derpy, can you p-please come over here?" He asked, once the door shut, and slowly the grey mare walked towards him tears starting to brim over, but before any of them could react he suddenly sat up wrapping her in a tight hug. "It's alright, it isn't your fault. What happened would have happened over time anyway, please don't blame yourself for this."

"B-but it's because o-of what I d-did that caused t-them t-to g-grow so fast," Derpy started crying into his shoulder, and wrapped her hooves around him feeling the two stumps protruding from his back making her cry even more.

"Hey now, none of that, if not what you did then it would have been something else," he said holding her tighter, pulling her into his bed where she laid snuggled up to him crying softly now.

"H-how did you do that just now? I mean aren't you still very weak?" Twilight asked.

"Love can give you strength Twilight, that's why I'm glad that I can draw my strength from the three I love the most," he said looking at both Lyra and Luna, and gave a little squeeze to the grey mare in his arms.

"Well, just be careful darling and don't overdo it. Also, you wouldn't want that IV to get pulled out, from what they told us you lost a lot of blood." Rarity finally spoke up.

"Um, y-yeah about t-that, T-twilight I'm s-sorry about the mess." Twilight only shook her head at him.

"As long as you're alright, then a little mess like that won't be a problem with a little elbow grease." Twilight gave him a tired smile.

"So, speaking of the accident, what did Derpy do to cause this spontaneous growth?" Luna asked, getting a look from Lyra that said she wanted to know as well.

"Well, she practically tackled him and gave him a nice long smooch. Though, I'm sure it was also part of the panic and surprise from him suddenly taking a fall backward." Applejack said, and by then he realized that Pinkie was awfully quiet, and once he looked at the pink mare, she seemed to have gone a darker shade of pink and her mane and tail were nearly flat.

"W-what's wrong Pinkie?" He managed to ask.

"It's nothing, I-I just felt really sad about how much Derpy was blaming herself about what happened." Pinkie answered.

"W-why would you feel sad about that?" He asked.

"Because I knew it would make you sad, and we all know what your biggest fear is. I was afraid that if you saw her being sad, then that would make you think how you did back when we first met you." Pinkie answered.

"W-well, I'll tell you this much. Yes, I-I am still afraid of b-being seen a-as a monster, a-and I was afraid of that w-when I woke up. B-but I felt like D-derpy needed me, and t-that overpowered my fear. So, if it helps cheer you up, y-you can through m-me a party for getting my w-wings and t-three marefriends." He said though he knew he would probably regret it if he didn't say anything. "B-but, please n-no alcohol."

"Agreed!" Pinkie suddenly said, her color returning to normal and her hair seemed to inflate like a balloon.

"Alright, everypony who is not his marefriend please leave now. Visiting hours for friends is over." A nurse said, popping her head in and smiling at the scene of him and Derpy. "And don't worry, that IV is enchanted to be very flexible and won't come out unless one of the staff removes it." He gave a nod, wrapping both arms around the grey mare.

"Alright, I guess I'll be by tomorrow. See you then Brandon!" Twilight said, telephoning back to her library.

"Yeah, see you around." Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all left.

"We'll discuss what you will be doing after ya get out of the hospital Brandon." Applejack said, before leaving.

"You three are more than welcome to stay in here for as long as you want. But please try not to make things worse for him, like the doctor said his body has had been through a harsh shock." The nurse said before shutting the door.

"Hmmph, I promised to protect you, not to make an injury worse," Luna said, before looking down at him with a small smile. "She is adorable when she sleeps like I said you are like a big teddy bear."

"Yeah, she is." Lyra stepped in and giving him an evil look. "You know, with as much as you go to this hospital I would have to say that you might have a nurse fetish."

"Not in t-the mood to b-be teased Lyra," he said laying back into his pillow, feeling his exhaustion take hold.

"Alright, but don't expect any mercy for you having a make-out session with Derpy after your first date with her," Lyra said.

"A-actually, we m-made out twice. L-last night, as well as when she had jumped o-on me." He responded, his eyelids growing heavy.

"Goodnight, Brandon." He heard Luna whisper in his ear before he fell asleep, but feeling the bed shift as what he knew was at least one of them climbing in.

Though he did have slight trouble fully falling to sleep as his new stubs kept bothering him. But eventually, he had managed to fully emerge into the realm of sleep that awaited, along with a certain smiling Alicorn princess. Who he knew he wanted to talk to about entering into his dreams anyway.

"I'm sorry I broke this promise to you, but I figured it would be a nice surprise." She said, making him smile.

"And it is, and I've been meaning to talk to you about that promise." At that, she tilted her head slightly. "As you probably noticed, my nightmares are slightly worse, and w-when I made you promise that you wouldn't enter my dreams, I-I may have been wrong. Luna, I need your help, I don't want to have these nightmares over and over again. I-I'm scared, I'm just scared..." He was now crying, and she saw and felt how terrified he was of these nightmares he had been having.

"Shh, it's okay I'll be here for you. Just like how you were there for Derpy, I promised I'd protect you even from yourself. Now, let me give you a dream that you will remember." Before he could ask, or stop crying, the place they were at melted away revealing his house and his three marefriends sitting around the fireplace drinking hot chocolate.

"Hey, why don't you come to sit with us?" Luna asked, who gave him the warmest smiles.

"What..." He tried, but couldn't as he moved to sit his marefriends.

"This is a dream you've been having before you wake up, so you don't remember it. But I made sure you will, we're just waiting for your other marefriend to get here before we start giving you your present." He shivered at the tone of that, but couldn't help but wonder what she meant by his other marefriend, as he could see the three of them in front him. "Just relax and enjoy, and try not to think about this too much or else the dream will go away."

Just then, they heard a knock at the door, which swung open revealing the mare on the other side. His eyes widened as she walked in, giving him a small peck before sitting next to Lyra giving her an affectionate nuzzle. After that point, he started losing track of what was happening inside his own dream.

Author's Note

Okay, that was an interesting chapter to write. And before any of you ask, yes it was one of those dreams if you know what I mean. And before you ask, no the real Luna did not stick around after his other marefriend entered the dream. Hope you enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Hoping

He was starting to wake up now and refusing to open his eyes as he tried to bury himself in the bed. Though something felt off about it now, a comfort he already became used to in the past few days. When he opened his eyes and looked around the hospital room, he saw that he was alone.

"Ah, good morning Brandon. How are you feeling?" Dr. Hayseed asked coming into the room.

"Where's Derpy and the other's?" He asked, getting into a sitting position.

"Luna and Lyra are having breakfast right now, and Derpy had to go to work. The first two will be back in about twenty minutes I say, but how do your wings feel?" Hayseed asked.

"They feel great, I think anyways." He replied, stretching his arms and without realizing it, stretching his wings which were now larger than they were last night. "What the..."

"Well, this is good news after all. You didn't even seem to have noticed their growth, so that means I was right." He looked at the doctor with surprise. "Oh, right you see I had a theory that now that they were protruding past the shoulder blades they wouldn't bother you as much when they grow."

"You know I would like to know how they grew this fast." He gave the doctor a slight glare.

"Right, well Luna explained to me what she did last night, which adds to the theory on why they grew, and are still growing at a rapid rate. You know about how a pegasus wing can react to certain emotions correct?" He gave a nod, eyes widening. "I can already tell you already figured it out, your wings grew fast because of you being in a sexual situation, thus causing what ponies are now referring to as a wing boner of sorts. Though, for your situation, it caused spontaneous rapid growth."

"S-so, could this have happened in any other situation?" He asked, sending the doctor a pleading look.

"Yes, like I said it's similar to that of how a pegasus wing reacts to emotions. So, this could have been caused by any means of emotion, ranging from grief, anger, or in this case being aroused." Hayseed explained. "And yes, I did explain this to your marefriends and friends already. So be prepared for that when it comes, and as to why I explained this to them is simple, not because they're your friends and marefriends, but because of the dreams you had."

"You explained it because Luna made me have lucid dreams that made my wings grow?" He asked, hoping that none of them come back now.

"Yup, sorry I would have had to explain it at some point after a theory was thought up and tested. But like I said, I already had a theory and Luna had tested it before I could pass it along and ended up proving it. Now, are you sure you aren't suffering from any pain?" Hayseed asked.

"No, I feel a lot better than what I did yesterday." He answered, making Hayseed nod and write something down.

"Okay, I have a few other patients to go check on and I'll be back again." He nodded and watched as the doctor left.

Once he was alone, he let out a groan of embarrassment and tried to cover himself back up again. Though his curiosity got the best of him, and he looked at his larger wings. They now actually looked like wings, with a little bit of fur and feathers now covering them, in what he could tell was electric green. But as he continued to look down them, he saw that the end feathers were actually a light blue on one wing, and a light grey on the other.

"Huh, never seen coloring like that." He said, and he realized that he had brought the tips of his wings closer to look at these feathers.

"It certainly is a unique color pattern, and it looks like you already have good control over them." He jumped and saw Luna standing there with a little smirk. "You know, you look really cute with how you just wrapped your wings around you."

"You surprised me, that's all," he said quickly giving her a glare.

"What? You told me that you would like me to help you with your nightmares, and I decided to give you a break from them, and to top it off we did find out they make your wings grow as well." Luna said, a smirk growing. "Though, I won't lie, since there wasn't room on your side I took a spot on top of you. Those dreams didn't just make your wings grow."

"Please stop, I rather not be teased right now about dreams you made lucid. Though hearing that, I think you did it on purpose just so you could tease me." He said, giving her more of a glare.

"That would be the truth, but I can't help it. Making you embarrassed has become too fun, and funny to see." She said, walking forward though his glare didn't drop it did make her ears fold up. "Does it bother you that much?"

"No, what bothers me is that you're supposed to be a princess. Since when did you become so into teasing about this kind of stuff?" He asked, raising an eyebrow finally dropping his glare.

"When I became your marefriend, I felt I had more freedom to do such things, especially since you didn't actually see me like a princess, but as a friend." She answered, though her ears were still folded.

"Now why are you still upset? I don't care if you tease me a little," he said, and he saw her eyes go to his wings. "Oh, I see. Luna come here, and look me in the eyes." She did as he told her. "This is not your fault, it's not Lyra's, and it's defiantly not Derpy's. I love you three too much to let yourselves blame yourself or each other."

She let out a surprised squeak when he started to kiss her but quickly gave in. Though it didn't last long, she couldn't help but feel as if he stole her breath, and once broken she could see his smile. Once she regained some composure, she got up in his bed where he quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"So, once these things are fully grown we'll be spending a lot more time together huh?" He asked, and she only nodded. "Say, where's Lyra? I thought you two were having breakfast together?"

"She went back for thirds," she replied.

"That mare is a bottomless pit," he said, giving a slight sigh.

"Brandon?" He looked down at the lunar princess. "How do you actually feel about her?"

"Who Lyra?" He asked, and she shook her head making him give another sigh, though this one was out of defeat. "Luna, in truth I feel the same way about her as I do for you, Lyra, and Derpy. But I don't think that dream can become a reality."

"Why not? Dreams are many things Brandon, they are hope, future goals, a ponies past, and sometimes even showing something that could happen. Or is there something else holding you back? Something even deeper that I don't even know about in your dreams?" She asked.

"No, there's nothing really that deep in my dreams. It's just, I don't know if these feelings are real for her or if they are just created." He admitted, a look of shame on his face.

"Is that why you only found your feelings were real for us, because we admitted them to you, and thus caused you to confirm your feelings for Derpy?" She asked, making him nod.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. I figured them out because you and Lyra admitted your feelings for me, and it did make me confirm my feelings for Derpy. But for her, I'm still not sure. I do know I love her as I said. Though I don't know whether it's because of what she did for me creating fake feelings, or if these are natural." He replied.

"Brandon, if you aren't sure then admit them to her and see how you feel, and if you're worried about rejection then I'll still be here, and so will Derpy and Lyra. Though, I doubt she would let your confession ruin your friendship with her completely. So, next time she visits admit them, and if you want I can be by your side." She said, giving him a nuzzle.

"And who are we talking about?" Lyra asked, walking into the room.

"Just somepony in his dreams," Luna said, getting out of the bed after unwrapping herself.

"So, does this mean we're trying to add a fourth to our little herd?" Lyra asked, making him give a hesitant nod. "Sweet, but who is it?"

"As I told you Lyra, it's pretty obvious when you actually think about it," Luna replied.

"Yeah, but I just want to make sure of it." Lyra snapped.

"Girls, please don't do this right now. Because I don't want to have to play the hospital card here." He said, managing to get both mares to go quiet. "Now, I rather not say it, but if you really want to know Lyra, it's Applejack."

"I knew it!" Suddenly Pinkie Pie was standing there, making all three of them jump.

"P-pinkie, why did you scare us like that? And how long have you been listening?" He asked, taking a deep breath to relax.

"Oh, not for long. Just long enough for Lyra to come in, and to hear your confession of love for Applejack! Oh, when are you gonna tell her? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie started jumping up and down on his bed without actually disturbing him.

"Um, today?" He said, looking at Luna who nodded her head giving him a confident smile.

"She's gonna be so surprised! And this is the best kind of surprise, especially for how much she actually likes you! I mean when you first told her that she had a soft coat, she couldn't stop talking about it and how good it made her feel! She also had this blush going on that we could tell she liked it more than just a compliment from a strange alien creature!" Pinkie said, getting a huge smile that crept them all out as it was just too big to be natural.

"See, from the sounds of it she's had a crush on you since you arrived here," Luna said, nudging him.

"Yup, but to think you made all these nice people reading this wait all this time to hear something they already knew! I mean seriously, you weren't being too subtle with your little flirting! They even probably knew from the beginning, you don't know how long they've been saying that you would go with Applejack, or how many of them said that you get her into your herd!" Pinkie said, though the others in the room just looked at each other in absolute confusion.

"What do you mean by 'nice people reading'?" Lyra asked.

"Lyra, don't ask questions that the author of this won't let you understand silly!" Pinkie said, before hopping off the bed and out the door.

"Um, is one of us dreaming?" He asked, looking at Luna.

"I'm afraid not, though as much as that made a headache I wish it was," Luna replied, rubbing her head.

"Sooo, how long have you been flirting with her anyway?" Lyra said, trying to get everyone off of what just happened though they all couldn't shake the feeling of a hundred people watching them, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Um, I have no idea. I mean I've complimented her having a soft coat a few times, but I don't think that's a flirt." He answered.

"And here Derpy told us you read that book Pinkie gave you." He looked at Luna in confusion, though not as severe as when Pinkie was just there. "For each pony tribe, they each have their own compliment that could be taken as being flirty. Like for a pegasus, saying something about their wings or wing power."

"You mean if I say you have very pretty feathers, you'll take it as me flirting with you?" He asked, with a little grin as Luna gave a blush.

"Yup, and for unicorns, if you compliment their horns in some way as well," Lyra said, giving an evil grin at Luna.

"Well, your horn looks very nice today Lyra, if that's what you're getting at." He said, making her blush. "So, you're saying that for Earth Ponies it's their coats?"

"Yes, and given as how you said it to her multiple times, it's no surprise she figured you were flirting with her. And do you smell popcorn?" Luna asked, making them all smell the air and turn to see Pinkie staring at them through the window making them all shiver, but Lyra and Luna shut the curtain with their magic.

"Awww, I was watching that!" They heard her say.

"Um, how was she just sitting there eating popcorn when we're on the second floor?" Luna was the one who asked this time.

"Don't ask why Pinkie is Pinkie," he replied.

"Figures that mare was causing y' all trouble, knew it from when she asked me to come early." They all turned in surprise to see Applejack there. "Sorry, that mare dragged me here pretty much. Said Brandon needed to talk to me about something." Applejack looked at them expectantly.

"In a matter of fact, he would love to talk with you...ouch!" Lyra said, rubbing her side giving Luna a glare.

"So what about?" Applejack asked. "Cause I know I wanted to talk to him about what he'll be doing on the farm when he gets all better."

"Oh, so what is he going to be doing?" Lyra asked.

"Probably helping Big Mac with accounting." Applejack replied.

"Hey girls, do you think you could give me and Applejack a little private time to talk?" He asked, getting a look from Luna only for him to nod his head, and Luna forced Lyra out of the room.

"Wow, you couldn't even talk about this in front of your marefriends? This must be serious," Applejack said, giving him a playful poke in the side.

"It's something we've already talked about, I just wanted to talk to you about alone." He said, looking at the curtains blocking the window still somehow feeling Pinkie eyes watching them.

"Now what's wrong with ya? You aren't letting your fear get to you again, are you?" She asked, this time gently nudging him with her nose.

"No, at least not that fear. Just another fear or more of self doubt about this." He replied, and she could hear something in his tone.

"Hey, whatever it is your doubting yourself on, it's ain't worth worrying about." She said, and he could feel her place a hoof on his shoulder before she enveloped him a tight hug. "I know you haven't had it easy since you've been here, and though things have been looking up for ya, I know you'll always have that fear with you. But now you have three marefriends, along with your normal friends who will always have your back."

"Thanks, and I know." He said, turning to see her green eyes making him freeze.

"What?" She asked, and he could tell she was becoming slightly uncomfortable.

"You know, I really wasn't lying when I said you have a nice soft coat." He blurted out, and he noticed the blush forming before she broke the hug.

"I don't doubt it, and thanks." She said, giving him a smile. "But what does that have to do with what you want to talk about?"

"Applejack, do you like me?" He asked, making her look up in surprise.

"Why ask that? Of course, I like ya, you're my friend! A good friend at that!" She said, giving him a slightly angry look. "I knew you were letting that fear take hold again!"

"No, I mean do you like me?" She tilted her head in confusion, and seeing this he managed to very slowly extend his wing and dragged the end feathers across her side making her shiver. Though doing it as a conscious effort was harder than expected.

"W-what?" She asked, and he looked back at the window which was still closed.

"Applejack, each of my marefriends has given me something to love about each of them. Luna had given me protection and has guided me through a very dark place, Derpy can make me smile any time I'm around her by the way she talks to me, and she also helped me through my biggest fear. Lyra has been my friend ever since I was first released from this hospital, not once judging me because of what I was, and always gave an open ear to let me tell my secrets without fear of them being spread around town.

"She has been there for a while now, and so has Luna who became an instant friend because we share something in common. Then there's you, someone that I had feelings for since I first woke up here. I mean you were the first face I saw, the one who saved me from falling to my death. Though that's why I'm afraid, I'm afraid that because you saved me these aren't real feelings." He said, tears starting to flow.

"B-brandon, I-I.." She tried, but he raised a hand to let him continue.

"Because of these feeling I had for you, it made me unsure of my feelings for Lyra, for Luna, for Derpy even. But when Luna and Lyra confessed their feelings to me, my own were confirmed. I knew I loved them, and I knew that my feelings for Derpy were real as well the more I thought about it. Though, I just need to know, do you have feelings for me? It won't matter if you don't, I can accept that, I just need to know.

"Maybe, just maybe your answer will tell me if these are real or not. But I do think they're real, because of how long I've had them. Please, I just need to know." He said, looking at her in her eyes and he could see her biting her lip.

"Brandon, I-I don't know what to say. I mean you just put your heart out there, and I know how sensitive you are." She replied, avoiding eye contact now.

"You can tell me the truth on how you feel, and don't worry about me. I think I have somepony to help me through it." He said, placing a hand on her cheek making her look at him. "I mean look at me, I'm in the hospital again because I'm growing wings. If Luna, Lyra, and Depry still stuck by me after seeing me with wings, then I don't think they'll leave because I'm broken-hearted."

"B-brandon, you've been through so much already.." she tried to argue.

"And I'll be through a lot more, now quit avoiding the question." He said gently, and she looked at him, wings and all.

"Brandon, I-I..." she started, and she could feel tears running down her cheeks..

Author's Note

Well, there we are, him admitting his feelings for Applejack. Hope this little cliff hanger helped you enjoy the chapter, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Visit, A Talk

The room remained quiet for a few minutes, he was avoiding any eye contact. Though that quickly changed when Luna went by his side and gave him a comforting nuzzle. He gave her a confused look, only to see her giving him a smile.

"Brandon, we already know that. But my point is, you've been here for almost eight months now, and yet my sister still doesn't trust you. Look, even if for whatever reason you start being able to do magic as well, I believe you've been here long enough to where it was naturally building. Like how your wings grew," Luna said.

"That is true, typically when a pony has been dealing with something for a little bit it becomes easier to control. What Princess Celestia was scared about was that if you suddenly got magic, it could have overpowered your mind. Just trust me, she does trust you, it's magic that she doesn't trust." Twilight said, about to go into a full lecture. "I'm mean, her and Luna here have seen plenty of good ponies suddenly come into contact with to much magical power and go mad, isn't that right?"

"Yes, there was King Sombra who was a good ruler before he discovered black magic which was too much for him to handle." Luna said, making Twilight nod.

"Woah, how do we even know that's why Princess Celestia doesn't trust him? And why are we throwing out a theory that says he'll be able to do magic?" Lyra asked.

"Simple, because my sister is open-minded to other species and has always been that way. But I have a feeling that because of his history, and her doing a scan herself she figured out that at very least he had a magic similar to pegasi magic. Knowing my sister, that lead her to believe he might be able to one-day use magic as well, but then how did you figure out that Brandon?" Luna asked.

"I had my suspicions when Twilight here and the rest of my friends were watching me, it wasn't too hard to create my own theory." He replied.

"Well, to change the topic I also brought some board games for you to play," Twilight said, making him give a little smile.

"Thanks, and like I said I'm glad that the whole Applejack thing didn't make you want to get away from me or something." He said.

"Hey, we're friends and I will admit I thought it would be a lot more awkward than this," Twilight said, giving a little blush of embarrassment.

"Yeah, and tell the others that I'm fine if they're wondering." He said.

"Okay, well I better go. Don't want to leave Spike alone or else he'll eat the ice cream again," Twilight said walking towards the door. "Bye you four, and have a good night!"

"Bye," he called and waved.

"You see, your friends will always be there. But now what are we gonna do?" Derpy asked, looking at the games.

"I don't know about you three, but I'm still kind of tired," he said giving a bit of a yawn.

"Really? It's only like eight," Lyra said looking at the clock.

"Yes, and he has been through a lot in the past two days. So, you get some sleep Brandon we'll still be here," Luna said, giving him a smile.

"Thanks, goodnight." He then pulled all three of them in for a hug. "I really do love you three, and just know I would do anything for you three for making me happy, even if this doesn't last."

"Trust us, it will," Derpy said giving him a little peck, followed by Lyra and Luna. "Now get some rest, and goodnight my snuggle muffin."

"Yeah, goodnight," Lyra said trying to prevent herself from laughing.

"Goodnight, and love you," Luna said giving another peck.

It was about seven in the morning when he woke up, and breakfast next to his bed on the little table. Derpy and Lyra were snuggled up together on the floor, it made him both smile and try to prevent from laughing. Luna was sitting in a chair, looking at him patiently waiting until he noticed her.

"Good morning Brandon," She said.

"Good morning, and what happened with those two?" He asked, looking back at the two mares.

"They fell asleep playing a game last night and ended up cuddling each other. It's quite cute," she said with a similar smile that he wore.

"So, when are you supposed to meet your sister?" He asked, taking his breakfast and took small bites out of it.

"Around noon, though don't be surprised if she comes here to talk to you as well. Also, don't be surprised if I'm not with her," she said, making him nod.

"Yeah, I just hope all she wants to talk to you about is some duties you may have neglected since coming here. Because you know you can always go back to Canterlot to take care of some business and come back right?" He asked.

"I know, and I hope that's all she wants to talk to me about as well. If that happens, don't be surprised if I don't come back for a few days," she said, giving him a concerned smile.

"I'll be fine, I have these two." He pointed to the sleeping mares. "Just as long as we keep in contact, of course."

"Of course, and I will be back as soon as possible if I must return to Canterlot. But enough of that, you should eat before your food gets too cold." She suggested, and he nodded.

After putting his empty plate on the table next to him, they made small talk until the other two mares started to come out of their sleep. It was quite funny to see their surprised and shocked expressions when they realized who they were snuggled up to. After both he and Luna stopped laughing, they all started talking though Derpy and Lyra kept looking away from each other out of embarrassment.

"Oh come on, I thought it was nice to see you two be that close. It was very adorable if you ask me," he said getting a pinch from Lyra.

"Nope, you're not sleeping so this is not your dream buddy," Lyra said, sticking her tongue out.

"What we saw wasn't a dream either," Luna said giving a little chuckle at Lyra's blush.

"So, how did you sleep Brandon?" Derpy asked.

"Fine, how was yours?" He asked.

"Oh, it was quite comfy even on the floor. Lyra makes for a good pillow," Derpy said, making Lyra groan a little.

"Well, I better be off to meet my sister on time. I'll see you later Brandon," Luna said giving him a little peck.

"Oh no," he said bringing her in for a nice long kiss. "Sorry, but that's in case you do have to go back to Canterlot for a little bit."

"Hmm, then maybe I shouldn't come back then. What do I get in order to change my mind?" Luna asked.

"An actual first date, how does that sound?" He asked.

"Good enough for me," Luna said walking out of the door.

"Your wings are showing again," Lyra said putting a hoof on one making him shiver.

"Will you quit doing that?" He asked, giving her a pleading look.

"Nope, it'll be fun to have you squirm in my hooves on our first date. Though I can't believe we're already on the telling each other we love each other stage." Lyra said.

"It's not going too fast is it?" He asked.

"No, not for me," Derpy said giving him a huge smile.

"Nah, it was just a random thought. I mean we've been friends for a little while now, why shouldn't we love each other?" Lyra asked, giving him a poke, but before any of them could speak a knock came from the door.

"Who is it?" He called.

"I-it's Pinkie." They heard her call, though she sounded different from her normal peppy self.

"Come in Pinkie," he replied and seeing the door open, standing on the other side was a sight he never thought he see.

Pinkie Pie's mane and tail were straight, not completely straight but they could automatically tell the difference. Also, somehow her coat was darker than normal. It was a little hard to look at her knowing how she normally is, and how usually she looked, though he already knew why she was looking like that.

"Pinkie, what happened with Applejack wasn't your fault, you have to know that." He said, making sure to put all of the comfort he could in his words.

"B-but I'm the one who made her come here yesterday, I-I thought she would already know how she felt. I-I'm sorry," Pinkie said scuffing at the floor.

"Pinkie, look at me." She looked up at him like he said. "Now, do I look upset?" She shook her head. "I may be hurt, I will say that but I have three marefriends who comforted me. That makes me happy to know I have three ponies who would do that when I'm that hurt, and I'm happy that my friends are still visiting me despite what happened with Applejack." He said.

"Yeah, and don't ever worry Pinkie, we know how to take care of him," Lyra said, going in to touch on his wings but Derpy slapped her hoof away.

"Thank you Derpy, and come here Pinkie," he said and she hesitantly walked towards him, and was taken by surprise when he managed to wrap her in a hug. "Never blame yourself for others mistakes, it wasn't your fault. I told her to leave and think over her feelings, it was my own fault why I got so hurt. Not yours, not Applejack's, it was mine."

At that point, Pinkie could feel him starting to become tense, and could hear the pain in his voice. But it didn't register until she felt something wet start to run down her neck, and knew he was crying. She instantly broke out of her depression, and hugged him back and waved his marefriends over to take her place. Though, it didn't seem he wanted to let go until he was finished saying what he had to say.

"It's all been my fault, why I got hurt with Applejack, why I'm back at the hospital, and I'm sorry to all of you who's been there for me. I'm sorry," he said, finally letting go of the pink mare.

"W-what do you mean it's your fault your back in the hospital?" Derpy asked, making him look down in shame only glancing at his wings.

"You knew you were growing wings didn't you?" Pinkie asked, and he nodded. "But you didn't let them grow, which is the reason why you had that back pain and why it kept getting worse right?" Another nod. "All because you thought we would think of you as a monster, when in fact we would accept you no matter what. I'm sorry for letting your fears go that far," she wrapped him into another hug, along with Derpy and Lyra.

Pinkie eventually broke off her hug, and just smiled at the scene in front of her. He had a smile on his face again, one that she hadn't seen in a while from him and one she hoped would be there to stay for a long time. Though one question still got in her mind.

"How did you managed to prevent your wings from growing all this time?" Pinkie asked.

"B-because I could control the magic somehow, I don't know how to explain it." He answered, making her nod. "And thanks Pinkie."

"No, thank you. Though I suggest not doing that to yourself again because I think your marefriends there may end up putting you into the hospital themselves." Pinkie giggled, as he shrunk from the slight glares from his two marefriends that were there.

"Um, hey Pinkie do you think you could stay long enough to play a game with us?" He asked, hoping that would make the two mares give up their glares.

"Sure, what game do you want to play? Oh, are these from Twilight's?" He nodded and gave a sigh of relief as his marefriends dropped their glares. "Or would you rather play a game like spin the bottle or seven minutes in heaven?"

"No, no thank you, at least not right now. I rather just play one of these board games, I mean they're already here and all. What about you two?" He asked.

"Hmm, well me and Derpy fell asleep during our game last night, and that was this one. So how about a rematch except with the four of us?" Lyra suggested picking up a box that looked familiar.

"That's fine with me, but hey where's Luna?" Pinkie asked.

"She's talking with her sister at the library right now," he replied. "And yeah, let's play."

They each picked their pieces and started playing as he remembered him, Spike, and Twilight played this a day or two after moving in with them. It wasn't long before Lyra was knocked out of the game, and the little pout she did remind him of how cute she looked every time she did it. Though Pinkie was the next one to get knocked out, and she went straight to coaching Derpy who was losing.

"I win!" Derpy said, giving a victory yell.

"That was a close game, one bad role and you would have lost." He said, crossing his arms. "I still don't understand how you can coach someone on a game that depends on luck."

"It's all about how you flick your wrist," Pinkie said.

"Said the mare who lost like ten minutes after me," Lyra said.

"Hey, I'm glad you lost because I wouldn't have been reminded how cute you are when you pout." He said, giving a smirk towards her as she lightly blushed.

"So, what do I get for winning?" Derpy asked, making him give her a slight look of confusion.

"I don't remember agreeing that the winner gets something except the pride of winning, but if you really want something come here." He said, and she walked over with a big smile, only to be kissed on the forehead. "There, that's your prize."

"Aww, how sweet." Pinkie said, making both of them blush. "So, want to play another game while I'm here?"

"Sure, and how about you choose the game, and make sure it's a board game that's here." He said, making her nod her head.

Once again they were playing another game, though this time it looked like Pinkie had the upper hoof. Mostly because she seemed to know all the rules, and kept having to explain them. It wasn't until him and Lyra joined forces to take her down, and soon their alliance won.

"No fair!" Pinkie said, followed with Derpy agreeing.

"You said alliances are allowed when two or more players have a certain number of troops and land." He answered.

"Yeah, and since me and Brandon were losing badly we needed to ally. You two could have done the same," Lyra said.

"That seems fair enough to me." They all turned to see Luna standing there, looking a bit exhausted but still smiling.

"Luna, come here," he said, bringing her in for a hug. "How was your talk with your sister?"

"Not too bad, she did want me to come back for some duties that popped up." She replied.

"And?" Lyra asked.

At that, she looked away making him feel a little uneasy. But he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and telling her silently to go ahead and tell everyone in the room. He could see her give a little sigh of defeat, and she looked at him.

"She wanted me to watch you and keep you on a short leash." Luna finally said.

"What? Why would she make him wear a leash?" Pinkie asked.

"It's a metaphor Pinkie, meaning not allowing me to have as much freedom. That's because of her fear of me being corrupted," he answered and looking over to his two other marefriends who shared an angry look.

"Yes, I do understand, but how come you're defending her? I mean out of us all, you have every right to be angry with my sister." Luna said.

"That's because of what I've been doing," he said looking away from Luna. "Before you ask, over the past feww months I've been preventing my wings from growing which led me to be in the hospital today."

"Y-you controlled your wings and stopped them from growing?" Luna asked, and he only nodded, and that's when he felt a hoof force him to look at her. "I made a promise to keep you safe, even from yourself. I swear, if you do something like that to where you might be in a coma I will personally send you here, do you understand?"

"Y-yes, and I-I really am sorry Luna." He said, managing to look away again, and the other three mares in the room were feeling uneasy at the tension.

"Do not be sorry, you fell prey to your fears I'm guessing. I can understand that, but please don't put yourself in harm's way like that again. I, Derpy, and Lyra love you too much to let you get hurt like this." Luna said, her tone shifting to one of friendly as she wrapped her hooves around him. "So, Pinkie what are you doing here anyway?"

"I-I came to apologize." Luna looked at her in confusion.

"She blamed herself for what happened because she was the one who made Applejack come early yesterday, but I managed to convince her it wasn't her fault." He said, answering Luna's questions.

"And he would be right, you aren't to blame. But I'm sure Brandon appreciated you coming to visit, and I thank you for keeping them occupied while I was gone." Luna said.

"No problem, well I better get going. I got a birthday party to plan!" Pinkie said and bolted out of the door.

"So, what are we doing now?" Luna asked, and as she turned around she saw her worst enemy. "Please, anything but that game, please!"

"Well, looks like we have a winner." He said, giving her a nervous evil smile, making her hang her head in defeat knowing she shouldn't have said anything and knowing this was his payback for her teasing.

Author's Note

Alright guys, listen up. I have a very special surprise in the works for all of you who read this story. What is this surprise? You may ask, but all I can tell you is that it's about Grace Falls, the little one wing pegasus filly that a lot of you seem to like. Hopefully this surprise will be done by the next chapter, and hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Celestia's Visit

It was the third day of him being in the hospital now, and he couldn't believe how comfortable he was with his new wings. Not that he had conscious control over them, but for the fact that they just felt so natural. Though one thing he wished he could control was Lyra poking his wings in their sensitive spots.

"Found another one, that makes five in total so far," Lyra said, giving him an evil smile and before she could poke his wings again Derpy slapped her hoof away.

"I think you've tortured him enough, I mean look at him. He's obviously very uncomfortable right now," Derpy said fluffing his pillow.

"Derpy, my pillow is fine," he said. Once she was satisfied though was when she stopped. "So, Luna went to talk with her sister again today?"

"Yup said that Princess Celestia wanted to talk more about her royal duties or something," Lyra replied. "You know I really love this color of green that most of your feathers are."

"Yeah, you only told us like fifteen times so far." He said giving a little chuckle, though that quickly stopped when they heard a knock. "Come in!"

They sat there waiting for whoever it was on the other side to open the door and come in, though they were all surprised instead to see a sudden flash of bright light. When their vision recovered, they couldn't believe that it was Celestia who had teleported in the room. Though she still carried her kind and friendly smile.

"Sorry for the entrance there, but I didn't want to draw too much attention." Celestia smiled at them. and that smile only warmed as she saw the two mares sitting by his bedside.

"Tia, if you only waited for me you wouldn't have startled them so much," Luna said walking in through the door, giving them each a smile.

"Sorry, but one princess is one thing, but with the both of us here might cause unwanted attention," Celestia replied, watching Luna go over and give him a little peck on the cheek.

"What's that look for Tia?" Luna asked once she looked back at her sister.

"Oh nothing, just glad to see that you're happy," Celestia answered.

"So, before you two completely forget we're here too, what are you doing here Celestia?" He asked suddenly.

"Well, I simply wanted to check in on you and check out your little herd you started. These two seem pretty lovely," Celestia said making Derpy and Lyra blush a little. "Also, as I've been told, you seemed to have figured out that I had Twilight and her friends watch you."

"Yeah, it was kind of hard to miss, and sorry for interrupting just thought I throw that out there." He said.

"Don't worry about it, I understand and I just wanted to say that I am sorry for doing that to you. But from what I understand, you seem to have an understanding of my viewpoint on the matter." Celestia said, eyeing his wings.

"Yeah, I do understand. At least from what I know so far, but I can tell there is something more too this than what I do know." He said.

"Yes, well that is something I wanted to talk with you about privately if your marefriends won't mind?" Celestia said, looking at each mare including her own sister.

"Whatever you have to say or talk to me about, you can do in front of them. Especially since one of them is your sister and fellow princess." He replied, not really wanting them to leave.

"Luna can stay, but I must ask for these other two mares to leave the room for our talk," Celestia said, and before he could respond Derpy spoke up.

"That's fine, after all, he only needs one of us for support until the others arrive. Come on Lyra," Derpy said pulling Lyra away, who didn't say a word, and once the two left Celestia let out a sigh of relief.

"I really am sorry Brandon, but this is a topic I didn't want them to hear," Celestia said, giving him a pitiful look.

"It's fine like Derpy said as long as I have a little support I think I'll be fine." He said, looking over to Luna who nodded her head. "But is this about me growing wings?"

"In a way, yes," Celestia answered. "But it's more about magic."

"Figured," he mumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Celestia asked.

"Well you see Tia, it seems that he had the ability to control the Angel magic as we're calling it and preventing his wings from growing," Luna answered before he could, making Celestia look at him with more curiosity.

"Hmm, that is a strange ability to have. but then again your form of magic is different as it is with every creature." Celestia said.

"So, exactly what about magic did you want to talk about?" He asked, getting them back on track.

"Ah, well as I know you're well aware you're going through some changes. From what I understand, you seem to have developed a form of Earth Pony magic. Which the doctors mostly wrote off since your species seemed to be more earthbound and have more sense of agriculture in your history. But then during one of the N.M.S a doctor took note of a slight change suggesting that the nature of some of your magic may be have been changing to that of pegasus magic." Celestia explained.

"Yes, I figured that." He said rolling his eyes. "And since I have wings, I think I already know where you're going with this. With the whole magic thing."

"I can believe that, and since you know of your species history then you know why I insisted on having somepony watching you," Celestia said.

"Yeah, but what you need to understand is that not all humans are power hungry. But I would like to ask you a question, have you ever heard of the saying that if one does not learn from the past they are doomed to relive it?" He asked.

"Of course, and I understand that not all humans are power hungry. But magic has a very unique way of corrupting sometimes." Celestia replied.

"I bet, but that isn't why I brought up the saying. I brought it up because I do believe that at one point in human history we were able to do magic. One of the main examples of this would be Merlin The Great. A wizard not only known as possibly one of the most powerful, but a good wizard who used his great magic to help out a kingdom that had fallen into chaos. Though there are other wizards I could probably think of, but trust me when I say I won't let this magic corrupt me. After all, like you said it's very different than that of ponies," he said.

"He has a point Tia," Luna said, making Celestia give a sigh.

"I know, but until we know how magic will affect him fully he will have to be watched," Celestia said.

"And that's fine by me," he said giving Celestia an understanding look.

"As it is with me," Luna said.

"Though with that out of the way, for now, I'm surprised you haven't actually said anything about me and Luna." He said.

"And why should I? Luna seems happy, you seem happy, and those two mares seem happy. If anything, it may help with helping keep you under control if you do develop the ability to do magic." Celestia said, giving them another warm smile.

"Grace, please stop right there and knock first." The three of them went silent at the voice and then heard a knock at the door.

"Come on in Grace," he called and they saw the door crack open and a little filly stuck her head through, her eyes going wide at the sight of Celestia.

"Oh, hello little one. Are you a friend of Brandon/s?" Celestia asked, her smile is even more kind and gentle than normal.

"Um, uh, y-yeah I am. A-and your P-princess Celestia," Grace said, walking in a little nervously.

"Why is she acting like that? Yesterday she seemed a lot more open?" Luna whispered.

"Because she already knew at least three of us, granted not much has changed but then again you two are princesses." He whispered back. "So Grace, how was the rest of your day yesterday?"

"It was great!" Grace suddenly said excitedly, only to go back to looking around nervously.

"You know, you seem like a cute little filly. How about you let me do your mane sometime?" Celestia offered, and Grace's eyes lit up.

"Really? You would do that?" Grace asked.

"Of course, if you only stop being so nervous and come sit next to me," Celestia said, sitting down and patting the floor next to her.

Grace hesitantly walked over and sat down in the spot Celestia had patted. Though the little filly looked very shy and timid right now, she had a nice little smile and her one wing extended. They all started to make a little small talk to help ease Grace, and when Luna told Celestia about how she offered to take Grace flying every now and again, Celestia could only let her smile become more natural as if she saw something that they didn't.

"Well, it's been nice getting to know you Grace, but I have to go. I have to get back before Blueblood does too much damage," Celestia said.

"Okay, and it was nice to meet you too Princess. I can't believe I got to meet both of you!" Grace said, hopping around in a similar manner as what she did the day before, and she gave Celestia a big hug. "Thank you soo much for letting me meet you."

"You're quite welcome, now I'll see you again. But bye for now," Celestia said returning the hug and breaking it before teleporting away.

"Wow, that was so cool! Can you do that?" Grace asked looking at Luna.

"Yes, I can," Luna answered.

"Well, today has been interesting so far. But it seems to be looking up," he said almost wincing at saying that as a chill went down his spine.

"Oh, hey Grace how are you doing?" Derpy asked as both she and Lyra walked in.

"Absolutely awesome! I got to meet Princess Celestia!" Grace said, and they all couldn't help but smile at the little filly's excitement.

"Well that's good to hear, and how are you doing Brandon?" Derpy asked.

"Fine, we're doing just fine," he replied, giving her a little wink.

"Hey, you know I wanted to test out this new song that I wrote, and I think now would be a great time to use it!" Lyra said suddenly, and they all agreed.

After a few hours later, listening to Lyra practice her music and then switching over to playing a game which Grace seemed to be oddly good at. The little filly made every one of them go bankrupt in a matter of three rounds. They then switched to another, which lead to Luna winning by a hair.

"Hmmph, I still think you somehow cheated," Lyra said.

"Will you stop being such a sore loser?" Derpy said, poking Lyra in the side.

"Yeah, no one likes a sore loser!" Grace said sticking her tongue out, making Lyra do the same.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant sight to see." They all turned to see Dr. Hayseed standing there, though he couldn't help but chuckle a little at the fact that both Grace and Lyra were still sticking their tongues out. "Careful girls, your faces may freeze like that."

"It can?!" Grace said in surprise and started poking her face. "Is it frozen right now?"

"Nope, looks like you stopped before it could freeze," Derpy said.

"Whew," Grace said wiping her forehead.

"Yup, now let's go through this, extend the left wing first." Dr. Hayseed said, and he did just that and followed instructions as best as he could. "Very good, and just like anyone with new wings, it seems you still have trouble with motor skills. That's only natural, keep at it and you'll get the hang of it."

"Wow, they seem to be bigger than they were last time I was in here," Grace said, giving his wings a stare down, and reached out and touched one, lucky enough missing a sensitive spot. "And they're very soft too, almost like a feather pillow."

"Yup, they are a little bit different from Pegasus feather's though," Hayseed said. "Well anyways. that's all for today and tomorrow we'll see about letting you out."

"Okay, and thanks." He said.

"No problem," Hayseed said, and walked through the door.

"I have to go to, I don't want to miss my dinner!" Grace said, before running through the door herself.

"Can't believe it's six, I thought it was only three," Lyra said.

"Well time fly's when you're having fun," Derpy said.

"I must agree, it does go by faster than normal it seems," Luna said.

"So, what do you want to do now?" He asked, looking at the three mares and gulped at the looks they were giving him.

"How about for right now, we just snuggle up to you," Luna said, before flapping her wings and landing on top of him, Lyra and Derpy got on either side of him.

"But I'm not tired just yet," he said.

"So, you don't need to be tired to do this," Lyra said.

"Yeah, I mean Grace is right, your wings are like feather pillows," Derpy said.

"Um I-I need an adult?" He whimpered, feeling them running their hooves along his wings.

"We are adults, and so are you," Luna whispered but was interrupted when another knock came.

"Thank you whatever merciful presence is out there," he muttered as the three mares scattered off of him. "Um, come in."

As the door swung open, there was Twilight wearing an uncomfortable smile as she looked between them. The tension made him give a tiny cough, and his three marefriends had deep blushes on their faces. Twilight stopped by his bed and took a minute before she spoke.

"Um, sorry for interrupting whatever you guys were doing, but I came by to switch out the games. So, which ones have you guys played?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, these right over here," he answered pointing to a tiny stack on a table.

"Great, so did you guys have fun?" Twilight asked before her cheeks went a little red. "I mean with these games, you know, playing with them together?"

"Yeah, we did and thanks Twilight. But you said you came to switch games, you do realize I'll be checking out tomorrow right?" He asked.

"Of course, I just meant that I came to pick these up and to see if you wanted another game to play," Twilight said.

"Let's see what you have," Lyra said, and Twilight then showed off what she brought.

"Oh, I want to play this one next!" Derpy said, and pulled up a game that looked like some weird contraption meant to catch the players.

"You know this game reminds me, Twilight do you know where Daisy is?" He asked.

"Your pet rat? I believe she's over at Fluttershy's right now," Twilight said making him give a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, I haven't really seen much of her lately," he said.

"No problem, but I better get going. My parents are coming into town tonight to visit and will be staying for a few days." Twilight said, and they all said their goodbyes, though it wasn't long before another knock came.

"Wonder if Twilight forgot something?" He asked. "Come in!"

Once again the door opened, though it was slower and hesitant and they all four waited. Once again he got a chill up his spine as they finally saw who was on the other side. None other than the orange mare herself, Applejack. Just seeing her brought back the hurt, even if he did do it to himself, he knew it was the right thing to do.

As she entered, she hung her head down making him wince a little as she refused to make any eye contact. Though he didn't blame her, as his three marefriends were all giving her glares. He looked at all three of them and shook his head and they took the message and got up and started to leave.here

Author's Note

Surprise!

Yup, that surprise with Grace was a picture of her. If you want to check out the artist click here. Hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

The Nightmare

The room was silent and filled with a little tension, neither one of them wanted to be the first one to break it though. He kept looking from the window to her, and back until he finally settled on her. Though he kept silent, he saw her look up and meet his eyes for a few seconds before looking down.

"So, um, how are you doing Applejack?" He asked, breaking the ice.

"P-pretty good at the farm I guess, but for myself not that good." She replied, and he could see her relax a little now that the tension had been cut a little.

"Well, I guess we should get straight to the point here. If your still not sure, why not take your time? I really won't mind, sorting out your feelings can take some time, I mean I had between seven to eight months to figure out mine." He said, and after saying that he could see her tense back up.

"I-I just didn't feel right not visiting ya, I mean you are a good friend in the hospital. But, you are right I should take more time to figure out my feelings." That made him wince a little.

"So, you are still confused then?" She nodded in response. "Applejack, like I said take your time. I don't expect you to know your feelings, at least these kinds of feelings the next day." He said.

"I know, but still I just wanted to come to visit ya and make sure everything is okay." She said, giving him a little smile.

"Well, you saved me from those three who seemed to try to seduce me. Not that I don't mind, but I kind of want to follow doctors orders, that and this is a hospital. It's not a place for that," he said making her laugh a little.

"Well, your welcome I guess. So, besides them trying that, how are ya feeling?" She asked.

"Better, Twilight brought some games for us to play. Though I'm still having a little trouble controlling my wings, especially since they keep getting bigger." He said, managing to stretch his wings a little.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to them, and you know what they say about big wings don't ya?" She asked, and he could a little smirk on her face.

"Yeah, pretty much what humans say about big feet." He said, getting a laugh from both of them. "I'm glad that we seem to be able to have a laugh despite what we're going through right now."

"Me to, though I wish I could give ya an answer. But, it's all kind of new for me, you know? I mean I've had crushes before, and I've had others have crushes on me. But for some reason, this is confusing the heck out of me. I mean, like the rest of our friends, I consider you family just like you consider us family." She said, making him nod.

"I understand, I mean my feelings for you and the others were confusing as well. For you, it was because I thought I was just confusing gratitude for you saving me, but as time went on and when I ended up getting a herd, I knew my feelings were real. At least now I'm sure of it," he said.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"I mean that you don't know what you have until it's gone, and when you decided to take that time, I thought you wouldn't come back. Not this soon anyway," he said.

"Oh, well don't ya worry. No matter what, I will always consider ya a friend," she said giving him a smile.

"That's good to hear, but who knows when you figure out your feelings? Things might be too awkward, even more so than this," he said.

"Yeah, guess you're right. But listen, I will give you an answer as soon as I can, and don't worry. You can still have that job, just check in with Big Mac when you're ready." She said, tilting her hat. "See ya around."

"Bye, and sorry about how my marefriends acted when you first walked in." He said, waving his hand.

"Don't worry about that, I understand. I hurt ya, and they were just worried about me hurting ya again. But like I said, I promise to give ya an answer." She said and left the room leaving him alone and in silence again.

He let out a sigh of relief feeling the tension leave, and he closed his eyes to take a breath. As well as that went, it still didn't answer the question he wanted to know the answer to. Though he was too deep in thought to hear the door open and close, and the only way he knew someone was there was when he felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"Hey, how is it going?" He asked, opening his eyes meeting cyan eyes.

"Fine, but how did it go with Applejack?" Luna asked as she removed her hoof.

"She didn't give an answer, she was still confused about her feelings. Before you ask, she just wanted to visit and make sure I know that she will try to always consider me as a friend. At least, that's what I assume she meant," he said.

"Well, at least you can get a little closure now," Luna said.

"Yeah, and hey where's Lyra and Derpy?" He asked.

"Derpy said she was heading home, and Lyra said she was going to pick us up some dinner," Luna replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, glad she came to visit even without giving an answer. Though I'm glad for her timing," he said.

"You were enjoying it, and we wouldn't have taken it much further," she said.

"How far would you three have taken it then?" He asked, feeling a little worried.

"Oh, we would probably have teased your wings a little bit more. Then probably give you a massage, and that's about it,' she answered.

"Um, why do I have a feeling that massage included something else?" He muttered.

"Probably because you have a dirty mind sometimes," Luna giggled at his reddening face.

"Fair point I guess. But here, lay next to me for a little bit," he said patting his hand on the bed where he made some room.

"Gladly," she said moving onto the bed giving a sigh as she laid down.

"Now, how do you feel?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Pretty good, very comfortable." She answered.

"Good to hear." Just then, he could hear her give a squeak as he started to massage one of her wings. "Now, how does that feel?"

"P-please, s-stop!" She squeaked.

"Why should I? Besides, I figured you like my little revenge. Doesn't it just feel wonderful?" He asked, smiling evilly.

"Y-yes, but p-please it feels to g-good." She pleaded.

"Alright, I guess you know how I feel whenever any of you do that to me." He said, finally stopping his massage making her give a sigh of relief.

"That was just too great, Derpy was right when she said your hands feel like they're enchanted." She huffed. "Maybe you should give me a proper massage sometime?"

"Maybe, depends on how much teasing you do." He said.

"Hey, I'll have what she had." Both him and Luna looked up to see Lyra standing there with trays of food with a smirk.

"No can do, at least not right now." He said, and he unwrapped his arm from Luna. "Maybe I won't give any of you massages if you keep up with your teasing." Lyra folded her ears in slight embarrassment.

"So, you just gave her a massage?" Lyra asked.

"Yes he did, and it felt really good. Almost too good if you ask me," Luna muttered.

"You can tell me about it later Luna, but here's the food. And I promise I won't tease you anymore as long as I get a massage as well Brandon." Lyra said, setting his tray down.

"Thanks, and we'll see," he said licking his lips at the food.

They sat there eating, and soon Lyra and Luna excused themselves for a little bit and he knew exactly what they would be talking about. Though giving some massages would be well worth the trade of not being teased for his wings, or for anything else for a little while. He gave a chuckle as he remembered Luna's pleading face mixed with pleasure as she asked him to stop.

It wasn't long before he started to fall asleep though, and he looked at the clock to see it was only a little past ten. Though what surprised him was that Luna and Lyra had been gone for more than an hour now. But he shrugged it off as he decided to use the moment of peace to fall asleep before they came back.

He found himself in some kind of trench, and he could hear the moaning of others who were most likely mortally wounded. A loud bang rang out from above, and he turned to see another human yelling something into his radio, though he couldn't make it out. Though the man fell as something sparked against his helmet.

Something felt wrong, and suddenly he found himself on the ground grasping his arm. Though he couldn't feel the pain, he knew that it was quite painful by the way he seemed to be screaming. It was a strange feeling, not feeling the pain but knowing it should be there.

The next thing he knew he was in some kind of small village, it seemed peaceful enough. That was until the men and women around him in the same uniform started to break down doors and dragging out the villagers. He couldn't believe his eyes as he went forward to a small girl with only one arm and kicked her down to the ground and started to wave the gun at her, and he could tell he was yelling.

But this couldn't actually be him, he would never do this to a child. At the same time, he could tell that whoever this was didn't want to do this either, like he was being forced to do it. For some reason, he got the sense that tears were being held as another soldier came up and dragged the little girl away.

He wanted to yell at the other soldier to let the girl go, but for some reason, he remained quiet as the soldier put the girl with the other villagers. Though he looked away and started to walk in a different direction, he had a feeling of dread came over him. A dread that was confirmed when he looked back to see the girl laying there, though it was only a moments glance.

Once he turned his head around, he was in a completely different place and looking at a beautiful girl. One with blonde hair, moderate cyan eyes, freckles along her cheeks, and she seemed graceful as we danced. Though that was interrupted when he found himself in what looked like a living room, and the girl from before was packing.

She was putting her clothes in a suitcase, and then grabbed another case in which he knew was a lyre case. That's when he thought his mind was just putting aspects from the ones he loved into a human girl, but he felt like she was real. Like he knew her like he was in love with her.

"Please, don't leave. You know I can't deny an order, I had to do it! I didn't even kill any of them," he could hear himself say.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're still a monster! I'm sorry, I know you've been through a lot with losing your brother and your mom last year in that horrible accident with the towers. But you've changed too much, I don't even know you anymore. I mean the man I fell in love with would never take another's life, even if he was ordered." The girl said.

"But I haven't killed anyone," he argued.

"I don't know that, you've been overseas for the past six months. For all I know, you're the one who did kill that entire village." She said. "I'm sorry, but with you being in the military I'm just going to have to leave you. As I said, you've changed too much."

"Please, you're the only thing I have left. You know my family doesn't have anything to do with me, and I'll quit the military if it means I get to keep you in my life." He tried.

"It doesn't matter, you're already too changed from the man I knew. Even if you don't have any blood on your hands, you're not the same. Goodbye Brandon," she said taking her suitcase and lyre case and started to walk out the door.

"P-please don't leave me all alone...." he said even though he knew she was already gone.

"Brandon, Brandon!" He suddenly sprung up with tears freely running down his cheeks, and as he looked around he saw Luna and Lyra standing there with concerned stares. "Thank goodness, are you okay?"

"W-what...?" He tried, but couldn't.

"You were having a nightmare, and I couldn't get into your mind to help you with it. I'm so sorry Brandon," Luna said as she threw herself around him. "You were screaming out, and thrashing when we arrived. It must have been horrible, do you know what it was about?"

"N-no I don't," he said though as he met Lyra's eyes she could tell he was lying to Luna, only she ever knew the truth about his nightmares.

"They are getting pretty bad Brandon, I wonder if somethings causing them to get that way?" Lyra asked as she walked up beside him, and when Luna was done with her hug she gave him a quick nuzzle.

"You knew about his nightmares?" Luna asked.

"Of course, though when he first arrived they only came very rarely and less intense. Before you ask, remember me and him were best friends and we could tell each other any secret." Lyra said.

"Fair enough, but I do have to agree. Something is causing your nightmares to get worse, this time you were muttering about a young girl. From the sounds of it, this girl was probably a little filly at most and something went wrong. Do you remember anything?" Luna asked.

"No!" He winced at the intensity of his voice. "Sorry, but I don't remember anything."

"It's fine, but I think you need more rest, as do we. And don't worry about the nightmares, I'll be keeping watch." Luna said as she got on the bed laying next to him and nuzzling him.

Lyra followed, and he gave a sigh of contempt as he laid his head back on his pillow. Though he couldn't go back to sleep, the eyes of that little girl kept appearing in his mind. Then that blonde girl, for some reason she reminded him so much of his loved ones here and thought she was just a mixture of them in human form, but he knew better. She was a real person, one he seemed to love at some point.

Soon, sleep fell on him again with the eyes of the little girl still looking at him. Though it did make him once again question, if it was real, and not a figment of his imagination, then was he a monster? Did at one point in his life, he become corrupt and kill others out of not denying orders?

He was in a light sleep, and could still feel the two mares on either side of him. It did bring great comfort to him, and he managed to wrap his wings around them making them press even more into him. Though his sleep was interrupted with a shift of the bed, and he could feel one of them slip out of bed.

"Brandon, I know you're awake. Please tell me what's wrong? Are you still bothered by the nightmare? What was it about?" He heard Lyra whisper, and he opened his eyes to see her silhouette.

"Not the whole nightmare, just one part of it. The little girl, I can still see her staring at me with lifeless eyes." He whispered back.

"T-that's horrible, but you need to tell me more. You know how well it helped before," Lyra said.

"I know, but not when Luna is laying right here. Maybe tomorrow when she goes get lunch or something," he said.

"Okay, and just know that we won't leave you and we do love you," Lyra said, quickly giving a peck on his lips before going off to where he assumed was the bathroom.

Author's Note

Well, that was interesting wasn't it? Are these nightmares more than just his subconscious? Is he a monster? Well, anyways hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Being Released Again

He woke up when he felt something poking him, and then he started to hear Luna's voice gently saying his name. His eyes slowly opened to see a smile and felt a pair of lips kiss him on the forehead. Once he was fully awake, he stretched and looked at Luna who seemed to want to tell him something.

"Good morning Brandon," Luna said.

"A good morning to you too," he replied. "So, is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, well I just wanted to let you know that I'll be heading back to Canterlot today. So I just wanted to say my goodbye for now, and to remind you that you owe me a date and massage." Luna said, making him give a little chuckle.

"Right, hey where's Lyra?" He asked.

"Look in the chair," Luna said and when he did, he almost busted out laughing.

Lyra was sitting there like how she does on the park bench, only she had fallen asleep like that. Though he wondered if that was healthy for her neck, she did look so cute and peaceful. That went double when she gave a little whistle when ever she breathed out, and he turned back to Luna.

"Don't worry Luna, I'll have our date all planned out by the time you get back. It's a shame that you have to leave today, I mean I'm getting released and all." He said, making her give a sigh.

"I know, and I really wanted to spend a little more time with you. But then I think I would seem a little clingy. I mean, I’ve already lived with you for how long now? One, two weeks? It may not seem a lot, but one of those weeks we weren’t even together." Luna said.

"Yeah, so when do you have to go?" He asked.

"I'll be going in an hour, that's why I wanted to wake you. That and it seemed that the dream that you were having was showing more favoritism towards a certain green mare," Luna said making him blush a little.

"What? I can't spend a little alone time with a dream version of one of my marefriends? I mean with you I can spend time in my dreams with the real you, but can't you let me have a nice little dream about one of the others?" He asked.

"No can do, if I can't spend time with you in real life then they can't spend time with you in your dreams for right now," Luna said, giving him a wink. "Well, I better get to the town square, love you."

"Love you too," he said bringing her in for a kiss.

"You better get some more rest, especially since when I get back your flying lessons will start," Luna said, starting to walk towards the door.

He watched her leave, though he did have to look away when he saw her looking back with a devious smile as she swayed her hips back and forth. Though the good thing is, he at least has some hold over them now with giving massages to stop them from teasing him. Once he laid back down, he gave a sigh and looked back at the sleeping Lyra.

She really did seem so cute and beautiful when she sleeps, not that he didn't think that of her when she's awake. But something about her looking so peaceful just makes her look even more so, and he had to wipe a tear from his eye, not really knowing why. He gave one last glance at Lyra before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep again.

Something was shaking him, no not shaking him, shaking his bed as he felt something bouncing. He opened his eyes just a little to see Grace bouncing next to him with a big smile. Once he knew she didn't know he was awake, he waited until she stopped bouncing to suddenly raise a hand and boop her on her nose.

"Hey, what was that for?" Grace asked rubbing her nose.

"For bouncing me awake, and to see what cute face you’d make." He answered stretching his arms giving a yawn. "So, what are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to come to see you before you got released," Grace said.

"Yeah, she really was insistent on waking you up." He looked over to see Lyra holding back a smile.

"No I wasn't, you told me to wake him up!" Grace said.

"Well, thank you anyways, Grace. Though you do know I'll be seeing more of you soon right?" He asked.

"Really?" Grace asked, and he could the excitement in her eyes.

"Well since Luna will be taking you flying, and teaching me how to fly, I think that'll be a good way to see each other and we'll play whatever games you want to." He replied giving her a little smile.

"That would be so awesome!" Grace said flapping her wing.

"Hey Grace, if you don't mind me asking, but do you get many visitors?" Lyra asked, making him give her a slight glare.

"Um, n-no not really. Most of my family lives in Cloudsdale and none of them ever come to see me," Grace answered her smile slipping a little. "That's why I'm glad you came and visited me." She said giving him an even bigger smile.

"Well, I'll come to visit you as well if you want." The three of them looked over to see Derpy standing there in the doorway with a smile.

"Count me in, that and I want to see what he looks like when he tries to fly." Lyra joked.

"Ha ha, better be careful or else you'll get a pie to the face again." He reminded her of when she got a special present on her birthday from him.

"Um, excuse me but am I interrupting something here?" Once again, all eyes were on the door where Rarity was standing.

"Of course not, what do you need Rarity?" He asked waving her in.

"Oh, nothing much. And hello there, you sure are a cute little filly. What's your name?" Rarity asked.

"My name is Grace, and you're Rarity, right?" Grace asked.

"Yes, though that's no surprise since you just heard my name." Rarity said.

"So why are you visiting today?" He asked.

"Right, sorry darling. I wanted to see if you can come over to the Boutique after you've been officially released later? Since you've grown wings, I want to get more measurements and make some new outfits for you." Rarity said, and they all could see the twinkle in her eyes at designing those new outfits.

"That shouldn't be a problem, but shouldn't we wait until they've fully grown? I mean we don't even know how big they're gonna get." He said, stretching his wings which were now a good ten feet stretch.

"Hmm, true, we'll have to ask your doctor. Where is he by the way?" Rarity asked.

"I'm right here, sorry I'm late, another patient was having a bit of trouble. Now, what did you need me for Rarity?" Dr. Hayseed asked.

"Well, for one I would like to go on another date if you wouldn't mind?" Rarity said, making him and Lyra roll their eyes.

"Besides that, she also wanted to know how big we can expect my wings to get?" He asked, and Hayseed nodded.

"Alright, how about this next Friday? And as for your wings, from what I could tell they won't get much bigger than what they are now. So whatever Rarity here wants to do will be fine." Hayseed answered. "But just in case, I'll run the normal test on your wings and do a N.M.S to see if they'll grow. After that, you'll be free to go."

"Thanks, well I guess I can come over for those measurements today." He said looking at Rarity.

"Yup and next Friday is fine." Rarity said, giving a flirty wink to Hayseed.

"Yes, well let's get started with those examinations," Hayseed said, looking a little uncomfortable.

While Hayseed set to work telling him what he wanted him to do, the mares talked among themselves and they could be heard giggling a little as one of his wings accidentally wracked Hayseed on the head. After apologizing, Hayseed continued being careful to avoid setting off his wings again. Soon, Hayseed escorted him to a room to perform the scan.

"Yup, it looks like your wings are done growing as far as I can tell. Very impressive how big they got in a few days time. Anyways, let's get you back to your room so you can collect your things and your marefriends." Hayseed said, and they walked back to his room where Derpy, Lyra, and Grace were waiting.

"Alright Grace, time to go back to your room," Hayseed said, making her groan.

"But I wanted to spend a little more time with them," Grace said giving Hayseed a pout.

"I'm sure they'll be visiting soon enough, just say bye for now," Hayseed said, giving a chuckle.

"Fine, I guess I'll see you all soon right?" Grace asked with a hopeful smile.

"Of course," Derpy said giving her a smile in return.

"Yup, can do." He answered.

"Alright, see ya then!" Grace said running out the door.

"Okay, everything checks out. He's all your's ladies, now I have to go fill out some paperwork, you all have fun and remember no extraneous activity for at least another couple days." Hayseed said, giving the two mares a stern look making Lyra blush a little and Derpy laugh a little at the blush.

"Well, see ya around Doc." He said as Hayseed left the room. "Well, I guess the first thing we need to do is return those games to Twilight."

"Oh, Rarity already said she would take care of it," Derpy said.

"Cool, well I don't think Rarity would want me to come over for at least another few hours. So, what do you two want to do until then?" He asked.

"Why don't we have a picnic, just the four of us!" Derpy suggested.

"Um, Derpy, Luna had to go back to Canterlot for some royal duties. So it would be just the three of us," he said.

"Oh, well we can still do the picnic," Derpy said.

"Yeah, and then I want to know what you have planned for our one on one date, and when are we going on that date?" Lyra asked.

"Soon, but I'm not telling you what I have planned for it." He replied.

"Alright fine, but no promises I won't poke your wings then," Lyra said.

"Then no massage for you," he said giving Derpy a wink, who blushed a little.

"Oh, right. Say Derpy, do you know what he did to Luna yesterday?" Derpy shook her head. "Well, I was getting us some food and when I came back I heard her moaning, and pleading for him to stop. At first, a few dirty thoughts crossed my mind but when I looked in he was massaging her wings."

"What? You did?" Derpy asked, surprised.

"Uh, yeah but that was mostly to stop the teasing for my wings." He defended.

"That's still a little unfair, but whatever you have to do. Though now I'm a little jealous that you didn't give me a wing massage," Derpy said.

"Hey now, we were already in a bit of a position. I didn't want us to do anything so soon," he said finally taking note that they were actually outside. "Huh, we moved fast."

"What, did you just now realize we were outside?" Lyra asked, giving him a knowing smirk.

"Yeah, I did," he replied and then stopped. "Hey guys, if we're gonna have a picnic I want to go pick something up. I'll meet you two at the park."

"Alright, don't take too long," Derpy said.

"Yeah, because I'm not done with you yet," Lyra said, giving him an evil smile.

"Right, see you two there." He said as he started walking into town.

He did want to pick something up for the picnic, but at the same time, he wanted to say hi to someone while he was out. Though he knew he would have to keep this a secret for a little bit until he knew things had calmed down. After all, he wouldn't want everyone to get upset that he was visiting the one who hurt him the most, Bon Bon.

As he walked though, he could feel the ponies around him stare at his wings which he didn't mind. The only thing that really made him worry is that some ponies like those stallions who tried to jump him tried that again. Something told him that there were a lot of ponies like that around, and with him now having wings it would fuel their hatred or whatever they have against him.

His destination was in sight now, only two more blocks to go. Though as he got closer, he couldn't help but think of how strange it was for how quickly he forgave Bon Bon. He understood where she came from, but that honestly didn't make what she did right. It hurt more than him after all, though he knew she had suffered emotional pain just like him because of what she did, so that could be a reason why he did forgive her.

"Hello, and welcome to Bon Bon's Sweet Sho... Brandon?" Bon Bon asked, making him snap back out of thought and he could see that he was in her candy shop.

"Oh hey Bon Bon, how are you doing?" He asked browsing her selection.

"Um, better I guess. I mean after we talked at the hospital, it did cheer me up a little knowing you forgave me. But what happened to you? I mean you have wings, how did that happen?" Bon Bon asked.

"They started to grow five days ago, and magic I guess? But hey, I was wondering if you have any suggestions for a picnic?" He asked.

"Oh, um, well is Lyra going to be there?" Bon Bon asked, looking down in shame.

"Yeah, she is, why?" He asked.

"Well, because she'll be able to tell that I made it. And won't she be mad at you for visiting me?" Bon Bon asked.

"She will most likely be mad, but that'll be my problem, not yours. But don't worry, just like you, I know how to calm her down." He replied.

"I didn't know how to calm her down that one night." Bon Bon gave a depressed sigh. "Well, anyways I'll get you a package of my best. You know, I do actually miss having you do the heavy lifting around here?"

"Really, figures. Though I already have a job, I'll be working at Sweet Apple Acres with Big Mac doing some accounting." He said.

"And I thought you hated accounting and weren't that good at it either, that's why I had you do the heavy lifting." Bon Bon said, and he could hear her change her tone slightly.

"Well, I do hate it, and I only made you think I was bad at it so I wouldn't have to do it." He said watching as she put together a candy package.

"Go figure, anyway here's your package. That'll be twenty bits please," Bon Bon said.

"I thought it was more expensive than that," he said getting the money out.

"It was, but I'm running a deal right now. It's called the Heartbreak deal, where if you just suffered from a breakup and have a broken heart you get ten bits off. Since I know I put you through some heartbreak, I decided to apply that deal for you." Bon Bon said.

"Well, thanks and hey remember I will be back next week to hang out. And I'll make sure Lyra doesn't come in here in an angry huff," he said giving her a little smile.

"Thanks, and see you next week I guess. Make sure you treat her like she wants to be treated," Bon Bon said.

"Will do," he said, walking out of the door releasing a sigh. "Well, that went a lot better than expected. Maybe I'll actually enjoy coming here to visit a lot more than what I thought I would."

Author's Note

There you guys go, hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Bitter/Sweet Discussion

He walked into the park, saying hi to anyone who gave him a wave and friendly smile. When he saw Lyra and Derpy in a nice little flat area, he grew a smile until he remembered the bag of candy. How would Lyra actually react to him talking with Bon Bon and actually forgave her for what she did?

"Hey Brandon, what are you waiting for? We made a nice little lunch for us!" He heard Lyra call, making him put on another smile and walk up.

"Really, you can cook Lyra?" He asked, poking fun of her a little.

"Hmmph, I can cook some things. But we decided to go with a more simple lunch, right Derpy?" Lyra asked.

"Yup, so is that what took you so long?" Derpy asked, and both mares looked at the bag he was carrying.

"Um, yeah, but it's for dessert. Well, let's see what you two made!" He said, putting the bag down and sitting down on the blanket.

As it turns out, they ended up making some sandwiches, a salad and brought some chips to munch on. The two mares kept looking at the bag of candy wondering what he brought until he scooted it behind him. Though that was mostly because Lyra made a reach for it, getting a slap on the hoof.

"Come on, both me and Derpy are done eating! Can't we have whatever you brought now?" Lyra asked, giving him a slight pout.

"That wouldn't be fair to me, now would it? I mean, I'm trying to enjoy the lunch you two made and all you can think about is what I brought?" He replied, taking the last bite of his salad. "And see, if you only waited for about another ten seconds I would have been done."

"Great, now do we get some of the desserts you brought? I mean, I am wondering what you brought in that bag." Derpy said, making him roll his eyes slightly.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you don't like it." He said, feeling somewhat nervous as he grabbed the bag and opened it.

"Mmm, smells so good!" Both mares said as the scent of the candy came rushing out, though he paid attention to Lyra's reaction.

"Um, Brandon, where did you get this candy exactly?" Lyra asked, making him give a sigh.

"Let's not think about it right now, and just enjoy it okay? Is that fine with you Derpy?" He asked.

"Well, I don't know what's up with you two so I'm fine with that," Derpy answered, giving a concerned stare between him and Lyra.

"Um, well I don't really feel in the mood for this kind of candy. So you two enjoy," Lyra said giving a fake smile which he picked up on making him look away.

"Alright, go ahead and pick out what you want Derpy." He said, putting the bag in front of the grey mare, and tensed when he heard Lyra whisper to him.

"We can talk about where you got it from when we get home," Lyra whispered, her tone letting him know she was very upset. He gave a nod in agreement.

"Are you two alright?" Derpy asked.

"We're fine Derpy, how's the candy?" He asked, knowing he will have to tell both of them where he got it from, even if one already knew where he got it from.

"Pretty good, though I think she could improve this by adding some kind of nut," Derpy said, popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth making him lose a little bit of color. "What? You didn't think I would recognize some of Bon Bons signature chocolates? I mean I get these for my little muffin every week."

He remained silent, not really wanting to speak feeling more tensed as he avoided meeting the two mares eyes that he felt staring at him. It honestly felt more like a minefield, and the only thing he could do was nothing. The only sound was Derpy chewing another piece of the candy.

"I-I'll meet you two at home," he manageed to say and before either mare could do anything, he got up and ran.

"You think he's fine?" Lyra asked her hurt and concern mixing.

"I think he's just concerned about what we think of him right now, whether or not we're upset at him. You know how he is with us, though I do wish you would tell me if you know why." Derpy said, looking at Lyra.

"I think I do, but it's not something I rather share because it's his secret," Lyra replied.

"So, are you upset with him? Angry with him for going over there?" Derpy asked.

"I-I... I wish I could say I'm not until I find out why, but I am angry at him. I know Bon Bon couldn't have forced him to take the candy, so he must have actually bought it. But why would he go over there after everything she did? After what she did to him, to me?" Lyra said, holding back a few tears and she felt hooves wrap her in a hug.

"I'm sure he has his reasons, I mean you should know him better than anypony. But please, try to let him explain his reason before we do something to hurt him." Derpy said, releasing Lyra from her hug.

"Yeah, so what about you? Are you upset about this?" Lyra asked.

"A little, but he's a grown human. He can make his own decisions, though I can understand why you are and know I will be there to back both of you up if need be." Derpy said, giving a kind smile.

"How would that work?" Lyra asked.

"Easy, if I think either one of you is getting out of hoof I'll do my best to make peace so we can talk about it like grown ponies," Derpy said.

"Makes sense," Lyra said giving a sigh to let her nerves calm down.

"You ready? I'm sure he'll be waiting for us, and he does have that appointment with Rarity, and you know how she can get when somepony misses an appointment without proper notice." Derpy said.

"Yeah, let's go," Lyra said, using her magic to quickly put away the picnic.

The two mares started to slowly walk back to his house not really talking. It was a bit of awkward and tense silence, but not unmanageable. The walk didn't take as long as what they thought it would though as his house came into view, and as far as they could see not a light was on.

"I wonder if he actually came back here first?" Lyra said.

"Well, let's find out," Derpy said, opening the door. "Brandon, are you in here?'

"Over here." The two mares heard him call from the couch, and they could see his silhouette.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Derpy asked as they came in.

"I don't know, maybe to think a little better." He said they could hear the slight fear in his voice.

"Brandon, I can't say we aren't upset about this, but we are willing to let you explain why you were over there after what she did," Derpy said, turning the lamp on and sitting next to him on one side, and Lyra took a seat on the chair.

"How upset are you two right now?" He asked.

"I'm not that upset because you're old enough to make your own decisions," Derpy said looking over at Lyra. "But, I'm sure you know how upset she is right now. Now, please stop avoiding telling us why, and just tell us. We do promise to listen to you."

"Fine, you two want to know why I went over to Bon Bons shop? It's because I forgave her," he flinched when he saw Lyra's expression.

"What do you mean you forgave her? The one who sent you into a depression because she was jealous?! The one that...that..." Lyra couldn't get the words out.

"The one that broke your heart, I know." He said, reaching out to stroke her cheek but she stopped him.

"Please tell us why you decided to forgive her?" Derpy asked, putting a hoof on his hand.

"Because I don't like seeing anyone in pain. I think after what happened she suffered enough and needed a friend there. I just can't stand to see anyone in pain, especially when I feel like I'm responsible for it in some way." He said, looking over at Lyra before cuffing his hands over his face. "I am sorry, I know that you must still hurt Lyra and me saying I still consider her a friend must only make it sting worse. But like I said, I can't stand to see anyone who looks like they're in pain. You know that better than anyone who knows me."

"Brandon..." Lyra tried to say.

"Look, I really am sorry but I made her a promise to come to visit her every week. I am sorry if this does hurt you, but it's just something I feel like I owe her. After all, she has no pony and I had somepony to help me." He said, lifting his head out of his hands. "I am sorry, but I... I need to go and meet Rarity. Maybe when I get back, you'll still be here and we can discuss this more."

Once again, before either of them could speak he got up and left quickly making the room go quiet. Derpy made sure to keep an eye on Lyra, keeping a distance away for now. Though that didn't last long when Lyra came and sat down next to her, leaning on her for comfort.

"What do you feel now?" Derpy asked as she wrapped an arm around the green mare.

"I don't feel upset at him anymore, and I knew about his forgiving nature. But why does he feel responsible for causing her pain?" Lyra asked.

"I think that should be pretty obvious, he felt guilty because you broke up with her because of what she did. She tried to keep you away from him, so he blames himself for actually believing in her lie forcing you to find out the truth. Does that make sense?" Derpy asked, looking down at the other mare.

"Yeah, I guess it does. But still, after what she did." Lyra said.

"As you said, he is very forgiving. That's just who he is, and that's one of the reasons why I started to get my feelings for him. Because no matter how many times I bumped into him making him fall, or mixed up his mail, or anything else that me being clumsy made me do to him, he always forgave me. Was always very nice to me as well, and not treat me like I was some sort of mess up, he treated me like I was a normal pony." Derpy said, remembering each time she flew into him and he always made sure she was alright.

"Yeah, I hope he didn't actually think I'd leave because of this though. That's what really got to me, why would he think that?" Lyra said, before muttering something.

"What was that?" Derpy asked.

"It's nothing, just remembering what he told me about his nightmares," Lyra said. "But hey, do you think you could go check on him for me and make sure he's fine?" Lyra asked.

"Um, sure but why don't we go together?" Derpy asked.

"Well, um, I want to set something up that I'm hoping will show him that I'm not upset at him and that I'm not going anywhere," Lyra said, her blush was clearly evident no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Then I wish you good luck because when I tried to make a move he said not on the first date," Derpy said, giving a slight chuckle and wink before getting off the couch and walking out of the door and took off flying.

"I will prove I won't leave him no matter what, not like that girl in his dreams," Lyra said knowing she was alone and got up to start getting prepared.

He was just now standing in front of Rarity's, and he had to put on a neutral mask in order to hide the fact he was upset. Though he really wouldn't be surprised if Rarity picked up on it anyways, most ponies who knew him seemed to be able to read him like a book. But then, if there was one thing he could do without them noticing was hide away some emotions.

"Ah, Brandon I was wondering if you were going to show! And hello Depry, nice to see you again!" He heard Rarity say as she came into her living room, making him turn to see Derpy with a small smile.

"Good to see you since this morning," Derpy said.

"So, I take it you're here to keep him company while I do his measurements?" Rarity asked, though there was something about how she asked that question that seemed off.

"Yup," Derpy answered though giving him a look.

"Wonderful, come along then. This may take a little bit considering your new wings and all." Rarity said giving them both a smile as she leads them to her workshop.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered.

"Making sure you're alright, and to tell you that Lyra is fine to," Derpy whispered back, and she could see him relax a little.

"A-are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, in a matter of fact she said she has a surprise for you when you get back. Though I'm not telling what," Derpy said.

"Thank you," he said.

"Anything for my snuggle muffin," Derpy said giving him a big smile.

"Please stand on the platform Brandon," Rarity suddenly said.

"Oh, oh right sorry." He said.

"It's not a problem, you two were having a private conversation and I could tell it was over." Rarity said and took out her measuring tools. "So, I heard about what's going on between you and Applejack, is it true?"

"You mean about me admitting my feelings for her?" He asked though hurt came into his tone once more.

"I"m sorry, I know this must be a touchy subject for you. But both you and Applejack are my friends, and I just want to know the truth." Rarity said.

"As I said, I admitted my feelings for her and she hasn't given an answer yet." He answered.

"She hasn't?!" Rarity yelled.

"Please don't get all overdramatic about it." He said. "I'm fine with waiting for her to give me an answer, even if she doesn't I guess that'll be my answer then."

"Still, I'm surprised. Though I do have a suggestion to help get your mind off of it," Rarity said.

"Oh, and what is that Rarity? Because I'm sure he needs a good distraction," Derpy said.

"Well, this year I'm hosting the Ponyville annual Charity Bachelor Auction. I think you would be a perfect candidate for it!" Rarity said.

"Um, first how will that work since I'm not exactly single, and second how will that take my mind off of Applejack?" He asked.

"Well, you did start a herd and you do seem to be open to adding new members correct?" Rarity asked.

"Um, well that kind of depends on what you mean by adding new members." He replied.

"Still, because you're in a herd your still up as a bachelor. As for the second part, well when you go out with the winner you might have a fun time and it should take your mind off of things. And you might actually like the winner and add her to your herd!" Rarity said.

"I can understand the herd thing, but I still don't think it'll help the Applejack situation." He said.

"I think you should do it, it's worth a shot." He turned to Derpy in a little surprise. "As I said, it could be worth a shot and what's the harm in trying to expand the herd a little more?"

"The problem is, I've only added ponies that I've known for a little while and actually have feelings for." He replied.

"Well, then if you like the mare that wins ask her out again and see where it goes. If you don't, you only have to go on that one date." Derpy said.

"But what will Lyra and Luna think?" He asked.

"Lyra will be fine and you know that as for Luna I think as long as you're happy she'll be happy," Derpy said, the room got quiet for a second before Rarity spoke up.

"So, what do you say?" Rarity asked.

"You aren't just asking me to get someone exotic?" He asked.

"O-of course not, like I said you're my friend! I would never use you like that, I only want to help." Rarity said.

"And you're sure that you're okay with it?" He asked Derpy.

"Of course I will," Derpy said giving him a big smile.

"I might regret it, but sure Rarity, go ahead and sign me up," he said, giving a sigh of defeat.

After finishing the measurements, Rarity gave him some forms for the auction to sign real fast. Once signed, he and Derpy decided to take their leave, though at a certain point Derpy said she wanted to go home and spend time with Dinky. So, after they said their goodbyes he headed home wondering what kind of surprise Lyra had in store since she seemed so upset when he left.

Author's Note

Well, wonder what Lyra's surprise is? Hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile! Also, a little warning that due to a scene in the next chapter I'll have to switch this over to mature.

A Good Date

He was walking slowly, still thinking about what Lyra might have in store for him. Though that kept making him think about other things as well. Was all of this going too fast? First, his relationships between the three mares became more than just friends in just the past week or two, and then there are his wings.

The thing he could honestly put it off as is life can sometimes move that fast without someone realizing it. That's why he wanted to take things a bit more slowly now with his marefriends. But could he really say no if one of them actually did want to move that fast? After all, he does love all three of them to almost the point of being dependent on them.

But that just led to the realization that he was depending on them a little too much as of late. Granted part of that was out of his control but did he really want to be completely dependent on them? No, he didn't otherwise what's the point of having a relationship if one is completely dependent? From what he knew, that usually ended up bad for someone.

"Equestria to Brandon!"

Then what was he going to do if he was becoming that dependent on them? He could just always talk to them about it, and hopefully, they'll understand where he's coming from. Though his main concern right now is Lyra, what if she's still upset? He really didn't like being the cause of pain of any kind.

"Will you snap out of it!" He suddenly felt a pair of lips on his breaking him out of thought.

"L-lyra?" He stammered.

"Sorry, I needed to snap you out of your head. I know how you get when you start to think about something too much." Lyra said, giving him a bit of a wink. "Now, what's bothering you?"

"I-it's something we can talk about later, but I thought you had some sort of surprise?" He asked giving her a concerned look.

"Don't worry, I'm not upset, may be disappointed a little now, but not upset. As Derpy said, you're old enough to make your own decisions. As for my surprise, can you just wait a minute? I have a couple of things to get ready still." Lyra gave him a pleading look making him give a sigh.

"It's the least I could do after making you upset, but can you at least tell me what this surprise is?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"Nope, otherwise it won't be a surprise would it?" She said walking back into the house.

"Guess not, but at least tell me it's not what I think you're planning?" He asked.

"And what do you think I'm planning?" She asked turning back around to look at him in a bit of a seductive manner.

"You know what I'm thinking Lyra, it's not that kind of surprise right?" He asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Please, I know you. You wouldn't do that even if I do try to seduce you, I know you wouldn't want to this early in a relationship." She said, giving a little chuckle. "But that won't stop me from at least making sure you know I'm not going to leave you." At that, she walked back the few steps and gave him another kiss, only this one lasting longer and feeling more natural.

"W-well, you, um, better get that surprise ready." He said his face a bright red as he fought with his wings, making Lyra laugh all the way inside. "Great, now I have to stand out here like this until she says to come in."

After a minute though, he finally managed to get his wings down but that still wasn't fast enough. For after a few seconds of waiting, part of the weather team came flying by and he could see some of them looking his way and busting out laughing. Though that's what he gets for doing the same to some of the pegasi around town.

"So, you ready to see what your surprise is?" Once again his wings extended as he heard Lyra whisper in his ear. "Okay, that time I wasn't trying to get that to happen."

"I-I know, but you rubbed against a sensitive spot." He said, making her giggle a little.

"Please, your whole wing is sensitive that's why I was trying to avoid touching them. Despite how beautiful I think they are," she said eyeing his extended wings. "I mean, I really like the coloring on them."

"Lyra, remember our deal." He said giving her a slight glare, making her give a sigh.

"Fine, at least come in and see the surprise." She said, waving a hoof for him to follow, and once inside he was stunned into silence. "So, what do you think? Luna bought it before she left and said we could use."

"Lyra, how do you even know how to set up one of these?" He asked, going over to what he automatically knew was a movie projector.

"Please, these things are super easy to set up. I just figured I would take our first date into my own hooves, so do you like it?" She asked and looking at him her smile started to disappear. "What's the matter? I thought you would like to watch a home movie with me?"

"I would Lyra, but it's just I wanted to plan out the first date for each of you three to show how much I appreciate how much each of you means to me for what you guys did." He said, feeling a little more disappointed. "In a matter of fact, not that I don't mind this, but this is part of my problem."

"What do you mean part of your problem?" She asked.

"It's something I want to talk to all three of you together, but I really do appreciate this Lyra just know that. And I would really like to watch a movie with my best friend and marefriend." He said giving her a huge grateful smile.

"Not until you tell me what problem you have with me setting this up for us?" She said, giving him a glare.

"Lyra, that part of my problem I really just want to talk to all three of you at once." He replied.

"Well, can you at least tell me what the other part of your problem is?" She asked.

"Lyra..."

"Brandon, please if it's bothering you then you should at least talk to somepony about it. I don't see why that somepony can't be me?" She said.

"Fine, the other part of my problem is, well, I wanted to know if y-you think w-we're moving too fast?" He asked, shrinking back a little.

"What do you mean?" She replied.

"I-I mean with how everything is going, do you think we're going to fast with our relationship? I mean, first Luna moved in and admitted her feelings to me, then you admitted your feeling to me and moved in, and then I admitted my feelings for Derpy. That all happened in a matter of two days, then with what happened with me and Derpy. I'm just afraid everything is moving too fast," he admitted.

"Brandon, we can go as fast as we want. It's our life, it's our choice if you think we're moving too fast then tell the others as well and we can all slow down. That's why I wasn't planning on making that kind of move on you because I already knew you would be thinking something like that. I mean what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't have that figured out?" She asked, giving him a poke.

"Yeah, but still with everything else as well, it just feels like everything is going too fast. I mean, I know that's how life works sometimes, but still, everything just seemed to happen." He said giving a sigh as he sat down.

"Yup, that's life for you, one moment you're making out with one of your marefriends in front of your normal friends and then boom, instant wings. Though, one heck of a way to get your first wing boner." She said, sitting by him leaning against him.

"I'll say, but can we just watch a movie together now? I mean it does seem like you went through a bit of effort to set everything up and all." He said giving her a peck on the nose.

"Sure thing," she said returning the peck, but as she got up she felt something tug on her tail.

"What? I haven't pulled my Heartstrings in a little while," he said laughing as she rolled her eyes.

"Can I have my tailback?" She asked, and he just smiled and let go of her tail. "You do know if you want a view all you have to do is ask right?" That erased his smile but made her get one.

"I can't help it if you have a nice flank," he said under his breath and looked over to see the blush on her face as she walked to the movie projector.

"Alright, tonight we're showing a comedy, is that fine with you?" She asked, mostly to get things started.

"Sounds good to me," he said giving her a small smile.

It took a minute for her to actually get the movie projector to start playing, but as she did she levitated a bowl of popcorn out of the kitchen as she walked over to the couch. But before she sat down, he managed to grab her and made her sit in front of him. At first, she was confused until she felt his hands start to gently rub the back or her neck.

"Sorry, I figured you might want to be more comfortable watching the movie." He whispered in her ear as the movie ran the last ad.

"B-but what about you? Oh..." She said as he put a little more pressure in.

"I'm quite comfortable right here, just tell me if you get tired of sitting on the floor though." He said, as his hands kept up the pressure.

"W-well do you m-i... ohh that feels really good... mind if I lay down on the couch while you do this?" She managed to ask.

"I don't see why not?' He replied, and let her move to the couch where a majority of her body what laying across his lap.

"Hope you don't mind me using you like this," she said looking at him.

"It's fine, now let's actually watch the movie." He said, making both of them give a little chuckle, and soon he was going back to giving her massage and watching the movie.

They both seemed to be having a good time, Lyra giving little squeaks and moans after laughing a little. He couldn't help but laugh at both her and the movie, and by the time they ran out of popcorn, the movie was only half over. But neither one of them seemed to mind.

He felt her shift though but didn't put too much thought into it figuring she was just getting more comfortable. It definitely seemed like she was handling the massage better than Luna and Derpy. That was until he stopped for a few seconds for a break and she let out a quiet moan.

"So, are you enjoying the movie?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," she replied giving a moan again.

"And it looks like you're enjoying the massage," he said.

"I-it feels ama-zing," she said giving a surprised squeak when all of a sudden she found herself laying on her back.

"Just as I thought, caught in the act." He said disappointingly as he looked at where here hoof was.

"I-I...it just felt sooo good, I'm sorry I couldn't help myself." She said, completely red.

"You know, at least Luna asked me to stop, and Derpy made a move on me so I knew to tell her to stop. Yet, here you are touching yourself while laying on me. No wonder why you kept shifting throughout the movie." He said.

"I'm sorry," she tried.

"And I thought you said you wouldn't try anything to move this faster than I wanted." He said, putting a hand on her stomach.

"I know, but it really did feel really good, and I couldn't control myself." She said, trying to get more words out before he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Lyra, I'm not mad, I may be a little disappointed, but by no means mad. If this is how fast you want to go, then who am I to deny a mare in need?" He said, as his hand slowly made it's way down.

"W-what are you d-doing?" She asked, her eyes going wide.

"Continuing the massage, of course, I think there's some tension down here that needs to be taken care of." He said, finally reaching her lower lips making her give a little squeak.

"I-I, b-but w-what about..." She tried, but words were lost as she let out a loud moan as he started to gently tease her.

"Like you said, that's life, it can go by that quickly. As for the others, I'll still talk to them. But again, like you said, this is our relationship, and we can choose how fast we go. Now just sit back and relax," he said slipping a finger into her lower lips that were practically creating a river.

He kept teasing her with his thumb by rubbing it against her button, making her squeak and moan even more as his other fingers continued to work. She was at a loss of words as he did though, and the only thing that she could do was just stare blankly at him as he smiled at her. His hands really did feel enchanted as he massaged the inside of her inner walls.

"You know, maybe Luna and Derpy were right. My hands must really feel good like they're enchanted if they're making you squirm, moan, and wet this much. Though I see why you three seem to always like to see me squirm under your teasing, it makes you look that more cute with the faces you're making right now." He said.

She tried to speak, but the only thing that again came out was a very loud moan as he pressed his thumb against her pleasure button. To top it off, she could feel herself getting nearer and nearer the edge as all of his fingers worked, he didn't even let up on her clit. It wouldn't be so bad if he wouldn't tease by slowing down every now and again.

"B-brandon, pl-please," she begged.

"Please what? Please let you finish? But I'm having so much fun making you squirm like this." He said, moving his fingers inside her wet slit a little.

"P-please, I-I...AAAHHH!" She screamed at the top of her lungs which quickly turned into a silent scream, as he gave a soft pinch to her button, making her arch her back and go completely stiff.

After her orgasm started to subside, he brought her in closer to him as she started to breathe heavily. It was a few minutes before she looked up at him with a tired and happy grin on her face. He once again leaned over to give her a gentle kiss, making her give a sigh of content.

"How was it?" He asked.

"A-amazing," she managed to answer as her eye slowly began to close.

"Let's get you to bed, and don't worry about the movie, I'll take care of it." He said, bringing her even closer, holding her tight as he stood up and began carrying her to the bedroom.

"C-can't it wait until tomorrow?" He heard her whisper as she nuzzled his chest.

"Yeah, it can wait until then I guess." He answered, and managed to open the door and gently laid down with her on top of him, and once she was more comfortable he wrapped his wings around her.

"So tired, and warm." She said, before finally letting herself go to sleep.

Though, now that he was left alone with his thoughts he couldn't help but think about what he just did. Granted, what he told her was the truth considering it's what she said to him. Not to mention that they've been friends since his first party here, but he still held doubts about whether or not what he did was moving too fast.

Not only would he have to talk to them about it, but he also had to talk to them about him becoming too dependent. At very least, he knew Lyra's opinion on the first subject, but what about Derpy and Luna? Derpy didn't seem to mind moving a little fast if the first date with her told him anything, and Luna seemed to have more self-control and wanted to take things a bit slower.

But with at least two of his marefriends not caring if their relationship goes by fast, what would that do to Luna? He honestly didn't want to pressure any of them into doing something they're not comfortable with. But what if that's what would happen? Luna wanted to take things a bit more slowly, but what she falls under the pressure?

The only thing he could think of was to try to slow things down even more between the other two, but he knew that may be easier said than done. Though, he always knew that this herd thing was going to be tough to balance out. His only hope was that none of them honestly felt pressured to do anything.

As for his other problem of becoming too dependent, he honestly couldn't handle that without talking with his marefriends. Though he almost laughed at the irony of that, the little sigh he heard reminded him he wasn't alone. So, all he had to do was wait and talk to the others.

At that, he gave another kiss to Lyra on the nose and finally let his eyes start to close. Hoping that now he was home, with somepony to snuggle with him, he wouldn't have any nightmares. Though, that really didn't stop the eyes of that little girl from his one nightmare from appearing before he fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Note

Confused? Good, now let me explain a few things. First, this chapter hasn't been through any proofreaders at all. Second, I wasn't actually planning to cancel this.
So then why did I? A few reasons, but the main reason was to teach you all a lesson. What was the lesson? If you do nothing but complain on a story, and not actually give proper constructive criticism, it'll ruin a story. Remember, if you want to help the story improve, actually try to give real constructive criticism instead of saying someone needs to work on spelling or grammar.
Now the reason for that is simple, if you actually give an example of something they constantly do or something in a single chapter they will know what to look for next time. Also remember, I am not affected by trolls, how? If you read a comment I made about me getting bullied, well that's how. I learnt how to deal with them a long time ago, and I know what I did was a dick move and I take full responsibility. But what I did was the most effective way to teach you all that lesson.
Hope you all enjoy all the upcoming chapters, and remember to smile, smile, smile.

A Work Day

He woke up in a sweat, though he already knew why. With both the sleeping mare on top of him and his wings folded around her, it seems that it was making it hotter for him. Though with how peaceful and content as Lyra seemed, he didn't want to move at all.

But as he looked at the clock on his wall, he realized that he should start to get ready. He still needed to talk to Big Mac about work, as awkward as that might be, though it may not be that awkward. Mostly because he knew Big Mac would most likely know what exactly is going on right now between him and his sister.

So, he managed to lay her down on the bed and cover her up without waking her. Though he couldn't help but think about last night, how she looked. She was too cute to really deny her anything at that point, just like how she always looked adorable when she slept. That was because she always got this little pout when she didn't have anything to wrap her hooves around.

But he quickly shook the thoughts out of his head and started towards the kitchen wanting to make some breakfast for the both of them. Though something came into his mind, he quickly shook it out as soon as it came. The thought was simple, he just felt a little left out with what happened.

Not really wanting to think about it, he quickly started to make breakfast. Besides, what he did was to satisfy her needs not his own. He was sure that they would get that far eventually, but he would rather do something for them than nothing at all. Besides, he needed to feel like he wasn't completely dependent on them, even if his massage wasn't the best way to do that.

Though thinking about giving an actual massage, he got to thinking about what Luna would be doing right now. After all, he did promise he would give her a proper massage on their date. He just hoped that massage wouldn't end up like how it did with Lyra, but honestly, if it did or go even further, he knew he couldn't help himself.

"But your Highness, he's not even a pony!" The stallion complained for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

"I do not see the point of pointing that out, from what I've seen so far of this modern age ponies are dating other species regularly now. And if memory serves, you had a nice little griffon daughter of your own. So you saying he isn't a pony is like an insult to your own family." She said, her tone one of calm but with slight annoyance.

"B-but, he's not even from Equestria!" The stallion tried to argue.

"Neither is your wife, but they both applied for citizenship and both were approved. Now, if all you want to do is complain about my interest in stallions then I think we're done here. Night Court is now adjourned if you would like you can wait until my sister arrives for the Day Court." She said, getting up off her throne and walking out being followed by her guards.

"Permission to speak freely Princess?" The guard on the right asked.

"You may say what you want," she replied though she was letting her exhaustion showing now.

"Why sit there and listen to those snobs talk bad about him. Why not just send them on their way?" The guard asked.

"Because that's not what a Princess does, she tries to here all complaints she can even if she doesn't like them. I will only send them on their way if I already made my decision or if they try to press the issue more than it needs to be. If the nobles have a problem with who I'm dating, then they have a right to voice it. Though it won't change the fact of who I'm dating, so let them get it out of their system, or wait until the next big gossip comes around." She answered.

"Yeah, it just bothers me that a lot of these nobles just try and pry more than they should." The guard muttered.

"Yes, they do but if you let what they say bother you too much then they win. Let me give you some advice, ignoring them isn't always the best option. Sometimes talking with them helps because they don't actually know you, but if they're not interested in talking then be prepared to take a few hits. For those who aren't actually interested in talking and just spread rumors and gossip will try to start a war, that's why sometimes it's necessary to take drastic measures. Even if your fellow ponies might not agree with it, sometimes it's the right choice." She said, giving a sigh. "And trust me, these choices will always have bad consequences. But if you'll excuse me, I would like to get some sleep before I make my way back to Ponyville."

"Right, and thanks for the advice, Princess." The guard said.

"Just remember to at least try talking before you do anything else, and don't do anything drastic unless you feel like you have to. And remember, you represent the Night Guard." She said before entering her room giving a sigh of relief.

That was the seventh noble who came just to say she shouldn't be dating Brandon because he's too different. Though that was the second one who had a mixed family. But it definitely seemed that they forgot about that, and honestly, she had seen plenty of mixed family's since she's been back.

"Luna, are you alright?" She heard her sister ask through the door.

"I'm fine Tia, just a little tired from dealing with the nobles." She replied.

"How do you think I felt after dealing with them for a thousand years?" Celestia said opening the door and coming in. "Though it seems you've been handling them pretty well, especially for what some of them wanted to talk about."

"Like I told one of my guards, they have a right to voice their opinions. It's really a matter of how you deal with it yourself how it turns out in the end." She said, starting to yawn.

"Very true, but I guess I should leave you so you can get some rest. Have sweet dreams Lulu," Celestia said giving her a kind smile before walking back towards the door.

"Tia?" Celestia looked back at her. "You want me to stay for a little longer don't you?"

"What gave you that idea?" Celestia asked.

"The way you called me Lulu, but for how long?" She asked.

"Only another day or two, is that okay?" Celestia responded.

"Yes, but I'll have to send a letter to Brandon to see how things are going down there." She said.

"Well, get some rest before you do anything else. You haven't slept since you got here," Celestia said walking out of the door and shutting it behind her.

She let out a sigh rubbing her temple, after all dealing with nobles is more difficult than dealing with a spoiled child. Granted you may find a few out there that actually act like proper adults when handling a situation, but those in the noble world can be far and in between. Though she tried not to think about the next couple of days of dealing with them, and laid down in her bed.

He finally finished cooking, and he was happy with what he prepared. It had been a minute since he actually cooked breakfast himself, but everything looked good to him. Quickly making both of them plates, he made his way back to the bedroom where that lazy mare was still asleep.

"Lyra, time to wake up." He said walking through the door, making sure not to be quiet.

"Hmmm..." Was the response he ended up getting, but that was to be expected.

"Fine, I guess I'll have to throw your eggs and pancakes away then," he said and he could see her eyes open wide open.

"Pancakes?" She asked, though in a bit of a tired voice.

"Wow, you must have been exhausted after last night. Usually, when somepony mentioned pancakes you practically run that pony over to get some." He smiled at her.

"Hey, that's not my fault you decided to give me that kind of massage. Though it felt amazing, and I really wouldn't mind if you gave me another one like it." She gave him a tired wink. "Now, how about them pancakes?"

"Right here, and as for giving another massage, I'll give you one when you give me one." He said, returning her wink making her blush. "After all, for what I did I think you owe me one."

"When did you get that confidence?" She asked.

"When you made that cute face before I let you finish." He answered.

"Well, then I might have to give you one better." She said, levitating her plate and moving next to him giving him a kiss on the neck.

"And you think you're going to do this now?" He asked, making her stop. "There are a few things we both need to do first, like eat breakfast. Then you need a shower, your fur is all matted on your back, and I have to go talk with Big Mac about work."

"Hey, the only reason why my fur is like that is that you didn't wash your hand." She said, and he could see her take another shade of red.

"Well, I would have if you had let me. You made sure to use your cuteness to make me go to bed with you last night." He said.

"Fine, but just know that when I return what you did I'll make sure you're surprised." She said, purposely running a hoof along his wing making him shiver and his wings extend.

"Big talk from a mare who hasn't been with a stallion in all of her life, and honestly it won't be as big of a surprise than last night." He said turning around and running a hand down her spine making her shiver and he couldn't help but laugh at her puffed out cheeks. "Well, that's what you get when you want to tease and eat at the same time."

She gave him a bit of a glare before he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss, making her lose her glare. They finished off their breakfast, and he made certain to keep Lyra from going back to sleep. After all, if he remembered right she had to go into work today as well.

"I'll see you after you get off work Lyra, chances are Big Mac will just go over what he wants me to do. So I'll be back home long before you, love ya." He said both of them going in for a cheek peck only for them to meet lip to lip.

"Love you too," she said as they both started to walk out of the door.

"I'm sorry your Highness, but you know that your aunt does not like being disturbed while she sleeps. You remember the last time you tried to wake her up don't you?" The guard asked, making the prince swallow a little uneasy.

"Yes, well that was to ask for money, and I see that was a mistake. This matter is of the utmost importance and I have to see her at once." Prince Blueblood said.

"I'm sorry, but her authority is higher than yours. If it really is of importance then you should speak with your other aunt in Day Court. Otherwise, I'm not allowed to let you disturb her," The guard said. "Or if it's a matter just related to Luna, then you have to wait until either she's awake or Night Court."

"Fine, be that way, I'll make sure you'll never work here or anywhere as a Guard again!" Blueblood said and started to walk away before stopping. "Oh, by the way, tell your sister that I enjoyed our night together, but I'm not a one pony stallion."

Blueblood didn't even have to turn around to see the guard's angry expression as he smirked away. If there was one thing he knew the best, it was how to push other's buttons. Though he still felt bad about that one white mare at the Gala, after all, he still thought she was beautiful and would have looked great in his bed. He also thought she would be great in it too, only if things had gone to plan.

"I'm sorry to hear that about your sister, but that boy cannot be controlled. And do not worry about your position here in the castle, you are one of my personal guards after all." She said.

"Thank you, Princess, and as for my sister, I warned her plenty of times to stay away from him. If she chooses to be apart of his bragging list, then that's her decision, even if I disagree with it."

"Just try to be easy on her when you tell her," she said before going back into her room.

She honestly didn't need that much sleep, and there was still a couple of piles of paperwork to do. That and she really did want to write a letter to Brandon explaining she'll be stuck in Canterlot longer than expected. Though she did have to wonder what Lyra and Derpy were up to.

She was practicing her lyre when she heard a knock at the front door. Giving a sigh, she put down her instrument and started walking towards the door wondering who it could be. At first, she thought it would be Brandon, but as she looked at the clock she knew it wasn't because Big Mac would probably be giving him a bit of a hard time.

"Coming!" She called when she heard another knock, and she quickly went to answer. "Oh, hello Derpy, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, well I just came to visit you two," Derpy replied giving her a friendly smile.

"Well come on in, but it's just me right now." She said.

"Really?" Derpy asked.

"Yeah, Brandon went to go talk to Big Mac about a job. I had to go to work earlier, but it wasn't that busy today so I got off early. You want something to drink?" She asked.

"Oh sure, thanks," Derpy said, walking with her to the kitchen. "So, how was last night?"

"Oh, um, i-it went great." She answered, not looking at Derpy, but the grey mare could see the heavy blush.

"Anything happened?" Derpy asked.

"Well, he gave me a massage while we watched a movie together." She replied, getting two cups. "What do you want?"

"I'll take some Noke Pola, and are you sure nothing else happened? I mean your blush says otherwise, and you don't seem full of energy like always." Derpy said.

"Y-you promise not to be mad?" She asked, her ears folding back.

"You mean you two actually did it? How did you manage that? I mean I got right up in there and made it obvious," Derpy said.

"W-what? No, no, no, we didn't go that far. As I said, he just gave me a massage, though an intimate massage if you know what I mean?" She said, hiding her face.

"Oh, you mean he..." She nodded. "Wow, I mean not really what I expected, but wow. I mean I can't say that I'm not jealous that he took it that far with you, but I'm not really surprised. I mean out of the three of us, I would expect him to go that far with the one whose more close to him. And you were, and are his best friend," Derpy said.

"So, you really aren't mad?" She asked.

"Like I said, jealous, but not mad," Derpy said. "But I must know, how did it feel? Especially with his hands?"

"I-it was amazing, like nothing I've ever felt before." She answered. "T-though, I want to ask you something, it's something kind of personal."

"Oh? Well, you can ask me anything," Derpy replied.

"W-well, are you sure?" She asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Of course, really don't be shy. We are in a herd together," Derpy said. "But if it's this personal, I would like to ask a favor. But I want you to go first."

"O-oh, I guess that's fair." She mumbled. "Well, you see I owe him now, and I've never been with an actual stallion."

"Wait, you mean you haven't even tried with a stallion?" Derpy asked.

"N-no, I haven't. Brandon is the first real male I've ever had feelings for, As for sex, I've only been with mares and only used toys. S-so I was hoping you could give me a little advice?" She asked, shrinking back when Derpy started to chuckle a little.

"Oh, s-sorry Lyra. I didn't mean to laugh, but I could give you a few pointers. But first, I want to ask you that favor before I give you advice." Derpy said.

"Um, okay what do you need me to do?" She asked.

"Well, I would like you to....kiss me," Derpy said, getting closer as she said it.

"Is that it?" Lyra asked, making the initial contact.

Derpy squeaked in surprise and could feel herself being pushed back against the table. She couldn't help but moan a little as Lyra's tongue entered her mouth, and she felt herself be lifted onto the table. It wasn't long before Lyra stopped for air but quickly started giving her small pecks on her neck.

"B-brandon..." Derpy managed to say.

"He's over at the Apple Family farm," she said before she heard someone clear their throat, and she looked behind her to see Brandon staring at them with a shocked expression.

Author's Note

Okay, sorry for this. I was supposed to be done with this chapter on the thirtieth but then my internet decided to stop working. So I had to wait for the internet company to send someone to fix it, two days later. And once I got back on, all of my saved progress had been erased. But I hope you all enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Plans

Both mares returned the shocked expression, mixed with worry and a little guilt. Though his expression quickly went from shocked to serious as he started to walk towards them, making both of them nervous as well. He looked at both of them, and neither one of them could move as he looked them over again and again.

"Lyra, sit down next to Derpy in the same position." He said breaking the silence, and Lyra couldn't help but do what he said and climbed onto the table and sat down like how Derpy was.

Once again they were met with silence as they watched him yet again run his eyes over them, and both mares could see his eyes pause somewhere but were too embarrassed to see where. After scanning over them, he finally locked eyes with both of them, and Lyra could tell he didn't want to break the silence again. She could see he wanted them to spill the beans without him asking.

"It was me, I asked her to kiss me." Derpy suddenly blurted out.

"All she asked for was a simple kiss, I took it that far," Lyra said.

"What? Do you think I'm upset about you two kissing? I'm happy that you two are exploring your relationship with each other, I was surprised at the fact that it seemed you two seemed like you would go even further on the table. You know, where we eat?" He asked, his eyes traveling up and down them again.

"So, you aren't mad or jealous then?" Derpy asked.

"Nope, well maybe a little jealous but I understand you two have needs. Though I am surprised Lyra would try to go that far after last night," he gave Lyra a little wink.

"Hey, last night was great, but it could have been better," Lyra said, returning the wink.

"Yeah, well speaking of making it better I decided that I want to take things a bit slow." He said, Lyra looked at him and sighed, and Derpy stared in slight confusion.

"Wait, you think we're going to fast?" Derpy asked.

"Well, in truth a little. It's just I think with everything that's gone on, I feel like everything is just going too fast. As much as I love each of you, I just want to feel like something is a bit slow. You know, to balance stuff out?" He said

"Hey, we understand. I mean with you constantly going to the hospital now, you know, first with a broken ankle, then with your wings. Also, getting all three of us in a matter of like two or three days. I'm sure Lyra can agree, we understand you want to at least take one thing slow in your life here." Derpy said giving him a kind smile. "But, um, can I get down now? I'm getting a bit uncomfortable."

"And what? Ruin my view I have right now?" He asked, making both of the mares blush and Derpy instantly covered herself up.

"That's why you kept looking over us like that," Lyra said also covering herself up.

"Oh, now why are you two doing that? It's nothing I haven't seen before, I mean none of you really wear any kind of pants or shorts." He said.

"And what about taking it slow?" Derpy asked.

"Well, I'm not making a move, I was taking a few peeks." He gave them each a wink and then sighed.

"And what's wrong?" Derpy and Lyra asked at the same time.

"I got a letter from Luna, she's gonna be gone for a few more days. Before you ask, I usually get letters from her through Spike." He said.

"Oh, that sucks," Lyra said.

"Yeah, that does suck. What did she say in her letter?" Derpy asked.

"Well, she wants me to make a reservation at a nice restaurant, not just for me and her but for all of us for her first date." He answered.

"Really? With me and Lyra there as well?" Derpy asked.

"Yup, that's what I pretty much just said. So, I was wondering Lyra, don't you work at a nice restaurant?" He asked looking at Lyra.

"Uh, yeah I do, why?" Lyra asked.

"Well, do they take reservations?" He responded.

"Oh, um, I think they do for V.I.P tables. Those tables are usually the best because they're where they can hear the music the best, and get a great view. Though why do you want to go there? I mean Little Rose's has great food and all, but I didn't think it would be your kind of place." Lyra said.

"It's not really for me, it's for Luna and you two as well. Is there any restrictions to these V.I.P tables?" He asked.

"Well, they're typically reserved for a high class or famous ponies. But, that shouldn't be a problem for you." Lyra answered.

"Right, because of Luna." Derpy agreed.

"There's that, and also for some strange reason my boss has been wanting to meet you for a little bit now. I always told her you were in some kind of weird accident and had to be taken to the hospital." Lyra said.

"Well, that's good to hear. I mean that it should make it easier to get one of those tables, and I get to meet your boss and possibly embarrass you to death." He said with an evil grin.

"Hey, as much as I like seeing you getting back to normal that isn't funny! Haven't you embarrassed me and Derpy enough already?" Lyra asked.

"Nope, consider it my revenge plan part two. At least for you, Derpy here will get off much easier than you." He said giving Derpy a little wink.

"Why does she get off easy?" Lyra asked, her tone had a bit of whining.

"She hasn't teased me as much. But I will lessen your punishment if you do me three favors." He said, giving her a little smirk.

"As long as they are something I can do and won't completely humiliate me," Lyra said giving him a slightly depressed and defeated look.

"Don't worry, you can do all three easily. The first one you can feel free to do anytime, take Derpy here out on a date. Don't try to argue with me, I know you and Luna had a bit of an arcade date, and remember this is a small town, something like that spreads like wildfire." He said.

"Deal, is that fine with you Derps?" Lyra asked nudging the grey mare with her elbow.

"Y-yeah, sounds good if you're okay with that?" Derpy asked, her face still red.

"Of course it's fine, that's why I just told Lyra to do it." He answered.

"But, what about the other two things?" Lyra asked.

"Well, this one is because I'm planning on taking a little trip to visit someone. But can you make the reservation at the restaurant?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Um, okay I can do that," Lyra said, giving him a little smile, and so did Derpy.

"Tell her I said hi, and she owes me a date to," Derpy said.

"Alright, can do," he replied with a smile.

"Now about that third thing you wanted me to do?" Lyra asked.

"You really want to hear that one? What I want you to do?" He asked, drawing closer with each word.

"Um, w-well if it means less embarrassment then yes?" Lyra said nervously.

"I want you to give..." He got even closer until he was nose to nose with the green mare. "...to give Derpy another kiss, right here right now and see where it goes."

"B-but..." Lyra was looking between him and Derpy.

"Oh, come now, don't tell the confidence you had when I walked in is all gone? All it has to be is a simple kiss, you don't have to of course. But then even if you do the other two favors, then I'll make sure to embarrass you more than you did me." He said leaning back, though both him and Lyra were taken by surprise when Derpy jumped on top of the green mare and locked lips.

He could tell Derpy was looking at him, he learned that a little while ago because of her crossed eyes. The eye that was actually looking at you would always be a bit more focused. That's what she was doing now, she was looking straight at him while making sure to keep her lips locked with the mare below her who had submitted to the kiss.

"We...we need to do that more often," Derpy said breaking the kiss, both mares seemed to be more out of breath than the first kiss the shared.

"Y-yeah, we do," Lyra replied looking straight at the grey mare in awe, and momentary forgot who else was in the room.

"Well, um, I think that well do for that favor," he said a little unfocused.

"Oh, um..." Both mares stared at him.

"Alright, I get it. I'll pack my bags right now. You two can, um, continue. I'll only be a few minutes," he said getting up and leaving the two mares in their position.

He really didn't expect to be leaving so soon, but their look told him to either join in or leave. Since he really did want to take things a little bit slow with them, he didn't want to be tempted. After all, who can deny the ones they love something they want with they look like that. Especially in the position, they had just been seen in, and they seemed really content with continuing.

"Brandon?" He looked behind him to see Derpy there.

"It's fine like I said I wanted to make this trip. You two can continue making out and more if you two want," he said, smiling.

"But you don't have to go, you could just stay here," Derpy said.

"And what? Listen to you two, making it so tempting to join in? As much as I would love to, I made my choice in going slow. If you and Lyra want to do it, then go right ahead." He said.

"You know you can be a bit hard-headed right? I and Lyra don't have to, I mean the mood did kind of get ruined." That made them laugh a little.

"Yeah, but at the same time I know neither one of you are going to leave without some kind of satisfaction." He said once they both stopped. "Besides, I really do want to see Luna being all official."

"All right, I can give you that. Just have a safe trip," Derpy said taking the few steps over to give him a little peck.

"A bit minty, have you been eating mint gum or something?" He asked.

"Nope, though I may end up getting something that looks minty." Derpy gave a little wink before walking out, her tail swinging a bit more than usual.

"These mares, I swear once you get them started it's hard to get them to stop." He said, and then stopped and thought for a moment. "Do these mares go into heat?"

He honestly didn't know where the thought came from, but now that it was in his head he knew he would think about it until he got an answer. Maybe he would ask Twilight, but it would probably embarrass the both of them. Then he remembered who he was going to visit, and a thought occurred to him, a perfect way to get back at the Princess of Night.

She and Lyra watched him as he came out of his room, and he had a bit of a gleam in his eyes like he had some sort of plan. Though she wasn't too concerned about it, it seemed that he now had a plan for everything. He came over and gave them both a kiss and told them he would be back in a few days. They watched as he started to walk toward town and the train station was.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" Lyra asked, wrapping a hoof around her making her jump a little in surprise.

"Um, uh, I-I think I need to get back to my house. I have plenty of stuff to do over there that needs to be done." She said.

"Aww, I thought we could at least spend a night together alone and get to know each other before we go on a date. Besides, doesn't your daughter Sparkler come over and do a good amount of stuff because you're already so busy?" Lyra asked, making her feel a little nervous and guilty.

"Um, yeah she does. But that doesn't mean I can't do stuff as well, I mean I do have a younger daughter as well," she argued.

"Isn't she in the class that left on that field trip the other day to go visit Manehatten?" That made her ears fold up in defeat.

"Lyra, are you sure we should, you know?" She asked.

"Hey, all I'm suggesting is a night together, just you and me. Then we can go on a date tomorrow and get to know each other more then as well." Lyra replied, making her give a sigh.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. So, what do you want to do?" She asked.

"Oh, talk possibly, do each other's hair. Maybe we can make some smores, I haven't had them in a long time!" Lyra practically squealed as she ran into the kitchen.

Soon, they were sitting by the fireplace, Lyra using her magic to roast a marshmallow while she had to use a stick. Sometimes she wished she was a unicorn so she could do that, but she knew how to cook just fine without magic. They sat and ate and talked for a little while, and she nearly cracked up when Lyra ended up with a white goop on her nose.

"Lyra, you got something on your nose." She couldn't help but finally crack when Lyra crossed her eyes to see if she could see what was on her nose.

"Hey, it's not funny!" Lyra protested.

"I-I'm sorry, why don't you get it off with your magic or something?" She asked taking deep breaths to calm down.

"Um, because I can't see it, and if I can't see it then I won't be able to get it off with magic. We all can't be a Twilight Sparkle you know?" Lyra said.

"Yeah, well here let me help you then." She said getting closer, and Lyra just sat there thinking she would use her hoof, but let out a surprised squeak when she instead licked it off of her. "Sorry, I don't like food going to waste."

"I-t's alright, now let me clean a spot off of you," Lyra said.

"Where is my spot..." For the third time that day their lips became locked, and once again neither one of them fought it.

As much as she tried, she couldn't help but let her wings extend in excitement as the kiss continued. It honestly felt like minutes for the kiss to end, but she didn't mind, in fact as much as she could tell Lyra wanted to take control, she started to press deeper. This made Lyra start to go back, and somehow the green mare ended up completely under her.

"H-hey, I thought I was the expert on this kind of...mmmm... relationship!" Lyra said in a small voice.

"You are, but tonight..." She went in for more pecks and nibbled on her collar bone. "...I'm in control, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"O-oh really?" Lyra asked, and all of a sudden they twisted around making her be on the bottom.

"H-how..." She let out a loud moan as she felt Lyra push a leg into her lower lips.

"I'm an expert at this, I know how to deal with mares. Now shush, and enjoy a night neither one of us is going to forget." She heard Lyra say, as she felt small kisses going down her belly, and stopping at her exposed groan.

Once again she couldn't help herself as she let out a surprised squeak when she felt the mare down below gently bit down on one of her nipples. She squirmed feeling completely uncomfortable with somepony biting there. It took a few seconds longer than she wanted, but she finally got the message through to the green mare.

"Not that kind of girl huh?" That's alright," Lyra said kissing her nipple that was in the other mares mouth before the kissing continues.

She really didn't mind being teased, but with what Lyra was doing seemed to drive her crazy and wild. Kissing the inside of her thigh, blowing air onto her slit, it was driving her nuts wanting physical contact. Though once it was made, it wasn't much better as Lyra barely dragged her tongue up and down, making sure to barely tap her now fully exposed clit.

"I really love your moans," she heard Lyra say as she started to come up.

"W-why did you stop?" She asked, completely out of breath just from the teasing.

"Because..." All of a sudden Lyra's golden eyes met hers, and she couldn't say anything before their lips locked again, forcing her to taste herself. "I wanted you to have a taste, and as much as I love teasing myself with my hoof, I love to watch your reaction when I do this!"

They both let out moans as their lower lips met, and Lyra made sure that their clits met. She couldn't believe the shock of it, though Lyra didn't let her get used to it before the mare on top started to move. The feeling was so different than being with a stallion, there was no penetration, but she was still getting the same amount of pleasure.

She really couldn't focus on anything, her mind was starting to go blank, she could see Lyra smiling and moaning. But she knew the mare on top wasn't moaning as loud or as often as she was, which she wasn't surprised. Though she nearly passed out as shock after shock ran through, even more, when Lyra used her magic to massage every inch of her wings.

The feeling of their marehoods grinding against each other, and the magic touching the most sensitive spots on her wings, which were even more sensitive now. For a split few seconds she couldn't hear or see anything, then everything started to come back in. At least the screaming did, and she knew it was her that was screaming to high heavens.

"Hmm, that was fun..." Lyra said after she had stopped screaming and calmed down from the shock.

The mint green mare laid beside her, their hind legs still intertwined, and their slits still pressing against each other. Lyra leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, her eyes feeling heavy. Though she wanted to stay awake.

"It must have been a while since you been touched down there because I haven't heard a scream like that since me and Bon Bon's first time," Lyra said. "Now, sleep you banshee and get some rest."

"T-thanks..." She said as she drifted off.

"No problem," Lyra said after the grey mare was already asleep.

Author's Note

Hope you are having a good october, I know for me it's been a bit busy. Hope you all enjoyed though, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

To Canterlot

He was riding next to a Unicorn who seemed nerves when first meeting him, but he seemed to finally relax. They ended up talking and told each other about their marefriends, and to the stallions surprise, he learned that he had a herd. The stallion asked how that was like, and if he could tell him about the mares in the herd.

"Well, one of my marefriends you wouldn't believe me if I just told you." He said, the stallion looking at him.

"Believe me, I've heard plenty of crazy stuff." The stallion said.

"First, let me tell you that I'm dating a mailmare and a lyre player from Ponyville. As for my third marefriend is actually, um, Princess Luna." He said and looked at the stallion who looked like he was about to bust out laughing.

"I-I'm sorry, I do believe you. I heard the Princess was dating somepony, I just didn't expect it to be you, no offense. I just thought she would date a pony, but I think I can understand why she might be interested in you. So, is that why you're going to Canterlot? To visit her?" The stallion asked.

"Yeah, so you just believe me just like that though?" He asked.

"I see no reason why you would lie about something like that, is she a good kisser?" The stallion asked with a bit of a smirk.

"That's a bit personal isn't it?" He asked.

"Only asking, so how did you meet her?" The stallion asked.

"During Nightmare Night, she came to Ponyville and we started talking and realized we had quite a bit in common with each other. We became pen pals after that mostly, then I was jumped by three stallions and she came to visit me after I got out of the hospital. She ended up telling that she'll stay with me for a week to take care of me, and during that week we ended up getting together." He said, giving a little smile.

"Wow, well that makes sense. Ponyville was the place where she was healed right?" The stallion asked.

"Yeah, it's where Nightmare Moon was defeated by the Elements of Harmony." He said.

''Well I hope you and her are happy together." The stallion said.

"So, why are you going to Canterlot? Do you live there? Or do you have family there or something?" He asked.

"Oh, my brother lives there. But me and my wife were wanting to take a little vacation there." The stallion said.

"Your wife? How come you haven't been sitting with her then?" He asked.

"She's flying there, though I wish she wouldn't because she's pregnant." The stallion said giving a sigh.

"That's something I agree with, oh and I forgot. During this entire time, you never told me your name." He said facepalming.

"Heh, right, I'm Ginger." The stallion said.

"Well, it's nice to finally know your name." He said giving Ginger a friendly smile. "So, you're gonna have a kid?"

"Yup, we won't be able to know if it's a boy or a girl until she has the egg." Ginger said.

"An egg?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's a Griffin. A good part of the pregnancy is through the egg," Ginger said.

"Huh, well I wish you good luck then, raising a little one will be hard work. At least from what I heard anyways," he said.

"Yup, sure is difficult, trust me on that one. This would be my second foal, I hope we get a little Griffin this time." Ginger said, giving a little hopeful smile.

"Well, I hope you get your wish." He said. "Though, I didn't know ponies could be born from eggs."

"It can be weird like that with Griffin women." Ginger said. "So, do you want some foals of your own?'

"Um well, it's a bit early for that. But yeah I do hope I can have a foal, but if it's even possible." He said giving a sigh.

"Why wouldn't it be possible?" Ginger asked.

"Well I'm the only one of my kind here, so I don't know if it'll be possible." He answered.

"I'm sure it's possible, and if it's not you could always adopt." Ginger said.

"Yeah, I guess." He said. "But as I said, it's too early to think about that."

"I guess you're right, but it's good to know that you at least want foals. When your marefriends hear that, it'll make them happy." Ginger said.

"Probably, shoot what I'm surprised that I told a complete stranger pretty much." He said, both of them giving a little laugh.

"Eh, sometimes talking is good. Besides, as I said at least you know that you want foals in the future." Ginger said.

"Guess so, but anyways what are you planning on doing when you get to Canterlot?" He asked.

"Probably going to visit the palace, then the gardens, but we have a nice little reservation at a nice little restaurant. Then we're gonna go look at some clothes. for foals." Ginger said. "And you?"

"Well, as you figured, I'm gonna go visit my marefriend. I'll probably just eat there as well," he said.

"Shoot, who knows? We might see each other while we're at the place, and if that happens then I'll introduce you to my wife." Ginger said.

"That'll be nice, what's her name by the way?" He asked.

"Oh, her name is Tallia." Ginger replied.

"That's a nice name," he said.

"Yup sure is. I think she'll like you," Ginger said.

"Hope so, because I'm kind of tired of the nobles looking down on me just because I'm not a pony." He said.

"Ah, that's something you and Tallia have in common." Ginger said.

"I do hope I get to meet her, what can you tell me about her?" He asked.

"Oh, she's pregnant, so right now she's not exactly that easy to describe. But like most griffins I suppose, she is a bit stubborn about stuff, but that can describe a lot of ponies. But the reason why I fell for her is that she stood up for me quite often when we were in school." Ginger said giving a smile that said he was remembering it fondly.

"So, you've been together since you were that young?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, we pretty much grew up together. We didn't get together though until we were much older," Ginger said.

"Well at least you two knew each other for a lot longer than most," he said.

"Says the one who started a herd in less than a week," Ginger said giving him a little smirk.

"That's why I said what I did, but at the same time love can be different for everypony." He said.

"So true, now tell me about your other two marefriends. You told me about how you and the Princess got together, and since I told you about how I met my wife, I want to hear about your other two mares." Ginger said.

"Ah, well then I should tell you about Lyra first. You see I met her at a party that was thrown for me, you know a welcome party. She became my best friend, we pretty much told each other everything. She even broke up with her marefriend, you see her marefriend had done something that she thought went too far. I really do feel sorry for them both, they had been together so long, but I think I wouldn't have gotten her, as bad as that sounds." He said.

"And she's the lyre player right?" Ginger asked.

"Yup, really good too. As for the last one, her name is Derpy and she's very sweet and loving. She actually has a little filly of her own," he said.

"Oh, so you might just end up being a dad just like that then." Ginger said.

"Yeah, you could say that. You see I met her when she ended up crashing into me one day while I was in the library. It was an accident, she stayed and asked me a bunch of questions. It was kind of cute, I ended up asking her out when I got a cast off after I broke my ankle and went to visit a nice little filly. She was at the hospital to deliver a letter from the filly's classmates, and before we went to visit the filly she went to the bathroom and when she came out she was being harassed by a doctor. I couldn't stand for it, so I stepped in and saved her by asking her out." He said.

"Well, that's an interesting way to ask somepony out. But at least you saved her from that doctor," Ginger said.

"Yeah, she's been great too. She knows how to cheer me up to, don't know what its about her, she just has a bubbly personality." He couldn't help the smile on his face.

"It definitely sounds like you're in love all right," Ginger said.

"Not gonna lie, I love all three so much. They all helped me in some way or another," he said.

"That's good, though just be careful, nobles can be difficult like we said. It did sound like you already had some experience with them." Ginger said.

"Yeah, I do. I came here during Hearth Warmings Eve. So I do have some experience with them," he said.

"So that's good, most usually don't handle nobles well." Ginger said.

"Most of them act like little children, so that's what you have to treat them like." He said.

"More like spoiled kids," Ginger said making both of them laugh.

They sat there in silence for a little while, though they started talking again. Though this time they were telling each other some jokes, and about their favorite places to eat in Canterlot. It ended up making both of them hungry though, so they switched back to telling each other jokes, which got them to tell some stories about themselves.

"So wait, you and Tallia spilled wine on him on purpose? I got to say, he sounds like he deserved it." He said laughing a little.

"Oh, he did. He just kept complaining about how this mare who had a cake dumped on her yelled at him and shook herself off getting it on him. So we got tired of it, and gave him something new to complain about." Ginger said laughing. "We were never invited to another one of his party's, though who would want to go to that red stallion's house again?"

"I know I wouldn't, especially if he insulted me, even indirectly." He said.

"So, you have any interesting party stories?" Ginger asked.

"Well, this one party I ended up eating all of the chips." He said.

"What's wrong with that?" Ginger asked.

"I ate them while drunk dancing on the table," he said making both of them laugh again.

"Wow, just wow. I didn't think you were one of those drunks." Ginger said wiping his eyes.

"Hey, I loosen up quite a bit when I'm drunk. Everyone loves it when I get drunk because they don't know what will happen." He said.

"So wait, you do completely random things when your drunk?" Ginger asked.

"Usually never the same thing," he answered.

"That's interesting to hear, maybe if me and Tallia come to Ponyville sometime we can get you drunk and see what happens." Ginger said.

"I'll like that, and I think Pinkie would too. She enjoys any excuse to throw a party," he said.

"Well, I really do hope we get a chance. It does sound like we would really enjoy a stay there," Ginger said.

"Just send me a letter or something and let me know, so I can set a few things up for you." He said.

"It's a deal then, though it might be a good minute before we get the chance to visit. After all, we just used our vacation time to come here to visit family and everything." Ginger said.

"That's fine, just can't wait to have you visit." He said.

"So, what do you think your two other marefriends are doing right now?" A little smirk spread on my face.

"Oh, I have an idea. But it's not exactly my place to tell you," he said making Ginger give a little snicker.

"Well, I'm sure they had fun so far. What about the Princess?" Ginger asked.

"Oh, she's probably sleeping right now. From what she told me about her time in Night Court, she gets pretty exhausted." He said.

"Yup, dealing with some nobles can do that." Ginger said.

"Yeah, though one that I'm hoping to meet sometime is Fancy Pants. He seems to be alright," he said.

"Oh yeah, he is. I actually met him before. Oh, and once we stop would you like to meet Tallia and go to dinner with us if she doesn't mind?" Ginger asked.

"That would be great actually," he replied.

"That's great to hear because I honestly do think you and Tallia will get along just great!" Ginger said, giving him a big smile. "She'll be waiting for me when we arrive, honestly can't wait till you two meet."

"I can't wait till I meet her to if she's married to you that counts for something. Though, I do find it funny that we only just met a few hours ago and you just invited me to dinner with you and your wife on your vacation." He said.

"Well, someponies are just nice like that you know?" Ginger said rolling his eyes.

"I know, I know. But still, I would feel like I'm intruding on your vacation. It doesn't feel right to me," he said.

"It's alright, believe me on that. If anything, your presence will make the dinner entertaining. No offense, but I want to see what others think when they see us three together. I mean a unicorn, a Griffin, and a human walk into a fancy place? Kind of sounds like a set up to a joke or something." Ginger said.

"It kind of does, and hey when you think of the punch line let me know because I might want to use it a few times." He gave a smile to the unicorn.

"Can do, and hey maybe you work on one to and see if we can't compare?" Ginger suggested.

"Yeah, maybe I will. Bet mine will be better though," he said.

"You're on, five bits?" Ginger asked.

"Five bits, deal." He replied shaking the hoof.

"I just hope neither one of us regrets it," Ginger said.

"You sound like you won this already." He said.

"Sorry, can't help it. I want those five bits now." Ginger said.

"You and me both," he said. "So, your brother lives in Canterlot right?"

"Yeah, he is a bit of a cameraman. Worked for Photo Finish," Ginger said.

"Huh, well that's cool. But what does he do now?" He asked.

"He's still doing photo shoots. Mostly for fashion shows in Canterlot," Ginger said.

"Attention, attention, the train will be stopping in about ten minutes. Please make sure you have all of your carry on luggage, thank you." The announcer said.

"Well, sounds like our stop is coming up. Don't forget our bet." Ginger reminded him.

"I won't if you won't," he said.

Author's Note

Okay, I know this is the tiniest bit shorter than usual, but even for a person without a job like me, I was still pretty busy all this month. Also, has it really been over a year since I released this fanfic? Where has the time gone? I just want to say, thank you all. You all have made me twenty percent cooler. "Boo, over used saying is over used!" But honestly, thank you all. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and many more to come, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Nice Dinner

He was waiting on his bags from the cargo delivery service, Ginger went to go find his wife Tallia so that he could meet her. In all honesty, he couldn't wait to meet her either. After all, Griffin's were rare in Equestria and from what Ginger told him, she actually specialized in mythical creatures and was sure she would most likely recognize what he was. That was apparently because she likes researching myths about bipedal creatures.

"Here you go sir, your bags." A friendly mare said dropping my bags next to him.

"Thanks," he said giving her a smile and a little tip.

"You know you sound crazy right? I mean I heard about a new creature from Ponyville, but that place seems to have strange things happen to it all the time. So for all I know, it could just be a hairless Minotaur. I mean really, a human being real." He heard the voice and couldn't help but give a little chuckle.

"Just trust me, he is real and really nice. I talked to him for the entire ride here. I even invited him to eat with us tonight." Ginger said.

"If this human is real, then I'll let him mount me right here in front of everypony." He could feel the eye roll from here.

"I doubt he would go for that, even if he does have a little herd of his own. Not that you aren't beautiful," Ginger said.

"You bet your horn that I am, now where is this human?" He heard her ask, and saw a gold and white Griffin looking around next to Ginger.

"There he is over there," Ginger pointed a hoof in the direction that he was standing in, and as Tallia looked in that direction her eyes lit up in surprise and excitement and before he knew it a feathery face was close to his.

"I can't believe this, I've only ever seen hieroglyphics about humans. Maybe hear a few tales here and there that was passed down, but to actually see one up close and personal is amazing! How long have you been here? Is it true what my husband said? That you have a herd?" As she backed off, he could see a huge smile.

"Um, maybe around eight months I think, and yeah I do have a herd. But, did I overhear somepony say that if I was real they would let me mount them right here and now?" He grew a bit of a smirk as the Griffin became flustered.

"Yeah, honey didn't you say that?" Ginger asked giving a little wink towards him.

"I-I, um, uh..." Tallia's eyes were moving really fast now, making both him and Ginger break out in laughter.

"I-I already know you were only joking, and I wouldn't do that to you. I mean you're married and are expecting a foal. Also, I would have to get to know you first and make sure everypony in my herd is okay with adding you into it." He said after he finished laughing.

"I figured, just glad I could provide some funny moments still," Tallia said giving him a little smile. "As I'm sure you already know, I'm Tallia and I believe we're gonna have dinner together tonight right?"

"Yeah, looking forward to it. But I want to check into my hotel first." He said taking her claw and shaking. "And my name is Brandon."

"Wait, you're not staying with your marefriend while you're here?" Ginger asked.

"Well, she doesn't actually know I'm here. I wanted to surprise her," he said.

"That's sweet, I remember when you used to do that," Tallia said, giving Ginger an elbow to the ribs. "So, whose your marefriend here?"

"You won't believe it when he tells you." Ginger said.

"And why wouldn't I believe him?" Ginger just gave a sigh, and Brandon jumped a little at the mood swing.

"Just tell her please," Ginger said.

"Okay, my marefriend here is Princess Luna." He said, making the Griffin give him a confused look.

"Really?" He nodded. "Now see, why wouldn't I of believed him? I did hear the Princess got into a relationship, but I didn't know with who." Tallia said turning towards Ginger.

"Sorry for doubting you, I'll make it to you later." Ginger said.

"You better, my paws are killing, so I want a paw massage. As for you, don't worry we have to check into our hotel as well, but where are you staying?" Tallia asked.

"I'm staying at The Cloven, you know where that's at?" He asked.

"Sure do, I stayed there once when I visited my mom while she was here for a week," Tallia answered. "We'll come to pick you up when we're ready, what room are you in though?"

"Two seventy-eight," he replied.

"Alright, we'll see you then." Ginger said as they started walking away with their bags.

As he waved them goodbye, for now, he picked up his bags and started walking towards his hotel knowing Luna would probably still be asleep when he checks in. Thinking about her though, he had to stop and think about what her schedule might look like. If he knew her, she would be eating breakfast around the same time he was probably eating dinner.

He started walking towards his hotel, though thinking about Luna got him to actually think what Lyra and Derpy were doing right now. Though he couldn't think about them much as he walked in his hotel he had a little trouble getting his room. Lucky the manager showed up to take care of the problem that seemed to plague the customer registration.

Once he got to his room though, he pulled out two pictures, one had him and Lyra laughing because he had accidentally dumped some chocolate on her. The second picture was a simple picture of Derpy, she gave it to him to put up on his wall, she told him he needed more decorations. He couldn't help but get a little smile across his face, though thinking about the two mares taking pictures led to some dirty places.

After a nice little shower, and getting dressed, and finally sitting down to relax wondering what time Ginger and Tallia were planning to come and pick him up to eat. Which made him remember his little bet with Ginger, so he started working on the punch line. Though after an hour or two he heard a knock at his door, and as quickly as he could he answered the door to see his new friends there.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" He asked.

"Just seeing if we can come in for a minute?" Tallia asked.

"Um, sure come on in." He answered.

As the two came in, Tallia instantly locked onto his two pictures and looked at them giving him a little smile. Ginger automatically went to the bathroom, locking the door after slamming it making him give a little confused look to Tallia. Who wasn't even paying attention, instead had all her focus was on the pictures.

"They're my other marefriends," he said finally catching her attention.

"Well, it seems you've known this one longer than this one." Tallia pointed to the one with Lyra.

"Kind of, she was my best friend before we got together. But I met both of them around the same time." He said.

"Oh, so she was your best friend huh? How did you two take the next step?" Tallia asked, making me get a bit of a sad look.

"It's a bit of a long story, but to make it short she was planning on leaving Ponyville and admitted her feelings for me. I admitted mine for her, and offered her to live with me." He answered.

"Sorry if it pulled some sort of bad memories or something," Tallia said.

"It's fine, just made me think about before she tried to leave." He said. "So, where are we going to eat?"

"Oh, a nice little place called Pluke, it's supposed to be a nice fancy place that's supposed to be affordable. Just opened up about a month ago, and I managed to grab us a reservation. Though we ended up with a table for five, that's why I don't mind you coming with us. Though we're splitting the bill," Tallia said.

"Yup told ya she wouldn't." Ginger said.

"You ready to go?" Tallia asked, more directed towards Ginger rather than him.

"Yeah, sorry I had to really go." Ginger said.

"Because you didn't before we left, I mean really, we're only five blocks away," Tallia said rolling her eyes.

They all left the room, he made sure to be the last one out to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, and once he was sure he stepped out the door and locked it. He followed them making small talk with them, getting small laughs. Tallia wanted to know the story behind the picture with Lyra, and quickly told her that he worked at a candy shop and she came in and visited him, and he ended up slipping on something making him pour some chocolate on her. It was his boss that took the picture.

"So, your boss seems nice if he took the picture," Tallia said.

"She actually, and my boss was Lyra's ex-marefriend before I came in, this was still when me and her were friends." He said, giving another sigh.

"So I take it that you don't work there anymore?" Tallia asked.

"Yeah, but it was a bit of an ordeal that didn't need to happen. Are we almost there?" He asked.

"Yup, it should be just around the corner." Ginger said. "Say, how are you doing with our little bet?"

"I think I got you beat, but let's wait until after dinner because I'm starting to get really hungry." He said.

"What do humans even eat? I mean from what I've researched they're omnivores right?" Tallia asked.

"Yeah, but I've gotten used to eating a vegetarian diet." He answered. "Are we lost?"

"Um, no, we just took a detour." Ginger said.

"Are you kidding me? Why do I trust you with the directions? I mean really, you would lose your own dick if it wasn't attached." Tallia said.

"What street is this Pluke suppose to be on?" He asked.

"Um, Sunny Ave., and Starlit Street." Ginger said with slight embarrassment.

"You mean the street's we passed twenty minutes ago?" He asked.

"We already passed them?" Tallia asked, giving Ginger an angry look. "Now we're going to miss our reservation!"

"Sorry," Ginger said.

"Now what are we gonna do with our guest?" Tallia yelled.

"Well, I know a little place not far from here that my friends showed me when I was last here." He said, Tallia, looking at him with a little smile.

"Great, let's go, I need to eat," Tallia said, waving her claw to allow him to lead.

As he led the way, he could hear some slight arguing behind him only interrupted by a stomach growling. He knew it wouldn't be too long before he got to the place where he wanted to go, though he was surprised that he could remember the way. After a few more blocks, taking one wrong turn and correcting it, he finally led them to the little restaurant.

"Wow, this place seems quite cute." Ginger said.

"Yeah, it's not much but the food is good." He said.

"Well, let's go in then. I'm starving," Tallia said walking towards the door making both him and Ginger follow.

"Ah, hello Brandon, good to see ya again! I see you brought new customers as well," the stallion behind the counter said.

"Yup, and we're starving." He said.

"Good to hear, have a seat. You know, ever since you came in business has picked up." The stallion said.

"That's cool, what's the special?" He asked.

"The Grain Burger is pretty good," the stallion replied.

"Oh, that sounds good. I'll take one," Ginger said, and the stallion wrote the order down.

"I think I'll take the Variety Soup," Tallia said. "That honestly sounds very good, and can you add a little extra salt?"

"Sure can, would you like something to drink?" The stallion asked.

"Oh, water for me," Ginger said.

"Orange juice for me," Tallia said.

"I think I'll take a mixed salad, and I want some water as well." He answered.

"Alright, I'll get those orders cooked up in no time." The stallion said.

"So, if your business has increased then where is everpony?" Tallia asked.

"Well, it's about closing time before you guys came in." The stallion answered.

"Ah, that makes sense. So, you told us that you found this place because of your friends?" Ginger asked.

"Yeah, they showed me a little bit ago. I pretty much fell in love with the food," he said.

"Yup, pretty much ate my entire fridge that day." The cook said. "Made a lot of money that day."

"Well, if it tastes as good as it smells then I bet so," Tallia said, her mouth watering.

"You might want to get a napkin otherwise you'll flood the place," the stallion joked.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry. If this one hadn't gotten us lost in the first place, then we would have already been eating." Tallia said, pointing to Ginger.

"I said I was sorry, and I'll make it up to you!" Ginger said though that didn't stop the glare.

"You two sound married, are ya married?" The stallion asked.

"Yeah, we're married." Ginger said.

"Thought so, but why are you being so quiet Brandon?" The stallion asked.

"Just trying to avoid getting a death glare," he answered.

"I wouldn't give you a death glare, you actually got us someplace that smells like it has nice food. Which is more than this one, that and we only just met and I don't want to scare ya before you got a chance to actually know me." Tallia said.

"Trust me, if you weren't scared by me when we first met then I think we'll be fine." He said.

"Please, like I said I research myths, and to see something that was considered a myth is pretty sweet," Tallia said, eyeing the cook as it seems he started to serve the food in their dishes.

"Sheesh, you really are hungry aren't you?" He asked.

"Of course, you try being pregnant and fly all the way to Canterlot," Tallia said.

"Here ya go then, and your meat will be on the house, ma'am." The stallion behind the counter said.

"Thanks!" Tallia said before she started eating like crazy.

Though Ginger was right behind her and he just stared for a moment before he started eating his salad, which was better than he remembered. Besides the sounds of them eating, the dinner was silent. It probably wasn't even five minutes before each of them were done eating with a bit of a satisfied look on their faces, though none more than Tallia.

"That was really good," Tallia said.

"Good to hear, how about you two?" The stallion asked.

"Oh, it was pretty good." Ginger said.

"It was better than I remembered." He answered.

"Well, how about I write up the bill and you guys can pay." The stallion said.

"Thanks for showing us this place Brandon, it really was good." Ginger said.

"No problem, though I think I'll need to get going soon if I want to go meet Luna at open Night Court." He said.

"Can we come with you? It would be nice to see how Night Court is run." Tallia said.

"Can't really stop ya," he said. "That and it would be nice to have some company."

"Here you guys go," the stallion said putting the bill down.

"Thanks, I'll take care of it. I got plenty of Bits." He said grabbing it and paying. "So, are we going?"

"Yup, I'm a coming," Tallia said.

"Yeah, alright." Ginger said getting up.

"Can't wait to see how your marefriend will react when she sees you," Tallia said.

"Hopefully surprised," he replied.

Author's Note

I hope you guys enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Open Night Court

Author's Note

Guess what's back? That's right, star wars! In seriousness though, the reason why this chapter is soooo late is due to some personal stuff going on for the past couple of months. But I hope you all enjoyed, and remember to smile, smile, smile! Also, an end in almost here...

Open Night Court

"So, how do you know that the Royal Guard will let you or us in?" Tallia asked.

"Well, because this is open Night Court, they have to let anypony in. Besides, I'm sure they would let him in anyways due to him dating Princess Luna." Ginger replied.

"It's not that simple for you see you still have to make an appointment for a private court session no matter what the relationship with the Royals. Though they will let me into the castle, they will not let me into the throne room until either open court or court is over with. I also must warn you, some of the day and night guards don't like me." He said, giving a bit of a sigh.

"Let me guess, they made racist comments to you and threatened to not only beat you down but throw you in jail." Ginger said.

"That sounds like what those guards would say," Tallia said.

"Well, it was a little more than racist comments and threats. A small group of about four actually did try jumping me once, but my friends came by and scared them away." He said with a little smile.

"When was this?" Both Ginger and Tallia asked.

"It was about Hearth's Warming Eve, after the play here. I was somewhat avoiding them due to a little of their teasing, so I left to go to my hotel. I was only about two blocks from the theater when they showed up, following me all the way. When they were about to attack, my friends showed up thus scaring them off." He said.

"So, you knew you were being followed?" Ginger asked.

"They weren't trying to hide, shoot my friends even glared at them as they ran with their tails tucked between their legs." He said laughing a little.

"You sound like you have good friends," Tallia said.

"I do, they've pretty much been there since I arrived here." He said. "Looks like we're almost there, and to top it off open night court only began like fifteen minutes ago."

"How do you know that?" Ginger asked.

"Luna always holds Open Night court at the same time, and judging from the clock tower it's only been around fifteen minutes since it began." He replied.

The three of them continued to walk and make small talk, Tallia asking questions about humans and Ginger laughing when certain subjects came up. It wasn't too long before they arrived at the front gate and they were let in. Of course, he guided them, though for some reason he felt like they already knew the way.

"How long does Open Night Court usually stay open for?" Ginger asked.

"Two hours," he replied. "Why?"

"Just making sure we didn't barge in on a private dispute," Ginger said.

"Well, don't worry because we're already here." He said opening the door and managing to hide behind a few other ponies.

"Why are you hiding?" Ginger asked.

"It's obvious, he wants to surprise her, right?" Tallia looked at him with a wink and smile, and he nodded.

"When you gonna surprise her then?" Ginger asked.

"Wouldn't be much of a surprise if I just told everypony now would it?" He said.

"Guess not," Ginger mumbled.

The three of them sat there watching for a little while, but despite case after case, and pony after pony the crowd never seemed to shrink. Tallia looked very interested as Luna did her job, Ginger looked like he might fall asleep from boredom, and Brandon was just smiling. Before long almost all the open night court cases were done and over with, with another hour to spare.

"Is there any other disputes or problems anyone has that they want to be settled?" The guard by Luna's side called, and Tallia felt a poke and looked over to see Brandon wanting to tell her something.

"Yes, I have something to bring up with the Princess!" Tallia called, waking Ginger in surprise.

"Please come to the front and I'll hear you out," Luna said calmly.

"Thank you, Princess," Tallia said as she came to where the other's stood to make their cases. "I'm not sure if you know me or my family, but I am Tallia Acro, daughter of Greyfor Acro, who is the one that uncovered what is to believe to be remains of a human-made ancient village."

"Hmm, yes I have heard of your father and I have just begun hearing that you seem to be following in his hoof steps. So, are you here to present evidence to support that humans once lived here in Equestria?" Luna asked.

"That's a yes and no Princess," Tallia replied.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Well, me and my husband were on vacation here, but then we made a discovery. A discovery in which does bring up substantial evidence, evidence when in I'm sure you're quite familiar with." Tallia said with a little smile.

"And what is this discovery?" Luna asked.

"That there is a human among us right here and now," Tallia said with much confidence and making the crowd a little confused.

"Please, everypony knows that humans are just myths!" One pony said.

"Yeah, and that rumor of the Night Princess dating one is also false! Everypony knows she goes to Ponyville to visit the ponies that saved her!" Another one said.

"ENOUGH!!!" Luna said, though how she said it sounded more like yelling and almost killed the front row of ponies hearing. "First, a human is, in fact, living here in Equestria due to some accident caused by his world, and as for the rumors thy were talking about are fact!" That got more mumbling that quickly died when she raised a hoof. "I do not care who knows it, for centuries now the courting of other races has been accepted. So do not judge my relationship, for I am sure many of you have dated a Griffin, or a Minotaur at least once. Now, Tallia what do you mean there is a human among us right now?"

"She means me," Luna looked at the back of the room with wide eyes.

It wasn't even two seconds before a quick flash zipped by the crowd and tackled him to the ground. The crowd was stunned, not only by the fact that there was, in fact, a human in the room, but also the fact that the Princess seemed to be giving a very loving kiss. It was completely quiet before Ginger cleared his throat.

"Um, I think Open Night Court is being cut short this evening," Ginger said nodding to the guard who nodded back in agreement.

"But I haven't made my case about the carrot.....!" A pony with a brown coat said before being pushed out.

"And I have an appointment with Princess Celestia." A small greyish wolf wearing a nice suit said.

"You can find her in her study, down the hall, and to the left. Take the stairs up three flights, and it'll be the door at the end of the hall." A guard said.

"Very well, thank you for your help. Just let me know when you want to make another appointment, it's been a little bit since you came in." The wolf said with a kind smile and started walking out, and as soon as the last of the crowd left leaving only some guards, Tallia, and ginger, and the two on the floor everything went quiet again.

"Well, I didn't think she would react like this when she saw him." Ginger said.

"Neither did I, but I find it so cute and it shows that she is just another pony," Tallia said.

Luna finally got off the top of him, dusting herself off with a deep blush spreading across her cheeks. She gave a sharp glare at Brandon, who was now starting to get a big grin on his face. Though that grin didn't last long when she gave him a solid punch to the shoulder, that only made him laugh.

"Sweet, sweet revenge! You should see the look on your face right now," he said getting up.

"What do you mean revenge?" Ginger asked.

"She's embarrassed me plenty of times, I thought it was about time I embarrassed her. Though I didn't expect her to pounce on me and kiss me like that," he said with a little smile.

"Hmmph, what can I say, I missed you and the others," Luna said and she looked at Ginger and Tallia. "So, how did you two meet him?"

"I met him on the train here, and I introduced him to my ever beautiful wife Tallia." Ginger said.

"Shut up, you aren't getting any tonight. For one, the baby is a bit restless and I'm personally tired." Tallia said, making Ginger grumble a bit.

"Well congratulations to you two, and as for you why would you want to embarrass me like that?" Luna asked giving him a small glare.

"Because you deserved it, and you aren't easy to embarrass. But honestly, I really had no idea that you would pounce like that." He said.

"I still think it was sweet, if unprofessional," Tallia said.

"I make mistakes like any other pony," Luna said giving them an annoyed look. "Anyways, what are you even doing here Brandon? Are the others with you?"

"No, I came by myself. The others were a bit busy when I left," Ginger smirked a little. "As for why I came, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing just fine if you couldn't tell, and you know you didn't have to come all this way. You could have just sent a letter," Luna said.

"I thought it be a good surprise," he replied.

"And you ended up getting a surprise," Ginger said earning an elbow.

"Oh, by the way, Tallia, is your dad really an archaeologist?" He asked.

"Yes he is, and I am in fact following in his hoof steps as ponies would put it. But I'm on leave for now for obvious reasons," Tallia answered rubbing her stomach.

"Well, that's cool," he said.

"So Brandon, I'm going to assume you already have a hotel room for yourself?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, the same one I stayed in last time. Why are you giving me that look?" He asked as Luna gave a sigh.

"Because I was hoping that you didn't so that way you could stay in the castle," Luna answered.

"Awww, isn't that sweet!" The four of them turned to see Celestia standing there with a smile that gave off the usual kindness but mixed with grumpiness. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just heard that Open Night Court closed a bit early tonight and I wanted to see why."

"Oh, sorry sister but as you can see we have a surprise visitor," Luna said.

"Yeah, I figured it was you Brandon from the mumbles of the night guard. I do find it sweet that you came to visit, and waited until it was open court to show up. But remember, Luna is a Princess and she does have some duties to do." Celestia said.

"I know, I didn't expect anything to be cut short. I just wanted to surprise her," he said. "As for my room, I only paid for it for one night."

"You did? You aren't planning on staying then?" Luna asked.

"You did just offer me a room here in the castle a minute ago," he said giving a little wink.

"That you did Luna, and hello you two," Celestia said looking back at Ginger and Tallia. "You're Greyfor's daughter right?"

"Yes I am Princess," Tallia said bowing.

"I haven't seen you in a very long time, it's good to see you. Now as for you two, please no more interruptions of the court. Luna, you know how difficult it is to deal with something like that, even if it was only Open Court hours." Celestia said.

"I promise sister," Luna said.

"I can't really promise anything, but I'll try not to interrupt things." He said.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I need to go talk with a certain wolf about my student and her friends," Celestia said before walking out of the courtroom.

"Well, this certainly has been an interesting evening, but I'm beat. Let's go back to our hotel Ginger," Tallia said starting to walk out.

"But..." Ginger tried to say.

"NOW!" Tallia yelled, and Ginger scrambled after her. "Bye Brandon, bye Princess."

"Bye you two!" Ginger said.

"Bye," he said waving.

"They seemed nice," Luna said after they left.

"Yup, they are. So, did you like my surprise?" He asked.

"Yes, I do like it." She said giving him a little nuzzle before lightly hitting him. "But next time, please try to show up after court hours."

"Whatever you say, you know you enjoy any excuse to get away from stuck up nobles." He said giving a laugh. "But yeah, I'm also kind of beat, had a bit of a train ride here. I'll come to the castle tomorrow okay?"

"Alright, just make sure not to cause any trouble tomorrow," Luna said.

"I think you're confusing me with Lyra," he said making them both laugh. "Goodnight Luna." Leaning in, he gave her a little peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight, and thanks I really am glad you came. Just don't embarrass me anymore like that okay?" Luna asked.

"That's a promise I can't make," he said quickly running out before she had time to react.

"This is going to be a long couple of days," she sighed before shaking her head.

He stopped running shortly after he left the main courtroom, and couldn't help the smile on his face. There were a few ideas swimming in his head about how to embarrass her without causing to much trouble. But he knew he had to sleep on it, he was actually tired and knew that he would need a bit of energy dealing with nobles.

As he exited the front gate of the castle, he gave a friendly nod and smile to the guards outside and started his way to the hotel. It wasn't too long before he started to feel like someone was watching him, but looking around he spotted some late night store ponies looking through their windows. He shrugged it off, knowing that they probably hadn't seen him before.

"Finally back," he said as walked into his hotel.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave." He heard someone say.

"What?" He asked.

"I have to ask you to leave," the mare repeated.

"Why? I'm a paying customer who already paid for a room earlier today." He said.

"Really, no offense but we don't service animals or non-citizens." The mare said.

"First, not an animal, and I am a citizen. If you don't believe call your manager, or I could call one of the Princesses to the matter." He said.

"Like you have connections that high even if you aren't some kind of animal," the mare said.

"Is there a problem here Bell?" Another mare who wore a managers badge.

"Yes, he claims that he already paid for a room here even though we don't service noncitizens or animals," Bell said giving him a glare.

"How dare you talk to a valued customer like this," the manager said.

"Wait, he is staying here? Why?" Bell said.

"Because he paid for a room, he is not an animal and he is, in fact, a citizen. I'll deal with you and your prejudiced later, go to my office until then." Bell, looked saddened before walking away. "I'm so sorry about that sir, I'll make sure to give you a coupon for a free stay here and tonight will be on me."

"Um, thanks." He said with a yawn.

"No problem, and please enjoy your stay here." The manager said giving him a small smile before walking back to where he assumed her office was.

"Well, that was interesting, hopefully, no one is like that tomorrow." He said going up to his room, where as soon as he got in he fell onto the bed almost instantly going to sleep.

Hanging Out

She woke up a bit feeling a bit groggy and sore thus making her not want to actually wake up. But she was already wide awake, so she decided to go take a shower after last night. Though it was a bit difficult due to the fact that Lyra seemed to have pinned her down to the bed.

After quickly working her way out of the bed, she couldn't help the big smile that spread across her face. Granted, some of the other details started to make her cheeks go red. That didn't matter to her though, she had a great time and now she needed a nice shower to clean last night off.

"Hey, did you just get in?" She heard Lyra ask through the door.

"Um, yeah I did. Why, do you need to use the bathroom?" She replied.

"Nah, I was just planning on taking a shower as well. I mean, I did get pretty sticky last night." Lyra said, and she could hear the smirk through the door.

"Yeah, me too, and after we both had our showers we should clean up. Maybe go buy some nice smelling candles, because of the smell." She retorted.

"Well, at least I wasn't the only who contributed to it, and yeah because I think we left a few things out last night anyway," Lyra said.

"So, we have a plan then." She said.

After they both had their showers, they quickly started cleaning the mess that was a lot worse than it looked. A Chocolate bar had somehow melted into the couch despite it being far away from the fire, a marshmallow clung to the ceiling, and their drinks were spilled all over the floor. But they managed to get it all cleaned, and headed out to town for some candles.

"So, what kind of candles should we get?" She asked, knowing Lyra would most likely know what Brandon Liked.

"Hmm, well he likes ones that smell seasonal. You know the kind of candles with names like Winter Frost, Spring Rain, Summer Breeze, and Falling Leaves. Stuff like that, though I think we should get him to try some other kinds." Lyra suggested.

"Hmm, how about when we get to the market we each buy at least two different kinds that we think he might like and buy one he will most definitely like." She suggested.

"Sounds like a good deal to me," Lyra said giving her a bit of a smile. "Though, I wonder who's working the apple stand today? Cause if it's Big Mac, then it won't be as awkward as Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and of course Applejack."

"Yeah, but I wasn't planning on going to buy some apples today. Were you?" She asked.

"It came across my mind, but it's not important right now. We have plenty at the house," Lyra said.

Once in the market area, they split up to find candles as they had planned. They had a little trouble finding ones that they liked since it seemed that the candle stands were running a bit low on supplies. But eventually, they both found two candles that they did like but had yet to find one that Brandon would like.

"Sorry, just sold out of our seasonal candles. It seems they're very popular this year," the stand clerk said.

"Okay, well thanks anyways." Lyra gave a big huff. "Last candle place here, and they don't have anything either."

"Well, what other candles does Brandon like? I mean he has to like more than just the seasonal smelling ones." She said.

"I don't really know, all I've ever seen him buy were the seasonal ones and he hadn't told me if he had a favorite kind of smell for candles," Lyra said.

"What if we get one of the flower ones? Like this rose one," she said grabbing the candle.

"No, he has a tiny bit of allergies. For whatever reason, even the smell of flowers can make him go on a sneezing fit." Lyra said.

"Really?" She asked, and Lyra only nodded her head. "Then what about one of these fruity ones? I mean he seems to be crazy about fruit most of the time."

"Crazy is a bit of an understatement, we can barely keep any fruit in the house more than four days. But that's only if we're lucky," Lyra said snorting at the memory of wanting the last container of strawberries and finding that Brandon had already eaten them the day before.

"So, these would be perfect then! We should pick out different kinds." She suggested, giving the green unicorn a cute little smile.

"Yeah, guess I should have come up with that myself," Lyra said giving a sigh at actually not thinking of it herself, after all, she knew him better than most ponies ever could.

"Oh no, just because you're his best friend doesn't mean that you could think of everything he likes on the spot." She said, paying for her candles.

"Still, wish I would have thought of it even if it was that small," Lyra mumbled as she paid for her own.

"So, after we light a few of these when we get back, what do you wanna do?" She asked.

"Well, I don't know actually. I mean we had a lot of fun last night, and I doubt you would be up for another round." Lyra said and smirked at the blush on her face. "I mean we could always just do our own thing, after all, you do have kids to take care of and I have my music to practice."

"The problem with that is Dinky likes to stay over at Sparklers, which I find adorable. So, I'm pretty much free for a few days." She said. "But, I would love to hear you practice if you don't mind?"

"Nah, I don't mind at all. I mean it'll be great to get feedback on some of the songs I've been working on." Lyra replied.

"Then let's hurry up then!" She said taking off into the sky.

"Hey, some of us can't fly you know!" Lyra yelled despite knowing it was a little too late. "Hmmph, guess she'll be waiting for a little bit"

After she took off she could swear she could hear somepony calling out to her, but she needed to stretch her wings really bad. Her wings popped several times as she flew, and she couldn't help but give a sigh of relief. Though it wasn't long before she had reached Brandon's house and went in and automatically started to make tea.

"Where do they keep their tea bags?" She asked in exaggeration after searching the entire kitchen.

"And why are you looking for tea bags?" She jumped at the question and turned to see Lyra giving her a slight glare. "And you know that was mean to just leave me back there like that."

"Sorry, but I had to stretch my wings by flying. As for the tea bags, I was hoping to make some tea." She replied, and Lyra rolled her eyes.

"We don't have any, mostly because we ran out last night," Lyra said.

"Then why didn't you get some while we were in the market?" She asked.

"Because I forgot my list for grocery shopping, I'm actually planning on heading back later," Lyra replied.

"Oh, okay so what do you want to do until then?" She asked.

"Make a bit of lunch because we kind of skipped breakfast this morning," Lyra said.

"Alright, I think I'll join you." She said.

After looking around for a bit, they both decided on something easy and quick to make to eat for their lunch. They didn't really talk much as they prepared everything, and ate their lunch. Lyra decided to do the dishes since Derpy did them this morning, and as they were getting settled to relax a bit there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," she said getting up from the chair. "I'm coming!"

"I wonder who it is at this time?" Lyra asked, making her shrug her shoulders.

"Hello...." Derpy froze as she opened the door.

"Um, how ya doing?" Lyra could hear the southern drawl and tensed up.

"What are you doing here?" Lyra asked, anger evident in her voice.

"I, um, came to talk with Brandon." Applejack said dropping her eyes in shame as the unicorn came to the door.

"Lyra, please go and sit back down to calm down please." She gave Lyra a harsh look, and Lyra just mumbled angry comments under her breath. "As for you Applejack, I do understand that Brandon gave you the time to figure things out, but you have to understand as a friend how hurt he must have felt."

"I-I do understand, and I am sorry if I hurt him." Applejack said, her own voice starting to fill with pain.

"So, have you sorted your feelings?" She asked.

"I-I..." Applejack took a deep breath. "No, I'm still just as confused but I wanted to talk to him more about it. To see if that would help."

"Sort out your feelings without dragging him into it..." Lyra suddenly felt something hit her, though not hard enough to hurt.

"Shush it right now," she said giving an extremely harsh glare at the unicorn. "And I'm sorry Applejack, but Brandon left to Canterlot to visit Luna. He'll be back in a few days, so take that time and think about your feelings more."

"A-alright, thanks anyway, and I think you're right. Don't want to cause any more damage than I already have." Applejack said, turning to leave.

"Applejack, just know that he may have been hurt that day but you didn't do any damage. You should know by now that Brandon wants to keep us all as close as possible because we're the closest he has to a family to him. So even if you don't have the same feeling towards him, I don't think he would let that ruin your guy's friendship." She said, and she could tell from Applejack's body language that she was about to cry, and then she ran off.

"Wow, that was amazing..." Lyra said before getting cut off.

"You're an idiot! If Brandon had been here and heard anything you said, and how you acted he would have hurt more! Especially if you did scare her away, because what if she did have an answer for him? He would have been angry, disappointed, hurt worse than before!" She started yelling. "And you call yourself his best friend?"

"I-I..." Lyra tried but tears started to come to her eyes.

"I...I'm going home, I'll see you later." She said before taking off out of the open door.

She couldn't help the tears, she knew she shouldn't have gone there so soon, but at the same time how could she wait? After all, what if she waited and that only hurt him more than her telling him? But the whole reason why she wanted to go there and talk with him was to actually see if that wouldn't help sort things out. Eventually, she collapsed into a ball crying.

"Why can't I just...just sort this out on my own?" She balled. "Why can't I just give him an answer?"

She couldn't help the tears, Derpy was right when she said she might have caused more trouble if she had scared Applejack off if he was here. After all, if Applejack rejected him it would bring him closure at least, and if she had accepted the invitation they would add another to their herd. But she let her anger and something else take over.

It didn't take long before she started to calm down, but she still needed to calm down more in order to collect her thoughts. But one thing that kept popping into her mind was that she needed to apologize to Derpy for how she acted. Thinking about Derpy only made her choke and her eyes well up again.

She made it home taking a breath to help calm her anger down, after all, how could Lyra be such an idiot? Everything she said to that mare was well deserved, even if it did hurt the unicorn's feelings. Somepony needed to set her straight, or else she would actually be the cause of the pain.

"I really need some tea," she muttered to herself going to the kitchen.

Quickly gathering everything to make some tea, she put her kettle on her stove and sat down to try to get a hold of herself. After all, she really didn't like yelling at other ponies even if they did deserve it. But if it meant that Brandon wouldn't have to get hurt due to a stupid mistake, then she had to push her boundary's.

Though she was hoping that she and Lyra would make up because otherwise, this herd won't work out as well as Brandon hoped. She hoped that Lyra understood that as well, because despite what he may think he actually does more for each of them than he knows. And all they have to do in return is give him the love that he needs.

After all, if anypony knows what it's like to be different it would be their herd. After all, she was cross-eyed, Lyra liked sitting in a bipedal position, and Luna is a thousand years out of date after being possessed. To add a cherry on top of their mismatched group, they had a human who started their herd.

She couldn't help but laugh a little at actually thinking about their herd, and it did kind of feel nice to know that he did try to get a semi-normal mare into the herd. The only thing odd about her is that she helped saved Equestria multiple times now. It would be nice to have her in the group.

After finishing her tea, and fully calmed down she gave a long sigh as she finally relaxed after what happened. Thinking about other things helped her out a lot in making her relax. As they say, laughter is the best medicine, especially if the pony is stressed in any way.

"I guess I should go back over and try to make up," she said under her breath, getting up from her table.

She quickly went out the door and started to fly back to Brandon's house, and she was there in a few minutes. Though she hesitated to go back in due to how she left thing earlier, she quickly shook it off. Opening the door and going in, she was hit by a smell that she loved and realized that it was one of her candles.

"Um, Lyra?" She called.

"I'm in here!" Lyra answered, and she quickly followed the voice to the kitchen, and she shuffled around nervously.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Lyra replied looking a bit glum. "Derpy, I'm sorry about how I acted when Applejack came over. I know I'm gonna have to apologize to her, but I figured I apologize to you first."

"I'm happy to accept your apology, and I'm sorry for yelling like I did." She said.

"I deserved it," Lyra replied. "So don't worry about it."

They gave each other a hug and sat back down to the table where apparently Lyra had made tea. She couldn't help but smile as the unicorn offered her a cup which she gladly accepted. Making small talk, they quickly started to lighten the mood and break the tension that was left.

"So, we're gonna tell Brandon that Applejack did come today right?" She nodded.

"It'll be up to you whether we tell him some of the more smaller details." She said.

"I'll think about it, but I don't think it would be worth mentioning unless Applejack brings it up," Lyra said.

"Alright, but why didn't you wait for me to go shopping though?" She asked.

"Well, didn't realize you would be coming back so soon. That and I wanted to have some tea ready just in case." Lyra replied.

"Thanks, it tastes great." She said leaning over the table to give Lyra a peck on the cheek.

Once again they sat at the table, only in comfortable silence and it wasn't long before they were laughing. They started to tell each other jokes and made a lot more small talk. They mostly asked about each other's lives, like what school they went to, besides their jobs what their interest are, and so on.

Author's Note

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

Remembering

She gave a sigh, once again feeling that emptiness when watching couples together. It really did almost bring her to tears again, and more so when she thought of how Brandon forgave her despite what she did. Though it did bring some comfort to her, knowing she didn't hurt him that much if he did forgive her so easily.

"Welcome to Bon Bon's Sweet Shop, how can I help you?" She asked with a friendly, but somewhat fake smile.

After she closed up she walked up the stairs leading to her apartment on the top floor, and it still gave her the creeps at how empty and alone it felt. But she shifted through her usual routine after work, which involved taking a shower, doing a bit of cleaning, then starting dinner. Though, tonight for her free time instead of reading a book like she usually did, she pulled out a photo album.

"I really am sorry, and I miss you." She said after opening the album to the first picture of her and Lyra when they first got together in school.

As she slowly looked through the pictures, taking her time to study each of them, she couldn't help but smile or laugh, even let a tear out from time to time. After looking through a few pages, she was about to close it until she came across a more recent picture. Though recent wasn't exactly the right word, since the picture was taken after she had hired Brandon, and that made her start actually reflect on decisions.

"Bon Bon! Bon Bon!" She heard Lyra called from down below.

"I'm up in our apartment Lyra!" She called back. "Wonder why she's so excited?"

"Hey Bon's, you'll never guess who the new guy is! Or, I should say you'll never guess what he is!" Lyra said with excitement that only could be matched by Pinkie Pie.

"Let me guess, he's a Zebra?" Lyra shook her head. "A Minotaur?" Again, another shake. "Then I have no idea unless he's another new pony musician."

"Nope, he's a human! A real-life human Bon Bon! And he's pretty nice, though a little sad because he lost a good amount of his memories." Lyra said.

"Lyra, did you drink at the party?" She asked.

"No, though he sure did have a lot to drink though. Applejack ended up volunteering to take him home with her because Twilight didn't want him puking everywhere." Lyra answered.

"Lyra, are you sure you didn't have anything to drink? Because even you know humans don't exist, even you know that." She said rolling her eyes.

"Well apparently they do exist, and you'll see," Lyra said. "But I do need some sleep, how about you join me before this turns into a full out argument?" She couldn't help but turn to look at her marefriend and brushed her tail across her cheek and swayed it to where she got a few glimpses.

"Why are you such a tease Lyra?" She asked rolling her eyes before following her marefriend upstairs.

"Because I know you can't resist when I tease you," Lyra said with a seductive glance.

"Well, what if I do resist?" She asked.

"Then I could offer you something you would never refuse." Lyra gave her a little wink.

"You mean the toy?" She asked, feeling even more excited now more than ever.

"Mmmhmm..." Lyra said flicking her tail out of the way again. "It's been a while since we used it, and I know you love it."

"Yes, and I love you." She said, practically jumping on Lyra giving her a kiss before going over to the closet, which she wondered when they got into their bedroom.

"You seem to be excited," she gasps at the sudden touch on her lower lips and moaned as the touch of the hoof traced up and down nearly missing her clit.

"L-lyra.... you said...ooohhh yessss... we get to use to the toy." She managed to get out.

"Oh, we will, but only after I get to do I want, and what I want is to taste your sweet sweet juices." At that, she felt a breath on her lips making her bite her lip in anticipation, and let out a loud moan when Lyra finally dove her tongue past her lips lapping up all the juices the tried to escape. Her mind quickly went blank, the only thing she knew was the pleasure her marefriend was bringing her.

She woke up to her alarm clock, not really wanting to wake up due to how tired and sore she was. Lyra had went out of her way to make her scream at the top of her lungs last night, and all she wanted was to continue sleeping next to her marefriend. But she had work to do, and she had to get up.

After managing to limp over to the closet and put away the toy, she managed to make her way to the bathroom where she took a shower. It really was incredible how Lyra could make her this messy in just an hour, that and how sore she was afterward. It was completely unfair if you weren't expecting it.

"Come on Lyra, wake up." She said as she walked back into the room. "You have to take a shower, and I want you to wash the bed stuff today."

"Hmm, just five minutes more," Lyra said.

"Nope, not today. I need you to work here at the shop." She said, throwing the blanket off the bed making Lyra give a pout.

"Fine," Lyra said.

"Oh, and Lyra do you remember what you said to me last night?" She asked before the green mare walked out of the room with the bed stuff.

"You mean about the toy?" Lyra asked, making her roll her eyes.

"No, about the human. How much did you have to drink last night?" She asked.

"I only had a cup of apple cider, and that's it. I wasn't lying about it, or making up the human. His name is Brandon," Lyra replied.

"Lyra, real humans don't exist." She said again.

"How about this, I'll ask him to come by sometime to prove he exists. But you have to give me two days off, and some extra cuddle time." Lyra said.

"Yeah, alright, but only if you can bring him in as physical evidence." She said.

Once Lyra left, she couldn't help but laugh a little knowing there was no way in Tartars that a human could exist, they were just myths. She just figured that Lyra met a Minotaur and being drunk, assumed it was a human. It wouldn't have been the first time it happened, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.

Though she quickly got to work, and it didn't take long before her sore muscles started to relax and she could walk normally. After that, work seemed to just go by very quickly, and before she knew it, it was a little bit past lunch time. She quickly ate along with Lyra, and got back to the front counter just as a customer walked in.

"Hello and welcome to Bon Bon's Sweet Shop, how can I help you?" She asked looking over at the pony who just walked in, only for her jaw to drop at the fact that it wasn't a pony at all. "N-no way, she was right they do exist."

Looking over at him she saw him giving her a curious look, making her blush a little and look away. She honestly couldn't believe it, a real human just like Lyra said, and always told her about with the stories. This was incredible, an actual mythical creature standing in her candy store!

"Lyra, can you come here please?" She called and heard him give a chuckle and wondered why.

"Yes, sweetie? Do you need any hel..." Lyra popped out of the kitchen only to have her jaw drop a bit, making her hold in a laugh, but Lyra quickly recovered and smiled.

As Lyra started talking, and reminding her about their deal, she couldn't help but look their new guess over. He seemed nice enough, if a little uncomfortable and distant, but then again after what Lyra told her that was understandable. She jumped in a few times, asking him a couple of questions and to make some small talk.

Though something strange was happening, as him and Lyra, her Lyra talked more and more she felt a slight twinge in her heart. But she ignored it, she knew he needed all the friends he needed including her. Besides, from what she could tell he was pretty cute in a weird way.

She quickly gave a sigh, shutting the photo album and coming out of memory lane wishing she did have better control over herself. Then she wouldn't have lost Lyra and kept a good worker and friend to both of them. Who knows, maybe their relationship could have grown to something more over time.

"Where did that thought come from?" She asked herself, shaking her head to get it out, though she couldn't help the slight blush.

Though thinking about what she just thought, if that had been in the back of her mind all of this time then why did she get so jealous? After all, like she said he was a good friend and worker always doing what she told him no matter what, as far as work went. As for their friendship, he was a decent listener.

"It could just be I'm tired," she said yawning.

As she put the photo album away, and went to her room and crawled into her bed she couldn't stop thinking about why she had been so jealous. Though now this was her typical night, unlike the other times she couldn't just drift to sleep this time. She was tired physically, but her mind would not shut off, so she tried to remember some more.

"Hey Brandon, are you sure you can carry it?" She asked, watching him struggle a bit with the vat of chocolate.

"I-I'm sure...ack!" He yelled out, grabbing his back.

"Brandon, what's wrong?" She asked.

"What's going on, I heard somepony scream..." Lyra looked to see Brandon laying on the floor an expression of pain on his face. "What happened?"

"He must have pulled a muscle or something in his back, I think we need to take him to see the doctor." She said looking at Lyra with a concerned expression.

"Yeah, you're right, but we need to be careful. He looks like he's in a lot of pain." Lyra said, helping Bon Bon gently lift Brandon onto her back, though he gave another yell of pain.

It did hurt her to see her marefriend so concerned, and another friend so hurt to where he could barely move. Though as she continued as smoothly as she could, she felt that twinge again as she saw Lyra making sure Brandon was okay. Yet again, and despite it being stronger this time, she pushed it back down so she could focus on getting her employee and friend to the hospital.

After dropping him off and making sure he was okay, she and Lyra started to make their way back home. They were both glad to know that it was just a pulled muscle that was just spasming out. Though as she looked at Lyra, she not only got a concerned look on her face but yet another twinge.

"I just hope that nothing else is wrong, cause he seems to be coming along just fine. I don't want anything to scare him into being withdrawn." Lyra said.

"Yeah, but hey Lyra how are you doing at your job?" She asked.

"Pretty good, though it looks like they might be shifting to more of a classical style of musicians," Lyra replied.

"Don't you play classic music though?" She asked.

"I do, but I like to write new songs as well. They prefer to stick with pre-written stuff. So, speaking of jobs, despite what happened today how has he been doing?" Lyra replied.

"Oh, he's actually doing pretty good. He does everything he's told almost like a machine like when he's given an order he can't refuse it. Though after today, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." She answered.

"Huh, well I'm sure he's fine and will be able to lift up the chocolate. Just give it time, and I know you like it when somepony does what you say when you say it." Lyra said. "Isn't that why you liked Octavia when she was having trouble with her mom?"

"Yeah, but your closer of a friend to him than me. Don't you find it strange though, he barely remembers his life and yet he does everything with little to no complaint?" She asked.

"I think he's just trying to make and keep a good impression on his boss is all, a lot of ponies are like that." Lyra reminded her.

"Alright, alright I get it. Though I do feel guilty about what happened earlier," she said giving a sigh.

"Hey, it's fine he knows all jobs have risk, and one of the risk working with a pony who makes their own sweets is having to lift heavy stuff and possibly pulling something." Lyra said, giving her a little bump.

"Still doesn't make me feel that better." She said.

"Ah, watch you'll get back to your old self when you know he's absolutely fine. But I do find this funny," Lyra said.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Well, I'm his best friend and yet you're more concerned for him than I am." Lyra replied.

"That's because I feel like it's my fault, I mean he was only doing what I told him to do. Even if I did ask him if he was sure he could handle it." She said.

"You know, you best be careful or else I might get jealous with how concerned you are. Because it might make me think you have a thing for him." Lyra joked giving a little laugh as Bon Bon gave a hmph, and walked faster.

"I could say the same thing about you with as much time as you spend with him." She said after getting far enough ahead.

"Hey, I've been trying to help him settle in, just like you. I mean he needs all the friends he can get right now." Lyra said.

"Fair enough, so choose your words more wisely next time. Otherwise, you won't get anything for the next two months." She said, giving Lyra a little wink.

"Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut then," Lyra said. "Only if you do what I want to do this time."

"Nope, can't let you take control even for a second. Mostly because if you taste that kind of power, who knows what kind of perversions you would want to try." She said.

"Oh come on, I just wanted to do a little role-playing that one time." Lyra defended.

Giving a big yawn and coming out of the memory, she did kind of wish she let Lyra do what she wanted in bed at least once. She might have even enjoyed a little role playing or do something else to spice things up. Which that made her think if Lyra had asked one of her herd mates to do that yet, or even if any of them have gone that far yet.

Shaking that out of her head because it was starting to make her feel a bit sick and jealous again, even if the thought did somewhat intrigue her imagination. Laying her head down, she took a deep breath to clear her mind of the images that started to pop up. It honestly didn't help that she could practically tell what Lyra would do, and how good it felt.

Giving a huff, she got up and went back to her bathroom again to take another shower, except making it a cold one. For whatever reason, even remembering Lyra affects her so dramatically, and remembering Brandon only brought back pain. Not the pain of blaming him for losing Lyra, but a pain that was brought on by an emptiness.

There where only a few questions the kept coming into her mind, questions she asked herself ever since what she did. Why did she get so jealous? Why did she feel a strange emptiness when she thought about losing Brandon's friendship? Most importantly, why does she still feel a strange twinge when she thinks of Lyra and Brandon together?

Author's Note

Alright, question time! Who might be going to Midwest Brony Fest up in Kansas City? Also, hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Night Off

He couldn't help but fall out of his chair laughing, after all, he wouldn't of expected Luna to have gotten herself stuck in a tree when she was younger. From what Celestia just told him, she didn't fly through it or anything she just decided to climb the tree and got stuck as a cat would. It apparently took three Pegasus and Celestia to get her down.

"I knew that would get you," Celestia said wiping away a tear from laughing along.

"Well, yeah I mean with how she acts today? I wouldn't have expected her to be afraid of heights like that." He said, taking a couple of deep breaths.

"Well, it wasn't the height that bothered her it was the fear of falling. Don't tell her I told you this, but she has a bit of a phobia about falling. She hides it very well, but if she even feels like she's about to fall she'll get horribly scared." Celestia said giving a sigh.

"That's good to know, I mean she is supposed to teach me how to fly." He said, making Celestia raise an eyebrow. "It's because my wings are built more like your's and Luna's."

"Make sense, just be careful then because you might give her a heart attack if you end up taking her with you. Before you say anything, yes you will fall quite a few times and if you grab Luna she'll panic right along with you." Celestia warned.

"Alright, I got it. So you got any more stories about when you two were younger?" He asked, making Celestia give a little laugh.

"I have a lot of stories like that, but I think we need to go get that gift for Luna and head back," Celestia said looking at the position of the sun.

"Yeah, guess you're right but you can tell me more while we walk." He said standing up from his chair.

"Deal, but I have to wonder what kind of story would you like to hear though?" Celestia asked.

"How about this time you tell me a cute story about Luna." He suggested.

"I have just the story then," Celestia said, as they started making their way to the stores.

They walked for a good ten minutes before they finally arrived at the shop that Celestia had in mind. He now knew why it took a bit of time before she returned from seeing if they still had whatever in stock. Though as they entered, he couldn't help but think of a little Luna trying to dance in a little outfit she designed herself, though that uniform is now standard for ballet.

"So, what am I supposed to be looking for in here?" He asked looking at a couple of shelves.

"Follow me and I'll show you," Celestia said, walking up to the front desk.

"Ah, Princess, I assume this is the nice stallion your sister is dating that's interested in buying a gift for her?" The cashier said as they walked up.

"Yup, this is the one I was telling you about and didn't I say he was different?" Celestia asked.

"He certainly is different from anything I've seen alright. Anyways, I bet you're not here to make small talk are you?" The cashier asked.

"Small talk is fine, but I am more interested in what Celestia has in mind for me getting Luna." He replied, and the cashier nodded.

"Well, I have to admit that when Celestia told me that her sister's coltfriend was interested in buying this for her, I nearly passed out from the excitement. After all, Luna has been interested in this piece for a long time, though she never bought it." The cashier said.

"What exactly do you sell here? I mean i see a lot of nic-naks, are they like collectibles or something?" He asked.

"Oh yes, these are imported from different lands. Some are extremely valuable and rare. Like the piece Luna was interested in, she said that it would complete a collection she had started since being back." The cashier said, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Okay, first how much are we talking about, and second how come Luna never bought it if it would complete her collection?" He asked.

"Ah, well first to answer your second question. The reason why I don't think she bought it is that she didn't want to complete her collection just yet, though she has been making payments on it. But it's still open to buy, and thanks to her making payments it's not that expensive right now." The cashier answered.

"Um, isn't that illegal or something because she pretty much reserved it, and from the sounds of it almost has it paid off?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Normally, yes, but that's unless the customer request that it stay up for sale for anypony else to buy it. Now as for how much, she only had twenty bits left to pay, so that's all I'm asking for." The cashier said.

"Well, first can I see this collectible before I buy it? Also, can you tell me a little more about the collection it belongs to?" He asked.

"Oh sure, let me go get it." The cashier ran to the back and when he came back, he was carrying a nice wooden box. "This particular collection comes from the land of the Minotaur's, who used very rare materials only found there. Only a few sets of these have ever been made." The cashier opened the box to reveal a creature that he didn't recognize.

"You see Brandon, that's Tres. A creature that was only seen once, and only by Minotaur's who had to vanquish it, the fight claimed many lives. This collection is about other creatures that the Minotaur's had to fight on their own, and as a result, lost many lives. Before you ask, they did ask for help but by the time our forces got there the battle was already over." Celestia said a sad smile on her face.

"So, these figures are to commemorate battles fiercely fought and won?" Celestia nodded. "This happened while Luna was on the moon and that's why she collects these particular ones?"

"Yes, she believes that if she had been here she could have been there much faster and saved more lives," Celestia replied.

"So, how did this one get here?" He asked, looking at the cashier.

"A noblemen from the Minotaur homeland didn't want his anymore, said his family suffered enough from the beast. So he gave them to me because he didn't want the reminder. So, we have a deal then?" The cashier asked.

He decided to take a few minutes to think about it, and to investigate the figure of the creature. When he picked it up, the material made his skin crawl, it was familiar in a horrible way that the figure felt. It took him a minute to figure out what the figure was made out of, and he almost got sick.

"Yes, it is made of bone from Tres himself. Though his bones may feel the same as your's or mine, it's made up of ice that doesn't seem to melt. All of the figures that Luna had gotten are made from the bones of the creature." The cashier said, and Brandon put the figure back in the box.

"You okay?" Celestia asked, seeing the sudden changes in him.

"Uh, yeah, just I'm not going to touch it again, the feeling is too creepy for me." He said, shutting the box. "But yeah, I'll go ahead and take it for Luna, which by the way when is she supposed to make her next payment anyways?"

"Later today, she'll be disappointed that I sold it, but I have a feeling she's going to get cheered up later." The cashier said, hoof wrapping the box. "There you go, tell Luna I hope she enjoys having her collection completed."

After fully paying for the figure, they browsed around for a bit longer. Brandon found a nice little collection of figures that he looked at for a good minute, and the cashier told him the story of the collection. Though the entire collection was out of his price range, and he didn't want to put it on the same system that Luna did. Shortly after both him and Celestia left the store, and it was Celestia who started up the conversation.

"So, how far did you go with my sister so far?" Celestia asked, her smile was twisted into a mischievous grin.

"Um, we kissed and that's about it." He answered, trying to avoid the alicorns knowing look.

"Oh really, so you didn't give her a massage? I mean not like the one you gave Derpy, but gave her wings a nice massage?" The question only made him feel just a bit more awkward.

"Well, um, uh, y-yeah I did but what does that have to do with anything?" He replied.

"Oh, you silly human male. I know you weren't blind to how Luna was reacting, and in truth, I know how sensitive her wings get when she's excited." He gave her a questioning look. "No, I don't know from experience I know from the castles massage therapist. Before you ask, a lot of guards tend to suffer from muscle or bone damage due to their time in service. Though the masseuse is open to anypony, and that's why I know of Luna's sensitive wings when she gets excited."

"Alright, I may have given her a wing massage, but that's as far as we've gone." He said.

"Hmm, and what if one of your herd members wants to take it further than just you, um, well I guess for you it would be called fingering them?" Celestia asked, making it seem like the temperature just skyrocketed.

"I-if they want to go that far this early in the relationship, then I will have a little trouble to answer them." He answered.

"Are you sure? Because I'm getting the feeling that you don't feel like you could satisfy them because you feel like you're smaller than the average stallion." Celestia saw him tense up, an angry scowl on his face.

"How about we just quit talking for a bit?" He suggested.

"Hmm, okay but I will tell you this. When you were going around naked, most ponies didn't actually look at you because they're used to avoiding looking at other's privates. But I will say that I managed a few quick peeks at you, and all I have to say is that I think you'll do fine in bed." Celestia gave a wink, though what she just said made him, even more, self-conscious and like he had somehow been taken advantage of.

They walked for a good ways in silence taking in the scenery around them, and it really did surprise him at how friendly and normal they acted towards Celestia. Not that he didn't expect that to a certain degree, but they acted more like they were friends with her and not like she was a Princess at all. It wasn't too long before they started talking again.

"So, do you know something about one of my marefriends that I don't?" He couldn't help but blurt out, and in all honesty, he had a completely different question he was about to ask.

"Since you asked, I know Luna is ready. She may put on the act of she isn't going to go that far until she gets married, but she does want to take it to the next level. After all, you two do live together and that's good enough for her to want the next level of physical contact with you. Also, you didn't hear this from me but from what my sister's maids talk about, Luna seems to like to role play you taking her, and that she even asked one of the maids on tips on how to seduce a stallion to bed." Celestia said.

"You know a lot more about your sister's sexual life than you should. I mean, it's creepy because you're her older sister." He said, and Celestia could only shrug.

"That may be true, but I can't help what the staff reports to me. Besides, I'm sure Luna know's just as much of my sexual desires as I know of her's. So fair is fair, and trust me when I say that here in Equestria at least one family member knows about a ponies sexual side and desires. I know that's not how it works where you come from, but it's been that way even before me and Luna took over." Celestia said.

"Well, that's just a bit creepy to me. I mean in a way it would make sense to have someone in the family to talk to about that stuff. But to humans, to talk about that stuff even to the family is just awkward." He said, and Celestia nodded.

"It's not that it isn't awkward, it's the fact that you feel so close to that family member that you can tell them anything because you trust them. From what you told me about your human world, their's barely any trust among family, let alone friends." Celestia said, giving him a look of pity.

"So, Luna is ready to you know?" He asked nervously.

"As I said, it's enough for her that you two live together. Even if you two did just start dating not too long ago. I mean she may act like she has high standards for those things, and at one point she would have held out until her standards were met. But since she came back, her standards changed." Celestia answered. "Though the question is, are you ready? Because I do realize what I said to you earlier offended you, and hurt your self-esteem even though I was trying to give you a compliment."

"I know that, and I'm over it. But to answer your question, in truth I am ready but as we discussed earlier I am worried that I might not meet their needs." He said, and after saying that he wanted to bash his head on a wall.

"Well, you'll never know until you try, and I know how tough it must be for you to say all of this. But you're going to have to trust me on this, I'm sure you'll be enough to satisfy your mares. After all, you do have an exotic shape to it." Celestia laughed at how uncomfortable and red he had gotten, though this time there was no tension in the air.

"Yeah, laugh it up now." He said under his breath.

"Sorry, and just know if you need somepony to talk to about this kind of thing again I'm always open. Oh, and a little advice for you if you decide to make a move. Just know that Luna hasn't been intimate with anypony." Celestia said.

"So, she's a..." Celestia nodded before he finished.

"You were actually the first one she let finish the wing massage, I might add. Other than the castles massuse of course." Celestia said. "So you should feel special in the fact that you gave her first orgasm. At least her first one she didn't give herself."

"I still find it creepy that you know all of this stuff about her." He muttered and then he stopped and looked at Celestia. "Wait, she did cum?"

"Yes, she did. Also, since she enters my more personal dreams, then it's only fair I get to hear about her fantasies and such. Though I feel like talking about dinner, how about you?" Celestia asked, making him look at the sun that had already set.

"Uh, sure I could go for some dinner. Did you have a place in mind?" He asked.

"Actually I did, follow me please," Celestia said, as she began to walk down the main street.

"Man, hope Luna isn't going to be busy tonight." He said following her.

"Don't worry, I arranged it to where her adviser will take over her responsibilities tonight. But right now she's probably still asleep." Celestia said. "So she has tonight off, and then only a week left before she can return. But enough of that hears the place I had in mind."

He looked to where she waved her head and saw a nice little restaurant that looked like it had been there for centuries. Though, as they walked in he couldn't help but notice the place smelled like barbecue but all of the staff dressed up nicely. That made him almost bust out laughing, going to a fancy barbecue place.

"Ah, Princess Celestia right this way please." A host said, and both him and Celestia followed.

As they passed by different tables, he saw what kind of barbecue to expect and he couldn't help but let his stomach growl. The place had a smokey smell to it, so he knew that all of the food was smoked. It wasn't until the host said something that he realized that they had come to an empty table in the corner.

"Here you and your... pet are princess." The host said looking him over.

"He is no one's pet, know go fetch our waitress now and you might have a chance to get another job around here," Celestia said, making the host nod in panic and place the menus before going off.

"Uh, thanks I guess." He said as he sat down.

"No problem, sometimes nobles are racist bastards that I can't stand," Celestia said as she looked at the menu nonchalantly.

"So I've noticed," he said looking at the menu himself. "Oh, I didn't realize that anyplace here had Root beer."

"Only Canterlot has it, it's a bit of a specialty here. It's brewed with a special root that only grows on this mountain." Celestia said. "You should try it, though remember it might be a bit different than what humans make."

"I know, but I am going to try it. I mean I loved Root beer all throughout my life." He said, and saw a little smile on Celestia's face but shrugged it off.

"Um, h-hi I'll be your um, w-waitress for tonight." He froze, the voice he knew very well.

Author's Note

I'm baaacckk!

An Interesting Night Off

As the waitress slowly walked to the side of the table, that's when he was truly frozen in shock. Standing at their table dressed in a waitress uniform was none other than Luna. He couldn't help but notice how nervous she was, and he couldn't help but compare how she talked like Fluttershy because she spoke quietly, softly, and had a similar stutter to her words.

Though his eyes soon began to wander up and down her as he realized how the uniform defined her curves a lot more than normal. He honestly couldn't take his eyes off of her, even as she began to walk away. But that only brought more of his attention to how well her pants fit her.

"You're drooling all over yourself you know." He got snapped back by that, and with a red face, he wiped any drool that might have actually come out. "What a surprise, I was wondering where she was disappearing to."

"Wait, you didn't know about this?" He asked.

"No clue, and before you ask I think she didn't want to dip into the royal treasury to buy that last figure. Instead, I think she wanted to work for it." Celestia said, just as two drinks were levitated over to our table. "Oh, while you were admiring her I decided to order you a Root Beer."

"Uh, thanks and I guess that would make sense. Better than what was going through my mind." He regretted saying that as soon as he saw the smirk on Celestia's face.

"Oh, you probably were thinking she wanted to do a little role-playing perhaps? Maybe she needs a good tip?" Celestia winked at him as she said that, making him want to just get up and leave. "But I honestly had no idea that she was a part-time waitress here. An interesting choice considering that the uniforms are made to be sexy. Though you already realized that, considering how you were ogling her. Especially when she was walking away."

"You do know you're talking about your little sister right?" He couldn't help but ask and take a sip of his drink.

"I know, and I can't help it that she looks good in uniform. Though I'm pretty sure you're wanting to take the uniform off so you can have a little dessert." At this point, he completely gave up and just remained silent as he started to read the menu a bit more.

"Uh, hi again um, are you ready to order?" Luna asked, not making eye contact with either of them. Which might have been a good thing, because he wasn't exactly looking at her eyes right now.

"Yes, I would like an Everfree Special with a side order of the specialty salad, and for dessert, I think I'll have chocolate cake," Celestia ordered.

"Okay, and um, what would you like to eat?" Luna asked him, making him gulp.

"I know what he would like to eat right now." Celestia snickered, as both him and Luna both felt like they were on fire.

"Uh, yeah I would like the Cheeseburger with a side of regular fries, and I guess I'll have a slice of Surprise Pie." He quickly said.

"W-would you like whip cream on that?" Luna asked.

"I'm sure he would love whip cream on it," Celestia said, though either Luna was intentionally ignoring the innuendo or she just didn't want to take any more, and so wrote it down and zoomed back to the kitchen.

"You're horrible." He said.

"Just joking around, though I do have to wonder if you really would like a bit of whip cream on it, or should I say on something else," Celestia said, making his left eye twitch a bit. "Hmm, I guess so from your silence alone."

They remained silent for a good little while, the only sounds were the other ponies around them eating and chatting away. Though he did start to relax a bit more as it seemed that a lot of tension had gone. But he could only hope that Celestia wouldn't make any more jokes like that for the rest of the night.

"Um, y-your orders," Luna said levitating two big plates, and two small plates to her side. "Uh, f-for you an Everfree Special with a specialty salad, and a s-slice of chocolate cake. F-for you, a Cheeseburger with fries, and um, a surprise pie with extra whip cream."

Before either him or Celestia could say anything, Luna once again zoomed back to the kitchen though it seemed like she went a bit slower this time, Maybe it was just him and his imagination, but he thought he saw her sway just a bit more. Though once Celestia opened her mouth he knew it wasn't just his imagination.

"My oh my, it seems she decided to finally put on a little bit of charm with a little more sway. Don't you agree?" Celestia asked, and all he could do was give a little nod. "Yeah, I figure you caught that, mostly because I think she did it just for you. I mean she isn't dumb, she probably noticed how you stared at her the first time she came to our table."

"Probably wasn't too hard to miss, though I am wondering why no pony has freaked out that one of the Princesses is working as a waitress. I mean especially here, and how long has she been working here anyway?" He asked.

"Well, to answer your first question, we make sure that our subjects know we are willing to work as hard as anypony else to earn our bits. I'm sure the nobles have already complained about it. As for your second question, you'll have to ask her. My best estimate is a little bit after she got back from the moon. Though this is only a part-time job, which probably means she works only when she's in town or when they need a replacement. The part-time system is a bit weird like that." Celestia answered.

"Well aren't you the one who made it like that?" He couldn't help but ask.

"No, not every law or issue comes to me, Cadence, or my sister. We appoint ponies who we believe would know better than us to pass the law on things like this. But if it affects the whole of Equestria in a dramatic way, then one of us takes a look. Now, before you ask the reason why this part-time system didn't make it to us is that it was made for disabled or ponies who like to travel. It mostly affects chain restaurants." Celestia said, taking another bite of her food.

"Huh, well that's just a bit confusing. I would think you guys being Princesses would mean you have the final say on laws and such. But hey, whatever works." He said taking a bite out of his burger. "You know, this is pretty good. What's in it?"

"Cow of course," Celestia said, making him stop eating.

"Wait, you guys actually eat cows? I thought this was just like fake meat or something, not an actual cow. I mean aren't cows sentient here?" He asked looking a bit distraught.

"They are, but sadly they don't live as long as ponies. Most prefer to be buried, but some donate their bodies. It's a horrible thing, but there's honestly nothing I can do about. I mean there is, but that would be taking away some of their freedom. That and sadly, it might start a war between us and a few other nations because we provide meat to its dignitaries when they visit. It's kind of why the Yaks closed their borders because they thought we would use them the same way. But the thing is, we don't force cows to donate, we let them choose." Celestia said.

"Well, that's still very creepy and I'm hoping Luna isn't disgusted with me for ordering it." He said.

"Why would I be disgusted with it? Are you not an omnivore who is actually supposed to get most of their protein from meat? I would much rather you be healthy then have you barely survive." He turned to see Luna, still in uniform, giving him a little smile. "I mean you do look a bit skinnier, almost skeleton looking. I was hoping to talk to you about your diet."

"Why don't you join us then, and I hope you plan on grabbing some whipped cream for later," Celestia said with a smile, and a deep blush came across Luna's cheeks.

"I'll join, only if Brandon agrees to finish his burger," Luna said.

"Well, I'm not comfortable with... OW!" He yelled grabbing his arm where it felt like he was just pinched.

"You are not gonna waste away under my watch. So you better eat up, or I'm taking your pie away." Luna said, giving him a fierce look.

"Really, that's your threat in order for me to eat? To take away my pie like I'm just a foal?" He replied rolling his eyes.

"Brandon, I know you aren't comfortable with it, but killing yourself like this isn't going to solve anything. I mean, the cows donate their meat." Luna started.

"She is right, if eating meat is apart of your diet then you need to eat. Even if you do get the nutrients that you need to barely scrape by, you'll still end up weak and having to be taken care of. Because your body was used to getting it one way, then within a day or two you completely changed it." Celestia added.

"So, please at least enjoy this one burger?" Luna asked with pleading eyes.

"It's not that, it's on another issue. You see, when a human doesn't eat meat for a long time they have to take it slowly when they do start to eat it again. That's because their body slowly stops their enzymes that help digest meat, and their body needs time to start reproducing them. At least if I remember right." He explained.

"That's your problem?" Celestia asked. "I read a medical book that you gave to the Ponyville doctors. According to human studies, your body just doesn't stop making enzymes. It's just that the enzymes that your body produces to help digest the protein and fat that meat gives you lowers. From what I've read in those books once you eat meat again it'll take a little longer to digest but that'll only last for a couple of days. After that, your body makes the normal amount of those enzymes it needs for digesting the meat."

"See, so please just shut up and eat your dinner," Luna said.

"Well, what if I can't stop thinking of some poor cow or bull that it took to make this?" He asked. "Especially one that is as intelligent as just about any other creature."

"Let me ask you this before you came here do you think you felt bad about indulging in some of your basic instincts? I mean here in Equestria, the most common belief about humans is that they were hunters. So I'm going to assume that's how humans from where you came from were at one point in your history." Luna said, sitting down in between him and Celestia.

"Alright, alright I get it. But it still bothers me that I'm eating something that could actually talk." He grumbled and started to nibble on his burger.

"I know, and it's something that you are going to get used to. Because you aren't the healthiest looking right now." Luna said giving him a little peck on his cheek.

"So now that we got him to eat his main course, what's actually for dessert?" Celestia asked before her cake flew up to her face, with Luna falling out of her chair laughing hard.

"You little..." Before Celestia could say anything else, a pie suddenly found a home on her face. Celestia wiped the pie away and looked at Brandon who had a wide grin on his face.

"What can I say? She missed a spot." He couldn't help but start laughing at Celestia's expression.

"Hmmph, such a waste of good cake and pie. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go clean up." Celestia said, dropping a bag full of bits on the table before teleporting.

"T-that was fun," Luna said after catching her breath and getting back in her seat.

"Yeah, it was." He said looking at Luna.

"What?" She asked.

"So, you work here part-time huh?" He replied, and all she could do was nod. "Let me guess, to buy a collection of figures?"

"Yeah, but how..." she tried to ask before he spoke up.

"Celestia figured it out, and insisted that I get you this." He said, placing the wrapped gift on the table.

"W-wait, this isn't?" She asked, and he nodded. "But the sales pony told me somepony bought it for their..." Luna looked at him with a look of thanks.

"Eh, you already paid for most of it. Oh, and you know you can open it anytime you want?" He said before Luna locked their lips together.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me." She said looking at the still wrapped gift. "You see, this creature Tres attacked only a few years later after I was banished. No matter what anypony else says, I know when it happened. One of my good friends sacrificed them self in order to defeat the creature."

"Then I hope this brings back good memories then." He said placing a hand on one of her hooves, making her give a little smile.

"It does, and it also brings some closure for a lost friend." She said, unwrapping the box and opening it to see the figure.

"That's good, so since your sister paid you want to head out?" He asked, gently squeezing her hoof.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds good." She said getting out of her chair and made him let go of her hoof.

They began to walk back to the castle, but after only half a block he realized that she was still wearing her waitress uniform making his face go a little red. He couldn't help but wonder if it felt uncomfortable due to how well it made her curves show. Though his thoughts were cut off when Luna started to ask something.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked.

"Oh, um uh, y-you're still wearing your uniform." He said looking every which way he could except at her.

"Hmm, well I usually wear it when I walk home. Does that bother you?" She asked.

"No, you just look..." he let his eyes run over her again, making her get impatient for his answer. "...amazing, breathtaking, beautiful."

"So, when I get finished doing my duties here should I start wearing this at our home?" She asked, a smirk on her face.

"Uh, n-no that's fine." He said a little nervously.

"That's good because this uniform is a bit uncomfortable." She said. "Do you just want to take the short cut back to the castle?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." He said, and just like that Luna lit up her horn and teleported them both to her room.

"Okay, and it looks like your bags are here. So you can get comfy while I get my uniform off." She said.

Though all he did was sit down on her bed, and laid back though hearing Luna grunt a little bit made him look in her direction. Which his face instantly redden, mostly due to Luna still wearing the bottom half of her uniform and bending over. She kept shaking her hips back and forth trying to get her shirt off, only showing off more of her rear.

"Um, d-do you need help?" He asked.

"Yes please, for some reason my uniform is being difficult tonight." She replied, and he got up and walked over to her.

While making his way, his eyes never seemed to leave her butt as she continued to struggle. It was only when he got next to her did he rip his eyes from her rear. After managing to get the shirt back on right, he started to help her get out.

"I would have thought you had a lot of practice taking this off." He said.

"I do, but I don't know why it's so difficult tonight." She said.

"It could be worse, I mean at least it hugs you in the right places." Just as it left his mouth he couldn't help but regret it.

"Is that why it took you so long to help me because you were enjoying the view?" She asked, with a little smirk.

"You know what, yeah I was enjoying my view. I honestly can't help it that you were putting on a little show like that. Especially for how beautiful you look even without your uniform." Though as soon as he locked eyes with her, she practically jumped on him with giving him a passionate kiss.

"Mmmph!" She said, opening her eyes when she felt his hand on her butt.

"S-sorry..." He said breaking the kiss, and moving his hand.

"Sorry for what?" She asked, using her magic to move his hand back.

"W-what's with that look?" He asked as she gave him a sexy look.

"I think it's time for me to pay you back for that wing massage you gave me." She said, making him give a nervous gulp.

"Uh, t-that's fine...oohh!" He couldn't help it as she started to grind her hips on his.

"I bet as much as you looked at me tonight, you've had your friend at attention for a while." She said. "H-how long has it been since you've even pleasured yourself?"

"Luna, that is not something...hmm... you ask when you're trying to turn someone on. Especially since I know you're still a virgin." He said, managing to flip her onto her back. "But, it's been awhile."

"Oh, then I hope you last then. Also, I'm going to kill my sister...OH CREATOR!" She screamed as she started to feel his fingers trace her lips on the outside of her uniform pants.

"I only hope you last with as sensitive you are." He said, before she started smothering him in kisses, and just like that she teleported them to her bed with her on top.

"Don't you worry about that." She whispered.

"I-i'm not, I'm worried that t-this... yess... is your first time." He said.

"And I'm glad it's with you." She said giving him a look of love and lust.

They looked at each other for a good second, before she leaned back down to give him a deep kiss. Though before she knew what was going on, he had pretty much torn off the rest of her uniform and ended up on top looking down at her. She couldn't help but give a slightly scared look, mixed in with curiosity.

She couldn't help but give a little moan as she felt him on her bare lips through his shorts, and with a tug of her magic, she removed the only barrier between them. Once again, they were both looking at each other, though this time taking in each other in full. They both moved their eyes from top to bottom.

Her eyes kept drifting towards his member, which was fully erected and now laying on top of her groin. She couldn't help but gulp a little, mostly because this is the first time she actually looked at his member and how it was shaped. Also, she couldn't believe at how big he was. Granted, she knew she saw bigger, not on purpose as most ponies were naked and you could get a view of a stallions member easily, but he was still a bit bigger than she had expected. This made her nervous as this was her first time, with a member that was shaped so differently then a stallions.

While she was taking in his size and shape, he couldn't help but admire her natural beauty. She honestly could not be more beautiful and cute than when she seemed vulnerable like this, and he couldn't help but find her slightly chewing on her lower lip cute. He could hardly stand it anymore, he needed release, he needed to feel her warmth, he needed to be inside of her.

He leaned down and surprised her with a kiss, breaking her from her thoughts. She couldn't help but give a little moan as he broke the kiss to start kissing and nibbling her neck. Though that was nothing when he started to rub his member on her lower lips, making both of them give a moan.

Both of them could feel how wet she was getting, and he stopped kissing and nibbling to look into her eyes. At first, she wondered why he stopped until she gasped and felt his head poke her lips. After looking down to make sure that's what was happening, she looked back at his eyes and realized he was waiting for permission to take her virginity. She could also tell he was struggling to control himself at this point.

"Go ahead, take me." She whispered after wrapping her hooves around his neck and bringing him down.

After giving him permission, she let out a sharp moan and gasp as he started to put pressure on her lips. After trying he pulled back making her give a little whine that quickly turned into a scream of mostly pain and pleasure as half of his member entered her. Though he didn't move after, which she was thankful for because she could feel that she was having some trouble adjusting to his member.

"Y-you okay?" He asked, out of breath and wiping away some tears from her cheeks.

"Y-yes, p-please don't be afraid to start moving." She said, making sure to give him a loving kiss.

After nodding, he started to pull out making her give a moan even though it still hurt a little bit, and she couldn't help but squeeze him member to try to keep him inside. Though he stopped before he pulled all of the way out and once again thrust inside making her arc her back and her wings extended all the way out as she let out a loud moan. She couldn't help but feel a tiny orgasm come and go from that last thrust.

Though she didn't have time to think about it as he started thrusting in and out, gaining a rhythm. Soon all that could be heard was her loud moaning, and sometimes the slapping between their groins. It didn't take too long before she was brought to her first big orgasm. The sensation was defiantly different from when she brought herself to cum, though she didn't realize how tight she had been squeezing his member until the waves of pleasure came and went.

"Y-you o-okay, you were squeezing me a little tightly there?" He asked almost out of breath.

"Hmm, s-sorry...just..." She said, breathing heavily and locked eyes with him. "P-please keep going."

Just before he started back into his rhythm, he couldn't help but give her a confident smile, and she knew that he was pleased to hear that he did, in fact, make her cum. Though her thoughts went blank as he started up with new vigor, making her moan even louder. She couldn't help but feel her pleasure quickly build again.

"L-luna... about to..." She cut him off with a kiss and wrapped all four hooves around him making sure he couldn't pull out.

"I-I want to feel all...oh yes!...inside..." She said, and as he gave one last grunt and thrust she could feel herself go over the edge.

As she was thrown off the edge of pleasure bringing her to have an even bigger orgasm than the last one. Though her mind was almost completely blank she could feel a warmth shooting inside of her, which only added to the pleasure. By the time both of their orgasms were over, they both pretty much collapsed.

Still barely awake, he moved to where he was not on top of her but he was still inside of her. As for her, she was basking in the aftermath of her own orgasm and could feel him still inside, still hard. Though she also felt full, and a warmth that she knew was his seed. But she couldn't get over the fact that he was still hard.

Before he could argue, she moved to where she was on top and was now looking down at a surprising him. She lifted her hips making both of them groan, and she couldn't help but look down in between them. Once looking, she saw his seamen slightly drip out of her lips, mixed in with a little bit of blood which she knew was from her cherry popping.

"W-what... are you... oh yesss!" He screamed as she slammed her hips down, which she regretted because instantly another orgasm rolled over her making her collapse on top of him.

"Y-you're still so hard!" She managed to get out through her orgasm and managing to keep thrusting her hips making both of their pleasure feel amazing, and last longer.

She honestly couldn't believe how she was acting now, almost like she was suffering from going into heat. Though she couldn't care less, as both of them were thrusting making him go deeper and add fresh pleasure. It didn't take long though before both of them came again, and this time once they both collapsed they almost instantly fell asleep.

Author's Note

Here's an interesting little fact that may not apply to all States or countries. Did you know that if a person gives you permission to eat them after they die, meaning not killed by the person who they gave permission to eat them, then it's legal to eat a human? As long as you don't kill the person and have permission.

Morning After

He woke up in a cold sweat as he sprung up in a panic, his eyes were looking every which way, and he was breathing hard. Though he couldn't remember the nightmare, he got the sense that it wasn't the same kind of nightmare he had before. The feeling he got from even thinking about it only seemed to make him get a little more panicked.

After a few moments or so he finally managed to calm himself down and get his breathing back under control. He looked beside him to see Luna smiling in her sleep, and he knew that it was difficult for her to dream walk while she herself was asleep, but he couldn't help but wonder if he had even been fitful during his sleep. Though he was glad he didn't wake her up, even after the night that they had, mostly because if she had woken up while he was still asleep having the nightmare then she would have entered his dream to help him.

While he knew that might sound strange or dumb, especially if you suffered through nightmares, but this was one that had frighten him to the core that he knew his brain had blocked even the fuzziest memory of it as soon as he woke up. But if she had entered the nightmare, it would be an almost guarantee that he would remember every detail, and she would also know what the nightmare was about. Which he knew would not only worry her but his other marefriends too.

He wanted to get up and be alone with his thoughts, try to calm down even more, but as he looked out the window from the bed he saw how late it still was. So after another moment he laid back down and stared at Luna while she continued to sleep comfortably, too afraid to close his own eyes to sleep. Eventually, though he started to nod off, before he did he gave the beautiful mare next to him a peck before fully drifting off.

---------------------------------------------------A Few Hours Later--------------------------

"Please wake up!" He heard someone call out, and if felt as if the whole room was shaking.

It didn't take to long after that he realized the room wasn't shaking, he was shaking as Luna tried to wake him up. At first, his body didn't respond no matter how hard he tried, almost as if he were completely paralyzed. Though after a few more attempts, and a little more shaking from Luna, his eyes flew open and almost headbutted Luna when he sprung up.

"Oh thank the heavenly sky!" Luna said, wrapping her hooves around him and he could tell she was crying because his shoulder started to become damp.

"W-what happened?" He asked, and as he spoke he realized how out of breath he was and his voice was strained.

"You wouldn't wake up!" Luna said as she unwrapped her hooves to look at him, tears freely flowing down her face. "I-I tried to wake you by kissing you, a-a-and you....."

At this point, she had lost all control and he knew whatever had happened to him while he was sleeping freaked her out really bad. He brought her in close whispering that he was okay, that he was sorry for scaring her. They stayed like that for what he knew must have been at least two hours, but he didn't care, he just wanted to make sure that she was alright.

"Luna, what happened to me that made you this upset?" He asked after it seemed she had calmed down, though as he asked the question he could hear her choke back another sob, until she finally looked at him, her eyes puffy and red.

"Y-you wouldn't w-wake up, a-and I thought you w-were just exhausted, a-and that's when I-I kissed you to try to wake you up. B-but when our l-lips met..." Again she had to hold back another sob.

"What?" He asked, his voice still strained as if he had yelled at the top of his longs for hours, but for some reason, his throat felt bruised.

"You weren't breathing..." She had finally said it, and everything felt like it was upside down, and he felt nauseous, but looking at her and he knew that there was something else. "I-I tried everything, b-but you just wouldn't breathe, t-that's when I-I started to shake you."

The situation didn't really process with him, how could he just stop breathing like that? How long was he not breathing? How long was she trying to revive him? He still had a kind of knot in his stomach, like she knew something else, something she didn't want to tell him so as to not make him panic, that's what he got from this feeling. That's when he saw her, tears still streaming down her cheeks, but her eyes weren't meeting his.

"W-what are you looking at?" He asked, and she tentatively raised her hoof and barely touched his throat making him give a slight yelp of pain.

"I-I'm s-sorry....." Though her voice trailed off in the distances, only he knew that he was going into a daze as he got up and went to the bathroom.

As he got to the door, he paused not wanting to see but he knew that he had to know, to confirm it with his own eyes. He took a breath and walked into the bathroom and turned towards the mirror clenching his eyes. He forced them open, and nearly puked at what he saw.

"W-wha..." His thoughts were racing.

In the mirror he saw bruises on his neck, making him shiver and turn pale white. Especially since the bruises looked suspiciously like hooves, as if somepony had actually tried to strangle him in his sleep, and if Luna's story was anything to go by they had succeeded. Though that didn't really make sense to him.

How long did he go without air, or better yet how come shaking him had revived him instead of any of the normal methods? As far as he could tell, Luna did, in fact, try to resuscitate him through the normal ways. He could tell by the slight bruising on his chest that he did in fact received CPR.

He walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed still in a complete daze and his mind was in complete turmoil. The same questions kept popping into his head. Why was he still alive? How long had it been before Luna woke up and found him not breathing? How did somepony walk into a Princesses room and managed to strangle someone to death without being noticed? How come he didn't at very least wake up and struggled?

Hooves wrapped around him, though he didn't really care at the moment who was trying to comfort him. For as far as anyone knew he had been lying there dead caused by strangulation. Even if he had been strangled only a few moments before Luna had woken up, he still had stopped breathing.

"I-I swear I-I'll...." Luna had started to say but seemed to know not to finish her sentence, after all, they only had the bruises to go by. "I'll a-ask the guards i-if they saw anything."

Still, in a daze, he nodded and watched as she walked out of the door leaving him alone with his thoughts. But before she left, he couldn't help but think of their night together had turned from them having a good time with each other, to someone trying to kill him. That's when it hit him, as he thought of who and why somepony had tried.

It felt so long ago since it happened, almost felt like it had been years when in fact it had actually happened less than a year ago. The three Stallions who had jumped him and broke a few of his bones. He had remembered that one of them said something about them not liking humans, or at very least they had said something similar. But it sounded as if the Stallion was talking about a group of ponies other than the three of them didn't want him around.

Though that didn't make much sense, ever since then he hadn't heard anything else about a group like that. But if they were real and they had wanted to actually kill him, why not try before now? After all, if this was the work of that group why chose to try to kill someone in a heavily guarded area of the palace, even though they seemed to have gotten through anyway?

That's when it dawned on him, though he tried to push it aside because he knew that couldn't have happened. But it was the only explanation to how it could have happened, even with the guards. Somepony had managed to bribe them, or a worse thought was that some of the members of the castle staff could be apart of the group.

"T-the guards say that no one came up last night, and I sent one of them to fetch a nurse." Luna stopped when she saw the expression on his face. "Brandon, a-are you okay?"

"No..." he said as all the emotion started to filter in as his daze seemed to finally go away, and he finally broke down not able to tell her his revelation.

Once again she had embraced him, which only made the sobbing and crying worse. Though she just held him there, and let him cry into her shoulder as he had done only a few minutes before. Eventually, she realized that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and she did one last thing to try to get him calm down, she started to hum.

Well at first it was a hum, but then as she continues her melody she started to sing to him in such a loving and caring voice. Though he was still too dazed and confused to really be able to appreciate or hear the lyrics, it did seem to start calming him down. The more she sang the more he stopped crying, and soon he was able to really hear what she was singing about.

She was singing about how even the most cheerful and bright pony could have their dark moments. While the song didn't seem all the impressive or that hard to be remembered it did have a comforting tone to it, or maybe that was the one who was singing it. After the last verse, she placed a hoof under his chin and gently lifted his head to make eye contact, that's when somepony cleared their throat.

"Um, sorry to interrupt but when the guard told me what happened I rushed right up." A mare with a gentle smile said.

"Yes, thank you for coming Nurse Tether. Do you mind if I stay by him while you do your examination?" Luna asked.

"I don't see any problem with that." Nurse Tether answered as she walked up to him after Luna had sat down.

Tether went through all the standard test, though she was a little hesitant about doing his heart rate and blood pressure after they told her what numbers are normal for him she continued. After taking his temperature and looking into his ears and mouth, the nurse then began to examine his bruises. At first, she had a confident smile, but that quickly faded into a deep frown as she examined the bruises around his throat.

"This makes no sense, with how deep these seem to be...." Tether trailed off for a second. "I think we need you to come down to the infirmary so that the doctor can do more test."

"Wait why? I mean isn't he healthy?" Luna asked, knowing he couldn't.

"Well yes, but with those bruises there could be damage, permanent damage on the inside. The sooner he sees the doctor the better, so I'll go back and set everything up. Just make sure that you're there Mr. Jenkins." Tether said as she finished putting her tools away and started to walk back to the infirmary.

"T-that doesn't sound good. A-are you okay?" Luna asked once again, though she already knew the answer.

"Let's just get going." He replied in a hushed voice.

Once they got to the infirmary the doctor quickly came and started his own examination and other test. The doctor kindly asked Luna to leave while he did more complicated test, which she quickly glanced at Brandon who nodded that he'll be okay for a little while. So she stepped outside the infirmary and leaned against the wall giving a sigh and holding back another sob.

"I would ask how you're doing, but I already have a pretty good guess," Celestia said as she walked up, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm doing better than Brandon right now," Luna said, closing her eyes and taking a breath.

"Well that doesn't surprise me, but really Lulu talk to me, please." Celestia said, sitting down next to her and she looked into her sisters' eyes she gave a sigh.

"I-I feel numb right now, worried but numb. But really Tia I'll be fine once I know he's okay." Luna said, making Celestia nod.

"That's good to hear, and you know I'll always be here for you," Celestia said giving her sister a little nuzzle.

"I know Tia, and thank you," Luna said giving a nuzzle back, and after a few moments of silence Celestia spoke up.

"So... how was last night though? Did everything go over okay?" Celestia asked, making Luna get a deep blush.

"Y-yeah, everything was wonderful last night." Luna managed to say, avoiding her sister's questioning eyes.

"Hmm, so anything special happened? Like did he sing for you, or did you sing for him?" Celestia asked, which made Luna blush, even more, knowing what her sister had just implied.

"N-no one sung last night no, w-we just ate dinner and came back to the castle the long way," Luna replied.

"Hmm, I see. Well on a different topic, some of the guards think the castle is haunted." Celestia said.

"What would give them that impression?" Luna asked, though as soon as she did she wanted somepony to smack her upside her head.

"Oh, some of the guards heard this weird moaning last night. I mean I went to go investigate it and all too, just to be sure." Celestia said with a little smile, as Luna sat there frozen.

"W-was it the wind or something? O-or maybe the old crystal mine below the city?" Luna asked.

"Please, we both know what I'm talking about. I mean you were practically using the Royal Voice." Celestia said. "I mean even through all the soundproofing and all, just about everypony even within fifty feet could hear you."

"I-I...uh..." Luna tried to say something, anything but she was at a complete loss for words.

"Oh come on now, we're sister's you can tell me." Celestia gave her a confident smile.

"We're in a hallway Tia, I don't think we should talk about this here...." Just she finished Celestia's horn flared up and teleported them both to somewhere more private.

"Make yourself comfortable, I want to hear how your first time went." Celestia said, sitting down on her bed, and as Luna looked around she knew that this was, in fact, her sister's room. "Come on, I know you want to tell somepony about it."

"Y-you're such a pervert, you know that?" Luna said, her cheeks were burning.

"Hmm, yeah that's true, but what can I say? I just want to hear about how he made you feel, how different it must be given his size and shape difference. Though given that this was your first time ever, I know you wouldn't have anything to compare it to. But still, how long did it take before he made you cum? How long before it took him?" Celestia asked, making it much worse.

"Tia please stop..." Luna tried to say before Celestia started again.

"Oh, is that what you said to him? Or maybe that's what he told you, to please stop?" That's when Celestia's grin turned into a full-blown smile. "Did you let him fill you up?"

"W-what..? Tia just please stop, I don't want to have this conversation with you." Luna said, backing up.

"So, not only did you let him pop your cherry, but you let him cum inside, didn't you?" Celestia asked, making Luna back into a wall.

"T-that's none of your business," Luna replied, her ears folded back and she was trying to avoid any and all eye contact.

"Well, your answer tells me everything, except for one thing," Celestia said, giving her younger sister a perverted smirk making her gulp. "How many times?"

"What are you talking about?" Luna replied.

"How many times have you thought about what happened to Brandon since we started talking about last night and you two having snu-snu?" Celestia asked, and Luna could tell she was holding back a bit of laughter.

"N-not that much, I suppose," Luna answered, still feeling weary from what she knew her sister had actually meant at first when she asked that question.

"Good, because I'm betting the doctor is only halfway done with his examination." The way her sister had said that made her make a break for the door, and just in case she fired up her horn which quickly fizzled making her stop in confusion. "Sorry about this Lulu, but I really do want to hear a little more about what happened last night, even if it makes me look like a complete perv."

Author's Note

Oh, hello there dear reader. I have a question for you guys, would anyone like to come over for dinner? I'm making brai.... I mean barbecue hamburgers.

A Somewhat Clean Bill Of Health

"Well, other than the bruising around your neck, and some bruising inside there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Though if you wait a moment I'll make a cast of the hoofprints that way we can hopefully match them up." The doctor said, going into what he guessed was the supply closet.

"Um, Mr. Jenkins?" He turned to see a maid looking at him with a somewhat scared look, and he waved her in. "I-I heard what happened and I just wanted to let you know the staff is doing what they can to help catch whoever did this to you."

That sounded so genuine that he couldn't help but feel touched by the concern and grateful that at least not all the ponies in Canterlot were stuck up. He gave her a smile, his voice now completely gone due to the bruising, but he gave a nod of thanks making the maid nod back. Though before the doctor came back out the maid left in a hurry, probably not wanting to get caught not doing her duty.

"Now, this'll feel a little warm, but I'll try to be careful. Your bruises are still fresh and tender." The doctor said putting the plaster over his neck.

Saying it was warm was an understatement, it felt like he just leaned over an open fire and it licked him. Though he held his breath, not wanting to scream because he knew it would hurt a lot more. After what felt like forever the burning stopped, and the doctor removed the cast revealing part of a hoof, and a full hoof print.

"All right, Nurse Tether can you take this to the proper authorities please?" The doctor asked, the nurse just nodded and took off with the cast now in her bag. "I wonder where the Princesses are, I mean I'm already done and they're still not here."

That made him curious, after all, he knew Luna was really worried and freaked out, which was understandable. Though he remembered who she was with, and he couldn't help but facepalm knowing full well what was taking so long. Then a knock came at the door, and both sisters came in and the look on Luna's face only confirmed his suspicions.

"Sorry, we got carried away catching up," Celestia said, giving him a little wink though he couldn't meet her eyes now. "So, what's the prognostics?"

"Well, other than the visible bruising, he has some bruising on the inside of his throat. Most of which was around his voice box making it swell. So he can't really talk right now until the swelling goes down, but otherwise, I don't see any permanent damage." The doctor replied with a smile. "So he's free to go. Oh, and before I forget I've already sent a cast of hoof prints to the authorities."

"Wait, hoof prints?" Luna asked looking at him with concern.

"Yes, he was in fact strangled. By who I don't know, but like I said I made a cast and sent it on. Now if you'll excuse me I have some paperwork to get done, feel free to stay for a little bit and talk." The doctor said going into an office area.

After that, the two sisters talked to him, and he nodded and made hand gestures to try to contribute to the talk. Though after a little while Celestia suggested they go get some paper and ink so he could write instead. They all agreed and went to go get the paper and ink, all the time Celestia was teasing them while Luna kept giving him an apologetic look.

Though he already knew that it wasn't her fault, he knew too well Celestia has a way to get you to do what she wants when she wants. At very least get you to talk, though that didn't make the teasing any less bad. Especially since he couldn't talk to come back, and when they finally did find paper and ink for him he gave a little sigh.

He scribbled.

"No, no I won't. Of course, I could, I mean I just can't decide which one would be more dominant." At that both him and Luna groaned. "Hey, it's not my fault that up until this morning you were enjoying some pie."

"Sister, please we're in public." Luna pleaded.

"Alright, alright I'll stop for now but when we're alone or among friends don't be surprised," Celestia said, giving them a little wink before teleporting away.

He wrote.

"None took, and me too. Though I am really sorry, she really did corner me." Luna said.

He asked on his paper.

"I know, but that still doesn't mean I can't worry about you," Luna said, giving him a peck on the check.

He wrote.

"Oh yeah, what about?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

He suggested.

"Actually I was planning to take us both back to Ponyville. I mean I'm already done with a majority of my work here, and Tia can handle the rest. Somepony has to be there to help explain what happened." Luna said, gently touching his neck with her hoof. "Luckily they didn't touch your beautiful wings, which reminds me you need to learn to fly."

He wrote, giving her a smile.

"Alright, enough of that I'll get us tickets. You want to come with?" He nodded and began to follow.

As they left the castle he felt a chill pass through him, almost as if somepony was watching him, but he quickly shook off the feeling as they walked by some guards who were watching them. Though as they walked past one of them gave him a nod, and he couldn't help but turn red knowing that the staff probably knew about what transpired before the morning. After getting some distance he felt more relaxed.

Granted ponies were now looking at him with his deep purple bruises, and he could see a few whispering to each other. Though most ignored him and took interest in Luna bowing respectfully. Some waved at him, which he waved back and gave them a kind smile before they walked by.

"Man, I'm glad to be away from that castle. I felt like everypony in there knew what happened." Luna said.

He wrote giving a sly smile as she blushed.

"Oh, you need to stop that you big old flirt. Now, we're almost to the train station, so just let me handle the talking." At that Luna laughed, making him roll his eyes.

He teased.

"Yup, but you know I love you," Luna said.

He wrote, giving her a little poke to the side making her giggle.

Author's Note

I know, not as long but haven't wrote for this one in a minute. See y'all next chapter.

Return To Ponyville

As they were waiting for their train, their Griffon and Pony friend who Brandon ran into on the way to Canterlot showed up. They both took concern about his bruises, but both he and Luna assured them that he was fine, though Tallia seemed to sense something between them because she had a little smirk. Soon though they all four were riding a train, as it turns out they had just bought a house from Ginger's brother in Ponyville.

"So, from the way you two act you must have had a very good time together," Tallia said, making both Luna and him redden.

"Tallia, please I'm sure they did have a good time but I think we'll be learning about them soon. I'm mean we're gonna live in the same town now, which I'm personally excited for." Ginger said.

"I hope so, Ponyville is a great place to raise a little one. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask us." Luna said quickly, which he was a little thankful for.

"Can do, which how are you doing Brandon?" Ginger asked, and Tallia nodded in agreement.

He asked, and waited for them to read it.

"Our trip was wonderful, but come on I know you two had more fun then us. It's written all over how you two are all over each other." Tallia said.

"You don't have to reply to that, it's none of our business." Ginger said, making Tallia sigh in agreement.

"Fine, but they owe us dinner," Tallia said.

He wrote.

"With all of your Marefriends, cause I really want to get know them," Tallia said.

"That's fine by us, we were planning on having a dinner with all of us anyways. What's two more?" Luna asked.

They sat there talking and watching the scenery go by, though Brandon really did appreciate Tallia and her honesty. She seemed to call it as she saw it, and as for Ginger, he knew how to reel her in for the most part. Soon though, they were pulling into Ponyville and they all made an agreement to meet up near Ponyville Square. Though as they got off, suddenly Luna and Brandon were surrounded by their friends.

"Oh my goodness, what happened to you?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, all Celestia told us was you two were coming back but didn't mention what happened," Twilight said, though they both guessed Celestia told them and knew she would leave it up to them to explain things.

"We'll explain, but where are Lyra and Derpy?" Luna asked as the others looked around.

"I don't think they know that you two were coming back. I sent Spike to go get them, so they're probably at my place." Twilight answered.

He asked though he knew the answer.

"Oh, uh, she said she had things to do at the farm," Fluttershy replied, making him nod in understanding.

"Well, we should head there then so we can explain once." They all nodded in agreement, though both he and Luna could see the concern in their eyes.

They didn't really talk much, just caught each other up on a few things, but they did avoid the bruises. Though as they walked by some of the town folk he could see them staring, and even some mouthing what happened. But they didn't stop until they got to the front door where they waited for Twilight to open the door.

"Spike? Derpy? Lyra? You all here?" Twilight asked as she popped open the door to see in fact they weren't there, making them all sigh.

"Well darlings, I'm gonna go make some tea. Fluttershy dear, won't you come to help me?" Rarity said going into the kitchen with Fluttershy in tow.

"Who wants to play UNO?" Pinkie asked, before looking at him. "Oh, right, um, how bout charades?"

"Really Pinkie?" Rainbow said rolling her eyes.

He asked.

"Of course, go right ahead," Twilight replied.

He quickly started looking through the books and left the mares to talk and figure out what to do while they wait. Soon he was on one of the couches with a book titled The Adventures Of Red Hook. Soon Luna sat next to him, and the other girls took up seats all around them while he read. From what he could tell they just decided to do their own things, Rainbow was bouncing a ball off the wall, Pinkie went into the kitchen for who knows what, and Twilight started reading her own book.

"Oh, now I remember who Red Hook was," Luna said, giving a slight laugh.

"That's right, you were around during his time. How accurate is the book then?" Twilight asked though that reminded him how old Luna was and how young he was compared to her.

"Don't know, I'll have to read it after Brandon is done," Luna replied.

"Actually I think I have another copy somewhere. Just let me look." Twilight said getting up and starting her search.

Soon Twilight brought Luna the copy of the book, and she began reading it as well though something kept making her laugh. After explaining that the first line spoken is something he would have said in real life, they went back to their own thing. Soon, the three mares in the kitchen came out laughing until they saw the scene in front of them.

"Oh my, are we starting a book club in here?" Rarity asked.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea. Maybe introduce Rainbow to some other adventure story other than Daring Do." Twilight said, which caught Rainbows attention.

"What's wrong with Daring Do?" Rainbow asked, making them all roll their eyes.

"Nothing's wrong with her stories, I just meant while you're waiting for the next book you could start another series is all," Twilight said.

"Oh, sorry didn't hear that all the way I guess." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "But if the stories are just as epic, then I guess I could join."

He wrote, and Luna nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, any other pony in?" Luna asked, and only Fluttershy said yes.

"Five ponies sounds like a solid number for a book club. Maybe Derpy or Lyra would like to join, maybe even Spike." Twilight said, her eyes twinkling which he found weird he could actually see.

"Uh, join what?" Spike asked as he opened the door with Lyra and Derpy behind him, though once inside and they saw Brandon the two mares instantly demanded to know what happened.

So with Luna's help they explained what happened, he was filling in the blanks like what all the doctor did and by the end of it, all of them were silent. That's when the kitchen timer went off and broke the tension now in the room, and Pinkie yelled something about pie before running into the kitchen. They went silent again before Lyra spoke up.

"I am so gonna strangle whoever did this to make them feel what it's like," Lyra said, giving an angry stomp on the ground.

"Please don't do that, let the proper authorities handle it. After all, we don't know how dangerous this pony might be considering they got past castle security." Luna said.

"Which I wanna know what made you both tired enough that when he was being attacked neither of you woke up?" Rainbow asked.

He quickly wrote trying to keep a straight face, though all eyes were on them and he made the mistake of turning red.

"Oh, oh my you two actually did it? Didn't you?" Rarity asked, her cheeks turning a slight color of red, but not as deep as his or Luna's.

"Hey, no fair," Lyra said.

"Calm down Lyra, at least they got to enjoy the night before the attack," Derpy said, her cheeks bright red and neither eye would meet them.

He pleaded through his eyes.

"And what do you suggest we talk about then?" Lyra asked, gently brushing his hand with her hoof.

"Well, before you all showed up we were talking about starting a book club." Luna suggested, and it seemed the room breathed a sigh of relief at the change of the topic.

"Oh, I wanna join!" Derpy said, getting excited before bumping into Lyra making her fall forward and over the couch into Brandon's and Luna's laps.

He wrote, making Lyra boop him and for some reason making everyone laugh.

"So, a book club huh? Is this gonna be the first meeting then?" Lyra asked after readjusting and making room for Derpy.

"No, because not everyone here wants to be apart. So how about we agree on a day? I suggest Saturday, everypony who agrees raise their hoof." At that, all seven of them raised their hoof and hand.

He asked.

"Nah, while I like reading I'm into comics right now," Spike replied.

"Then it's settled, tomorrow will be our first meeting. Then we can decide on the first book we should read." Twilight said, and they nodded.

"Now, what about now?" Luna asked.

"Oh, I know!" Pinkie suddenly said, popping out from under the table and putting three pies on the top.

At that, they all agreed and Pinkie started to cut each of them a slice, and making plates appear out of thin air it seemed. Soon they all had at least two slices and were groaning with fullness. They all complimented how good the pie was, and before they all knew it they had started to play UNO, though they gave Brandon a break when he got a UNO.

"I think it's time for us to get home," Luna said looking out at the setting sun.

"Yeah, that sounds good. We'll see you all tomorrow for our book club." Lyra said as she put down a full hoof of at least thirty cards. "Don't like this game very much anyways."

"It isn't our fault that you keep getting the brunt of the drawing," Derpy said, bumping her flank against Lyra as they moved toward the door, making him raise an eyebrow.

He wrote as he stretched his legs.

"It sure will," Luna said giving a sigh, but then gave him a little smile and wink.

"Hope you four have a good walk, and I'll tell Applejack what happened," Twilight said, making him nod and gave her a smile of appreciation.

After they began to walk they started to talk about what the pony who hurt him would get, though of course, Luna gave the political answer. Which based on her tone she seemed to be set that they would get the longest time served since technically through dating Luna he was now considered a noble.

He asked.

"Oh, um, we worked out some of the stress that was bothering us is all. You know, just the good old fashion way to get rid of stress." Lyra said, turning her head back and gave him a little wink before shaking her plot. "Just like you and Luna, am I right Derpy?"

"Um, y-yeah." Poor Derpy was about as red as the sunset, which they had to stop to let Luna start raising the moon for a moment.

"So, how was she?" Lyra whispered, and quickly he wrote his answer.

He gave Lyra a little wink before he wrote something else.

"Eeepp..." Lyra squeaked as he gave her a little kiss. "Y-yeah, c-can't wait either."

"Oh, and what are you two talking about?" Derpy asked, making him quickly tear up the piece of paper and threw it away in the nearest trash can before answering.

He wrote, and Lyra nodded.

"Right, well maybe I'll let you taste my homemade pie sometime," Derpy said, giving a giggle as he and Lyra both let their jaws drop and turn red.

"What's this about pie?" Luna asked as she came into the conversation.

"Well, they apparently want to stop by Sugar Cube Corner to get a pie for the book club tomorrow," Derpy said giving him a little wink.

"That sounds like a good idea," Luna said, though she had a slight tone of confusion in her voice.

After that, they kept on walking, though the tension seemed to be gone as they talked. He wished they give him a chance to write his replies before they asked another question, and it wasn't until mid-way home that he realized they were doing it on purpose. He gave a grunt, and that made the three mares laugh which got him to chuckle though that made his throat hurt.

"Hey Brandon, before we forget Grace came by while you were gone. She'll be back to visit on Sunday when you were supposed to come back, she really wanted to see you and your pretty wings." Lyra said.

"I even gave her a little ride," Derpy said.

He said.

"Oh, don't worry with a little magic and a feminine touch those bruises won't even be visible by tomorrow," Luna said, making the other two mares nod in agreement.

"Which Derpy reminded me, when are you all gonna teach him how to fly?" Lyra asked, which made Luna and Derpy look at each other.

"I guess we can start Monday if that's okay with you Brandon?" Luna asked, looking at him and he gave a thumbs up.

"Are you sure you want me to help you?" Derpy asked.

He replied.

"Okay, then we have a plan then. Though we'll probably take a few days off, you'll be sore after your first lesson." Luna said.

That's when they made it to the front door, and he got his key out and unlocked to door. They headed inside, though before he knew it the three mares surrounded him and started to cover up the bruises. Though they tried to be careful every now and again he would wince at one of their touches.

"There we go, and that should last for at least a week," Lyra said.

"Yup, you look very good Brandon," Derpy said, he leaned over to her and gave her a hug seeing a little sadness and guilt in her eyes, which Luna and Lyra quickly joined them in a group hug.

He wrote out, making all three mares yawn.

"Alright, though you know we could release that stress for ya," Lyra said, laughing as she went into his room while he rolled his eyes.

"Well, goodnight and yes we'll see you in bed," Luna said giving him a little peck.

"Goodnight." Derpy said giving him another peck.

As he walked into the bathroom he locked the door behind him and instantly he let loose the tears he had been holding back all day. The grief of what happened finally catching up to him which he gladly let loose in his privacy. Even though he knew he should tell the others, especially his marefriends, though for right now he grieved in private.

Before Book Club

As he climbed into bed, he had made sure to wipe away any remaining tears though he was grateful for the darkness since it hid his red and puffy eyes. Though he didn't know who he was snuggling up to, he really didn't care and wrapped his arms around the mare who gave a little squeak. It wasn't even two seconds before he fell asleep.

He woke up to somepony gently removing his arms from around her waist, though she looked back and saw he was awake and gave a sigh. Though before the gray mare could say anything he planted his lips on hers, as thanks for being there. Soon, all four of them were awake and eating, but he avoided eye contact.

"Brandon, what's the matter?" Luna asked, concern in her voice.

He replied though he knew none of them bought it but they at least let it go.

"So, what time should we head over to Twilight's?" Derpy asked.

"I think noon would be good, give us a chance to look around and get ideas for books we could read," Luna suggested.

"Yeah, I like that," Lyra said.

He asked putting the copy of Red Hook on the table.

"When did you go get that?" Lyra asked.

He wrote.

"Wait, if you and Luna are already reading it how is that fair?" Derpy asked.

"We could let you all catch up to us. I believe that how a book club works sometimes is we agree on how far to read, then talk about it. Is that right?" Luna asked, and he nodded.

"Yup, that's how we did it in school. So since we have an idea, and a few hours before we head out I think I'm gonna go shopping. Anypony want to come?" Derpy asked.

"I'll go with you," Luna said.

He asked.

"Sure can, but does that mean you don't want to come?" Derpy asked, and he shook his head. "Alright, what about you Lyra?"

"Nah, I think I'll hang out with Brandon for now," Lyra replied looking at him with a cute little smile.

"Alright then, we will see you two in a few hours," Luna said, finishing off her breakfast which forced Derpy to finish.

Soon the two mares went out leaving him and the unicorn alone, which he didn't mind since it's been a while since they hung out. But he knew she had other plans, but he was intent on enjoying her company no matter what. Though at first they really didn't know how to break the ice that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"So, we heard you last night," Lyra said, breaking the ice and making him wince. "Brandon, it's alright to be afraid, especially after what happened. We all understand you needed the time to grieve in private, but remember we are here for you. After all, what kind of marefriends would we be if we weren't?"

He replied, not meeting her eyes.

"Hey..." She gently lifted his head and made him meet her beautiful golden eyes. "I mean it, we will always be here. No matter which one of us you choose to relieve stress with."

At that, he leaned over and gave her a kiss, which she seemed to enjoy. Though when he pulled away she looked a little disappointed at it not going further, but she seemed satisfied that her point got across. That was until he felt her move closer to him and snuggled up to him, which he quickly wrapped her in a hug and hid his face into her chest once again weeping.

"Shh, I can't even imagine what you're going through," Lyra said, gently whispering in his ear while rubbing his back, which only made him cry harder.

They stayed like that for what felt like only a few minutes, that was until Derpy and Luna came back with the groceries. Both mares froze as they saw the scene, and Lyra just mouthed 'I got it' making them quietly move into the kitchen. Though just as quickly they came back out and took a seat next to him, which he looked at them with tears freely streaming down his face.

Seeing this, Derpy instantly rubbed her hoof against his cheek which he appreciated as he leaned into it. Luna gave him a kiss before going back into the bathroom, and Lyra unwrapped her hooves from around him which made him a little disappointed. Though he let go of her, and gently put Derpy's hoof down and taking a deep breath.

"Thank you." He managed to croak out, though that sadness was still in him but it felt lighter than it had the day before.

"Here, this'll help with the redness." Luna gently said, giving him some eye drops and he nodded and went into the bathroom.

After he got done, managing to stop his tears and the redness quickly faded and after taking a shower he felt better. Once done, he walked into the living room where the three mares were waiting. He sat down next to Lyra, and took her hoof in one hand and Luna's hoof in the other, while he managed to extend his wing to gently wrap Derpy up.

"I-I think it's about time to head out," Derpy said after a few minutes, and after looking at the clock they all agreed.

They all started to get ready, he and Luna got their copy of the book while Derpy went into the kitchen to make a snack for them. Lyra was just watching them and waiting, which luckily didn't take much time at all. Soon they were headed out the door and heading toward Twilights.

"Man, this'll be great. Haven't been a part of a club since I was a filly." Lyra said.

"Didn't know you liked books so much though," Luna said, making her and Derpy laugh.

"I read a lot more than you two know," Lyra replied giving a pout, which turned into a smile when he put his hand on her back.

"Ah, we know we just like teasing you. Or at least we need to give Brandon a break every now and again." Derpy said with a big smile.

That got all three of them to laugh.

"You know we love you," Luna said making the other two nod in agreement.

He asked with a little smirk, making Luna give a deep blush.

"Sore? She doesn't act sore to me." Lyra said, giving Luna a little poke.

He said.

"I am not sore," Luna grumbled.

"Eh, I wouldn't mind being that kind of sore," Derpy said, giving him a wink making him turn red.

"Me neither, though we were that sore while they were gone," Lyra mentioned, now making Derpy blush.

He wrote, looking away.

"Maybe later, or you could give us a show," Luna said giving him a little brush with her wing.

He quickly changed the subject as images started to pop into his head.

"Mmm, looks like we might have gotten a rise out of him girls," Lyra said, and all three of them turned a little shade of red before busting out laughing, making him grateful he was still wearing his shorts.

Though along the way, they stopped to eat their snack though as it turned out Derpy had prepared a snack for the entire club. Which reminded him that they needed to stop by Sugar Cube Corner, which they started to head that way. Once there, Mrs. Cake hooked them up with a free pie since it was for a club.

"Remember, we do offer a free pie once a month to any club no matter how small." Mrs. Cake said, and after working out some of the details the four of them were back on track with two pies, the second one at twenty-five percent off thanks to Lyra offering to play a night there.

"Man, pie and a gig," Lyra said with a big smile.

He wrote.

"I know, and I'm not planning on it. Just maybe a slice or two, maybe three or four." Lyra said licking her lips, and he gave her a poke making her giggle. "Hey, even if I eat an entire pie I know a good way to work it off."

He wrote, making her bright red.

"I think it's her time of the cycle," Derpy said, shrugging as Lyra gave her a dirty look.

"And you haven't taken any heat medication yet?" Luna asked, looking at her then at him shaking her head.

"N-no, I-I was going to pick some up after the club today. I mean I'm just starting to go into it, so it's not like I'm in full blown heat. But can we talk about something else please?" Lyra asked.

He replied.

At that, they ended up at the front door of Twilights, and he knocked and the door opened to reveal Spike waving them to come in. He explained that Twilight stepped out for a moment to get more supplies for writing. So they took their seats and started talking and soon Twilight came back.

"Oh, didn't expect you all until at least two and you brought pie, great!" Twilight said.

"And muffins, just in case," Derpy said nudging her basket.

"Sweet, can I have one?" Spike asked.

"Yup made enough for everypony," Derpy answered opening the basket to let the dragon look.

"Just have one, you just had a big lunch," Twilight said.

"I know, and do you all mind if I have this banana nut muffin?" Spike asked.

"Go right ahead, little man," Lyra replied, and Spike ran off.

"So, you three seem to be in a good mood," Twilight said.

"Oh, we had a little fun teasing each other while coming over," Lyra said, as she gave him a poke to the side since she was next to him.

"Yeah, and I think me and Lyra need to switch places," Derpy suggested.

"I think I'm good right where I am," Lyra said leaning into him and giving a sigh.

"I have to agree with Derpy," Luna said giving the green mare a little bit of a stink eye.

He wrote, making Twilight give a curious look before it seemed to dawn on her what they were talking about.

"Oh, you mean it's her time huh? Man, three months pass by so quickly, and you know I have the medicine from my last cycle." Twilight suggested.

"That would be greatly appreciated," Luna replied, and Derpy nodded in agreement.

"Come on you two, I said I would get it after the club today. And to drop it since we're here in somepony's else home." Lyra said, making the other two mares blush.

"Sorry Twilight," Derpy said as Twilight came back from the bathroom with a bottle.

"Here ya go, and it's no problem. We all have that problem." Twilight said then looked at him. "Well, most of us have that problem."

"Wow, this is the best kind you can get," Lyra said looking at Twilight with an impressed smile.

"Oh, um, y-yeah it's one of the benefits about having the Princess as a teacher," Twilight said with a blush. "So anyway, I see you two brought your books."

"Yes, we were planning on suggesting it would be our first read when the other two show up," Luna said.

"I like that idea, and Rainbow will love that story too. You know they made a trilogy so we can have it as our first series." Twilight said, looking excited at the idea.

He wrote, making them nod though he noticed Lyra slipping her bottle of medication behind her, which before she could notice he took just in case.

"So, anypony know when they're gonna show up?" Lyra asked.

"Oh, they'll be here by two. I sent Spike out earlier, which is why I didn't expect you four until then." Twilight answered.

"Well, we didn't get the message. So we figured come over here at noon just in case." Luna said, making Twilight give Spike a dirty look.

"What? I forgot to tell them, but I promise I told the other two." Spike said shrugging, making Twilight give a sigh.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you four showed up when you did," Twilight grumbled.

As they waited they made small talk and told a few jokes though Brandon's jokes were so bad that they had to laugh at them. Though the pony who told the best joke was Luna, which made Twilight fall out of her seat which made them all laugh harder. But he tried not to laugh since it was painful to do even that. Soon the other two mares showed up, and Twilight started the meeting officially.

Author's Note

Hope you all had a good Easter yesterday. If you don't celebrate Easter, then hope you had a good Sunday.

Playing A Lyre

As Twilight began to explain the rules of having a book club, the others zoned out for a little bit because they knew once the purple unicorn started, she would take a little while. He excused himself to go to the bathroom, which Twilight warned she would not repeat the rules again. Shrugging, he went to the bathroom to take a deep breath.

"Brandon, you okay?" Lyra asked quietly through the door, which he opened to let her in.

He wrote, raising his hand which was shaking badly.

"What's the matter?" Lyra asked, gently putting a hoof on his cheek which he took in a hand, but let go to write.

He wrote, making Lyra tear up a bit and leaned up to give him a quick kiss.

"I understand, though you must know that you'll have a little trouble breathing because of your injury. But it is understandable how that would make you scared, but we're among friends. You shouldn't hide your feelings like that, it's gonna start making others worry about you more." Lyra said.

He wrote.

"After you calmed down, but I'm talking about when you're feeling it. It'll help calm you down sooner." Lyra said, biting her lower lip. "I know because I used to have a phobia, remember when I told you about it?"

He replied, making him sigh.

"Brandon, you have to have faith in others. It'll help, I'll take you to my therapist office tomorrow. Before Grace comes over alright? Then we can set up an appointment." Lyra said, and the look in her eyes told him he didn't have a choice so he just nodded. "Good, now let's go I'm sure Twilight is done reading her rules."

They went back, and as it turned out Twilight had stopped reading the rules when Lyra had gotten up to check on him. Though once they sat down, Twilight cleared her throat and started to read the remaining rules of Book Club. While they were waiting, he took Lyra's hoof in his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Alright, now that's over let us begin our first book club. First order of business is we should come up with a more official name for the club." Twilight said. "Any suggestions?"

"How about The Reading Rainbow?" Rainbow asked with a cocky smile.

"Or how about The Readers Of The Night?" Luna suggested.

He suggested, making Twilight nod.

"Anypony object to just skipping to which book we should read?" Twilight asked, and no one objected though Rainbow looked a little disappointed. "Alright, now Luna and Brandon have already submitted one idea. The Adventures Of Red Hook, does anypony have any other suggestions?"

"Nah, that sounds good to me," Rainbow said.

"I would be fine with that," Fluttershy said. "Though since they already started, how do we do this then?"

He suggested.

"Sounds fair to me," Luna said. "I mean us starting from the beginning."

"Everypony agree then?" Twilight asked looking around and saw everypony nod in agreement. "Alright, I'll have to order more copies then. They'll be in by Thursday, so I won't pass them out until our next meeting."

Twilight then adjourned their first meeting with the task of thinking of a better name for their club, which they then ate the snacks that they had brought. Before long though they all started to leave, the first was Rainbow then Fluttershy followed. Soon the four remaining guess got up and left together.

"That went a bit better than what I thought it was gonna do," Derpy said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, even got to go to the bathroom with this guy." Lyra teased, though her smile and eyes told him she wouldn't actually tell what really happened. "But at least he was a gentle colt and stepped outside."

He wrote.

"Riight, you sure you didn't catch a peek?" Luna teased, making the three mares laugh.

He asked rolling his eyes with a smile.

"Because you make it fun," Derpy replied, giving him a tap on the side.

"True, but I think you are easy to tease," Lyra said, giving the grey mare a wink and making her blush.

He wrote, poking the Pegasus in the side making her blush deepen.

"Alright, alright I think that's enough of that," Derpy said, giving a pout.

"You know we love ya," Lyra said, making the other two agree.

"Hey, I remembered I left my copy back at Twilights. Anypony want to come?" Luna suddenly said.

"Sure, I can go with you," Derpy said, and the two mares started to walk back.

Though he was glad since he needed to talk to Lyra about trying to hide her heat control medication that Twilight had lent them. That and he did want to hang out with Lyra for a bit when he didn't have tears streaming down his face that is. They walked in peaceful silence passing by a few stores that they looked through the window, but otherwise, they kept walking until there weren't very many ponies around.

He asked holding up the pills, making her squeak and look away from him.

"Hey, I can control myself," Lyra said, though he knew better.

He said giving her a little bit of a hard look as she gave a sigh.

"I know, and I promise to take them," Lyra said taking the bottle from him, though he gave her a harder look. "Fine, taking one right now."

He watched as she opened the bottle and took one of the pills, and after she swallowed and him checking it out he gave her a thumbs up. After a little teasing from her, they continued their way home which wasn't far now. Soon the house came into view when he became short of breath again, though this time Lyra was there.

"Ssshhh, it's okay. Deep breaths, that's it." Lyra said, her tone comforting as tears started to stream down his face.

He wrote through bleary eyes.

"You saying I'm bad luck?" Lyra teased. "Now let's get you into the house, so you can calm down."

As they entered she had him sit down on the couch and insisted on making him a cup of tea which he told her how many spoons of sugar to put in. When she went into the kitchen, he gave a sigh really not feeling like himself right now. But at least he was with one of his best friends, and he couldn't help but have just a little favoritism, but he knew better than to tell them that.

"Here ya go, did what you asked," Lyra said, putting the tea in front of him and watched him take a drink. "Feeling better?"

He wrote, patting the seat next to him.

"Sure thing." She said, jumping over the back and giving a little bounce making him smile as he put his arm around her, pulling her closer. "Hmm, this is the Brandon I like."

They sat there with her head on his shoulder and his arm and a wing wrapped around her, and she gave a little sigh. Though that caught his attention and he looked down, and couldn't help but examine her fully. Her eyes shining as they slowly closed, the way she was breathing, and how nice she smelled.

Before he could come to his senses he leaned down and started to kiss her, which at first she was surprised but then started to kiss back moaning a little. That's when he felt her hoof rubbing his thigh near his area, that made him break the kiss. They stared into each other's eyes, he gently placed a hand on her cheek gently caressing it.

He leaned back in for another kiss, but this time he wasn't aiming for her lips instead his lips landed on her neck where they started to nibble and suck on, making the Unicorn moan. Before she could object, he gently pushed her onto her back where she was now staring at the ceiling. Though he soon stopped what he was doing and meet her eyes as she looked at him, and they followed him as he started to kiss lower and lower.

"B-brandon...." She moaned out as he gently rubbed her inner thigh with his hand, moving it a little closer as he moved his head that way.

Looking up, he saw her biting her lower lip as he got closer to her nipples making him smile before gently nibbling at them. That got her to release a loud moan, which after a few nibbles he stopped and started to continue kissing lower. Though before he got to her lower lips, which were now starting to get moist, he stopped looking up at her meeting her eyes.

"G-go ahead, p-please...." She said, her voice quiet.

He then looked down at her lower lips and couldn't help but think about how she might taste, but before he dove in he got the feeling he forgot something. But that didn't matter to him as this beautiful mare was now in front of him, offering herself. Taking a breath, he leaned down licking her and once he did he couldn't get enough.

"O-oh by Starswirl's never-ending beard!" Lyra said as he continued his task, which it seemed instinct kicked in as every lick seemed to be in the right place.

Though he definitely knew one way to please her, and so he moved his hand that was on her inner thigh on top of her groin. Using his thumb, he pressed onto her clit making her squeal as juices suddenly came rushing out and her back arching. He realized what just happened which he couldn't help but give a confident smile.

But now that he had a taste, he wanted more of her and so he dove his tongue back into her. It once again started to make her moan and press her hooves on his head as he ate her out again. Her eyes now shut tight as she rode the pleasure she was receiving as she gasped and moaned.

Though before she could cum again he stopped, making her open her eyes to look at him though she shivered at the look he was giving her. Before she could say anything, he put his mouth back on her lower lips and once again pressed her button, making her screech out again as her juices shot into his mouth. Once done, she looked down and smiled though that didn't last long as his lips locked with hers.

She let out a soft moan as she started to taste something sweet, it drove her crazy before she realized she was tasting herself, which only made her moan louder. He broke the kiss, looking down at her with a predatory look which again made her shiver. Though she started to moan and shiver as she felt something press against her lower lips.

Looking down she could see his member now poking her down there, making her moan again as he rubbed the head along her lips. She looked up and meet his eyes and bit her lower lip, after all, she was in heat and she could tell he was crazed with lust because of it. Though looking into his eyes, he had gained enough control where if she said no now he would stop, but did she want that?

"P-please, take me but be gentle. I've never had a real one in me." She whispered, moaning as she felt him start pushing further into her.

To her, he felt big and hard as he stretched her around his dick, making her wince every now and again but mostly moan. For him, the green mare was a lot tighter than Luna which only made him harder as he groaned. Though he did go slow as promised, letting her get accustomed to the feel of a real penis inside of her.

"Oh fuuuccckk....!" Lyra screamed wrapping her hooves around his neck as her walls squeezed around him, making him stop.

Though as soon as the squeezing started to subside he started to push in, and she knew he was determined to fit all the way inside of her as she moaned in his ear. Soon she felt his groin meet hers, and he started to pull out which seemed to be tough on him as he groaned. But as soon as her moans seemed to register to him he thrust back in and back out making her moan louder.

It wasn't long before she came again this time her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her tongue lolled out. She could hear herself screaming in pleasure as he kept on thrusting into her keeping her orgasm alive. But it didn't last, but she was fine as she could still feel him going in and out of her, though she was lost in a world of pleasure she never knew.

Once again, she was screaming at the top of her lungs not long after her last orgasm as his thrust became more erratic. Meeting eyes, a moment of clarity passed between them and she nodded that it was okay. As soon as she did she gave one last scream as she felt him squirt inside of her as she clung to him.

They laid there breathing hard, neither one of them had the energy to move as they basked in the afterglow, him on top of her. He lifted up his head locking lips with the green mare who gladly kissed back. Breaking the kiss, he locked eyes with her and an understanding passed between them.

"I-I think we n-need to clean before they get back," Lyra mumble, making him grunt.

Though they found it difficult as he tried to pull out, her muscles seemed to suck him back in making them both moan and groan during the process. Looking down once he removed himself she could now clearly see his semi-hard dick covered in their juices. She had seen it plenty of times but hadn't really looked at it.

He asked, making her blush as his paper now blocked her view.

"Liked it better inside me." She said, locking lips with him. "But seriously, we need too...."

"Um, yeah I think we'll be back," Luna said, both of them on the couch froze as the door shut.

Getting Back To Normal

As both he and Lyra froze they could hear Luna dragging Derpy out and slamming the door, which made Lyra crack a smile before busting up laughing. Though he gave a pained chuckle he finally got off the top of her. As he looked at the laughing mare he couldn't help but think if it was possible for him to get her or even Luna for that matter pregnant.

He asked as she started to calm down giving him a nod.

"Yeah, first let me hit the shower." She said as she got up stretching out. "You can join me if ya want."

He wrote but quickly gave her a kiss.

"Deal, just try not to think about what happened too much. I'm sure that I won't just get pregnant just like that, I mean I'm only or was in the beginning stages of heat." She said giving a little nervous laugh as she saw his seed drip a little out of her.

He wrote which she gave a little smile and a peck on the cheek.

"But I wouldn't have changed a thing." She said before finally going into the bathroom.

As he listened to her turn the shower on he couldn't help but smile as he sat there for a good minute. But he decided to do a little cleaning while he had the time. Granted he had to take things a bit slowly as he was now a bit sore from their fun, also every now and again he got short of breath but quickly got used to it.

"Wow, have I been in there that long?" He turned to see Lyra standing there with a towel wrapped around her mane.

He wrote making her roll her eyes a little.

"Sorry, but somepony made a mess that took a little bit to clean." She said and this time he rolled his eyes.

He asked making her give a nod, though as he made his to the bathroom she stopped him to quickly him a kiss.

"Now go get cleaned up, before they decide it's time to come back. But I wonder where they went after catching us?" At that, he gave a shrug and went to take a shower.

After getting rinsed off he couldn't help but rub his neck a little, though still very much tender he wondered why whoever did it would go to such lengths only to leave him alive. Or at least to where he could be revied, it made him curious but also afraid. All he knew now was that he had to be on guard more.

He nodded and made a look of determination as he told himself whether whatever happened was just the action of a single pony or one under the orders of an entire group, he would not let it happen again. After all, next time he may not be so lucky. But he was quickly broken out of his thoughts as he heard a knock on the door.

Giving a knock back to tell whoever that he was still good, he hurried and finished with his shower. Though he would have to ask Luna or Derpy about how to properly wash his wings. That thought made him roll his eyes as he could imagine the teasing that would bring, though he knew that he and Lyra would get the third degree for being caught like that.

"Ah, finally coming to join us?" Luna asked as he stepped out of the bathroom making him avoid her gaze.

He asked after picking up his note pad.

"She went to go spend time with her daughters," Luna said, and he looked over to see Lyra sitting next to her. "Do not worry, I'm not about to give either one of you any third degree or anything. Just next time please take it to the bedroom, I mean at least me and you were already in mine when we began."

"It's not like we planned it or anything, it just happened!" Lyra defended making Luna give a slight chuckle.

"I know, but to change to the topic did you make that reservation?" Luna asked making Lyra give a look of confusion before remembering.

"Shit! I knew I forgot to do something!" Lyra said in a panic, though Luna put a hoof on her shoulder to calm her down.

"It's fine, after all, we will be having two more guests join us. Which reminds me, Brandon, Ginger, and Tallia both said hi and that they're looking forward to having dinner with us." Luna said making Lyra a little confused.

He wrote out, and Lyra gave a little nod of understanding but he could tell she was still a little confused about it.

"He made friends with them and even helped him embarrass me in front of the entire Night Court," Luna said taking a sip of her tea.

"Ah, okay then but just remember my boss still might want to ask a million and one questions Brandon," Lyra said getting off the couch. "Well better get ready, almost forgot I had a gig later. I'll make a reservation then, and it's for six right?"

He wrote giving her a smile.

"Nah, don't worry I still have time, but still bye!" Lyra said before bolting out the door, which made him finally meet Luna's gaze.

"Now then, I think you need to hop back into the shower so I can show you how to clean those dirty wings of yours for tomorrows lesson," Luna said giving him an evil grin making him gulp.

He wrote making her laugh.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be that bad. Especially since a lot of a wings sensitivity can come from stress, and for the past couple of days, despite what happened you've been relieving a lot of." She said and started to laugh as his face turned red yet again.

It's been a while since his throat had healed up and he could talk normally, and now he could even fly a little. He remembered his first lesson with Luna and Grace. How Luna made a great teacher and how Grace seemed to like playing as the cheerleader for him.

Ginger and Tallia fully moved into their new house which reminded him of the dinner they had together after Lyra had made the reservation. They had a lot of fun even if he had to write everything down, especially when Lyra's boss kept asking him questions. But he liked her well enough even if she did come off as a little dingy.

But thinking about what all happened made him rub his throat subconsciously as there had been no arrest so far. Though he started to feel like he was getting back to normal, he still went to see Bon Bon every week and worked at the Apple farm doing the accounting stuff. It hit him though that he had been here for eleven months, granted the anniversary of when he popped up here was soon approaching and Pinkie promised to throw a big bash for it.

Though he still had to take care of one thing, well actually two things first. One was going to be easy if somewhat annoying as Rarity kept reminding him about the bachelor auction. The other one was far more complicated since it dealt with Applejack still avoiding giving him an answer.

It wasn't as if she was avoiding him entirely, she did come to see him before his first flying lesson to see how he was. But anytime he tried to bring up the subject of him admitting his feelings for her she just ignores it or just change the subject altogether. Granted he really didn't push the subject.

Of course at this point, though he had started to move on a little, it was still on the back of his mind though. Like a bad song that gets stuck in your head for days. So he had come up with a plan with his herd to finally get an answer and put it to bed.

Which reminded him about what all him, Luna, and Lyra all did not too long ago making his face go red. Lucky neither one of them seemed to of gotten pregnant. Derpy had admitted she had been a little jealous but said that she didn't think she was ready after all to have sex with him just yet.

He had figured as much and though the three of them that did haven't really done it since he didn't mind. Though Lyra did use her magic a few times to try to please him, which she only succeeded once. That was due to the fact that when she first tried she got a little too close on one side of him and ended up getting smacked by his wing.

The memory made him laugh and made him remember fondly the time she did manage it, though before they could go even further again Luna had popped into the room after a trip to Canterlot. When she did she gave both of them a smack to the back of their heads and told them if they're doing take it the bedroom. Which only made them laugh which eventually got Luna to start laughing as well.

"Hmm, is seems somepony is having dirty thoughts." He jumped a bit getting into what he thought was some kind of fighting stance. "Whoa, didn't mean to scare you"

"S-sorry, shouldn't sneak up on me like that." He said giving a sigh of relief when he saw it was Luna.

"Brandon, I know you must still be paranoid after what happened to you in Canterlot but you are safe here. Everypony here pretty much likes you now and I don't think any of them would try to hurt you. Besides can you even fight?" She asked as he relaxed.

"I know but you can never be too safe, right? For the fighting thing, I do remember a little bit about me taking some kind of lessons but I may be a bit rusty. I know that no pony here would but you can never be too safe, right?" He gave her a little wink before guiding a finger down one of her wings making her shiver.

"Y-yeah can't be too safe..." She muttered making him laugh. "Anyways, I picked up those foster papers. Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"It is, I mean that filly has had a hard time. I mean losing both parents and none of her extended family wanted nothing to do with her. It just feels right you know?" He asked giving her a smile as she gave him the papers.

"Yeah, I can understand it, then I look forward to having her with us then." She said giving him a kiss. "I think you'll make a wonderful father to her. I mean Grace absolutely adores you now."

"It's the least I could do for her, and uh thanks for the vote of confidence. But anyway you guys ready to enact our plan today? Because Rarity keeps reminding me about what tomorrow was." He said giving a sigh.

"Why did you sign up if you didn't want to do it anyway?" She asked making him give a little shrug.

"It's what Derpy suggested to do when I went to go get new measurements after my wings came in." He answered. "I mean it was after the whole confessing thing."

"Fair enough, but no I won't be able to help tonight as I thought. My sister sent a letter early today as for what, she wanted me for some emergency Royal Court meetings." She said her ears folding back with a little guilt.

"Man that sucks, it means we're gonna have to postpone the plan then until you get back. Also, try not to feel guilty I mean you are a Princess and I knew that when going into this relationship." He said bringing her in for a kiss.

"Hmm, if you say so but before I go just remember to do your wing exercise and to pick up your order of meat from Tallia and..." Though she was cut off by him laughing.

"I know, I know and I'll miss you too." He gave her a pat on the head as she gave a little pout. "Just have a safe trip okay?"

"Don't worry I will, and I really do hate to leave so soon and I'll try to be back before the auction tomorrow, but love you!" Just like that she teleported away making him give a sigh.

Though he quickly went back to what he was doing before he got lost in thought and before Luna came in, which was cleaning out Daisy's bed. Granted it normally only took a few minutes but he just couldn't believe what all happened in just almost a year of being here. It felt like it had been years since he first dropped out of the sky.

"Hey did Luna talk to you?" He turned to see Lyra who just got back from her job, and he nodded in response. "So we putting the plan on hold for now?"

"Yeah, and she also dropped off the foster paperwork." At that Lyra gave him a big smile.

"I'm just so happy somepony is going to give that little filly a home she deserves! I mean she's too adorable not to love!" Lyra said giving him a nuzzle. "So, not to ruin the mood but are you going over to see her later?"

"Lyra, if you don't want me to visit just say so. But like I keep saying she needed a friend and no I'm not trying to make excuses for her. I mean I got hurt by it as well, and I hate what she did but we both know she just made a bad decision. She did learn her lesson from it as well." He said though he could really understand Lyra's own feelings toward the matter.

"Yeah, yeah and you're free to hang out with anypony you want. Just be careful around her okay? I mean I don't think she'll do anything but ever since what happened I lost all my trust in her." Lyra said making him give a raised eyebrow. "I know it didn't make much sense, but you still have to promise!"

"Okay, then I promise to be careful around her, just like the other times." He replied making her give a nod.

"Oh, and when you do go there I want some candy," Lyra said making him give a smile before giving her a quick peck.

"I'll be back later, and if Derpy comes by make sure to give her an extra kiss for me!" He said before leaving.

As he got outside he figured he could practice his flying so he stretched out his wings and gave a big flap. He could only go so high right now and could only fly a short distance, that was because of his wings still needing to build up muscle. Which was why Luna had given him a strict wing exercise to build their strength.

Landing not too far from Bon Bons Sweet Shop and a little out of breath he couldn't help but feel great. Now that he had permission from all three of his marefriends he had been eating a bit of meat. It did do wonders for him as he seemed to not only be getting muscles on his wings to build up but all of his other muscles seemed to be growing too.

The only problem is that neither Derpy or Lyra can be around when he eats meat, so he just started to eat it at Ginger and Tallia's place. Or just ate outside while his marefriends ate at the table, but that didn't bother him. Though he started to do that more often now since Tallia had her egg not too long ago, though from what he heard it'll be another couple of months before it hatched.

"Welcome... Oh, Brandon! Didn't know you were coming this early!" Bon Bon said from behind the counter, though he noticed her give a little blush which sent a shiver down his spine.

"Um, yeah just had a little extra free time though I can't stay for that long today." He said looking at her selections. "You think I could get some of these Chocolate Blueberries?"

"No problem, and if you don't mind me asking but is the reason why you can't stay because of Lyra?" Bon Bon asked, making him shake his head.

"Bon Bon, like I already said she may not like me coming to visit but she really hasn't tried to stop me. She's still hurt about what happened, and so am I if even a little." He said making her avoid his gaze, and he hoped that the message got through.

"I-I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought it up." Bon Bon said giving a sigh, but then she perked back up as it seemed she remembered something. "Hey, you're in the Bachelor Auction this year right?"

"Uh, y-yeah that's the main reason why I can't stay long today because Rarity wants us for dress rehearsal or something." He said wishing that he hadn't signed up, especially given the signals Bon Bon seemed to be putting out there.

"Well, I hope Applejack shows up to at least support you, maybe it'll even get her jealous!" Bon Bon said making him give a sigh of relief on the inside.

After he started to get out and about again while he still had a bruised throat he had started to see Bon Bon once or twice a week. Though when he did first start to visit he kept getting these signals from her. But he made it as clear as possible that he wasn't interested in her like that.

Not that she wasn't pretty or anything, but the pain of her lie was still there for most of them. Especially Lyra and him, though he still wanted to have her as a friend since she was one the only ponies who would actually talk to him. Despite most of them getting over their initial fears of him a good few of them still didn't say more than one or two words to him.

Which he was fine with since he had a nice little group of good friends anyway. Though he did wish that whoever choked him that day would be caught and maybe confirm his suspicions of an entire group who wanted him dead. He just couldn't let it go.

"...alright?" He heard Bon Bon ask who was now giving him a concerned look.

"Hmm, what yeah sorry about that." He answered though he couldn't help but rub his throat a little.

"Still bothering you huh? Do you still have any of the medicine that Zecora made for you?" Bon Bon asked, and he nodded. "Maybe you should take some before you go to that dress rehearsal."

"Thanks for the advice, and again sorry I can't stay longer but I got to go and put on the outfit Rarity sent over." He said making Bon Bon give a nod after she put the bag of candy on the counter.

"It's on the house today, hope to see you soon Brandon." Bon Bon said, and he gave his thanks and promised to stay the full-time next time.

As he left he couldn't help but hear Bon Bon give a little sigh that sounded a bit sad. But he knew he couldn't hang around like he had said he had a dress rehearsal and he didn't want her to overthink him sticking around. After all, he hadn't even told Lyra about the signals he seemed to be getting from the candy mare.

Author's Note

Wow, it's been a while since the last chapter huh? Well, some news, I have gone through the older chapters and cleaned them up a bit so hopefully, they'll be easier to read grammar-wise. But I hope to see you in the next chapter and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Dress Rehearsal

As he walked home he wondered if he should tell any of them about the signals he thought he was getting from Bon Bon. He knew that at very least Lyra would a furious and the other two would probably just get suspicious and angry. Though that's if he was reading the candy mare right.

Which was why he was so hesitant to say anything in the first place because he didn't know if he had read her signals right. He shook his head since with a little help from Lyra, who only helped out of paranoia, he learned how to read Bon Bon well enough. So he knew that he hadn't misread the signals and was just thinking of excuses for why he hadn't told anypony yet.

The real reason is that he thought he could handle the situation because of how he knew that at very least how Lyra would react. He gave a sigh and figured saying anything could wait until after the auction and his date with whoever won were over. Though he knew he should tell them sooner rather than later since he really didn't need the headache right now, especially since he still had to deal with Rarity who was in perfectionist mode.

"Hey Brandon, did you get the candy?" Lyra asked as he walked through the door making him give a small laugh as he tossed the bag over to her.

"Candy? Can I have a piece?" Dinky said popping her head out of the kitchen.

"Sure no problem," Lyra said waving the little filly over to sit next to her.

"Hey Dinky, it's nice to see you again. Is your mom in the kitchen?" He asked hoping to see the mailmare.

"Yup, Lyra made a mess and tried to clean it up. But she only made it worse!" Dinky said as she reached into the bag.

"Hey, I thought you promised not to say anything!" Lyra said giving the little unicorn a poke to the side.

"Alright, you two play nice." He said giving them a smile as he walked into the kitchen.

As he stepped into the kitchen Derpy was washing the dishes from lunch and seemed to not be aware of him just yet. Which he stayed quiet as he was hoping to surprise the grey mare though he couldn't help but keep his eyes on her plot. She seemed to be swaying her tail back and forth in a rhythm as she hummed.

"Aaahh!" Derpy flew to the ceiling clinging to the pan rack after he gave her rear a little pinch.

"Heh, sorry couldn't help myself there." He said as she gave him a glare.

"Is everything alright in there?" They heard Lyra call.

"Everythings fine!" Derpy replied. "Just got a little surprised is all!"

"Again, sorry didn't mean to scare you like that. I just saw the opportunity and took it." He said giving a cheeky smile as she flew down.

"Hmmph, just don't pinch so hard next time," Derpy said giving him a peck before returning to the dishes. "So, how was your visit?"

"It was alright, got some candy if you want any. Though you'll probably have to wrestle it from your daughter and Lyra." He said making her give a little chuckle.

"Nah, last time it took me two hours to get all of the chocolate out," Derpy said through a blush formed as he gave her a smirk. "I appreciated the offer to help from both you and Lyra."

"You are very much welcome, and besides you're sweet enough as it is." He said making her roll her eyes.

"Anyway, don't you have to get ready for the dress rehearsal tonight?" Derpy asked making him give a little sigh. "I know Rarity can be a bit difficult sometimes but you did agree to it."

"Yeah and it was you who convinced me, though I do appreciate why you convinced me." He gave her a little peck though another headache started.

"Oh no, not again! Lyra get Brandon's headache medicine now!" Derpy yelled out, and they both heard hooves running to the bathroom.

"I-it's fine really." He said rubbing his temples.

"Are you sure? I mean either way you're taking your medicine. But are they getting any better?" Derpy asked.

"Yeah, at least it seems like they are." He said before Lyra came running in with his medicine.

"Seriously another one though?" Lyra asked a little out of breath as he took the bottle of pills and popped it open.

"Yup but I do think they're getting better." He said after taking one and sitting down.

"Are you sure you aren't like developing magic? I mean when you started to grow wings you kept getting back pains." Lyra said making Derpy nod.

"That was partly because I tried to keep them from growing. Also, Dr. Hayseed did a lot of tests to make sure. These headaches are just normal, if somewhat painful." He said giving them as confident of a smile as he could.

"Alright, just making sure. But are you okay to go tonight?" Lyra asked, though by now Dinky was peeking in on them to see what was going on.

"Yeah, I'm sure, especially now that I took my pill." He said looking at the little filly who when she realized she had been caught ducked behind the door.

"Then I guess we should get ya ready. Hey Muffin?" Derpy called making the filly come in.

"Y-yeah moma?" Dinky asked a little nervously.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go to that sleepover that Sweetie Belle was having?" Derpy asked making Dinky's eyes widen in excitement.

"You mean I can go?" Dinky screeched and gave her mom a big hug.

"Yup, just pack what you need my little Muffin. Do you remember how to get over to her house?" Derpy asked making the filly roll her eyes.

"Yes moma, and thank you!" Dinky yelled as she ran not only out of the kitchen but out of the house.

"Well, that was nice of you." He said giving her a smile.

"You didn't think I wouldn't at least come with you to the door after another headache no matter what you said?" Derpy asked making him give a sigh.

"Hey, I wanted to walk him by myself!" Lyra complained.

At that, the two mares helped him get dressed, though it was really unnecessary, but they insisted on it. Though the only part he needed help with was his shirt and vest and that was mostly because he still found it difficult with his wings. After he let them look him over and gave him a few compliments, though he could have done without Lyra's teasing, they started their way to the Community Center.

"I heard that Joc was in the line up this year," Lyra said making him roll his eyes and Derpy gave a little aww.

"That guy is with a different mare every week." He muttered.

"You're one to talk mister I have three marefriends!" Lyra said sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, but at least I'm consistent." He said sticking his tongue back at her.

"Hey now, if you two wanted to Prench kiss then you should have done it before we left," Derpy said making all three of them bust out laughing.

Though they were starting to get close to the center so they managed to calm themselves down. Once they got to the door the two mares gave him a kiss on the cheek before going off to do something to pass the time. Granted once he stepped inside he wished that they would have come in with him.

"There you are! It's almost time for the rehearsal, and don't forget that you're the main event for tomorrow!" Rarity said, but the tone she said it in made him give a gulp.

"This is going to be a long hour." He mumbled.

"Please don't make that face tomorrow. We are raising money for the school this year, and I need all of the bachelors to look their absolute best!" Rarity said and then started to push him to the stage area where all the other stallions were waiting.

It was, in fact, a very long hour as in it turned into a two and a half hours but Rarity finally let them all go when she was satisfied. As he walked out of the doors he looked around to see if Derpy or Lyra was waiting but didn't see either of them. But he did see Tallia walking by with what looked like a baby harness with her egg strapped in it.

"Hey Tal! How are you doing?" He asked after walking up to her.

"I'm about as good as always, how bout yourself?" Talia asked. "Oh and you look nice, I heard you were one of the bachelors."

"Thanks and I'm doing pretty good," He answered.

"Ah, still thinking about what happened to you in Canterlot?" Tallia asked making him realize he had been rubbing his throat a little.

"Yeah, I guess I'm still a little paranoid about it." He replied moving his hand down to his side.

"Can't blame ya there," Tallia said. "But at least you're safe here, even if they haven't caught the guy yet."

"So to change the subject is Ginger still in the dog house?" He asked giving the griffon a little smile.

"Sure is, trying to steal my Ice Cream! Just because I laid the egg doesn't mean I still don't have my cravings!" Tallia yelled a little making him laugh a little which made her smile. "Well, at least I was able to put a smile on you. But I have to get going, I have all the house keys and I'm thinking about letting him back in tonight."

"Whew, I'm just glad that I'm not on your bad list right now." He said after he laughed a little more. "But alright, I'll see you around and tell Ginger he still owes me five bits!"

After that, he started to make his way back to his house thinking about taking some of Zecora's medicine she had given him. Though most of the bruising was gone it still felt a little raw and sore. The doctors said it would be for a little bit due to the force that had been applied.

He shook his head to make himself stop thinking about it for now and continued his walk. Though as a nice little breeze came through his wings started to ruffle a little, so he decided to fly a little bit. As he took off the ground he couldn't help but look at the sky, it was supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight.

According to Rainbow, it was going to be a big one at least in terms of thunder and lightning. Though it was only going to last for a few hours later tonight before the weather team pushed it along to the next team. The wind was already picking it up which allowed him to glide a bit further than he normally would have made it.

"I'm back!" He yelled as he entered the house a little out of breath.

"About time, I mean doesn't Rarity know that you guys have lives!" Lyra said popping out of her favorite seat to give him a hug.

"You know how she can get Lyra, besides all proceeds are going to the school this time," Derpy said after putting down a movie reel.

"Did you two just finish watching a movie?" He asked a little disappointed for missing out on it.

"Yeah, sorry but we decided to watch it and make a little date out of it. Kind of figured you'd be there longer than what we first thought." Lyra answered. "But don't worry, next time we'll let you watch it with us."

"So, what did you two end up picking though?" He asked a little curious, especially when their faces went a little red.

"It was one of those really cheezy romance movies based off the book our club just got through." Derpy was the one who answered making him give a little laugh.

"You mean the series with... Oh, what's his name? Fabio? Flabio?" This made the two mares crack up a little.

"Doesn't matter now, we made it through the entire movie," Lyra said taking a deep breath. "I mean I could barely stay interested in the book, but the movie takes it to a whole new level."

"I kind of liked it," Derpy muttered.

"Hey, we all have our own taste. Just can't believe Bulk Biceps was the one who suggested it." He said remembering the stallions first meeting was a little over two weeks after the book club had started.

"He may seem tough because of the muscles, but he can be really girly sometimes. Did you know he's scared of Butterflies?" Lyra said making him raise an eyebrow.

"You shouldn't be gossiping about that," Derpy said making the unicorn roll her eyes before receiving a poke to the side.

"Oww, that hurt a little," Lyra whined making him and Derpy give a little laugh.

"Maybe next time you just won't gossip about somepony's fear." He said giving her a kiss on the nose.

"Yeah, yeah but it's getting late I think it's time to hit the sack," Lyra said giving a yawn. "You staying the night Derpy?"

"No, even though Dinky is at a sleepover tonight I want to be home in the morning to make sure she makes it back okay," Derpy said making him give a little pout.

"I was looking forward to having both of you in my arms tonight." He said giving her his best sad eyes.

"I really want to but..." Derpy said before giving him a long kiss. "I need to get home to make sure everything is okay too, at least for the storm even if it'll only be a few hours."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then." He said quietly in her ear tracing his finger down her wing making her shiver.

"G-goodnight you two!" Derpy said before giving Lyra a little peck and left.

"So that leaves us all alone tonight," Lyra said giving a smirk. "Now let me help you get undressed."

"Don't start it Lyra, I'm exhausted and I need to take some of that syrup for my throat." He said giving the now pouting mare a pat on the head. "Maybe next time, and um, maybe we could find some private time for us."

"Hmm, that would be nice to feel those hands all over my body again. Though I guess they'll be over me tonight anyway." Lyra said turning to the hall where the bedroom was, and as she walked she turned her head and gave him a wink as she moved her tail just enough to give him a peek.

Almost instantly his wings stiffened making the mare give a little laugh before she went to the room. He let out a little groan of frustration as he had been feeling pent up a little, but knew he had to drink the syrup. Which drinking it would knock him out, so after he got his wings to loosen up he took off and folded his clothes.

He went into the bathroom and started to look in the medicine cabinet and brought out a half-full bottle of syrup for his throat. After taking the necessary amount his throat feeling almost instantly better, and he gave a big yawn. Going to the bedroom and opening the door he saw that Lyra had already fallen asleep.

Crawling into bed and wrapping his arms around the green unicorn he again let out a big yawn. Though he laid there for a little bit looking at the beautiful mare before him. She was his first real best friend here, not that he didn't appreciate Twilight and them, but it was felt good to get close to someone like that.

Now, look at where they were in their relationship, even if it did get really rocky there for a little bit. But he was grateful for everypony in his life from his friends to all three of his marefriends. He just couldn't help but feel like he was really lucky, and as he closed his eyes he gave the sleeping mare one more kiss.

"Aaahhh!" He had woken up in a cold sweat as thunder rumbled above.

"B-brandon you okay?" Lyra asked a little groggy but she had been woken up by him screaming.

"Y-yeah, fine just go back to sleep." He answered rubbing her head as she laid back down.

He waited until she was fully asleep again before he quietly got out of bed and went into the bathroom. This is the first time since he started taking the syrup that he was just woken up like that, this time he didn't even feel it was a nightmare that did it. But he couldn't figure it out until another loud thunder rolled across the sky after some lightning feeling as it shook the house a little making him flinch.

After that, it hit like a ton of bricks. the lightning and thunder were like it was when he fell from the sky. But why after so long did this fear come out? He had been through a couple of thunderstorms here throughout his time here, so why so suddenly was he scared of them now?

Then it once again hit him like a ton of bricks as he remembered how close it was until his one year anniversary of being here was. That had to have of been it because it was just him being stressed over it or something. But at the back of his mind, he knew that wasn't entirely true, even if he didn't know why.

"Brandon?" Lyra asked from the door.

"I-I'll be there in a minute!" He called trying to calm himself down, looking into the mirror. "Just get through tonight and tell her tomorrow."

He then opened up the door to see Lyra still a bit groggy but giving him a concerned look, and after reassuring her he was fine they went back to bed. After laying down another loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky and he put all of his strength into not reacting to it. As she went back to sleep he stayed awake for a little while wondering what was really bothering him.

Author's Note

Ah, it's so good to be back into writing again. Hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Truth

He woke up a little past eleven, which was past his normal waking up time but he figured Lyra let him sleep a little longer since what happened last night. Though he still found odd that he had been there almost a year and somehow that triggered some kind of fear to a thunderstorm. But it was the only explanation that he could come up with.

"Oh, finally awake?" Lyra popped her head through the door giving him a little concerned look.

"Yeah, and hey about last night..." He started but Lyra cut him off.

"I understand, it's almost been an entire year since you came here. After being dropped out of the sky in a big storm like that probably left more of an impact than what anypony thought." She said as she entered with some breakfast.

"Thanks, and I'm sorry if I did make you worried." As he said that he could see her shake her head.

"Nah, with you I'm used to it. Besides, you seemed to of handled it pretty good last night, except for when you squeezed me a little hard when you were trying to act like the thunder didn't bother you." This made him look down to avoid her gaze. "But you can squeeze me like that anytime, just like I'll squeeze you."

"Ha, and thanks for the breakfast." He said taking a bite of toast.

"No probs, you ready for the auction later?" She asked as he took a few more bites.

"Yeah, but you sure you're okay with me doing this? You aren't going to get jealous are you?" He gave a laugh as she swatted him with her hoof.

"Please, you have two other marefriends and one is even a Princess." She gave him another playful swat.

"If you say so, but you know we do have a little bit of time before I have to get ready." He said putting his plate on the nightstand, making Lyra giggle a little.

"Oh, and what do you want to do to pass the time?" She asked leaning in for a kiss, though just as their lips met they heard the front door open and Derpy call out.

"Shit, maybe next time then?" He said giving a laugh as Lyra's expression turned into showing a little of her frustration.

"Yeah, next time." She muttered before calling back to Derpy. "We're in the bedroom!"

"You two decide to be lazy or something today?" Derpy asked as she entered the room, but paused when she saw what kind of position they were in. "Oh, a-am I interrupting?"

"No, but he did get a little freaked last night during the storm," Lyra answered and moved to sit next to him.

"Make's sense, after how he arrived and all," Derpy said. "Guess that the anniversary thing is bothering you a bit more than what we thought huh?"

"That's what I pretty much told him," Lyra said.

"Hey, it crossed my mind to you know? But did Dinky make it back okay?" He asked making Lyra roll her eyes a little.

"Yup, but don't you need to do some stuff before you get ready for later?" Derpy asked making his eyes go wide a little.

"Oh shit! I forgot that the Town Hall closes early today!" He yelled as he jumped out of bed.

"Can't believe he nearly forgot about that, I mean he's been talking about becoming a foster parent for Grace for a minute now. Did he even fill the paperwork out yet?" Lyra asked making Derpy give a nod.

"Yup, well I did a fair bit of it last night," Derpy answered making Lyra give the grey mare a suspicious look.

"So that's why you didn't stay! But why did he want to turn them in so fast after only just getting them yesterday? I mean it'll still take a little while before his application get's processed." Lyra said.

"That's exactly why Lyra," Derpy gave the unicorn a roll of her eyes. "Now, about what I interrupted..."

"Eh, if you would have waited for a little bit then yeah we would have been doing it right now," Lyra said giving the grey mare a sexy look before laughing as the mares face turned red. "But you are right, the foster thing is more important."

As he rushed around he forced himself to take a second to calm down reminding himself he still had the time. When he found the papers he couldn't help but groan as he remembered he barely even started on them yesterday. Though as he sat down to try to get through all of it he found that somepony had already filled them out, and when he looked them over more closely he recognized Derpy's writing and couldn't but give a huge smile.

"Did you...Mmmmmph!" Derpy managed as she was practically picked up off of her hooves and pushed against the wall in a passionate kiss.

"Hey now, let her catch her breath!" Lyra said giving a laugh as she came into the room, making him break the kiss.

"Thank you, Derpy," He said letting her back down, though she was a little out of breath now.

"Y-you're very welcome," Derpy said still a little surprised. "I-if I would have known you would have kissed me like that I would have told you what I was doing last night."

"Well, it means a lot to me, thank you." He said again giving her another kiss. "I'll go turn these in, I'll be back soon!"

"Bye and love you!" Lyra called giving a little jealous look at Derpy as he ran out the door.

"Sorry, he just seemed so excited," Derpy said giving a shrug.

"It's fine, I got him this morning. But are you still wondering why this is so important to him?" At that Derpy gave a little nod and Lyra gave a little sigh.

"Wait, if you knew why this was important to him then why did you ask why he wanted to turn them in so soon?" Derpy asked.

"Because it really shouldn't be me to tell you. But I know he won't mind," Lyra gave another sigh and as Derpy looked at the unicorn she saw whatever it was it was bothering her a little.

"It's about his nightmares isn't it?" Derpy asked making Lyra give a nod.

"Mainly about one that's been reoccurring. It's not the most pleasant of ones, but most of his nightmares aren't that pleasant." Lyra shuddered at remembering which one it was.

"I-I see, but you know you don't have to tell me because I sense that it's bothering so much," Derpy said gently rubbing a hoof on one of the unicorns cheeks.

"Yeah, I know and like I said I know he wouldn't mind me telling you, and the reason why he hasn't gone into too much detail with you is that you know..." At that Derpy gave a nod and a sigh.

"Still afraid of that huh? Not that I can't blame him since it's hard to get over fears." Derpy said. "But I still want to help in any way I can."

"Just don't say I didn't warn you," Lyra said walking over to the couch and patting the seat for Derpy to come over.

Though Lyra knew that Derpy knew just how bad his nightmares can be at least from how he reacted in his sleep, but actually hearing them in detail was another thing. After the two sat down she began telling the Pegasus of the particular nightmare that made Brandon want to be a foster parent for Grace. As she started to get to what happened in it of what he had remembered she could see a look of shock on the grey mare's face.

"...and he still sometimes sees the little girls eyes staring at him when he closes his eyes." Lyra finished now looking at the table in front of them.

"T-that's..." Derpy started but couldn't finish.

"I know, it's been hard for him." Lyra took a deep breath.

"B-but these are just nightmares right?" Derpy asked though Lyra shook her head.

"Luna explained it a bit and it's also why she had trouble getting into his dreams when he first started having them. It's because of the fact that most dreams and nightmares are like fictional story's. Stuff that you deep down inside either want to happen or just stuff that you're scared about.

But there are these different kinds of nightmares that are very rare. You see how Luna described these is that when a pony goes through a traumatic event, and even when the pony suffers from amnesia or just blocked out what happened to them the memories can manifest in different ways." Lyra said making Derpy's eyes go a little wide.

Lyra knew that Derpy had figured it out and didn't say anything else about it and the two sat there in silence. Though Lyra had a nagging fear that she made a mistake in telling the Pegasus. But somepony would have to tell her eventually even if the mailmare wouldn't see him the same way again.

"A-at least I understand it now, why he wanted to foster Grace after none of her family claimed her, and why his nightmares always seemed to make him through a fit in his sleep," Derpy said breaking the ice. "Oh, poor Brandon. It must be hard to remember even fragments of what happened."

"Yeah, just please promise that it won't you know..." Though Lyra stopped as Derpy gave her a hard glare.

"You think this made me see him differently? At least in a bad way?" Derpy asked making Lyra regret she even had the thought. "No, I love him just as much as you or Luna. My heart breaks for what he has to carry with him!"

"Derpy, I-I'm sorry for even..." Lyra started folding her ears back in guilt.

"I know but I'm just more frustrated that none of you ever told me any of this!" Derpy yelled a little but she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. "But you guys were just trying to protect me in a way huh? I mean that is a hard pill to swallow knowing he was involved with something like that, but it doesn't change how I feel."

"I'm glad to hear that." Both mares jumped at the sound of his voice making both of them look at him in surprise. "Before you ask, I've been here before Lyra finished explaining about my nightmares."

"B-brandon I'm sorry, I know you wanted to tell her..." He raised his hand and gave Lyra a little pat on the head.

"You handled it better than what I would of, even if you did mess it up a little towards the end there." He then turned his gaze to Derpy, who he could see was fighting back some tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what they were about, but they just..."

He couldn't finish as now he couldn't meet her gaze as a little rush of guilt ran through him. While he did tell her about some of the nightmares he could never bring himself to tell the mailmare about the bigger ones. Not out of fear for losing her but he had a tough time even telling Lyra about them, and Luna had been in some of them so he didn't have to tell her in detail what they were about.

"S-so this thing with Grace, is it because of the little girl in your dreams?" Derpy asked breaking the silence making him give her a hard look.

"I will admit that it a big part of it, but it's not to try to redeem what I did or didn't do. That is done with and while it still haunts me I have made peace with it if even just a little. But I want to protect that filly like I couldn't protect that girl. I want to give her a home, a place where she can be loved. She deserves that much after all she has been through!" He couldn't help but yell a little.

Though he soon felt a hoof on his cheek and as he breathed a little heavy as he started to calm down he saw Derpy giving him a comforting smile. He looked away from her eyes out of guilt and dropped to his hands and knees. The weight of all his guilt and fears that the nightmares had brought weighed heavy on him in full at that moment.

"Brandon, I love you and I can understand how hard it must be to talk about this, even to Lyra I bet it was difficult for you. I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of not caring about Grace because I know you. I know you care about everypony who comes into your life.

If I'm telling the truth, I don't even care that you didn't tell me. I mean everpony has some secrets even from those closes to them. I do believe that you want what's best for her, to protect her. I can even see that you might also have other reason for wanting to foster her especially after dealing with her family. While I understand it, it does make me mad.

While I wasn't as close of a friend to you like Lyra by a long run, nor can I dream walk like Luna, I still want to know what's bothering you. Try to take some of the weight off of your shoulder, for no pony no matter how strong should never shoulder such burdens by themselves." At that Derpy put a hoof under his chin to lift his head up to give him a gentle kiss.

As she broke the kiss he kept looking into her beautiful eyes seeing a little anger but mostly compassion and love. It took everything he had not to fully break down and he could tell that the two mares could sense it. Lyra wrapped her front legs around him from the back and rested her head on one should, and Derpy did the same from the front and they stayed like that until they heard a knock at the door.

"Let's ignore them," Lyra whispered.

"Is anypony home? Rarity sent me with a message about the auction!" They heard Spike call making the three of them give a collective sigh as they composed themselves.

"Coming!" He replied with a little bit of a shaky voice as he managed to get up and go to the door.

"Oh, sorry did I interrupt something?" Spike asked as Brandon opened the door.

"Just, talking about the past and how it leads to the future from time to time." He answered giving a weak smile.

"Alright, sorry about this and here's that message. I'll, um, let you guys get back to talking." Spike said and took off as fast as his little legs could carry him.

He shut the door letting out a little sigh as he felt the two mares looking at him to see if he would break down. Taking a deep breath he turned to meet their eyes and then went to go sit down on the couch. He fiddled with the scroll for a bit before the two of them joined him.

"Hey, listen, Brandon, if you aren't feeling up to do this we'll just donate some bits to the auction and you can just stay home," Derpy suggested making him give a sigh.

"I-I'm fine really, and thanks." He said wrapping one of her hooves in his hand, and one of Lyra's in the other. "Without you girls, and this includes Luna too, I don't think I would have made it this long. You three gave me something to live for, just as becoming a foster parent for Grace. It gives me something to look forward to. But I love all three of you with every bit of me."

"I could say the same thing about you," Lyra said giving him a nuzzle, and Derpy leaned in on the other side. "But, what does the message say?"

He rolled his eyes at the unicorn for ruining the moment, but he forced himself to let go of each of their hooves and picked the scroll back up. As he opened it he couldn't help but grumble a bit as he just about instantly stood up. The two mares gave him a questioning look.

"She wants all the bachelors to come extra early for final preparations." He grumbled as he made his way to the room to start getting ready. "And again, it may hurt but I'm fine as long as I have you all by my side."

At that, he went into the bedroom leaving the two mares sitting there in silence. Though they looked at each other and an understanding passed between them, an unspoken plan formed. It wasn't long before he came back out with a slight look of embarrassment on his face as he was carrying his dress shirt and vest for tonight.

"Um, w-would you two mind..." He didn't have to finish as both mares gave a laugh and got up to help him.

"You know like I keep saying you are looking really good when you don't have a shirt on." Lyra once again began her teasing, which seemed to dissolve a fair bit of the awkwardness.

"Thanks, you're too kind," He joked back which made the green mare give a little smile. "A-and Derpy, again I really didn't mean to hide all of this from you."

"I know like I said everpony has a right to keep some secrets. Just remember, I want to be as close to you as Lyra and Luna." Derpy whispered the last part in his ear making him give a little shiver as he also felt her hoof trace one of his wings.

"Um, uh, w-well thanks for helping me again. I guess I'll see you two later?" He asked making the two mares nod their heads in agreement.

Author's Note

Happy Easter, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Auction

As he began to walk he couldn't help but still feel the heaviness from his talk even after they had tried their best. Though he did feel a bit of relief knowing that Derpy now had knowledge of some of his darker fragments of memories. Granted he has been regaining whole memories for a good minute now but most were of when he was younger, which he couldn't complain about since it seemed that his adult life wasn't all that great.

He remembered how he and his used to always play games together, though his brother was a lot more social than he was. So eventually his brother started to hang with his friends and he stayed playing the games. But he also remembered that was just how he was back then.

Then there were the times when his mom had started to teach him how to cook and how he even eventually taught her a few things he picked up by himself. He really couldn't remember his father all too much but he really didn't feel as if he was sad about it. Though he did remember his neighbor who always came and hung out with him and even played games with him.

He couldn't help but remember how that neighbor had always brought a smile to everyone he met. Which was why when he was diagnosed and eventually killed by cancer, the whole town seemed to grow darker. It did get better but things just hadn't been the same, but despite how painful it must have been even on his deathbed he could still make you laugh.

In a way, Pinkie actually reminded him of that neighbor which only made his friendship with the crazy mare stronger. Though he did miss that neighbor deeply he couldn't exactly remember his name. From what he could remember it was Robin something or the other.

These memories of his time growing up did give him a sense of peace as he didn't feel like a stranger to himself anymore or at least not as much as he did when he first woke up. But he quickly came out of memory lane, or at least the pieces he could see, as the Community Center came into view. Though it was still pretty early he could see a huge line at the door.

"Psstt, Brandon this way!" He heard and as he turned his head he saw Rarity in some kind of get up waving him into an alley.

"Rarity, what are you doing?" He asked as he went into the alley.

"Trying to get all the bachelors in without anypony noticing. Now follow me, darling, before anypony follows!" Rarity said walking further into the alley making him follow.

"So are we just gonna sneak around back or something?" He asked.

"It's more of the something, you see as you know the Community Center acts like a tornado shelter. It has a basement with an underground passage just in case the building itself was compromised. While this passage usually is only restricted for emergencies the mayor agreed to let me take the bachelors through so not to make a scene at the front door." Rarity explained.

"So how many have shown up so far?" He asked though they stopped at a basement doorway in the middle of the alley. "Also, this can't be safe if this is supposed to be an emergency exit."

"First you're the last one to show up, though that's because Spike can become easily distracted sometimes. As for the door, it's enchanted to move around." Rarity answered opening said door before walking in.

"Guess that makes sense in a way." Though he couldn't help but wonder how complex the spell must have been since that would mean not only the door being moved but the tunnel as well.

He climbed his way down the stairs and followed Rarity though they only made a little small talk. Though he had grown to like Rarity, he and she weren't that close of friends. But he was always grateful for her generosity since she was the only fashion pony who makes his winter clothes.

"What are these final preparations though?" He finally asked.

"I know it must have been inconvenient especially with what Spike told me. I really do hate to be the one that ruins a romantic moment, but I just needed you all here to run through the events one last time." At that, he gave a slight glare to the unicorn. "Also I needed help making and setting the refreshments out."

"Should have said that first, you know." He grumbled as they finally reached the end of what seemed like a never-ending hallway.

As they came into the basement and then made their way upstairs he saw the other stallions standing around chatting. Rarity then started to give them instructions on what she wanted each group to do. He had been put on making lemon aid with three others, and as they were doing it he couldn't help but go over every event for tonight.

First would be the meet and greet which allowed both mares and stallions to meet the bachelors, though the programs made sure to let them know what each bachelor was into. That part of the night allowed the bidders to pick who they wanted to bid on and to eat, also it let ponies place bids ahead of the main event.

Then came a special performance by Saphire Shores who would do her latest hits from her new album. This would allow the bachelors to get backstage and relax for a moment. After the little concert was when the main event started of course.

Rarity would give a little introduction speech and then have the bachelors come out one at a time and went over their likes and dislikes, and general descriptions. Then of course auction that stallion off which he and the others kept making a joke about how she was pimping them off. Though her get up may have had something to do with those jokes.

"Mmmm, this lemon aid is absolutely divine darlings! Not too sweet or sour!" Rarity said as she took a sip.

"That was Lemon Grabs doing, so all thanks go to him." One of the others said and they all nodded in agreement.

"Well, either way, you all are doing a magnificent job! We'll be doing a quick run through in about fifteen, so please have a glass yourselves and relax a bit." As she left they each got a glass and started to make some small talk.

He actually felt pretty good so far about everything and even liked finally hanging out with other guys for a change. Since his selection of male friends was limited and all, not that he didn't like to hang with Spike and Big Mac but it felt nice to talk to other guys. They asked him some standard questions, and some he didn't really answer.

Though it wasn't long before Rarity called them up for the final run through, and since he was the main event of the main event he was last in line. Rarity had each stallion pose differently while she talked about them and made a few jokes about each of them. The poses she had them do was to show off something special each stallion had, like their muscles or their charm.

It wasn't long before the final run-through was finished and they all went to sit down for a bit before the doors were opened. Though Rarity made sure to go around reminding all of them that when they did open the doors that they had to be attentive and even flirty. As since there were open donations and also it may help start a bidding war.

"Alright everypony, it's almost six thirty and you know what that means!" Rarity said through the microphone making them all stand up aligning themselves in rows on either side of the doors.

As Rarity unlocked the doors and opened them she greeted the line of ponies, and even some other creatures, and invited them in. When the line started to move inside all the bachelors bowed and welcomed them. Soon the party was started and with a quartet band playing classical music in the background, though he wondered how long they were there.

He soon started to mingle with the crowd a bit and tried his best to be flirty but he came off as more corny than anything. But it did seem to make a few mares laugh and even flirt back, and the more comfortable he felt the bigger the crowd he seemed to draw. Though Rarity had hidden his wings with a spell he couldn't help but to accidentally bump into somepony's.

Granted some of them took it as him flirting since every now and again his wings would brush up against the side of their flanks, and since his wings were hidden at the moment they thought it was his hands. Soon though he saw Lyra and Derpy, but Rarity made it clear that they couldn't act like a herd during the event since that might drive away some bidders.

"Hey, you looking really good and I can see some stares from a lot of the mares and from what I've been hearing you've apparently been grabbing some flanks," Lyra said walking over. "Might even put a bid in my self you know, and before I forget Luna sent a message and she won't be back until tomorrow."

"Alright thanks for the message, now can I get you any refreshment madame?" He asked bowing courteously making her give a slight giggle.

"Oh, well since you asked so nicely and all!" Lyra said putting a hoof on his chest in a flirty way, and at first, he thought that she blew it but as he looked around he could see some jealous looks.

"As you wish," He said before heading to the table and getting her something to drink, which after that they went their ways.

After that, quite a few of the mares came over and talked to him and he decided to just drop the fake flirty stuff since it wasn't working for him. He just started to relax and be himself which made things a lot easier for him. It certainly made him get a few laughs in a good way with some of his bad jokes.

It wasn't long before Rarity told everpony that the concert was going to start in ten minutes and reminded them about the open donations. Though as he started to make his way towards the stage area, he decided to talk to a mare who seemed to have been staring at him all night. As he approached the mare he could see a slight blush form, and as he looked at the mare she was an earth pony with a golden mane and a light purple coat.

"How are you enjoying yourself so far?" He asked giving the mare a little smile.

"It's been fun, and I'm sorry for staring and just not coming up to you to talk but you seemed a little busy." The mare answered.

"Well, I'm not busy right now but first may I know your name?" He asked making the mare give a cute little squeak.

"I'm so sorry, I'm Golden Lox! Though I already know who you are, and I know you have to get going soon but I'm glad to at least give you my name." Golden said making him remember a few fairy tales from his world.

"The pleasure has been all mine, and I look forward to seeing if you win a date." He gave the mare a wink making her blush again before he again started his way to the stage, but out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw Bon Bon.

Quickly shaking his head after turning to make sure he figured it was somepony else and went to sit at the stairs before the show started. Though as he looked out at the crowd he couldn't believe how many ponies were there. But he narrowed in on Applejack who was walking towards him.

"Hey Aj, you look very nice tonight," He said making the mare blush a little before talking.

"Listen, Brandon, about me avoiding..." He raised his hand to stop her.

"Can this wait until after the auction?" He couldn't help but ask not really feeling like going down that rabbit hole again.

"No, it can't because I wanted you to now that I aim to win tonight." Applejack said making him give her a crazy look since he wasn't expecting that, after all this time he thought she honestly didn't have feelings for him.

"Applejack why are you saying this now after all this time?" He asked as he felt his feelings start to get all mixed up about the situation, had Bon Bon been right and all the attention he got made her jealous?

"Because this was my plan that I came up with after I thought about how I felt. I really am sorry I didn't tell you sooner and made you think I didn't like you like that, but I wanted to at least try to win you tonight. I know you must be all mixed up right now and this probably ruined your mojo or whatever, but I do intend to win." Applejack said giving a blush and putting a hoof on his hand, and before he could say anything else she left.

At that, the other bachelors seemed to be making their way to the backstage and he realized that the concert was about to start. He shook off his shock and he couldn't help but give a huge smile as he walked backstage. Soon Saphire and her dancers were on stage performing, and they had a great view.

It wasn't long before she had finished her set and made her way backstage, and as she passed by she brushed by him giving him a little wink and mouthed she'll be biding to. Though his attention was drawn back to the stage when Rarity began to speak. The speech was pretty much your typical thank you for coming and now here's the main event speech.

As she started to call each stallion up and the stallion took up the poses she began to tell the audience about them like in rehearsal. The first stallion ended up with a final bid of two hundred and thirty-five bits. As the night continued, most stallions getting between a hundred to two hundred bits each, there were a few who got more or less of course.

"...and now ladies and gentlecolts it's time for the main event! Remember this is your last chance to win a date, now please put your hooves together for Brandon!" At that, he took the stage and posed like how Rarity told him to as the spell on his wings went away making the crowd oh and aw at the sight of them. "Now let me tell you a little about our one and only human!

He is looking for a mare tonight, so sorry for all those stallions out there! But he has been here in Equestria for just under a year now and let me tell you if you couldn't tell by now he leaves quite the impression just by looking at him!" He changed poses spreading his wings out to their fullest.

Rarity went into a few other details of course since that's what he expected, but what he didn't expect was when he felt a tug on his shirt and vest making them fall apart at the seems. This caught him by surprise a bit but he managed to keep his cool and flexed a little showing what muscle he had. But he couldn't help but be a little mad at Rarity for pulling this stunt.

"Now before we start, like before we had a few silent bids and we'll start from the highest bid from the sheet! Which let's see here..." Rarity looked at the sheet her eyes going a little wide and gained a little twinkle. "The highest bid so far is from number seventy-two who made a bid of three hundred and eighty bits! So does anypony want to let's say go for three ninety?"

It didn't take long before hooves were raised and the bits kept getting higher and higher it seemed, which did surprise him since he didn't think he made that much of an impression. Though since he was a unique creature could have something to do with it. Soon the bidding slowed down as mares were knocked out as the bid was now at seven hundred even.

"Seven hundred going once! Going twice!" Before Rarity could bang the gavel the last time a last-second bid came in.

"One thousand bits!" At that everypony was frozen with shock and confusion as to who said it until one of the helpers called out the number of the pony.

"Number twelve with the thousand bits!" The helper called out.

"A-all right, going once, twice, and gone!" Rarity said, though a little too excitedly. "And that concludes the annual Bachelor Auction! All winners please remain behind to pay your bits, and to allow the bachelors to meet their dates! In which time you can make an arrangement for said date."

At that, the room slowly emptied leaving the ponies who won along with a few stragglers, which he saw included Applejack and the rest of the six. As he looked he also saw Bon Bon walking out the door with her head hung low, but he couldn't see Lyra or Derpy anywhere.

"They said they were gonna head home and meet ya there." Applejack said as he walked up to the six friends, though as he looked at her number he knew she wasn't the one who won. "Yeah, I got dropped out a little earlier than what I thought I would."

"Huh, then I wonder who number twelve is?" Twilight asked as she looked around the room.

"That would be me," They all turned to see a dark blue mare with a red and white mane and tail, she was a unicorn who he couldn't help but think she was a little pretty. "My name is Sparkly Fountain, though my friends just call me Sparks and it looks like I'll be your date." The mare said giving him a wink.

Author's Note

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

Ruined Dessert

He looked the mare over more and he wondered if she just came into town just for the auction. But he couldn't help but meet her gaze and gave a shudder as he now realized one eye was bright green and the other red. Though now that he noticed he couldn't help but keep eye contact.

"Heh, looks like he finally noticed my eyes. Sorry for the surprise bid there but I couldn't help myself." Sparks said making him finally look away from her eyes.

"Huh, s-sorry for staring but you do have some pretty eyes." He said making her give a laugh.

"It's fine, also if you're wondering I came in to support my brother Lemon. I did hear that a strange creature was in the auction as well and that made me want to come even more just to see him up close." Sparks said looking him over. "I have to say when your shirt and vest fell into pieces I knew I had to at least get you on one date."

"Well, he's a very nice guy and it's nice to meet ya." Applejack said putting a hoof out, and Sparks shook with her.

"Yes it is nice to meet you and your brother is a very nice young man. But do you need help with anything?" Rarity asked.

"Hmm, no I already paid at the counter over there. Here's my receipt if you need it," Sparks said bringing a paper out of her saddlebag.

"It's fine darling, I just meant setting up the date." Rarity said making him give the white mare a little glare.

"Rarity isn't the bachelor and the winner supposed to set that up?" Twilight asked.

Though as some of his friends started to discuss this he met Sparks eyes and nodded his head over to get away from them for the moment. As the two snuck off he couldn't help but roll his eyes at how his friends as Twilight brought out a book, probably the rules for the auction. The two of them got a table that had just been cleaned up.

"Interesting group of friends, though I get the feeling the one with the hat likes you by the way she was staring," Sparks said. "But why do I get the feeling that they're a bit paranoid about me?"

"It's not necessarily you," He gave a sigh. "I've had a little bit of a rough year is all and they can be..."

"Overprotective?" Sparks said as he didn't want to say it but nodded. "I can understand that, I mean my little brother was in the auction and all. Though it's not a bad thing all things considering."

"Yeah, but anyway you won me for a date." He said making her give a smile.

"Yup, and don't worry the collection pony filled me in on the whole 'You have one week to make the date, and two weeks to fill in for the date.' speal." Sparks said.

"Did they also give you the list of places that they set up a deal with that we can make reservations?" He asked making her roll her eyes.

"Of course, but I'm just going to put this out there I am looking forward to our date," Sparks said giving him another look over.

"You know what you said about my shirt and vest reminds me that I need to have a talk with Rarity. But first, and not to sound like I'm trying to rush you or anything, but do you mind if we just picked a day and place?" He asked making her laugh.

"No problem, and I take it that your clothes coming off wasn't apart of your side of the plan. How about Saturday at six?" Sparks suggested making him give a smile.

"That sounds good to me, now what's on the list of places we can go?" He asked as she laid it on the table. "Hmm, how about Greedens? I heard they have the best tofu dishes around."

"Sounds good to me since I don't know my way around this town. I'll go let the counter pony know so they can get the reservation set up and I'll see you around." Sparks said giving him a wink and he couldn't help but give a sigh of relief.

As friendly as she seemed he got a feeling from her that didn't quite sit well with him, but he just figured he was being a bit paranoid like his friends a bit. Which made him look at them and he couldn't help but give a laugh as they were still looking at the book Twilight pulled out. He got up and as he got closer he started to hear saying something about how this section proved her right.

"So, you two come up with your date?" Applejack asked once he got there.

"Yup, how long were ya watching?" He asked.

"I learned how to tune them out a while ago, and I saw her give you another wink." That made him raise an eyebrow. "What? I ain't jealous, though I would like to ask you out."

"Applejack, I'm sorry but right now I think I need some time to think about it. You hurt me back then, even if I did say you could take your time it hurt. Especially when you kept avoiding it, I'm not mad just... mixed up about this right now. So please understand I'm not saying no." He said making her give a sad sigh but nodded in understanding.

"Alright Twilight, let's just get this over with..." Rarity looked up to see Sparks already at the counter.

"Wait, did you two already make a date?" Pinkie was the one who asked.

"Nice of you all to of noticed me and her sneak off and me coming back." He said rolling his eyes before cracking a smile.

"Oh, s-sorry about that we... I mean me and Rarity may have gotten a little carried away there." Twilight said putting the rule book back into her bag. "What did you guys decide?"

"We decided Saturday at around six, figured we go to Greedens." The six ponies all got that hungry look.

"I hope you have fun," Fluttershy said as she and Rainbow started to head to the door. "Bye, and we'll see you all later."

"C'ya!" Rainbow said holding the door.

"Well, I better go too. Spike will be waiting for me, bye!" Twilight said before teleporting.

At that, the rest of them said their byes as well and as he walked out the door he saw Sparks standing outside talking to Lemon. After returning a wave to her he continued on his way home and yet again getting the feeling the someone or something was watching him. But he didn't let it phase him as much since he knew that would only feed his fear and paranoia.

He couldn't stop thinking about Sparks and her different colored eyes and how hypnotic they seemed. Though as he continued his walk something still didn't feel quite right. But then again he has had some trust issues from before so maybe that was it?

As he looked up at his house he didn't see any lights on, but the closer he got he saw was looked like candlelight. He couldn't help but grow a little smile knowing that this was why they went home early. To prepare what he hoped was a nice little dinner, though he figured they had put it together as a way for them saying sorry for bringing up a painful part of his past.

Even though he would appreciate the offer it really wasn't necessary since they all talked it through pretty well earlier. But he couldn't help it as his stomach growled since he neglected to eat at the auction. About fifteen feet from the door he saw somepony peeking out the window.

"Lyra, Derpy I'm home!" He yelled as he went inside the candlelight room and be greeted by the two mares who were both giving him half-lidded stares.

"There you are, we made you dinner!" Lyra said as she levitated some conveniently placed plates behind the kitchen doorway.

"We also made you some dessert," Derpy said which despite the poor attempt of execution did make him raise an eyebrow.

"Sooo, what kind of dessert are we talking about?" He asked making at least Derpy seem a little more nervous.

"You'll have to finish your dinner first and then we'll give you the dessert," Lyra said making him give a little laugh.

"Alright, this does look extremely good!" His stomach growled again.

"See, told you he didn't eat anything!" Derpy said giving him a little smile.

As he sat down and started eating all of what was on his plate he stopped after a few bites and thanked the girls for such a good dinner and surprise. They ate and talked a little and he told them the results of who had won his date, and both of them looked at each other in surprise when he told them how many bits he had gone for. He made sure to tell them when his date was and where.

"She seems like a lovely mare," Derpy said giving him a little wink.

"Sounds like you actually might like her," Lyra said avoiding a smack laughing.

"Well, she was pretty and she had two different colored eyes that drew you to them." He said making the mares give him a look before giggling.

"Yup, I think he definitely likes her!" Derpy said making him groan a little.

"Oh shoot, I almost forgot tonight was my shift! I'll, um, see you guys later!" Lyra said in a hurry grabbing her lyre case leaving the two of them there, and Derpy had a worried look on her face.

"Hold on I'll help you!" Derpy said suddenly getting up and opening the door. "What are you doing? This wasn't the plan!"

"Don't worry, you'll do just fine! Love y' all!" At that Derpy turned her head to give him a smile as he gave her a little look of curiosity.

"You going to tell me what's going on?" He asked.

"I-I think I'm going to do the dishes!" Derpy said before grabbing the dishes on the table before walking into the kitchen making him shake his head.

He very well knew the plan, though he didn't expect Lyra to just bolt like that he figured that was to give him and Derpy some time alone. Getting up and going to the kitchen door he watched her as she started to rinse the dishes, once again getting into a rhythm as she started to hum. Like many times before his eyes always went to her plot which she swayed back and forth, swinging her tail a little giving him a little peek at her folds and he couldn't stop himself.

"Brandon!" Derpy yelled in surprise as he gently wrapped his arms around her giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You know how long I can watch you wash dishes, you swaying your hips and swinging your tail?" He asked as she let out a little moan as he kissed her on her neck and could feel another part of him press up against her.

"T-the r-r-ro... hmmm...om..." The grey mare moaned.

"Or how about right here? Because I don't think I can wait, you are too beautiful!" He said and she could feel him start to pull down his pants making her shiver as she felt his member rub against her flank a little though he stopped when they both heard a clanking sound. "Not again, not now!"

At that, the sink faucet exploded in a fountain of water dousing both of them in cold water making them both groan in frustration over. Though he quickly went underneath the sink to turn off the water, and as he turned around looking at a soaking wet Derpy. Both of them started to crack up.

"...heh, g-guess it wasn't meant to be tonight huh?" He said after calming down enough.

"G-guess not, but I was looking forward to my first time with you," Derpy said in a little bit of a sad tone making him reach out and give her a pat.

"Glad to hear that, but I don't think it'll be tonight got to clean this up and all." He said in a disappointed and a little frustrated tone.

Derpy went to go get towels and when she came back she handed him one to dry off and put the rest on the table. After nearly an hour of drying the floor and the cabinets, they heard the door open. Lyra came into the kitchen to see what they were doing on to shake her head.

"I swear the plumber isn't very good at his job!" Lyra grumbled making all three of them bust out laughing. "B-but at least it looks like you guys at least tried to do some fun stuff, but sorry Brandon no dessert for you tonight I guess."

"Aww, and I was looking forward to nibbling on a muffin!" At that Derpy turned completely red making both him and Lyra crack up again.

After that, Lyra told them to go sit by the fire and dry off a bit more while she took care of the rest of the mess. He and Derpy sat by the fire with an arm around her giving her a tight squeeze. Though they didn't get to go all the way they wouldn't have changed a thing about what happened.

"I hope you keep swaying your hips when you're washing dishes still, even if you have someone watching you." He said making her giggle.

"Why do you think I also swing my tail like I do?" Derpy said giggling a bit more as his face turned a little red before she kissed him on the cheek.

"Aww, mind if I join in?" Lyra said after putting the towels up in the dirty clothes.

"No problem here," He said waving her over.

As they all three sat in the fire just enjoying each others company he couldn't help but look at the two mares in his arms. Though he missed Luna he was happy to share this moment with these two. But he did wish him and Derpy could have had some fun together.

"Eep!" Derpy squeaked a little making Lyra look at her a little crazy.

"You alright over there?" Lyra asked.

"J-just fine!" Derpy answered looking at him as he gave a little smirk as he gave her butt another squeeze.

"Alright now, if you two want to continue where you left off from before the sink exploding then take it to the room!" Lyra said making both him and Derpy laugh again.

"I think I've had enough excitement for today, feel free to join me goodnight!" He said stretching his arms and yawning while heading to the room.

As he laid down after putting his own towel in the dirty clothes he heard the mares come in and either one of the laid on each side using his wings to cover them. They snuggled up to him as they laid there before they all three drifted to sleep. Granted he took just a bit longer as the day still played in his mind.

He was getting better at not waking them with his nightmares as his eyes shot right open. It was the same one that started with him in a trench that kept shifting into different scenes. Though he could somewhat remember a little bit more about the village, or at least the feeling that he was going to be killed if he hadn't helped round up the villagers.

But that was the only thing different that had changed about that nightmare, the rest was pretty much the same. He shook it out of his mind as best as he could and looked at the clock and he made out that it was only a few minutes past four. Laying his head back down and looking at who he knew was Lyra he gave her a peck on the nose making her scrunch up her nose which made her look adorable.

Once he woke up again it was about his normal time of waking up, which was about eight in the morning. Getting up he saw that only Derpy seemed to still be in bed with him. Though by the smell of things Lyra was cooking breakfast and it made his stomach growl.

"Morning," He said walking into the kitchen. "That smells great!"

"Thank you, and morning. Is Derpy still asleep?" Lyra asked and he nodded. "Good thing she got the day off today, and hey I really am sorry about last night. The plumber said it was fixed..."

"Lyra, we had fun and that's all that matters. Granted we were a little frustrated because things just got going, but at least we weren't in the middle of it when the sink exploded." He said making the unicorn laugh.

"So about that Sparks girl, do you like her?" Lyra asked making him raise an eyebrow. "I mean I know we talked about it, and I teased you about it but seriously do you like her?"

"Well, she is pretty and her eyes are stunning. As far as me being attracted to her then yeah, but we'll have to see how the date goes." He said as a plate was put in front of him.

"Did you talk to Applejack?" At that, he gave a sigh and rubbed his temples.

"I really didn't expect her to admit her feelings like that, especially seemingly so casual. But I told her that I needed time now to sort my feelings out." He gave a scoff as the hypocrisy wasn't lost on him.

"You know it's not your fault right? She brought this on herself for taking so long. But what are you going to do?" Lyra asked.

"I'm going to give her an answer, and as much as I hate to say it but I still have feelings for her despite the awkwardness between us these past few weeks. But I am going to wait until after my date on Saturday which isn't that far away now that I think about it." He said looking at the calendar on the fridge to see it was Thursday.

"Hmm, it smells good in here. What you are guys talking about?" Derpy asked as she walked in with a yawn.

"Thanks the smell is my doing, and we just beginning to talk about his date in a couple of days," Lyra said as the grey mare grabbed her mug and filled it with coffee.

As Derpy sat down at the table and they all three began to eat the two mares resumed their teasing of him. Though he did get in a few quick jabs he couldn't help the smile growing on his face. They threw away the paper plates away since they had to wait for the plumber to come to fix the sink, but while they waited he suggested they do their reading for the book club.

Author's Note

Ah, don't you just love bad plumbing jobs? No, just me? Alright, hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A New Addition

As they read he couldn't help but look at the two mares who were reading silently. Once he looked at Derpy his heart gave an extra thump thinking about last night and how he would have taken her. But a knock at the door reminded him of what time it was and he got up to answer the door.

"You called for a plumber?" A mare asked as he answered the door.

"Yup, just hope you do a better job than the last guy." He said waving her in, making the other two mares look up from their books.

"Ah, you must have called Rusty. That's how he gets you, tries to guarantee you'll hire him again. But first I got to see the sink to see if he didn't rig it even more." The plumbing mare said. "Names Leak, and trust me any time I go on a boat my friends always tease me about it."

"I could see that, and it's in the kitchen." He said leading her the way.

"Hmm, looks easy from first glance but never now with Rusty. I'm also going to have to look around at the rest of the plumbing since you the message said that this happened a few times before. I know for a fact that Rusty worked on this house before which again explains it." Leak said making him raise an eyebrow.

"How much is this going to cost?" Derpy asked coming into the kitchen.

"Hmm, depends on if it's just old plumbing not being able to handle the pressure or if it was tampered with. If it's just old or bad plumbing then you're looking at about three hundred and fifty bits. Now if it's tampered with, after a little investigation, you can claim it on your insurance." At that, he was a little confused.

"So my insurance won't cover the cost if it's just bad plumbing?" He asked.

"Well, I would have to double check your insurance information but you should be able to. Sorry if I got a little ahead of myself there." Leak said as she sat down her tool bag. "Now if you'll excuse me I'll get to work, I'll let y' all know when I'm done."

"At least we know not to call Rusty anymore," He said to Derpy as they walked out of the kitchen making her nod.

"How far along are you guys in the book?" Lyra asked when they came back.

"Well, I finished what we were supposed to read and I was just rereading it." He said.

"I'm about a chapter away from finishing, why?" Derpy asked.

"So, that means both of you have read that part that really seems similar to what happened to you two last night?" Lyra couldn't help but give a smile as both he and Derpy rolled their eyes.

"It wasn't lost on us," He grumbled making Derpy nod.

"Ha, well I'm tired of reading, for now, I think I'm gonna play my lyre for a little while," Lyra said and slid her case out from under the couch.

As she began to play him and Derpy sat down and listened to which she gave them a little smile. They saw Leak go through the house looking at all the piping and hookups. The plumber finally stopped and came over to them to give them the verdict.

"Well, the good news is that all that was wrong was some of the pipes that lead to the kitchen faucet were the wrong kind. It's a simple fix and before you ask the pipes I'm talking about are enchanted to give the water pressure a boast, though the kind of enchantments I saw is usually only used in those power washing stations." Leaks said.

"No one tampered with anything then? Just somepony put up the wrong pipes?" He asked.

"Yup, which after looking over your insurance you'll be covered except for, and this is if my math is right, a twenty-bit cover fee." Leak said and he went to the table to grab his bag of bits.

"Here you go, and when do you think you can fix them?" He asked.

"I'll be over tomorrow. I temporarily fixed the faucet in there for you, it should last just don't let it run constantly until after the pipes have been replaced. Also, thanks for the business and I'll see you guys tomorrow!" At that Leak left.

After that Derpy went to go finish the dishes from last night since she didn't get a chance, and Lyra started to play her lyre again as he sat back down to listen. Though after a few more songs Lyra put her instrument down to take a break as Derpy finally returned from the kitchen. They all three sat in comfortable silence until the door opened.

"I'm back! And I brought a present!" Luna said giving the three of them a smile.

"What did you bring?" He was the first one up as he gave her a hug and kiss, though as he looked outside he grew a big smile. "What are you waiting out there for?"

"T-thanks for letting me come and stay here!" Grace said running through the door giving him a hug as he looked at Luna a little in confusion.

"No problem, so you have any luggage?" He asked making the filly nod.

"Well, why don't you grab it and I'll show you your room, but we weren't expecting this for at least another week," Derpy said helping Grace with a bag which seemed like the only thing she had.

"Alright, spill the beans now!" Lyra asked with a big smile making Luna give a slight blush.

"It's the reason why I stayed an extra night because Tia heard about you wanting to foster her. So my sister was kind enough to talk to the pony in charge and got a favor for us to take in Grace a little bit early." Luna said making him give a little bit of a shocked expression. "What do you expect? My sister has a kind heart when she wants to, and besides, she bought you this house in the first place."

"Got you there, but still you even seem a little surprised by this. But either way, I'm glad we could take her in because she's just so cute!" Lyra said and after that Derpy and Grace came back with Grace hopping around excitedly.

"I'm so glad to have my own room again! I mean the orphanage wasn't bad or anything, but I like a little bit of privacy!" This made all four of them laugh.

"We can understand that, so you like your room then?" He asked making the filly give him a tight hug this time.

"I love it! I mean Derpy said we could decorate it however I want!" Grace said going her wing flapping in excitement before she got a sad look. "I just wish mom and dad could have met you guys."

"I'm sure we would have become good friends with them," Luna said giving the filly a look of empathy as he put a hand on the filly's head to try to comfort her.

"Hey, how about Lyra plays a song just for you?" He suggested looking at Lyra who gave him a nod and smile before getting her lyre.

As he scooped up the filly surprising her and taking her over to the couch where he put her down next to him, with Derpy and Luna sitting down close by. Lyra once again began to play though this time her song had lyrics which were beautiful and uplifting. It was so uplifting that Derpy started to get happy tears, but he couldn't help but give a smile as he looked at Grace as she gave an amazed look at the lyre player as she scooted closer to him.

"Like the song?" He whispered making her nod her head never taking her eyes off of Lyra.

"Would you like to try to play?" Lyra asked making the fillies eyes go even wider. "Come sit by me and I'll teach you."

That made Grace give a little squeal of excitement as she went in a blur to sit by Lyra and seeing this just warmed his heart just as it did for all of them. Lyra began telling her some of the basics and made sure that the filly understood what she was saying. After that Lyra let Grace pluck at a couple of the strings and gently couched her how to play a basic song that all lyre players first learn.

"You're doing great, now if you do this..." Lyra instructed the filly on something as he looked away from the cute little scene he met eyes with Luna.

'Thank you,' He mouthed making the Alicorn nod her head.

"Oops, I-I'm sorry!" He heard Grace say and as he looked he saw one of the strings snapped.

'Oh, don't worry about it this happens a lot. You really are doing great, and this gives me a chance to go through on how to restring it." Lyra said giving the filly a rub on the head, which after that he spoke up.

"Hey, why don't we take a break and just go out to eat tonight to celebrate!" He said making them all nod in agreement.

After getting them all ready to go they started to make their way into town and wonder where they should eat. As they made their way they walked by Bon Bons making him remember last night. The group of them stopped to take a rest with Lyra, of course, sitting further away from the candy store.

"Hey, I'm gonna take care of something real fast okay?" He whispered in Lyra's ear making her nod, and he started to make his way to the candy store.

"Welcome to Bon Bons Sweet shop how may I help you today?" Bon Bon asked though her attention was focused on making salt water taffy.

"Hello to you to number seventy- two," He said making the earth pony jump and turn around.

"Brandon? H-how did you know that was me?" Bon Bon asked in shock.

"You just confirmed it, that and I saw you there. But this means me and you have a bit of a problem." This made the mare gulp in nervousness. "Now before that, could you whip up a mixed bag of candy?"

"Uh, s-sure no problem," Bon Bon said and started to put different candies into small bags before placing them in a bigger bag. "H-here you go, that'll be twenty bits."

"Thanks, and now about our problem." This made the mare avoid making eye contact. "You know I did think I made it clear to you that I don't like you like that. I know last night was a charity event and all, but you should have known better Bon Bon. I mean after what you did and all if you did win what do you think would happen?"

"I-I... didn't think..." At that, he spoke up again.

"You know for someone who always seems to at least think things through you don't. Not when it comes to things like this. Seriously Bon Bon, if you had won Lyra would come in here and by the sun who knows what she would have done. Not to mention this brings back bad memories of my own. Let me make it crystal clear right now, there is too much bad blood between us to have that kind of relationship.

Once upon a time, it could have been like that but not now. It would cause too much pain to boil up again, but I do think I know where your feeling stems from. Part of the blame goes to me on that part." He said making the mare give a confused look.

"Brandon, I-I've always felt..." The mare tried to say.

"No, you haven't Bon Bon! You made it clear several times when I was working for you, and you definitely made it clear after the lies you told! It hurt a lot of ponies, and forgiving you was hard for me to do!" He yelled making the mare flinch a bit as she heard all of the pain in his voice.

"I-I..." Bon Bon said trying to hold back a few tears.

"S-sorry, but that has been building up for a while now." He said giving the mare a bit of a hard look. "Look, I'm not trying to say that forgiving you was wrong or anything but I think that's where your feelings started from. Because you were hurt and still heartbroken, you needed somepony to latch onto to fill the hole. But it's not me, it can't be me that fills it in like I said too much bad blood and hurt."

"Y-you..." Bon Bon took a deep breath hanging her head in defeat. "I think you're right, a-and I'm sorry but I-I had to try even though I knew it would never happen. But know that you forgave me still means a lot to me, and I will never forget your kindness. Just know you can always come by and still grab some candy."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He said as he looked at the mare who now had a few tears going down her cheeks making him give a sigh. "But before I go, I do want to tell and show you something."

"R-really?" He nodded nodding his head to the window where both of them went to.

"Luna came home today and brought somepony with her." He pointed to the filly now on top of Luna laughing.

"I-is that Grace?" Bon Bon asked.

"Yeah, Celestia pulled a few strings with the foster agency and got them to let her stay with us earlier than expected." He said giving the scene of the three mares playing with the filly a smile.

"I-I think you'll make a great father you know? Like I-I said my door is open for you, and just have a good time okay? Make them happy and try not to let your jealousy get the better of you." Bon Bon said going back behind the counter.

"Thanks for the advice, and I am sorry it had to end like this. But at least we tried to patch things up right?" He asked making the mare give a weak smile and nod.

"You better go, I think they're waiting for you now." At that, he waved the mare goodbye as he went out the door, and when he looked he saw her flip the sign on her door to closed.

"I got some candy for later girls!" He said putting on a happy smile and at the mention of candy both Luna's and Grace eyes lit up, and they made their way to the restaurant area.

"She was at the auction last night wasn't she?" Lyra asked quietly, making him give a nod. "So I'm gonna guess she had been sending signals to you then?"

"Yeah, but don't worry I took care of it." He said giving her a little sad smile.

"I hope she's able to find somepony to help her heal right this time, and I hope she does find happiness with that pony. Just wish that when it comes to her following her heart she reads it better like how she used to be." Lyra said looking back with a sad look at the candy shop.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, and for now let's not focus on the past and instead live in the present." He said placing a hand on top of her head making her give a sigh.

"You're right, I mean look at us. Right now we all seem to be a happy little family." Lyra said as they came up to Derpy's house to pick up Dinky.

"Dinky, this is Grace." Derpy introduced the two fillies.

"Hi, looks like me and you are going to be sisters once moma and Brandon get married!" Dinky said shaking Grace's hoof, though her comment made both him and Derpy blush.

"Uh, h-hi and I think I would like that," Grace said with a bit of shyness, but to hear her say that brought a big smile to his face.

"Already feeling like a father are you?" Derpy asked giving a little giggle. "I know when I adopted Sparkler how it felt when she started to think of herself as a part of my family. I'm glad you'll to experience that feeling to if anypony deserves it it's you."

"Thanks, but we'll see how Grace is in a couple of months." He said giving the grey mare a hopeful smile. "Now, how about we all go eat!"

At that, the six of them decided to go to a buffet not too far away and as they walked he noticed that Dinky was making an effort to talk with Grace. After looking at the ponies around him he felt a peace come to him, he knew this is where he was meant to be. He took a breath and made a promise to himself at that moment, to not let whatever he remembered, no matter how bad let it haunt him and to let the past remain in the past and live in the present like how he told Lyra.

Author's Note

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

Invite To Dinner

As he walked towards the schoolhouse his mind kept wondering about this group and what they might be capable of. He very well knew about this group from when he had been jumped by the three stallions, which the others thought he had gotten lucky with that fight but he knew he had some fighting training from his world. Then there was his attacker who just been found dead in Manehatton.

Everything about this group made him wonder what lengths would they go to in order to kill or even hurt him. What if the next time they didn't target him but target somepony he cared about? He really couldn't handle it if they did do that and knowing it was his fault.

"I see the guard talked to you about your attacker,' He looked up to see Ginger.

"Yeah, but how did you know they found him?" He asked.

"A few rumors going around, especially about how and why the Investigation Unit of the guards was in town." Ginger answered.

"Hmm, alright but how's everything? Did you guys decide if you want to know what's in the egg?" He asked hoping to change the subject.

"Did Tallia not tell you? We decided to leave everything a secret for right now. Also from the look on your face before I came up, you seemed pretty worried about something. Is it about the rumors of that group?" The question made him nod. "Well, it makes sense but try not to think about it. Even if this group tried anything it wouldn't get through now, especially after last time. Heard they got rid of some guards who might have helped that stallion who attacked you."

"That's good to hear I guess, but I'm still worried about it. But can we please talk about something else so I won't drive myself crazy?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"Yup, mostly because I was headed over to your place anyways." This made him raise an eyebrow. "Tallia's parents are coming into town and were wanting to meet the local human."

"Huh, did you guys just find this out?" He asked making Ginger nod.

"Her parents are very busy, they are the leading Archeologist in their field after all. So Tal sent me to give you and your herd an invite, and could you talk to Derpy about bringing Dinky?" Ginger asked making him give a little smile.

"Sure can, though hope you have room for one more." This time Ginger raised an eyebrow. "No, I didn't get any of them pregnant if it's even possible. It's just that I put in some paperwork to foster a filly, and thanks to Celestia pulling some strings we got her earlier than expected."

"No way! Man, I'm so happy for you and I know Tallia is going to flip when she hears! But, does this filly knows you eat meat because Tallia is going to be cooking dinner, which is tonight by the way." Ginger said.

"No, haven't told her yet since yesterday was her first day here. As for the meat, remind Tallia to set up a few places in a different room, Lyra and Derpy can barely stand the smell of cooked meat let alone seeing somepony eat it." He said making Ginger give a nod.

"At least they accept that you eat meat and I'll pass it along. Just prepared because you think Tallia is bad sometimes, her father is a lot worse." Ginger said.

"Either way I'm looking forward to it, and I'm sure Dinky and Grace will adore your little filly. I better be going though got to pick up a permission slip and also start enrollment for Grace." He said starting to walk back to the school.

"Alright, I'll see you later then! Also, I love that name Grace, hope you enjoy being a dad I know I have!" Ginger said before heading back to his place.

As he was walking he appreciated the distraction of having something to look forward tonight as it gave him something to think about. He remembered Tallia's dad found what they believed was an ancient village that was made by humans. Which got him to think of questions he should ask the griffon, especially about the myths surrounding the humans that could have been here long ago.

He talked to Cheerilee and got the permission slip and enrollment papers and after thanking her after signing the permission slip, and promising to have the enrollment stuff in before long he made his way back home. Which by that time Grace and Dinky were back and the plumber must have come because the kitchen sink was running. After setting the enrollment papers down on the coffee table he called them all into the living room.

"So, we are invited to dinner at Ginger's and Tallia's tonight. Turns out her parent finally got some free time and wants to meet a real-life human." He said after they sat down.

"Are you going to be eating meat?" Derpy asked making him nod.

"What?! You eat meat?" Grace looked at him in surprise, though he felt she was asking more out of curiosity than anything.

"Yeah, I do and that's why I'm gaining a bit of muscle." He said making the filly give him a cute little smile.

"Well, that's okay by me! Hey Dinky, you want to go play with Daisy?" Grace asked and as the two fillies went to find the rat he called out.

"Be careful with her, she's still recovering from her cold!" He said. "Though didn't even know they could catch colds."

"Eh, what can ya do? So are we not going to talk about what happened?" Lyra asked.

"I'm looking forward to dinner," He said making it clear he didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to meeting the great Greyfor Acro and his wife Tiny," Luna said.

After that, Derpy helped him start filling out the enrollment papers while Luna and Lyra went to check on the fillies. As he worked he couldn't help but look at Derpy and saw her making a cute look as she concentrated. Though when she noticed him staring she stuck her tongue out, and he couldn't help himself but give her a kiss.

"Eeww, I think we're going to go back to Grace's room!" Dinky said before they ran off making the four of them give a laugh.

"Aw, to be young like that again," Luna said after they all calmed down. "But do you know what time we are supposed to head over to their house?"

"Well, next train won't be here for another thirty minutes now, if they took the train of course. So I guess we could at least start getting ready to go." He answered getting up. "Let's finish this enrollment stuff tomorrow."

They managed to get both fillies out of Grace's room with the promise that they'll get some pie for dessert. As they went out the door he once again felt a sense of peace as he looked at the group. It really was moments like this you had to cherish while you still have the chance, even as another headache came on he didn't let it show.

"Hey, Tallia I see them coming!" Ginger yelled as they came down the street.

"Yo, Gins what's been going on!" Lyra said once they came to the house.

"Just waiting for her parents now, just go inside and make yourselves comfortable. Hey girls, would you mind keeping an eye on Tiger Lilly for me?" Ginger asked Grace and Dinky, who the former nodded shyly while Dinky answered with a big old smile and yup. "They are cute little fillies you guys have you know? I'm sure they'll be good sisters if you guys ever get married."

"Ginger don't go and be teasing them! I'm sure they'll talk about that when they're nice and ready." Tallia said walking out the door. "It's good to see you all, and I'm really happy for you Brandon!"

At that, the Griffin insisted on giving him a hug and told him he would do a good job raising Grace. They went into the house to really talk and catch up a bit though he did ask Tallia if she knew about any of the myths about humans from here. She did but told him to wait until her dad gets there because if there was one thing he liked to talk about, it's those myths.

"Oh, by the way, Brandon are you interested in Griffons?" Tallia asked making him raise an eyebrow.

"Depends what you mean," He answered making Tallia give a little laugh.

"You know what I mean because I got this friend who'll be coming to visit around the same time as your one-year anniversary of being here party. I was hoping to see if you would be interested in taking her to the party as well?" Tallia asked as she dug out a picture. "Here's me and her at a dig from an old fishing village."

He took the picture and looked at it and he could see Tallia with a big smile as she had a claw around a mostly red feathered Griffin, who had a strip of darker red down her back. As he looked she seemed pretty to him as she smiled in the picture. As he gave the picture back he had to ask a few questions.

"She looks very pretty if you ask me, but why don't you guys take her if your old friends?" He asked.

"Well, me and her write and she asked me about you one time. After I sent her a picture of you and told her what you were like she couldn't get enough. I would appreciate if you gave her a chance," Tallia said.

"He would be glad to, it's written all over his face that he digs her. Besides, if you didn't notice his wings gave him away." Lyra said dodging a smack to the arm as she laughed.

"I would, but I'm not even sure if there's like a limit to how many you can have in a herd." He said still giving Lyra a little glare. "I mean she's pretty, but there's something I need to work out with somepony, and I have that date with Sparks and I want to see where that goes. Not to mention I already have to deal with these three nutballs."

"No rush, and to answer your question a mare or stallion can have up to eight if they so desired. Her name is Baron by the way, and I really do hope you mean that you do like her and will at least consider it." Tallia said.

"Can't believe you Tallia dear, trying to hook him up with Baron when we're waiting for your folks." Ginger said with a little smile.

"Shut it, or you'll be kicked out of bed again!" Tallia said making the couple give each other a smile before giving a little peck.

"I will think about it, and I'm looking forward to meeting her." He looked at the picture one last time before giving it back, he knew he already had his hands full with everything but Tallia and Ginger had been good friends so he wanted to give any friends of their a chance, even if it is going on a date with them.

"Talli! We're here!" At that, Tallia let out a small groan before answering the door. "Where's my granddaughter!"

"She's in her room playing with their foals," Tallia said pointing to the group.

"Fine, but I get to have extra time with her before I leave!" A Griffin who he assumed was Tiny came in and stopped in a bit of shock.

"You always get extra time with her before we leave dear, and hello there Brandon was it?" Another Griffin walked in who he knew was Greyfor, and by the way when he talked he sounded like he spent too much time in the desert without water.

"Nice to meet you guys, heard you were looking for me?" He said giving a joking smile.

"Heh, nice one but to be more specific we are looking for the remains of a species of human who is extinct. But you will do just fine for our research as you may shed light on what your early humans from your world were like." Greyfor made him feel like he was just cheap replica you would find in a gift shop.

"Stop being rude, who cares if he's not from this world? The point is he's here, and we are sooo glad you meet our daughter!" Tiny said giving Tallia a side hug.

"Seriously? I'm right here you know!" Ginger said though Tiny seemed to ignore him.

"The boy is right dear, she already made her choice." Listening to Greyfor really sounded like someone rubbing sandpaper together, though he didn't say it. "I am sorry, she can be stubborn at times. Now judging by your expression you look like you have questions, as do I. So, let's trade one for one?"

"Uh, sure let's do that," He answered.

"Wait, before you drill him let's have dinner, or at least be eating when you start," Tallia mumbled going into the kitchen and at that they heard their stomachs growl.

"Wait, then why don't I smell the meat?" Lyra asked.

"Since we live in town, we have a special stove and grill the absorbs the smell. It's actually quite easy to get them!" Ginger said going to the kitchen.

"That reminds me, I know you two have a little bit of a weak stomach to watching somepony eat meat so would you like to eat in the living room?" Tallia asked looking between Lyra and Derpy.

"Huh, always figured they were omnivores," He heard Greyfor say before the Griffin wrote something down.

"So, Greyfor can you tell me about the myths surrounding the humans who did live here?" He asked as they settled things.

"Only if you tell me about your world," Greyfor replied making him nod.

"Time to eat!" Tallia called and soon the two older fillies came in with the younger one riding on Dinky

They all went into the kitchen, Lyra and Derpy made their plates first and went to the living room. After explaining Dinky went in with them but Grace seemed a little curious to actually see somepony eat meat. As they all took spots around the kitchen table that's when the conversation really started.

"So, you want to know about the humans of our world? There isn't too much proof only a few drawings and a possible village was found. But what we do have is a good bit of stories that's been passed down from generation to generation in certain families.

You see that's where the connection really starts to make sense, as a lot of these stories that's been passed down all seem very similar to each other in a lot of ways. But what our family has found is that long before ponies officially claimed this land as Equestria it once belonged to humans. What many ponies don't know is how we know this is because there was one attempt before the three tribes came here in mass to colonize this land." Greyford said.

"Huh, so you think that's why certain families have stories because of that attempt?" Luna asked.

"We do, as we managed to actually find this attempt at a town. According to what we found there they were outsides in their kingdoms, exiles who decided to band together. Only like I said these lands were already claimed, at first these ponies thought they were just some kind of Monkey or Ape. But they learned quickly that these were no normal monkeys, they were vastly smarter.

You see from what we found in writings from this village it talks about how they were being attacked by them. It took a while from what we read and seen since they seemed to have been able to build several houses and shops. Again, according to the writings they were relentless.

But with the new discovery of a possible human tribe or village, we get to view a whole new side. We can't say for sure it was human-made but the way things were designed and after meeting you all give credence to the theory. From what we translated so far, it may not have been the humans who were necessarily in the wrong.

Resources were already tough to find for them, unlike ponies who thanks to magic and such could find said resources easily. According to these writings, this made the local humans upset since those resources were rare for them. To top it off the exiles refused to deal or trade with them at all." Greyfor said making everpony in the room go a little wide eye.

"Hmm, if true and these exiles had to leave because of how badly the humans were attacking and they went back to their kingdom they could have sought sanctuary. Integrated back into pony society with only their side of the story, and not all of it good. I wonder if Lyra is descendent from one of those families, but it does make me wonder what happened to the human tribes?" Luna asked.

"That is the question we've been trying to answer for a while now Princess. It could have been the ponies put a curse on the humans, or it could be that the ponies took the resources that they gathered to buy their way back into their kingdoms. Thus leaving the humans very little to none that they could find, or be able to get to without the help of ponies." It was Tiny who said that.

"Without those resources, whatever it might have been, they would have all...' He didn't finish since Grace seemed really interested.

"That's the main theory we're going with, but now tell me about your world and how humans are there. Maybe we can figure out more of how our humans thought with what you told us." Greyfor suggested.

"Alright, but just being clear there are good myths about the humans here right?" He asked.

"Yes, not all encounters with them were bad," Tiny answered.

At that, he started to tell them the history of his world and what they were like in ancient times. As he told them he really could tell Grace was taking an extra interest in what he was saying. The only time he was interrupted was when he had to eat.

Author's Note

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

The Date

After he finished telling them the history of his world he took extra note of when the Griffins wrote something down. He gave a sigh as quickly after the two Griffons told them that it was fun but they had to go. Giving Tallia and their grandchild hugs goodbye, and also giving the foal a little present they took off.

His group left soon after thanking Tallia and Ginger for the invite and that they'll see them later. It was clear that whatever happened to that first attempt to colonize Equestria didn't end well for either side. But it was something he wanted to put on the backburner for the moment.

"Brandon, me and your brother are fine. He's starting his new job today at the towers so I'll call you later okay?" His mom said, though what she didn't know was he was already back in town and wanted to surprise them.

"Yeah, call you later mom love you." He said as he hung up.

Deciding to take the long way by walking he couldn't help but feel happy at the moment, though he knew that wasn't going to last. After about two hours of navigating the city like jungle the towers loomed close by only another mile away. He knew what was going to happen but knew he couldn't look away as the base of one tower was blown up making it fall into the other.

No one moved as everything stood still until the next set of explosions went off in the second tower. His heart was racing as he knew he had to get there, had to pray that his mom and brother were out at lunch or something. Firefighters, ambulances, and cops all raced by as what was left of the towers were burning.

He screamed out for them as he woke up tears still falling and streaming as the nightmare, no the memory was burnt into his mind. To his surprise, neither Luna or Lyra seemed really react to him having the nightmare, the two were still in deep sleep. Tears still coming he went to the kitchen to get something to drink hoping it would calm him down.

Derpy took Dinky home after the dinner because Sparkler was going to pick her up first thing in the morning and they still had some stuff to do, it had something to do with some kind of sister competition. Though he knew he was just trying to avoid the memory.

As he sat down he knew that his only family members had been killed in some kind of accident with towers, but never had any memory of it until recently. The image of the towers exploding and knowing his mom and brother were inside had broken him or at least killed a part of him. There was one thing for certain, it was obviously no accident.

"B-brandon?" He turned to see Grace standing in the doorway, a confused look on her face.

"Hey, what are you doing up this late?" He asked trying to clean himself up a bit.

"I-I heard you crying, and when I looked out my door I saw you go into here," Grace answered making him give a sigh.

"Still doesn't answer my question, but come here." He waved for the filly to take the chair next to his.

"Did something make you sad?" Grace asked after taking her seat. "That's why I have nightmares because I miss mom and dad."

"I know, I'm sure they were good ponies. After all, they made you, didn't they?" He said giving the filly a boop on the nose making her scrunch it just a bit. "But yes, I did have a nightmare about losing my family as well."

"I-I hope it wasn't because of me..." He raised his hand to stop her.

"You had nothing to do with it, the doctors say my memories will come back like that sometimes. You want to know a secret?" Grace nodded and leaned in. "The reason why Lyra and Luna sleep with me is that I have nightmares all the time."

"Y-You do?" He nodded his head.

"Now I'm not saying just go find a random pony and sleep with them, it only works like that for me because I do it with the ones I love. It makes me feel a bit safer, and also it helps to talk to somepony about your nightmares." He said hoping that it at least had some kind of impact on the filly.

"O-Oh, so I don't have to if I don't want to right?" Grace asked as she looked down at the floor.

"No one is going to force you to talk about it. It's completely up to you and if you feel you can trust someone that much." He replied giving the filly a pat on the head.

"How did you lose your family?" Grace asked going straight at it making him give a sigh.

"It's difficult for me especially since you are so young still..." He looked at Grace her eyes showing the pain of her lost parents and it was obvious she wanted someone to connect with, someone who might know how it feels to have lost their family. "Alright, and how about after I tuck you in and sleep on the floor tonight, that okay with you?"

"O-okay," Grace said and he had to prepare himself before he started talking, though he did pick his words carefully as not to scar the filly even more.

Soon after he finished Grace gave him a hug which did catch him a little by surprise, he gave her a squeeze back. She sat back down looking at the table and they sat there for a moment before she spoke up. He listened to the filly go into detail about her nightmares she has which after she was done he put a comforting hand on her head as she began tearing up.

"How about we call it a night okay? And I promise I'll be right there next to your bed if you need me." Grace gave another sniffle before letting him carry her back to her bed.

He quickly dug out a sleeping bag which was a Rarity custom made one for him and laid it down beside her bed. After telling each other good night he went back to sleep only to see Luna in his dreams smiling. That smile though told him all he needed to know.

"So, that's why you two didn't wake up huh? Made sure Lyra was sleeping deeper than usual while you sent your conscious somewhere else. But do you know what my nightmare was about?" He couldn't help but ask.

"I am sorry but this was a way to not only help Grace but in a way to help you. The nightmare you suffered from had been under the surface for a long time, waiting for its chance." Luna answered.

"Sometimes your methods can be cruel you know? I mean from what you said, you helped this nightmare out of where ever it buried. Thanks to that I remember the pain as if it had just happened! I remember the fear, the weeks after looking and hoping somehow they were still alive!" He screamed though Luna did not flinch.

"I am truly sorry but one way or the other it would have surfaced and I-I didn't think it would..." Luna said though she took a breath. "No, I knew it would bring back the emotions if I used my magic and there is no excuse for it. I really am sorry for making you go through the pain, it's just..."

"Grace needs somepony who has an idea of how she must feel. I know, and as much as it hurts I understand it. Just next time warn me before you release one of my nightmares okay?" He saw her nod before he drifted into the normal realm of dreams.

It was now Saturday and he couldn't believe the past couple of days, he barely even remembered what day it was. All of the information he was trying to process, from the stories Greyfor told, to him and Grace gaining a special connection with their dreams and the loss of family. He almost forgot about the date today with Sparks, who he actually couldn't wait to go see.

That did remind him that Tallia had set him up with her friend Baron, but he still had time for that and besides, she was coming for the party. So it wouldn't be hard for him to take the Griffin someplace without putting too much thought into it. He really had a little excitement about it, but there was one downside for today.

He still had to go talk with Applejack as he figured he still owes her and clear the air. Granted after a few days to think he knew that he had feelings for the mare but he had to turn her down. There was a space between them now that he knew was because of how he had handled the situation back then, and he would rather keep her as a friend hen lose her completely.

Though he knew that was the worst case scenario he couldn't help it and besides that, he was honestly more happy with her as a friend than anything else. Which he knew he would have to apologize for starting this whole mess, to begin with, he did hope that they could start over a little. Shaking his head he knew he was only confusing himself and would confuse others by his mixed bag but he didn't care after all everyone had their flaws.

"So, do you want us to leave the house just in case you bring her back?" Lyra poked him making him come out of his thoughts.

"No, because it won't go that far." He said making Lyra roll her eyes.

"You barely took me and Luna on a date before you had your way with us!" Lyra didn't avoid the rolled up newspaper that got hit right on the back of her head. "Ooww!"

"That's because you guys were already my friend for a little while. I really don't plan on anything happening, and if things go well though might see if she wants to set up a second though." He muttered.

"I heard that! Just glad you're dating outside of your friends because it's starting to become a little bit short you know!" Lyra said this time seeing the newspaper.

"Lyra, please leave him alone and don't you have work?" Luna asked making Lyra look at the clock.

"Oh shit!" Lyra said scrambling around.

"Language, Grace is playing in her room!" Derpy was the one who spoke up, she had left Dinky with Sparkler who was also babysitting for Tallia and Ginger.

"S-sorry, I'll see you guys later and don't leave out any of the juicy details from your date! Love you, bye!" Like that Lyra was gone making him give a little sigh of relief as he sat down to relax.

"But she did have a point, it's good to see you date outside those who you considered friends before. Though are you sure this is how you want to handle Applejack?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, while I still have feelings for her I've just started to move on and I think it would be best if we stayed friends." He said giving both Luna and Derpy a confident smile.

"I hope it goes well, things will be awkward though at first. But friends have ways to get rid of it, just takes time." Derpy said.

"So, to change subjects you two decided to go on a date tonight too? Is Sparkler coming to pick up Grace then?" He asked.

"Yes and yes to both the questions, we already took care of it. Don't worry about us you just go have fun on your date," Luna said giving him a quick kiss.

"Only if you two have fun on yours." He said giving them a smile.

As he looked at the clock he still had another hour and a half and thanks to the three of his marefriends he already had an outfit picked out. So he decided to read a little bit from their new assignment reading, which Luna and Derpy left about an hour later for their date which they reminded him to get ready and start heading to Greedens. He didn't take too much time getting ready and heading out.

As he made his way through town he made sure to keep what was bothering him pushed down for the moment so he could actually relax. Soon Greedens came into view and looking at the clock tower he knew he had about ten minutes left. But he decided to go ahead and head inside.

"Welcome to Greedens, do you have a reservation?" The hostess asked giving him a kind smile.

"Yes, it should be under number twelve from the bachelor auction." He answered remembering Rarity telling him that's how they set up the reservations.

"Here we go, a little early but your table is open so follow me, sir!" The hostess said taking two menus in her magic and began walking towards the tables. "I will say you look quite handsome, and I know your date will think so too."

"Uh, t-thanks." He said knowing at least he knew a few of the workers here which helped calm him down.

"Here's your table, and while you wait might I suggest getting a bottle of wine?" The hostess said as they walked up on a nice table.

"Hmm, sure why not? Just not the expensive kind okay? I know I sound poor, but I do have a filly to help raise now." He said making the mare give him a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that and I'm sure the mare who delivered is glad to have you as well. Anyways, here are your menus and your waitress will be here shortly with the wine!" Before he could correct her she walked back to her station and punched something into a screen.

He sat down and waited for the waitress who came very quickly with the wine in a bucket, and after ordering a normal drink for himself while he waited for Sparks he looked around. Turns out a few of the other bachelors got their dates here for the night. He could even see Lemon which did somewhat make him feel just a little uncomfortable since Sparks was his sister.

"Huh, so you did come early huh?" He turned to see Sparks standing there wearing a beautiful dress.

"Oh, um, you look well..." He gave her a nervous smile before standing up. "Here, let me get your chair for you!"

"Early and a gentlecolt! Thank you," Sparks said sitting down after he pulled out the chair for her.

"It's no problem, and um I hope you don't mind but I ordered some wine for us." He said pointing to the bottle.

"Hmm, this is a good year you know? Plus this brand may be on the less expensive side but it tastes better if you ask me." Sparks said making him raise an eyebrow. "What? I know my wines!"

"Didn't say you didn't, but still impressed. Soooo..." At that, they started to talk a bit more, their waitress came over and took their order.

He told her a few of the good memories he had regains from his life and got the mare to laugh at a few bad puns. She told him a few funny stories of when she and Lemon were foals which got him to laugh like crazy. Though once again he was drawn to her beautiful eyes and for whatever reason this time she was the one who blushed.

"You really like my eyes don't you?" Sparks asked.

"I'll admit, they have a certain hold over me. Matched with your dress you could leave a trail of broken hearts if you wanted." He said giving her a little smile as she rolled her eyes and gave him a playful tap.

"I wouldn't do that, I only dress up if I like the po... creature I'm going out with." Sparks gave him a wink as she said that.

"Here are your orders! A Tofu Steak with sauteed onions and mushrooms, and a Chefs Salad for the lady! For the gentlecolt I have the house special for tonight which includes a well-done tofu steak, hoof made fries, soup, and a salad. Hope you two enjoy your meals!" At that, the waitress walked away.

"You know, so far I've been having a really good time with you," Sparks said though he couldn't help but blush at the look she was giving him.

"Y-yeah, I'm actually having a good time to you know." He gave her a wink before they started to eat.

Though he couldn't help but jump a little as he felt what he knew was magic brushing against his thigh. He looked to see Sparks eating and trying to hide a little smirk and once she had his attention he felt the magic again. Traveling up his thigh slowly and teasingly slow, and he couldn't help but shiver as he knew where this would lead.

"H-Hey Sparks?" He asked.

"Mmmhmm," Sparks replied not letting up on her magic.

"I-I was wondering if you w-would like to go on an s-second..." He bit his lip to keep quiet as he felt her magic brush across his groin."...date!"

This made the mare stop her teasing and looked at him in a bit of surprise which made him give a little sigh of relief. Though the way she was staring made him start feeling a little nervous that he had messed this up already but knew he had to stop her before they went that far. Besides, he did actually like the mare so far and did find her interesting to say the least.

"Hmm, I see one of that kind of stallions. I love a good gentlecolt who just doesn't do that on the first date, and sorry if I made you nervous there. But I was planning on asking you on a second date," Sparks said. "Though now I'm gonna have to go home to take a nice cold shower because you would not believe what's been going on in my head."

"Oh, I think I know and I think I may have to take a cold shower myself." This made them both laugh. "B-but seriously thanks for understanding me not wanting to go that far just yet with you, and I'm serious about that second date."

"It really is a rare day when a stallion keeps it in his sheath especially after the teasing I gave you, and I would like nothing more than to get to know you better," Sparks said giving him a little wink, and before returning to her food she sent a little burst of magic to his member making him cover his mouth.

The two ate and talked some more after that and even decided to go out in two weeks. Which was mostly due to the fact that she was staying with her brother Lemon while she was here, she did say she was thinking about moving to Ponyville. Which he was happy to hear since that would give them the chance to really start dating.

"Again, thanks for the great night it's been a blast! I'll see you in two weeks for our next date?" Sparks asked her eyes shining with excitement.

"Yup, and are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" He asked making her shake her head.

"As much as I would like that, I may not let you leave then," Sparks said giving him another wink though to his surprise she got up and kissed him on the cheek. "But I do appreciate the gesture."

At that, they went their separate ways and he couldn't help but have a big stupid smile on his face. Though he would have to take that cold shower especially now after she kissed him on the cheek. But when he got home something didn't seem quite right, and then he heard moaning as he entered the house.

"Luna? Derpy?" He asked though the only response was moaning from the bedroom making his face go red.

He knew what they were doing and couldn't help himself as he went to the room door which was already cracked open enough for him to see through. What he saw made him really wish he just go take that cold shower but the scene before him was too tantalizing. Luna was eating out Derpy who had her eyes closed in bliss, though he locked eyes with Luna making him gulp as she waved him into the room without stopping pleasing Derpy.

As he made his way quietly into the room which he figured was what Luna seemed to be messaging him, he felt magic start to take off his clothing. Though after a point she didn't need to help him as he finished on his own, taking off his pants to expose his already hardened member. Luna waved him closer, and he knew what she wanted him to do.

"L-luna..." Derpy whimpered as Luna stopped and he quickly took her place, granted in a different position.

As he looked at the grey mare who still had her eyes closed he couldn't help himself as this is what he wanted to do the other night, and with the teasing from Sparks earlier only drove him. Placing a hand on Derpy's cheek which made her open her eyes a bit before fully opening in complete surprise. Though the mare didn't have time to say anything except for moaning as he entered her.

"You aren't going to be pulling out of her by the way. It's only fair after me and Lyra," Luna whispered in his ear as she stood behind him, rubbing his wings making him moan and give a little bit of a hard thrust into the mailmare.

Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed and looks like he finally gets to enjoy that muffin! Remember to smile, smile, smile! Also, this song fits my moods nowadays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IbiEyZXOBk

Clearing The Air

He woke up to see a sleeping but smiling Derpy, making him remember what had happened. Looking over he saw Luna laying on the other side of him with a satisfied smile on her face as well. Though he really could have gone without Luna not letting him pull out of Derpy last night, mostly because they still had no idea if he could get one of them pregnant.

Getting out of bed without waking the two mares he couldn't help but wonder where Lyra went to last night. He had figured Sparkler had taken Dinky and Grace to her house for the night, but Lyra should have been back. That's when he heard something like a pan in the kitchen ping.

"...come on!" He heard Lyra say as he walked into the kitchen making Lyra give him a wink as she picked up the pan she dropped. "Morning, and sorry if that woke you up. It seems like Luna's plan came together very well." Lyra said making him roll his eyes.

"Figures that was apart of a plan, but I enjoyed myself none the less." He said giving the unicorn a kiss on the cheek.

"So does that mean your date with Sparks went okay?" Lyra asked. "Oh, and did you get around to talking with Applejack?"

"Yes to the date going well, we set up another one in two weeks. She has to go back to her town to get a few things before she moves in with her brother. Before you ask she's looking for a place here to live." He said making Lyra raise an eyebrow. "I only invited you and Luna to move in because you two are friends, and you didn't have a place to exactly go on short notice."

"Just wondering, now about Applejack..." Lyra said making him give a sigh.

"I'll take a shower and head over there, and tell the others sorry I wasn't there when they woke up and see if anything happened with Grace." He said going into the bathroom.

"You mean if she had another nightmare? I think Luna said she was going to take care of it." He gave her a look that got his message across. "R-right might have been a little distracted last night."

He shut the door and turned on the shower and he thought of what he was going to say to Applejack, after all, he had been the one to really make their friendship have this awkwardness to it. Though at the time he knew for sure what his feelings were, and he had some feeling for her but since so much time went by it seems he really had started to move on. Granted he knew Applejack would appreciate the honesty but they couldn't have what they had before, they had to start over.

After drying off he peeked in the room to see Luna and Derpy had snuggled up to each other in his absence and he went to go tell Lyra bye and he would be back. He made his way to town feeling great as he then started down the road that leads to the Apple Farm. It didn't feel like a long walk despite his worry over how this would go.

"Hey Brandon, how ya doing?" Applejack asked as he came up to the porch.

"I'm doing good, but I think we need to talk." Applejack nodded her head and patted a spot next to her.

"Let me guess, you still have some feeling for me right?" Applejack asked making him nod. "From that, I'm going to assume that despite that you want to remain, friends, because you feel like you've started to move on right?"

"Applejack I'm..." He started before she held up a hoof.

"That's all I needed to hear, and thanks for being honest. I knew I had waited too long, and truth be told I honestly feel the same way. While it's nice to remember when you admitted to me, but I... we let time slip by too much." Applejack said making him nod.

"So, can we still be friends?" He asked looking out at the orchard.

"That is a stupid question ya know that?" Applejack said rolling her eyes making him crack a smile.

"Looking forward to rebuilding with ya, and maybe I can work in the orchard sometime?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"I don't know, Big Mac seems to really enjoy having you around to help with accounting." Applejack said teasingly. "But I guess I could see what I can do."

"Thanks, AJ, I'm just glad this didn't go as bad as what I thought it would. But I still have one question..." He said.

"I admitted my feelings for you that night to see if you still felt the same, and after what you said it let me in. I knew it would take ya a few days to figure it out, not like me who took weeks." Applejack said.

"No pony is perfect, but hey I gotta get home I'm sure the girls are waiting. Oh, did you know Grace moved in?" He said laughing at the shock on her face. "Celestia pulled a few strings."

"T-that's amazing! I'm so happy for you, and maybe I can come over with Applebloom to visit sometime!" Applejack said raising a hoof and he balled up his hand to give her a hoof bump.

He left soon after that feeling a bit strange at how well everything seemed to go with him and Applejack. Feeling a breeze he decided to do a little flying which got him a good chunk of the way back to his house before he had to land. Taking a moment to catch his breath he walked the rest of the way.

"Good morning!" He said as he walked into the door.

"There you are, we missed you when we got up!" Derpy said coming over and giving him a long kiss before whispering in his ear. "I really enjoyed last night."

"Morning, you look like your in a good mood. I take it your talk with Applejack went well?" Luna asked making Grace pop her head from the couch and she smiled and waved at him.

"Yeah, we decided to remain friends. Though she did most of the talking for us it all went well." He said going over to give the alicorn a kiss before sitting down next to Grace. "How was your night?"

"It was super fun! Sparkler let us watch a funny movie where this stallion puts on this mask during the night and the mask makes him do all kinds of crazy things!" Grace said with a big smile, which he was glad to see since the filly seemed to always be nervous and shy around new ponies.

"Hmm, might have to watch that one ourselves some night. But glad you had fun last night," He said patting the filly's head.

They all relaxed for a while before Derpy and Lyra went to go make lunch for them all the while he started to tell bad jokes to Grace. The young pegasus really seemed to enjoy them though, and after they ate Lyra got out her instrument which Grace asked if she could teach her more. Lyra of course happily agreed and helped the filly up.

"C-can you also teach me how to sing?" Grace asked making Lyra give a little smile.

"I'm not sure I'm the one you should be asking..." Lyra said.

"You have a great singing voice Lyra, don't deny it!" He said making Lyra blush, mostly because he knew despite her having a good voice she didn't like the sound of it herself. "I mean look at those eyes!"

"Fine, you two win!" Lyra said after meeting Grace's eyes making all of them laugh a little.

"Well, you guys get started I think I'm going to go to the market for some stuff before they close." He said looking at the clock. "Love you all, and I'll be back in a little while!"

Once again he started to make his way into town after they told him bye and Luna gave him a little list of things he absolutely had get. He liked looking around at the open market as there was always something new and fresh in stock. As he looked around he saw Sparks and gave the mare a slight look of confusion.

"Hey Sparks, I thought you were leaving about noon today?" He asked after coming up.

"I was, but my brother asked me to house sit him. Turns out he has some kind of meeting all the way in Las Pegasus, and he promised to stop by my place on the train ride back." Sparks answered.

"That was nice of him to spring this on you, but at least he's going to get your stuff." He gave the mare a little smile.

"Oh, believe me, if he wasn't already going that direction I wouldn't have stayed. Though I am glad because that means I get to see you around for a bit longer." Sparks gave him a wink and he felt a bit of magic brush across one of his wings making him give a slight shiver. "But hey, I got to get going before the stuff I got spoils. I'll see you later?"

"You bet, can't wait for our date!" He said waving as she walked away.

He honestly didn't expect that but things like that did sometimes happen. Getting what he needed and came for he started to make his way back to his house though he felt like taking his time. Taking in the sunset as he walked he couldn't help but give a smile and wonder what the girls were up to.

"I win!" Lyra said as she got her last piece into her home spot.

"No fair, you didn't play fair!" Derpy was the one who said that.

"I'm going to be second to finish!" Grace said rolling the dice only for them not to be the number she needed. "Aww!"

"There is no way for me to catch up, and Derpy still has a piece that still needs to go all the way around," Luna said giving the little pegasus a smile. "So, I'm sure you'll be second."

They continued after that for second and third since fourth had to do the dishes that night. Grace finally rolled a four which got her second which Luna somehow snuck up from behind to claim third. Derpy gave a slight groan in disappointment.

"Alright, but I'm not cooking dinner then. Which speaking about, where is Brandon?" Derpy asked making them all look at the clock to see that he should have been back a few hours ago.

"Maybe he just got caught up with Ginger and Tallia? We'll probably won't see him until tomorrow if that's the case." Lyra was the one who replied.

"Maybe, hey Grace do you want to clean up for us while we make dinner?" Luna asked making the filly give a nod, and as the one wing pegasus started she started to hum as the three mares walked into the kitchen.

"I'm a little worried, normally he would send some message if he wasn't going to be home," Derpy said as she sat down at the table.

"Most of the time, remember when he stayed over at Twilight's and forgot because he was busy reading?" Lyra said making the other two nod.

"Either way, I'm sure he will be fine. Lyra, let's get dinner started before Grace gets too hungry." The two of them began their dinner for that night.

"Is Brandon not eating with us?" Grace asked as she sat down at the dinner table.

"No, he's probably at one of his friends and got caught up in something. He'll be back by tomorrow sweetie," Luna said making the filly blush a little at being called sweetie by a princess.

The four of them ate and talked and they asked Grace if she was looking forward to the new school year. Which to no surprise she had said that she was very nervous about it since before her parents died they only just moved not too long before they hadn't had time to enroll her. Though her eyes shined at the mention that her class this year was going to be able to pick and play any instrument.

"You know Grace, I know a Celo player who lives here in town if you're interested in giving it a try I'm sure she would be glad to give you a lesson," Lyra said making the filly eyes shine even brighter.

"Really? I love listening to the Celo and always wanted to play one!" Grace was practically bouncing out of her chair.

"Alright, calm down I'll have to talk with Octavia first," At that, they had to cover their ears as the little filly squealed in excitement.

"The Octavia Melody?" Lyra nodded covering her ears again to make sure. "I love her music! My m... m-mom took me to see her before..."

"Ah, we understand Grace if you don't feel comfortable talking about it. I'm sure Octavia would love to take you on as a student, she has a kind heart." Luna said putting a comforting hoof on the filly's back and giving her a look of sympathy.

To cheer Grace up Lyra told her right after dinner she would give her her first singing lesson which did perk the filly back up a little. Not long after they finished and Derpy washed the dishes while Lyra started her lesson with Grace. The pegasus was nervous and shy at first of course, but as soon as she started to feel comfortable they were all surprised at how good the fillies voice was.

"Good job Grace! You have such a great voice, and that gives me an idea! Why don't you and I put on a special show for Brandon when he gets back? We could even try to write a song for him, how about it?" At first, Grace was a little hesitant but then agreed as a way to show thanks for him comforting her during her nightmare.

"Alright, now that that's settled let's get you all cleaned up and ready for bed," Luna said making the filly groan just a little.

"W-would you tuck me in since Brandon isn't here?" Grace asked Luna which made her give a smile to the filly.

"I would be glad to, would you also like me to tell you a bedtime story?" Luna asked before they went into the bathroom.

"I-if you wouldn't mind?" Grace asked making Luna chuckle.

"That is why I offered, but it's shower time and just be careful the water heater is acting up so don't turn the heat on too much," Luna said before Grace rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom.

After Grace got done and Luna tucked her in and started to tell her a story the filly feel asleep, and Luna knew she would have to enter into the fillies dreams again. Luna rubbed Grace's head and giving a smile before kissing the filly on the forehead making the young pegasus give a sigh. Slowly making her way out Luna heard Grace mutter something in her sleep but couldn't make it out.

"So, she's asleep?" Derpy asked as Luna came back into the living room.

"Yes, she is sleeping soundly. I will make sure she won't have a nightmare tonight but are you planning on staying the night?" Luna asked.

"No, I think I'm gonna head home. I'm pretty exhausted and sore from last night." Derpy said stretching.

"No surprise there, but are you sure? It is getting late and I'm sure Dinky is fine." Lyra said.

"You may be right, it is later than I thought," Derpy said looking at the clock to see it read a little past eleven.

"So, that's a yes?" Luna asked with a smirk.

"Uh, y-yeah? Just don't surprise me like you did last night, even if I did enjoy it!" Derpy said giving a little blush before the three went to bed.

All of them woke up in the midmorning hours feeling rested for the most part. Though as they waited Brandon never showed up back at the house but put it off as he forgot something yesterday at the market and went to get it. That was until a knock came at the door making the three mares look at each other.

"Grace, can you go play in your room for a little bit?" Luna asked.

"B-but..." Grace started but was cut off by Luna.

"How about if you go into your room to play I'll go get some ice cream for us later?" Luna said making Grace nod her head, and after the filly left they opened the door.

"Is Brandon Jenkins here?" A Guard asked as they opened the door.

"If this is about the attacker that nearly killed him we already know about that and got everything cleared up," Luna told the guard who got a little nervous sweat but stayed calm.

"I'm sorry Princess, but I'm here on a different matter. I am here for Brandon for as of this morning he is wanted for questioning for the assault of Sparkly Fountain." The guard said leaving the three mares speechless.

Author's Note

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

Looking Around

The three mares stared at the guard in silent shock at the what they just heard. Though Luna recovered quickly giving the stallion a harsh look before getting the other two mares out of their shock by giving them both a little pinch with her magic. Taking a breath Luna let the guard in.

"Now you said you wanted him for questioning?" Luna asked as the guard settled in a spot.

"Yes, and before you ask anything else due to your relationship with Brandon Princess, I am not able to go into too much detail." The guard replied.

"I understand, but before we answer your question at least tell us what you can," Luna said making the others sit down on the couch giving them a look that told them to let her do the talking for right now.

"Right, we found one Sparkly Fountain near the market severely beaten. She was sent to the hospital, though according to witnesses Brandon may be the last one to have seen her before she was attacked." The guard said.

"May I ask when do you think that the attack occurred?" Luna asked.

"We suspect around three this morning, and now Princess that's all I can say for now. If you wouldn't mind answering my questions now?" The guard asked.

"No, he is not here nor do we have any idea where he is since he did not come home last night. But that does not mean he did this after all this is not the first time he spent the night over somewhere without telling us." Luna said giving the guard a hard look making the guard slightly nervous.

"I understand Princess, but either way this is going to make him a creature who might have information to be a suspect. Before you say anything it's not up to me, I just have to report the information I gather. Now I have a few more questions for all of you." At that, the guard started his questioning.

The questions were basic ones about when he left, what was he going to do, how long did you expect him to be gone. There were a few questions about what they did but now that Luna had told him about Brandon the questioning was more focused on him. Soon the guards questioning stopped and the stallion left.

"This is not good! Why did you tell him about Brandon?" Lyra asked in a panic though Luna ignored her as the alicorn's eyes were set on the hallway.

"Derpy, do you..." Before Luna could speak Derpy nodded her head.

"I'll take care of it, but you two should go and inform Twilight and the others," Derpy said as she walked towards Grace's room.

"B-but Luna why did you...." Luna cut the unicorn off.

"If we were dishonest at all and they found out then we would be watched far more carefully than what we currently are and charged with obstruction," Luna said making the unicorn give a look of confusion. "They probably set up an undercover somewhere to keep an eye on us Lyra, just in case we know something. I suspect that whole just wanting him for questioning wasn't true, the guards already had him listed as a suspect."

"Wait, then why did he say that then?" Lyra couldn't help it, her mind already frayed by the panic.

"It's to get ponies to let their guard down, a simple tactic to get them to reveal more, now let's go," Luna said walking out the door.

The two mares went to the bearers of the Elements Of Harmony one by one to call them to an emergency meeting. Soon the eight ponies were at Twilight's house to see why Luna and Lyra had called for them. As the two mares began to speak a mixture of shock and confusion spread across the room.

"This just leaves a few questions, most important is where did Brandon disappear to?" Twilight asked.

"I have an idea, but first what do you all think about this?" Luna asked Lyra was quiet during most of the explaining.

"I think we all agree that Brandon could have not done this and that we need to find him." Applejack said without hesitation making the rest nod their heads. "Good, now what this idea of yours Princess?"

"Not yet, first I would like us to look around for clues that the guards either choose to ignore by themselves or they don't know where to look," Luna suggested making them look at her in slight confusion.

"Okay, first if we're going to be watched then how are we going to look for anything? Second, why not just tell us what your idea is now?" Twilight asked.

"For the first question, they will not interfere if you are looking around unless specified in their orders it is not their jobs. Then for the second, I want to see if we can't find any clues to support my idea. Though the first part of my idea should be obvious, Brandon did not up and leave on his own free will." Luna answered.

"Let's just do this then already!" Rainbow said.

"Let's divide into teams first Rainbow," Twilight said grabbing the pegasus before she left.

"I'll go talk with Sparks... I mean Sparkly Fountain if they let me in to see her and to see if I can't get something out of her that may help." Applejack said.

"Wait, I thought she was going to pick up her things from her house before moving here. So, why is she still here in the first place?" Fluttershy asked.

"I can answer that one! I overheard somepony who knew somepony..." Pinkie started.

"Just get it out with please Pinkie?" Lyra asked making the pink pony stop and take a breath.

"Sorry, but let's see Lemon Grabs went to Las Pegasus for something and asked Sparkly Fountain to house sit!" Pinkie finally said.

"Don't care how you know that but don't care cause if that's true at least it's a place to start." Applejack said nodding her head.

"Right, Lyra and I will go to the market and try to recreate establish a route that he took yesterday, and remember we have a jump on the guards because we know Brandon. So, as Rainbow said let's go and do this!" Luna said teleporting her and Lyra to the market.

Luna didn't exactly know what the others were going to do other than Applejack but the sooner they can recreate even some of Brandon's path the sooner the better. It really wouldn't be long before the guards would list him as a suspect and spread it around their ranks. They would then be on the same line of thinking she was so they needed to move fast.

"Lyra I need you to calm down, I know you're worried we all are. But Brandon is a grown man who has proven that he can handle himself. We do need to work fast though because there is only so much he can do himself especially if my theory is right." Luna said placing a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Are you ready to help find him?"

"Y-yeah, I-I'm good to good for him. I really hope that your theory isn't what I think because of what..." Luna put a hoof to the unicorn's mouth.

"All the more reason we need to find out what happened and pray that if true they don't do anything more before we can find him, understand?" Luna asked making Lyra nod.

Luna did have a good memory of what she had put on the list she had given him, though she didn't exactly know what he wanted to get the list was a good enough start. She told Lyra which stalls to go to and the two split up though as she started asking around she made sure to keep an eye out for Lyra. After all, they had no way of knowing if they were safe.

"Thank you for your help and here I'll take this bag of Oranges," Luna said finishing talking with the last merchant on her list.

"Are you done?" Lyra asked after coming over.

"Yes, now let's get our information straight before meeting back at Twilights," Luna answered going to an empty bench.

As the two mares talked Luna pulled out a map of Ponyville that had all areas marked including the open market. Luna marked the stalls in order of where he went, as some of the merchants saw which other stalls he went to. Though she knew that was the easy part since Brandon was hard to miss.

"Hmm, according to this he had started to head back to the house using his normal route. Makes sense but we'll have to dig a bit that way since the merchants eventually lost eyesight of him. As far as the exchange he and Sparks goes, it appears it looked more friendly towards each other from what I gathered. Other than one pony saw Brandon's wings ruffle as if he was agitated." Luna said giving a sigh.

"That could be anything though, right? Wind picking up? Or isn't Sparks a unicorn?" Lyra asked making Luna nod.

"Yes, it could be possible that in an attempt to flirt with him she used her magic to brush against one of his wings. At the right angle of not being able to see the magic all the pony could go on was his wings reacting to something. Unless Applejack was successful on her part we may not know. But let's start looking down his normal route before we head back." Luna said getting up and not failing to see the undercover guard who was just out of earshot.

"Is it..." Luna only nodded making the unicorn a tad paranoid.

"Lucky for us they can't come close without being too suspicious about it. The only reason why I know how to identify them is that I've spent time studying their methods not to mention their training grounds is near the castle." Luna said casually getting up and nodded for Lyra to follow. "But let's head home for a bit before we go back to talk about that book."

"R-right, or else Twilight will make us bring all the snacks next time," Lyra said getting up to follow the alicorn.

As they walked down what they knew was Brandon's normal route both mares couldn't help but see why he liked going this way. It wasn't as crowded like some of the other streets, and it had great scenery as ponies had gardens going. They stopped a few times to ask around and to see if they couldn't find anything.

"Thank you again, and thanks for the Tomatoes!" Luna said putting the tomatoes into her bag.

"Find anything out?" Lyra asked.

"Yes, the mare did see him coming this way last night. Though according to her he looked worried about something, he was walking at a fast pace almost like he was about to run. But she only figured he was running late for something and closed her curtains, but this doesn't look good at all!" Luna groaned feeling a sense of panic rise. "Whoever orchestrated this knew what they were doing."

"It's good to know that you're still on our side. But let's keep looking for another hour okay?" Lyra suggested.

"Lyra, I have not and will not think of him as anything less than innocent. But you are right, another hour should do." Luna said before continuing walking.

The two of them walked and talked to anypony who walked by or seemed to live on the street. Most either didn't care or just didn't see anything, and those who did all seemed to say the same thing. Only with a few differences in between what each of them witnessed like one saw him running down the street, another saw him trying to fly, and one said they thought they saw somepony following him.

"Wait, isn't that one of his bags?" Lyra asked going down an alleyway picking up a bag that was mostly full of groceries while some of its contents were spilled out on the ground.

"Yes, look it has his name embroidered onto the side and these are definitely some of the things on the list. Now, how and why did Brandon come to leave it here?" Luna said though she knew if he was being followed then he probably dropped it in a panic trying to escape.

"What should we do with this?" Lyra asked still holding the bag.

"As much as I hate it we're going to have to leave it, the guard following us will probably be making a note and soon they'll come to collect it as evidence. Just set it back down, we got as much information that we need. But still, wish we knew who was following Brandon." Luna said giving a sigh.

"I can answer that Princess," A stallion came from the other side of the alley and when the two mares looked at him he had been beaten up.

"Are you okay?" Lyra asked making the stallion give a sarcastic snort. "Sorry, a habit I guess."

"What is your name and what do you know?" Luna spoke up.

"Not going to give my name, sorry but after last night I rather not get any more tangled up in what happened. But last night I was walking home when I heard something coming from this alley. When I looked I saw Brandon running down dropping his bag being followed by a unicorn and what looked like a Minotaur." The stallion answered.

"How do you know this was Brandon being chased?" Luna asked.

"You serious? I think I can tell the difference, and if I hadn't stepped in and tripped the Minotaur then I wouldn't have gotten beaten up like this!" The stallion said his tone full of annoyance. "Oh, before I go l don't know which way that Brandon and the unicorn went."

Just like that, the stallion left making them fill up with worry given everything and they didn't question how the stallion knew who Brandon was. First, his name was on the bag, and it wasn't a pony name and since Brandon was a unique creature it only made sense that he figured it out. Though the two mares looked at each other for a moment before heading back to the library.

They digested all the information that they had gathered so far and neither one of them wanted to say anything. Both of them knew what it added up to especially with the appearance of a Minotaur so shortly after Brandon's attacker had been killed by the same creature. But they wanted to wait until they got back and listen to what the other's found.

"Is anypony here?" Luna called as she knocked on the door.

"Come on in Luna we're all in here!" They heard Twilight answer and they went in.

"Doesn't look like good news on your end either," Rainbow said as they sat down and shaking their heads.

"No, but we would like you all to tell us what you found out," Luna said.

"Right, I'll go first. I contacted my brother and he said he'll do what he can to slow down Brandon being marked as a suspect for now. Which means we'll only have until tomorrow afternoon at the latest." Twilight was the first one to answer.

"We couldn't really find anything on our end except for one of the bags Rarity made for him," Fluttershy said bringing up the bag, this one is a bit different than the one they found in the alley.

"We also found one of his bags that had some groceries still in it. Left it so the guards could hopefully pick it up for evidence. Applejack, did you get any information from Sparks?" Luna asked looking at the orange mare.

"Not much, and let me tell you she wasn't in no shape to really talk. So I don't think she'll be giving her statement anytime soon, which will hopefully give us time." Applejack said shivering at the memory of how the unicorn looked making them all nod.

"What did she tell you though?" Lyra asked.

"Like I said not much, but she did confirm that Lemon Grabs did go to Las Pegasus and asked her to house sit. Getting that much was tough, but when I told her about Brandon she reacted a bit weird." Applejack said making them all give her a questioning look. "When I mentioned that Brandon was missing she didn't seem surprised."

"If she believes it was him that attacked her then why would it surprise her that he would run?" Twilight asked.

"That's the thing, that's not the part that bothered me. What did bother me was that if she truly thought he had attacked her then she should have been scared to know he was still on the loose. But she didn't seem scared by it at all, but when I asked about Lemon that's when she started to get scared and I left before she could call the guards." Applejack answered.

"Hmm, it seems all the pieces fit and I would like to thank you Twilight for getting us a little more time," Luna said.

"I don't follow though, what pieces?" Pinkie was the one who asked.

Luna then began to explain, starting by reminding them of the stallion that they found dead who attacked Brandon. She then went on to talk about what she and Lyra pieced together, starting with the route he took. Once all that was out of the way she could see that they had come to the same conclusion.

"So, we have a group of ponies who came out of nowhere recruiting ponies who want to get rid of Brandon simply because he's a human. Then they tried to attack and kill him with one of their members who failed and they killed him, not to frame Brandon exactly but to send a message. Now all this with him being chased, to him disappearing, and now Sparks is in the hospital due to somepony assaulting her making it look like Brandon did it, does that sound right?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, and chances are this group who took him will probably hold him until the rumors spread turning even more ponies against him," Luna said, though there was one thing none of them wanted to say she swallowed her nervousness and worry. "Chances are when the rumors do spread to that point when he is let out he might not be alive."

Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile! Also, anyone else get a weird vibe from that strange stallion in the alley? Maybe he knows more than what he's saying, or I might just be messing with you!

Splitting Up

"I-if that's true, how long do you think we have?" Lyra asked making Luna give a sigh.

"Hard to say, starting with him being placed on the suspect list most likely won't be enough. This group needs Sparks to flat out say he was the one who attacked her. With how things seem set up right now the evidence no matter how circumstantial it may be will support her claim. They will most likely wait for that to spread so when Brandon shows up dead no pony would even question it." Luna answered and a look of understanding passed over the group.

"Then we may only have a few weeks at most to find and clear his name. But I think we all can agree that Sparks attack was only part of their plan of course, but that isn't enough to hold over somepony. This group most likely lured Lemon Grabs to Las Pegasus to use him as leverage." Twilight said.

"Then that is where we will start our search, but there is another place we need to consider looking at as well," Luna said making them look at her. "While looking into the disappearance of Lemon is good, the rumors about this group also seems to come from Manehatten, where Brandon's attacker was found. So I suggest we split up into two teams just in case."

"Right, only makes sense," Applejack said.

"But first, there is something I must bring up about this group and why it seems they have such a long reach. I don't simply think this group simply popped out of nowhere when Brandon came into our world." Luna said.

Luna began telling them about their dinner with Tallia and her parents, and about the stories they told them. She could see as she talked that they were all coming to the same conclusion that she had. As she finished they all still had the same determined look, if not more determined than before.

"If that's true, and this group dates back before the three pony tribes even came here to Equestria and they always had this prejudice then why wait so long to do anything to him? Why target Sparks and not one of us?" Pinkie asked.

"Because they needed time to attack. But I would like to remind all of you of the three stallions who attacked him did mention a group. While they may not have been a part of the group, them having knowledge of them makes me think either they were at some point or somepony tried to recruit them." Luna answered.

"For why they didn't target us is because we would know he would never do that. Not to mention who we are, at least most of us. I mean the six of us represent the Elements of Harmony, and Luna is a Princess, Derpy and Lyra stay around her. So we are just too well known and would be hard for them to get to us." Twilight said.

"Alright, but can we just stop talking about the why's and just focus on finding Brandon? We don't have the time since Twilight said we have at least until tomorrow before they start looking at him as a suspect." Lyra jumped in making them go silent and nod.

"Okay, now that's settled Lyra and I will be going to Las Pegasus if anypony would like to join us speak up now," Luna said wrapping a hoof around the now disheveled unicorn.

"I'll go with y' all, after all, I did save him once and I'm not about to let him die on us now." Applejack said standing up giving the princess a steeled look of determination making Luna nod.

"Anypony else?" Luna asked again.

"I think we would be better with how it's split up right now. While Las Pegasus has a lot of attractions, Manehatten is a lot bigger so we need more ponies to cover more ground there." Twilight said making them give another nod.

"Then it's settled, we'll send updates to each other. Don't forget that we will be followed which we can use to our advantage. Because if we find anything they'll report it back to the other guards, but be careful because this could backfire on us since we do not know who is apart of this group. Just remember just because of who we are, it does not mean that this group will spare us for interfering." Luna warned and once again she looked around to see not one doubt.

"We are his friends, his family we do not abandon one of our own," Twilight said putting her hoof in the middle of the table. "Even if it's apart of some greater plan to not just get rid of Brandon, but to get rid of us as well I will take that chance."

"I'm in, no one hurts one of us and gets away scot-free," Rainbow said putting her hoof in, and the others followed.

"Lyra?" Luna asked looking at the mare who was barely holding herself together, though she herself felt the same she knew how to hide it.

"Let's find him and bring him home." Lyra finally said after taking a breath and steeling herself and as she put her hoof in they all looked at each other before going to get supplies for their journeys.

Luna and Lyra were walking back to the house to collect some of their things, momentarily stopping by Derpy's to give her an update. Though she understood that despite her wanting to go, she had to stay in order to keep an eye on the fillies. Once they were close to the house Luna finally spoke up.

"You know I'm just as worried and torn up about this as you are, after all, I'm worried about if they..." Luna couldn't finish finally letting her emotions go and tears started to well up.

"I know, but something you would say right now is that is don't focus on the what if's for it's those that'll tear you apart. Focus on what we know, and I'm sorry if I hadn't been able to hide my emotions as well as you and the others, but I know Brandon a bit better, no offense. I'm not worried about if he can handle himself, I'm worried that once we find him what they did to him, how it might change him." Lyra said finally voicing her concern.

"Then you are not worried about, you know?" Luna said trying to hold back the tears still.

"I'm worried about it, but I have to believe he's okay in that matter. I-I don't think I could handle it if he is..." Lyra took a breath closing her eyes. "Even if he's alive and doesn't want anything to do with us because of what this group put him through, that's all I need."

They didn't talk after that and instead, once they got to the empty house they sat down and comforted each other. Letting all the tears and worry out and trying to steel themselves in what they knew could be a long search that might not end how they want it. After a little while, they heard a knock on the door making Luna clean herself up before answering.

"Hello?" Luna asked as she opened the door only to find a decently large package outside making her give a gulp as it was from Las Pegasus.

"What is it?" Lyra asked looking at the square package with the same concern.

"Only one way to find out," Luna said bringing the package inside.

The two of them went to the table and looked at each other fearing what was inside but they knew they had to open it. But before they did Luna jolted down the return address on the box before grabbing a knife to cut the tape. Looking at Lyra after she saw the unicorn holding her breath and then she opened the package.

He woke up disoriented and in pain as it felt like he had been hit with a taser multiple times, though a small part of him wondered how he knew what being tased felt like. But as he gained his senses and looked around the room the memories started to come back. There was a couple of ponies chasing him, he tried to fly but he remembered being hit and his wings went numb.

"That creature is awake sir," He heard what sounded like a mare outside the only door called.

Looking around he saw he was in a decently lit room with just the one door for an exit and no windows. He himself was in a chair strapped down tightly to where he couldn't move his arms or legs, and some kind of harness was put on his wings. Though his sight went to the door as he heard it unlock and start to open.

"Hope you don't mind the accommodations if you hadn't beaten up one of my men like you did I wouldn't have to of had you restrained like this. But here we are and I'm sure you have so many questions, and we'll get to that. Though there is something we need to take care of first." An earth pony said coming into the room.

He just glared at the stallion as he already knew what was happening and as to why they were the group the tried to kill him and killed one of their own after their failed attempt. Though he did wonder why kidnap him in such a way, not to mention why they would kidnap him in the first place? But he knew he wasn't going to get any answers soon as a hoof connected with his jaw making him give a grunt.

"Are you sure that we can trust them with the box? I mean how can we be sure..." Applejack started before Luna interrupted.

"As far as the package we have no choice, as for this feather, it is completely different than most creatures who fly. Not to mention it has been enchanted with a lifeline spell." This made Applejack give a confused look as Luna tried to explain.

"Applejack, there are a few different kinds of lifeline spells, with the most basic one being the one cast on the feather. It basically works like a heart monitor, meaning as long as he's alive the feather will remain unharmed. With some luck and Luna's magic, we might be able to use it to track Brandon down as well, but it can take time even for a powerful magic user." Lyra explained.

"I understand that, but how do we know it's connected to Brandon? I mean it might be his feather but whose not to say they didn't cast it on somepony else?" Applejack asked.

"Because the more personal the object the easier it is to cast the spell on that particular pony or creature, and makes it harder to cast on a random stranger. Since it was attached to Brandon, well I don't think I need to explain much further than that." Luna said levitating the green feather into her bag.

"Okay, I understand now but why won't either one of you tell me what was in the box?" Applejack asked looking between the two mares who were avoiding making eye contact. "Was it really that bad?"

"Not necessarily, in the long run, it'll help us out if it gets to the right ponies. Also thanks to the return address we now have a place to start," Luna said after a minute. "But for right now, the fewer who knows what we found the better. I hope you can understand that we don't want to hide the information..."

"But like you just said the fewer the better, that and I guess we all don't need to be distracted by it. Makes sure we have at least one of us focused on the task at hoof." Applejack said.

"Thanks for the understanding, and it's not that we aren't focused on finding Brandon. We just have a new way to look at it is all." Lyra said, though out of all three of them she still looked the most worried.

"If ya say so, but still whatever got sent to you two seemed to really scare you two something good." Applejack said before stretching out on her bed as the train chugged its way before falling asleep pretty fast.

"You should sleep to you know? After all, you are not looking too good there." Luna said looking at the unicorn.

"Fine, but um, c-can you make sure I don't you know..." Lyra started before Luna gave a nod. "Y-you know if we keep nodding like this we'll get neck issues...."

Just like that Lyra was soon sleeping leaving Luna the only one awake in their private cabin, and soon she flared up her horn to enter into the dreamscape hoping to find even a trace of Brandon. Though she quickly had to give up her search to help other ponies who needed guidance or just simply a change of dream. She made sure to stop into Lyra's dreams to make sure everything was going okay.

Soon the morning rolled around and the breakfast cart came around to each cabin to see if they would like to order. After the three of them ate they knew their destination wasn't far off so they took the time they had to prepare themselves. It wasn't long before their train rolled into the Las Pegasus station making them grab their stuff and head out.

"We will go to a hotel first before we start our search, set up our own command space of sorts," Luna said looking around at all the flashing lights.

"Try not to be sucked in here Luna," Applejack said.

"I know, but this is the first time I actually got to visit this city in many years. It has changed a lot since that time, but still as the same feel to it." Luna said giving a kind smile at the memory but quickly switched to a more serious look. "Let's get going shall we?"

They walked around for a little while before picking a hotel that didn't seem to have a huge crowd of ponies in it. Managing to get a room, mostly thanks to Luna being a princess and all, they took the elevator up to the tenth floor. Once inside they put all their luggage down and relaxed for a moment.

"Notice anypony following us?" Lyra asked making Luna shake her head.

"With this much of a crowd, any undercover would nearly be impossible to spot. More so with members of the group since we don't know who exactly is in it. Nor do we know what kind of training they might have," Luna answered.

"Does it matter? Let's just get started with looking at that address." Applejack said making them agree.

"Let's see, it's located at 3400 East Rockhoof Drive," Luna said after pulling out the note with the address. "Ah, Rockhoof I remember how much of a good stallion he was."

"Nice of you to take another little trip but you are really letting yourself get distracted here." Applejack said.

"Sorry, but my mind wants to focus on anything other than being concerned. As rare as it is for me to do so, but this whole situation is weighing on me more than I thought." Luna said. "But let's go see what we can find at this address, I just hope it isn't a Volcano themed casino or anything thing."

At that, the three mares made their way out of their hotel and to avoid too much suspicion from whatever group they took their time. Trying to act like they were trying to sightsee and have a good time. But they did ask around for a bit as well to see if anypony had seen any unusual creatures.

Most of the ponies pointed them in the direction of some kind of zoo that was filled with exotic animals. Some say they heard a Minotaur by the name of Iron Will was giving seminars to improve one's self-confidence. Nothing about Brandon or any other Minotaur.

"We're getting close to the address, but all these ponies and no one seems to know anything," Lyra said as they meet up.

"They're all too involved in their own fun or too drunk to care," Luna said looking at Applejack who shook her head making her give a sigh. "Let's keep moving slowly for now and hopefully this address really does turn something up and just not some kind of dummy."

"I'm sure even if it's nothing, there'll be something there. Why else send us that package?" Lyra asked trying to keep the hope in her voice.

They once again set out and once again did some sightseeing with Luna telling the other two mares how the buildings changed since she had been there last. Though they also talked a little about the group but tried to keep it at a minimum. Applejack was the one who suggested that they stop and get something to eat.

"Let's go in here, looks like they have some good food." Applejack said pointing at a buffet which neither of the other mares put up an argument.

Getting a table and then after ordering their drinks they got up and went to the buffet line. Though each of them didn't get very much on their plates, nor did they really seem interested in actually eating. But they ate what they had before getting back into the search.

"According to this map, this upcoming street is the one we want," Luna said putting the map away in her bag as they came up on the corner.

"Which way?" Applejack asked.

"Let's see, I think it's this way if I'm reading things right." Lyra was the one who looked.

They turned right which Lyra pointed to and as they went down the street they knew they were headed in the right direction. As they looked at the address counting down they saw that they were definitely outside the normal tourist area of the strip. This part of town seemed filled with warehouses and offices.

"It's on the next block," Luna said as they passed another warehouse and soon they did find the building that had the address.

"At least it's not volcano themed," Lyra said as they looked at the warehouse that had seen better days, but it still seemed stable enough.

"Any idea of what we might need to look for?" Applejack asked.

"If we knew that we wouldn't need to search," Luna said before stepping forward to open the door.

Author's Note

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

Dead Ends

It's been three days since they started their search, the warehouse with the return address was completely empty. They searched the whole building, moved what was there around, tested everything to make sure there were no secret entrances, just a dummy address somepony used. Twilight's group hadn't found anything either.

Rumors were already spreading throughout Equestria about the human in Ponyville possibly on the run for something. Though from the sounds the rumors so far none of them seemed very detailed. From what Twilight said for some reason the guard had yet put him on the suspect list.

"So, doesn't that mean that package got in the right hooves?" Lyra asked as she read the scroll.

"Could be, but I doubt it since it barely had anything to do with the assault. Though it would slow down the process it wouldn't have stopped them from putting him on the list. Most likely Sparks has yet to give her statement." Luna answered.

"Makes sense since all they have right now is circumstantial evidence if I remember right." Applejack said coming back into the hotel room.

"Yes, but that only buys us more time and right now we need as much as we can," Luna said. "Did you find anything?"

"Just the same graffiti," Applejack answered.

"Are we sure that graffiti doesn't have some kind of message?" Lyra asked for the second time.

"That's why we're looking closely at them Lyra like we've already told ya." Applejack replied.

"I know, but are you sure you haven't found anything yet? Maybe I can take a look," Lyra suggested getting up.

"Just be careful, remember don't use the same route you used before," Luna said making Lyra nod before she left.

"To be clear, I really haven't noticed anything. If we don't find something then this really was a wild goose chase." Applejack said.

"I know, but it's the only thing we really have right now. But we can talk about this later, I want to follow Lyra just in case." Luna said getting up and going towards the door.

"Just one thing, I understand that whatever it was in that box was important but will it help us at all?" Applejack asked.

"Like me and Lyra already told you if it all plays out right then yes. As for what's inside, all I can say is it told us who we can't trust at the moment and it'll be enough to clear Brandon's name if we can find him." Luna replied walking out the door making the earth pony follow.

"Then why do you think they'll still see him as a suspect then if it'll prove his innocents?" Applejack asked after catching up.

"It's difficult to explain but to put it simply if we find Brandon and thus we find this group that is nothing more than rumors it'll put in solid fact behind what's in that box," Luna answered looking around.

"At least from the sounds of it and the fact that you have one of his feathers that has that lifeline spell we know he's alive." Applejack said. "Still wish we had an idea of what to look..."

"Ssshhh..." Luna raised her hoof still looking around, or at least that what it looked like.

"What is it?" Applejack whispered seeing if she can't spot anything.

"That's the stallion who gave me and Lyra the information about who was chasing Brandon. Do you see him? The one with the black eye?" Luna asked making Applejack look out of the corner of her eyes and caught a glimpse of the stallion Luna was talking about before he disappeared into a casino.

"So that's the one huh?" Luna nodded in response and Applejack could see the suspicion on the alicorns face.

"Now why would he be here?" Luna asked.

"Let's go find out," Applejack suggested.

"No, it may be a mere coincidence but we need to find Lyra fast just in case," Luna said and the two mares started to pick up the pace.

-------The Group---------

"Sir, are you certain this'll work? I mean that mare hasn't given her statement yet and that creature is far from being broken down to give a confession..." The stallion who spoke shrunk under the gaze of the stallion in front of them.

"Listen all we need is the rumors to get ponies angry and fearful even if he never officially becomes a suspect. For when ponies make a mob and try to find that human is when we have won and we will give those ponies their prize. After we've dealt with him before hoof because we all know the truth about what happened." The stallion replied his gaze fell on a particular pony.

"But what about the elements and the princess?" One pony asked.

"They won't find anything no matter how hard they try. Now back to that mare, I would like to set up a little experiment." The stallion said before getting up making all the other ponies avoid his towering gaze.

"What are you planning on doing if you don't mind me asking?" Lemon asked as the stallion's cold eyes fell on the young stallion.

"It's the time you truly prove your loyalty since you failed to keep your sister in check. Remember it's that reason why that human got close enough to her to do such a crime. Just know we will always be here for you." The stallion said putting a hoof on Lemon's shoulder giving him a smile.

"T-thank you, and I promise I won't let you down this time," Lemon said making the older stallion give a smile that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Good, cause I think it's about time you get to give that human a piece of what you really think of him." The stallion then began to move towards the door. "Follow me boy, and the rest of you are dismissed and now go back to your duties!"

"Yes, sir!" All the ponies in the room as they said that and saluted.

Lemon looked nervously at the stallion in front of him for despite him being about the same size as Big Mac the stallion was still very imposing to most. But Lemon focused on his task on hoof which he already knew part of what this stallion wanted him to do. Knowing he couldn't hold back even if he wanted to could end his own life.

"Now Lemon Grabs, you understand what I expect?" Lemon gave a nod. "Good, because if we even show the slightest bit of mercy then this human will take advantage. Just like how he did with your sister."

The Pegasus guard outside of Brandon's cell saluted at the dark brown and scarred stallion as they walked up. After telling the guard to drop the salute and open the door the guard gave Lemon a hard look before doing what he was told. Lemon stepped inside to see Brandon strapped down, and in better condition than what he thought he would be in.

"We send in a doctor to treat him after our sessions, now go ahead and head inside. Remember just because I'm not staying doesn't mean I don't have ways to make sure you didn't hold back you got that?" The stallion said sending a chill down Lemons back and he quickly nodded and went into the room and the guard shut the door behind him.

"Hello Brandon, nice to see you again," Lemon said walking close but stopped as Brandon just stared harshly at him.

"Just tell me, is your sister apart of all..." Before he could finish he grunted and spit out as Lemon's hoof made contact with his stomach.

"You do not mention her after what you did to her! You're nothing more than a monster!" Lemon said bringing another hoof back landing his next punch on Brandon's jaw.

"I didn't do anything to Sparks!" He spat out before another hoof connected.

After a few more punches Lemon stepped back out of breath and looked at Brandon who for his part wasn't letting the pain show that much. Though Lemon knew he had done his part well as Brandon spat out some blood before returning his hard gaze back to Lemon. The stallion went in for one last hit connecting with Brandon's stomach yet again.

"I promise to be back," At that, Lemon stepped back and gave Brandon a nod before heading to the door which opened for him.

"You did good, but what did you say to that creature?" The guard asked.

"I just told him I wasn't quite done with him and I'll be back for him," Lemon answered making the guard give a nod.

"Alright, I'm sure the boss will be satisfied now go back to your normal duties." The guard said making Lemon nod before heading back to do some filing work.

---Brandon----

As the door shut he finally gave a wince as the pain spread throughout his body as it did since he had been here. He knew that soon a doctor will be in to give him treatment, just enough to heal almost everything so they can do it all over again. Though he didn't know exactly how long he had been in this room or how long he could hold out, he had to keep his hope alive by thinking about his marefriends and Grace.

Though as he shifted he noticed that the strap on his right arm had come loose and he couldn't help but wonder how that had happened. No matter what the straps never seemed to loosen until this time. That's when it connected when Lemon leaned over to whisper in his ear.

He knew he had been given this opportunity but he knew that he had to do this right or else it could make things a lot worse, and not just for him now. But he couldn't help but think of why Lemon would help him now, after all, it seems that they pretty well convinced the stallion that he was the one who beat his sister up. Unless of course, Lemon was playing them.

------Las Pegasus-------

"Luna, I think I've found something!" Lyra said as Luna and Applejack came into the warehouse.

"Wait, you did? Where and what is it?" Applejack asked a little surprise seeped into her voice.

"Well, not much but it's something. Look at this graffiti right here and tell me what you see!" Lyra said moving out of the way to let the other two mares look.

"I see a hand, but why do you think this is important? I don't mean to sound like I'm doubting you, it's just that this could have been done by a random Minotaur." Luna said.

"Ah, but you see when most ponies and Minotaurs draw hands they only put four fingers on the hand. That's because that's what we're used to, but look closely. While it may seem to only have four fingers..." Lyra started before it clicked with the other two mares.

"This one has five, like a humans hand. It also looks old, but if this has something to do with this group that kidnapped Brandon why paint a human hand long before he arrived?" Applejack was the one who asked.

"That is simple, this group very well dates back to the group of exiles who came here so it would make sense that they knew what a human hand looks like. But it is odd if this group used it as some kind of logo..." Luna started before trailing off.

"Did you think of something?" Lyra asked.

"Yes, an old memory of Las Pegasus. One of the first casinos built had a five-fingered hand as it's trademark, though no pony really understood it. From what my sister told me that the casino had eventually changed it to something else. But I can't remember what they changed it to," Luna replied giving a frustrated sigh.

"Hey now, I think I may be able to help." Applejack said making both mares look at her. "My grannie and her friends come here every year, and she said that the cities history was all written down and stored in the library. According to her, they go into great detail about each casino, both new and old."

"So, in other words, it might tell us which casino we will be looking for then," Lyra said.

"Just might have, but we can't go now it's too late." Applejack said as she looked out to where the sun was starting to lower.

"Agreed, and Lyra you did a good job," Luna said giving the unicorn a kiss on the cheek.

"T-thanks, but why did you two come here so fast and together?" Lyra asked making Luna give her a concerned look.

"Do you remember that stallion from the alleyway?" Luna asked.

"Wait, you can't be serious that he's actually here!" Luna nodded. "But why? I mean after what he said had happened when he tried to step in and help Brandon he made it sound like he was going to lay low."

"Apparently his definition of laying low means following the ponies you gave information to. I have had my suspicions about him but before you ask I don't think he is apart of this group we're looking for." Luna said.

"Why?" Applejack asked.

"Because if he was then he would have tried to throw us off by now or even when he gave us the information about Brandon being chased. He could have simply lied, no I think this stallion is apart of something entirely different. I'm just not sure what his intentions are like I said, but I have a feeling he's been watching us for a while now." Luna answered making the other two mares give each other a paranoid look.

"Do you think he was the one who sent us that box?" Lyra asked.

"No, otherwise I have a feeling he would have come here looking himself before he talked to us. Though it could be possible, but I don't think so." Luna said. "Now let's get back before the night crowd comes out to party, we have a lot to think about."

-----Manehatten--------

"Luna just sent a message that said that they may have found a lead that may help them. But they still have to look into it tomorrow." Twilight said as she finished the scroll.

"At least it sounds like they're having better luck than us. I mean we looked at where that stallion who attacked Brandon was found and came up with nothing, asked the surrounding neighborhoods if they knew the stallion and nothing!" Rainbow said in frustration.

"We know Rainbow, but we still have to look for Brandon's sake. The poor dear, who knows what that group is doing to him!" Rarity said.

"Agreed, let's just keep looking. There has to be something, if not to help us to help Luna and them on their side. I just hope we're not too late because the rumors have already started to get a little more detailed. Which means at this rate even without him being listed as a suspect ponies will jump on board with the idea that he did do it and I don't have to remind you all what that means." Twilight said which made them all go silent.

"R-right, I'll try again with some of the critters to see if they found anything tomorrow." Fluttershy was the first one to speak up.

"I'll keep up with some of the fashion ponies here to keep an ear open about those rumors and try to minimize them as much as possible." Rarity said.

"Alright, and I know you don't like this Rainbow but you and Pinkie are coming with me back to the alley just in case," Twilight said making rainbow roll her eyes. "Let's just hope we still have time because Brandon really already been through a lot."

"We have to find him and bring him home! Because he is one of us now, and he has more ponies counting on him returning safe and sound!" Pinkie finally spoked up and as the rest of them looked they couldn't help but see the determination in the party mare's eyes.

"Right, we will find him and bring back as Pinkie said. If they do anything to him before hoof then we will teach them a lesson that they will never forget!" Rainbow said giving a confident smile.

"This group had to of made a mistake somewhere that'll help us," Twilight said though a knock at their door made them drop their current conversation as Twilight went to answer the door. "Who's there?"

"It's me Twilly," Twilight heard Shining Armor say making all of them give a sigh of relief as Twilight opened the door.

"What are you doing here Shining?" Twilight asked.

"To help, of course, that and letting you know Brandon has been officially cleared of Sparks assault," Shining said leaving the entire group speechless.

Author's Note

Hmm, now I wonder how that would have happened...

Anyway hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Hope Of Escape

"Wait, you're telling us he's not a suspect?" Rainbow was the first one to recover and ask.

"Here, before I start explaining maybe we should take a seat," Shining replied and without much arguments, they all sat down around the room. "Let me start with the fact that Sparks gave her statement which helped clear his name."

"But?" Twilight asked.

"There is far more to it, of course, Twilly including what Luna Lyra sent up the chain. Got to admit that was smart on their part, and as for what they sent was a whole box filled with files. Not just any files mind you," Shining said.

"Files about the group that kidnapped Brandon?" Twilight asked making her brother give a nod.

"For this next part, I need time to explain okay? Because all of what I'm about to tell you is all sensitive information, in other words, classified. Before any of you ask the reason why I'm able to tell you this is because you all are heroes, of course, mixed with the fact that Princess Celestia gave permission and to add to it you all would've found out anyway. Given the fact that you all started your own investigation." Shining said.

"Okay, but first let me ask if what Luna and Lyra sent you helped you out why not go to them first?" Rarity asked.

"Ah, because you have the bigger group and we have ponies watching over them just to make sure nothing happens to them," Shining replied.

"Wait, does that mean that this group is actually in Las Pegasus?" Shining nodded. "What are we waiting for then?"

"We may know that their main base is there but we do not know exactly where. Luna's group is close to finding it from what my men have told me so far, at least they believe that her group is close to something. But we still have time and stuff needs to be explained before we just jump in. Hopefully, we'll make it in time because it won't be too long before this group knows we're on the right track." Shining said before flaring up his horn and casting a shield spell.

"Hmm, soundproof so no pony can eavesdrop, and no pony can get in or out without special invitations or marks. Much better than the one you did in Canterlot." Twilight said.

"Because it's a smaller area and requires less magic, but thanks for being impressed. Now let me think of where to exactly start," Shining said taking off his helmet and putting it next to him.

"How about starting with those files?" Pinkie suggested.

"Alright, and this also goes into why Sparks gave her statement. The files we received are in fact about the group, more importantly about some of the members in said group. These files not only told us about some of the members but also what information this group has over them." Shining said.

"Sounds like blackmail material to me," Rainbow said.

"Yes, blackmail and extortion. Which brings me to Sparks for the..." Shining stopped as Twilight raised her voice.

"I swear if she was apart of this..." Though Shining raised a hoof and patted Twilight's head to calm her down.

"Don't worry, I don't think she has any part in that group. Her brother on the other hoof," Shining said before being interrupted again.

"Lemon Grabs?" Pinkie asked making Shining nod.

"That meeting or whatever he went to then..." Twilight said.

"Was more than likely a meeting for this group. We believe that Lemon Grabs has been a member for two years now, his main job seems to be an office worker. I'm sure you all already put this together but we suspect that when this group heard that Lemon's sister was planning on going on a date with Brandon they acted. They would probably have tried to convince him that it was Brandon who attacked Sparks to guarantee his loyalty.

Then turn around and say that they've abducted Lemon's to blackmail Sparks into saying it was Brandon who attacked her. If that's the case, and it is so far, then they probably wouldn't let Lemon contact his sister. But we think Lemon found out," Shining said.

"And he's the one who sent Luna and Lyra the box. But still, all this is good so far but why didn't Sparks say it was Brandon?" Rarity was the one who asked.

"Because we told her about the group and her brother was involved in an undercover operation and that's what got her to give her real statement," Shining said.

"So, you lied to her?" Rainbow asked.

"Not exactly, because we do think he was the one who gave us those files. So when we go into their base and make some arrest he will be listed as an undercover operative as of today and will be let go. Now here's the tricky part of all this, we have been investigating this group for several years now." Shining said.

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.

"What I mean is we may not have known that this particular group was the one we were looking for, but some of the files we received pertained to some of our ongoing investigations. In other words, it busted down and opened new doors. From like how we already said blackmail, extortion, hiring mercenaries to take care of problems. Those are just the tip of the iceberg." Shining replied.

"Is there anything else?" Rarity asked.

"If you're asking if we know the exact location, no we don't but we have discreetly arrested some of the ponies that were we got files on. I have some of my men questioning them as we speak but right now we're counting on Luna's group because as I said they seem pretty close to finding something." Shining answered. "Which reminds me, we have a train to catch if we plan on being there by the morning so pack up and let's head out in an hour."

Without saying another word despite the five mares still having questions Shining left leaving them to pack up their things as quickly as they could. Though they were thankful since what they were told was a lot to digest. But they now at least have as good of a lead as they come.

-------------The Groups Base---------------

He was mostly healed up by the doctor, it was apart of the physician's orders not to fully heal him. Though he didn't know whether the doctor was paying much attention or he acted like he didn't know that one of his straps was loose. But either way, the doctor gave him a nod before leaving.

One way or the other he was grateful since the loose strap was his only hope of escaping, but he still knew he had to wait. Though they didn't know he had studied when they changed guard, and he knew he had to wait for the shift change and then some so the new guard wouldn't suspect anything. Which after what he assumed was another hour and he heard the current guard switching out.

After waiting another couple of hours to make sure the new guards were comfortable before he began his work. He was not going to sit here and wait for rescue or was he going to break down in tears, he had enough crying and being the one that needed to be saved from something. This time he was going to save himself and see those he grew to love again, even if he only got to see them one last time.

He didn't care and as he undid his straps he couldn't help but remember the memories that had come back to him. They had steeled him for what he knew he would have to do. Though he pushed the memories back down and concentrated on finishing the straps. For now that he had his chance and he was not going to waste it.

The guards heard a noise from the room and they looked at each other and one nodded before turning to look inside the room. Quickly seeing the prisoner was no longer strapped down the guards unlocked the door and went in. They were both quickly taken care of as Brandon grabbed one guard and slamming the stallion hard against the ground, quickly dropping low as the other threw their spear and he swept the legs out from underneath the guard.

Though he knew that wasn't the end of it, so quickly reacting he grabbed the guard he had tripped up and flung him into the guard that was now beginning to recover. Grabbing the keys and one of their spears he left and shut the door behind him. He then shoved the keys into the pockets of his shorts before turning to see another guard coming down the hall.

The two stared at each other for a second before he reacted and threw the spear nailing the guard in the leg. Before the guard could scream out in pain and call for help he pounced locking the guard in a choke hold until the stallion passed out. Getting up and making sure the guard was still alive he grabbed the guards spear not wanting to pull the one out of the stallion's leg.

But as he started down a hall alarms began to go off and he cursed forgetting about any surveillance that they might have had. Though he did wonder why they didn't sound the alarm when he got out of the room, though as he looked at the guard below him he couldn't help but roll his eyes. They either weren't paying attention or they thought that this one guard would be able to take care of things.

Either way, he wasn't going to stop his escape now but then something crossed his mind. He had to find and help Lemon out of here as well because surely they would have figured out it was him that helped him out. But he had no idea where to began looking so he picked a hallway and started his way.

"And what does he think he's going to do?" The stallion asked looking at the security footage. "Not trying to escape just yet, just looking for somepony."

Lemon laid at the back of the room unconscious and severely beaten and the stallion couldn't help but give a little laugh. Knowing that the human was going to try to find the sad pathetic excuse for a pony. Quickly sending a message to his guards he sat back and watched.

He knew that with them on guard and watching him through the security cameras which the ones he spotted he took out. But he knew that wasn't going to be enough as he heard the guards shouting giving orders and stomping around. Shaking his head as he wondered why the guard's armor always seemed so heavy and loud, not very good when looking for your escaped prisoner.

Though he knew no matter what he would eventually have to fight his way through some of them for right now he had to conserve his energy. Checking the doors only found one that was unlocked and before entering he made sure there were no more cameras around. Going inside he found himself in your run of the mill janitor closet.

Locking the door and holding his breath moments before a group of guards came down the hallway checking all the doors. He saw the door handle rattle before they moved on to the next, it took them several minutes before he heard them go off into a different direction. But he still couldn't help but find that one door is unlocked at first seemed a little convenient so he didn't let his guard down as he caught his breath.

Taking the keys out of his pocket he looked through them all, though his guess was that they were mostly cell keys. But there was one key that caught his interest, this one was engraved with SR. He knew instantly that it meant a security room and figured that it was his best shot at not just finding Lemon but an escape route.

Though he knew there was still the matter of actually finding the security room, he knew of at least one way. Taking another breath to prepare himself for what he knew was going to be a long and hard fight. He took the security room key off the chain and put it back into his pocket and left the other keys in the room.

Turning the nob and cracking open the door to peek through to see if he would have much trouble. Seeing at least one guard at the end of the hall, and figuring there was one stationed at the other end he moved. He ran so fast the first guard barely had time to try to raise his spear in defence as the shaft of the spear he was carrying made contact with the guard's jaw.

Instantly the guards head snapped upward giving him a good opening slamming the blunt end of the shaft hard into the stallion's chest knocking the air out of the guard. After the guard collapsed onto the ground he turned to see the other guard calling for help. Knowing there was one thing to do he threw his spear again, this time only embedding into the wall next to the guards head.

This of course made the guard stumble back a little before the mare turned her gaze to him giving him a harsh look. Though by that time he had already made up most of the ground and already past the reach of the spears head. But he did take a hard slap across his side by the shaft which he grabbed hold of pulling it out of the guards grasp and throwing it to the ground.

"Where is the security room?" He asked slamming the mare to the wall next to the spear he had thrown just moments before.

"Like I tell a crea... Aaagghh!" He slammed his fist hard against the mares armour, which he knew his hand wasn't going to be in good shape after since it was enough not only to hurt the mare but left a big dent in the chest piece.

"No time for stalling, you think I'm a monster? I can show you just how much of one I can be, now just tell me where the dam security room is!" He said as he could now see the fear in the mare's eyes as she caught her breath.

"Y-you'll never make it! Not there and definitely not out of this building!" The mare said trying to calm her fears as she started to try to find a way to escape.

"Brave words..." Before he could do anything a blast of magic came from the other end of the hallway where the first guard had recovered.

He averted his eyes as the magic went passed him and slammed into the shocked mare as a new hole appeared in her forehead. Dropping the now lifeless mare he turned and stared angerly at the stallion who only gave a smile in return. There was no shock for him seeing such violence for he had seen far worse, but the stallion had a shot on him why kill one of their own?

"She was weak, the boss gave us clear orders that any of us shows that kind of weakness to your kind deserves to die!" Though that was all the stallion got to say as a spear appeared in the stallion's side.

"Mmhmm, not my orders. Any stallion like you don't deserve to live," Suddenly the big stallion who he knew was the boss appeared. "Now, why did you kill her? Because she rejected you? I know I certainly didn't give such orders in a crisis like this."

"B-but..." The guard stammered before the big stallion shoved the spear deeper.

"All emergency orders take priority over normal routine. Any traitors during such an event will be dealt with accordingly after because we need as many of us as we can." The big stallion said as the guard took his last breath. "Such a waste of life, I was looking forward to seeing you make your way to the security room and try to find a way out."

"You know I don't think we really introduced ourselves since your men brought me here, my name is Brandon. A human from a different world." He said ignoring the two bodies.

"I see you are used to seeing death which proves that no matter where your kind comes from you're all just the same, monsters who need to be put down. But fine, I'll humour you this one time. My name is Land Shark, as you can tell I hold up to my name," Land said pulling his spear from the guard's corpse. "Now if you follow me so we can have some privacy."

He gave the stallion a hard look before grabbing the spear from the wall which made him stop for a moment to look at the dead mare. Bending down in a squat position he closed her eyes and gave her a little prayer making Land give him a nod after he stood up and faced the stallion. Though he knew if he followed the big stallion he would probably not make it out alive he knew it was his only chance.

"I will give you that you at least have decency, unlike the humans who originally lived in this land." Land said.

"If you come from the group of exiles, then do you know what happened to the humans?" He couldn't help but ask.

"That much should be obvious to a degree. Before our ancestors travelled back to their countries they eliminated as many humans as possible. Then when the three tribes came here and brought the Windigo's the remaining humans died out due to the cold. Mine and the other families hide away the remains including their settlements after the tribes united." Land answered.

"Let me guess, you're telling me this because you think you'll kill me." He said.

"Not necessarily, the way you handled yourself even with the few you've come into contact with tells me you have been trained. Though it's obvious that your skills are rusty you are more than a threat. I did not become the leader of this group because I was stupid, or because of my strength. It's because I know how to read creatures," Land said taking a turn.

"Never said you were stupid, but you do have several advantages." He said making the stallion roll his eyes.

"I'm more than aware, just like I'm aware that while I have the strength and even guards on my side you are fast. Though I do promise not to let my guard intervene that does not negate anything. I'm sure you know why," Land said.

"Yeah, yeah because even if I defeat you I will still have to deal with the guards. Which I'm sure I will have trouble with because I'm sure you won't just go down easy." He said and Land turned his head and gave him a look that would have sent shivers up most creatures spines.

"I assure you that it won't be me that goes down, now here we are!" Land opened up a door revealing a decently open room and as he looked he saw guards and other workers behind windows and in one corner Lemon was lying unconscious. "Now the real fun begins!"

Author's Note

Well, at least Land Shark is giving him a chance. But I think we know where this is going...
Hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Escape

Taking a breath before going into a stance that he knew he had learnt from his time in the army. Though thinking about the full memories he had gotten back since he had been here told him that he only had the basics. Because shortly after he got out of basic training was when the towers were attacked and he was called to war.

He now knew that was why his extended family didn't want anything to do with him because he didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to his mom and brother. But he shook his head knowing he had to stay focused on the situation. Taking a look around he saw two more doors other than the one they had come through.

Knowing that these doors would both lead to guards he knew that they might be a way out. His eyes drifted towards Lemon who had been tossed in the corner like a bag of trash but at least the stallion seemed to be breathing. He then set a hard gaze on the boss of this group.

"You know after what I've seen it's obvious that you do have the training, if somewhat basic and rusty. But after working with some of those Minotaur mercs I know not to underestimate one who even has the most basic of training. Especially one trapped in a corner," Land said leveling his spear which after looking at the head he knew it wasn't a standard spear.

"So is that why you lead me here? To corner me and see how far I'm willing to go?" He asked.

"Yes, and what was it you said to that mare before she died? 'Let me show you how much of a monster I can be' or something along those lines." Land said mockingly. "But first I want this to be as fair as possible, I'll undo the harness on your wings."

He gave the stallion a hard look then looked at his wings and gritted his teeth as he nodded letting the stallion come close. The reason why he hadn't done anything about the harness was that he couldn't reach buckles, not to mention he didn't want to risk using the spear to cut through them. But it also helped him when he was in the halls because his wings didn't get in the way.

Now they were in an open room and while he knew if he did manage to escape with Lemon in tow having his wings out would cause some problems. It was a risk he had to take, just like it was a risk to let the stallion that started all this get this close. But he felt the restraints on his wings lift allowing him to stretch them out.

"And what about my injuries?" He couldn't help but ask as Land went back across the room.

"I will only do so much for a creature I despise, but I'm at least trying to be civil here. Now quit your stalling and better be prepared because you will have a long way ahead of you." Land replied and before he had time to get back into his stance the stallion sprang forward.

For a pony his size he moved a lot faster than what most thought but he was at least prepared for it. That was one thing he remembered about some of his training, just because they're big doesn't always mean they're slow. But he also knew there was a trade-off at a point with speed and strength.

Lucky for him he didn't have to deal with it as he managed to roll out of the stallions path feeling the gust of wind from the stallion going past. Land quickly turned around and brought his spear around and he barely managed to lift his own spear to block. To his surprise, the stallions spear went through the shaft of his spear splitting it in half, but that was enough to spare him.

That was until he grunted and gasped as a hoof connected with his stomach making him dart away before another landed. Dropping to his knees trying to get his breath back he could see the stallion shake his head in disappointment. But the stallion was caught by surprise when the top half of his spear flew by grazing the large stallion's side before receiving a hard kick to the face.

Land Shark reared back in slight daze and pain though he could tell it was more out of the wound his thrown spear had caused. Once again before the stallion had time to react he impaled the other end of the broken shaft into one of the stallion's leg. This time Land reacted by wildly swinging his spear, lucky for him he had just moved out of the reach of the spear.

At least he thought he had escaped the reach in time until he felt something stinging his left leg. As he looked he knew it was just barely a scratch but the pain felt deeper. But he had no time to examine the wound as Land started to move towards him again.

He had no weapons to defend himself at this point, the half of the spear with the head was across the room past the pissed off stallion. The other end still impaled into the stallion's leg which at least slowed down the stallion. Standing up he winced feeling like the pain in his leg was spreading but he ignored it for the moment.

"You know we could just end this and you could just let me go!" He called out making Land give an almost crazy laugh.

"Boy, after I'm done with you there will be nothing left! But I will give you credit, while your skills as I thought are basic you've done more than most to me at your level. Which means I'll enjoy what time we have left." Land replied stepping forward, though the stallion stopped when a commotion started from the spectators.

"Sir, we have multiple intruders! We don't have an exact number but it looks like some of the Royal Guard!" A guard burst into the room.

"You idiot! I'm in the middle of..." Before either Land or the guard could react he manage to kick Lan's legs out from under him and pushed the half of the shaft still in his leg deeper making the large stallion roar in pain.

Turning around quickly to see the shocked guard he punched the guard hard in the nose and he could hear a sicking cracking sound. The guard's head snapped backward and after looking he knew he had broken the stallions entire snout. Quickly going over to Lemon he picked up the unconscious pony but his leg made him drop for a moment.

"You aren't getting away that easy!" He heard Land scream and turned around just in time to take the stallions spear into his shoulder.

The force of the impact made him not only drop Lemon hard onto the ground but sent him into a wall. He grabbed the spear by the shaft and put as much strength into it as he could manage to break it closer to the head. The pain was intense and just didn't feel like natural as the pain spread, and Land had a smirk on his face as if he had won.

"It was a nice try using this guard's bursting in here to make a move but you should have killed me or at least disable me to where I couldn't recover as quickly. Such a same that I had to waste my Hyrda Tooth spear on you," Land said slowly moving forward not using the leg that now had the spear shaft sticking out either side of it.

"Sorry to interrupt sir, but it's not just the Royal Guard! It's some of his marefriends including Princess Luna!" Another guard said coming into the room which gave Land a momentary pause.

"Have you all already started evacuation procedures?" The guard nodded but looked concern.

"They have men guarding every entrance and exit sir, we don't know how but they're even in our secret routes except for one," The guard answered.

"That'll be enough to get as many of us out, now go I have some business to deal with before I take my leave." Land said turning his gaze back at him before giving a cruel smile. "Well, it seems I've underestimated their ability to find us. But it makes no difference to me, we can just go to our next Headquarters. Take solace that those who love you will at least see you whole."

"Go to hell and rot...Aaagghh!" He shrieked out in pain as the stallion put a hoof onto the spearhead still in his shoulder.

"Don't know what hell is, but it sounds like a good place for your kind." Land said giving the spearhead a light tap making him give another scream. "Did you know that Hydra's teeth hold certain toxins that not only makes the pain spread it'll keep the victims wound from clotting? At least if you extract the teeth right anyhow, I am glad I made the trade with the Minotaurs just for this moment."

Black spots started to spread across his vision as the stallion pushed the spearhead deeper into his shoulder. This time he managed to hold back his scream and just stare at the stallion. He took satisfaction in the fact he was denying Land his own sick satisfaction.

Suddenly though Land took the pressure off the spearhead and a look of shock and disbelief rolled across the stallions face. Taking a step back Land turned his head to see Lemon standing there with shaking hooves as the smaller stallion took a hoof off of something now embedded into Land's side and stepping back. Things were silent for a moment before Land spoke you.

"You little..." Before Land could say or do anything he jumped on the chance and grabbed the thing that was sticking out of the stallion side out.

This made the big stallion give a grunt before turning his attention back onto him but it was too late for the stallion to do anything. He thrust the half of the spear with the head deep into the stallion's chest making the stallion's eyes go wide. Stepping back in shock before the stallion collapsed onto the ground.

As he sat back down he looked over to where Lemon was and remembered that when he had dropped the pony it was near where the other half of the spear landed. Taking deep breaths as once again black spots started to dance across his vision. He had used his last bit of strength and energy in that last attack as his vision faded into the blackness he spoke up.

"G-get out of here..." Was all he could say before he fully fell to the floor.

----Luna----

Their search managed to lead them to the casino but the three mares didn't know where to begin searching it or how they would even go about it. That was until they had received a message from Twilight which included blueprints of the groups base. The message described that Shining's men had rounded up some of the members.

As it turns out one of the members had blueprints hidden in spots throughout their house, now that house was nothing more than a frame. When she got the blueprints she decided not to wait for the others but to call on the Las Pegasus guard. Which after a few hours of making sure none of them were members and making a plan they set out.

They had completely locked down the casino and hotel which was the easy part, and after all the employees were rounded up and interviewed they found and stationed guard where they knew exits were placed. Taking in a team which included her and Applejack but also over a hundred well-trained guards they started their mission. It took some convincing for Lyra to stay back but after assuring the unicorn many times and making several promises Lyra finally agreed.

She knew she was already risking Brandon's life and didn't want to risk Lyra's as well after all Brandon would be more angry with them at that than anything. As for Applejack, she knew the mare was tough and could handle herself. Not to mention when she tried to convince Applejack to stay behind the orange mare showed just how stubborn she could be.

"Are you sure you do not want to reconsider?" She asked making Applejack roll her eyes.

"I may not be a trained guard but like I already said I can handle myself. I mean just look at what me and my friends have already been through," Applejack answered.

"And as I said fair enough, but I would appreciate it if somepony could stay with Lyra to make sure she stays safe." She said looking at the unicorn.

"Don't worry Princess, I will personally guard her with my life!" The Chief of the guards said. "We were wanting to stop this casino for years now because we suspected that something else was going on but we never had the proof. So this is my way of trying to make it up to you by making sure one of your fellow marefriends is safe!"

"T-thank you," She looked at the sturdy stallion before her, he was loyal to a fault sometimes from what she heard but he did not fail in his duties. "Then let's begin!"

Though when they started to make their way into the lower levels they had heard what sounded like alarms going off which made them worry that they had already been discovered. But the alarm was quickly cut off making them wonder if it wasn't them then what had made that alarm go off? They didn't give much thought before they speed up their pace and it wasn't too long before they ran into their first bit of resistance.

They quickly dispatched the small group of a mixture of guards and worker ponies and started to spread out in teams. It wasn't long before the alarms started to go off again letting them know that the group knew they were here. Group after group of guards and workers were taken down and magically restrained they finally knew where they had to go thanks to a chatty worker.

Her group quickly started to make their way to the room the pony had described which they had passed a hall with two dead guards in it, one shot magically through the head and one who suffered from a spear to the side. Though as one of her men examined the stallion they told her what she already figured. It wasn't just any spearhead that killed the stallion, it was one made of a Hydra's tooth.

"We need to hurry, from the sounds of it Brandon may not have the time!" She yelled quickly leading her group in the direction of the room where Brandon was fighting for his life.

After dealing with a few more guards, one seemed surprised that some of them had made it that far tried to fight back. She quickly raised a shield which deflected the attack easily before she teleported behind the guard. Slamming the guard to the ground before speaking.

"Is he still alive?" She asked charging up her horn.

"I-I don't know..." The stallion yelped as she released a small bit of her magic which made a good sized hole in the ground.

"I will only ask this once more, is he still alive?" She asked and she could see the terror in the stallion's eyes.

"As far as I know! Land Shark likes to make his victims suffer before he kills them!" At that, she cast a sleeping spell on the stallion before getting up.

"Then we need to hurry up, from the sounds of it the fight might already be over and Brandon is in trouble!" She ordered.

She ran as fast as what she could with her group of guards following behind as she zapped a few guards and workers in restraints or made them go into a deep sleep. It wasn't too long before they reached a door which she wasted no time in blasting through. But as she stepped through the door her heart seemed to stop at the scene.

Brandon was laying on the floor with Lemon Grabs next to him trying to wake the human. Not too far away was the body of a large stallion who has a broken half of a spear in his heart and the other half in his leg. But she ignored the dead stallion and the guard who was still unconscious and ran to Brandon with tears in her eyes.

"Please be breathing!" She said as she pushed the injured Lemon out of her way and put an ear to his chest and she let out a sigh as not only was he still breathing his heartbeat seemed stable. "Thank the stars he's alive!"

Though as she looked she saw the spearhead in his shoulder and the cut on his leg which was slowly bleeding. She knew that it wasn't the end of his pain as there was only one treatment that would fight the toxins in his wounds. But she wasn't sure if it would affect him in the same way.

"Princess, we need to get both of them to the hospital." A guard said coming up behind her.

"I-I know, j-just be careful he has a Hydra tooth in his shoulder." She said making the guard nod as they brought in two stretchers.

As they carried away both Brandon and Lemon she stood there in the room before she let out her frustration on the dead stallion by giving a hard kick to the body. Though they had made it in time before Brandon bleed out she knew he wasn't out of the woods. For she didn't know if the normal treatment for a Hydra's toxin would do the trick.

Though she knew he had some kind of self-healing magic which they had known about since his ankle had healed without too much help. Not to mention how fast the wounds from his wings healed up, but she also knew Hydra's toxin could prevent magic from healing a wound as well. But she had to hope that the treatment would work which would stop the bleeding at least, that was the biggest concern.

"L-luna I-I just... B-brandon..." Lyra stammered on the verge of tears as she came out of the lower levels.

"I-I know, let's head to the hospital okay?" She said and Lyra nodded seeing that the alicorn was on the verge of tears herself.

"I'll take you," The Chief said pointing to a buggy.

"T-thank you Cheif, w-we really would appreciate it." She said making the Chief nod.

"And don't worry, already have a soundproof spell on it." The Chief said as they climbed in to find Applejack already there.

Once they got going she wrapped Lyra in her arms as both of them let their tears flow out of both relief that he was at least alive and concern that he might not make it after all. Though Applejack tried her best to stay strong and comfort the two crying mares her own heart was in pain for the same reasons. After a while, the orange pony finally had to let out her own grief as well, which to her surprise Luna wrapped a hoof around her and the three of them stayed like that the whole ride.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and hope you have a good mother's day! Remember to smile, smile, smile!

Pulling Through

They already had him in the operation room for an hour before Twilight's group had teleported the rest of the way after getting the message. As the group was filled in they all looked with concern at the three mares two of which looked like they were barely keeping it together. They all went to sit by the mares without saying a word.

"T-they managed to adjust the treatment for the Hyrda toxin for him and got the bleeding under control," Applejack finally spoke up.

"That's a good sign," Though Twilight already knew that was probably the easy part.

"I know what you're thinking Twilight and if he does then he might not..." Luna drifted off trying to hold herself together.

"W-what are you guys talking about?" Pinkie asked though they knew by her tone that she really didn't want to know.

"He was stabbed with a Hydra's tooth that still had its gland perfectly intact, very few here in Equestria could do that. It probably came from Minotaurs, but the toxin that a Hydra's tooth has prevents wounds from clotting. Meaning if not treated right away then the pony or creature can, well you know." Twilight explained though folded her ears back as Luna sighed.

"T-then why..." Rainbow started before it dawned on her.

"Y-yes, if h-he needs blood h-he w-won't be able t-to g-get it b-because h-he's n-not a pony," Lyra said barely able to stutter out the sentence.

"Y-you said you found him in a room, h-how did he get there?" Twilight asked knowing she probably wouldn't get an answer from the two distraught mares.

"I-I can answer that if you come over here," Shining said making Twilight and a few of the others follow leaving Fluttershy and Pinkie to comfort the others. "My men have been reviewing the security footage."

"No offense darling but we already figured," Rarity said making Shining nod.

"Right, sorry but what they've found so far is that Brandon was making an attempt to escape around the time when the infiltration team was assembling, hence why they heard the alarms going off. He didn't make it too far before he took cover in a closet and not going into too much detail but who we now know as Land Shark lead him to that room." Shining explained.

"W-wait lead? As in Brandon willingly followed?" Twilight asked and Shining nodded.

"Not sure a hundred percent sure why but from what they've viewed so far Land Shark is... was highly dangerous," Shining said making the group give each other a slight look of confusion.

"S-so does that mean that he's..." Twilight started.

"Yes, he was found in the same room as Brandon. Land had taken him there for a fight, and at the end, Lemon stabbed Land in the side. It was Brandon who finished the stallion," Shining said making the group grow silent for a moment.

"I-if he hadn't he would be dead right?" Rarity was the one who asked.

"Yes, that much is obvious since by that time Land had already impaled Brandon in the shoulder," Shining answered.

"T-thank you for finding that out for us," Twilight said giving Shining a hug which he returned and gave a comforting squeeze.

"If any of you need anything let me know okay?" Shining asked breaking the hug. "I'll be right here if you need me."

"T-thanks, but right now let's just worry about them," Twilight said looking the two mares and her eyes widened a little. "H-has anypony tried to contact Derpy yet? A-and Grace..."

"My men have already sent a scroll to her and are on their way to pick her and Grace up," Shining said making Twilight feel a bit of relief and formed a heavy knot in her heart at the thought of seeing not only Derpy but Grace being torn up about all this.

The four of them went back into the waiting room after Shining left to help with the investigation. A nurse would come out every now and again to give them an update and it did give them some hope. They learned that the doctors had managed to stop the bleeding enough to be able to remove the spearhead.

"D-does he need blood?" Twilight was the one who asked.

"That is the weird part about it, despite the amount he lost now that we removed the spearhead it seems his blood levels are rising again." The nurse said.

"Well, h-he had always been a fast healer. Could he have some kind of self-healing magic?" Twilight asked.

"No, it's not magic from what we've been able to determine," Suddenly the doctor said making them all jump a bit. "Sorry, but we have finished with sealing the wound and I will be happy to answer what I can."

"If it's not magic then what is it?" Rarity asked.

"We have no idea at this point unless it's a magic we can't detect with our current methods. From what we can tell it's something inside his own body, some kind of cell that we haven't ever seen before. But now that the toxins have been removed and the wound sealed this cell kicked into work," The doctor answered.

"So it's like an emergency cell then? But why did it take so long to kick in?" Rainbow was the one who asked.

"The Hydra's toxin just doesn't affect and prevent wounds from sealing themselves it can affect the nervous system as well. You see the more in you the more the toxins spread and attack the nerves from the inside making the creature have spreading intense pain. Though it won't kill or destroy the nerves the point of it is to cause a type of paralysis, which mixed with the constant blood loss this cell couldn't do its duty or something along those lines." The doctor explained.

"I-If you d-don't mind doctor but h-how did you find this cell?" Luna managed to ask after being silent for so long.

"Yes, well after we removed the spearhead and made sure there were no more toxins left we started sealing the wound. One of my colleges was doing a magic scan to keep track of Brandon's blood levels which of course he noticed them rising. So after our normal routine scans to see if it was magic and even some more advanced magic detecting spells we found nothing.

We decided to take a sample of his blood after that and sent it to the lab to see if they couldn't find the reason. Sure enough, they did discover some cells though it was tough for them because these cells seem to be smaller than any other cell. So to wrap it up a bit he will pull through this, but I don't know whether or not these cells will touch the actual wound since their main focus will be on making more blood." The doctor explained and though they already knew that hearing the doctor say it gave them the relief they needed.

"W-when w-will we be able to see him?" To all their surprise it was Lyra who spoke up and asked.

"It'll still be a little bit because we have to keep him under observation until his levels are all stable. Now keep in mind that he may not respond, his body and mind have been through a lot in the past few days. So it may be a while before he wakes up," The doctor answered.

"Wait, what has he been through?" Applejack was the one who asked.

"To put it bluntly he was beaten several times by the bruising. From what we can tell they had a doctor almost completely heal his wounds. Keep in mind I said almost and not to mention with how I heard he was restrained I doubt he had much sleep. Not to mention what the restraints did to his wrist, ankles, and wings..." The doctor stopped and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, with how things are we'll let visitors into his room in about two hours."

With that, the doctor trotted off down to the surgery rooms returning to check to see how things were going. While there was a sense of relief about him being okay after this there was still worry in the air. They all had to wonder how all of what happened to him had affected him mentally.

Soon they wheeled his bed into an observation room which one of the nurses came by and told them they could look through the window until he was allowed visitors. As they all looked into the room he didn't look too bad, a little beat up and bandage wrapping around his shoulder. But otherwise, he looked like he was just sleeping comfortably.

"I-I know he's going to be fine," Lyra spoke up trying to put as much confidence in her voice as possible.

"I'm sure he will, and I know he'll be glad to know you girls are okay," Applejack said putting a comforting hoof on the unicorns back.

"Luna! Lyra!" Derpy yelled as she came down the hall with Dinky and Grace in tow and as they got to the group she looked into his room. "I-is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, he made it through surgery without much issue," Luna replied and as they looked they could tell Derpy was holding it together, but they knew that the grey mare was staying strong for the fillies who looked into the room with worry.

"Can we go in?" Grace asked not taking her eyes off of him.

"N-not yet, the doctor wants him to get some rest and watch him for a few hours okay?" Luna replied wrapping the little pegasus up in a hug.

"B-but what if he has nightmares?" Grace asked making Luna give a little smile.

"I won't let that happen, but are you guys hungry?" Luna asked though she knew it wouldn't do much, much to her and Derpy's surprise, it was Dinky who spoke up.

"I-I could go for something, want to come with Grace?" Dinky asked which seemed to do the trick as Grace's stomach growled.

"You know he'll be fine and we'll come to get you if they let us in sooner. Besides he wouldn't want you to go hungry," Derpy said making Grace finally tear away from the window.

"O-okay, but only if you Pinkie promise," Grace said making the grown mare give a little sigh as she did the motions which they saw Pinkie take a note of it, and afterward Pinkie took the two fillies to the cafeteria.

"You should go get something to eat as well," Twilight suggested though Derpy shook her head.

"I-I want to stay..." Derpy said and none of them argued.

After about thirty minutes Pinkie brought the girls back, and Dinky went over to her mom while Grace peeked through the window before joining them. The group made some small talk while they waited but mostly they stayed silent. Eventually, after two hours a nurse finally came out.

"His blood levels have returned to normal and the doctor said only a few at a time right now. While he's out of the woods he still needs rest," The nurse said before going down the hall.

"Why don't I take the girls in there to see him and then you two can go okay?" Luna suggested.

"S-sounds good to me," Lyra replied and Derpy nodded.

At that Luna guided the two fillies into the room and though Dinky stayed back a bit Grace automatically went up and gave him a little nuzzle. Luna went to the other side of the bed stroking his cheek before giving him a little kiss. Giving a little smile as he seemed to relax a bit after that.

"I am so grateful you pulled through, you had us all worried," Luna said before her gaze returned to the little pegasus who had fear of loss hidden in her eyes. "But I think it's time for us to let somepony else come in for a minute."

Grace and Dinky both nodded before heading to the door but Grace seemed hesitant to leave and Luna could still see that fear. Knowing that the filly knew of such loss in the first place broke her heart let alone one who almost lost one who was willing to foster her. But she also knew that he would be strong for them for something inside her feels something might have changed within him.

After they came out Derpy and Lyra went in and using her magic Lyra closed the curtains. Forty minutes later both mares came out and they could tell Lyra must have been the strong one of the two. But that came as no surprise since Lyra had the time to process all of what happened.

"Love you moma," Dinky said giving her mom a hug which the grey mare returned giving the filly a tight squeeze.

"You okay?" Luna asked Lyra who only shook her head in response though Lyra felt a tap to her side making her turn to see Grace.

"It's okay, he's just tired," Grace said and Lyra did her best to give the filly a smile.

"Yeah, just tired and you know he's going to be super happy when he sees you right?" Lyra managed to ask.

"He'll be more happy to see you though," Grace said her voice carried a sad tone to it.

"Non-sense, you are apart of us, and we're all his family now. Believe me, he loves all his family and will be happy to see all of us." Luna said wrapping the filly in a tight hug.

Luna could feel the Pegasus filly sink into her chest and give a heavy sob making Luna close her eyes to keep herself from breaking down again herself. Though she gently stroked the filly's head as she wept as the rest of the group took their time to visit. After some time Grace managed to calm down enough to speak.

"I-I don't want t-to l-lose another f-family..." Grace sobbed.

"We know, and we're not going anywhere," It was Lyra who had spoken up.

After some time Grace and Dinky fell asleep and some of the others said their goodbyes for now. It only left the three mares and fillies, along with Applejack and Twilight who insisted that Luna and Lyra get some rest themselves. Though that was before they noticed a new visitor.

"T-tia?" Luna asked looking at her older sister with some slight surprise.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long," Celestia said wrapping her sister in a comforting hug of her own.

Breaking their hug Celestia gave Luna a gentle smile and after some explaining, Celestia looked into his room giving a sigh. Celestia was glad he was going to pull through but the lack of sleep and the grief was evident in all their eyes. She suggested they try to get some sleep.

"Luna, can I speak to you?" Celestia asked as Derpy and Lyra laid down on a bench.

"Of course," Luna replied getting up and following her sister.

"You know his one year anniversary is in a week," Celestia said making Luna roll her eyes.

"Tia I don't know why you think that..." Luna started before Celestia cut her off.

"What are you going to get him?" Celestia asked making Luna give her a look.

"As much as I appreciate what you are trying to do..." Once again Celestia cut her off.

"You know you could always wear that waitress outfit..." This time Luna cut her off.

"Please just stop it! I-I just..." Luna started feeling herself start to shake a little.

"Lulu, he is going to be fine. Both physically and mentally because despite how vulnerable and sensitive he seems he is tougher than what most would think. He has already overcome a lot of trials since coming here and with some help, he'll get past this one as well," Celestia said putting a comforting hoof on Luna's shoulder making her meet her sister's gaze.

"T-thank you," Luna said wrapping the white alicorn in a tight hug.

"You are very welcome, but really what are you going to get him for his one year party?" Celestia asked making Luna break the hug giving a little grunt of frustration.

"We don't even know if he'll be released by then," Luna said this time Celestia rolled her eyes.

"This is Brandon we are talking about, at most he'll be here another day or two especially with what they found out," Celestia said. "But really, if anything you could wear that uniform..."

"Tia!" Luna groaned.

"Alright, just remind the others because I have a feeling he's gonna want to have that party to at least take his mind off of all this even for a little while," Celestia said. "I have to go back to Canterlot, so please try to get some sleep okay? And make sure you tell the other's to keep that party idea in mind. Because I'm sure you all need it as much as he does."

At that Celestia teleported out making Luna turn to the small group that remained at the hospital and seeing them sleeping gave her a little smile. Though she did fire up her magic as Grace seem to slip into another nightmare. After a few hours, Applejack woke up and told Luna to get some shut-eye.

Laying her head down on the pillow that a nurse had given her she really couldn't believe what has all really happened in a year of time. He had fallen out of the sky with barely any memories of his world let alone himself, was attacked by three stallions, then there was the strangle attempt which eventually lead them here. But there were good things, him making an attempt in fitting in, getting a herd of his own, and was now in the process of at least becoming a foster parent.

"We will be fine," Luna whispered as she slipped into her own dream world.

Author's Note

So many things you all don't know about his world, I mean he wasn't sent there by accident...
Hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

His World

By the time everyone had woken up it was early afternoon and Brandon was still in a deep sleep of his own. That didn't surprise any of them since they knew he needed as much rest as possible. Soon the rest of their friends showed back up again, this time they had a few more guests with them.

"How is he doing?" Tallia asked before looking in his room.

"Still sleeping, but he'll make a full recovery. It's so good to see you two but where's the little one and your egg?" Luna asked.

"We left them with Sparkler and before you start explaining what happened there is one other visitor we're waiting for. Just hope you all don't mind," Ginger was the one who answered making them give a curious look.

"Seriously Ginger?" Tallia asked making the stallion give his own look of confusion making the griffin sigh. "It's that Sparkly Fountain mare, she was already coming to see her brother which is why she isn't here right now."

"H-how is she?" Lyra asked.

"She seems to be holding up especially knowing that her brother is safe and sound. Though I wouldn't be surprised if I were you guys if she is a little hesitant around Brandon right now," Tallia answered.

"Wait, why would she be hesitant?" Twilight was the one who asked this time.

"Twilight, as much as we know it's not true in her mind it was her association with Brandon that got her brother in that situation, to begin with. She may very well know that's not true now but fear can still linger especially since she was also beaten herself as a result," Luna explained making Twilight nod before looking down in slight guilt.

"Hi, Talli!" Grace said coming to give the griffin a hug after she came out of the bathroom.

"Well if it isn't Grace! Are you taking care of everypony here?" Tallia asked returning the hug.

"Mmmmhmmm, sure am!" Grace said making them all give a little smile since the filly was in a far more better mood today.

"That's good because they definitely look like they need it," Tallia said and Grace nodded before going to lay on the floor and bringing out a piece of paper.

"Is she drawing something?" Ginger asked making the group of friends all look at each other for a second before Luna spoke up.

"No, not that we can tell. She's been very secretive about that paper and the only one who has the slightest idea is Lyra," Luna said looking at the green unicorn who only gave a shrug in response.

"Let me guess, swore you to secrecy?" Tallia asked.

"Yup, but it does seem to be helping her and I think we'll all like it as well," Lyra said giving the filly a little wave and smile.

"Hey, where's Derpy and her youngest?" Tallia asked.

"Getting late lunch for us," Lyra said making the couple give a nod of understanding.

"You know you two can go in if you want," Luna said.

"Thanks, we can only stay for a little longer before we have to return home," Tallia said before she and Ginger went into his room.

After Derpy and Dinky returned giving the other five of them that had stayed overnight their food they quickly ate before joining Tallia and Ginger inside the room. The doctor had said that it was fine for them all to go in today since he seemed to be in far more stable condition. Soon they all saw Sparks looking into the room which she still looked pretty beat up.

"It's not as bad as when I went to see her before coming here," Applejack whispered making Luna nod before waving the mare in.

"I'm glad you came to visit," Luna said as the unicorn made her way into the room though her eyes never left Brandon.

"I-I'm just g-glad he w-wasn't killed," Sparks said as she stopped several feet from his bed and they all could tell she wasn't going to get any closer.

"As we all are, and I... we wanted to say thank you for telling the truth in your statement. It must have been a hard thing to do," Luna said making Sparks close her eyes taking a deep breath.

"I-it was t-the right thing a-and my brother is safe t-thanks to h-him. B-but a-after all t-that happened, y-you all must o-of had a h-harder t-time t-than me." Sparks replied.

"It has been rough, but we all made it through the toughest part of everything so far," Lyra was the one who replied.

"Yes, and you know he will at least appreciate you coming by," Luna said seeing that the mare was getting a bit anxious in the room.

"I-I am sorry that this happened to him," Sparks said before turning towards the door. "I-I am a-also sorry b-because I-I don't t-think I-I can g-go o-on a s-second date w-with h-him."

Before any of them could say anything else Sparks ran out of the room making them feel bad for the mare. Soon after Tallia and Ginger went on their way leaving the eleven of them waiting. Though the only ones in his room at the moment was his three marefriends and the two fillies and it was getting close to evening now.

"L-lyra..." They heard him whisper making the five of them all give a little jump in surprise as they saw his eyes open a little.

"Hey big guy, h-how are you feeling?" Lyra asked stepping to the side of his bed.

"L-like a-a p-pin c-cushion..." He said weakly making her give a little smile before she broke and wrapped him in a tight hug making him give a little grunt as the others came to his bedside.

Luna and Derpy both opted to just give him a kiss instead though they could still see how tired he was. But he managed to stroke their cheeks with his good arm and gave Dinky a little pat on the head. Though that was when Grace climbed up onto his bed and looked him right in the eyes.

"C-come h-here," He said making the filly jump on him which to his credit he didn't yell out or grunt in pain as the filly wrapped him in a tight hug as she began to sob.

"I-I w-was..." Grace tried to speak through her tears.

As the filly cried into his neck the rest of his friends made their way into his room and he gave them all a weak and tired smile. After awhile Grace cried herself to sleep, which he honestly didn't need to be told what the little pegasus must have been feeling. It was hard enough already losing one family let alone the chance to lose another, which after some rearranging in his bed so there was room for the filly.

"W-we're really glad to see you awake," Twilight said giving him a little smile.

"He looks like he's ready to go back to sleep any second now though," Rainbow said making him give a slight laugh.

"I-I am s-sorry..." He tried though he was already starting to fall back asleep again.

"Shh, you have nothing to be sorry for. We will be here for you when you fully wake up and remember we love you with all our hearts," Luna said giving him another kiss making him give a smile as his eyes closed again.

"This doesn't surprise me that he was only awake for a few minutes," The surgeon from the night before said walking into the room.

"W-what do you mean?" Derpy asked.

"Well, you see we did a little more study on those cells we found. Turns out that while they do heal him doing so can pretty well drain him of his energy. A bit of a trade off which is why he has been sleeping for so long, and will most likely sleep for a good bit of tomorrow as well.

Him waking up like that was most likely because his body probably had enough energy to let him wake up. But it is a sign of his healing." The doctor said.

"S-so does this mean that they'll heal his shoulder?" Luna asked.

"Not necessarily, and don't get me wrong from what we think they'll heal him as best as they can. But the Hydra's toxin isn't something these cells were ready to handle. In other words, under normal circumstances with a regular spear, they would have healed it with no issue without any scarring. But with the toxin, it'll take longer for them to heal the wound and it'll definitely leave a scar." The doctor answered.

"Just a scar?" The doctor nodded at Luna's question. "Just hope it's physicals scars that remain."

The doctor didn't say much after that as he did a few test and scans writing things down on a clipboard. After that, he reassured them that Brandon would most likely be able to fully wake up by the morning before taking his leave. That was when Luna remembered what Celestia had suggested.

"Hey Pinkie?" Luna asked making the pink earth pony give her a kind smile. "I would like you to do a favor for me okay?"

Luna then took Pinkie off to the side and whispered her idea and the party pony grew a huge smile and nodded vigorously in agreement, really watching the mare gave Luna a cramp in her own neck. Returning to the group they all tried to get what they were talking about out of them. Though neither one of them gave in and waited.

By the next morning, most of the group was filled in except for Lyra, Derpy, and the fillies. Which as they waited they couldn't help but watch as Grace and Dinky passed the time by playing tag, even getting other ponies to join. But they had to quit as they noticed Brandon was staring at them with a weak smile.

"S-sorry, I-I didn't want to interrupt playtime..." His voice was stronger than yesterday but it was still weak and soft.

"No, we're just glad that you're actually awake!" Lyra said barely keeping herself from just jumping on him but settled for a nuzzle.

"How are you feeling darling?" Rarity asked.

"L-like a piece of g-gum," He managed to say getting them to smile and got a little laugh from a couple of them.

"Well, either way at least it's a bit better than a pin cushion," Derpy said making him give a little laugh himself.

"At least you seem to be yourself," Luna said though there was something in his eyes that definitely changed, almost like he was different yet the same.

"H-hey, I-I know what's g-going through y-you're mind L-Luna. Y-you c-can see it c-can't you?" He asked making Luna nod.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. "He looks and sounds just the same to me."

"But there is something different in him, almost like he's all there," Lyra said though she knew that sounded strange but it was the best she could come up with.

"Y-yeah, a-all there..." He said drifting off a bit almost in a trance. "I-it's almost n-not my l-life a-and yet I-I k-know it is."

"Wait, are you saying you remember your entire life?" Applejack asked.

"N-Not exactly, I-I t-think I'm still missing some o-of it b-but it's m-mostly a-al there," He replied though they could see he was starting to nod off.

"H-hey Brandon?" Grace asked making him look at the little pegasus who had a piece of paper in front of her.

"Oh, right! I know you must still be tired but please try to stay awake for this okay?" Lyra asked pulling out her lyre and before she went by Grace she whispered in his ear. "Grace worked really hard on this just for you."

As Lyra went over to Grace she looked at the piece of paper and gave an impressed look as she studied it. Tuning her lyre before taking a breath and waiting for her cue from Grace she started to play. After a few notes to everyone's surprise Grace started to sing in perfect harmony with the instrument it seemed.

The tune was a hopeful one and the way Grace sang they could feel her hope of a better tomorrow. But there was an underline of her pain of losing her family, they all could feel it hit them. As she sang they all knew she might have found her special talent, even if she herself didn't realize it.

Her voice was sweet to listen to and it really did surprise them all to hear such a young filly to be able to channel such emotion into her singing. For a lot of musicians, it could take them years to channel as well as what Grace was doing, even if it was their special talent. As the filly finished the song the room went silent.

"D-did you like it?" Grace asked the filly looking nervous.

"G-grace..." The young pegasus looked at him as he gave a tired smile. "Y-you h-have a-an absolutely b-beautiful voice. T-thank y-you for s-singing f-for me."

"Y-you're welcome..." Grace said though she tried to hide it she grew a little confident smile.

"It was breathtaking Grace, but how about I take you and Dinky back to Ponyville with me tonight if that's alright?" Pinkie asked making him raise an eyebrow and Derpy nodded.

"But I want to stay here!" Grace argued.

"I-I think s-she needs h-help with whatever s-she's planning Grace, I-I think y-you'll be a big h-help to her," He said making Grace give a little pout but nodded.

Grace and Dinky both gave him a hug goodbye and Pinkie gave him a cheerful smile and said her goodbye before leaving. He went back to sleep right after that and the rest of them made some small talk. Of course, they all wondered what he was going to tell them about his world, though Luna and Lyra already knew a fair bit of what he remembered from before.

Nurses came in and did a quick check up on him and taking their leave just as quickly as they came in. Lunchtime rolled around and they went in shifts to get something to eat. Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity had just left when he woke up and this time his voice was a lot stronger, but it was still softer than normal.

"I'm soo hungry..." Was the first thing he said when he woke up, which after getting a nurse back into the room another staff member brought in a tray of food for him.

"Now, I know it isn't that much but the doctor ordered for you to eat lightly for the first few meals. Partly because the toxin can mess with one's stomach," The nurse explained before she left.

"At least it's something," He remarked as he stared at the bowl of soup before just gulping it down in less than ten seconds. "Ahh, that hit the spot!"

"You must be feeling much better after this morning," Luna said gently stroking his cheek lifting a napkin with her magic cleaning some spots on his chin where some of the soup ran down.

"Y-yeah, shoulder feels like it's on fire and my leg stings a lot but I feel much better," He said though they could hear the tone of his voice sounded almost hollow, almost broken. "Hey guys, I was wondering when you three would be coming back."

"You waiting for us? Funny, cause I thought we were the ones who have been waiting for you," Applejack teased making him give a little smile that quickly disappeared as he took a breath. "Also, before you say anything has anypony told you about Sparks?"

He shook his head and they all started on why they started looking for him and how they found him. As they told him what exactly happened with Sparks a look of guilt passed over him and he knew he couldn't blame her for wanting some distance from him. After hearing the full story he looked between Applejack and Luna giving them a hard stare making both of them feel a little nervous.

"I'm going to say this once to the both of you, especially you Luna. You don't need to put yourselves in danger like that for me because if anything had happened to either one of you I-I don't t-think I..." He trailed off feeling tears start to form making Luna instantly wrap herself around him.

"I know, I am truly sorry but I made a promise to you when I first came here and no matter what you say, no matter the danger I will always be there to try to protect you," Luna said and she felt him wrap his good arm around her.

"I know, just like I know all of you would because you all don't abandon those you care about," He said, and to their surprise, he only let out a few tears. "I love most of you like family, and for the three of you, I-I can't put into words how much I care and love you."

That's when the entire group seemed to dogpile on him making him give a grunt of pain but he didn't mind. The pain was worth it for being surrounded by his family, and that's what gave him the courage he needed to tell them about his memories. To tell them all about, at least from what he remembered, how his world worked, and how messed up it was.

"I think it's time for you all to know who I was, and about where I come from..." He said after they managed to untangle themselves and getting off of him.

They all sat around his bed as he began to tell them about his own life first, and of course Lyra, Luna, and Derpy knew some of the stuff from his younger years. But there were a lot of details about his life that they were just learning. For a moment he took a break taking a breath before sighing.

"Don't get me wrong as much of a good at home life I had I still had a lot of problems," He looked at the outside window watching the lights of the strip flashing. "You see, I have what's known as Aspergers. It's a condition that can make someone socially awkward among other things. Because of it, I was targeted by bullies throughout my school."

"That just ain't right, but you don't seem to have a problem now," Applejack said making him give a little smile.

"That's because I went through some therapy to help with my speech and for some social issues. Also, I had friends who helped me out, especially in middle school when I met her..." He trailed off feeling his heart grow heavy.

"You mean the woman you loved from your world?" Lyra asked making him nod.

"Yeah, we met in middle school when she actually fought off a bully who was attacking me. It's how we met and how we ended up together," He said remembering that day perfectly.

"You and she were together for a few years then before she left," Luna said though to her credit she didn't say anything about why she had left him.

"It's thanks to Sally that I gained the strength to stand up for myself and for the time we had together I wouldn't change a thing. Though it hurt a lot more than I realized back then I can understand why she didn't stay around, but I feel like that wasn't the last time I saw her. But that's part of my memories I haven't gotten back yet because I know at some point she had talked to me about something." He said but didn't dwell on it.

"Well, with your brother and her you sound like you were lucky to have a good support system. But I would like to hear more," Twilight said making him nod.

He continued telling them stories of when he was a kid, about his neighbor that remind him of Pinkie, about his school life. But he knew he was getting close to the point where he would have to start explaining some things about his world that he just didn't like. Though he knew he had to because it had a huge impact on his life.

"Are you feeling okay?" Derpy asked making him break out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, just trying to figure out how to explain a few things about my world," He answered.

"Whatever it is we're here for you," Lyra said making him rub her head.

"I know, but my world isn't as friendly as this one despite the whole kidnapping thing. Before any of you three ask, yes this does deal with some of my nightmares from my time in the military." He said making the other's give him a surprised look.

"No offense, but you aren't exactly the military type," Rainbow said.

"It's difficult for me to explain, for my world could be cruel especially with a population of over twelve billion," He said making them all go silent to let him explain. "You see because my world is greatly overpopulated there were measures that the governments placed to try to help with the limited resources we had.

It started long before even my mom was born. My countries government passed a law that if someone in your immediate family who still lived with them signed up for the army, that family would get a care package of food. The law eventually changed as the population kept growing to where at least one person in a family would be forced into the army."

"Is that what happened with you?" Twilight asked.

"Kind of, you see by the time I was born we could choose which one of us was going into the military when we were old enough. I managed to talk my brother out of it and let me be the one to go, mostly because there is more to that law. You see when you reach seventeen is when you're shipped to basic training.

Though there were two different basic training camps, the one I went to which is actually called the reserve camp and there is the regular basic camp. The reserve camp only trained people the basic of the basics, and once you graduated you could go into regular basic training. Though those who were serious about the military just skipped the reserve camp and went to normal training, not that I could blame them.

But this was not only to keep up the military but a way to control the management of resources like food. Which countries were fighting wars over, which really wasn't about resources, at least not to an extent. It was more about trying to lower the population so it wouldn't put so much strain on the resources." He explained.

"T-that is horrible! Starting a war just so you can send people in to die I-I can't even..." Luna started before he placed his hand on her cheek giving her a kind smile.

"I know it's messed up, but there is more to the story which isn't that fun to explain because of how horrible it makes my world sound. For what sent me to fight in the war in the first place was the day I lost everything, the day when my mom and brother died in those towers." He closed his eyes for a moment taking his hand away from Luna.

"Brandon..." Lyra said before he cut her off.

"Trust me I know I don't have to tell you all, but I want to so you all can understand me a little better and why I don't like my own world. let alone my own country. Because they allowed those towers to be blown up by terrorists, t-they let them k-kill thousands..." Anger and bitterness seeped into his voice as he talked.

"Including your family," It was Derpy this time who finished for him as he tried to calm down.

"Y-yeah, I had just finished with reserve training a-and I was going to surprise them. My mom had worked in those towers as an assistant and helped my brother get an office job there. I-I remember the moment that those t-towers went up i-in the explosion. I-I remember dropping to my knees because I knew they were gone," He couldn't hold it back anymore as tears streamed down his face.

"B-but..." Twilight started.

"B-because they wanted another war, to d-decrease the p-population as much a-as possible," He said not being able to meet their gaze. "A-after that I-I was forced to go to war, despite m-me not having g-gone through normal basic training. T-there were a lot of us like that w-who were shipped off. I-I didn't even g-get to go to their..."

The group remained silent as his three marefriends comforted him as he wept, the pain of the loss of his family looked as fresh as if it just happened the day before. They all knew what he was going to say, he couldn't even have time to barry them let alone say goodbye. But after ten minutes he got calmed down still not meeting any of their eyes.

"I-I think that's enough for today," Luna said and before any of them could agree he spoke up.

"I-I'm fine, j-just wasn't prepared enough," He argued.

"That's the point, you aren't ready to explain everything especially in your condition! Because despite you obviously being in better shape then a few nights ago you were still seriously injured! I-I just don't want you to be in any more pain right now!" Luna screamed though she felt herself being pulled onto his bed and him running his fingers into her mane.

"I am sorry for making all of you worry like this, i-it isn't fair to you all. But this is something I need to do, i-if I break down again t-then I'll stop. T-this is important for m-me t-to tell my story," He said still running his fingers through her mane making her lock eyes with him.

"I-I think he should keep going," Lyra said making him break eye contact with Luna and give the unicorn a small smile.

"F-fine, b-but..." Luna started before he gave her a kiss.

"I know and I promise," He said and though Luna tried to get up he used his good arm to press her back down and she got the hint. "N-now to where I was shipped to war. Like I was saying because of those towers many soldiers that weren't properly trained were shipped off.

I was one of those ill-prepared soldiers, they sent m-me the day of the attack. N-now let me explain this, the reason why many of us who weren't planning on a military career was sent to war with very little training was mainly to do with lowering the population of course. But the thing with it is you are listed as active military.

Y-you, don't have to go through the normal basic training for that because in the government's eyes you were trained enough. H-hence why it's called reserve basic training, a-and if you don't sign up for normal basic training you were still listed as a person would still fight for up to five years. After that, you were taken off their list.

S-since I was a new graduate from the reserve they sent me to war so I-I w-would most likely die, along w-with hundreds of others. I-it wasn't fair o-of course, but my world h-has a tough t-time with fairness."

He then started to tell them about his time in the war, which he tried to water down some of what happened. Like the trenches that he and his fellow soldiers got pinned down in, and as he watched as they were gunned down and was even shot himself in the arm. Though he explained that the reason why he didn't have any scars from before was that they had specialized medicines and treatments for wounds like that.

"A-a few of us managed to escape into the jungles where the medic bandaged me up. W-we then s-started to make o-our way to the extraction point w-we were given. B-but then w-we came across a village..." His eyes became haunted as he gave Luna a tight squeeze, his three marefriends already knew this part as well.

"Brandon..." Applejack said and by the way, she said his name he knew that they figured out what the next part was.

"T-the villagers had no i-idea we were there, s-some of us tried to suggest going a-around and fought with o-our superiors. U-until they rounded up those of u-us who wanted to g-go around a-and threatened to kill us right then and there if we d-didn't follow orders. T-they said g-going around w-would make u-us miss our extraction, e-even though it wasn't true.

I-I remember them t-telling us i-if we didn't d-do as w-we were told a-at any point n-no matter what, w-we would be killed b-by our own people." He stopped as he took a breath for the next part. "O-our orders w-were to round up the v-villagers, a-and that was all they told us.

S-so we m-marched in and s-started with the orders. T-that's when I-I saw a young girl, no older than Grace w-who had just o-one arm. B-but I was the only one who noticed her a-at that point, I-I went over and k-kicked her to the ground..."

He was barely keeping it together at this point but he knew he had to in order to keep going. Because he knew once he broke down all the pain and fear that came with these memories would swallow him. That and he knew that his three marefriends were going to make him stop for the day, but he had to continue and started up before any of them could protest.

"I-I kicked her to the ground a-and t-tried to tell her t-to play dead i-in her people's n-native language. I-I had learned it years b-back in school, b-but one the c-commanding o-officers that threatened t-those o-of us who wanted to g-go around noticed. H-he grabbed the l-little g-girl and p-put her w-with the other villagers.

D-during that w-whole time I-I was f-forcing myself not t-to cry for w-what I k-knew would happen. I-I s-started to turn a-around a-and w-walk away w-when I h-heard gunfire. I-I made the m-mistake of l-looking back, a-and when my nightmares s-started h-here, her l-lifeless eyes.." He really couldn't take it anymore as the grief and guilt over what happened washed over him.

Author's Note

There is a little more to his story of course, so much more to his world. Hope you all enjoyed this little venture into his past and learn a little bit of how his world works. Again, hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Dropping The Act

"I understand ma'am, and Bird?" Knuckles nodded towards the door and the shy mare nodded in return and left the room leaving the three of them alone.

"You can go and wait at the door Knuckles, and when Twilight and the others return do not block their way," Luna spat out as she returned to tending to Brandon.

"Yes ma'am, but there is something about your new lover. Before he closed his eyes I believe I saw them glow..." Knuckles went silent as Luna once again returned her gaze to the bat-pony.

"I am not blind, but perhaps it was merely a trick of our eyes. If it is not then I and his other marefriends will bring it up and keep an eye on it. Your job as of right now is to make sure he stays safe," Luna snapped making Knuckles nod.

"Yes, protect him both from the outside threat and the inside as well. That is what I perceived from your letter," Knuckles said before taking a bow before walking out to stand guard, and as he did Luna stared for a few moments before giving a frustrated sigh.

"I figured as much," Brandon said making the alicorn's heart almost stop, at least that is how she felt.

"Y-you were pretending?" Luna asked as she took a breath to calm her heart, though she couldn't help but be mildly impressed. It was not everyday somecreature could scare her like that.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for the little scare there," Brandon said with a little smile tugging at his lips before he himself took a deep breath. "Despite your mistrust in him you still called him to help me through my memories and the emotions that came with them. I-I just needed to know for sure."

"Huh, you still seem like my Brandon but yet so different. You definitely got me," Luna said shaking her head. "Yes, and before you ask I knew about him because when I came back I asked my sister what happened to the soldiers that served me before and after I became Nightmare. As you know first hoof, my sister likes to keep tabs on those she does not completely trust. Though, she could still do the same for those she does trust."

"Was she always like that?" Brandon knew he probably shouldn't have asked, especially since he already knew the answer.

"N-no, it was my betrayal that made her that way. B-but we... I have gotten us off track. Are you sure you're okay with him?" Luna replied and Brandon could see that she would accept it either way. He looked out through the inner window at Knuckles with Bird talking to him.

"Yeah, I am sure. That and no offense but the current guard can be a little..." Brandon tried to say but bit his lower lip.

"Incompetent?" Luna suggested making Brandon give a little chuckle.

"I didn't want to offend you or your sister," This just made Luna roll her eyes.

"It is my sister's doing, something about not having to train the guard as much due to a thousand years of peace," Luna gave him a little smile of her own.

"Heh, and hey Luna?" Luna looked up and locked with his eyes. "Try to be easy on him, and don't ask me how but I believe him when he said he was looking for redemption for what he has done. Just like I know you believe that as well, and that's because that is something all three of us seem to have in common."

"Brandon..." Luna tried as his gaze drifted to the outside and she could see the full weight of his memories on his face. Almost making him looking much older for some reason.

"I'm only showing you how much they weigh in my mind because I-I'm afraid Lyra and Derpy won't be able to handle my full grief and guilt. Not yet at least," Brandon said and when he turned to lock eyes yet again she saw the faintest hint of a glow yet again.

"What do you mean exactly?" Luna asked and she could not break his gaze, as if he were making her maintain eye contact.

"I served three of the five years that was required before the war ended. Three long years, forced to fight, forced to commit more crimes. By the time I was let go I was... broken, unfixable. At least that's how I felt, especially when..." Brandon closed his eyes and sighed a heavy sigh, thus releasing Luna from whatever hold he had over her.

"When the love of your life called you a monster and walked out on you," Luna finished which made him open his eyes which had tears on the verge of releasing.

"Do not mistake me, you, Lyra, and Derpy are the loves of my life, and maybe if I'm lucky I may find at least one more," Brandon said giving her a sad but hopeful smile and she could not help the little blush that formed.

"M-my mistake, what I meant..." Brandon raised his hand.

"I know what you meant, but I just thought you should know that. But my point is that after she left I feel like I went spiraling, and I also feel like at some point I may have at least tried to pick up the pieces," Brandon said as his voice sounded like it was fading, and looking at him Luna knew this time he really was about to fall asleep. At least she would make sure this time.

"I'm truly sorry you had to suffer through all of that, my heart hurts for yours. Just like Lyra and Derpy," Luna said as she used her magic to cover him.

"I-I know I need to..." Before he could say another word Luna locked lips with him.

"If it is okay, I can tell them. You need your rest, we have a long train ride tomorrow," Luna said wiping the now flowing tears from his cheeks. "I love you so much, just as they do. Just like all your friends, just like Grace, because we are your family and we will never leave you especially when you're in so much pain."

By then he had fallen asleep, tears still streaming for a few more moments before they finally stopped. But despite the tears, he had a little smile letting her know he had heard her. Which she sat by his side until the others finally came back. When she looked up with her own tears at the corner of her eyes Twilight dragged her friends out leaving only her, Lyra, and Derpy in the room with Brandon still sleeping.

"I-I fear we may have a r-rough road ahead," Luna said and the other two mares sat down she told them what all happened since they had left.

"T-three whole years..." Lyra had said, her voice almost breaking and Derpy had already broken down into sobbing. "I-I can't even..."

"H-he w-will n-n-need u-us..." Derpy managed to choke out.

"Not just us, he will need everypony. Including his new guard," Luna said making Lyra look at the stallion who now stood stoned faced at the door.

"A-are you..." Lyra started but taking one look back at Luna she gave sigh. "He's the one who agreed?"

"Yes, I-I may have summoned him but I regret that decision. But it was Brandon who agreed to let Knuckles be his personal guard," Luna said making Lyra shake her head, Derpy couldn't stop the tears flowing. "H-he believes that Knuckles is telling the truth about seeking redemption, and frankly so do I. Just as I believe Knuckles may be able to help with problems even our love and support may not be enough."

"W-would his e-eyes..." Derpy managed, and Luna knew what she meant.

"Maybe, and we can only hope he will trust us enough to tells us. Either way, my sister will want an update on him and I will not forget any detail," Luna said as she flared her horn as he started to stir.

"I-is that really a good idea? I mean no offense but your sister has already proven that she will..." Lyra said making Luna give her a sad stare of her own.

"I know what she is capable of, and besides it would be better to tell her now than later. Just trust me on this and I will make sure she does not overreact by taking unnecessary measures like asking his friends to spy on him," Luna said looking out in the hall at Knuckles again. "After all, she will be focusing on something else."

"Hmm, we'll see about that. Like you know your sister has her ways, and she may use him to watch me and give her updates as a way to redeem himself in a way," The three mares all turned to see Brandon now awake.

"B-but how? M-my sleep spell..." Luna started but she had to remember who she was talking to. According to Twilight and the others, including his doctors, he had some kind of resistance to sleeping spells. But she couldn't help but wonder if that was because of his mind, or something else. Maybe even a combination of both.

"It's hard to sleep with my nightmares, even with sleeping spells," Brandon replied, though from his tone even he was completely sure.

"How much..." Luna started but once again he cut her off because he had been waiting for them to ask.

"Just about telling your sister about my eyes, and I think you should and if you don't I will. I at least owe her that much even if she does send somepony or use somepony I already know to keep an eye on me. Especially since most of my memories have come back," Brandon said the sadness and guilt still very much evident, again making him look far older but that just made at least Luna curious about something.

"B-brandon?" He turned to look at her, and there again his eyes had a faint glow.

"I don't know my exact age now, but I do remember something about those cells that the doctors here found," Brandon answered taking a deep breath. "I think he needs to be here before I explain, Lyra would you?"

"Brandon, I-I..." Though as he looked at her an understanding passed between them though both Luna and Derpy also knew why he asked her. To give her a chance to let out the tears somewhere private. "I-I'll be back, just promise you won't go anywhere?"

"I don't think I could make it out of this bed without these two forcing me back into it," He gave her a little smile making her nod in return and hurried out the door. A few moments later the doctor entered the room.

"It's good to see you awake, and Lyra tells me you remembered something about these cells?" Brandon nodded as the doctor wrote down a note. "Now, I have been in contact with your primary and he tells me not a single one of the medical books you had mentioned anything about them."

"That's because I think it was lost during my arrival here, and the books that were found were made before the cells were created," Brandon explained.

"W-what do you mean created?" It was Derpy who asked making him give a little sad smile.

"As those medical books suggest my kind does not naturally have a cell that heals us as fast as the cells that they found. But I remember that the cells were created in my great- grandfathers time, and don't ask me how that's beyond my understanding. All I do know is that these cells were used as treatments for the severely sick and when they realized that the cells stayed in the body and multiplied like a normal cell, it was eventually everyone got it.

Though it can't be passed down from parent to child because it wasn't a natural cell. So when a baby is born the first thing they do is inject them with a dose of the cells, but every now and again the body would reject them. That's what happened to my neighbor and why he got cancer, and why the world is suffering from overpopulation and draining resources.

Especially when it was discovered that these cells didn't just heal injuries done to the body, like let's say a cut. They also healed us on a cellular level. Meaning we started to age slower and without sickness, we could live a lot longer." Brandon explained as the doctor made notes.

"B-but what about your, oh what did you call it?" Luna asked.

"Aspergers and these cells didn't prevent any mental condition, nor will they heal whatever causes it. It can help ease the condition but it won't get rid of it, so I don't remember exactly how old I actually am but my physical age stopped about when I turned twenty. While I know I physically age still, but it's why I thought I was younger than I am," Brandon answered.

"This is all very fascinating but do you mind if we take some samples and see..." The doctor shrank a little as Brandon gave a hard stare.

"The answer is no," Brandon said it with such disgust and anger that the doctor couldn't get out of the room quick enough. He closed his eyes taking a few deep breaths. "I-I'm sorry a-about that."

"It is a little understandable, after all without those cells, your world may not be in such a dire state. But I do think we should find a way to apologize," Luna suggested and Derpy just stared at him for a moment.

"Y-you're a lot different now, a-ll t-the anger, a-and s-sadness..." Derpy started making him avoid eye contact with her. "I-I really c-can't imagine the p-pain and g-guilt. B-but you are s-still holding on for u-us aren't you?"

"Yes, a-and even now t-the man you fell in love with..." Brandon started but went silent as Derpy approached with a look he did not recognize, but he did see determination mixed into her eyes as both her eyes locked with his.

"Is right here in front of us no matter what you think! Y-you may not be the exact same but you survived whatever that horrible group did to you because that is who you are, a survivor! Y-you already survived these memories once before and now you have us, all of us!" Derpy said with finality and at the end of each sentence, she came closer until she was nose to nose, before giving him a passionate kiss.

"She is right you know," Lyra said suddenly at the door making Derpy and Brandon break their kiss, her eyes red and puffy. "You are suffering because you just got your memories back and even if it just hopeful thinking, you are still you. We will not let you give up on yourself. So stop with the tough guy act and be the real Brandon, the sensitive one who is not afraid to cry!

The one who is hiding behind this act! I-I... we know you are in so much pain and have so much anger, that I know few can understand but that is all the more reason to let it out!"

"I-I can't..." He couldn't meet the mare's eyes.

"P-please, I-I thought I had l-lost you twice now! I am refusing t-to lose you a third t-time because you're being stupid and selfish by hiding who you really are!" Lyra yelled out making him wince. "I know you're in there, the one who can make a bad joke without a second thought, the one who can see past the true pain!'

"You're right," To all their surprise he started to get out of his bed as he said that cupping his hands over his face. "I-I feel like I've been through this before, b-but i-it's like it's all so fresh..." At this point, he removed his hands as tears were streaming down his cheeks. "I-it took so l-long for s-someone to c-call me out on it the f-first t-time.

Y-you have n-no idea how m-much I appreciate it Lyra, y-you know me too w-well. I-i'm so sorry for what I-I did, s-so angry a-at my world that m-made me d-do those h-horrible things... " He practically growled out the last part. "I-I can't p-promise t-that after t-this I-I won't be w-withdrawn again. B-but I-I swear to all of you I-I won't let m-my memories consume me..."

"T-there you are," Lyra said as she met him halfway and put a hoof on his cheek. "A-always trying to hide, but y-you always have that twinkle of kindness in your eyes."

At that, he finally collapsed to his knees and let out a scream full of his pain and his guilt until his voice gave out. He fell into Lyra's arms and was quickly wrapped up by the other two mares. It did not take long after his scream his friends, his family, burst into the room and surrounded him even more.

It was early morning when they woke up to find he was not in the room which made them all panic until they saw him out front through a window. When they got to him he was sitting in front of a tree that seemed to have a fist-sized hole in it. Which despite his protest they had a doctor take a look at his hands.

"Seriously, what were ya thinking?" It was Applejack's turn to scold him. "After everything..."

"I needed to let out my anger at myself somehow," Brandon said as the nurse finished bandaging his injured hand.

"We know you have so much pain and anger, but what did that tree do to deserve you putting a fist through it?" Derpy asked.

"Which is kind of awesome he is able to do that..." Rainbow shut it after all the other mares, especially his herd members all turned and glared at the pegasus.

"Thanks, Rainbow," He said giving the biggest smile he had in a while which got all of them to smile as well. "I-I will find a better way than punching a tree."

"Good, because you could have agitated your shoulder," Derpy said.

After that, he signed his dismissal papers and gave the nurse an envelope and asked her to give it to his doctor. Which as they walked out of the hospital and toward the train station Luna asked about it. He just simply said it was a letter saying he was sorry, and a gift certificate for a restaurant that a pony nearby was selling.

"It's good to that smile again," Luna said as the station came into view.

"I just hope I can keep it up, my memories..." He tried but Luna cut him off.

"I know how you feel, but like we have to remind you we are here for you. A-as for your anger, there is a safer way to take it out..." Luna said looking away with a little blush making him raise an eyebrow.

"I might have to try this other option," He said giving a little laugh as her blush deepened. Though she could tell it was a bit forced it was still good to hear, almost like a long-forgotten song. "Oh and Luna, about my eyes glowing. I can't explain it in words but there is something more to it. All I know is it's like I can see a pony's intentions, but I can't if that makes sense."

"Magic sometimes doesn't have to make sense and thank you for telling me," Luna said leaning against him.

"Here I thought I would be leaning against you. I mean since you know, the leg and shoulder?" He gave a full-hearted laugh as she rolled her eyes and walked in front of him with the rest of the group. Which he stopped as they continued on and gave a sigh. "I know this is where I belong, and I pray that my fellow humans can do the same."

"Hey is your leg really bother you that much?" Lyra was the one who called breaking him out of what he was saying and he shook his head. "Then get your butt moving or we might miss our train!'

Author's Note

Well, I know his emotions are all over the place but what can you expect? Will he truly be able to get past his own past or will it destroy him? Just because he has had a good day does not mean he won't revert to back inside his inner walls. Hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Return To Ponyville

They had just arrived as their train pulled into the station, which they quickly got their tickets and boarded. It was just their group in the train car leaving them able to spread out a little and sit where ever they wanted. Brandon decided to sit with Knuckles for a moment, and after a few seconds, Bird excused herself and went to sit close by.

"So, how good is your hearing?" Brandon asked making Knuckles give a nod letting him know that the stallion had heard just about everything.

"You are in a better place than most but be warned that your own thoughts will want to break you from time to time. Though I do sense at one point you were almost past the point of no return," Knuckles said, his voice as even as a sheet of ice.

"Y-yeah," Brandon gave a sigh looking out the window.

"Do the others know? No, of course, they would as that is what bound you to them isn't it?" Knuckles asked making Brandon give a nod.

"Look, ask Applejack about it and if she tries to avoid it tell her I said it was okay. But I can't relive that day, not after what I tried to do," Brandon answered and when he turned to look at the stallion he saw what looked like sympathy in his eyes.

"That is fair, but you need to accept it and own what you tried to do and don't try using that line of 'I have accepted it!' because I think we both know that is complete bullshit." Knuckles said making Brandon give a little laugh.

"Sorry, I actually do appreciate the advice and I've been working on it. But..." Brandon gave a sad sigh.

"It wasn't the first time?" Knuckles asked.

"As far as my memory goes, I don't know but I feel like I tried to do something that would get me killed on purpose. I'm just glad that I went so long without my full memories. That's mostly because I think with what came to me was what bothered me most, and thanks to them I think I have at least partly come to terms with what happened," Brandon said giving Lyra, Luna, and Derpy a big smile.

"That is good, especially since most of what you remembered your first major battle is where you dealt with committing most of your war crimes. But my next question is simple, with someone like yourself you would have not made it through your three years mentally unless you had somepony that supported you," Knuckles said making Brandon think for a moment, then his eyes went wide.

"I forgot to mention Anna!" Brandon shouted and pressed his face into his hands.

"Who's Anna?" Derpy asked as all of them came over to see what he was saying making him put his hands back down.

"Anna Nakamura, she... she was one of my only friends when I served and after. Just take a seat while I tell you about her and how she helped me through another dark spot," He gave a little smile as he remembered Anna while the others took seats around them including Brid, who seemed to take a special interest.

"Um, before you start but what kind of name is Nakamura? I mean I know it's a name from your world, but is it like from a different country or something?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah, her parents came to my country from their own before she was born. Which they came from a country called Japan, and that does mean she was the first one in her family born in my country. The reason why her parents moved was that Japan is an island country and because of the overpopulation, they passed a law.

This law restricts people's right to have kids by making them buy special permits which are extremely expensive. Only the richest of the rich could really afford these permits right away, otherwise, they would have to be lucky and save up for years to get just one permit. Though her parents had just married when her mom had gotten pregnant.

That left them with three options, try to quickly save to get a permit which what she told me wasn't a possibility. Not even with the help from their own parents, the second option was to abort her which lucky they decided not to," Brandon managed with a little playful smile.

"So, that means the third option was moving to your country where they did not need such a permit?" Luna asked making him nod.

"Yeah, plane tickets were much cheaper than the permit by thousands. But they still had to have help from their parents to get the plane ticket but it was worth it for them. Though even moving to my country and getting citizenship, which because she was born there she automatically got citizenship, it took them a while to have another baby.

Which meant she was the one who had to sign up for enlistment, and at first she just wanted to just do reserve training. By the time I got there, which she is about nine months older than me, she was apart of the graduating class. Before she and her class graduated she had pretty much taken me under her wing so to speak, and helped with my training until she graduated." He told them shaking his head.

"What did she do after she graduated?" Twilight asked.

"Ah, while she helped me we became close friends and she told me that she had thought about going to basic training. Which she did, and we didn't meet up again until we actually found out we were apart of the same squad..." At that, he gave a sad sigh.

"D-did she..." Fluttershy was the one who spoke up this time.

"No, we actually served together all three years until the war ended, but she eventually shot up in ranks and even passed ranks that I could never achieve," Brandon answered.

"Because you only received reserve training while she went to basic training," Knuckle answered before any of them asked. "Though I would like to know her rank."

"Same as you, she was a Lieutenant. Which by the middle essentially made her leader of our squad as anyone above her had been killed in action, and they did not have enough higher ranks to replace them. It was her that made sure that the rest of us survived, and she always had a kind smile when we weren't fighting to stay alive.

We still remained close, along with the other four surviving members of our original squad. Though I can't exactly remember I do feel she had helped me after the war, especially after Sally..." Brandon closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.

"B-brandon, a-are you saying you might have ended..." He interrupted Lyra.

"It would not have been the first, well it might have because I can't remember that much, but yes I feel like I may have tried something to end my own life back then. But just remember the first time I really woke up here," He looked right at Applejack who lowered her eyes but quickly turned her gaze to Knuckles and Bird.

"Before you ask he hasn't told me about the attempt other than he tried, said to ask you, ma'am," Knuckles said and all their gazes turned to Brandon who remained silent, this made Applejack sigh.

"Fine, he had convinced us... me to undo his restraints where he broke and jumped out of a window. We chased him into the forest and found him standing at a-a cliff," Applejack said now avoiding looking at Brandon entirely.

"I see, and I'm going to guess he didn't have wings back then?" Brandon shook his head, making Knuckles nod.

"U-um, t-to get back t-to what he was t-talking about, t-that Anna girl?" To their surprise, it was Bird who had spoke up.

"W-what would you like to know?" Brandon asked giving the mare a little kind smile.

"D-did you love her?" Bird replied which caught them all by surprise, even Knuckles seemed to react to this but Brandon noticed it wasn't out of surprise.

"Yeah, I think I did have feelings for her but if we did have a relationship it was after the war, and after Sally left," Brandon answered. "But if we did it is apart of the memories I haven't recovered yet."

"I-I see, the reason why I-I wanted to ask i-is because you seemed to h-have a twinkle in your eyes. T-the same twinkle someponies get when t-they're talking about a s-special somepony," Bird said and although not noticeable unless you were paying really close attention, Knuckles seemed to tense a bit. Brandon met Luna's eyes telling him that she noticed as well.

"It appears in the five years you've been together, Knuckle's observation skills seem to of rubbed off on you," Luna said making Knuckles relax a bit and gave a little chuckle.

"Y-yeah, I guess. H-he has been really good to me," Bird said leaning onto Knuckles, and although subtle Brandon thought that the mare's eyes seemed to drift to her stomach. This time he seemed to be the only one who noticed, and the way she did it made him get a little suspicious. He gave the mare a little knowing smile, making the mare turn red and that seemed to be it of her speaking.

"Anyway, I think I'm going to nap for a bit because I know with Pinkies surprise I'll need it," Brandon said managing to get around the mares and went to go lay down on another empty seat.

"I'm glad he at least had someone looking out for him back then," Luna said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes, it is a good thing but may I speak to you three alone?" Knuckles asked, and after a bit of rearranging Luna, Lyra, and Derpy were now the only ones in the booth with Knuckles.

"What is it?" Luna asked her tone had a little edge to it.

"I need to know what happened exactly when you found Brandon in that group's headquarters," Knuckles replied making Luna grit her teeth as the others hadn't yet heard what exactly did happen just yet. But reluctantly she told them the exact story.

"I-I..." Lyra started but she shook her head and remained quiet as did Derpy, though both glanced over where Brandon was sleeping with sad looks in both of their eyes.

"Hmm, this could lead to trouble down the line and trust me it'll manifest sooner or later. Before any of you ask what I'm talking about, it is my understanding that his kind use long-distances weapons to fight which means they would not know if they had personally killed somepony on the other side, unless they were close enough. But since Brandon had to fight using a spear it may haunt him.

Now it does not matter whether this Land Shark deserved the fate he got, or how Brandon's world version of ponies acted. Because he sees us as equals and not live-stock, so it will affect him because he had to take a life using his own hands and that can be far different than shooting a weapon at the enemy as I've already explained." Knuckles said making all three get a worried look.

"We will be here for him no matter what," Derpy spoke up with confidence as she looked at the other two mares.

"Yes, we will, and thank you for the advice," Luna said though her tone sounded almost anything but grateful.

"It is what you called..." Just then Brandon sprang up yelling.

"Shark!" Brandon finished making all of them jump and ran over to check on him. As they all got closer they saw Brandon was now looking at his hands that seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. A look of fear and guilt written over his face.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, who happened to get there first though as Luna and the others got there she stepped out of the way.

"This has something to do with what happened down there isn't it?" Applejack asked making Lyra shake her head telling the cowpony that it wasn't the time.

"Sshh, you're okay we're all here for you," Luna and Derpy were trying to comfort him as his hands continued to shake and tears wear now forming.

"I am sorry, but would you all give us some privacy?" Knuckles asked making the others glare at him, especially Brandon's three mares.

"Now is not a good time!" Luna spat out making Knuckles nod.

"I understand ma'am, but this will only take a few seconds," Knuckles met each and every one of their glares.

"I-it's fine..." Brandon said with voice shaking, and after a moment he untangled himself from Luna and Derpy. As he stood he winced and rubbed his shoulder, though ignored the mares protest. Walking past all his friends he nodded toward the back and both him and Knuckles went, though as they walked they could see Brandon's hands were still shaking badly.

"Go ahead and talk, and do not leave out the details," Knuckles said making Brandon look back at the group of his friends. "I understand that the details are gruesome so I swear by the Heavens I will not utter a word you are about to say."

"I-I c-could..." Brandon started before taking a deep breath and sitting down looking at his hands again. "I-I could f-feel his f-flesh give, a-and I c-could hear i-it t-tare."

"Let me guess when you got to his heart you could feel it trying to beat, you could feel it vibrate through the remaining staff of the spear? You could feel it slowing in the second you still had a hold of it, and you could see the life draining in his eyes?" Knuckles asked his tone was one that gave off the feeling he had been there. Though at the back of Brandon's mind he knew the stallion had been there where he was.

"I-I c-can feel the b-blood, i-it won't go a-away..." Brandon muttered and Knuckles could see that he was far away, making him raise a hoof. The slap echoed through the train cart making all the mares give Knuckles a death stare and started to approach ready to throw him off the train. Until Brandon raised his hand while the other cupped his cheek, and as they looked they saw he was no longer shaking.

"Good, I needed you to go a bit deeper into that trance. Now go, you'll need them right now," Knuckles said before walking over to where Bird had sat down and sat next to her. This made Brandon drop his hand from his now red cheek and walk with eyes glued to the floor back to his group.

"Are you sure we can't just throw him off?" Lyra asked, which made him look up and give a little smile but sat back down. This made them take their seats again keeping an eye on him, while his marefriends tended to him.

While they tried to get him to talk about his dream he shook his head and just said he needed to keep that one in his own head, away from them. Eventually, they did get him to talk about his brother and mom which did make him smile as he remembered them. Not a single one of them brought his nightmare up again and soon they were pulling into the train station, and before they knew it he had that same old smile they had all grown to appreciate about him spread across his face.

Though as they rolled in they could also see tears forming at the corners of his eyes before they began rolling down. Most of the town seemed to be there waiting for them, more accurately waiting for him. As they all looked most had signs saying 'Welcome Back!', while others seem to say 'We are here for you!'.

There were more signs as well, and when the train came to a full stop they could hear the crowd cheering his name. Which as his friends lead him out he was met first by Grace running up and jumping into his open arms, wrapping up the filly tightly. After he managed to force himself to let her go he stood back up with tears freely flowing and looked around at the huge crowd now surrounding him.

"You see, we aren't the only ones who care about," Luna whispered in his ear. "I doubt anypony here would really believe you were ever guilty of anything, even if they knew of your past they would probably still be here because you are trying to be better."

After so many welcome back and wishing him to have a full and swift recovery, they managed to make their way to the town's square. Where the mayor was waiting ready to make a speech of some kind. Which he was forced onto the stage and had to take the seat next to the mayor.

"Welcome back," Mayor Mare said giving him a kind smile. "Now everypony settle down!"

It took a minute as the crowd was still filing into the square and there really were a lot of them. Through his tears, he could recognize some of the faces. There was Time Turner who he had a few talks with, mostly about watches and other timekeeping devices from his world. The flower sisters Rose, Lilly, and Daisy who he had bought a few arrangments from.

"Now let us begin!" Mayor Mare announced breaking him out of his thoughts, and he hadn't realized he had stopped crying a bit. "I want to start by thanking each and every one of you for showing up to support our very own local human! Who we know has been through a difficult time for the past week or so.

For those of you who don't personally know, Brandon here was, unfortunately, kidnapped and framed for a horrible assault. But for those of you who do know him one way or another know he would never do something like that to an innocent pony! Now, as he probably can tell the very reason why we are holding this celebration is to show our support, and to show how sorry we are for letting something so horrible to happen to you," Mayor Mare said which he could tell she meant every word.

He lost track as he broke down again, falling out of his chair which made dozens of ponies come up and surround him. Luna, Lyra, Derpy, and Grace were the first ones while all the rest formed a tight circle around him. He had never fully expected to be so accepted within the town, especially after everything that had happened and what he knew some of the rumors must have been.

"Today, with both Princess Luna's and Celestia's blessing shall henceforth be called Celebration of Brandon day! COB day..." Mayor Mare looked like the name just really hit her for a second but she quickly recovered. "While still just a bit short of his anniversary here, this day will be meant to remember the first Human in Equestria from another world!

But more than that it is a day we will also remember for when he needed so much support in a time of need. For somepony so unique and so kind even when he is suffering to treated the way he has is not right! I, by the powers that the Princesses have granted me I swear on this day this will be a safe haven for you and any more of your kind that may happen here!"

After that, and after his friends managed to calm him down the real celebration started. Which while he was out of it the citizens of Ponyville set up booths of his favorite games and food. Though he did not feel like he deserved such a welcome back, or to have a day named after him, he was grateful.

"Well, look who finally turned off the waterworks!" Tallia said making him smile as she and Ginger, along with their kids came up.

"Hey, how you guys doing?" Brandon asked his voice strained.

"Pretty good, oh by the way before we play catch up I hope you remember that friend I was telling you about a little while ago?" Tallia said and before he could respond Ginger spoke up.

"I don't think now is good..." Tallia turned and glared at Ginger who just sighed.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about her because I wouldn't mind taking her out," Brandon said making Ginger give a little look of surprise but Tallia just turned around with a big smile.

"I figured as much! Now come on, I want to introduce you to her!" Tallia said grabbing him by his good arm and pulling him along, and before long they were at a game booth where the red griffon was at tossing rings trying to win a stuffed toy.

"Here, let me help with that," He said as Tallia let go of him and he walked forward. "You have to aim a little higher than you think."

"Eeehh!" Baron screeched as her last ring landed on a rung and she claimed her prize, which looked like a dragon in a loincloth. "Thanks for the help..."

"Hi, Tallia said you would like to go on a date with me?" Brandon asked, which his voice came out as almost a whisper. The picture he had seen did not do her justice how beautiful she was.

"W-wait, are you actually asking me out despite just meeting me?" Baron asked seriously, making him feel nervous as he looked at Tallia who had a straight face. But neither one of the griffons held it in for too long as both busted up laughing, making him smile and laugh as well. "Of course I'll go out with you, after all, you aren't bad looking at all."

"Same to you," He said and as they looked at each other, he couldn't help but like this griffin. She reminded him of someone he had fond memories of.

"Are you two just going to stand there making googly eyes at each other or get the date started!" Tallia called out as she and Ginger started to leave them, making them both laugh as the Baron and Brandon both seemed to blush a bit.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Baron asked making him smile.

"How would you like to meet my herd?" Brandon replied, which Baron gave him a wide grin in return.

Author's Note

Alright, I know 'If they knew the truth about him and his past they wouldn't have named the day for him!' But let him have this! Also, remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Little Date

He couldn't stop thinking about Baron, her purple eyes burned into his mind and he couldn't help but smile. The night before their date at his celebration of the day being named after him seemed to be what he needed for now to distract him. Luna, Lyra, and Derpy liked her as well and Grace absolutely loved her.

"Well, just be prepared cause you did promise to take her to your one year anniversary part," Lyra said breaking him out of his thoughts.

"It is really good to see that smile though," Luna said with a smile of her own, though Derpy wasn't here as she had to go back to her house to do some cleaning up. "Which only makes me like Baron even more."

"By the way, what kind of archaeologist is she?" Lyra asked.

"She studies prehistoric dragons, that's why she wanted that stuffed toy. But from what she told me that particular one is based on a comic she's into. About a prehistoric dragon who was frozen in an ice age and somehow lived through it for thousands of years, only to be released and used his prehistoric strength to become a superhero of sorts," Brandon said and he couldn't help but shake his head.

"It is a bit possible, while I don't know about thousands of years but I have seen dragons get frozen for a good ten years and still managed to survive. It's due to their fire magic," Luna explained making Brandon give a whistle, and Lyra stare in amazement.

"Wow, but anyway are you excited about your next date with her?" Lyra asked and both Luna and he heard a bit of jealousy in her voice.

"Yeah, I am, and how about I take you two on a date later?" Brandon replied making Lyra smile.

"Sounds good to me," Lyra answered and Luna nodded, and soon Grace was up and about.

"Hey Grace, would you like to join us on our date?" Brandon asked as the filly joined them at the table.

"Nope, can I spend the night with Dinky?" Grace replied.

"Of course, and I'm glad I'm back," Brandon patted her on her head and she gave him such a big smile it was impossible not to smile back.

"I'm glad you're back to... daddy..." Grace said which surprised all of them, as none of them thought she wouldn't call him that so soon. But before any of them could react she hugged him and went back to her room to get ready for going to Derpy's tonight.

"Brandon..." Luna said but as he turned around they could see he had tears going down his face, but despite his eyes being full of sadness, they knew that his tears were ones of happiness.

"I like the sound of that, and I know you like it too, daddy," Lyra teasing him though instead of making a comeback like she expected he leaned over and kissed her, and then whispered in her ear.

"Wouldn't mind you calling me that sometime yourself," Brandon said before moving away making Luna have to guess what he said, though it wasn't hard by Lyra's face.

After that, they finished their breakfast and cleaned up which didn't take long though he hated not being able to help with his shoulder bothering him. Once done though they began to talk about where they should go for their date and after settling on the place and time they started about their chores. It did feel good to be home which he was more than glad now more than ever he had someplace to really call home, unlike after his brother and mother died where he had almost nothing to call home.

"Why you making that face?" Lyra asked sitting down next to him making him give a sigh.

"Just thinking about my past is all, but by the way did anyone know what happened to Knuckles last night?" He asked changing the subject, and though he knew that the stallion and Bird were now using the last spare bedroom he didn't remember seeing them.

"He didn't want to make a scene, bat- ponies are feared throughout all of Equestria and thus looked down upon even worse than you. So, he and Bird mostly stuck to the shadows where nopony would spot them," Luna explained making him nod.

"I see, but I do hope that Ponyville accepts the two of you sooner rather than later," Brandon said making the two mare look at the door to see Knuckles and Bird standing there.

"Well, I have no doubt they would accept Bird here with no problem but as for me, it is more difficult. Just like your past limited you in your world mine does the same in this one," Knuckles said making Brandon give a look of understanding, but he also gave them a smile.

"At least it looks like you two had fun anyway last night," Brandon said making Bird give a deep blush and to his credit Knuckles didn't react.

"Yes, well if I heard you right earlier you are going on a date?" Knuckles asked changing the subject but making the three of them nod in confirmation. "Alright, I will follow in shadows as I did last night and might I mention you must savor any moment of happiness right now. It'll be one of the main things to get you through this time."

"I already figured that anyway tomorrow is my one year anniversary here and I will not take no for an answer," Brandon said locking eyes with Knuckles making the stallion nod in defeat.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Knuckles said picking up an apple and drained it dry.

After a bit, they decided to go into town before their date, and although Brandon could not see him he knew Knuckles was there. It was difficult to explain but it was as if he could see the stallion without seeing him, and to top it off every now and again it was like he could see these lines like a rope connecting different ponies to each other. But after blinking they were gone, though Luna did give him a concerned look telling him his eyes had glowed again.

"I'll tell you later, but hey why don't you two go on I want to look around here for a bit," Brandon said giving her a little kiss and doing the same for Lyra.

"Are you sure?" Luna asked.

"Don't worry, Knuckles will be with me," He reassured them and after a little more prodding the two mares went on. "Alright Knuckles, come on out."

"Are really sure you would want me to be seen with you?" Knuckles asked from nearby.

"Yeah, besides I need the company other than them. Not that I don't appreciate their company..." Brandon started as Knuckles came out of the shadows which he seemed to melt out of.

"But it can be suffocating?" Knuckles finished making Brandon nod.

"Now come on, I want to look around for a minute before we catch up," Brandon said beginning to walk.

As they did ponies around them tried their best to give them a decent berth without trying to make it obvious, which even a blind pony could see what was happening. Brandon only caught snippets of their conversations and he knew Knuckles could hear every word. Which so far from what he heard it wasn't that bad, yet anyway as he knew they were probably saving the worst for when they got home.

"Oh, hey Knuckles?" Brandon said as he stopped at a booth.

"Yes?" Knuckles replied staying alert.

"I'm gonna go get a surprise for Grace," He said making Knuckles lock eyes with him and making the stallion sigh.

"Fine, but do not take long, and is this about what she said this morning?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, and I know she was trying to cheer me up by calling me that which is why I want to give her a surprise," Brandon replied as he began toward a music shop. "I'll be back in ten minutes, if not less."

Knuckles went to a little corner while keeping an eye on Brandon as he walked into the store and then started to scan the crowd. As he was doing so he spotted a cream-colored mare who was trying to balance about a dozen or so boxes on her back. Though he didn't know why but he had a tough time removing his eyes from her, his instincts were telling him to monitor her.

Which after a moment he managed to look back at the music shop and started his scanning again. Though as he found the mare again it seemed her path was being blocked by a stallion who seemed like he was in a horrible mood. This made Knuckles start to move quickly and before he got to them the stallion pushed the mare making her land on her flank and the boxes she was carrying spilled everywhere.

"Just face it, a mare like you is nothing more than a whore!" The stallion was saying making the mare seem to shrink, though that's when that stallion noticed Knuckles approaching with a stare that looked murderous.

"I suggest you apologize to her now and pay her for the merchandise you just made her spill now," Knuckles said though the stallion stepped back in fear and then started to run away leaving behind a trail of piss as he did so. This just made Knuckles sigh and began to help the mare try to salvage her candy.

"Um, uh, thanks for that..." The mare said and she finally saw the pony who had stood up for her. "Oh, you're a bat- pony?"

"I am sorry if I scare you ma'am, and here this will cover the cost of the candy," Knuckles said bringing out a bag of bits and gave it to the mare before turning away.

"Wait!" This made him turn his head to look back at her. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to come out like that, and um, thanks for the help really. Also, before you go my name is Bon Bon."

"Knuckle Shadow, and it was no problem ma..." Bon Bon gave him a look he knew meant not to call her that. "...Bon Bon."

"Well, Knuckles I hope to see you around," Bon Bon said as she started picking up the candy that was no longer edible and taking them to a trash can.

"Yes, well we'll have to see..." Knuckles started but Bon Bon didn't seem to have any of it.

"I will see you around okay?" Bon Bon said making him sigh and nod, though as he walked away he felt the small smile at his lips. Though as he looked at the music shop Brandon was watching him with a strange look.

"I see that you met Bon Bon," Brandon said as he approached.

"Yes, and how do you know her?" Knuckles asked making Brandon's shoulder sag a bit.

"Our relationship is complicated, but she started out as my boss for a time and also she is Lyra's ex," Brandon replied making Knuckles take a mental note. "Though I am glad you helped her out there, she's been having a bit of trouble since everything that happened between us. She probably needed a knight of sorts."

"I think we better catch up to the mares before they start to worry, and I hope you got what you needed," Knuckles said making Brandon give a little chuckle.

"Yeah, I think Grace will love what I got," Brandon said as he began to walk and that's when Knuckles noticed the case.

"If you don't mind me, but what exactly did you get?" Knuckles asked.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if you or anypony else knew. Which is why I want to ask if you can do your thing and carry it so the mares won't ask?" Brandon replied making Knuckles nod.

"I will also assume you do not want me to look in it?" Knuckles replied making Brandon shake his head.

"You better not, but here you go," Brandon said giving him the case, and Knuckles nodded going back into the shadows. "Wonder how he does that?"

"It's a trick that bat- ponies can do once they've made it past a certain age and had training," Luna answered making Brandon give her a big smile. "What were you two talking about?"

"Oh, just making some plans but where's Lyra?" Brandon asked making Luna sigh.

"She wanted to go into a store I didn't want to step into," Luna replied with a deep blush making him raise an eyebrow.

"I hope she's shopping for you mares," Brandon said laughing a bit.

"Oh, hey Brandon you ready?" Lyra asked as she came up with a smile of her own, though as he returned her smile she started to avoid his eyes a bit.

"Yeah, let's go and find someplace to eat. Other than a little bit last night, I haven't had anything that wasn't hospital soup in days!" Brandon said and lead the way.

"You seem to be in a better mood..." Lyra said though as he turned his head to look at her she saw something was bothering him a bit other than what happened to him. "What?"

"Well, Knuckles met Bon Bon earlier," He answered.

"What do you mean by that?" Lyra asked as she tried to look for the stallion.

"He helped her out with a stallion that looked like he was harassing her," Brandon explained making Lyra look down.

"Oh, h-how did she look?" Lyra asked making Luna give them both a shake of her head.

"Looked busy, though she did lose some of her order she was delivering because of that stallion," Brandon answered and that made Lyra lift her head up.

"Serves her right," Lyra said picking up her pace and getting in front of him and Luna.

"I think she needed that, hearing about Bon Bon," Luna whispered.

"That's why I brought it up because she still cares even if she doesn't show it," Brandon said the sadness in his eyes popped up again. "Trust me, that can make a difference when it comes to exes..."

"Yes, well she has us just like you," Luna said extending her wing brushing it against his making him smile, though she could tell it was a bit forced.

"I am trying, you know," Brandon said as he returned his gaze to what was in front of him. "Trying to stay focus on what's in front of me rather than what's behind me."

"That is good to hear, I just hope we're in that line of sight," Luna said making him nod though he did somewhat jump a little when he felt something brush near his dick. Which out of the corner of his eye he saw Luna's horn flicker out and look the other way like she was window shopping.

"Hey, you two! Come on, I found a place we can eat!" Lyra called out from in front of them, though before Luna could respond or react he made her look him in the eyes before he locked lips with her. This took her by a bit of surprise but leaned into it as well, and after a moment he broke the kiss and whispered in her ear.

"I have been thinking about that other way of taking out my anger you know," Brandon said before pulling back meeting her eyes once more, and once he did her blush only deepened as he winked at her. Then he went to go catch up to Lyra.

"Oh, what no passionate kiss for me?" Lyra asked as he came up beside her.

"Don't worry, your time will come," Brandon replied but still leaned over to give her a kiss.

"Fine, that'll do for now but I expect more later," Lyra said making him laugh.

Soon the three of them were in a little cafe type of restaurant where they took an empty booth in the corner. Lyra and Luna on one side as Brandon on the other, and he could see Luna still seemed a little flustered from their kiss. Though that quickly faded as the waitress came and took their orders.

"You know Brandon here has a little fetish for a mare in a waitress outfit," Luna told Lyra after their waitress left.

"Oh yeah, I remember you were working part-time as a waitress. But at least now I know what to be on Nightmare Night," Lyra laughed as his face turned red but he smiled.

"I wouldn't mind that, I think all of you would look good in a waitress uniform. I mean I already know Luna does, though she looked better once it was off," He laughed at once again Luna was the one who gave a deep blush.

"So that's what happened!" Lyra said laughing with Brandon.

"Alright, here we are huns!" Their waitress said and placed their food in front of them. "Is there anything else?"

"I think we'll be good for right now, thank you," Brandon replied as the waitress nodded and gave them a smile before going onto the next table.

Once she left Brandon once again felt the familiar feeling of magic traveling up his thigh and just as quickly disappeared. Though this time he had a little bit of trouble figuring out which one did it. That was until he saw Luna giving him a little wink and judging from how Lyra was acting he just had the same treatment.

"So, are you excited about taking Baron out tomorrow?" Luna asked after swallowing her food.

"Yeah, I actually am but I hope you guys aren't jealous," He answered with a little smile.

"I'm glad, because after everything you deserve to have fun and don't worry we're only a little jealous," Lyra said returning his smile with a bigger one. "Eep!"

"What's wrong?" Luna asked with genuine confusion until she felt something brush against her flank. When she looked she saw something retreating under the table making her look at Brandon who didn't seem to of moved.

"What?" He asked, with what she knew was false concern. "Are you two feeling okay?"

"Y-yeah, I think we're fine but how is your leg?" Luna asked.

"A bit sore still, but I think it's about time we head home for some sleep," Brandon said and by the tone of his voice, both mares knew he meant it.

"So early?" Lyra asked.

"Well, you two don't have to but I'm feeling a bit drained myself," He said and they could tell just by how he stood up how drained he must be.

"Alright, I'll take care of the bill real fast and then we can head out," Luna said waving their waitress over and getting their bill. After paying and leaving a nice little tip they started their way back to the house, which Brandon seemed almost ready to drop he was so tired.

Author's Note

I hope you guys enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

One Year Anniversary

Brandon woke up with the two mares on either side of him and while he was happy with it he still felt bad Derpy wasn't there. Though it was easier to untangle himself even with his shoulder acting up though he needed to get up. It was early morning and he needed something to drink.

"O-oh, Brandon!" He heard as he walked out of his room to see Bird was walking toward the living room as well. "H-how are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you and before you ask the doctors said that the treatments for Hyrda toxin can drain you. But how are you?" Brandon replied making her give him a shy little smile.

"I'm fine, thank you," Bird said and he nodded toward the living room.

"Did you want something from the kitchen too? Because I know I need a drink," Brandon said as he started to make his way, and Bird followed.

"Um, c-can I ask you s-something?" Bird asked making Brandon turn and nod but he could tell she was going to have trouble asking. "I-it's just w-when we w-were on the t-train..."

"Ah, if this is about me knowing..." Though as he looked back the mare had a look of pure fear.

"I...I...I knew y-you knew I-I was..." She stopped when he put a finger up to his lips, his eyes somewhat glowing, but then he was pointing back towards the hall.

"Listen, whatever you were gonna say keep it to yourself for right now because I think you misunderstood what I knew. Before you ask, I know about your current... condition," Brandon said making her eyes widen with surprise as he gave her a kind smile. "Now, I don't personally care about race just who you are. I also know Knuckles wouldn't care but I doubt he really knows your current condition am I right?"

"N-no," Bird answered looking at the ground.

"I promise not to say anything," At that he walked into the kitchen and filled a glass with water gulping it down. Then he went to go sit on the couch, and when he looked Bird was carrying a couple of sandwiches back into their room.

It didn't take long before all of them were awake though he was surprised to see Knuckles seemed to of just gotten up as well. Though he supposed the stallion couldn't stay awake forever no matter the training. Soon Derpy came back over with the fillies which they started playing in the living room.

"Hey, what did you do with that surprise?" Brandon asked Knuckles while Grace and Dinky weren't listening.

"I put it in her room," Knuckles said without looking as the stallion drank down piping hot coffee.

"Thanks, and listen about Bon Bon yesterday, be careful with mentioning her around Lyra. I know you already know but they are exes, and they got that way because of something Bon Bon did to us out of jealousy. Lyra still cares about her, not that I can blame her, but she still has fresh pain about what happened," Brandon said making the stallion nod.

"I understand, I will do my best. Also, I know Princess Luna would not like this if she knew but I'm going to go out flying to stretch my wings. I will be back as soon as I can," Knuckles said making Brandon shrug.

"Fair enough, I'm getting that feeling myself but 'No flying until your wound heals more!' order thing. Not to mention the medicine that they gave me makes me get drained easily it seems and I rather not take another fall from the sky," That seemed to get the stallion to laugh a little.

"No, I doubt your marefriends would forgive you if you injured yourself more. Now, as I said I will be back quickly," Knuckles said before disappearing making Brandon shake his head. Though he made his way into Grace's room and found the instrument case on her bed.

"Oh, what's that?" Lyra asked as she walked in making him shush her and gave her a little smile.

"It's for Grace, it's something she and her parents were looking at for her. I asked the shop keeper if he remembered them and because of what happened to her parents they stuck out in his mind," Brandon answered lifting the case with his good arm. "Which can you go get them ready? And I know it ain't fair to Dinky, but I will make it up to her later."

"Alright, and don't worry about Dinky I think she'll be fine," Lyra said as she left and he could hear her calling the girls to get their attention.

"What's going on?" He heard Derpy ask as he made his way into the living room making Grace's eyes light up when she saw him carrying the case.

"I wanted to give you a little surprise before the school sleepover, I really hope you like it," Brandon said as he placed the case in front of the filly. He was aware of the mare's surprise, except for Luna and Lyra who were smiling at him, and Dinky giving him a little pout. But none of it compared to Grace's big smile as she opened it seeing a filly sized cello making her jump with joy.

"It's so amazing I-I love it!" Grace said as she wrapped her hooves around his neck and once she broke he could see tears in her eyes. He could tell that they were a mixture of happiness and her missing her parents.

"I'm glad, just like I'm sure your parents would be happy to see you so happy again," Brandon said rubbing her head as he gave her a kind and understanding smile, and to her credit, she remained strong and didn't break down. Instead, she went back over to the cello to check it out again. "Don't worry Dinky, next surprise will be all yours if that's okay?"

"Fine, but it better be good!" Dinky said making him laugh.

"I'll make sure," He replied and going to sit with his mares who then all kissed him at once from all sides. Though Luna seemed to linger.

"So, you ready for your anniversary party tonight?" Derpy asked as they watched Dinky and Grace go into Grace's room.

"I hope, and hope you guys really don't mind me taking Baron tonight," He answered making them all roll their eyes, even Bird shook her head. Though once she noticed him staring a bit she looked away.

After that, they spent the rest of the time talking and eating though Brandon took his medicine a bit early so he could take a nap before the party. But he still stayed up long enough to talk a bit more about how Pinkie told Derpy it'll be a fairly small get together since the celebration the other day. He eventually managed to get to the bedroom and crashed on the bed, though he couldn't help but wonder what Knuckles was up to.

-------Knuckles POV------------

Once he got out of the house he unfolded his wings feeling a gust of wind going by and in an instant he took off. He had not been able to fly for a few days now and it was just about killing him and making him restless. If he hadn't been so tired the night before he would have stayed awake all night pacing in the room.

He was soaring above the Everfree and couldn't help but appreciate its beauty despite its reputation. Though as he was flying his eyes caught sight of a mare standing at a cliffside making him slow down to a stop as he watched the mare. The way she was looking down let him know what she was planning and before he could call out the mare stepped off the cliff.

This made him react without hesitation as he quickly nose-dived toward the falling mare and before she hit the ground he snatched her. He was barely able to stop them from hitting though with a grunt and a hard flap of his wings. But the momentum carried them into a skidding stop.

Once fully stopped though he took a look who had a dark blue coat with a red and white mane and tail. Though now he could see her face, which he could tell was beautiful if not for the fact that she looked like she had been beaten. That made his nostrils flare a bit, though he managed to get it together and looked into her eyes which he could see were different colors, one bright green while the other was red.

"W-why..." The mare started but quickly broke down.

"I did it for the same reason you are crying now, you did not want to truly die no matter how you got your injuries," Knuckles said sitting down next to the sobbing mare who tried to push him away weekly. "I'm not going anywhere until you are ready to go home, and maybe learn why you suffer so much."

-----Brandon-----

It was mid-afternoon when he woke up springing up from another nightmare about what he did to Land Shark. That mixed with some snippets from his other memories mixed in just seemed to make it worse. Though Luna was by his side before he knew it and Lyra and Derpy weren't far behind.

"I-I'm fine, really girls... just another nightmare..." Brandon said managing to quail the shaking of his hands.

"If you're sure you're alright?" Luna asked making him give a sad sigh.

"I'm not going to cry over what I had to do, but no... I'm not okay with it," Brandon said closing his eyes which quickly opened again with that same faint glow that quickly disappeared. "Just, let me have a minute okay?"

"Sure, come on girls we got two fillies to get ready for their sleepover and then get ready ourselves," Luna said forcing the other two out, but before she walked out she turned her head and gave him a little smile.

He sat at the edge of the bed, he didn't have the strength to tell them he had remembered a little more about after the war. It wasn't anything bad but he wanted to think on them for a moment, the memories came back during his sleep. Though he knew he should tell them sooner he didn't want them to focus on him, there would be plenty of time for them to do so after the party today.

Which after taking a few more seconds to gather himself he started to get ready himself, which he avoided putting on a shirt. He was actually more accustomed now to not wearing one, or pants for that matter. But he knew he had to keep up some habits from his world now that most of his memory was back. So he settled for a pair of shorts that were very comfortable.

"Is that all you're wearing?" Derpy came in and asked.

"Yeah, don't want to overdress and I'm going to guess you're the one who was sent to make sure I was okay this time?" Brandon replied making her nod. "Well, tell the other two I'm fine and I'll be out in a moment. Also, how are the fillies?"

"Already on their way, and try not to take too long because we all three are worried about you," Derpy said making him pat her on the head before planting a kiss on her nose.

"As I said, I-I'll be fine," He said making her give another nod and went out leaving him alone again.

He took another moment looking himself over in the mirror and seeing how he had changed in the year he had barely any memory of himself. What he saw was still a broken man, but one who was put back together, mostly anyway. It was difficult for him to explain but he felt that he may not ever feel fully healed, but he shook his head and walked out to see the mares waiting for him.

"You three look beautiful," He smiled making them return the smile. Though as he couldn't help but admire them a knock came at the door. "I'll get it, coming!"

As he opened the door he saw Baron who wore a simple dress but it seemed to hug her curves. He automatically knew Rarity had made it since he recognized her hoof stitching, which he couldn't believe he had paid that much attention. But he was quickly snapped out of thought when he felt somepony lift his jaw up.

"Careful, a fly might go in. You look lovely Baron, and please forgive him he is like any stallion when he sees somepony so beautiful," Luna said making Baron give a little giggle as he turned a bit red.

"Well, thanks for the compliment from all of you. I know you three will be there but I promise to take good care of him," Baron said making Luna give a little smile though once again he felt something brush against his leg and this time it was Luna's tail.

"Y-yeah, um, n-not to rush but are you ready to head out?" Brandon asked putting his hand out which Baron took as they started their way to the convention center that Pinkie had rented, making Luna, Lyra, and Derpy all wave them goodbye.

"So, are we ready?" Lyra asked giving Luna a little wink before she started to walk that way as well.

"What was that about?" Derpy asked making Luna blush.

"J-just... let's just get going okay? We don't want Lyra to leave us behind," Luna said as she went to go catch up to the unicorn.

"Oh, I see," Derpy said with a knowing smirk though not knowing exactly what happened the day before she had an idea.

Once Brandon and Baron arrived most of the guests had already arrived and cheered him as they came in. It was a little odd not having one of the others with him at that moment but it was their idea for him to show up with Baron. Not that he was complaining, her dress not only complemented the red on her but also made her purple eyes shine.

It didn't take long before Luna, Lyra, and Derpy walked in and they each gave him a little wink. Soon the party was in full swing as he and Baron started to dance together. He had to admit he almost felt like his old self before his memories came back but he had to take a break has his shoulder and leg began to bother him a bit.

He looked around seeing all of his friends there smiling and having fun, getting drunk off the punch which he watched as Berry Punch poured a bottle into the new batch. Twilight was dancing her normal crazy dance moves, while the rest of her friends were trying not to laugh. Lyra and Derpy were dancing together, and as he looked he could see Luna standing by the door looking bothered about something.

Though he could guess what was bothering her since she been acting more flirtatious in the past couple of days. Before he got up and went over to check on her though, Baron pulled him in for another dance. He danced and to his credit, he gave the griffon his full attention until they stopped and both of them sat back down, making him look to where Luna had stood to see she was now gone.

"If you're wondering, I saw her go through the door. I think her heat is really bothering her, I mean if I heard right the normal medicine to treat a ponies heat only has a small effect on Alicorns. That's the rumors anyway," Baron said as if she read his mind. "Now, if I were you I would excuse myself and go check on her at home because you know that's where she'll be. I'm sure your date wouldn't mind considering your relationship status."

"T-thank you Baron, and I am sorry to cut this a bit short," He said though as he stood up he leaned over and gave kissed the Griffon on the forehead. "I'm hoping we can set up another date sometime?"

"You bet, now go check on the Princess. I get the feeling she really needs you right now," Baron said giving him a wink making him turn a little redder himself.

He made his way back toward his house which was taking a minute since he couldn't fly at the moment. Also, he couldn't ask Twilight to teleport him, she was pretty drunk so no telling where he might have ended up. But soon he saw his house coming closer in his view.

Once he got inside he saw the dress Luna had worn was on the couch and he could hear the shower going. From the looks of it, they were the only two in the house which was fine since he didn't know exactly what to expect. Though as he approached the bathroom he heard something bang against the wall and Luna giving a yell of frustration.

He cracked open the door where he saw Luna's silhouette in the shower and then saw the dildo on the floor opposite of the shower, and that told him everything he needed to know. As he slowly went in and closed the door quietly behind him so not to alert Luna he was there, he took off his shorts. Looking at Luna again through the curtain he saw she had her head against the wall and he saw her hoof in between her back legs.

Pulling the curtain back just a bit he stepped in behind her, which she seemed to not notice him not that he could blame her. She was so focused on trying to get release from her own hoof that he doubted him jumping up and down would have distracted her. Though he knew what would as he placed his hand on her flank.

"Eep!" Luna said quickly turning her head to see him with wide eyes, he smiled at her leaning in and locking lips with her as she lowered her hoof back to the floor of the bathtub.

"I think we both have some... frustrations to let out," Brandon said as he broke the kiss and squeezing her flank in his hand. Before she could respond she let out a gasp as she felt him press the head of his member against her swollen lips

That gasp quickly turned into a long moan as he thrust into the mare and almost instantly she clamped down on him as her dam broke. It only showed just how close she had been but still, she couldn't bring herself to climax. To Brandon's credit, he waited until she recovered well enough.

"I hope you're ready because all of the teasings you've been doing, it's time for you to get what coming to you," He whispered into her ear as he started a rhythm.

It wasn't long before she had cum again though this time Brandon kept thrusting through it making her front legs collapse and her back legs spread out while her wings unfurled. She was completely lost to the pleasure as her mind went blank. Though as his thrust became more erratic she started to regain some of herself, and though she wanted to tell him to pull out she couldn't, all that came out were moans.

"D-don't worry, r-remember I-I did t-this with L-lyra..." Though if it hadn't been for the fact that Lyra was apart of their herd she would have been more pissed, even through the pleasure. She decided to let it go, which she did not have a choice since she could feel him shotting his cum inside of her making her scream out in pure pleasure as everything went white.

Once they were both done going through their orgasms both of them completely collapsed in the tub, with Luna being wrapped in his arms. Neither one of them knew exactly how that had happened, but they were both content and satisfied at that moment. Before Luna spoke up with a tired tone.

"I-I suppose we shouldn't go to sleep here," This made them both give a little laugh as Luna used her magic to turn off the water and they began to get up. "Oh, and Brandon?"

"Yeah?" He replied as Luna locked lips with him again before breaking it.

"Happy one year anniversary, I'm looking forward to seeing what the next year will bring us," Luna said with a beautiful smile.

Author's Note

So, Brandon made it through his first year, with so much that happened. At least he finished off the year happy... But anyway, I hope you enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Little Remembrance

He heard them saying something, and then felt the familiar tug of magic around his member. Though from the sounds and feel of it they weren't getting what they wanted from the action. The night before Luna had drained him pretty well down there.

"Well, good morning," Lyra said as he opened his eyes and saw that both her and Derpy were down by that area. Lyra's horn glowing, which quickly flickered off as she gave up her efforts of trying to get him hard.

"S-sorry Brandon, Lyra really wanted to give you a good wake up call after we um, found you and Luna knocked out last night," Derpy explained as he sat up, though he put a little to much weight on his hurt shoulder making him wince.

"Just seeing you two is the perfect wake up call, but no offense but where is..." Lyra spoke up with a smile and a little wink.

"She's in the kitchen making some breakfast, and let me tell you after what you two did it definitely helped her with her little problem," Lyra said though something about the way she said that gave him the impression she was a little disappointed about something. Though then he noticed that they were now both staring at him with a little bit of curiosity.

"My eyes?" They both nodded making him sigh but he still wanted to know something. "You bought her that toy didn't you?"

"Wait, what toy?" Derpy asked turning to Lyra who was blushing so bad she looked on the verge of sweating.

"Um, y-yeah she didn't want to step into the store herself to get one. So, I went in and got one to try to help her," Lyra said making both him and Derpy laugh a little at her embarrassment.

"Why are you so embarrassed about it? I mean it's not like you haven't been there yourself to help yourself, and not to mention it was to help Luna," Derpy said leaning over to give the unicorn a little kiss on the cheek. "But I'm gonna go see if breakfast is almost done!"

"So, you wanted to give me a happy morning huh?" Brandon smiled at Lyra who gave him a little wink before turning toward the door. But before she left she swung her tail enough out of the way to give him a clear view and then she was gone.

It took him a minute because his shoulder was really bothering him and he wanted to take a real shower. Which his wings took a few minutes since they were more than ruffled. By the time he joined the mares a plate was already made for him though he couldn't help but notice Luna being more in a chirper mode despite limping a little bit.

"You okay?" He asked making Lyra and Derpy nearly busting out laughing as Luna blushed.

"J-just a little sore from last night is all. I do appreciate your help, and your help as well Lyra," Luna said leaning over and giving the mare a kiss before she came over to him locking lips for a bit longer.

"Yeah, well at least it was his pleasure," Lyra said finally breaking her and Derpy into a fit of laughing.

"Well, while you two enjoy your laugh has any of you seen Bird or Knuckles?" Brandon asked making them stop laughing.

"Knuckles is outside, as for Bird you may have to ask him. Though why do you ask?" Luna replied.

"Just curious," Brandon said though as he took a bite of the pancakes in front of him a knock came at the door.

"You sit down and eat, I'll get it," Luna said giving him another kiss before going toward the door and calling out. "Coming!"

"So, how was your date with Baron?" Derpy asked as he swallowed another bite.

"It was really fun, though I did have to leave a bit early..." He turned a little red as the two mares giggled.

"We know, Baron told us once we realized you two had disappeared. Though I did actually see you leave and that's why we talked with her, which reminds me that kiss you gave her on the forehead..." Lyra stopped as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"You mean like that?" Brandon couldn't help a little smile as Lyra gave him one as she nodded. But before they said another word Luna came in with Baron herself. "Well, wouldn't you know it, we were just talking about you."

"Oh, really?" Baron asked giving him a little wink. "Well, anyway I wanted to come by and hang out for a little bit before I have to go."

"Go?" Derpy asked a little confused.

"Right, I'll have to return to the dig site my team was stationed since the permits we needed got approved," Though as she explained that just made Derpy and Lyra a little more confused it seemed. "What, you guys didn't know I'm an Archeologues? I could only come here because my team's work was put on hold because we didn't have the permits we needed to move on with the dig."

"R-right, forgot about that Tallia is one as well, is that how you two know each other?" Lyra asked.

"Actually, no. We were actually good friends when we were just chicklings. Granted we did go our own ways after a bit only to be brought back together on a dig site," Baron explained.

"That's actually really cool, which by the way you said something about that toy you won the other night..." Brandon asked making the Baron's smile grow larger.

"Yeah, he's from a comic if you remember. But that's not the most interesting part of his story, the most interesting part about it is that his comic is based on an actual historic find for dragons," Baron said and this made Luna's eyes widen a bit.

"Wait, I heard something about that, it happened before I..." Luna didn't finish but they knew what she meant.

"Yeah, well while the comic does base that character from the actual perfectly frozen body of a prehistoric dragon they of course took some liberties. Like for example, while perfectly preserved in ice it's unknown whether or not thawing him out would revive him, though it is theorized. Since it is believed he was frozen by windigo's," Baron explained.

"Not only beautiful but she's very smart, I think she's a keeper Brandon," Lyra gave him a little wink making Baron blush a little and Brandon just shook his head.

"So anyway, you're headed back to your dig site?" He asked though hey could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, but I wanted to give you a post box address that we set up to get our mail so we can write to each other," Baron said giving him a little envelope which made him a little confused, and before he could ask she quickly spoke up. "I really did enjoy our little dates and I'm looking forward to our next date. But that's not just giving you the address for the post box but um, a picture or two of me."

Before he could respond she hugged him and gave him a little lingering kiss on the cheek before rushing out with a deep blush. He set the envelope onto the table and despite the three mares wanting him to open it right there he decided to wait. But after fully finishing his breakfast he took it into the bedroom where he opened it revealing a little note. All it said was that she hoped he enjoyed the pictures and the address she mentioned.

Which as he went to get the pictures out he hesitated having a sense of exactly what the pictures might be. Taking a breath he pulled them out, which there were four in total. The first was recently taken, it was of him and her during the celebration just the other day enjoying some cotton candy.

The next one was of a simple headshot of her with a wide grin which from the looks she was a few years younger making him wonder if it was the picture taken when she got her master's degree. He then looked at the third picture which was her at a dig site and by the looks of it they discovered many old tools. Which so far he was glad they weren't what he thought, though when he looked at the last picture and while it didn't show anything Baron was laying in a sexy pose with a seductive look.

"I think that one is a keeper," He jumped at the sound of someone speaking, and as he places his hand over his heart trying to calm himself he looked and saw Lyra was looking at the picture as well. "Gee, you act like your mom just caught you looking at a dirty mag or something."

"Shut up," Though he couldn't help the little smile as Lyra busted out laughing.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the others but I suggest if you want to keep that picture secret for your private time alone then you need to find a good hiding spot," Lyra said as she finally managed to stop laughing.

"Right, so what are you doing?" Brandon asked.

"Oh, well I saw you coming in here to open up that letter and I got curious. Especially when you started looking at the pictures, I mean you got so distracted by them I couldn't help myself," Lyra said leaning over and giving him a little kiss.

"Fair enough I guess, and I'll keep in mind about finding a hiding place for the picture," He said and quickly hid it under his pillow for now. "Now, I'm gonna go talk to Knuckles for a minute."

"Oh, okay..." Lyra sounded a little disappointed about him not staying in there with her.

"Which by the way, I may need a little help tomorrow to wake up," Brandon said giving her a little wink making her blush as he walked out.

He passed by Luna and Derpy who were helping each other do the dishes which he quickly told them he was going outside for a moment. Once outside he felt something jump on him and quickly climb onto his shoulder, and as he looked it was Daisy, his pet rat. Quickly petting her and got the rat to go inside the house.

"So, where did you go yesterday?" Brandon asked as he sat underneath a shady tree, and Knuckles did his normal thing of melting out of the shadows.

"Just had to deal with something," Knuckles answered and Brandon got the feeling that's all he would get out of the stallion about yesterday, at least during the day.

"So, what about last night?" Brandon asked meeting Knuckle's eyes.

"Yes, well Bird told me about your conversation from that morning. While I know you wouldn't reveal anything she didn't feel comfortable living in your house. So we went to an Inn, and I am sorry I failed in my duty yesterday," Knuckles said though his tone made it clear to Brandon not to tell about Birds secret, though Brandon also figured she didn't tell him the whole conversation.

"Eh, don't worry as I told her, I don't care what she is. I mean who am I to judge? I'm not even from this world, but now I'm just mad at myself for making her so uncomfortable. But there's more to your story about the Inn, I mean it shouldn't have taken you so long to get a room," Brandon said maintaining eye contact with the stallion making his message clear, he wasn't really scared of him.

"You are a lot more perceptive than you lead on, but yes we... I had a little trouble with the owner of the Inn. But after a little talk, he seemed very pleased to sell me the Inn at a good price," Knuckles said making Brandon shake his head.

"So, from what I got from that is he wouldn't let you rent a room probably because of what you are and you convinced him to sell to you," Though Brandon did air quotations as he said the last part.

"Yes, I would do a lot to make Bird comfortable. She has been through a lot," Knuckles said.

"Haven't we all though, but really I seriously can't judge like I already explained," Though before they could continue Brandon noticed Rarity walking up to the house.

"Oh, good you're already outside," Rarity called out as she saw them.

"Hey Rarity, what brings you by?" Brandon asked.

"Well, I came to personally deliver an invite to a welcoming party for a friend of mine. Now before you ask darling, Pinkie is feeling a little under the weather today so I said I would personally do it," Rarity explained.

"I hope she feels better," Brandon said as he took the invitation and Knuckles nodded as he took his.

"Now, that is for all of you and I expect to see you there," Rarity then quickly turned around and started to walk off. "I'll tell Pinkie you wish her well, bye-bye now!"

"She is a peculiar one, reminds me of the nobles but somehow more down to earth than most of them," Knuckles said making Brandon crack a grin a bit.

"Yeah, wouldn't necessarily say more down to earth but I know what you mean," Bandon said before standing up. "Now let's head inside and get a drink and then you can go tell Bird about the party while I tell those three, and Grace and Dinky once they get back."

Grace and Dinky arrived later in the afternoon which they both said how much fun the school sleepover was. Which after telling them every little detail they asked to go play, which of course they said yes. It wasn't until dinner that night that Brandon remembered the invitation.

"Oh, I think I've heard of this Jade Night that this party is for. If I remember right she is a very sought after home decorator. It does not surprise me that somepony like Rarity would be able to make friends with her," Luna explained after Brandon read the invitation.

"Well, at least it'll be a family-friendly party," Derpy said making them all nod which the fillies looked really excited about it as well.

"I know I'm going, and I know those two look more than ready to go," Brandon said making the two fillies nod.

"Then I guess it's settled then," Luna said making the two fillies release a high pitched squeal which seemed to make Knuckles come out of the shadows covering his ears making them all laugh.

"I do sometimes wish my hearing wasn't as good as it is," Knuckles mumbled as he stood back up shaking his head obviously trying to get rid of the ringing.

"How was talking to Bird about that party?" Brandon asked as he tried to help with cleanup only to be told by looks not to help.

"She is willing to come," Knuckles answered making Brandon know he wasn't in much of a mood to talk.

"I hope to see her there because I do want to apologize about making her uncomfortable," Brandon said making Knuckles smile.

"I know, but like I said she has been through a lot. Not to mention if you have not noticed she is more on the shy side of things," Knuckles said making Brandon nod.

"But anyway, hey guys girls do you mind going into Grace's room to play?" Brandon asked which neither one of them objected since it got them out of helping with the rest of the cleaning. "Now that they're gone for now I want to tell you all that I do remember more."

"How much more did you remember?" Luna was the one who asked.

"Not exactly how I got here, but I think the memories I've recently gotten back and the ones that are still missing are the ones from the months leading up to how I got here," Brandon explained.

Which once all of them, even Knuckles settled around the table he started to explain the newer memories he got back. Like how he and the other five surviving original members always got together for a drink every few days. He even told them about how his and Anna's relationship grew, but the guilt still bothered him greatly.

"So, what did you do?" Knuckles asked.

"Ah, you see we had talked about that. The only way we thought of to help even ease the guilt was to turn ourselves in which would then get all six of us the death penalty," Brandon explained making all their eyes go wide except for Knuckles who narrowed his eyes.

"There's more to that, you took it upon yourself to turn yourself in and took all the blame didn't you?" Knuckles asked making Brandon shake his head.

"Not exactly, they had records of all of us so they would know about the other's involvement one way or the other. What I planned on was asking for leniency for the others, which does happen. Their names or pictures would never be shown and instead of getting executed they would be sent to prison.

Before any of you ask not one of them knew I was doing this, at least not that I was aware of. But Anna knew me too well by then and she figured out my plan. Because I remember going to the judge who I had gotten an appointment with only when I got there Sally was there," Brandon explained.

"Wait, why would she be there after the way she ended things with you?" Luna asked anger in her voice for the woman.

"That I can't quite remember, something about her working out a deal for all of us. Everything after walking into the judge's office is fuzzy, that is where my memories really end," Though as he seemed to be trying to remember something.

"I wonder what kind of deal she worked out, which by the way what did this Sally do for a living?" Knuckles asked.

"She's a musician, right?" Lyra asked though that seemed to trigger something for Brandon.

"Yes and no, she wasn't professional or anything even though she could have been. She more or less did that as a hobby, no her real passion was science and trying to figure out a better way to deal with the overpopulation," Brandon answered making the mares look at him with some surprise, though Luna spoke up.

"What kind of science exactly?" Luna asked making him think for a moment.

"I think she was into Theoretical Quantum Science..." Though he didn't figure the others quite knew what he meant but as he locked eyes with Luna he could see she had some understanding of the science.

"As in things like portals?" Luna asked making Lyra and Derpy look at her like she might have gone a little crazy, while Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"I don't really know, maybe that's what she studied exactly. Since she finished her studies while we were apart, but even if she discovered a way to make a portal to help with overpopulation why would she help me? I do get the feeling like Anna somehow got ahold of her but still..." Brandon tried to remember more but he could tell he was straining himself.

"But it is possible, which may explain how you got here. Which no matter what we are glad you landed in our world," Luna said making him give a little tired smile.

"Yeah, me to even if it hasn't been that smooth. I just wish I could remember the last bit of it because I feel like whatever happened before I came here is why I lost my memory, at least a major part," He said though Lyra stood up with anger in her eyes.

"As Luna said, we are glad you came here but what if Sally used you as a guinea pig for the portal? Maybe she didn't expect you to survive, and maybe because it was an experiment that's the reason you lost your memory?" Lyra said making Brandon shake his head.

"I don't get that impression..." But Lyra stormed off.

"She'll be alright, and just take your time on remembering Brandon," Luna said looking at Derpy for more support.

"I actually kind of agree with Lyra on this one, without you knowing exactly what happened who knows what your ex would do? Especially if she worked for your government?" Derpy said but sighed. "But I do think you're telling the truth about you not thinking this Sally wouldn't do something like that. So, I'll at least go calm Lyra down, we'll try to be back as soon as we can."

"T-thanks," Brandon said looking down feeling awful about making Lyra so upset. Derpy gave him a quick peck before going to find Lyra leaving him, Luna, and Knuckles in the kitchen.

Author's Note

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

Going To The Party

"I'm sorry, but I would like to go check on Bird and make sure she's settling in at the Inn," Knuckles said and waited to get a nod from both Brandon and Luna.

"I know what's really bothering you three," Brandon said as they heard the door shut behind Knuckles. "You fear that I may have let someone back in my life that hurt me a lot. Just like how I did with Bon Bon, and I think you guys are right. I feel like I did let her back in my life but as a friend and nothing more, and I'm sorry for that."

Before Luna could say anything Brandon got up and headed to the front door leaving her alone with the two fillies. She gave a sad sigh knowing she couldn't go and help him because of that little fact nor could she go find Lyra. But she knew Derpy could more than handle her.

As he shut the door he gave a sad sigh himself before starting to walk by himself even though at the back of his own mind he was paranoid. Which after a little while of walking he also felt guilty because he knew Luna would worry about him on his own as well. But he needed time to work with how things went, how he could have handled it better.

Though he very well knew Lyra would be the most upset at this since it would remind her of the Bon Bon situation. But much worse since she didn't know Sally and what she did know for certain she had hurt him badly, made him think he was nothing more than a monster. He wished he knew exactly what would help with it.

Suddenly he stopped snapped out of his thoughts as he saw this familiar glow which did surprise him. But he quickly figured it must be his eyes again and he had seen this before, though it was difficult to make out since it seemed to blend in with the shadows. That made him know exactly who it was though and the stallion wasn't going toward the Inn like he said he was.

He knew he had to be very careful since he knew Knuckles would hear him otherwise and Brandon was very curious as to why the stallion was headed to that part of town. As he followed the stallion at quite the distance, which he was surprised he could see that far at that time of night, he started somewhat recognizing the area. Then he saw what he knew was where Sparks was staying, and Knuckles seemed to be at the door knocking gently.

After seeing the stallion get let in by Sparks herself Brandon couldn't believe it, but he didn't approach since he didn't want Sparks to get angry. Especially at Knuckles who from the looks of it was there out of support even if he didn't quite know how he could tell that. So instead he decided to walk away with a little plan in his head as he headed back to his house where he found all five girls waiting for him.

"I think I'm just going to head to bed," Brandon said quickly and patted the two fillies on their heads while avoiding the three mares looks. Especially Lyra's since she still gave off the feeling of anger, not that he gave any of them a chance to talk anyway.

The next morning Luna and Derpy were the only ones in bed with him and he couldn't sleep any longer. He looked at the clock and saw it was still early morning, about ten after four in the morning. Getting up he went to the living room where Lyra was sleeping on the couch which he wondered if she decided to sleep there or was forced to.

Shaking his head he quickly fixed her blanket making her snuggle up as if she had been cold before. He stood there for a moment seeing just how peaceful she looked while sleeping, and making a cute little snoring sound. But he then shook his head again and went to get a glass of water and went outside, and soon the moon was being lowered telling him Luna was awake and the sunrise was beginning.

Despite knowing that they would all be awake in an hour or less he still didn't want to face them even if Luna did defend him. He could sense that all three of them had the same anger at him for trusting Sally again, even if it was in his past quite literally. Though now it wouldn't matter anyway since he didn't have a way back to his world nor would he want to go back.

"You know you can't avoid us forever?" Luna said as she walked outside.

"Couldn't sleep if you were wondering, and I know I can't. But I just don't want to talk about it right now, it's just I know how much already my past is already weighing on all three of you. It's not right because it's my past for me to be burdened by not any of yours, especially you," He said before he felt a hoof on his back.

"I should be the one pony who you can share these memories with, to help you carry them. But give Lyra some credit as her anger is about her caring for you more than anything. Derpy made sure to remind her that part of your life is very well in the past. Now, breakfast will be ready shortly we all would like you to join us," Luna said gently rubbing his back for a moment before going back inside after he wouldn't say anything.

"You should listen to her because if you don't it may make things more difficult a little down the line," Knuckles said suddenly beside him.

"I know, and I could do without the advice right now especially things I already know. No offense," Brandon said and a silence fell between the two. But after a moment Brandon stood up and nodded at Knuckles who did the same in return. When he got to the table he noticed the fillies weren't at the table and he couldn't bring himself to look at Lyra.

"Brandon..." Lyra said her tone gentle but still had the edge of anger to it. "I know it's in your past and I know I shouldn't hold it against you. I-I'm sorry for how I reacted."

"I can't blame any of you for what you feel and I'm sorry that I burdened..." He was shut up as Lyra placed a hoof on his hand.

"Don't ever think you should hide anything, especially from me. No offense to you two, but we built our relationship on being able to tell each other things we couldn't tell others. Like I said, I really am sorry," Lyra said wrapping him in a tight hug. "I promise not to judge you on what you did in your world or even here in ours."

"T-thank you," He managed only half-heartedly returning the hug. Lyra seemed fine with it as she broke the hug and went to sit back down.

He still wasn't in the mood to talk much but he did try especially as Grace and Dinky came into the kitchen to play a game of tag. The three mares were talking up a storm trying to lighten up his mood which did even just a bit. After breakfast, he decided to pick up a book he had started on so long ago for book club, which did make him wonder if they were gonna have another meeting.

"Hey Brandon?" Lyra said as she walked and sat next to him.

"Hm?" Was all the reply she got making her roll her eyes a bit.

"I know you tucked me in this morning, and I wanted to say thanks for that," Lyra said making him look from the book.

"You have a cute little snore," Brandon said making her smile despite him not returning it.

"So, are you going to that welcome party?" She asked making him close his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think I will," He answered giving a weak smile.

"That's great!" Lyra said and scooted a little closer to him staring at him.

"Are my eyes glowing again?" He asked making her shake her head.

"Just wondering why do you do that?" Lyra replied making him give her a little confused look before it clicked.

"Anna actually got me to do. It's a way to help clear the mind she said and it does help a bit," He answered placing a hand under her chin making her go a little red. "Though I do like this way as well."

"Eep," Lyra said as he locked lips with her, and the last bit of tension between them melted away.

After that, his mood seemed to really improve and he joined in Grace's and Dinky's game of tag and even got the three mares to join as well. When they were all tired they decided to watch a movie which the fillies had picked out. It was a comedy and they all seemed to be having a good time watching it, though his laugh seemed a bit forced.

When the movie finished they played a board game which Grace managed to win just barely as Luna was a close second. After a few more rounds it was getting decently late and they managed to get the two fillies to take baths and brush their teeth before heading off to bed. The four of them then decided it was time for bed as well though it took him a minute to get to the room.

"I need to be better," He muttered to himself as he looked in the mirror and for a moment saw the faint glow in his eyes and he knew that he had really meant those words. After that, he went to the bedroom where his three mares were waiting for him.

He managed to wedge himself in between Lyra and Derpy while Luna snuggled up to Derpy. Lyra and him faced each other and she gave him a little wink before closing her eyes making him wonder what she had planned. Knowing her she would keep her promise to help him wake up, which he was right.

"Fffuuucckk!" He said suddenly arching his hips as he felt himself cum inside something warm and wet. After his orgasm finished he looked down to see Lyra removing his member from her mouth.

"Good morning," She said giving him a little wink. "Now if you'll excuse me, I want to brush my teeth before the party this afternoon."

After she left he looked to see he was the only one in bed and as he looked at the clock it was almost eleven. Shaking his head he managed to get out of bed and today he felt like he was in a better mood, not just because of Lyra's wake up call either. Though that did help as it meant that she had mostly moved passed her anger.

They all got ready to go and Knuckles and Bird met them outside waiting for them and they began to make their way into town. Though they decided to leave early to go visit a diner or something for lunch and go shopping for a welcoming gift. Bird and Knuckles managed to pick out theirs while Brandon's group couldn't quite agree on what to get but eventually settled on a pan set.

After that, they decided where to have lunch since it was still about two hours from the party which they had a little trouble with Knuckles getting in. But Luna stepped in despite her feelings toward the stallion but it was good to see. As they ate he tried to make small talk with Bird but to no avail.

"So, this Jade Night is an interior decorator?" Knuckles asked after he finished sucking the juices of a pineapple out.

"Yes, if I remember correctly and if I'm thinking of the right pony," Luna replied.

"Why, you planning on redoing the Inn you guys bought?" Brandon asked making his three marefriends look at him in confusion then at Knuckles.

"Maybe," Bird was the one who answered.

"Wait, you bought an Inn here in town? Is that where you guys have been staying?" Derpy asked.

"Yes, we did and we have been. Though it seems Bird has more of a mind for running the place more than I do," Knuckles answered making the mare blush.

"Well, I hope it all goes well for you guys," Brandon said finishing off his plate. "Hey girls, you about ready to go?"

At that, they continued their talk as they paid and left which was mostly Bird answering the questions. They showed up five minutes late because they got a bit distracted with their conversation, which by that time had turned into what Bird might do if the Inn grew. But as it turned out they weren't the only ones late as the mare the party was late as well.

"Hey Rarity, where is she?" Pinkie asked going crazy.

"Relax Pinkie, she just likes to be fashionably late," Rarity said giving a little smile, and soon after that Jade Night finally arrived.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" Everypony screamed as the mare walked in.

Which from what they could tell her coat was a sapphire blue with her mane and tail being emerald. Though they couldn't make out much detail other than that, and as Brandon looked he saw Knuckles in the corner of the room scanning the crowd. But something seemed a bit off as if his scanning the crowd was slower, almost as if he was distracted.

But Brandon just shook his head and tried his best to join in the party but his mind kept wandering back to when he saw Knuckles going into Sparks house. Though as he was about to go over he noticed that Jade seemed to be looking at the stallion with curiosity and then whispered into Rarity's ear. He figured what it was and went over to the bat-pony and nodded toward Rarity who was making her way toward them.

"Oh, good you're both here! Come one, Jade wants to meet both of you!" Rarity said and her tone told them they didn't have a choice.

"Are you sure she wanted to meet both of us?" Brandon asked as they made their way through the crowd.

"Yes, though she wanted to meet Knuckles here more so, as they say, this just kills two birds with one stone!" Rarity said in a chipper tone.

"Seems you do draw some good attention," Brandon whispered so quietly that he knew only Knuckles could hear him. Which looking out of the corner of his eye he could see that the stallion was stoned faced.

"Jade, this here in Brandon our one and only human!" Rarity said with a smile and Brandon gave the sapphire mare a friendly smile of his own and nodded his head. Though it was obvious Jade was more interested in meeting Knuckles, which Brandon had to suppress a laugh as the mare started walking around the stallion inspecting him.

"Jade, meet my bodyguard Knuckles Shadow," Brandon said getting a little look of slight annoyance from Rarity for stealing her thunder.

"Hmm, I can see it. He is quite interesting to look at..." Jade said and she had a certain look written on her face that Knuckles might not have noticed since she was still walking around him. Which as she did this Brandon saw Bird looking at them with curiosity and he nodded for her to come over.

"Also, let us introduce you to Knuckles marefriend, Bird Song," Brandon said as Bird came up beside Knuckles giving Jade a shy smile which the mare returned. He looked at Knuckles and a silent thank you seemed to pass through the stallion's eyes.

"Oh, it's so lovely to meet you! Might I say you look very lovely," Jade said making Bird give a little blush and leaned against Knuckles hiding her face in his fur. Brandon saw Jade studying the shy mare and her eyes seemed to go to the mare's stomach with a quick motion and that made him think that this mare might have very good eyes. Though it would be tough for him to say for certain if Jade could see any sign of the other mare's pregnancy.

"Um, hey Knuckles do you mind if I borrow Bird for a minute?" Brandon asked and before either Knuckles or Bird could respond he dragged the mare off leaving Knuckles at the mercy of the two mares.

"H-hey!" Bird protested and once they were outside he let her go.

"Sorry, but does Knuckles know about you being pregnant?" He asked making Bird give him a shake of her head. "Don't ask me how but I feel like just from her brief time of looking at you Jade figured it out. I don't think she'll tell him anything but you need to tell him sooner rather than later, especially since he may hear them far better than any sonar program or whatever they use to detect a foal's heartbeat."

"A-are you sure she figured it out? I mean how?" Brandon raised his eyebrow making Bird give a sigh. "Right, don't ask."

"So, when did you find out anyway?" He asked making the mare study him before giving yet another sigh.

"The day before he got the letter..." Bird answered making him raise his eyebrow again before shutting his eyes shaking his head.

"You were going to tell him the day Luna's letter arrived and you lost your nerve after he read the letter asking him to come here, weren't you?" He asked looking at the mare making her nod in response. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry on both mine and Luna's behalf. But what I said still stands, you need to tell him sooner rather than later."

At that, he walked back inside with Bird following lowering her head and they went their own ways. He watched her go over to Knuckles who was still cornered by Rarity and Jade which as he watched she seemed to save him. Which he then saw them go to the dance floor and it didn't take much to figure out what she used to get him away.

"Hey Derpy, care to dance?" He asked making Derpy give him a wide smile and they went to the dance floor. Which a slow song seemed to of started playing and he saw Jade walking away from the Dj booth looking at Knuckles and Bird with a kind smile. Which then she saw him looking and gave him a little knowing wink, though as she walked past he saw a pink blur go past and move in between ponies. "That can't be good."

"What can't?" Derpy asked trying to follow his eyes but he looked away from Pinkie and made Derpy look at him.

"Sorry, just a bit distracted. Now, how about we dance?" He asked and as they did he managed to snag a few looks at Knuckles and Bird slow dancing as well and he saw some flashes of Pinkie every now and again.

------Bird------

She had already come up with a plan to tell him after making up the excuse that she wanted to dance, and then the slow song started. So she figured she might as well but she knew what she had to do and she knew she needed to tell him sooner just like Brandon said. Which as they danced she pressed really close to him feeling his warmth and sturdiness that gave her so much comfort.

"H-hey Knuckles?" She said making the stallion shift his gaze down to meet hers. "I...I have something I need to tell you, I-I'm pregnant..."

"Could you repeat that? I am sorry but it seems the stereo system is messing with my hearing," Knuckles said making Bird want to give in to the frustration she started to feel. But she couldn't back out now because she knew Brandon was right, not too much longer, and Knuckles would hear their heartbeats from within her. So she took a deep breath before speaking again loudly.

"I'm pregnant Knuckles!" Though as she said it her words seemed to echo much louder than she should have been, which then she looked and saw the pink mare who she knew planned parties holding a microphone in between her and Knuckles. She had just announced to the whole room she was pregnant.

-----Back to Brandon----

"Pinkie what did you do?" Brandon couldn't help but ask anybody in particular, and he looked toward Jade who seemed just as shocked at what just happened. Though he could tell it wasn't from not knowing about Bird being pregnant but looking at the mare he knew she didn't have anything to do with what Pinkie just did.

Author's Note

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

A Little Talk

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!

Another Guest

"Really?" Lyra shook her head as Brandon and Luna broke their kiss with a big smile.

"What can we say?" Brandon replied with his smile turning into a little laugh. But as he walked in he gave both mares a little peck. "So, Luna's got some new snacks for us to try by the way!"

"Hey!" Luna complained making him laugh as he sat down.

Which just as quickly as he sat down he found himself being pulled into the kitchen to help unload the groceries. After the fillies came in to have some lunch and they all tried the new snacks Luna got. Once they were all satisfied Grace and Dinky went to go play with the other kids outside.

"So, did you guys find everything okay?" Derpy asked.

"Yup, I had no trouble. Did your talk with Knuckles go alright?" Luna replied making both Lyra and Derpy shake their heads.

"Shouldn't we actually stay out of all that after all that's happened?" Lyra asked.

"Probably, but let's just call it instinct but I think with some of the remnants of that group setting up close by will only mean trouble," Brandon answered making Lyra give him a harsh stare. "Hey, I just want us to be as prepared as possible because now I don't think I'll be the only target."

"Brandon is right if they do make a move before whatever my sister has planned then we need to set up some plans," Luna said making Lyra sigh but look at Derpy for a little backup of her own.

"Sorry Lyra, I agree with them that the more information we have the better. But without anypony giving us any new information right what plans can we make?" Derpy asked.

"At the very least some escape plans," Brandon said giving a sigh. "But for right now let's try to put it off."

"I don't like that look in your eyes," Lyra said making him shake his head.

"You all shouldn't, but it won't cause too much trouble," Brandon then got up just as a knock came at the door. "I'll get it."

Brandon already figured out who was at the door before he heard her voice calling out, making him tell her to hang on. Once he let Twilight in she quickly tried to explain that Celestia contacted her about her brother being Brandon's new guard. Which once she realized they already knew she finally took a deep breath.

"Yeah, Celestia already came by but thanks for trying to warn us. By the way, when is Shining going to be here?" Brandon asked offering Twilight a seat that she gladly took.

"Should be here in about two more hours, but what about Knuckles?" Twilight asked.

"Celestia sent him on a mission about that group," Brandon said replied making Twilight open her mouth to give a silent oh. "Now before you ask, no we don't know much about it."

"Ah, so are you guys good? I mean about everything?" Twilight asked with a concerned tone.

"I think we're alright," Luna said looking at Brandon.

"Yeah, we were honest about everything this time. But I really do appreciate you coming by Twi," As Brandon said that he got up and wrapped the purple alicorn in a tight hug.

"Y-you're... w-welcome... Air!" Twilight said making him release her from his grip.

"Sorry bout that," Brandon said with a little smile.

"I-it's no problem, but listen try to be at the station when Shining arrives. I know you two have met a few times but you don't really know each other all that well," Twilight said getting up and started toward the door.

"Can do, and Twilight thanks for just not teleporting in," Brandon said giving her a little smile.

"I said I've learned my lesson!" Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked out.

"Well, it was nice seeing though!" Lyra called out.

Once that was settled Grace and Dinky came in and asked if they could go spend the night with the CMC, which none of them could really say no. So they helped the two fillies get packed and ready for their sleepover and soon they were once again gone. After that, they started to make their way into town towards the station.

"Hey, Brandon!" Tallia said slapping him in the back of his shoulder making him wince in pain. "Oh, I am so sorry about that!"

"It's fine Talli, what's up?" Brandon asked waving off the mares looks of concern as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Well, I wanted to ask you about Baron," Tallia said with a little knowing smile.

"Oh, yeah she was definitely great to hang out with and looking forward to seeing her again," Brandon replied making Tallia roll her eyes.

"I know that, but she told me she gave you a envelope," Tallia said raising any eyebrow as he started to turn red.

"Y-yeah, she did give me one why?" Brandon asked making Tallia give a laugh.

"Well, it's a little tradition for Grffons like us to give those kinds of envelops to ones we really like. Of course I'm sure you figured out why," Tallia said making him look at the three mares for support, of course none of them offered.

"Um, what do you mean Griffons like you?" Lyra finally spoke up.

"Right," Tallia said as she gave him a little wink. "Well, you see we weren't raised in Griffon lands. We traveled with our parents until we were old enough to go into school for our careers. So before we started dating our older friends told us about giving letters, or enevelops to those we really like. Just encase we come back, of course I know she'll be coming back cause after her dig she'll be moving in with me and Ginger."

"So wait, she's moving to Ponyville?" Brandon asked.

"Yup, sure is and I'm glad I'm the one who told you cause that look is great! But anyway, gotta get going Ginger the the younglings are waiting. Bye-bye!" Tallia said as she started to fly away.

"Well, that seemed to put you in a good mood," Luna said as they were all trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Y-yeah, anyway let's get to..." Brandon suddenly stopped as he looked up at the sky to see a bright crack in the otherwise clear sky. "Do you guys see that?"

"See what?" Derpy asked squinting up in the sky as did Lyra and Luna, and just as he was about to point it out it vanished.

"Uh, never mind must just be seeing spots or something," Brandon said though he knew they didn't buy it by the looks they gave him. Though he did lock eyes with Luna for a brief second and he got the slight feeling she saw something as well.

"Yes, well spots aside we need to hurry because I think that's Shining's train that's coming," Luna pointed with her horn making them drop the topic for the moment as they started a faster pace to the station.

"Thanks," Brandon whispered into Luna's ear.

"Don't mention, and we can talk about it later," Luna replied quietly as they got to the station. Once inside they saw Twliight and Shining talking and smiling.

"You know you guys make me envious for my own brother," Brandon said giving Shining and Twilight a smile as they walked up.

"Well, I'm sure where ever he is he misses you," Shining said, and Brandon was completely aware of the sad and concerned looks from the mares.

"Thanks, but anyway to change the subject you're gonna be my new guard for the moment huh?" Brandon asked giving Shining a smile.

"Yup, looking forward to it," Shining said.

"Well, careful what you wish for. Taking care of this one can be a hassle," Lyra said making him roll his eyes as Shining gave a little snicker.

"Don't you worry, I've been caught up to date with everything that's happen. Which by the way, is it true you hired the Knuckles Shadow as your guard?" Shining asked, the look on his face was mostly full of excitement.

"Yeah, I'm gonna guess you've heard about him?" Brandon asked making Twilight snicker this time.

"Please, once Shining here signed up for the guard he learnt all he could about any and every well known solider or guards throughout history," Twilight said making Shining shake his head.

"It's just not that, maybe a little bit though, but from what I've heard he's been reformed. Hope to get to meet him while I'm here to get a few pointers," Shining said making Brandon nod.

"So, are you going to stay with Twilight or are you moving in with us?" Derpy asked.

"Well, Celestia wanted me to stay with you guys if that's alright?" Shining replied.

"Nah, it's fine by me just as I hope you don't mind pitching in around the house and all that," Brandon answered, though that time he got a look of suspicion from Lyra.

"Don't mind at all, which by the way do you guys mind helping me out with some of my stuff?" Shining asked pointing to a couple of luggage bags making Brandon raise an eyebrow. "Kidding, kidding!"

"Hope you guys don't mind, but I gotta check on Spike," Twilight said as they started walking towards the door.

"Nah, pretty sure we won't lose your brother. Now what's your return policy on slightly broken..." Brandon said giving a laugh as he avoid a playful hit from Twilight.

"At that point, keep him," Twilight said giving them a laugh of her own. "But seriously I need to go, I will see you all later alright? Love you Shining."

"Love you to Twi," Shining replied and just like that Twilight vanished in a purple light.

"Well, come on and let's get you settled in," Brandon said as they started to walk back to their house.

"Hey Brandon?" Lyra said as they trailed a little behind the others.

"What's up?" Brandon replied knowing what she wanted to ask.

"You already know, but what are you planning?" Lyra asked making him sigh.

"To be honest, might go looking around," Brandon said and from the look on Lyra's face he knew he must of had a hard look himself. "Look, I promise to be really careful. But you know I gotta do this, just for peace of mind for myself if what they believe is true."

"I know, but you've already been through so much. Why not let them do their jobs?" Lyra asked.

"Let's just say that's how I came to be after everything. Besides the only one I would trust with this is being used by somepony else at the moment. I know he'll tell me what he can, but that won't be enough. I got to see it with my own eyes," Brandon answered making Lyra shake her head before giving a fake laugh.

"Sorry, Shining keeps looking back here. But please, really consider it because we can't lose you again. Especially since it involves them you may not come back this time," Lyra said grasping his hand with her magic.

"Lyra, I have considered it and though we might be safer here I am a solider even if some may not believe it. I have to protect everything I care for, you understand?" Brandon said making her stop to look her in the eyes. "I have lost way too much to lose anything else."

"I-I..." Though before Lyra really got a chance he leaned in to kiss her.

"Just have faith in me okay?" Brandon whispered after breaking the kiss and wrapping her in a hug.

"A-alright, but please let me help you..." At that he broke the hug and shook his head making Lyra give a defeated sigh.

"Hey, you two alright?" Derpy asked making both of them look to see Shining and Luna looking back at them, Luna with a sad look in her eyes while Shining looked on with more curiosity.

"Yeah, just worried about his shoulder," Lyra said giving them all a smile.

"Is it bothering you that much?" Luna called out?

"A bit, but I think it'll pass here in a moment or two. Let's just keep going. Lyra, you good?" Brandon asked and though she nodded her eyes told him that she wasn't okay with his plan at all.

It took them a good minute after that to get back since he had to act like his shoulder ached a bit more than normal. Though he was thankful that Derpy offered to show Shining the extra bedroom and to give him the overall housetour. Lyra went to go start dinner leaving Brandon and Luna alone in the living room.

"I agree with Lyra, I don't like it," Luna finally said after a minute of sitting.

"I know, but like I told Lyra I got to do it. I know the risk but it's the only real thing I can think of doing to really have any idea of how to protect myself. I mean they got through the guards at the castle, whose not to say they won't find a way to do that here? Only this time they'll make sure I'm finished, and make sure those I love suffer too," Brandon said locking eyes with Luna making her give a sigh.

"I-I do understand that and I do believe it when you say you'll be careful. But it's still completely idiotic of you," Luna said making him break eye contact this time.

"I know," Brandon said standing up. "I'm gonna use the bathroom real fast ok?"

"Don't need my permission you know?" Luna replied with a slight smile.

"Wow, this place is bigger than I thought it was gonna be," Shining said.

"Thanks, and sorry gotta use the bathroom!" Brandon said as he ran past the stallion.

Once inside the bathroom he quickly made sure the door was locked before sitting down on the toilet. Though he did know Luna still wanted to talk about what they both saw earlier in the day but he needed time to himself. He wanted to get at least some kind of plan formed before he did anything stupid and knew that that mares wouldn't be much help at that point.

Though he knew that they would help if only to distract Shining, though he knew if he wasn't careful they would follow him to try to help him. But he just knew the less of them there were the less likely of them being caught. He finally sighed and flushed before going back out.

"You feeling better?" Shining asked from the couch.

"Yeah, much better. What you doing?" Brandon asked sitting down.

"Hmm, just relaxing at the moment. Though I hope you know that the girls told me to try to keep a good eye on ya," Shining replied.

"Kind of figured, not that I can blame them," Brandon said making Shining nod in agreement.

"You know, Celestia may of told me to give her a report about everything I hear and see and I didn't make it to be Captain of the Guard for nothing. But then again there are moments when I may not be paying too much attention. It's what I got in trouble for the most back in training," Shining said giving Brandon a little knowing smile.

"Now I don't believe that," Brandon returned the smile and a little bit of understanding went between them.

"Dinner is ready!" Lyra called out making both Brandon and Shining stand up and head to the table.

Once they ate Derpy and Lyra volunteered to do the dishes while the other three went to go sit int the living room. After they got settled Brandon could tell Luna wanted to talk but wasn't quite comfortable talking in front of Shining at that moment. He rolled his eyes and finally broke the silence.

"So Luna, I know you saw what I saw this afternoon," Brandon said making Shining look away as if not listening.

"Yes, well it's actually been happening for a minute now. That crack you saw is actually a little bigger now, but the fact that you saw says something about your eyes now," Luna said trying to focus on Brandon rather than Shining.

"Wait, when did it start though? I mean is it dangerous?" Brandon asked.

"It started shortly after you disappeared and no I don't think it's dangerous. At least not yet, but I believe it may be a portal of some kind trying to open here. It's the only thing I can think of that would do that," Luna answered.

"So when you said it's not dangerous yet, that's because if it does open whatever is on the other side may be?" Brandon asked.

"Possibly, but we won't know for certain. Besides this happens from time to time anyway and very rarely do they open. If they do a lot of the time it'll only be tempory." Luna replied.

"Huh, well I guess it could be cool if now I'll be able to see them," Though something was tugging at his gut that this portal if that's what it is, isn't like the others that have tried to open here. But he quickly shook it off but he knew it would still bug him at the back of his mind.

"You okay over there?" Luna asked making him snap out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, just a feeling. So, what's the plan for right now?" Brandon asked.

"Well, how about we watch a good slasher film?" Shining asked making Brandon give a big smile.

Once they settled on which one to watch Shining set up their projector for them and all of them settled in. Though Derpy had to cover her eyes for most of the movie which made Brandon and Lyra give a little chuckle. Which after they decided to head to bed which Derpy found herself in the middle of the pile.

"Night everypony!" Shining called as he walked by.

"Night," They all called back.

"We're so close I just know," A distant female voice said.

"Ma'am are you sure this is the right coordinates? I mean after what happened our systems were scrambled," A male voice this time spoke up.

"Not to mention it's been a little over a year now, how do we even know he's alive?" Yet another voice asked.

"Because he's more of a fighter than any of you think. E-even if he is gone we need to know..." This voice made him feel a twinge in his chest.

"I... we owe him that much after what did happen," The first female voice said.

"But we don't even know..." One of the male voices started.

"I know that, that's why we're going to take precautions. But we need to crack through first," The first female voice said.

"Alright, if you're sure we're almost through then I'll start getting things ready," One of the male voices said, and somehow he felt two of them start to walk away.

"Don't worry, we're going to bring him back. I know he'll be looking forward to meeting......."

Just like that his eyes shot open with tears coming out as the voices faded and as he looked out the bedroom window he saw a fading light in the sky. He knew now for sure that it wasn't just a random occurrence, but even though he had a good idea of who it was he heard he didn't know if he was okay with all that he heard. Though even those voices were fading fast as if just nothing more than a dream.

Author's Note

Remember guys no matter what's going on, try to remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Little Warning

Once everypony was up they quickly ate breakfast, though Brandon ate a little more slowly thinking about what he did remember about the dream he had. Though he didn't think it was just a dream, what he heard and felt seemed real enough to him. Granted it was like hearing a conversation from a distance even if he couldn't remember all that was said.

"Equestria to Brandon!" Lyra called waving a hoof in front of him making him come out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, just.... dreams and all," Brandon said making the three mares look at him with a little concern.

"I've heard they can be pretty bad," Shining spoke up making Brandon nod.

"Yeah, they can be. But this dream seemed different..." That made Luna raise an eyebrow.

"Different how?" Luna asked.

"Like it was actually happening at that moment and not just a memory. But I can't remember what it was about exactly. Just that I got a feeling that someone is trying to get here to look for something," Brandon replied.

"Maybe you're just stressed with that group?" Derpy suggested and the message from all three mares looks was loud and clear.

"No, I don't think it had anything to do with them. But anyway, Shining you wanna come with me? I got to check up on somepony," Brandon said getting up with Shining giving him a look of suspicion.

"Sure, no problem but if you don't mind me asking...." Shining started before Brandon jumped in.

"We're going to check up on Bird, Knuckles marefriend," Brandon said making Shining nod and giving a little smile. The three mares looked at the table in defeat but Lyra looked back up quickly.

"I'll come with," Lyra said quickly putting hers and Brandon's plates in the sink.

"Thanks," Brandon said as the three of them started to the door.

They took their time walking through town looking at the shops and getting a little shopping done along the way. Which was mostly Shining doing the shopping, getting snacks he likes. Though Lyra and Brandon got a few tidbits for meals and a few extra supplies like a first aid kit.

"Looks like we're almost there, you about done Shining?" Brandon asked making the stallion nod.

"Yeah, but geez you charge a lot for some cherries, sir," Shining said as he put some Bits on the top of the stalls countertop taking his bag of cherries in return.

"What I've been told but running low on supplies right now so sorry," The stall keep said before they started to move on towards the Inn.

"Hey, did anypony else see that?" Brandon suddenly said making both Lyra and Shining look where he was looking.

"See what?" Lyra asked trying to find what Brandon what looking at.

"That mare over there, she's not acting right. Just something about the way she's looking around isn't right," Brandon said just partly pointy in a direction.

"I see what you mean, almost like she's looking for something," Shining said his eyes locked on the same mare.

"She could just be a tourist who's lost," Lyra suggested making Brandon shake his head.

"No, I've seen plenty of lost tourist and she isn't acting like a lost tourist, at least if you weren't paying attention," Brandon said making Shining nod.

"Right, got to know what to look for. But if she isn't a tourist, what is she looking for?" Shining asked.

"Maybe she has family here?" Lyra replied making Brandon raise an eyebrow.

"Could be, but Lyra you've lived here long enough, and have you ever seen her around?" Brandon asked making Lyra stop and look at the mare before shaking her head.

"No, but that doesn't mean there isn't somepony new that moved to Ponyville. Maybe she's like related to that Jade, or at least friends with her?" Lyra suggested.

"Maybe, but let's just be careful," Shining said and understanding passed between him and Brandon to take a detour.

They took a minute to decide which way they should go, but that was mostly to see what that mare would do. After seeing that mare start to move they finally decided which way to go. Though Lyra was a bit nervous since both Brandon and Shining were still on edge.

"Don't get me wrong, but why be paranoid about that particular mare? I mean seriously, it could've been what I said earlier or even that she's looking for a new home?" Lyra suggested.

"In the middle of the food market?" Brandon said. "Besides, the way that mare was looking around it was as if she was scouting the area rather than looking for anything in particular."

"Seen it a few times while in the guard, even as the Prince the Crystal Empire I still see it. While most of the time they don't present a threat but since we know that group has set up shop somewhere nearby we can't take a chance," Shining said.

"Alright!" Lyra said giving a frustrated sigh. "By the way, does that group even have a name?"

"Not as far as we've been able to find, but that could be because it's extremely old. They could just say it and not have it written down anywhere," Shining answered.

At that, they continued to walk and they knew it would take them a good minute to reach the Inn, which was on Brandon's mind. After all, the area that mare seemed to be scouting was close to the Inn. Though he didn't want to voice his concern at that moment that he thought they may be trying to target Knuckles. That the group knew he was scouting them and now they were trying to get something to use against him.

"Finally," Brandon muttered as the Inn came into view, though he nodded at Shining. "Hey Lyra, why don't you go ahead for now? We'll be there in a moment."

"Um, okay just hurry up you guys got me a little on edge right now," Lyra said continuing to the Inn.

"You sure about this? I mean you know she'll probably be angry about this?" Shining asked.

"I know, but she'll be fine. Just gotta be fast about everything," Brandon replied.

"You sure you'll be okay with your shoulder and all?" Shining said scanning the crowd.

"Yeah, the shoulder isn't bothering me today. Look, there she is just like I thought," Brandon said nodding towards the mare from earlier. Both him and Shining were out of her vision but the mare had already locked onto where Lyra was going. Once the mare was close enough Shining used his magic to quickly pull the mare towards them.

"What's the..." The mare grew quiet once she saw who it was and the expression on their faces.

"Now don't play dumb, why are you here?" Brandon asked his expression hardened and cold.

"Hey, I'm just looking for a place to stay..." The mare started but trailed off once Brandon took a step closer.

"I am really not in the mood for lies, especially when you were just following somepony I know. I will give you two more steps, to tell the truth, or this will not be pleasant," Brandon said his voice harsh enough to where even Shining flinched a bit. Though that's what Brandon had been hoping for since the mare looked at Shining and back at him now with genuine fear in her eyes.

"E-even if I was just looking for a place to sleep?" The mare asked making Brandon take another step closer making the mare flinch this time.

"One more, and I'm sure you've heard about what happened to Land Shark?" The mare was now starting to shake a bit in fear. After a second Brandon started to lift his foot finally breaking the mare.

"Y-you're just... as monstrous as what they told me!" The mare spat out as Brandon continued taking the last step. "I'm here for the bat-ponies mare!"

"Why?" Shining was the one who asked.

"I don't need to..." Though the mare took a look at Brandon and his steeled gaze making her gulp. "We know she's pregnant! W-we need something to make him back off!"

"Back off from what?" Brandon growled.

"S-some o-of our g-group have seen him around. M-making his p-presence know, a-at least at first..." The mare stuttered out.

"At first?" Shining asked.

"W-we noticed that t-two of o-our people missing t-this morning..." The mare said and from the looks of it, she was on the verge of pissing herself now.

"I think that's enough for now, Shining?" Brandon said making the mare's eyes grow wide with fear.

"Yup," Shining's horn lit up making the mare cower but in a bright flash, she found herself in a bubble. "That'll keep her here until the town's guards come to pick her up later." At that Shining started to walk away but Brandon had a feeling.

"How many of you are in the town right now?" Brandon asked making the mare shake her head. "Do not lie!"

"Brandon..." Though Brandon shushed the stallion by waving his hand.

"Please, like they let such an inexperienced mare like her do a mission like that on her own. There's got to be more, so where are they?" Brandon asked and the look he was giving must have been murderous at that point.

"T-there's f-f-f-five of u-u-us right now..." The mare spat out.

"Shining go tell the guards right now!" Brandon said before sprinting towards the Inn.

Brandon ran as fast as he could which to him felt like forever but that was until he looked back to see he had already covered the distance with Shining staring at him in slight shock. Though Shining shook it off and rushed off to fetch the guard. As the stallion left Brandon opened the doors to see the place was almost completely empty and he could hear Lyra commotion from the second floor.

"You stay away from her!" He heard Lyra scream before there was a thud, from the sounds of it the girls had barricaded themselves in a room, and their attackers were trying to break in. He zipped up the stairs only to be stopped by a stallion at the top.

"Out of the dam way!" Though he didn't know how but the stallion suddenly and seemingly flung himself backward as Brandon continued up the stairs.

"Brandon?!" Lyra shouted out as another loud thud came.

"Shit, hurry up Dusk! He already got past Bounce!" He heard a mare call before that same mare came round a corner with her horn lit up.

The mare quickly fired but just as quickly Brandon dodged tackling the mare to the ground quickly putting her in a sleeper hold, though he didn't know how effective it would be. But just as it seemed the mare was about to pass out two more ponies, another mare and a stallion, came around the corner forcing him to let the mare go. Quickly standing he took out the stallion with a hard punch making the stallion slam into the wall.

Just then other mare tackled him to the ground where they wrestled for a moment with the mare getting a good couple of punches to his side. Until he got a good hold on her and threw her off of him and quickly getting up and starting to move to where he heard the last pony slamming against the door. Though a sharp pain suddenly shot through his leg as the first mare had recovered enough to shot him with magic.

The other mare then jumped on his back grabbing him on his bad shoulder making him grunt in pain before he grabbed the mare yet again throwing her hard on the floor. After quickly seeing the mare now knocked out he turned his attention back to the unicorn who was now trying to get to her hooves, her horn lightening up again. Getting another shot off grazing his side before he slammed full force into her hitting the wall where he heard something crack.

"Somepony please..." This time it was Bird who was calling out making Brandon rush down the hall to see the now broken open door.

"What in Tartarus..." Brandon heard the stallion say just as he got to the room to see the stallion looking at the nest of eggs. Though what quickly caught his attention making Brandon see nothing but red was Lyra laying unconscious on the floor. Quickly reacting he grabbed the stallion by the tail making the stallion turn to see a fist connect with his nose with a sickening crunch.

"I-is there a-anypony else?" Brandon asked now standing over the stallion's unconscious body, making Bird shake her head. "Y-you okay though?"

"Y-yeah, s-so is Lyra she's just knocked out b-but she'll be fine," Bird said making Brandon give a sigh before collapsing to his knees.

"W-what's going o-on?" Bird asked making him take a deep breath.

"After y-you to get to Knuckles, but this is just a warning though," Brandon replied.

"What do you mean a warning?" Bird asked.

"I-it's what they do, i-it cause the others to become fueled by what they think is justified anger," Brandon replied wincing a little as he stood back up. "Also, it'll rile ponies up a bit where they can cause more trouble."

"Y-you're hurt..." Bird said making him roll his eyes.

"Tell me something that doesn't happen every time something like this happens," Brandon replied heading to the door. "Just checking to make sure if any of the others have recovered."

"W-what do you see?" Bird asked as he looked down the hall.

"From what I see, they're still there," Brandon said leaning against the door frame keeping an eye out for any movement.

"S-so they're part of the group after you?" Bird asked making him nod. "What about Knuckles?"

"You know him better than me, but he'll be fine. Also, try not to worry about Lyra, I really don't think she won't tell about your nest." Brandon said slightly limping over to the sleeping unicorn noticing the little knot on the side of her head. "Might have a concussion but she'll survive."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bird asked making him nod knowing the wound in his leg would heal within the next couple of hours.

"Yeah, but you better do something about the nest still. The guards are on the way," Brandon said making Bird's eyes widen with panic. She quickly started to move her nest including some eggs into another room and in less than thirty seconds.

Not too much longer after that, the guards came in and took those who Brandon had beaten pretty bad to the hospital, one offered to take him but he shook his head. All Lyra needed was something for her headache and the standard warnings for a light concussion. Once everything got wrapped up and they gave their statements the four of them sat in the main hall.

"I'll have guards stationed around if you're really insisting on staying here," Shining said.

"I think that's the best option, besides I don't think they'll send any more to target her specifically anytime soon. What happened was to send a message to Knuckles to get him back here," Brandon said making Shining sigh.

"You're most likely right, but never hurts to be safe than sorry," This time it was Brandon who nodded. "How does that sound, you Ms. Bird?"

"I-I think that c-can do," Bird said shrinking under the stallions gentle gaze.

"Now that's that settled, are you sure you're alright?" Shining asked.

"Yeah, legs all healed up now. Just hope Lyra here doesn't kill me now," Brandon said with a little smile as she hit him in the side.

"Well, can't say I can stop that not that I would try. But I think it's time to get back to the house, and if you need anything Ms. Bird just let us know okay?" Shining said giving the mare a little smile as she nodded.

The three of them started their way back before they ran into Luna and Derpy both gave sighs of relief as they saw them. Once they started to fill them in along the way back to the house both Derpy and Luna simultaneously stepped on his feet before kissing him on the cheeks. Though after Brandon made sure to avoid any more stray hooves.

"So, you beat up four ponies to save them?" Derpy asked.

"Yes, for the twelfth time, and sorry if I'm sounding a bit grumpy but it's been a stressful day," Brandon said taking care of his shoulder since it had started to really hurt again.

"Just consider that added soreness as part of your punishment," Luna said making him shake his head.

"You should've seen the stallion who broke the door," Lyra said making Brandon wince.

"Not something I really want to remember at the moment," Brandon replied still remembering the crunching sound. Though he's heard worse it's the ones he caused that still bothers him.

"I'm just saying I'm glad you were there," Lyra said playfully bumping into him making him give her a little smile.

"As are we," Luna said as Derpy nodded in agreement. "Not to mention at least this time you didn't get as hurt."

"Yeah, and the injuries you did get have already healed," Shining chimed in.

"Lucky me, but this doesn't change my mind," Brandon said saying the last part just loud enough for the three mares to hear.

"Hey, do you guys want me to cook something for dinner?" Shining asked.

"Sure, what are you thinking about?" Brandon replied.

"Hmm, what about my famous Tofu Meatloaf?" Shining suggested.

"That sounds good to us!" Lyra replied.

They were almost back to the house when out of the corner of his eye Brandon saw something move in the shadows. Stopping before the door and waving the rest of them to go ahead inside he waited for them to shut the door. Once he turned around Knuckles was standing in front of him.

"We need to talk," Knuckles said before turning around and walking towards the Everfree making Brandon follow.

Author's Note

Remember to smile, smile, smile!

An Unexpected Visit

As he followed Knuckles he got a nagging feeling without really noticing he realized he could also see the lines of light going from him to others behind them. Knuckles took a moment to glance back to Brandon's eyes glowing making the stallion shake his head as they came to a complete stop just outside of the forest. Brandon held up a hand and started from five to count down, though it did seem to take Knuckles a second to figure out what he was doing.

"Hope you guys had a good stroll, but if you wanted to join in the conversation you could have just said," Brandon called out, the lines disappeared a few seconds before but both of them knew they were there. Not even a second later Luna and Shining dropped their cloaking spells, with Shining growing.

"That is one good ability you have if you can detect somepony through that spell," Shining said as they came closer.

"Not sure if that cloaking spell was made with a human who as far as we can tell, can see the connection between other ponies in mind," Luna said then turning her gaze to Knuckles. "Of course you knew the whole time."

"While definitely improved, it still doesn't completely cover the sound of your hoove steps. At least if you've trained enough to be able to discern the noise. But I think both of us knew at least you two would follow which is good because that cloaking spell will come in handy for what I'm about to ask," Knuckles said making Brandon give a sigh, Luna gave the bat pony a harsh stare, Shining took on more of a stoic look.

"Knuckles you really better have a plan, because I am really not in the mood to put myself in any more danger than what I've already done. Especially since just what happened with Bird," Brandon said, and although slight he could see Knuckles wince a bit.

"I do thank you for saving her and I will apologize to her myself once this mission is over, which with your help may just end today," Knuckles said.

"So, does that mean that you got some information from the two you caught?" Brandon asked.

"Not a whole lot, the two I caught are just low-end members, similar in rank to the ones you apprehended in town. But they did give me some basic information about their plans that do worry me. Which is why I wanted your alls help," Knuckles said as he pulled out a map.

"Can you at least tell us what you learned?" Shining spoke up making Knuckles nod.

"Of course, the first plan is set in motion for the Summer Sun Celebration which is the main concern. The second plan still seems to be in a planning phase so I doubt that the ones we caught so far will most likely not know any more than that," Knuckles said as he unrolled the map.

"Summer Sun Celebration? Isn't that in a week?" Brandon asked.

"It's six days, they'll start setting up two days before. But no matter, we need to try to prevent whatever plan they have set in motion before innocent ponies get hurt," Luna said as she started to study the map.

"Yeah, but what exactly do you need me for? I mean no offense, but I'm not the stealthiest person even if you use the cloaking spell on me," As Brandon was saying that and looking at the map he glanced up at Luna, and again he saw something had changed about her. But he didn't want to say anything just yet.

"Hopefully we won't need to as I'm hoping we can do this at a distance, but I must ask, can you use your ability at will?" Knuckles asked making Brandon frown a bit.

"I think, but I haven't actually tried," Brandon answered giving a shrug.

"Try to at least," Knuckles requested making Brandon raise an eyebrow.

"If I knew how then I would, but I really don't have any idea at the moment how to control it," Brandon responded trying to be as clear as possible, before giving a sigh. "But I can at least try."

"Try taking a deep breath and concentrating on connections to you first," Luna said as Brandon nodded and closed his eyes taking a deep breath. Though when he opened his eyes nothing happened.

"Nothing, at least so far," Brandon said making Luna raise an eyebrow.

"Here, try to just focus on mine and your's relationship, and only ours. Might be easier first to only focus on one at a time," Luna suggested.

Brandon once again nodded and took another deep breath and closing his eyes to try to concentrate on his and Luna's relationship. He couldn't help but remember the first time they met and how awkward both of them were at first, but their relationship took off really fast after that. Memories of all the letters they exchanged before she moved in to take care of him in a dark period of his new life. The smile that spread across his face couldn't be helped especially as he remembered when they first kissed, and when he opened his eyes he saw the light between him and her for a brief second.

"That was a bit better, and I wish we had more time but even with the time we have I don't think it would be enough to fully utilize it. But hopefully with a bit of luck and a little more practice on the way there we can hopfully use it to our advantage," Knuckles said as he started to look towards the map.

"So, just to be clear, your hope is to reliy on an ability I have barely any control over to find somepony of higher rank?" Brandon asked making Knuckles nod.

"That's why you haven't turned the two you caught in yet?" Shining asked.

"I understand all of your skepicsim but this may be one of the only way to find out, as Brandon asked, a higher ranked pony. I am not asking you all to get any where close to their encampment. Just enough to set me on the right path," Knuckles replied.

"So, how come you can't get the information from your two prisoners?" Luna spoke up.

"It seems they are under a magic contract of silence for at least their chain of command," Knuckles answered. "As I said they couldn't give me much information of their plans to begin with. While part of this may be from them being lower in ranks, it may also be a result of the same contract."

"I understand, and I do agree that the sooner we do find a higher up the better. But what makes you think they could tell you more than what you already know? " Luan brought up.

"They could be under the same or even a different contract, but even if I can only get little bit more information, it may be enough to at least minimize any damage," Knuckles explained.

"Okay, I can understand that but I hope we can completely prevent their plans altogether," Brandon said as he studied the map seeing landmarks he recognized. "Wait, they set up their camp so close to the old castle?"

"Yes, they want to make sure to keep a good eye on the town without risking exposure. The area their camp is in is more on the dense side so any wondering ponies might just miss it," Knuckles replied before pointing with his hoof to an area just off the camp. "This is where we are headed, and hopefully if things go well we won't need to get to much closer than that."

"That's the hope anyways, but the most I can do is try at the very least, right?" Brandon asked turning to Luna who bit her lip.

"Yes, and if you can't read their connections then we can always find another way," Luna said after a moment of thought. "Shining, I know you might want to go with us but for right now go start prepping the guard for a potential attack."

"But Princess..." Shining started before Luna straightened up giving the white stallion a hard stare.

"This is a direct order Captain, I do understand my sister has given you orders but I'm sure you can agree my order outweighs hers at the moment," Luna stated in a digentary and regal way, and to Brandon it made her all the more beautiful.

"Yes Ma'am!" Shining replied giving a saulute. "I will gather only the most elite to keep this as quiet as possible!"

"Very good, now you are dismissed!" Luna said and as Shining went on his way Brandon could see the slight smile on Luna's face.

"You miss bossing ponies around?" Brandon joked making Luna roll her eyes.

"I miss ponies listening to me, but I could deal without a lot of my responsibilities. Believen it or not, I dream of nothing more than having a normal life," Luna answered making Brandon nod in understanding. After all, dealing with the uncontrolled imagination of so many ponies during the night could exhaust a pony.

"So, you two reay?" Knuckles asked as he loaded his map back into his satchel and they both nod in response, making them follow him without another word.

They knew they had a bit of a trek ahead of them, which Luna kept making sure Brandon was okay which he assurard her they was perfectly fine. Even his injured shoulder wasn't feeling all that bad, though he did let her change his bandages which Knuckles then passed them a water flask. After avoiding a Crackadile pond, manovering through dead tress and getting poked by some thorns they arrived where two ponies where tied to separate trees.

"Ooohhh, look at the whore of a Princess he dragged with him!" One called out as they approached, that one was a stallion at least from the sound of the voice.

"At least I can deal with her, but why did you have bring that?" This one was a mare, though Brandon let the comment slide with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey, at least I wasn't left tied to a tree in the most dangerous forest in Equestria," Brandon mumbled.

"Anyway, would you like to give it a try Brandon?" Knuckles asked completely ignoring everything else, though Brandon could tell the whore comment had bothered Luna a bit by the way her eye twitched.

"Sure, I can give it a try," Brandon said walking towards the two ponies, though as he got closer the one who sounded like a stallion was actually a mare. Though he did wonder why she had such a deep voice, but just didn't feel like asking.

"You don't come near us!" The one with the mare voice said a bit of fear seeping into it.

"Oh, don't you worry, this shouldn't hurt," Brandon said trying to use his ability but once again it wouldn't work. He then tried to focus on his relationships in the hopes that it'll show more. Though the only links to show up was between him, Knuckles, and Luna though only for a few seconds.

"Why did his eyes just glow? What in Tarturas are you trying to do to us?!" The mare with the stallions voice asked in panic, though the three of them ignored the question.

"Sorry, no luck right now. Maybe if we wait a bit then it'll activate on its own?" Brandon suggested.

"Part of why I got you this early," Knuckles replied and thus the wait began.

They made some small talk and even told a few jokes as the two tied up ponies tried their best to whisper to each other. Though Brandon was curious about something, so he strained to listen to what they were saying which from what he could tell the two were in a relationship themselves. He also learned that the reason why they were caught was because they were sneaking off to have sex, which is something he really didn't need to know.

"Please tell me you didn't interrupt them in the moment?" Brandon asked raising any eyebrow at Knuckles who shook his head.

"No, I caught them before they got to their meeting place," Knuckles replied making Brandon laugh a little. Though Brandon tried to see the relationship links again, this time he saw the faintest line between him and the two mares.

"Still not what we're looking for, but it's an improvement..." As he was saying that his head started to hurt making him close his eyes. "Maybe shouldn't try so hard, starting to get a headache."

"Make sense, you aren't used to using magic. It only makes sense, just take a brake from it until your head stops hurting," Luna said as she pulled out a couple of pills. "Here, these are for headaches."

"Alwasys seem prepared," Brandon said giving her a little smile, though that smile quickly faded as he noticed something in the sky approaching the camp at a high speed. "What is..."

Before any of them could speak another word a column of fire shot down, not towards them but towards the camp lightening it up. They could hear the ponies going into a panic in the distance as a dragon flew overhead, breathing another fire breath towards the camp. Though Brandon could have sworn that as the dragon, no, a dragoness, flew over that she saw them down there.

"Shit," Brandon muttered and then turned his attention to his group. "We need to go now!"

"No arguments here, but what about them?" Luna asked pointing to the two mares.

"I can handle them..." Knuckles started but Brandon shot him down.

"No, I'll deal with them. But be ready to run okay?" Brandon said as he walked towards the two mare who were both understandably frightened. "Now, I'm sure I don't have to tell you the risk of a forest fire springing up and the two of you escaping aren't exactly that great. So, if I cut you two free do not return, do you understand me?"

"We would..." The one who sounded like a mare started before the station sounding once shut her up.

"We agree! Just please don't leave us here!" At that moment Brandon could tell she was thinking about the safety of her partner as he could now clearly see the link between them, this made him give a little smile as he could also tell she meant what she said.

"Very well," Brandon said managing to untie them both and although the mare with a female voice gave him a hard stare, the stallion sounding one guided her away. "Don't ask me why I did that right now, we just need to leave now."

There were no arguments about it as the three of them started to make there way out of the Everfree and back towards his house, though they could hear the steady flap of powerful wings above them. Almost as if the dragoness was following them after lighting the camp on fire, which again wouldn't surprise Brandon since he felt it in his gut that she had seen them. Though they had no idea if she was supposed to be apart of that camps plans, even if unwittaly, it would mean at least one of them messed up somewhere, though his thoughts were interrupted as flames came down separating him from the other two.

"Shit, you two go ahead and warn the town!" Brandon said and before they could respond he went off in a different direction hoping to lure the dragoness away. Which from the flapping of wings behind him worked, and not too long after the dragoness dropped in front of him. "Shit, at least you ain't frying me."

"Only because I need information," The dragoness stated standing up letting Brandon fully see her. Her main scales were a warm orange color, with her belly scales being more of a olive green color. Her eyes were beautiful, one being a flame red color and the other being more of a smokey grey. She also looked a bit familiar, as if he at least met someone like her before.

"S-so, what information are you, um, looking for?" Brandon asked trying to not to admire her beauty and hoping he didn't come off as fearful.

"I am looking for a particular gem that was stolen from my family. I am trying to retrieve this gem before the rest of my family finds out and starts a war," The dragoness said looking him over, sizing him up a bit.

"Uh, well I don't know about any stolen gems recently. Especially one from a dragon whose name I don't even know," Brandon replied making her give a little huff of smoke.

"Don't press your luck, but I very well know it's here cause I can smell it. It'll only be a matter of time before I find who stole it," She said clearing trying to point at him at the moment. Though thanks to his knowledge he got from Spike about dragon culture he knew how to respond.

"Hey, I like I said I don't know anything about a stolen gem but I am happy to look," Brandon said making the dragoness narrow her eyes.

"And why would I trust some creature that I have no knowledge of in any land?" She asked making him sigh, and that's when it fully hit him.

"You know that camp you lit up?" This made her pause before nodding. "Whether you believe me or not, they were after me. Me and my friends were hoping to discover their plan, which I think I did just by talking with you."

"You're suggesting that that camp was willing to start a war between ponies and drgaons to get to you?" She asked with skepctisim seeping into every word.

"Let me tell my story and then you can decide whether you want to flame broil me," Brandon said making the dragoness narrow her eyes.

"Fine, tell me your story but make it quick," She said.

So he started from the very beginning in the hopes of gaining her trust, though he did try to make it into a quicker verzon but knew it would still take a good bit. As he explained who and what he was, he could see some curiosity in her eyes but she did not interrupt as he continued. Once he finished explaining how he had escaped the groups base while nearly dying he could see her relax a bit. Though he could smell the smoke in the distances, so he quickly wrapped it up.

"Let's say I believe you, does this group even have the resources left to steal from the dragons?" She asked.

"I really don't know how far their reach is, but you've seen the camp. But it really is the only thing I can think of, and as I said before I would be happy to help in anyway I can and have the resources to do so," Brandon explained, and after a moment of pause she spoke up again.

"Names Glow, now let's get you out of here before that fire catches up," Glow said before taking off, and then hovering in the air.

"Uh, can't exactly fly in my situation right now nor could I since I'm still learning," Brandon said as he started to walk.

"Let's see if I can at least carry you out," Glow said coming down grabbing him from behind before taking off, which her strength surprised him a bit as they took off without issue, that was until the arrows started flying at them.

Author's Note

Remember to smile, smile, smile!

Making A Deal

"Can you fly at all?" Glow asked straining to avoid the arrows, and judging from the direction they were coming from it was the camp.

"I might be able to manage!" Brandon answered, and not a second later she dropped him. Thinking as fast as he could, he managed to extend his wings to catch the air and get into a glide. This made his shoulder scream in pain as he put in the effort to flap as well.

He was doing well enough to avoid the arrows at the moment but he was losing altitude and knew that he had to be ready to tun as soon as his feet hit the ground. Lucky enough he knew enough how to glide down into the cover of the treetops, and as he managed to avoid most of the branches he eventually hit the ground. Tripping over a root as he managed to land on his feet, making him catch himself on the tree so he didn't fall flat on his face.

Looking up, Brandon saw Glow incinerate a wave of arrows before dodging several that her fire hadn't touched but it looked like she was at least distracting the camp at the moment. Though he didn't feel right just leaving her to deal with the assault on her own, he couldn't just fly up there at the moment to help which just the thought made his vision start to see black spots. His shoulder was completely screaming from the pain, though as he looked at it he knew that at least it hadn't opened up.

Turning his attention back to the action above he noticed that a couple of Pegasus were heading in Glow's direction, and he knew he had to warn her. Though looking around he knew that might be extremely difficult, but then he heard a faint scream above, and as he looked Glow was hurtling towards the ground. Brandon just reacted quickly moving where she was falling ignoring all the pain.

"Not gonna..." Before he could say another word a dark figure flew in catching the dragoness before she went into the treetops. Not too long after Knuckles showed up with
Glow on his back.

"Saw her helping you, figured you would want to help her," Knuckles said as Glow climbed off his back with two arrows sticking out of her. One was in her shoulder, and the other in her right-wing.

"My wing is gonna take forever to heal from this," Glow grumbled as she broke the shaft of the arrow in her wing, pulling it out leaving a small hole. "This other one I'll need a little help with if you two don't mind?"

"Knuckles, you have experience with extracting arrows right?" Brandon asked making Knuckles nod.

"Yes, but does any creature here have a first aid kit of some kind?" Knuckles asked as he approached Glow examing the arrow.

"Don't worry about that, I'll just cauterize the wound with some of my dragon fire," Glow replied, and before she had time to react Knuckles quickly removed the arrow without much issue. "You sulfur sniffing fucker!"

As she called Knuckles a few other names, she quickly sealed the wound while Knuckles and Brandon talked about what happened since became separated. Although not much, though Knuckles did manage to find them faster than Luna which really wasn't a surprise, especially considering Knuckles had actually managed to save her when the arrows started flying. Which Brandon was grateful the stallion convinced her into looking on the ground.

"Then we owe you a thank you," Knuckles said turning to Glow giving her a nod.

"Yes, well I suggest we get moving. I rather not have to deal with the creatures in this forest right now," Glow replied and as she stood up Brandon got a good look at her again. She was on the petite side, and the way her horns were did remind him of someone, even if he hadn't met them in person before. He was sure he had at least seen a picture of a dragon with similar horns and physique.

"Sure, but on the way do you think you could tell us more about this gem you're missing?" Brandon asked as the three of them went on their way.

"I will, once we get out this forest and someplace more private," Glow simply stated. "Say, where did that stallion go?"

"He likes to disappear, he's around but is in the shadows. So, can you at least tell us a little about yourself other than your name?" Brandon asked, making her glare at him though seeing he wasn't fazed by it she let out a little laugh. "Trust me, I've had worse stares than that."

"No, no, I wasn't laughing because of that. It's just not many want to get to know me is all," Glow responds with a somewhat wistful tone.

"Well, if we're gonna work together and all..." Brandon said making her roll her eyes before picking up her pace.

"I actually have a twin sister," Glow managed to get out after a moment of hesitation.

"So, are you two close?" Brandon asked.

"In our younger years no, but as of recently we've been rebuilding our relationship," Glow's tone made it clear that was all she had to say about it or anything else for now.

They ultimately decide to rest for a moment as Brandon's shoulder was killing him at the moment and Glow didn't argue while Knuckles came out of the shadows as usual. Though as Glow looked Brandon over she asked about his wound, which made him wince thinking about it, and he started to elaborate on what he had already told her. Though this was mostly about when he was captured, and once he got to the part about the Hydra tooth spear Glow was a bit shocked.

"Geez, I heard it's extremely difficult to get a tooth with the gland intact. I'm not gonna lie though, for whatever you are you are tougher than most. I mean surviving a wound like that isn't something many creatures like you would be able to survive, granted dragons have an immunity to that toxin," Glow said as she approached Brandon. "Mind if I have a look?"

"Uh, go ahead?" Brandon replied letting her unbandaged the wound and as she looked she let out a little whistle.

"Again, surprised you survived. A wound that deep caused by a Hydra bite would essentially mean death unless treated right away. But from the looks of it, they didn't get all of it out which seems to be common. But, if you would like I know an old dragon way of fully removing it," Glow offered, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Can you?" Brandon asked, making Knuckles even curious.

"Yeah, but it'll hurt a bit," Glow replied and after a moment, Brandon nodded. "Okay then, but as I said, this is gonna hurt."

Glow closed her eyes and started muttering something in what Brandon assumed was a part of the dragon language, and soon she took a deep breath. Releasing it caused a green smoke that drifted towards his shoulder and as soon as it made contact his vision blurred. His shoulder was on fire, no, it felt like it was slowly melting right off the bone but he gritted his teeth and soon his vision cleared and he could breathe again.

"They missed a lot more than they thought, it's a wonder you aren't in the doctors laid up from the pain," Glow said looking down.

"How was there still so much of it left in his body?" Knuckles asked.

"It's actually quite common, keep in mind once a Hydra's toxin is in the body it actually breaks down into two components. One is to target and prevent the body from clotting the wound and is easier to remove. The second component is the one that targets the nerves causing them intense pain, this is to draw in the immune system to those nerves rather than fighting off the first one," Glow explained making Brandon raise an eyebrow.

"You seem to know a lot about the subject," Brandon said as he looked down to see a sickly green fluid coming from his shoulder.

"I had a good teacher," Glow replied, and out of the corner of Brandon's eye, he could have sworn the dragoness had a little prideful smirk. "So, how's it feeling?"

"It actually feels great!" Brandon said rolling his shoulder forwards and then quickly backward and other than it being sore there was no pain. Sure enough, as the green fluid stopped the wound completely closed, and as the doctor had said it did leave a nice looking scar.

"What in the great eruption?!" Glow exclaimed in surprise to see him heal that fast.

"It's something I can explain later, but how are you holding up with your wounds?" Brandon asked, making her shake off her shock.

"Yes, well whatever just happened I don't think I can heal like that. But the pain is manageable," Glow replied, though they were soon interrupted when they heard something off in the distance. Suddenly Luna appeared, her horn glowing, and pointed at Glow.

"Well, hi to you too," Brandon muttered before going in between her and Glow. "Thanks for helping me out, and like I said I am willing to help you out with your stolen gem."

"That's good, cause as I said it just might be enough to start a war. But like I said, I'll only tell you about it somewhere more private," Glow replied, while Luna stopped her spell and looked at the two of them in confusion.

"She actually ended up saving him Princess," Knuckles said making Luna nod, though looking back at her Brandon could see she still had a little bit of confusion left, mixed with a bit of suspicion.

"Wait, Princess?" Glow asked, with a bit of surprise.

"Yeah, like I said I have the resources to help," Brandon said giving Luna a little smile and wink. "But I agree, before we talk more we need to get going!"

Without saying anything else, Brandon started to navigate through the forest since he had a good idea where they were at this point and the other followed behind. Though as they walked a bright light above caught his and Luna's attention, and sure enough there seemed to be a hole in the sky. But knowing the other two with them couldn't see it, they tried to pay no mind to it for the moment.

"It's almost stable! Just give it a sec..." Brandon fell to his knees clutching his head as that voice seemed to go directly into his head, his vision almost completely blacked out as if a part of him was trying to escape. But just as fast as it came, the pain went away. As he looked up, the tare or portal was gone, and it took a moment to realize Luna was saying his name.

"Brandon, snap out of it!" Luna said, and seeing that he had regained focus and was now looking at her, she let out a sigh. "What..."

"I'm fine, it's something we can talk about later okay?" Brandon said, looking her right in the eyes making her nod.

"So, I mean is any..." Glow started but was cut off.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a bit of a medical issue," Brandon stated getting up, though on wobbly feet. "Ready to get going?"

"You sure you're okay?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, just might need somepony to lean on for a minute while we walk," Brandon replied as Luna came to his side, letting him lean on her. They started again, and not too long after they exited the forest which was good since the sun was setting. To top it off, Shining and some town guards were waiting with some newly caught prisoners.

"There you guys are! Was about to go in and find you guys when we saw the smoke!" Shining said as they approached, though the stallion quickly noticed the dragoness.

"This is Glow, she helped me out, which did you bring a field medic cause she got hit by a couple of arrows?" Brandon asked, making Shining nod but not take his eyes off of her. Though he did call out to get a medic over there. "You really don't have to worry about her you know?"

"I'm sure, it's just from what our tied-up friends over there were saying this is the dragon that started their camp on fire," Shining said making Brandon raise an eyebrow.

"Uh, that's not a bad thing as it might set them back in their plans at the very least, and with luck, it might have put a complete stop to them," Brandon said.

"Really Shining, she is our ally in this," Luna stated as an order making Shining stand in position and salute.

"Yes ma'am!" Shining said, and the field medic had managed to bandaged the shoulder wound on Glow and was now trying to patch the hole in her wing. Brandon sat down taking a deep breath, though his head still felt bad he could at least walk on his own now.

"So, you okay?" Luna asked making him shake his head.

"I don't know how to explain it, but the simplest way is that those portals make me feel like a part of me is trying to go through. Though I don't think it'll be an issue if they get it stabilized," At that Luna gave him a quizzical look. "Tell you about it later."

"So, where are we going to talk about our plans?" Glow asked as she approached, only for Brandon to point to his house.

"My house, Shining you coming?" Brandon asked making the stallion shake his head.

"Going to wait here with the other guards just in case more of this group comes out," Shining replied making Knuckles nod.

"Alright, let's make our way then!" Brandon said getting up. "Oh, and hope you don't mind staying the night so we can talk about everything in the morning?"

"I don't have any arguments, but where will I be sleeping?" Glow asked.

"I have extra room, even with a filly and three marefriends," This made the dragoness give a stunned look. "I'm adopting, let's just say that's a tidbit about me. Also, I had a brother of my own, who has passed on."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, but I am glad to hear you're starting a family. I'm sure your brother would be happy," Glow said with a genuine smile that spread to him.

"I mean no offense when I say this, you aren't like other dragons," Luna stated making Glow give a sigh.

"Believe me, I know," Glow muttered though loud enough for them to hear, and all of them could tell that it was something she didn't want to talk about.

"Well, let's hope Lyra and Derpy got dinner ready cause I really need something to eat," Brandon said as they were practically almost there, and as they drew closer they could smell the food cooking. Though Brandon could smell fish which made him scrunch his nose with the smell alone.

"Hmm, that fish smells so good!" Glow said, her stomach audibly growling. "Uh, sorry just haven't eaten since yesterday."

"Well, it smells like Derpy is cooking so it'll be extra good," Luna said giving a little laugh as Brandon made his usual look of when they cooked fish.

"Still don't know why ponies eat fish," Brandon muttered as they walked in.

"Geez, it's about time!"Lyra said as she was eating her dinner, and as she turned to look at them her eyes went a bit wide at seeing Glow. Though to her credit Lyra gave a welcoming smile, which really didn't surprise Brandon considering how accepting the mare seemed to be.

"Hey, uh, do you mind if I go get me something?" Glow asked making Brandon roll his eyes a bit.

"Yeah, but first this is Lyra, and this here is Glow," Brandon introduced them.

"Hey, any friend of Brandons is a friend of mine," Lyra said. "Here, why don't I introduce you to Derpy, she's actually in the kitchen right now so you'll be able to get a plate too!"

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Glow said as she licked her lips as she followed the mare.

"You guys go ahead and get something before it's all gone, but if you don't mind I think I'm gonna go lay down and go to sleep," Brandon said making his way to his room. "Luna, can you...."

"Yeah, I'll make sure she gets settled. Just try to get some rest okay?" Luna replied making him nod his head, and they heard the bedroom door open and then shut.

Which as Brandon entered the room he let out a pained sigh as his head was still killing him, but he really didn't understand why those portals affected him like this. Maybe it was because of his ability and his connection with the people on the other side, but no matter why he wished it would stop. But he had a feeling that if they did succeed in fully opeing the portal it would me the end of the headaches.

Taking a deep breath and calming himself and hope that getting sleep would help so he quickly climbed into bed, making sure the ceiling fan was on and covering up. Closing his eyes he waited for sleep to take him though he was having a bit of trouble. His thoughts kept drifting to the portals, then to Glow and her stolen gem, but eventually he finally slipped away.

"...miss talking to you so much," He heard a familiar voice say, but that couldn't be possible. The voice belonged to none other than Anna, who was in a whole other world at the moment. "Wait, Brandon?!"

This made him open his eyes, although it was hard to do so as if they had been shut for a long time which couldn't of since he had just went to bed not to long ago. But then again he didn't think it was possible not for Anna to be sitting by his side in a hospital room when he was just in his own bedroom in Equestria. He managed to look outside, and sure enough he knew he wasn't in Equestria.

"Somebody get a doctor, he's awake!" Anna called out as she stood up and gently placed a hand on his cheek and with tears in her eyes she spoke. "I thought I lost you!" Before leaning in kissing him.

Author's Note

Well, all dreams must end at a point... Just remember to smile, smile, smile!

Awakening

"I understand this is good news, but we need to check him out if you wouldn't mind letting him breath?" A voice asked, and as Anna moved away giving Brandon a sweet smile, before starting her way to the door. Which as Brandon looked, there was a doctor and a nurse standing near the door.

"Sure thing doc, just let me know okay?" Anna replied, making the doctor nod as she left.

"Alright, how you feeling?" The doctor asked only for Brandon to give a look of confusion. "I understand this is confusing, but this will go better if you answer our questions as best as you can, okay?"

"I-I understand..." Brandon was surprised as his voice came out strained as if he hadn't talked in a while.

"Good, good so how are you feeling?" The doctor asked again, as the nurse checked some monitors writing notes down. Though when she looked at him a wave of recognition came crashing down, from the blueish-green eyes to the blue hair, she even wore dark blue scrubs.

"I-I'm... tired and confused," Brandon answered.

"That's natural, but no pain?" The doctor asked making him shake his head. "That's good, now I'm sure you have a lot of questions but that can wait until you are more rested. For right now, Ms. Moon will give you a workup. I have a few other patients that need a bit more attention right now since you don't seem in pain."

"Understood," Ms. Moon said as the doctor walked out. "Such a lazy asshole, by the way, my actual name is Selene hence his little pet name. I've been looking after you since you were admitted, that asshole named Dave Dickson, and no I'm not kidding, was recently put on your chart. Unfortunately, the doctor who was looking after you at first was moved to a different hospital because his skills were needed more there."

"I-I will keep that in mind," Brandon replied making Selene give him a kind smile.

"Don't worry, as long as I'm around he ain't gonna pull his shit. Just tell me if anything hurts cause I need you to move around a bit okay?" Selene asked she gently started providing him support as she got him to move his arms and legs. When he moved his shoulder he found that familiar soreness making him wince. "Shoulder hurts a bit huh? Considering the damage it makes sense considering we pretty much had to rebuild it."

"Rebuilt it?" Brandon asked.

"Yes, you were in pretty bad shape. But try not to worry about that right now, other than the shoulder everything else feels fine?" Selene asked making him nod. "That's good, now I know you have a lot of questions but like the doctor said it might be best for you to get some rest before we answer any of them."

"Can I at least ask, are you always like this?" Brandon asked hoping it didn't come off as offensive or insensitive. It did make her pause before giving a sigh.

"I'm assuming you mean my attitude towards the doctor, and no I'm not always like this. But working with him can bring out this side of me, now I'll go get Anna but you are already fighting sleep so again, get some more rest okay?" Selene said as she left, though once she was out of the room Brandon gave a heavy and confused sigh. She looked like a human, no she pretty much was a human version of Luna except for not having the same regal attitude that he came to know but given the circumstances it only made sense.

What didn't make sense was how he ended back here in his world, was it really just all a dream that just felt real? He had heard that could happen to people in comas and what they feel in their dreams can relate to what is actually happening in the real world. Then why did his shoulder not have been injured, to begin within the dream? Maybe it was just his mind trying to process the trauma? Though he still had to wonder why it was still so sore?

"Still haven't fallen asleep I see," Anna said shaking her head as she walked into the room making a tsking sound. "You really need to rest, please?"

"Just have too many thoughts going through my head," Brandon admitted making Anna nod in understanding.

"What happed was hard for us, and as confused at it as we were we knew it would be nothing like what you would go through once you woke up. But I do have to ask, do you even remember what happened?" Anna asked making him shake his. "Well, if you can't sleep right now how about telling me what you do remember, that sounds good?"

Brandon hesitated for a moment but decided to go ahead and he started to recount what he remembered making Anna nod and even correct a few things. Though as he got to where he had tried to take his life for the first time she bit her bottom lip in concern. She didn't really pipe in much after making him wonder if he was remembering right or it brought back those painful memories for her as well.

"I see, so you don't remember the incident?" This made him shake his head. "Not a surprise, but you know I'm not gonna tell you until I think you're ready. Neither is Sally, she's still busy especially after what did happen. Besides, you're barely awake as it is so please just try to get some rest okay?"

Though at that point he wasn't putting up a fight anymore as he looked at Anna a sense of comfort and safety washed over him and soon his heavy eyelids shut. Over the next couple of days he was put through some physical therapy, through it he hadn't mentioned what he went through while he was in the coma because he still had conflicting emotions on which world is real. His recovery was going great with the cells in his body speeding up the process.

"You really are doing great, but you know I can tell something is on your mind. So, you ready to tell me?" Anna asked as they sipped on some tea in the cafeteria.

"What do you mean?" Brandon replied making Anna roll her eyes before giving him a hard stare.

"Don't play that game after everything that's happen, do you really think I wouldn't be able to read you?" Anna asked making him give a sigh.

"Guess you got me there, but before I tell you can we go back to my room?" This made Anna nod. "I am still surprised I have a private room though."

"That's thanks to me and Sally," Anna said making Brandon give a sigh.

"Still don't completely understand why she would help me, even with what I do remember," Brandon said as they made their way to his room. "Or exactly how you two know each other."

"Because despite how things originally ended between you two, she still cares about you. She feels guilty about it, granted even you agree you could see where she came from even if it wasn't quite what was needed on your end at the time though. But it is a reason why those kinds of things you should tell someone who has went through something similar," Anna explained making him nod.

"I understand all of that, but still with how things ended I never thought she would come back in any way. Especially when she did it was because of you," Brandon gave a heavy sigh.

"I'm a higher rank than what you remember being is why me and her got to know each other. I was already going to be stationed at her lab as head of security for her and her team. It was awkward at first but once we got to talking we became friends, and when I told her what you were planning and what you already tried she was horrified," Anna tried to explain.

"Sorry, I know I was over it before, but I guess not fully. Or maybe with everything that happened it just made my feelings that I pushed down resurface," Brandon said making Anna nod in understanding.

"Figured as much, feelings like that are hard to really get rid of. But even still something happened in your coma that really brought it back to the surface, so you gonna tell me where you went?" Anna asked as she shut the door to the hospital room behind her.

Brandon closed his eyes before letting out a sigh knowing she would be confused and a bit disgusted of where he went to, even if was a dreamscape he had lived in was just that. Though he really was conflicted about it since he could still remember feeling he was actually there, then again he could still feel things here the same way. From the softness of the bed to the smell of sanitation throughout the whole building. All of which he explained as he told Anna what he was going through and to her credit like she always did before she actually listened.

"I see..." Anna said as he wrapped up with him waking him up here. "At least that explains why you've been a bit distant since you've woke up. I had heard this might happen, I mean I'm not a psychologist but from my understanding what you just describe is very rare. Especially nowadays."

"That's all you have to say?" Brandon asked.

"I'm going to assume you're talking about you having sex with talking magical ponies? Honestly, with the line of work we were both in I wouldn't be surprised. Now I am not completely okay with the thought, but it's mostly out of thinking of you with another woman in general. Let alone with three others who, even as part of your dream world, sounded like they helped you a lot so for that in way I'm thankful," Anna replied making him start to laugh a bit.

"S-sorry, but I had a feeling you say that. But still I thought you would judge me..." Brandon started before Anna held her hand up to quiet him.

"For falling in love in a world you thought was real? Especially since in this world, you had no memory of who you were or what you did thus giving you a second chance? I mean to me it sounds like what you needed in order to really start healing, of course like I said not exactly a professional," Anna said giving him a smile. "But let me guess, you're conflicted because that world felt just as real as this one right?"

"Y-yeah," Brandon admitted.

"Then I guess I'll need to prove just how real this one is then," Anna said as she moved in placing a warm gentle hand on his cheek before moving in for a kiss, though he hesitated for a second feeling her so close allowed him to kiss her back. It was just as sweet and passionate as he remembered as he ran his fingers through her black hair, eventually, they broke the kiss with Anna giving him a little smile.

"Keep that up and we might need to lock the door," Brandon joked making her laugh.

"Yeah, from the feel of it you aren't kidding," Anna said giving him a wink, her blue eyes shined as she smiled. "But, afraid we're gonna have to save that for later. The others will be here in like forty minutes."

"Well, sure that's enough time even if not that then how about you tell me what happened to me?" Brandon asked his voice becoming more serious. This made Anna bite her lower lip a bit before shaking her head.

"It'll be best to wait until everyone is here okay?" Anna said in a tone that he knew meant she wasn't going to budge.

"Why can't you just tell me now? Because of my past?" Brandon stated making Anna narrow her eyes.

"You very well know I am going to be the last one to judge you on anything in your past Brandon. I know you've changed especially since you woke up, and now I know why. Because you went into your dream world it was to help you sort things out in a way. Now I know you are getting confused because that world felt so real to you but this is your world and I don't think that's something neither of us can ever accept that fact," Anna said making Brandon sigh.

"You're right, at least about not accepting this is our world but that is what Sally was working on wasn't it? A way to go to other worlds, right?" Brandon asked making Anna shake her head.

"Do we really have to do this now? Can we at least wait until the others get here and to hang out a bit? Or are you gonna be like this the whole time?" Anna asked making Brandon stop and take a breath.

"You are right and I am sorry, C-can you give me a minute?" Brandon asked making Anna look at him with hesitation in her eyes.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get another tea and maybe a snack. You want anything?" Anna asked.

"Maybe one of those frozen coffee drinks?" Brandon replied giving her a gentle smile.

"You really are different since you woke up, and I mean for the better. You remind me of bit like your old self when we first met," Anna said returning the smile reaching out to grab his hand to give it a little squeeze. After that she left leaving the door slightly ajar, and Brandon turned to look out of the window with a flurry of emotions.

He was very much confused about which world is real because of how real both felt to him, granted he understood how being in a coma could do that but to have such vivid memory of all it? From the smell in the air, to the feel of the grass, to even being able to fly, and of course there were his friends who he couldn't help but feel sadness at thinking about them. Especially since there were reminders here and again he knew his mind could have used those details from people who were constantly taking care of him and put them in a created world, but still it was hard to shake the feeling he no longer belonged here.

"I know it's confusing since to you you've lived in that world for felt like over a year, but you know you are here with people who care about you just as much right?" Brandon wasn't surprised to see Selene had come into the room.

"Yeah, and it's hard not to take it for granted when you're not even sure you're even here," Brandon replied making Selene sigh.

"Real or not, at the very least you have a chance to see everyone from your past. At the most you are actually here and able to fully make amends," Selene said making Brandon give a sad sigh.

"There will be no fully amending for what I've done, and I know the others feel the same. But at least in that other world, I felt..." Brandon shook his head not really knowing exactly how to describe it.

"You felt like you found your place there, even with everything you went through over there. Granted I don't know the full details of your service here, but I've seen my fair share of soldiers who are in pretty bad shape. Some of there stories are so horrible and I'm sure your's aren't any better, but you need to think if that other world was you just trying to run away from this one. Don't get me wrong, it was also so you could cope with your own mental trauma but it may have been mostly to escape this hellscape of a world," Selene said.

"Yeah, and I know that's what Anna has been telling me as well but I feel we've lost some of our connection we once had. I know you know why I feel a bit more comfortable with talking with you but I know I should trust her more. No offense," Brandon said closing his eyes.

"None taken, I mean even if I wasn't your nurse I would still be glad you told me. As for you and Anna, you two literally survived war together and have remained close. All you got to do is open yourself up to her once more," Selene said as she put a device on his arm that quickly read his blood pressure.

"True, and I have been trying but the feeling of this world not being the real one won't go away," Brandon said shaking his head. "I know they said it might be like that for a long time but it's just hard."

"I bet, from the sounds of it you've lead quite a life there. I mean I'm a princess there from the sounds of it, and Mr. Sunshine that roams the halls is a badass Lieutenant, even if isn't one now," That got him to smile a bit.

"Yeah, but are we done? I'm sure Anna is waiting for me," Brandon said making Selene give a small smile and a nod.

"All done, and just try to live in the moment okay? You never know when somepony will surprise you," Selene said though Brandon couldn't tell if she had actually said what he thought she said. "What? You feeling okay?"

"Y-yeah, just getting nervous is all. It's been a minute since I've seen the other originals is all," Brandon answered making Selene nod.

"Well, you go on and by the time you get back you'll have all new sheets," Selene said giving him a little wink.

Brandon then started to make his way down to the lobby area where Anna was most likely waiting, and sure enough as he saw her he couldn't help but give a deep breath and let himself melt in the moment. A wide smile spread across his face as he saw Anna talking to a young girl making the girl laugh. He approached just hoping no matter what, no matter which world was real he was going to enjoy it for now.

Author's Note

Hope you guys had some good holidays! Just remember to smile, smile, smile!

A Hopeful Reunion

As he got closer he could fully make out who Anna was talking to, her younger sister Gracie and the name alone made his heart hurt a bit. Though he pushed it aside for now, as he looked at Gracie he could see she had a bit of a growth spurt since the last time he saw her. She noticed him approaching before Anna and waved at him excitedly making Anna turn to give him a big smile.

"It's sooo good to see you're okay!" Gracie said in a bubbly voice.

"Yeah, it's good to see you, Gracie," He said doing a little special handshake he had created with her, although he was surprised he could still fully remember all the steps. "You've grown a lot by the way."

"I know, but it has been a good while. But trust me, I'm not exactly done growing if you catch my drift," Gracie said with a huge excited smile as she placed a hand on her stomach. This did catch him by surprise a bit but he was still happy for her.

"Yeah, it's why she's here to tell us. By the way, uh, about your coffee.." Anna started as she stared at her sister who rolled her eyes.

"You didn't tell me it was for Brandon!" Gracie said making Brandon start to laugh.

"It's fine, I don't mind. Would have gotten more if I knew you were here cause I know how much you like them," Brandon said making Gracie give a little smile.

"See, told ya he wouldn't care. So, Anna hasn't told me everything but how you feeling?" Gracie asked making Anna look at him with a bit of concern.

"I'm perfectly fine, just trying to live for the moment," Brandon answered as he stepped closer to Anna before kissing her which did surprise her a bit before she returned the kiss in full.

"Aww, and here she was worried about you," Gracie said, and as they broke the kiss Anna looked at her with annoyance that only a sibling could cause.

"Grace, don't you have to go catch a train?" Anna said making her little sister laugh as she doedge a playful swat.

"Fine, fine but know if you two keep kissing like that you might want to get some protection!" Gracie called out as she was now almost to the door making Anna's face go completely red. Brandon just couldn't help but give a little chuckle.

"Nothing like a sibling to get to you," Brandon said wrapping an arm around Anna, though she did give a slight look of confusion.

"What's gotten into you?" Anna asked making Brandon give her a little smile.

"As I said, just gonna live in the moment for at least the next couple of days," Brandon answered placing a hand on her cheek, while the other went down grabbing her ass making her give a surprised squeak. "So, when are the other's getting here?"

"Um, uh, i-in like fifteen minutes," Anna said with a little bit of a surprised voice.

"Wow, haven't heard you sound like this in a bit," Brandon said giving her a wink making her clear her throat. "But can't wait to see the other's though."

"Y-yeah, well you just caught me off guard is all. I know that seems impossible but with you, nothing feels that way," Anna said giving him a little kiss. "Also, I know they're all excited to come to see you again."

"So, you wanna come with me to get one of those coffees?" Brandon asked.

"Hmm, as much as I want to I think I'll wait here just in case. But here, let me at least get some money out..." Anna said as she brought out ten dollars to hand to him.

"Thanks and I will pay you back as soon as I can," Brandon said taking the money but holding her hand for a good minute before taking his leave.

As he went to the cafeteria he couldn't help but feel the sadness after meeting Gracie again, she had almost the same personality that Grace has. But he took a deep breath to calm himself down again because he had to keep his promise and try not to think about that world. So, quickly getting the coffee he wanted he turned to go back to the main lobby, though as he was walking back something caught his attention as he was passing the desk.

"...need to do this," Brandon heard Dr. Dickson say to a young-looking nurse in a hushed tone, making the young girl look uncomfortable. To top it off, the other nurses around seemed to be ignoring the situation.

"But I have to get my work done..." The nurse started before Dickson cut her off.

"I'll just have someone else do it until we get back," Dickson said, and as Brandon looked he saw fear in the girl's eyes as she nodded. Though as she was standing up Brandon came over.

"Hi, maybe you can help me with something?" Brandon asked the nurse who looked at him in surprise, though she turned to look back at Dickson.

"Sorry, she is just a nurse in training, and in order to get full credit, she needs to accompany a doctor at least once a day. I'm sure Selene would be more than happy to help you, I'll have someone page her," Dickson said starting to turn to another nurse.

"Alright," Brandon said as he waited until the page went out. "Thanks, cause I'm sure Selene would love to hear about how you're obviously making this girl feel uncomfortable. Which by the way, how old are you?"

"S-seventeen..." The young nurse answered making him whistle.

"Must be in a gifted program then, but as I was saying making this seventeen year-old feel uncomfortable. Which before you say anything, don't you have an assigned doctor you need to follow?"

"Actually, she's not supposed to be following a doctor at all since it's not what she's training for," Selene said as she seemed to come out of nowhere her eyes narrowed at Dickson, her tone deadly. This made the doctor give a slight gulp but to his credit, he kept his composure.

"Yes, well still think it's a good idea to have them follow a doctor as well," Dickson said making Selene narrow her eyes even more.

"They do when they follow their assigned nurse, now Brianna why don't you take an early lunch?" Selene suggested, making the young nurse nod and as she walked past them she whispered a quick thank you to Brandon. "Now, this isn't exactly the first time something like this has been brought up with you. But at least those first few were at least legal age and didn't actually mind coming with you."

"She would have been comfortable with me..." Before Dickson had a chance to continue Brandon reached over the desk grabbing the doctor by his collar.

"Anyone with eyes can see she wasn't comfortable in the first place, so I doubt you putting your slimy hands on her would make it more comfortable for her. Now I would like to see about getting a change of doctors," Brandon said letting go of Dickson who now had a look of fear in his eyes.

"I'm calling the police..." Dickson started.

"Go ahead, I'm sure they'll want to hear all about how you were trying to fuck a minor," Selene spat out. "Granted even if you don't, I will"

"You can go to hell..." Dickson said though they were all surprised, except for Brandon, that Dickson suddenly was forced to the desk.

"By the power granted to me by the military, I am placing you under arrest!" Anna said with the same force she had back in the war.

"Y-you..." Before Dickson could say another word Anna cut him off.

"Can't arrest you in a military ran hospital for the sexual harassment of a minor?" Anna said in a tone that made it clear it wasn't a question the doctor should answer. She then went on to read him his Miranda rights not letting Dickson up even in the slightest.

"That's why I like your girlfriend so much," Selene said giving Brandon a little smile. "Oh, and just letting you know since you're being arrested by the military, that means an automatic suspension without pay until any and all investigations are complete as per the hospital's employee contract you signed with the military."

"I think he should be fired, but just be glad I don't have that much pull," Anna growled at the doctor she was holding in place until security showed up to detain him until the police arrived.

"This entire situation just gave me a bit deja vu," Brandon grumbled. "Though in my opinion, this had a different outcome."

"Did ya say something?" Anna asked as she walked over after handing Dickson over.

"Hmm, just slipping a bit but I promise I won't get into," Brandon said giving a smile making Anna bite her lip a bit.

"Well, either way, thanks for your guy's help with that. The board has been trying to get rid of him since the first case came up against him. Don't worry about the nurse I'll make sure she's fine. Now if you'll excuse me," Selene said before walking away.

"So, you sure you're fine?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, also thanks for coming. I know even with my rank carried over to being a regular rank I wouldn't have had the authority to arrest him if I remember right," Brandon said making Anna nod.

"Creeps like that deserve to be castrated in my opinion, and who knows they may at least sterilize him!" Anna said in a hopeful tone.

"I doubt it, at the most his license will be revoked and he'll do like a month in jail. Which he may very well not make it out," Brandon said.

"I hope so, but let's try to get off that subject?" Anna suggested.

"What subject are we trying to change?" A voice said from behind them giving Anna a little startle but Brandon remained calm. "Huh, normally both of you jump when I do that!"

"Hmm, I got used to it while away," Brandon said as he turned to see Emily, the unit's best sniper.

One of the things he remembered was she was actually ranked seventh-best sniper throughout the entire military and was offered many opportunities with special or black ops teams. Though she would always decline due to her closeness with the rest of the unit, as he looked at her he saw the right half of her face had been scarred by burns. Though they had healed up decently the scars were still very much present.

"Still wish you wouldn't do that, seriously you're like only the third person could sneak up on me," Anna said making Emily give a little snicker.

"Yeah, and we all know Brandon here can really sneak up on you alright," Emily said making Brandon laugh, Anna rolled her eyes shaking her head.

"It's really good to see ya Em, it's been a good minute!" Brandon said switching the topic making Emily give a big smile as well.

"Well someone woke up on the right side of his bed," Emily said as she went in with a fist bump.

"Hey, where's the other's?" Anna asked.

"On their way, got tired of waiting on them and went ahead of them. Which by the way, how's the food here?" Emily asked to no surprise to either Anna or Brandon.

"Seriously? I just cooked us all lunch before we came!" A male voice said.

"Yeah, and I gave you some dessert for your trouble," Emily said with a wink at the guy who walked up, and Brandon smiled as the unit cook rolled his eyes. "And that Greg would be why I am still hungry."

"But do you have to tell everyone in the world what we do?" Greg said though he had a proud smile as he wrapped an arm around Emily. She rolled her eyes but didn't resist the affection like how she used to do. This wasn't a surprise since they had been flirting since they met, but from what Anna told him they only just got together as a couple after the incident that sent him into a coma. Though thinking back on it Greg could turn nothing but a can of corn and beef jerky into a five-star dish, and thinking about it did make Brandon hungry.

As Brandon looked at the couple he really couldn't stop the smile since it really was about time they got together but still had that same energy from before. Though as he looked them over he saw Greg had dyed his hair from his normal light brown hair to be a few shades darker, which did bring out his green eyes more. He wasn't the fittest but give him a knife and he could be deadly.

Other than the scars Emily still looked pretty much the same from the hazel eyes to the long red hair which she kept in a ponytail. She was attractive, if somewhat a little curvier as she liked to put it than most of the girls they worked with. Both of them had been a part of the unit for a month before he was assigned and when he first arrived was actually the first time they had any real interaction between them, and they hit it off just fine, insults and all.

"As much as I like your cooking Greg, I wouldn't mind a bit more to eat," Another female voice said, though the last time he heard this person talk they sounded much different.

That was when he fully saw her as she joined the group with a look of annoyance pointed towards Greg, which made Brandon shake his head as he knew Greg must have left her with the taxi bill. But as he looked her over his jaw nearly dropped, the last time he saw her she was just beginning her process of becoming a woman and now she looked like a swimsuit model. She had purple hair, which she had genetically changed to, with dark blue eyes.

Before she had gone by Leory, but now goes by Cecilia and Anna had told him she was finished with the process but he wasn't quite expecting this much of a change. Though he quickly shook himself out of those thoughts and thinking about it Leory was their communication expert. He... she could speak roughly around a hundred different languages almost completely fluently.

"Y-you're looking good..." Brandon managed to get out making all the rest of them laugh.

"Well, thanks been making a lot of strides now. Shoot, even did some modeling work for the military already. If you want, I can get you two a copy," Cecilia said giving both Anna and him a wink making them shake their heads.

"I think we'll have to turn it down for now," Anna answered.

"Aww, oh well. But it's really good to see you up and about Brandon!" Cecilia said giving him a hug, though he was a bit awkward about it and he knew the others were trying to hold in their laughter. "Last time I saw you, well you were drooling like there was no tomorrow in your sleep."

"Yeah, thanks for that image but seriously you do look great. You also seem to be in a bit of a better mood," Brandon said making Cecilia smile.

"Well, I am what I always felt like I should have been. Thank you for the complaint either way," Cecilia said.

"No problem, just glad you're happy," Brandon replied, though it took him a second to realize they had just spoken in another language.

"Looks like my Japanese lessons took, but we still need to work on it," Cecilia said, and as Brandon turned to Anna she had a surprised look in her eyes.

"I kind of forgot about those lessons if I'm being honest, and that was supposed to be a surprise for me to tell them," Brandon said as he looked back at Cecilia who gave him a sly smile and shrug like she had forgotten that little fact herself, somethings never change. "But anyway, I could go for something to eat myself."

"I know, thinking about Greg's cooking made me hungry, so let's go grab a table at the cafeteria real fast," Anna said as she and Brandon lead them there.

"By the way, what was with that doctor that was being lead away by security when I snuck up on y'all?" Emily asked as they found a table.

"He was trying to have sex with a seventeen-year-old nurse is what," Anna spat out with disgust in her voice, Brandon nodded before placing a hand on hers.

"Dam, lucky I wasn't here went that all went down. Would have cut off his dick myself," Emily said making Greg snicker.

"Seriously, men like that should be executed," Cecilia said.

"Yeah, by the way, to change the topic a bit, where's Frank?" Brandon asked making everyone go silent.

"Uh, h-he's not going to be able to make it," Cecilia said, and all their eyes turned to Anna who shook her head in response.

"He has some memory loss, remembers most of what happened but doesn't remember it fully. I also had to correct a few things for him so it also seemed to scramble a few things he remembers as well," Anna explained. "But, for right now can we not mention Frank..."

Just as she said his name there was a huge boom making all of them jump, and looking at where the sound came from it was a patient who seemed to have flipped a table out of anger. Though the noise definitely sounded like an explosion, that did remind Brandon that Frank was an explosives expert. But the way that all of them reacted it seemed like it had put them on edge just mentioning Frank,

Though he also felt uneasy about it and the table being flipped sounding like an explosion really didn't help, even if you took away the time spent in the war he felt he would still feel this uneasy. Thinking about more he could feel it start to increase, and by the time he realized what was happening he was having a tough time breathing. Everything started shifting in and out including his friends, all except for Anna who remained as solid as ever. But it was as if the entire world was shifting, things started to change into other things including his friend's clothes changing from casual to a uniform, all except for Anna once again.

"He's having a panic attack!" He heard Anna say, though, unlike the others whose words were mangled, hers came out as clear and crisp.

Author's Note

Remember to smile, smile, smile!

New Doctor

As the world continued to shift he had a sense of familiarity wash over him, he knew what this feeling was but it was different than normal. As Anna locked eyes with him he started taking deep breaths and started to focus. Not long after the world started becoming solid again making him close his eyes for a moment as a headache had started to form.

"You okay?" Emily managed to ask first making him open his eyes to see all their concerned expressions.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine now thanks," Brandon replied giving them a smile. He looked over at Anna and placed a hand on her cheek as she looked to be on the verge of tears. "It's fine, I'm fine but I think we should avoid that topic for now."

"Y-you think?" Anna asked hitting him in the shoulder. "But are you really sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, just a headache is all but I do swear I am just fine," Brandon replied making sure to give a huge smile.

"Attention, attention! Calling Brandon Jenkins to the front desk!" Someone said over the P.A system making him sigh.

"Guess I gotta go, for now, you guys go ahead and eat something. Hopefully, this'll be fast," Brandon said standing up, though he was a bit shaky but managed to hide it pretty well, at least he thought until he looked up at his friends, in particular Emily.

"Yeah, well just be easy on yourself," Was all Emily said even though he knew she had seen him shaking, which of course also didn't get past Anna as well.

"I'm coming with you, besides I have a feeling about what this is about," Anna said gently taking his hand and looking him in the eye, and he nodded his head to tell her he was good to go. So they made their way to the front desk as asked.

"Ah, there you are, and Anna came with you! Forgot to call her, but I had hoped she'd be with you," A woman with dark purple hair that had a normal shade of purple and pink streaks in it said. Brandon raised an eyebrow as she definitely looked like Twilight including the fact that she had a checklist in her hand that looked completely overly full.

"Yup, but who are you exactly if you don't mind me asking?" Anna asked.

"Right, well to start I'm Courtney, the secretary to the Cheif of Staff here. Considering the circumstances, it's not much of a surprise even with your rank, either of your ranks, that we haven't met yet since you've been distracted. But with the circumstances now with Dickson and everything, but anyway I am not the one to talk to about that if you would follow me to her office," Courtney said as she turned towards the elevators.

"Um, so who is the Cheif of Staff anyway?" Brandon asked as they got onto the elevator, while Courtney inserted a keycard before pressing a button for one of the top floors.

"Soltia, Soltia Faust. You've already met her sister Selene," Courtney answered while she looked at her clipboard.

"Huh, that must be interesting to work around," Anna said making the secretary gives a big sigh.

"You have no idea, but it is better now since they made up. But I rather not talk about it," Courtney said and before Anna could ask Brandon shook his head to quiet her.

"So, what kind of friends do you hang around with?" Brandon asked which did seem to brighten the secretary a bit. Courtney then went on to tell them about her friends, which as Brandon figured all sounded like how they were in Equestria.

"Oh, looks like this is our floor! Now follow me and I'll take you right to her office," Courtney said leading the way as the doors opened. She lead them down a few turns down hallways that look to be linked with different offices before they came to one that had Soltias name outside.

"Did Dickson have an office up here?" Brandon asked.

"Unfortunately, yes he did. But not any more thanks to you two, now go on inside she's waiting for you," Courtney said as she started to walk away. "I got to get a few more things done."

"She was a bit odd, but I did like her. Looked very organized," Anna said as she walked up to the door.

"You have no idea," Brandon muttered as Anna knocked.

"Come in!" A loud feminine voice called out making Anna open the door. Sure enough, the woman had long rainbow-like hair that seemed to fly in the wind, although this time around it was because of the fan blowing on her. "Ah, please have a seat you two, we have a bit to discuss!"

Brandon and Anna quickly took seats across from Soltia as she looked back down at some paperwork on her desk with a little smile. As this was going on Brandon started to look around the room a bit seeing how the office was decorated. Pictures of her and Selene hung around the room, along with some of the other staff members most of which mainly of six others who all looked familiar.

"So, you know why I wanted to talk to you both?" Soltia asked as she signed the paper she had been looking at.

"About Dickson?" Anna replied making Soltia nod.

"Kind of, that has just been officially taken care of as of me signing this paper. But that brings us to another point," Soltia said as she put the signed paper in a file.

"Gonna assume that was the official termination papers?" Brandon spoke up and asked making Soltia laugh.

"No, I already had that taken care of long before you two came here," Soltia answered with a big smile that could light up an entire city.

"That's good, and as for this other reason I'm going to say it's about what doctor is going to take me on as a patient next, am I right?" Brandon asked since it was on his mind.

"Very good, I mean it is the next step after all. Now I bet you're both wondering why it's me telling you this instead of your new doctor?" Soltia replied making Brandon nod. Though he did have an idea as to the why.

"So, if you wanted to just tell him about his new doctor then why am I here?" Anna asked to pipe in.

"Well, given the circumstances you are pretty much the closes to the family he has, not to mention we need official statements from the both of you. It's also for moral support, now before you two ask any more questions let me just cut to the chase. Brandon, your next doctor will be none other than myself!" Solitia said which didn't come as much of a surprise to either of them.

"Okay, but here's a question for you now, why? I mean wouldn't it take away from your duties from your current position?" Anna asked making Soltia bite her lower lip a bit.

"Well, that's the thing. Both I and my sister are planning on retiring this year and as a result, in the past few months I've been training up my replacement. She's been handling more and more of my normal workload thus freeing up some time. I've always wanted to get back onto the floor and take care of patients, and this is my last chance," Soltia explained.

"I see, so I'm gonna get taken care of by two sisters huh?" Brandon said making Anna elbow him hard in his side while Soltia gave a loud warm laugh. Which she had to take a few minutes to calm herself.

"In some ways, yes, but I do hope that's fine with you two?" Soltia asked wiping away a tear that formed from laughing.

"I have no issues with it," Anna replied as she turned her attention back to Soltia.

"I'm fine with it," Brandon answered giving Soltia a smile as he rubbed his side.

"Good, good. Now do either of you have any more questions?" Soltia asked.

"Actually, there was a patient in the cafeteria that seemed to flip out for some reason..." Anna started but Soltia beat her to the punch.

"That was Lt. Stephan Louis," At this Anna's eyes widened in amazement.

"You mean Shadow from the special ops team who supposedly are the ones who managed to infiltrate and kill the leader of Cuba?" Anna asked, and sure enough, even Brandon at least knew the name.

"The one and the same, he had wanted to retire but as I'm sure both of you understand that isn't exactly an option. He was instead assigned here as head of security, unfortunately, he had a bit of an accident that lead to him being a patient here," Soltia explained as she got up revealing that she was well above six feet tall.

"Doesn't exactly explain why he got angry enough to flip an entire table," Brandon said making Soltia give a sigh.

"Well, I can't go into too much detail but let's say that what made him a patient involved saving another patient. Unfortunately, that other patient isn't doing so well," Soltia said as her smile grew smaller at the thought. Though she quickly picked up some files from her desk and quickly went to the door.

"Oh..." That was all Anna could say, while Brandon shook his head.

"So, if you don't mind me changing the subject, how much longer will I still be a patient here?" Brandon asked as Soltia quickly popped her head out and gave the files to someone outside.

"Ah, well after looking at your file it's probably going to be another week at minimum, two at most. It's all mostly precautionary along with paperwork," Soltia replied as she came back to her desk. As she walked past Brandon couldn't help but appreciate her figure, though he wasn't attracted to her exactly he could definitely see why people would be.

"The paperwork that bad huh?" Anna asked as she jabbed another elbow into Brandon, who managed to be more prepared this time around.

"Given your rank in the military, you have some idea of what it's like. Even for you Brandon, at least you will since the new they passed a few months ago," Soltia mentioned making Brandon raise an eyebrow.

"What would a new law have to do with me?" Brandon asked making Soltia raise her own eyebrow as both of them turned there attention to Anna.

"I haven't told him about it yet, didn't seem important," Anna simply said and her tone made it clear she wasn't going to say anything else.

"So, about that new law..." Brandon stated making Soltia nod in understanding.

"It's a simple amendment to the basic reserve operations. Basically if you served as a certain rank for a certain amount of time, or even just serving in general, you are officially recognized as the rank you are," Soltia explained which it didn't take long for Brandon to completely understand. He knew what it meant, it was a way to keep someone in the military for longer.

"Would I..." Brandon didn't get a chance before Anna spoke up.

"No, we wouldn't because of where we were assigned in our "retirement", similar to Shadow in his retirement," Anna quickly explained which did bring some relief, though that would mean he was only one rank lower than Anna.

"So, I guess that means that I would be officially your second in command then," Brandon said with a little smile taking Anna's hand making her relax a bit.

"Sure does, but back on topic, we do appreciate that you will be the one treating him from here on out. We'll make sure to turn in our statements when we can, but if you don't mind we have some friends waiting on us," Anna said standing up making Brandon do the same.

"Understandable, would you like my assistant lead you back?" Soltia asked.

"No, we'll be fine, thanks for the offer though," Brandon answered almost immediately as they made their way out of the door.

As they retraced their steps, Brandon kept thinking about all of what had been going on and how he knew what was going on but didn't know why or how. No, he knew the how, but a few questions still remain. Like is Anna aware of everything or is she under some outside influence? Or how would they be able to free themselves?

He wasn't going to bring it up at the moment, but he knew eventually he would have to talk to her about or else risking staying in this world. Though if he could figure out how to manipulate everything without alerting Anna but he would not even know where to begin. Shaking his head, he couldn't focus on it, his gut was telling him that what was happening isn't just for himself.

"She was pretty," Anna said as they got into the elevator. "I mean with how you were staring at her, especially... Hmph!"

Brandon cut her off with a kiss which took her a moment to resipitate, but she let herself melt into it as it soon turned passionate. After a minute he broke the kiss and looked her in her beautiful eyes, the same ones he always found comforting. He could see how much she had changed, but there still was that scared girl, the one the pretends not to be but he knew it was an act. They've both seen each others worse side's, always knowing each other could see that side when it completely hidden to everyone else.

"I will always love you, no matter how much we've changed," Brandon said putting as much emotion into it as he could.

"I-I know," Anna sighed moving closer to him and he moved to embrace her just as did many times before. "B-but can we stay here for a bit longer?"

"That's the plan, we both have be comfortable with it," Brandon said running a hand through her hair as what she had just said confirmed what she knew, though he did miss this. But it felt different, they both felt it but neither of them wanted to say it at that moment.

"There you two are!" Emily said excietly as the both of them walked back into the cafeteria.

"Went ahead and ordered for the both of you," Greg said as he pointed to two burgers and fries.

"Tried to think about what you wanted, knew you both liked burgers and everything, hope it's fine for you to eat?" Cecila asked making Brandon smile and nod as they took their seats.

They started eating while telling their friends why they were called up to the Cheif of Staff's office, and of course they omitted what happened in the elevator. After eating and making some small talk they went back to his room where Greg managed to bring his game system in so they started playing for awhile. Brandon was very glad he had gotten Emily as his teammate since she more than able to make up for him.

"You might be better than before you went into that coma," Greg teased making Emily give him a hard kick.

"It's fine, he's just teasing but how about Anna take over for me for a little bit?" Brandon asked holding the controller out for her.

"Nah, I'm good, how bout you Cecilia?" Anna asked.

"Kind of already on a team, but hey why don't we play a three-way free for all?" Cecilia suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Emily agreed making Greg sigh in defeat as he set it up.

After a few hours they had stopped playing, and were all about to leave for the day and congratulating him on his promotion into being fully in the army now. Once they left both him and Anna laid in the bed and just enjoying each other's company, and not long after he could tell Anna had fallen asleep alwaying him to think to himself. He knew they could stay in this world forever if they wanted, but he knew neither of them wanted that. But with everything put together, he knew the only thing that was real in this fantasy world was Anna.

Author's Note

Alright, hope you all enjoyed it and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Final Memory Pr. 1

It had been a week since they had first met his new doctor, the Chief of Staff herself Soltia who had far better bedside table manners than Dickson. Although that wasn't hard to do, what was hard though was all the paperwork that Brandon had to sign in the past few days. During this time, neither he nor Anna talked about this world as they seemed to have a silent understanding to enjoy it for a bit. Even if they didn't know what effects or how much time had passed.

"Well, thanks to both of your help this should be the last of the paperwork done. Now, this doesn't mean your dismissal, that has to be been completely done by me and I think staying a few more days won't hurt," Soltia said making Brandon give a sigh.

"Can I at least know why? " Brandon asked making Soltia nod.

"Of course, as I'm sure you're aware it is extremely rare for people to go into a coma let alone one that lasted so long. Just got to be safe and make sure that there aren't any immediate aftereffects," Soltia explained and although he had figured as much he was hoping to be out sooner to at least see more of the outside. "Now, I think Anna is waiting for you so since we're done for now you should go."

"Yeah, well see you later," Brandon said as he stood up returning the smile Soltia was giving him before walking out of her office. Going back down to his room he saw Anna there, with her still slightly wet hair.

"So, what did she say?" Anna asked as she spotted him.

"Wants me to stay for a few more days as a precaution, how was your shower?" Brandon replied making Anna roll her eyes a bit.

"It was very full, took a minute to get a stall. Not to mention that I couldn't get the water as hot as I like it," Anna answered making Brandon give a little smirk. "Get those thoughts out of your head, and I mean both of them, 'cause we are not doing that here! As I said the showers were packed. At least the woman side was, and I don't really feel comfortable with the unisex one or trying to sneak into the men's."

"Well shit, 'cause I was really looking forward to it," Brandon said making Anna roll her eyes.

"Once we're home, then maybe. But you know you can stop imagining me naked when you could just ask," Anna said with her best sexy look which only made Brandon give chuckle.

"Sorry, you've always been bad at forcefully giving the bedroom eyes, but I do appreciate the offer. But we run into the risk of putting on a show here, probably even more so than the showers," Brandon said as he sat on his bed. "Though I would like to relieve some stress either way."

"Hmm, well what are you suggesting that I do?" Anna asked getting up from her seat and moving closer to him. Leaning over to give him a kiss, she placed a gentle hand on top of his covered but already stiff member making him give a little moan as she rubbed on the outside a bit. "You really do need help relaxing..."

"Hate to interrupt this "massage", but afraid it's time for another physical therapy session," Selene said suddenly in the door making Anna yell and jump in surprise while Brandon just coughed as he turned red. This all made Selene laugh a bit. "Again, sorry for intruding on the private moment, but this is your last session."

"Right, right, guess I'll see you later. Oh, and I'll hit the showers after," Brandon said giving Anna a wink making her give an exasperated sigh and roll of the eyes.

"Sounds good to me," Was all Anna said as he followed Selene to his session.

"Oh, and I should mention that the men's showers are out of order. Nothing bad or anything, the hospital is just upgrading all of them starting with the men's," Selene explained.

"Ah, so gonna have to use the unisex one, got it," Brandon said. "So, um, about what you saw..."

"Please, I've seen people in more compromising positions. I'm glad I got there before clothes started coming off, and don't worry, I pride myself on keeping these things secret. After all, everyone needs some stress relief every now and again," Selene said giving him an understanding smile. "Now, let's get you into this session."

As they entered the physical therapy area he was welcomed with a big smile as Selene handed him off to the physical therapist. After some warm-ups, they got into the exercises that had become much easier over the past couple of weeks. Once the routine was over and he was given the all-clear that he didn't need any more physical therapy he made his way to the showers.

He had been lucky to get a locker earlier on in his stay, which had helped tremendously since he already had a towel, provided by the hospital, and a change of clothes. Not to mention the shampoo and soap, once again given to him by the hospital but he was thankful for it nonetheless. By the time he was ready to take a shower the unisex room didn't seem to have much traffic at the time, in fact, he only heard one shower going.

Brandon went in and sure enough, only one other shower was running which did make him a tad bit nervous since, for whatever reason, the unisex showers didn't have individual stalls. Which did make him understand Anna's hesitation to use it, but he didn't have much of a choice. He wasn't nervous about running into another guy, but a woman since he knew it would be completely awkward for at least her.

"So hope that this doesn't freak them out either way," Brandon muttered to himself as he undressed and went in, and once he saw who was there it made him freeze in shock.

"Oh, came to get a shower did ya?" Soltia asked standing under one of the shower heads completely exposed. From her c-cup size breast to her round ass, not to mention how her wet hair clung to her hourglass figure. "Yeah, don't mind me, almost done!"

"Um, uh, s-so if you don't mind me asking but why are you the only one in here?" Brandon asked as he walked to a shower in the opposite part of the room.

"Because people find me intimidating because of my height and position here, and this floor has the best water heater if you ask me," Soltia replied as he could hear her turn the shower nob turning it off. "Now, if you'll excuse me I rather not have people assume anything, but I did appreciate the stiff welcoming!"

"Um, you sure you should be making those jokes?" Brandon asked.

"Hm, well, to be honest, you don't seem to mind it and besides I'll be gone by the end of the month so it's not like there's much they'll do. Though I do hope you aren't thinking I'm some kind of pervert or anything," Soltia replied making him shake his head.

"Um, well you are... I mean you have a great body and we are in a unisex shower, both completely exposed," Brandon managed to say making Soltia give a little laugh.

"That's good, and I'll try not to mention this encounter with your girlfriend. But anyway, I will see you tomorrow!" Soltia said as she left the showers leaving him alone. Though by the time he finished others, mostly men, started to come in. So he quickly got dried off and put on a new set of clothes before heading back to the room.

"There you are, you look nice!" Anna said as he opened the door.

"Yeah, though had a bit of an awkward run-in with Soltia," Brandon explained making Anna give a raised eyebrow.

"Wait, you mean in the showers?" Anna asked and his only response was to nod. "Oh, d-did anything happen?"

"Outside of seeing each other completely naked? No, we made some small talk before she left. According to her, she likes the showers on this floor the most and while I didn't ask got the impression she doesn't really like to shower with others," Brandon explained making Anna give a sigh of relief.

"Man, that must have been completely awkward, especially since she is a beautiful woman," Anna said making him bite his lower lip.

"Yeah, not gonna lie she is very attractive, though not exactly my type," Brandon said sitting down on the bed and giving a hard sigh as he locked eyes with Anna. "I think it's time we talk..."

"Brandon, can we not, at least not right now?" Anna pleaded her tone one of desperation. It was one he knew meant she wasn't fully ready to let go of something, but it was also one that let him know she was on the verge of accepting it.

"Anna, like I have told you and I will tell you again, that I love you. But the next time it has to be real, with you actually here in front of me," Brandon said with a more forceful tone.

"P-please... I-I don't want to... to..." Anna started but she was cut off by her own sobbing making him wrap her in a tight hug.

"I know, but you didn't lose me because I am very much still alive. I will always be waiting for you, and the rest of our friends to find me," Brandon assured her as she cried into his shoulder.

"I-It's been s-so difficult..." Anna sobbed. "T-then I w-woke up here w-with you i-in..."

"I know it's all confusing, I'm not even sure how but I do have a good guess," Brandon said managing to get Anna to look him in the eyes again.

"Y-you mean w-what you told me a-about the w-world..." Anna started though went quiet and averted her eyes, but this time was not breaking down.

"Yeah, everything I told you about that world and what all happened to me since I went there. This includes what I was developing..." At this Anna spoke up.

"But how? I mean from what you told me it only lets you see connections between people..." Anna said her tone changing to anger as she spoke.

"Yes, but keep in mind I just started to develop that magic to where I didn't, and still don't know how to control it. So it is more than possible that I managed this..." Brandon said as he motioned around them. "Before you ask, the reason why we're here is because of our connection, and what I believe is you guys trying to open another portal."

At that, Anna looked away which only confirmed his suspicions of what all has been going on and the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Somehow he had connected with her with his magic through one of these small tares he and Luna had been seeing. But once the connection had been fully made their minds created the false world they were both in.

"I-I still don't understand," Anna spoke up after a moment of silence.

"The best way to explain this is what I was thinking," Brandon said before starting to explain his thoughts with Anna taking more and more interest.

"I-if true, t-then how do we get out?" Anna asked though he could tell she already knew the answer to that.

"We have to come to terms with what happened. For me, it's to get the last piece of memory I haven't been able to get, although I have an idea of what happened," As he said that he could see her wince a bit. "For you, you need to confront it and accept what happened."

"I-I don't think..." Anna started before Brandon interjected.

"Yes you can, no we can do this. You've always been able to pull through much worse things than this," Brandon assured her, grabbing one of her hands to try to give her more courage.

"P-please, w-why can't we stay here?" Anna asked as she grabbed his hand as well.

"We could live here until we both pass on, and we could live a long happy life here. At least in our dreams, we could," Brandon said making Anna look down at the floor. "But as much as I wish this was reality and I had just been in a coma, as much as I want to be that selfish there are too many things that need to get done, too many of our real friends that we would have to leave behind."

"B-but..." Anna tried but hung her head in defeat. "It's funny really, you remember me being a voice of reason but it was only because of you. You always made sure I kept in line, keep me who I am but I guess that's just how memory works. I mean look at you, lost your memory and when you started to remember it of course made you remember some things wrong."

"Yeah, and like always you told me what was wrong. Guess we've been supporting each other more than we thought, at least until..." Brandon started.

"We were separated by force, but if we do this are you gonna go back with them?" Anna asked, in response, Brandon grabbed her other hand.

"Yes, because I love them as much as I love you. I know it's not what we grew up around with our world how it is but this is how I turned out. Whether you wish to be a part of it is up to you, I will not force you nor would I expect you to accept it. Just knowing you are okay, happy, and moving on I will be fine," Brandon explained.

"I-I don't know, but I do know you are right about needing to get past what happened. Otherwise, I will go insane," Anna said with a weak smile.

With that the room around them started to shift and change, though this time around it wasn't dizzying like the last time which was what Brandon figured, it was because Anna had been fighting it. Once everything started to settle and come into focus he looked around to see they were in more of a laboratory. It felt very familiar to him as a wave of sadness and betrayal washed over him.

"This is when it all started after you tried to turn yourself in for war crimes. I had come into contact with Sally because I figured out what you were doing, she had gotten ahold of the judge before you. She convinced both him and you to let you, or us as a team work for her lab as security." Anna explained.

"What exactly is this lab for?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"The study and creation of portals to different worlds where we were the first ones to go through to make sure it was safe on the other side, at least after all the initial tests," Anna replied. "The reason for this is to find other worlds so we can ease the population issue without the need for bloodshed. As of six months ago, they went public with the technology and have started the process of sending people off to settle to some of these other worlds."

"How long have I been gone exactly?" Brandon asked as it had been on his mind, and as he looked at Anna he knew it was more than the year he had experienced.

"It's been over three years..." Anna answered though it took a second for it to sink in.

"Been that long for you guys huh?" Brandon asked with a bit of a shocked tone.

"Y-yeah, w-we actually just had time a little while ago to get a drink to honor you," Anna explained which as she talked and he let it fully digest, along with their surroundings his memory was coming back. As it did start he could feel the color from his face drain. "You're remembering aren't you?"

"T-that doesn't matter right now, but I-I got to know if we had gone on one of these missions before I left?" Brandon asked, to which he knew the answer but just needed confirmation.

"We only went on two, w-we got here only two years prior. We had to go through their training for a year before we got to do the first, and not long after we did our second. It was supposed to be our third when it... it..." Anna closed her eyes taking deep breaths.

"Before Frank tried to blow us up?" Brandon asked but he knew there was more to it than that. "No, we weren't the targets the portal was, wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah, after w-what happened earlier I knew you had figured some of it out. After all, why would either of us imagine Frank after what happened? Even if for you it was more subconscious?" Anna replied her tone full of hate and anger. "H-his final words, do you remember them?"

"Yeah, said he was sorry but he had to stop them from corrupting another world," Brandon answered shaking his head.

"We all had similar thoughts, b-but at least we saw the potential t-then he..." Anna started clenching her fist tightly.

"It's alright Anna, I'm fine, you're fine," Brandon said in a soothing tone gently taking one of her clenched hands. She managed to relax enough to unclench it revealing she had broken through her skin with her nails. "That's good, and I know this is tougher for you than it is for me but how did he get the materials?"

"O-on our second mission, we brought back several samples of food and minerals. One was very abundant on this planet, so F-frank managed to talk them into letting him take some for his own research. O-only he had discovered its use," Anna explained.

"It could be made into explosives, why hadn't anyone else caught on before?" Brandon asked making Anna look at the ground.

"The other researchers did eventually discover it, but by then either they forgot about what they gave him or they just didn't care. I'm sure they thought he didn't have enough to make more than a bottle rocket," Anna replied, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "L-let's just get through this okay?"

"I know this sounds, well hypocritical, we do not need to rush this," Brandon said placing a hand on her cheek.

"Y-you've changed so much, yet this feels just like before..." Anna said before wrapping her arms around him and began to sob.

Author's Note

Um, well hope y'all enjoyed and try to smile, smile, smile!

Final Memory Pt. 2

As Anna sobbed into his chest he held her tight within his arms and tried to hold in his own tears back since he knew that if he broke down then they may never leave. Though a part of him did want to stay in the world they had created since it seemed so peaceful and perfect, though it may have been too perfect. Even with his thoughts going through his head he continued holding her tight until finally, she started to calm down a bit.

"I really have missed you being in my arms, even if it is a little different than the last time," Brandon said getting her to give a slight chuckle through her tears as she lightly hit him. "N-now, you ready for this?"

"N-no, e-even though it's been three years for me I-I'm still not ready to r-relive..." Anna started before trailing off looking down the hallway where he knew where the main lab was, and where the portal was as well.

"I know, I'm not either but at the same time..." Brandon started making Anna look him in the eyes.

"...we have to, I know..." Anna whispered before grabbing his hand and starting to lead him down the hall silently.

Going down the hall was very familiar to him but that didn't stop the chills going down his back with every step, and the further they walked the more noise that could be heard. First, it was the sound of their footsteps on the concrete echoing through the hall, then they could hear the whirring of electricity and machinery. Finally, they could hear other people and soon enough those voices became real, though they were now standing in front of themselves talking to the rest of their group including Frank.

Though as the two of them approached the scene froze making Brandon look at Anna who shared a sad look at the six of them before anything happened. Emily's face was unscarred, before she and Greg got together, also before Leory changed his name and before fully transitioning, and of course, there was him who had lost his memory and found a new place, last and not least Frank was still alive. This was the last time they were all together, before Franks's plan.

"I have been playing this over and over again in my head..." Anna said, her tone shaky but the anger was unmistakable. As he looked she was staring right at Frank, and he couldn't deny the anger and betrayal washed over him when he saw the scene. It felt even more fresh than before but he knew he had to keep control.

"It really has been a while for you, for me, it really only has been a year you know?" Brandon said as he stepped forward to get a closer look.

"Y-Yeah, and you found new friends and family there," Anna replied though she was firmly planted where she was.

"You also know there are some things that hadn't come back to me, at least until all this..." Brandon gestured around. "Including knowing about the different races in the world I found myself in. We were all supposed to go together in order to start diplomatic relations, it was our team's first diplomatic mission."

"We had to d-do a lot of work to get the mission, lots to prove and just like always we do we rose through the other teams to become one of the most trusted and best teams around," Anna said as she watched him look around.

"At the very least the most reliable anyways, and not one of us had any idea what Frank was capable of," Brandon said stopping and looking right at Frank himself. "This conversation, we were talking about what we would like to try from the world we were going to about to make final preparations."

"S-so, d-did you?" Anna asked finally stepping closer.

"Yeah, it was so much better than I thought it would be," Brandon said as Anna came to stand by him. She laced her hand with his, which seemed to hit the play button as the group started talking and walking again, at least until Frank started to lag behind.

"Right, he was the last one into the room," Anna said and as the two of them walked by him he faded out of existence.

When they crossed into the portal room he couldn't but gasp as he saw it again as if it was his first time seeing it. The portal device itself was about the size of the average double door but the entire wall looked like one massive computer. He shook off the shock of seeing it again and looked at the group that was standing behind a yellow line that had some kind of glass going across from floor to ceiling.

"it's just for the initial activation of the full portal for a manned mission. The portal releases a form of radiation when it's fully activated to a new world, and yet a world we had connected before won't produce nearly as much," Anna reminded him, which he really didn't it but knew it was more likely for herself.

They stood there for a good minute watching their group talk with some of the other members and scientists, and he kept his eyes firmly locked on Frank. Soon though the room was filled with a humming and everyone's attention went to the portal as it started to spark to life. The sound of gauger counters going off joined as the portal fully formed, and once it reached the edges of the frame they waited a few moments when the gauger counters stopped completely.

"Radiation is all clear!" A voice over a walkie said. "Team is clear to start moving equipment into the loading zone. First steps in fifteen!"

"Alright, you heard the lady let's get you all ready!" One of the scientists called over, though you couldn't identify who. Though the voice over the walkie was unmistakably Sally's voice since she was a leading member it only made sense.

"So, are you ready Brandon?" Brandon looked around and realized he was where his other self was standing. In front of him and who asked him the question was Frank.

"Um, y-yeah just kind of nervous a bit. This is our first mission going to a world that already has sentient species," Brandon replied making Frank give a grim nod. "You doing okay? You've been a bit distant recently."

"Oh, I'm fine... just fine," Frank said giving him a smile that didn't sit well with him before Frank started rummaging through his personnel bag. "Sorry, just gonna make sure I have everything!"

"No problem," Brandon said before going over to Anna giving her a kiss on the cheek before whispering in her ear. "I am getting a weird feeling from Frank, I don't think he really wants to go."

"I know, after the talk we had when they told us about this mission and the way he reacted. I mean we all had a similar reaction, to be honest, but his... his was the worst of us," Anna whispered looking at Frank who was now going to the door that lead to the loading zone. "Hey, would you m-mind going to keep an eye on him? I still have to check my stuff really fast, and the others won't be too far behind ."

"No problem already went through my bag. I'll see you in the loading zone," Brandon said grabbing his bag and going to the door that lead to the loading zone. "Hey Frank, you got everything?"

"Yup, but I thought you had to check your stuff?" Frank asked making him shake his head.

"Already know I have everything," Brandon said with an uneasy feeling. "So, um, listen about our talk..."

"Oh, don't worry I'm good now. I know what I have to do," Frank said in a calm tone.

"What would that be exactly?" Emily asked as she placed her bag down for the moment.

"It doesn't matter," Frank said as he started fiddling with his bag.

"It does matter Frank, no one else will say it but you've been acting different since we got this mission. I don't mean different in a good way either, you've started to exclude yourself more and more and this calm act you have going on isn't fooling anyone!" Emily quietly yelled which only got her a hard look from Frank.

"Fine, after everything we as a whole did to each other and you all just wanna open that reality to anywhere and everywhere, and for what? They're never going to release the fact that we can go to completely different worlds at a click of a button! Besides, why would we want to do to other civilizations like we did to our own or even ruin a potential sentient species from evolving into an actual civilization with its own culture just to satisfy our conscious?" Frank said and with every word he was getting more and more agitated.

"Woah, Frank you really need to go calm down now, and as of right now I am taking you off the mission," Brandon stated making Frank turn his angry gaze onto him.

"So, this isn't what I wanted to do just yet but I can tell you're serious," Frank said turning away from them and opening his bag to pull something from it.

"Frank, what are you doing?" Emily asked trying to grab his arm Frank quickly came around with a fist going into Emily's stomach before he shoved her against the glass wall.

"Emily!" Greg yelled out though before he came in, Frank who still had a hand in his bag dropped the bag clutching something.

"Stop Greg now!" Brandon yelled out and although it took a second for it to register, Anna and two other guards manage to grab Greg before he got the door to the loading area open. Once they manage to get Greg under control Brandon turned his attention back to Frank while slowly starting to move between the now-crazed man and Emily who was still doubled over in a good amount of pain. "Frank, what..."

"Oh no, you know exactly what I'm gonna do. But you know all you two had to do was take two minutes longer and then I would have gotten it where it needed to be!" Frank said in a calm even tone that didn't have any emotion in his voice.

"But..." That was when Branon finally fully realized what he was holding, a bit of a crude bomb. "Frank, I know you may not agree..."

"Brandon, both of us know very few of these situation now a days ever gets resolved peacefully. Just like we also both know that world doesn't need to be corrupted by us, I mean I was fine with exploring planets that don't have seintiant speicie. Wasn't okay with it but it was fine, but this is crossing the line!" As Frank was talking the more he started to move his hands.

"Now you know we aren't the only team here that has gone to one of these worlds..." Frank snorted at this shaking his head.

"Don't talk to me like I've suddenly gone stupid, but I was waiting for us to go, less security checking that way. Shit, if I hadn't ever showed you some of my bombs I've made before I doubt anyone else would have figured it out until to late and by that time a lockdown would be in place. Then they would have tried peace talks to at last distract me so they could at least shut the portal down, but I suppose you two just excelorated that," Frank said with that same old smirk that he got when he told a bad joke.

"So you destroy a frame, they have more and they have the resources to build more. So all you're doing right now is making yourself a target at the very least, a dead man at the very least. I would very much prefer that you actually walk out of here on your own legs," Brandon said trying to keep Franks attention on him.

"Hmm, true but this will at least put a pause on their plans as they get investigated by the government. Especially with them wanting to know how I got hold of the materials to make this, though it's not as potent as I want it..." Frank said taking a step closer to him. Brandon turned to see if he was where he wanted, between Frank and the portal.

"So, tell me, just how powerful are we talking right now?" Brandon asked, but since he knew Frank he knew that it would cause a bit of damage but keep Emily alive. He also knew she wasn't safe, but she was out of the kill zone.

"We both know what you're trying to do, and really I would have done this either way. There really was no need for you to lead me away like this, and I really do not want you here either. I really rather not hurt any of you, but make no mistake about me doing this..." As Frank was talking Brandon managed to kick some bags through the portal knowing it would most likely be his only chance.

"I understand that Frank, but you also know I have to at least try to save you. Even if there is no chance of it actually working but we all know who is in the wrong here. Because lets say nothing really happens of this investigations, then your death is meaningless. If they do find something, then you deny the innocent people that are constantly dying any chance of hope of living in any kind of peaceful life!" Brandon yelled making Frank roll his eyes.

"I do not care..." Frank said throwing the crude bomb down at his feet making Brandon react in the split second before the bomb exploded to dive towards the portal. Even though he knew the risk since it would most likely be unstable due to both the bomb and them trying to deactivate the portal, and as he got close to the portal he could feel the force of the explosion pushing him forward and the stind from the heat. Just before he entered everything stopped.

"W-we were so scared and worried about what happened to you since the portal..." Anna said as she walked over to him.

"I-I know, I remember what they told us could happen." Brandon said as he walked to meet her.

"S-so, is how you described yourself really how you look?" Anna asked making him smile.

"I'll tell you what, I will show you what I usually look like now a days if you show me yourself now as well," Brandon suggested making Anna nond in agreement. "Ok, I think you should go first, please?"

"F-fine, but just know I don't look to different," Anna said and as she closed her eyes her hair grew longer and went into a braid. Her clothes changed to be a cute little summer dress with a familiar ring on a necklace.

"That's my..." Brandon started before Anna finished.

"Mom's ring that you always carried around. It was one of the things we found after this all happened," Anna gestured to the explosion. "So, it's time to show me."

"Right," Brandon closed his eyes and could feel his wings sprouting out of his back and his clothes changing, he was now shirtless with shorts on and could hear Anna gasp.

"This is amazing!" Anna let out shaking her head. "It must have been painful growing them."

"Yes, yes it was. But I need to know, why did it take you guys so long to at least try reopening the portal?" Brandon asked even though he had an idea.

"I-it was because between the portal not being fully shut down, the explosion, and you going through it corrupted the file they had on that world. So they had to start from scratch with it, whiling continuing on after. They rebuilt the portable frame and got it working within a month, we were all cleared to got back to duty two months after that."

"But they had to work on trying to reopen the portal to the world you had gone to in secret at first until they made enough progress to get it officially approved. Though it's been slow going and a lot of testing but they are very close to establishing full contact. It's still unclear whether our team will be the ones approved to go due to all this, but we have proven ourselves and have been promised by multiple higher ups," Anna explained making Brandon nod his head.

"I figured as much..." Brandon said and looked Anna in the eyes.

"B-brandon, w-we also need to talk about us..." Anna said making him take a deep breath.

"Anna, I am not going to persuade you into something you aren't comfortable with. I will be heartbroken, but if you wish not to be with me because of my herd then I can understand..." Brandon started before Anna held up her hand.

"I-I will always love you no matter what, a-and this is not me saying we should be over. B-but I will take this time to think about everything..." Anna said as tears started streaming down her face once more. This made him come forward and locked lips with her once more.

"I will always love you too, no matter how many I have you will be at the center. No matter how many worlds apart we are, even if it's a thousand years for me I will wait for you, even if you don't come back to me," Brandon said as he broke the kiss and began walking towards the portal.

"Brandon!" Anna called as he reached the frame making him pause and turn to look at her one last time. "I... no WE, will find you and you better be as okay as you as you say you are hear me?"

"Lound and clear," Brandon said before stepping through the portal.

Author's Note

Alright guys remember to smile, smile, smile!

Discussion To Prevent War

Brandon's eyes snapped open as he sprung up like a springboard head butting Luna who reeled back in pain. Though he didn't quite realize it until he fully came out of his grogginess he saw her rubbing her head before giving him a glare that melted from her concern. She jumped onto him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug as she sighed in relief.

"I've been trying to wake you for hours but couldn't even reach you in your dreams. I-I did figure out you weren't quite dreaming..." Luna said without letting go.

"Hours?" He asked making her lean back and nodding in agreement.

"It's three forty in the afternoon, you went to sleep for a while last night and never came back out. At first, we all thought it was just you being exhausted, but even so, I felt something was off..." Luna replied making him take a breath.

"I'm fine, and I do have a lot to tell you guys but for right now, I need some food in me and we still need to talk with Glow," Brandon said giving her a reassuring look which did seem to ease her a bit. Though she gave him a stern look making him know she did have a really good idea of what happened, at least to some extent.

"Just please tell us and just don't push it aside okay?" Luna pleaded, making him smile as he gently placed a hand on her cheek before going for a kiss.

"You know, you would make a good nurse," He said as he broke the kiss making her give him a confused look. "I will explain, but right now we have more to worry about."

Brandon stood up though his legs seemed a bit shaky at first which he knew must have been from his power being used for so long. But he managed to stand firm as he knew Luna would be concerned, at least the pain in his head was gone for now. He walked out into the living room and went to the kitchen making him realize no one in the house other than them.

"They've all stepped out for the moment. Shining is helping process all those they caught fleeing from this end of the forest, Derpy and Lyra took Glow to town to show her around, and Knuckles said he had something to take care of. Whatever that means exactly," Luna mumbled that last bit but he could still hear it.

"So, when do you think they'll be back cause I'm sure Glow wants to look for this gem. Granted, she probably agreed to be shown around to do just that," He said as he got out a box of cereal and some milk from the fridge. Luna levitated a bowl and spoon over to him making him smile at her.

"That is what I figured, but they shouldn't be that long now. So, I was a nurse where you were at?" Luna asked making him sigh.

"Yeah, and dam sexy one at that. But seriously, I need to let everything settle in here first," He replied tapping his head.

"I know, but I am concerned you're just pushing things off to the side again," Luna said making him close his eyes before letting out a breath.

"I'm sorry, but this is just too fresh and I do just need to let my thoughts settle. While I may be using this whole gem thing as an excuse right now it still takes priority for the moment," Brandon said looking her right in the eye and an understanding was formed.

"Very well, I am going to trust you on that matter for now," Luna said and he nodded while taking a bite of his cereal.

While he ate Luna went to go take a shower giving him time to think about what had happened while he was asleep. Though he forgot to ask Luna he knew that there must have been a portal that had opened allowing his power and mind to create a dream world in which not even Luna could visit. He did have to wonder if it was at least somewhat intentional since he did want to see Anna again.

He did regret not asking her about exactly why they were having trouble with establishing a solid connection but he already knew the answer to that. Sally did explain it several times and though he didn't quite understand all of it he wasn't stupid. Besides, it doesn't take a genius like her to know what kind of damage an explosive could do to sensitive equipment.

"He's finally awake?" He heard Lyra ask as he put his rinsed bowl in the sink before walking out of the kitchen.

"Yeah," He answered making the green unicorn look at him with a smile.

"Glad to see ya got some good sleep finally, the others are outside. I just came in to get the two of you," Lyra said as she came up giving him a kiss.

"Thanks Lyra, let's get going then cause I'm sure Glow is worried," Brandon said making the two mares follow him as he walked out of the front door.

"Good to see you back up and about," Knuckles said as the stallion stood by the door which didn't surprise Brandon one bit.

"Yeah, long story but we got other things to worry about right now," He said as he went over to where the main group was. "Has Derpy and Lyra been given the heads up by the way?"

"Yes, they were very persistent and Luna assured everypony it was fine. No clue where the gem is right now, but our new friend here says it's very close to the town," Knuckles said. "Though she has yet to explain why this gem is so important that it could cause a war."

"But you already have an idea, just like I have one. But I don't know this world as a whole quite yet so my guess may not be right," Brandon said but he was sure about what this gem could very well be. In fact, he was quite certain as there would only be a few gems that the entire Dragon country would declare war for. But that did leave the fact of exactly what role did Glow have in guarding it.

"Alright, now that everypony is here I think it's about time you start explaining," Shining said in a bit of a demanding tone as Brandon, Knuckles, Luna, and Lyra sat down.

"I don't take orders from you," Glow snapped back.

"You two put a sock in it for now, Shining she is right in that you can't just order her around even with the situation," Brandon said making that white stallion give him a hard look.

"If we don't..." Shining started before Luna stopped him.

"That isn't what he meant by that, we do need as much information as possible but ordering others around that aren't directly under your command isn't going to get us anywhere," Luna said calmly.

"Thank you, and as Luna just said any information would be helpful Glow. Now I know you don't have much reason to trust us, but we do genuinely want to help. Now I am not gonna lie, and as I mentioned before we are more than certain that this is that groups doing as a way to get to me. At most, a dragon may end up frying me, at minimum, they will try to kidnap me again, and if so then I may not be as lucky," Brandon said looking directly into her eyes.

"Hmmph, at least someone is direct. Though before I say anything I want to hear your story, and I mean the full story not the shortened version you gave me yesterday," Glow stated crossing her arms.

"You can't just..." Brandon held up his hand to silence Lyra.

"It's fine, I've already told her a bit and information for information isn't all that bad of a trade," Brandon said giving a sigh. "Now let me explain my world a bit..."

As Brandon explained and told Glow about his world the others listened as well, especially those who hadn't heard his story yet. Though he had figured as much, even more so when he started to get into his personal story of when he was a kid who lost his father figure to how he had gone into the military and then lost his family. He did not leave anything out and the more he told the more Glow started to lose her tough attitude in exchange for a more sympathetic one.

"I-I didn't expect all that..." Glow said as he finished his story.

"Yeah, but I have finally found my place here and I couldn't be happier as I have found multiple reasons to live," Brandon stated as he took a sip of tea that Derpy had made.

"Not very many in your situation would have gotten as far," Glow said as she looked at him with sympathy.

"Yes, but that is because they either didn't have those around them to help or they didn't want the help," Luna said making them all nod. "But I will say you sound like you remember with more clarity than before."

"Yeah, a good night's sleep can do that. But, now that I've held up my end..." Brandon said changing the topic back.

"Hmm, very well I will trust you all with this information," Glow said before sitting down. "You see, I am Dragon Lord Ember's twin sister though no one outside of the family knows, except for you all now and my teacher."

"I had a feeling, it was your horns," Brandon said making Glow raise an eyebrow. "I'm friends with Spike."

"Ah, yeah Ember mentioned him. But as I was saying, she is my sister but I was not raised by our father or with her, rather I was raised by my teacher as is the tradition of Dragon Lords. What I mean by that is every new Dragon Lord is always blessed with twins, one to be raised as a potential heir while the other one is given to the Keeper. What the Keeper does is guard and maintain the gems that would be used as possible replacements for the Dragon Lord Sceptor."

"It is always the other twin that becomes the next Keeper regardless if the other succeeds in becoming the next Dragon Lord. I was of course chosen for the role, and recently one of these gems has gone missing because of the powerful magic scent I was able to track it. Neither I nor even my teacher knows how they managed it, but if word got out that such a valuable treasure was stolen they would be able to track it like how I did and the result of it would not be good," Glow explained.

"That is definitely the question, but are you guys the only ones that have access to these gems?" Knuckles asked making Glow sigh.

"No, every Dragon Lord has access but Ember has no interest for now. Any retired Dragon Lords lose their right once they step down. There are a few exceptions but those are only given out by my teacher, who doesn't give them out at all. In other words, I can't think of anyone," Glow answered.

"Hmm, well either way we don't know how deep their reach is so we don't know who they may have in their pocket. So, I'm gonna guess they are either masking the scent enough where you can't pinpoint the location or they only temporarily passed it through here," Brandon stated making Glow speak up.

"It's here, this is where the trail ends and it was strongest at that camp. I figure one of them has it on them, and probably thinks they can use it but all that will do is eventually burn them from the inside out," Glow said with confidence.

"Is it still strongest around there?" Luna asked making Glow shake her head.

"It's moved, though I'm sure if I explore more around I'll pick up the trail. But right now it's a bit difficult since it seems they went through the town on a long stroll," Glow replied.

"Makes sense, wants to confuse you but how long do you think it will stay hidden?" Shining asked.

"If it's a part of their plan then I would have to say we have around the celebration coming up," Luna replied making all of them nod in agreement.

"Then I guess we need to start looking, though I suggest we do it in small group at first to at least scout. Of course, Glow would be a part of that group," Brandon suggested.

"Let me guess, you're going to suggest that it would just be the two of you to use as bait even though they might expect that?" Luna asked making Brandon shrug which only caused her to give an exasperated sigh.

"Still might work still, and it's not as if we would not be there," Knuckles said nodding at Brandon. "Even if they know it's a trap, at the very least they may send somepony."

"I understand that and I know it may be one of the few things we can do, we still don't have to like it," Lyra spoke up.

"Hmm, well I don't mind," Glow said with a shrug of her own.

"Any other arguments or plans?" Luna asked.

"Well, I will have some of the guards looking around in the forest," Shining said which got a nod from Luna.

"So..." Derpy spoke up. "I think me and Lyra will go ask around town to see if anypony has seen anything suspicious."

"Sounds good to me," Brandon muttered. Though after that no one else seems to have anything else.

"If that's that, then guess we should get started then," Luna said as she gave Brandon a bit of a frown.

"Then let's get going Brandon," Glow said, although she seemed to have a little bit of an issue saying his name. Though he couldn't quite place it.

Once all the details were ironed out they broke up into their teams, with Luna and Shining going to organize the guards, Derpy and Lyra going to go talk with the ponies in town. Knuckles melded into the shadows as Brandon and Glow started their part of trying to look for the gem. With their goal in mind, they parted ways to start their search.

"So, you're world sounds interesting..." Glow said as they were walking.

"Hmm, I like this world better," Brandon stated making Glow laugh.

"I bet, but still sounds like you miss it some. Not that I blame you since it is your homeland like it or not," Glow said making him nod.

"By the way Glow, what can ya tell me about yourself?" Brandon asked making her shrug.

"Other than what I told you, I like to read, eat, study, and play some board games. Not much else to it," Glow replied making him raise an eyebrow.

"So, have you had any partners, or is dating off-limits to Keepers?" Brandon asked chuckling as that made her stop in her tracks in a bit of shock.

"Um, well it's not off limits but I have just been keeping up with my duties," Glow answered as she caught back up.

"I know a few people like that, but it's not a bad thing to get out and have a little fun with someone," Brandon stated making her roll her eyes.

"That's what my teacher said as well, and why he sent me instead of coming himself. He would have already found it by now," Glow said.

"Ah, by the way, is he your uncle or just the son of the previous Dragon Lord?" Brandon asked which seemed to ease her.

"He's the son of the previous Lord," Glow answered. "He's been a better father than my own dad, which from the sounds of it you know what that's like."

"Yeah, also how's the scent going?" Brandon asked as he looked around.

"It's getting a bit stronger this way," Glow stated nodding in the way they were going. "We are getting closer but it's a bit more faded than earlier, which is good since if I smell a stronger trace like now then it means we are on the right path."

"So, how come you don't seem as aggressive as the others? I mean Spike was raised among Ponies, but surely you've at least interacted with the other dragons right?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, and to answer that my teacher raised me like this. So I take a lot after him," Glow replied.

They continued with some small talk changing their way a few times as the scent went off in different directions. She was very intelligent as she then started how the Dragon Gems were found and maintained throughout the millennia. Though they eventually had to quit as she managed to get on the strongest trail yet.

Gem of Dragons

"By the way, how long until the other dragons realize this gem is here? I mean I already can guess why it wouldn't be good for any of the countries, dragons coming to reclaim a stolen artifact but once they fully realize what it is..." Brandon said since it's been on his mind since she told them about it.

"It'll be a few more days, and you are right that it will cause a civil war between us. It may not have the power to fully control a dragon, the fact that it can contact all dragons across the world and make them irritable at the least. Also, I should tell you how these gems are made," Glow said making him raise an eyebrow.

"I feel like that is a secret that very few, maybe only you keepers really know," Brandon said making her nod.

"First, outside of the one currently being used, there are five more making six in total. They weren't always gems though, at one point they were hearts..." Glow said making Brandon slow down his pace a bit. "A few thousand years ago, there were a total of six Dragon Lords who were referred to as the six true dragons."

"They ruled over all of our kind in unison and harmony, possessing powers beyond what a normal dragon should be capable of. I guess you could say they were similar to that princess of a mare friend of yours, but some of their citizens grew jealous of them. As you can imagine, their greed for power led them to start a rebellion to try to claim the true dragon's power."

"It is the dragon's most horrific war, one which has been erased from most of our history. That war is why there are not as many dragons now then there were. To end the war and once again bring peace to their people the six true dragons took out their own hearts."

"Though before the last one did they made a decree, they were going to hide their heart somewhere full of traps and puzzles and the first one to retrieve the heart would be declared the Dragon Lord. This led to the first Dragon Lord of another era to be crowned, but you see they had thought they would need to eat the dragon's heart to gain the power."

"But of course when the first dragon came across what was supposed to be the heart they found the first crystal, and when they touched it they felt the power transfer to them. This Dragon Lord figured out what had happened, the six dragons' power had crystalized their hearts once they had been removed. He knew how dangerous these could be if the truth was known, and he understood not all would be worthy to wield their power."

"So he set out to find the other five with his twin brother and they agreed since he had been the one to find the first he would be the one who got the title. While this dragon brother agreed to watch over the other gems, to be their keeper, and once that deal was made all six gems glowed at the same time. Since then, that is why every Dragon Lord is blessed with twins."

"It was also the start of the gauntlet to see who was worthy, though they would not attune to just any dragon but one that has the best intentions. We as Keepers always figured that the six dragons' made it this way so one day all six would be attuned to the right dragon, but only the first was able to become attuned as no other dragons could attune to the other gems. They eventually just became a legend to my people, and only very few know of their existence, and only two, no three know of the true history."

"You're friend Spike is actually the true Dragon Lord as the attuning that happened when he claimed the scepter was the most potent attuning any Keeper had ever seen. But when he gave it to my sister it did give her access to some of its power, but he is the one who has the ability to access its full power. She very well knows that, but knew he had made up his mind on where he belongs."

"Who knows, he might even be the true savior of our people and the start of the true dragons again. But again, if the other dragons figure out that they aren't just legends it could restart that war, and this time there would be no one to sacrifice themselves to stop it. Shit, the last war is also why the badlands that we use as our nesting grounds were formed due to the last war," Glow explained making Brandon think a moment.

"Not to take away from your story, but this kind of sounds similar to the Elements of Harmony," Brandon said making Glow look at him in slight confusion.

"I have heard of those before, but what are they?" Glow asked.

"I don't know the full history, but they are from the Tree of Harmony and they utilize the power of harmony between ponies for power. It is their most powerful weapon you could say, though not exactly a deadly weapon. But there are a total of six of these gems and each one represents a different part of friendship."

"They can only be attuned to those who truly believe in the harmony and friendship of those around them. It seems those six dragons may have had a similar idea as the one who created the elements," Brandon answered making Glow give a nod of understanding.

"So, why tell me that?" Glow asked.

"Simple, I doubt you have an interest in trying to take them nor do I think you go around telling all the other dragons as well. But here's the thing, I feel like the reason why you told me about all that is because you actually could as if you were bound not to tell," Brandon stated making Glow smile.

"Very perceptive, yes as a chosen Keeper I am bound by magic not to tell others from this world. At least that's my guess as to why I'm able to tell you cause I really can't tell anyone else at all. You see when our eggs are laid the current Keeper takes the scepter to see which one it reacts to and the more it glows then that means that twin is decided to be the next Keeper."

"I believe it's at that point that the spell that keeps me from telling others was placed. But yet I can tell you, and only you, and the only difference is you are not from this world," Glow said making Brandon nod.

"But here's the thing, I don't think this group fully understands what they have. They might have been looking into them but with the fall of one of their main headquarters, I doubt they completed their research. For all they know it was just some gems that belonged to the Dragon Lord and figured that would be enough to start the war," Brandon said as he thought about it.

"That would make sense, but still the fact that they did know of their existence is troublesome in of itself let alone them being able to take them from under a fully trained Keeper and their apprentice," Glow said.

"Are you sure there are no records though? Also, as for getting in and stealing one, there are several spells that might help them. Then again, we really don't know just who they might have been able to get to. Just wish there was a better way to track it," Brandon stated and as he looked up he saw a line from Glow to somewhere deeper in town.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Glow asked.

"To make sure, you have absolutely no friends here right?" Brandon asked making her shake her head. "Listen, do you mind if I take the lead and you tell me if we're getting closer, alright?"

"But I don't see how..." Glow started until she realized his eyes were glowing a bit. "That's a neat-looking spell, wish you told me about it. But what does it do exactly?"

"First, I don't have much control over it and second, it allows me to see links between others," Brandon explained making Glow sigh in confusion.

"Ok, still don't know how that helps since I don't have connections here except you guys," Glow muttered as they started walking.

"Well, you did say that those gems used to be dragon hearts. So it wouldn't be surprising if you had made a connection with it a bit, especially with helping to take care of it," Brandon continued to explain as he followed the line. "Any changes by the way?"

"Yeah actually, it is getting stronger," Glow said though as he took a few more steps his eyes stopped glowing and the line faded from his view.

"Shit, well at least we know the general direction," Brandon said as he slowed down to match Glow's pace.

"It's hard to believe you're a human though, the ones I've heard of in legend looked similar to you in description but they had several differences," This caught his attention.

"You know of legends regarding this world native humans?" Brandon asked making Glow nod.

"Yes, they were wiped out due to their more violent nature. I mean a greed-grown dragon's violence pales in comparison. Granted, from what I heard of you're world they had similar natures. Though your world humans at least could manage to get along enough to not totally kill each other," Glow explained.

"Wouldn't be so sure of that, keep in mind in the modern day they start wars just to drain the population instead of finding other solutions. We are a violent species by nature as we were never on the top of the food chain without tools, but from what it sounds like the humans here may have been more akin to cavemen," Brandon said.

"Cavemen?" Glow asked.

"Ancient humans who were more animalistic in nature in a lot of ways, chances are they never evolved here as they did in my world. So it wouldn't be a surprise if they were far more violent than the humans of my world. Maybe after this, you can tell me more of what you know," Brandon said giving her a little smile.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind that," Glow said returning his smile as they continued.

"Alright then, and Glow?" Brandon said with a smile as she looked him in the eyes. "I'm really looking forward to having you as a new friend."

"Well, not that I want to be friends with some creature like you..." Glow replied as she blushed a bit and looks away from him before mumbling some he couldn't make out but had an idea.

As they walked and changed the topic Brandon could feel someone following them now and from how Glow was looking around she hadn't sensed them yet. He quickly grabbed her claw and started pulling her through some twists and turns before coming out of the town's edge. Glow was giving him a dirty look which he couldn't blame her until she saw the group of ponies emerging from where they had just come from putting her on edge.

"You guys really haven't learned your lessons yet, your group is falling apart as most of your leadership is dead or is now arrested. So why not just give back what you stole from the dragons..." Brandon said making the leader of this small group chuckle.

"I'm sure your dragon friend here can tell you we don't have the gem on us, but can't wait until the fireworks!" The leader snorts.

"You're all really ok with putting this many lives at stake because of your own racist attitudes?" Glow growled out.

"Racists? We are only trying to protect the innocent from the likes of humans.... AAAGGG!" Suddenly the one talking was now missing part of his leg making him teeter a bit as both Glow and Brandon looked almost as surprised as the group.

"You are all idiots for thinking humans are the threat now, since you stole the dragon's gem you have put the entire country at risk. So, you sure you want to keep hiding the gem?" Knuckles asked after spitting out the leg of the leader out of his mouth.

"Y-you bastard! You're the one betraying all of pony kind by siding with that thing!" The leader gritted out.

"Humans haven't been around for thousands of years in this world, so why hold onto all that hate especially since most of the population believes they were nothing but myths?" Glow asked.

"Being a dragon, you wouldn't know. But then again, you three might not.... " Before he could finish he was turned to nothing but ash by Glow making the others back up.

"Knuckles, make sure you leave some of them alive alright?" Brandon says grabbing Glow once more making Glow confused until she sees his eyes.

"Did you pick up the trail of the gem?" Glow asked making him shake his head.

"No, but I can see the connections between that group and the ones who are still in town. Hopefully, this may lead us to where they're at least hiding." Brandon said and as she followed him she could smell the gem getting closer.

"You sure we should have left him back there?" Glow asked as they slowed down.

"From what I know of him, he is essentially special ops making him an elite soldier so I'm not worried. What I am worried about is just how many of that groups seem to be in town all cluttered together." Brandon says as he stops in front of a decent-sized building. As Glow sniffed she could smell the gem inside.

"It's in there alright..." Glow said before looking at him as he turned a bit pale.

"Look around, we're not too far from where they'll hold celebrations. This isn't good, Glow I know you want to reclaim that gem but for right now let's head back to inform the others." Brandon said trying to stay out of sight from the building.

"But what about just getting it now?" Glow asked making him give her a harsh stare.

"We are in the middle of town during a celebration time, too many civilians are at risk right now. If you're worried they'll move locations I doubt it since this would be a good spot to hide the gem in order to make dragons think it was this town in particular that stole it. Not to mention as I said before, this isn't that far from the main stage you could say and my guess is this is the only place they could secure due to what's been going on anyway. I swear to you that they most likely will not move at the very least, the gem from this location." Brandon said and as they locked eyes she sighed and nodded her head.

"Let's get going then, but we do have to hurry though. I'm getting a bad feeling about all this." Glow said making Brandon agree since he has the same feeling.

"Ok, let's head back then," Brandon said as he led her through the streets. Though he still had a hold of her claw she found she really didn't mind making her blush slightly. "Oh, right sorry I didn't mean to hold onto your claw like this..."

"I-it's fine, I don't know my way around yet. But I can still use my eyes if nothing else." Glow says though her tone was a bit more gentle and softer even if not by much.

"So, have you managed to think of anyone yet?" Brandon asked catching her off guard for a second.

"Oh, um, not that I know of. Granted I will admit I don't know if my teacher has permitted someone before I was born." Glow admitted.

"Listen, there is nothing wrong with doubting the people you trust sometimes. Who knows, this may just have been some sort of test for you. Of course, I do hope for your peace of mind that your teacher wasn't a part of this, but as long as you understand it is still an option." Brandon says as he stops and looks at her.

"I-I know, and thank you for saying that..." Glow says before shaking her head. "What are we doing just standing here? Let's just head back, but how are we gonna tell the others? Just wait until they come back?"

"Knuckles probably has gotten ahold of everypony so I wouldn't worry about that," Brandon replies with a smile.

"But what did he tell them? He wasn't with us when we dis..." That's when she remembers how he can somehow phase in and out of shadows making Brandon nod his head.

"Like I said, he is the best of the best of the Lunar army," Brandon says.

Glow couldn't help but wonder what forces were behind this one human who had found themself in a different world. All the creatures he has been around are important figures in one way or the other. She couldn't help but think some entity had his back or something, though she didn't care since he seemed like a good creature even if he had suffered. That was the real reason she told him about the history of the gems.

"Hey Brandon?" Glow says before taking a breath. "I-I'm sorry for..."

"There is nothing for you to apologize for Glow. This stuff happens regardless of how peaceful a world may seem. If you're feeling sorry about my past in my homeworld, then there is especially nothing you should feel sorry about. It was my life, I made my choices just like I'm making my own choices now, you understand?" Brandon says as he closes his eyes.

"Still, at least let me apologize for trying to burn you to a crisp..." Glow says a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Fair enough, how about you agree to show me around your home, or at least the parts someone like me can go to anyway," Brandon suggests making her give a little smile.

"I would gladly do that." Glow replies feeling her cheeks burning a bit.

The two continued walking in a more comfortable silence after that, she was wondering if this is how friendship actually feels. Even if it was a small part of friendship she was glad she got to experience it. However, she knew she would want more of it and that maybe, at the very least, that is why her teacher sent her so she could have this experience.

Author's Note

Remember to smile, smile, smile!

The Storm And The Arrival

She sat there staring out the window, the weather team had schedule a major thunder storm for two days. Though just sitting inside was making her go crazy at not being able to do anything, she would much rather be bucking some trees right about now. But one thing she did enjoy about this kind of storm was seeing the lightening and hearing the booming thunder.

"Hey Applejack you know sitting there won't make the storm go by any faster." She heard Granny call.

"I know, I'm just watching the lightening a little. You know to help pass the time, I mean Rainbow Dash said that it would end about noon. So I was hoping to go outside when it did." She called back.

"Fine, but it's time for lunch." At this she decided to go ahead and eat, but as she stood up and stretched a bright flash of lightning went off, and she could have sworn she could have seen something that looked like it was falling.

"I must be seeing things, must be more hungry than I thought." She then turned towards the kitchen.

By the time she had finished eating a daisy sandwich with an apple slice, and some chips the storm was gone. The sky was clear, which she took full advantage of and ran outside accidentally jumping into a mud puddle. After she picked herself up and shook off the mud she figured the best possible thing to do was to inspect the damage.

So she got started by going to the west field of apple trees, there was a couple of trees that might not have been strong enough to stand up against the strong winds. There were at least two saplings that they had planted not to long ago, and an old apple tree that might have been too old. As she walked she also took note of any big branches that had fallen off, and how many apples had been knocked off their tree.

She was now coming up on the first sapling which Apple Bloom had helped with, her little sister wanted to pick the spot. At first, she was a bit skeptical but she knew that she would have to let her little sister get more responsibility at some point, but the spot that her sis picked was a pretty good one. It was spaced in between two bigger apple trees so most of the winds seemed to have been blocked, which made her smile with a little bit of pride for Apple Bloom doing a good job.

The next tree she wanted to check on was the other sapling as it was closer. It soon came into her line of sight, this one was unfortunately planted by the entire CMC so it did not fair well. The spot was good, but it was a spot for a little more of a mature tree. So the sapling had snapped in half, she wasn't looking forward to that conversation, she now turned to the direction of the old tree.

When it came into view it seemed to have done pretty well, the tree had been among the first to ever be planted on Sweet Apple Acres. But as she got closer she knew something was wrong, not only was the tree smoking there seemed to be somepony laying unconscious on the ground. She hurried over to their side, and she noticed that whoever it was she never saw his kind before.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked concerned, he had burns spread across his body. He had a long gash that ran diagonally across his face and had a nasty bump that looked ready to split apart.

Not knowing exactly what to do she put her ear to his chest, and she could hear a faint heartbeat. She let out a sigh of relief, but then quickly got him onto her back somehow. When she started to move she felt one of his arms move and placed it on her side, and she heard him mumble how soft she was. Which made her blush a little, but she trotted as quickly as she could toward the hospital making sure that he was balanced and would not fall off.

"I need help over here!" She called out as soon as she ran through the doors.

"What seems to be the problem Applejack?" A doctor asked though she couldn't think of his name at the moment.

"I found him on my farm lying next to an old apple tree that looked like it had been struck by lightning." She said turning to the doctor to show him the strange creature.

"I'm not familiar with his species but I'll see what I can do." The doctor said and then called for assistance, and not a second later two nurses with a stretcher came up and placed the unconscious body onto it. "Don't worry Applejack, like I said, I may not know his kind, but I will do my best to make sure he recovers." With that, he and the two nurses went to a hall that leads to a surgery room.

"Could you find a way to contact me on his progress?" She asked with concern.

"Yes, I can. Though this might be tricky, I just looked at the list of the different species around the world and there's nothing about what he is." The nurse gave her a nervous but confident smile. "But don't worry he's in good hooves."

After filling out some paperwork, this was required when somepony was dragged in by somepony else. It was just basically to get why they had dragged them in, and a way to know a contact number just in case they hadn't had any record. She thought that was pretty convenient, but she wondered who wouldn't have some kind of medical record? Even if they live in a different part of the world their records would be sent over with them.

"Okay that should do it, thank you. While you were filling these out I received information about your new friend. They said that he'll be in the operating room for another hour, and he'll need rest so the best time to visit would be tomorrow morning. We may need help though, he might panic when he wakes up." The nurse told her.

"Alright, I'll be by with my friends by seven, that okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, he should still be asleep, but you and your friends would be more than welcome to wait until he comes to." The nurse answered and smiled at her. "Now is there anything else I could help you with?"

"Nah, I think I'm fine. But I'm gonna go talk to my friends and tell them the situation." She said tipping her hat. "See ya tomorrow."

"Alright then, see you tomorrow." The nurse returned to her work at the front desk.

"So there's no kind of record of what he could be?" She asked, she had gathered her friends at the library and told them what happen.

"No, nothing at all. Tell me did you notice anything out of the ordinary before you found him?" Twilight asked.

"Mmmm, nothing in particular." She answered, but then she remembered the bright flash of lightning. "Actually there is something, right before I went to eat lunch there was a bright flash of lightning."

"Of course there would be lightening, it was a huge thunderstorm after all," Rainbow said a bit annoyed.

"I know that I was gonna say that when I looked I could have sworn I saw something falling but I didn't think much of it. Thought my eyes were playing tricks on me." She said.

"What does it mean?" Asked a very timid Fluttershy.

"I don't know, maybe he's from another world?" Twilight shook her head in frustration. "I know that there are portals that could lead to alternate dimensions, but I never really believed they were real. But that's the only other thing that could make sense."

"And you'd be right." They turned to see Princess Celestia standing there.

"Princess, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Well, when there's already talk from here to Philidelpia about a strange creature that no one seems to know about, of course I would hear about it. Then as I was flying I could feel something like a rift between dimensions. Though I do not know how it happened, nor can I really identify the creature." The princess told them.

"So what your saying is that he's from a different world?" Pinkie asked, and the princess nodded. "Yeah time for an out of this world party!" Out of nowhere, Pinkie pulled out her party cannon.

"I'm afraid there is no time for a party right now," Celestia said, and Pinkie deflated a little. "But if everything goes right, then we can have the party. For right now I would like to discuss our new visitor." She sat down in the circle of friends.

As Celestia asked them how they felt about the new visitor, they all thought about it and said that they really didn't care if he was from another world. They told the princess that if anypony was in need that they are there to help. This brought a proud smile to her face.

"I'm glad to hear that, and I know you already plan on visiting him tomorrow morning. I would like you to be there, not to just check up on him but help him out of his confused and panicked state. As I'm sure all of you are aware since this is not his world he will panic. I want you all to be there to help calm him down, and besides that, I have one more favor to ask." Celestia said.

"Go ahead princess we're listening." She said.

"Well once he has been released from the hospital he will be even more lost and confused. I would like one of you to give him a place to stay, I ask this because he might be here for a while and will need a guide in order to teach him about how to live here. But don't decide among each other, let him decide. If all of you befriend him then he will be more comfortable about his living condition, and once he knows how everything runs and he gets a job and saves up enough I will give him a house to live in if he wants it of course." Celestia looks around the room at the stunned face's.

"Y-you want one of us to take him in?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, but I would like you to become friends with him and gain his trust. Make him feel comfortable and keep in mind that he is not among his own kind anymore so his distrust might be great. But I have faith in all of you to break his shell." The princess said.

"Alrighty then, I think we can handle it." She stood up saying it. "If you want us to be his friend, then don't worry we were planning on doing just that. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we understand what you mean, he will need help adjusting and you think it would help if one of us took him in."

"Yes Applejack, that's exactly what I'm saying. But if he turns out to be a threat, I will have no choice but to deal with him." Celestia took a more serious tone.

"We understand and we will not let you down," Rainbow said. "Besides who wouldn't want to be friends with me?"

"I see what you mean, and I hope it does not have to end badly. Now I must take my leave, and please don't forget to make him feel welcome. As I said he may panic a lot, and if he starts to gain friends then he might be able to adjust to a new life." Celestia said before taking off.

"So, umm, what now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Easy tomorrow we'll hopefully start to gain his trust. But I know it isn't going to be easy, are we all ready for this?" Twilight asked, and every one of them nodded their heads in agreement. "Good, now I think we should all get some sleep, we've got to get up early tomorrow." With that, they all said their good nights and went to their homes.

She was used to waking up early but the thing is she couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was reeling about what happened yesterday, and what might happen today. But one thing that gave her hope was when he had told her how soft she was, though it might have been him talking in his sleep it still was something. At the thought of it made her blush though, but she didn't know why. Many ponies told her that for a hard-working pony she had a nice soft coat.

Then her alarm went off at six, she had reset it so she could try to get an hour of sleep but that failed. Bringing herself out of her thoughts she turned the alarm clock off and sat up. Though still tired from getting no sleep she managed to get downstairs and after she got home she explained what happened. So the rest of her family knew that she would miss a lot of work in order to help the newcomer.

She quickly put on her hat and ate a quick breakfast, she wanted to get there a little bit early before the others. So she told her family bye and that she'll see them later and then headed towards the hospital. The reason why she wanted to be there early was that she felt responsible for him since she hadn't helped him sooner. After all, she did witness him falling from a great height.

"Your here earlier than expected." The nurse said.

"I wanted to check on him before my friends arrive, is that alright?" She asked.

"Sure it's no problem at all, just try not to wake him." She nodded and walked to the room that the nurse told her.

She stood outside the door feeling a little hesitant about going inside. But she took a long deep breath and slowly opened the door, though it squeaked a little. When she entered the room she saw the sleeping form of the one she brought here, and she stared at him in awe.

As she looked she saw that he seemed to stand on two legs, which she remembered though but she had not been paying attention. But now that she got a good look at him she knew it was true, he was probably stood a good five foot and a half tall. Then as she looked at his arms she noticed some restrains around them, she understood the precaution but still, she felt bad.

Then that comment about her came to mind, why was she thinking about that now? She knew she didn't like him that way, they hadn't even met yet. But still she couldn't help but to get closer, he had a very peaceful look on his face like he was dreaming of good times.

Wanting to distract herself she looked him over again, he was a little overweight, but he still looked fit. Then all of a sudden he scrunched up his face, his eyes darting rapidly behind his eyelids and he started to sweat. He let out a small scared noise but just seeing his facial expression change like that she knew he was having a nightmare.

"Shhh, it's okay." She whispered quietly into his ear, but at this, he jumped up eyes wide open in fear.

"What the hell? Where am I?" He turned and saw her, his panic rising and his fear showing all throughout his face.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you..." She was cut off.

"You're a pony that can talk! Stay back, get away!" He tried to get out of the bed but then realize he had restraints on. "What are you going to do to me? Someone help! Help!" Screaming at the top of his lungs.

"What's the problem in here?" The doctor rushed in.

"Not another one, oh god no! Get away!" He started to scream for help, but the doctor quickly cast a spell on him.

"My last spell must have not been that powerful as I thought." Then the doctor remembered that she was in the room. "Don't worry about it, we expected him to react that way. It may take a while but I think he'll come around." He put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Look he's gonna be asleep for another two hours, why don't you go get something to help wake you up. You look like you haven't slept a wink."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." She answered still focused on the sleeping face, the look of pure anger and terror on his face frightened her a little for she never actually had someone scared of her before, at least not like that.

She got a coffee and sat down and waited for her friends, the thoughts of what happened still running through her mind. Why did this bother her so much, she had known this would most likely happen. As she took a drink she looked at the clock, it was almost seven, all of that had happened in ten minutes. But she was to distracted to notice her friends looking at her with concern.

"AJ, the doctor told us what happened, are you alright?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, yeah. It just scared me a little." She answered snapping her attention to the group.

"If your sure, but why were you here so early?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, I think it's because I feel like he's my responsibility so I figured I cone by myself to check on him first." She answered.

"You may have found him, but that just doesn't mean he's just your responsibility, you remember what the princess said last night? She told us that she would like us all to help out." Rarity said in a concerned tone, though she had made it a little more dramatic.

"I know, but still I saw him fall and I didn't go check it out until after the rain stopped." She suddenly felt herself in a big group embrace.

"We know, but you didn't know that it was alive, or even a creature at all. So don't blame yourself." Twilight said in a comforting voice.

They stayed like that for a few minutes and then finally ended it, though she still blamed herself and could still see his anger and fear, she now felt a little better. Her friends ordered their own drinks and sat down, waiting for the remaining hour and a half for the sleep spell to wear off. For the most part, they talked like they normally do, until the doctor told them that it was fine to visit him.

When they got there he was still asleep, but they knew he would probably wake up any minute. They all knew that once he did he would panic again. Though this time they were ready, Twilight would cast a spell if need be in order to make him listen, then his eyes shot open and he looked at them in horror.

"P-please don't hurt me." He said in a whimper. "Just let me go."

"I'm afraid we can't do that, not until we know if you're a danger to yourself or to anypony else and we aren't here to hurt you," Twilight said firmly.

"Then undo the straps, please?" His eyes pleading, the fear in his voice obvious.

"I...umm, think we should do it." Everyone turned their head towards Fluttreshy in shock, she shrank back. "I mean if we want him to trust us and all." More stares. "I-i'm sorry."

"No, I think your right. If we undo the straps do you promise that you won't try anything?" He nodded. "Alrighty then."

"Applejack no, you know we can't," Twilight said.

"Look if this is the first step of gaining his friendship then I'm willing to give it a chance. Besides, think about it, there are six of us if he tries something he wouldn't be able to take us." She looked Twilight straight in the eyes.

"Okay then, just be careful." She gave a nod.

She went over to the side of his bed, he pulled away from her. When she started on the first strap he grimaced like he expected her to hurt him, though she did notice that a lot of his wounds were healed at least. The first strap fell and he freely moved his arm, and then she started on the second. He was still acting like at any second she would punch him or something.

"T-thank you." He said still afraid but was rubbing his wrist.

"Your welcome, now I hope we can talk now." She said with her best soft and soothing tone, though Fluttershy would probably have been better. "To answer some of your questions let me start to explain..."

She did just that, explained that he was in Equestria and how their princess thinks it was a temporary portal that opened up and spat him out. Then she explained how she discovered him in front of one of her old apple trees and told him a little about Equestria. But she left the rest up to Twilight.

When they were done explaining they could all see that he wasn't as afraid as he was before, but he still had fear in his eyes. But he also was confused, which they knew he would be. So they sat there in awkward silence for a moment.

"So if your the one who brought me here, then thank you. But I don't understand, a portal, being sucked in and being spit out here? Can you give me a minute?" They all looked at each other, knowing that they were about to leave somepony alone that might still be dangerous.

"Yeah, we can." She spoke up and pushed her friends out. "And we'll be right outside if you need us okay?" He gave a nod and she walked out of the room.

Though she immediately regretted her decision as they heard a loud crash coming from inside his room. They rushed in and saw the window had been broken, a slight trail of blood on the floor leading to it. When they ran to the window and looked out they couldn't see him anywhere.

"I knew we shouldn't have undone those straps or left him alone. Now if he causes trouble not only will he get it, but so will we." Rainbow said angrily.

"I knew it would happen as well, but I wanted to give him a benefit of a doubt. And for a moment I thought we got through to him." Twilight said.

"I'm sorry y' all, it's my fault. I was the one who forced y' all to trust that he wouldn't make a break for it." She said sadly.

"Hold on, he's bleeding, right? So what if we try and find him by the trail he left." Rarity suggested, though she was disgusted that she had thought of such a dirty plan.

"Your right, let's go track him down." Her ears perked up, and she had a determined look on her face. "We will find him and drag him back here if so be it." She now had determination in her voice.

They quickly found his trail and galloped in the direction it went. But they stopped when they realized that they were at the edge of the Everfree Forest, and Fluttershy let out a squeak of fear. Though they all knew that they had to get him out of there, he obviously avoided the town.

"W-w-we aren't going in there are we?" Fluttershy asked scared.

"We have to, we have to make sure he's alright and returned safely," Twilight said. "I don't think he's a danger, at least not to us. But he might be to himself, and if he's in the Everfree then he will definitely need our help." They all nodded in agreement.

It was hard to spot his trail, as the blood seemed to be getting further and further apart. Though once the trail ended they didn't need to look far for him. He was standing near a cliff, looking down in deep thought.

"Hey what's your deal?" Rainbow asked and surprised him.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't stay there anymore. This is all too much to take in, I mean I was torn from my world, all I know about myself is my name. So while you were trying to explain I got to thinking, why should I be alive right now?" He asked tears in his eyes. "I have nothing but a name that I'm not even sure if it's my name. So why shouldn't I just take this step and end this? That would solve both our problems, you wouldn't have to worry about if I might be a threat, and I don't have to live like this. There's nothing for me."

"You don't know that. Just because you've lost your memory doesn't mean you don't have someone waiting for you, what if they're trying to find you? And then they manage to come here, and find out that you killed yourself? How do you think that would make them feel? And even if you don't have anypony waiting for you, you now have us. We are willing to be your friends if you give us a chance, just like we gave you a chance." She said, the concern and fear obvious.

"I'm sorry, but I think this would be better." He turned his head towards them and smiled. "Thank you for at least trying." Then he stepped forward and time slowed down.

She ran forward every step felt like it was taking forever, her friends stood there in shock and she heard one of them scream. But all she could focus on was trying to get to him before he disappeared forever. Then giving one last push she jumped, her hooves wrapped around his arm.

"Applejack, let go. I have nothing but misery ahead, and I don't want to cause any of you to get hurt because of me." He said his voice filled with great sadness. "Please?" He gave her a look that enforced his sadness and she almost let go.

"You're wrong, if you just let us help you then you can still have a happy and bright future. And if you don't think you won't hurt anypony then your wrong about that as well, for you'll be hurting us, hurting me if you die." She said trying to pick him over the cliff. "Why do you think we followed you out in the most dangerous part of Equestria? Even though we've only known each other for a few hours, we still consider you as a dear friend, and we refuse to let our friends die."

"You don't mean any of it." He said trying to break free, but she just wrapped tighter.

"I do mean every word of it because I don't lie and I will not start now!" She said looking him straight in the eyes, tears streaming down both their faces.

"Even if you mean it you won't be able to pull me back up, we'll both fall to our deaths. So just let me go and move on with your life." He said giving her one last pleading look to let go.

"And I said I ain't gonna let a friend die." She said, but just as she did he gave one last tug and it broke her grip. "Nooo!" They all screamed.

She didn't register all that happened next, she felt a strong breeze on her back. Then a rainbow streak diving straight down and then fly back up. The next thing she knew he was laying next to her just as surprised and in shock as she was.

"Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to make sure she got through to you," Rainbow said out of breath a little. "You owe me one, and you can pay me back by living your life."

"But why?" He asked.

"Because all of what she said is true, we do care about you. That's why we followed you out here, and this is the most dangerous place in all of Equestria. But we do already consider you a dear friend, somepony we will not let anything happen to." Twilight said, "And I'm sorry none of us intervened but we were to stunned, but please give us a chance?"

His tears of sadness slowly replaced by ones of regret and guilt, he curled up in a ball and didn't care what he looked like. Then he felt an embrace and when he looked up he saw all of them surrounding him in a hug. This made the tears worsen.

"I-i-i'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking." He managed to stammer out.

"Shhh, it's alright now. We're here for you, to help you." She whispered softly and sweetly.

They manage to get back to the hospital without incident and she was walking right next to him. When he looked at her though he quickly looked away in shame. She had noticed that he was limping and knew it was from the glass still stuck in his feet, so as he slowed down so did she.

"Listen Applejack, I really am sorry." He told her once they were far enough away from their group. "I'm sorry for putting you in danger, that's not what I intended. And I wasn't thinking straight, too much ran through my head and I couldn't handle it. Knowing that I might never know who I was."

"You know you never told us your name?" She said.

"As I said, I don't think it's my name, but I think it might be Brandon Jenkins." He answered.

"Well Brandon, you now know that you do have friends here. Ones who would do anything to help you, so please no more of that train of thought, promise me." She said and stopped to look him in the eyes.

"I promise, but don't take this the wrong way but I'm still having a hard time trusting you all." He answered.

"I understand, it'll take it a while for it to build up. That's the whole point of meeting new friends." She smiled.

"Thank you." He said raising his arm and put it on her shoulder, for he was now eye level to her. "You know you are soft." Making her blush more than what she had before, and he just chuckled. She couldn't believe he remembered that, but she had to smile for she got what seemed like a good friend.

Author's Note

Alright, here's the revised one. Hope the grammar and pacing is good enough for you now. I do enjoy writing but i need to remember that i just don't need to rush through things. Thanks for pointing it out.

Visitation And The Choice

After they went back to the hospital and explaining everything to the doctors and nurses, and the six ponies even offered to pay for a new window. They even convinced the doctor that had been treating him to not put the restraints back on. Though he felt ashamed for how nice they were treating him after he tried to kill himself and almost taking one of their friends with him.

Though he knew that they forgave him, and to little comfort, as that may be, he still felt disturbed about being in a world of talking ponies. He still flinches every time one of them tried to talk to him, or when the doctor did a check up on him making sure that along his outside adventure he didn't get to hurt. But besides a couple of cuts from the broken glass he passed that little exam, he would still have to stay under constant observation for at least a month to make sure he didn't have any more suicidal tendencies.

For a week the only ones allowed in his room were the doctors and nurses that treated him. He still had a tough time letting the doctors take a look at him. The one good thing that came out of not having that many visitors was it gave him time to think, and he even started to remember stuff about his own world, and he even thought he remembered stuff about his own life as well.

"Well howdy to you." He looked up in surprise as the orange pony named Applejack stood in front of him. "What, don't tell me you got short term memory loss?" She gave him a concerned look.

"Uhh, no I don't. You just surprised me is all. I wasn't expecting visitors after what happened." He looked away in shame. "Which I am truly sorry for, Ms. Applejack."

"Hey now don't go apologizing again, like we said we really do consider you as a friend. But I'm glad to see you remember my name, though you don't have to be so formal about it. Just call me Applejack." She looked at him and nodded when he made eye contact. "Besides as much, we kind of expected you to react that way, though not to that extreme though. But we completely understand your reaction. You were just scared and lost, and you'd figured that without knowing who you truly are you couldn't face that." She put a concerned hoof on him, and he flinches a little.

"But still, I almost dragged you down with me." A tear rolled down his face.

"Hey now don't go blaming your self for that, I was only thinking about saving ya. Now how have you been? When they told us that we couldn't see you till today we all got concerned, how are they treating ya?" She asked trying to change the subject.

"They've been treating me fine, though they're watching me like a hawk which I can't blame them. As for how I'm doing well I think I remembered stuff from my world, I think I even remembered some little stuff about my life." He answered still trying to avoid making eye contact with her again.

"Well that's great, what did ya remember about your self?" She asked taking a seat. "And don't worry I've got nothing else planned for today. Shot some of my friends might even stop by later."

"That be nice I think, besides you, I don't think I got around to introducing myself. As for what I remembered, well did you perhaps find any luggage?" He asked.

"Mmm, yeah my brother while checking the farm had found strange luggage. I figured they might be your's, but I guess it slipped my mind a little. So does this mean you remember how you got here then?" She asked giving him a curious look.

"No, I just remember packing up some stuff and that's the last thing I remember before waking up here. Though I remember tidbits about myself, like I'm sure I love to read, I think I also got into writing though I'm not sure." He put his hand up to his head and rubbing his temple to help with a slight headache.

"Don't try to force your self to remember, otherwise you might end up with even more damage up there." She said gently tapping her hoof on his head, and they both gave a slight chuckle. "So you also said you remembered stuff about your world, can you tell me what those are? They don't look like hooves, claws, or paws." She asked pointing to his hands.

"Oh, yeah these are called hands. I'm surprised none of you knew that I mean from what I hear you guys have minotaur's here. If I remember correctly they should have a similar build like us, besides being a walking talking bull of course." He answered.

"Yeah, but I haven't actually met one of those yet. So sorry for not knowing. Now how do you know about them?" She asked back.

"If I remember correctly they're considered myths in my world, among other creatures here." He answered.

"So are there ponies in your world?" She asked the question was building up in her mind for a minute.

"Yeah, I think, though there are no unicorns or pegasi. Just I guess your term would be earth ponies. Though no offense, if I remember correctly they're considered livestock." He said looking away.

"None taken, I mean you're from a different world so I guess it makes sense that other species would evolve." She said giving him a smile. "Oh that does sorta remind me, right before we got back here and you stopped me and said that I was really soft, what did you mean?"

"Oh, that..." He looked away and she could see him blush. "Your coat is soft, and I slightly remembered that same feeling. I guess that's when you carried me here?" She nodded. "I don't think I can repay you for that, and for what you did for me at the cliff."

"As I said, think nothing of it. So can you tell me a little more bout your world?" She asked. "Like what do ponies do? And I would like to hear some more of these myths."

"Sure, but you don't exactly look like you'd enjoy a history lesson." He said looking at the cowgirl, which reminded him to work on the native exchange for certain words.

"Nah, you seem to really enjoy talking about them. Though you only told me a little." She tilted her head to the side a little. "Oh, and before I forget, like I said my brother found some of you're luggage and I hope you don't mind, but I dug through some of it and found some of your clothes." Putting her head in her saddlebag and pulling out what looked like a shirt and shorts. "Figured as much as you have, you must wear them all the time."

"Oh, yeah." His face turned beet red. One of the things he remembered was that it was considered indecent to expose your self, especially to ladies. The hospital gown didn't cover as much as he wanted.

That was actually the first thing that came to mind, though none of them seemed to care. which didn't surprise him since most of the ponies he saw barely had any clothing if at all on. But he was still self-conscious about it, knowing he ran around the place with something that even barely covered your torso. He grabbed the clothes and looked at her with a smile of appreciation.

"Thanks, it's actually considered uhh, well... to not have umm, any clothes on." He look down in shame.

"Noth'n to be embarrassed about sugar cube, I mean barely anypony wears clothes." She smiled at him.

"So I've noticed, but still I would feel a little bit more comfortable if you, umm, looked away?" He asked, making both of them blush a little.

"Sure, but don't be ashamed about you're own skin." She said turning around, you quickly take the shorts and slide them on under the covers.

"Alright I'm done, hope the doctors won't mind though." He said.

"I'm sure they won't, so are you gonna tell what you remember about your world?" This made him chuckle and relax a little bit.

After telling her all he remembered about the myths, and what ponies and you're typical hoarse did. She sat there nodding and saying some small words as he talked. Though she was glad to see that he was somewhat more comfortable than when he first arrived.

"...and that's pretty much it." He finished.

"Wow, so this raises the question of what you're gonna eat?" She asked.

"Well, I think if I remember correctly there should be a cookbook that has stuff in it for vegetarians. People who only eat vegetables, fruits, and other stuff that you ponies eat. If I remember correctly some of my kind used it as a diet, but there should be plenty of recipes that should have the necessary nutrients for me." He answered not making eye contact.

"Good, I mean it's good to know that I won't find one of my cows or pigs missing." This made them both laugh.

"Mr. Jenkins?" They both turn towards the door. "You have more visitors." the nurses said.

"It's alright let them in." He said though he couldn't help but look away in shame knowing who it was.

"Hey guys, you just missed story time." Applejack said as her friends walk in.

"Oh really? What was it about?" Twilight asked.

"He just got done telling me what he remembered about his world, though he only remembers tidbits about himself." Applejack answered.

"Well that makes sense, the doctor did say that he did hit his head pretty hard. So at least you remembered stuff right?" Twilight asked with a comforting smile.

"Yeah, something." He mumbled.

"What got him so down?" Rainbow asked.

"He still feels bad about what happened." Applejack said putting a hoof on his hand. "But don't worry I think I managed to smooth that out."

"Oh, good cause I think this calls for a party!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

"How about we introduce our selves first and wait until he gets released?" Rarity asked.

"What no party?" Pinkie deflated a little.

"I would like a party once I feel better." They all turned to him, a look of pity was on Pinkie. "But first I would agree with the beautiful mare though. I would like to get to know you all a little better." Rarity blushed a little, and Pinkie practically bounced off the walls.

"Well I see he has good manners, let me introduce myself. I'm Rarity and I'm a designer of sorts." She said taking a little bow.

"Interesting, no offense but I personally have no fashion sense. At least none that I can remember." He looks away a little trying to focus.

"Well we might have to fix that now won't we?" Rarity asked, and he gave her a small chuckle and a small smile.

"My name's Pinkie Pie. So what kind of cake do you want? Do you even eat cake? Cause who doesn't like cake, especially if it's chocolate cake." She liked her lips for a second. "But if you don't what about a cupcake? Or how about muffins? Ooo, what about pie?" Pinkie bounced on his bed which made him flinch a little.

"Pinkie get down, you're scaring the poor thing." Rarity said as a glow surrounded Pinkies tail and pulled her away.

"No it's fine, I'm just still just a little afraid I guess. To answer your question Pinkie, yes my species does eat all of those you mentioned. And I think a chocolate cake would be great." He said trying to hide his uneasiness.

"Well before Pinkie asks you any more questions, I'm Twilight Sparkle and it's nice to meet you officially." She nodded her head, and he did the same.

"So I take it from what I just saw, unicorns can use magic then?" He asked.

"Yes, we can. Though everything has it's own natural magic, it's just that unicorns just use more arcane magic." Twilight said, and he gives a slight nod in agreement.

"Yeah that's nice and all, but I'm Rainbow Dash." She introduced herself. "You know the one who flew down and saved your miserable butt?"

"Rainbow!" Applejack growled a little.

"No, it's fine. Then I owe you my thanks and let me know if there's anything I can do to repay you. That also goes for you as well Applejack." Both mares look at him in surprise.

"You don't owe us a thing sugar cube." Applejack said giving Rainbow a dirty look.

"Fine, fine I'll let it slide this one time. But if I ever have to save your butt again you so owe me." He just gave a slight nod to Rainbow.

"Hey, whose that in the corner?" He asked, and their attention shifted to wear his gaze was.

"That's just Fluttershy, she's very shy." Pinkie whispered.

"I can tell." He whispered back, but something about the yellow pegasus made him think. "Hey, do you like animals?"

"Umm, uhh, maybe a little..." The shy pegasus managed to squeak out.

"Come on Fluttershy, don't be so modest. You could call her our town's local veterinarian." Rarity said.

"Mmm, I did somewhat remember having a dog I think I named Princess. If I remember correctly she had the most pretty blue eyes." This caught the yellow pegasus attention and she came toward him hesitantly, he didn't know why but with her he felt a little more relaxed. Maybe because of her shy and timid nature, while the others had kind of scared him a little he admitted to himself. Though he also felt like he should hug her, and make sure she doesn't get hurt, again that was due to her nature.

"So, umm, you have dogs where you come from?" Fluttershy asked quietly to where he had to strain in order to hear it.

"Oh yeah, and a lot more animals." This made her feel more comfortable and she stopped shaking. "I would love to tell you about them sometime, but first I guess I should tell you my name. I know I already told Applejack but I feel it's only right since you all are making an effort, I'm Brandon Jenkins." He said.

"That's a unique name," Twilight said.

"Yes it is, but I find it smashing. It's just so foreign." Rarity said making him blush a little.

After that, they talked a little, and he shared what he remembered with the rest of the group. They all sat there listening, but Twilight seemed to have intense focus when he was talking about the myths he remembered. He would have thought he was under a microscope under her eye.

"Wow, so your world might have had a lot of the same species we have here," Twilight said with glee. "That's so amazing if you remember more do you mind telling me?"

"I don't see why not." Though he was taken aback by the question, he finally felt a little more relaxed himself though. He gave a big yawn. "Well it seems I'm a bit tired right now, do you all mind coming back tomorrow?" His voice had a little hope in it.

"We'll sure try." They all nodded.

The next two weeks flew by as he steadily grew used to seeing talking ponies. Though that process was still a little slow, the only ones he felt most comfortable was his small group of friends and a kind-hearted nurse who they call nurse Redheart. She always sneaked him extra pudding when she brought him dinner. He now only had a week left and he is able to leave, but a thought had occurred and so he finally asked.

"Hey, where am I going to live after I get released?" He asked the group.

"Well, we've been meaning to talk to you about that." His attention was on Twilight. "See the princess asked us to offer you one of our homes until you learned everything, and have a job. Also until you have enough saved up, though the princess said that once that happens she'll be more than glad to give you a house."

"So have you decided who I'm staying with?" He knit his eyes with curiosity wondering which one he would be staying with until he got accustomed to everything.

"Well that's just it, she told us to let you decide," Twilight said, and give a sigh of frustration somehow knowing that was coming.

"I still have a week to decide, so I think I'm gonna think it over for a bit, is that alright?" He asked.

"Sure take all the time you need." Applejack said. "Your stuff is still over at my place, so when you decide I'll load it up and take it where it needs to go."

"Thanks, but you don't need to do that." He said.

"Oh think nothing of it." Applejack smiled. "Though it would be easier if you decide to stay at the farm."

"As I said, I'll think it over. But seriously thank you." He smiled at her back.

A few days after he finally had an answer, though he had already eliminated some of his choices from the list. The obvious was Rainbow's house, which he figured sounded comfy but he couldn't walk on clouds, he crossed Rarity off because he wasn't a fashion fanatic. Then he crossed off Pinkie, because he could only handle so much of her, then, unfortunately, crossed Applejack off. The farm life sounded good, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be much help until he grew accustomed to the world.

That only left two choices, Fluttershy or Twilight. He still had trouble deciding between the two, working with animals until he found his own job sounded nice. But as he thought about it the more he felt attracted to the prospect of living in a library. As the lure of the books inside called to him, he felt like he was a reader and writer as images popped into his mind of books, and many late nights staying up to write complete chapters.

"So you said you made your decision then?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah after hearing about where you all live, I think the best place would be with Twilight." They all looked surprised, Applejack looked upset though. "Now hear me out, since I'm not a pegasus I can't walk on clouds. So Rainbow Dash's house was out, I'm not interested in fashion. Sorry no offense, I don't think I'm a farm guy. I think I would only slow you guys down, and working with animals sounds fun but it feels like a library fits me. I have flashes of me reading, and writing so I think that living with Twilight would feel a little more right since I feel like I like to read and all."

"Sheesh, another egghead," Rainbow muttered.

"Well, that sounds fine and dandy to me." Applejack said though sounding disappointed. which made sense because he did feel a little closer to her.

"But..." They all look at him. "If Applejack wouldn't mind, I think working on the farm would help me get back into shape. But like I said I might slow you guys down a little. Humans can't exactly buck trees, that's why we usually hire so many to work on a farm."

"Of course you can work on the farm." Applejack's eyes light up. "And if you do a good job, then I might hire you on for good. Though don't worry I understand if you're a bit slower at harvesting, we need all the help we can get." He smiled at her.

"Well now that's out of the way, I should pull out the guess bed then," Twilight said.

"See you guys tomorrow, and in three more day's I'll be finally out of here. Even I can't sit in one place too long." He shifted a little.

"I know what you mean, and don't worry about Pinkie we all know why you didn't want to move in with her." Applejack said making both of them laugh a little.

After they had all left he laid wide awake, he thought about how strange everything was. Suddenly finding your self in another world with no memory, and had to deal with talking ponies. He also thought about how strange it would be to actually live with one.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna find out." He said to himself then falling to sleep.

Author's Note

There we are, the chapter I had wanted to write first but as some of you know that didn't turn out well a little bit. Hope this is an improvement, and I would like to apologize if the dialog is a little confusing, only used to writing two or three characters in a scene. Now you at least know why he's a little bit calm about this now.

A Friendship Strengthened

It was the day after he was submitted to the hospital after he was jumped by the three stallions and he was getting the twentieth lecture about how important it was to stay off his still broken ankle. Though he wasn't listening mostly because he was thinking about what his friends if they still wanted to be called that, would think of him now. He knew he would find out today because of the fact he was being released.

"So do you have any questions?" The doctor asked.

"Huh? Oh, um, how did you get crutches that would fit me?" He asked that is the only thing he could think of.

"Ah, well we sometimes have to treat Minotaur's who are bipedal like you. So we have some supplies like crutches for them." The doctor explained.

"Oh, okay guess that make sense." He replied.

"So if there's nothing else, then if you would follow me to the front desk to sign some forms then we can get you out of here." The doctor said with a smile.

"Okay, lead the way." He said tossing his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbing the crutches before fully getting off the bed.

As they made their way through the hospital he couldn't help but notice that for a small town hospital it was oddly busy. Staff ran by in a blur and he could see other patients walking around, though while he was distracted he almost tripped over something. When he looked down he saw a stuffed doll that kind of looked like a donkey, and if he remembered Twilight had a similar one called Smarty Pants.

Though there were a few differences, like this one seemed to be a newer one that looked like it was just bought. Also, its clothes seemed to be different a little, and when he bent down to pick up the doll he saw that it was actually dressed in what he knew was a Wonder Bolts uniform. As he picked it up he couldn't help but be reminded that he would most likely get sent back here by Rainbow for not letting them visit. He stood back up and looked around until he spotted a small pink Pegasus filly peeping at him from behind a corner.

"Hey, is this your's?" He asked putting on a smile and speaking in a friendly tone.

"Um, uh, y-yes it is." The filly replied ducking behind the corner a little more.

"Well, here you go then." He said holding the doll out for her to take, and she slowly came around and took the doll and tucked it under her one wing.

"Thanks, mister!" She said with a big smile her nervousness gone.

"You're very welcome, now you take care." He said giving her another big smile and then walking back towards where his doctor was now waiting.

"So it looks like you made a new friend over there." The doctor said with a small but professional smile.

"I guess, but I was just returning her doll to her." He replied.

"Well, you know that doll actually means a lot to her." The doctor said.

"Really, so what makes it special?" He asked a bit curious.

"Now you didn't hear this from me you got that?" The doctor asked in a hushed and serious tone, and he just gave a nervous nod. "I know you saw that she only had one wing, well about two weeks ago when she and her family returned from Cloudsdale her house caught on fire. Both her parents died in that fire, and she lost a wing. The only thing that the fire ponies could recover from that wasn't burnt to a crisp was that doll, it was a miracle that it didn't even get touched by the fire. That's why it still looks brand new."

"Oh, I-I see." He replied looking back to where the filly had gone with a sad stare.

"Look, I think it's time for us to move on and get all of your paperwork filled out. Then you can come by and visit her any time you want, and before you ask her name is Grace Falls." The doctor answered the question he was actually about to ask, and they continued on.

"So can you tell me why she didn't suffer from any burns?" He asked.

"Well her mother was a Unicorn, and that's how we also believe the doll survived as well. Though unfortunately, we think the mother only had enough magical strength to create a shield big enough for her, the shield only covered a majority of her body hence why she only has one wing. Now, remember you didn't hear that from me." The doctor reminded him and he again nodded in agreement.

As they approached the front desk he grew a bit nervous as he expected to see his friends in the lobby area waiting for him. Though he knew normally that would be a good thing he still didn't know what they now thought about him. But the more he thought about his friends the more he thought about Grace's family, and how they actually had a little in common. They both would never see their family's again, even if there was a small chance that he could go back to his world.

"So if you sign these then you'll be able to go." The doctor said breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, alright." He replied taking the papers and quill that was floating in front of him.

He quickly looked over the papers and started to fill them out which didn't take him to long. After finishing filling them out the doctor told him to wait a moment. As he was waiting he looked over to where the lobby was to see if his friends were there, and to his fears, they were but to his relief they didn't seem to have noticed him.

"And here you go, this prescription is for pain. You can have it filled out at either the Ponyville Pharmacy, or you could go to Zecora's to get more of a natural herb remedy." The doctor said again floating over a small piece of paper to him.

"Um, thanks. I guess I'll be going now." He said giving his doctor a smile of gratitude before using his crutches to walk off.

Though he didn't want to sneak around his friends his fear still had a hold of his mind. But being taller than the other ponies and being a completely different species made him stick out like a sore thumb, and yet somehow he managed to not be spotted by the six of his friends that were waiting. It struck him hard that Lyra wasn't there with them, but he expected that after what she witnessed him do, even if it was self-defense triggered by a fight or flight situation.

When he finally got to the front door's he looked back to make sure that none of them had seen him and seeing how they hadn't he let himself out. He slowly made his way back to his house thinking about the best way to confront them after not only refusing to let any of them in the day before but now intentionally avoiding them. That and he also wanted to confront Lyra and Bon Bon to see how they felt, but he knew that would be impossible as his fear and nerves would never let him.

"Hmmphh!" His thoughts shattered as he felt something suddenly knocking him off balance making him fall to the ground.

"Ooohh, what did I hit?" He heard the familiar voice ask. "Oh, no Brandon I'm so very sorry. The wind current I was flying on took a sudden drop, I'm so very sorry!"

"I-it's fine Derpy, are you okay though?" He asked as he sat up, and grabbed his crutches to stand.

"Uh, yeah just some bumps and bruises. Wait, what happened to you?" She asked concern in her tone and eyes.

"You haven't heard?" He asked a little shocked, in a small town he would have figured that every residence would have heard about what happened.

"Well I've been in Canterlot the past week, so I haven't heard anything. So what happened?" She asked again.

"I-it's nothing I rather talk about, and I'm sure you'll hear about it when you get back into town anyway." He said, a hint of sadness in his tone.

"Come on, if I'm going to hear about it I might as well hear about it from the source." She said with determination to get him to talk.

"Fine, but you have to promise to listen. That and I would prefer if I told you in the privacy of my home." He replied.

"Okay, let's go then." She said with a winning smile, and he let out a sigh.

The only reason why he gave in so easy was that Derpy would never give up on something she set her mind out to do. He remembered when he first met her as well, though it did bother Twilight quite a bit. Shortly after he moved in with Twilight the rumors had started about how there was a strange creature in the library now.

When Derpy heard about him through the rumors she decided that she wanted to see him. But it wasn't until after he got back from Applejack's after his first party here, and she ended up following him without him knowing. When he got back to Twilight's she ended up accidentally going through a window, and almost knocked over an entire bookshelf.

He remembered that day clearly because Twilight made him and Spike clean up the books while Derpy sat there and asked a thousand questions. It had been an interesting first meeting, to say the least, and he could consider Derpy one of his friends. Though they weren't that close or anything, it was still good to see her. And again his fear and nerves started up about if he told her what she would think, and it bothered him that he was so worried about what others thought of him.

Normally he didn't care what other's thought of him, and why should he? He had friends that actually seemed to care about him and he even considered them family now. But he remembered the feeling of them watching him, and he knew that's where most of his fear was steaming from.

"So you gonna let me in or what?" She asked breaking him out of his thoughts, which seemed to be happening a lot that day.

"Yeah, yeah come on let's go inside." He replied getting the key from out from under a rock.

"So what happened to you, and why were you looking so sad?" She asked as they entered his home and she hoped on his couch.

"Um, well let me see." He said trying to stall a little and sat down letting out a stressed and nervous sigh. "Well, you see about a day or two ago three stallions, um, uh, jumped me."

"They what?! If I get my hooves on those stallions I'll send them to the hospital!" Her sudden outburst both started and touched him a little as they never were that close and to know that she would still say something like made him a little at ease.

"Just calm down Derpy, and let me finish." He said getting her attention again, and he swallowed nervously. "You see, they were already sent to the hospital and then to a jail cell."

"Oh, that's good but how did they get sent to the hospital in the first place? Did somepony, like a guard or something see them attacking you and saved you?" She asked with a bit of curiosity.

"Um, no a guard didn't help me, nor did anypony else." He replied.

"Then how..." Her crossed eyes aligned for a moment to widen in surprise. "You mean that you took on three stallions by yourself?"

"Yeah, I ended up blacking out so I don't remember anything that happened, but from what I hear I beat them up just as bad as they did me. If not more so." He answered looking down in fear and shame, and hear's the test that he was hoping for. If Derpy didn't see him as a monster, then there was hope.

"Hey, why are you sad? It sounds to me like they got what they deserved, and then some." She said putting a comforting hoof on his leg, and when he looked up he saw her yellow eyes were full of concern.

"Y-you meant that you don't see me as a monster?" He asked.

"What? Why would I see you as a monster for defending yourself? Anypony would have done the same in your shoes, but is that what's bothering you? That you think you would be seen as a monster because of what happened?" She asked.

"Well, not just that. It's also because I'm not from this world, even if I have been here for seven months." He answered looking down again his eyes starting to blur. "I'm scared that because of this even my closes friends would be too scared to see me, and even if they weren't that scared then they would still see me as a monster." He said closing his eyes taking a deep breath.

"Listen to me, we may not know each other that well but I can tell you that if I can see that you're not a monster just because you defended yourself and you're from another world, then I can guarantee you that your close friends will also see past it as well. After all, you're friends with Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony, and you've been friends with them from the beginning, and I know that they won't judge you just because how different you look or if you had to fight back because you were being attacked." She said in a motherly and comforting tone.

"B-but I'm afraid that I've lost my closest friend because she saw me beat down them." He said trying his best not to break down.

"Look, if Lyra sees you as a monster because you were defending yourself then she wasn't a true friend after all a friend helps a friend in need." She said and upon seeing his expression she surprised him by wrapping her hooves around him in a comforting hug.

At that, he finally let out his fear and nerves and the pain of maybe losing a friend as he cried into Derpy's shoulder. Her words seemingly touching him in a way that he needed to finally once and for all get over his fear. As he calmed down she broke the hug and gave him a small smile.

"There, how do you feel now?" She asked.

"M-much better thank you, and you know you're right. I don't think Lyra or any of my other friends would see me any differently, and I remembered something that the doctor told me." He replied with a weak smile.

"Oh, and what's that?" She asked.

"As I-I said, Lyra and Bon Bon saw what I did and even after that, they helped me to the hospital. After what you said about a friend helping a friend in need, I think there may be hope that our friendship isn't over. So thank you Derpy for at least giving me some hope back, just thank you." He said pulling her in for another hug. "If there is anything I could do to repay your kindness just let me know okay?"

"But you don't have to pay me back at all, I was just trying to help." She replied and he broke the hug to see that she had a light blush.

"Derpy, even if I don't know whether my other friendships are intact I want to at least give you a thank you for giving me a light of hope. Now you don't have to decide what I can do to repay you right now, you can take some time." He said with a smile.

"W-well t-there is one thing..." She trailed off looking down with a deep blush.

"And that would be?" He pressured.

"Um, well you are always so nice to me and the reason why I wanted to see what happened is that I wanted to make sure you were okay, and I wanted to be there for you to repay you for being so nice to me. But since you're asking me what I want from you to repay me..." She was cut off by him chuckling a little.

"Derpy, just tell me what you want and I will do my best to make it happen." He said knowing she was stalling.

"Well, would you um, uh, go..." She was interrupted by his door suddenly swinging open as a cyan followed by a rainbow streak came through and tackled him to the ground.

Author's Note

Well hello unexpected character! No seriously, I honestly really hadn't planned on putting Derpy in this story. Okay though, so here's a question to get you all involved a little. What should Brandon's doctor's name be? Now don't say Dr. Stables, or Dr. Whooves, make it a little more original. If someone post a name you like, hit the thumbs up on it so I know that might be it. Also I may be looking for an editor for this story, if interested send a pm to me. I will let the person, or people, if I decide to divide a chapter into different parts know by sending them a message. Hope you all enjoyed the new development in the story, even I'm interested to see where I'm going with this, and remember to smile, smile, smile.

A Gentle Touch

"Brandon, I-I..." she started, and she could feel tears running down her cheeks.

He could see the confusion and fear in her eyes, and his heart ached to see her cry because of the situation he had put her in. But he just needed to know, to know how she felt. If only his fear of losing his friend wasn't starting to pop up, telling him that she doesn't have feelings for him because now she does see him as a monster to a degree.

"Applejack, p-please don't cry," he said moving his hand to wipe away her tears, but she stepped back making him wince.

"I-I just..." She started again, but he stopped her again.

"Just go then and think things over, just please stop crying. I don't want to be the reason for anyone's tears," he said, and she could hear the hurt.

"B-but you're not t-the reason..." Her words started to get caught in her throat when he started speaking again.

"Then what is the reason? I know you're only confused because of what I just admitted, that's why I want you to go think it through so you can know your own feelings. But please, just stop crying and don't let me see your tears anymore because it's making me fear the worst." He said, almost yelling.

She couldn't speak, she only turned and ran out of the door leaving him alone. He held back a sob, knowing if she had told him no he could have gotten closure. His fears still playing throughout his mind making him finally break down, and he didn't even hear anyone come in, or felt it when hooves wrapped around him.

Soon, he lost all track of time as he sunk into the warm bodies surrounding him. But once he calmed down and his tears started to slow where he could see, he saw that Luna, Lyra, and even Derpy were surrounding him. Each one of them whispering that they were there for him and wouldn't leave, and he reached out with his arms and wrapped one of them in a tight hug.

"There we are, there's my snuggle muffin." He heard Derpy whisper and felt a gentle peck after a nuzzle.

He felt the weight shift on the bed and figured that two of them were getting off the bed looking at him in concern, a little jealous, and happy to see him feeling better. That made him know who he had wrapped into a hug, and it only made him give a little squeeze. Though what surprised him when he finally let go was when he felt a hoof on his face gently stroking his cheek as he heard somepony start to sing a beautiful melody.

By the end of the song, he had been lulled into a light sleep which quickly got deeper as Derpy continued gently stroking his cheek. Everything went silent again as they all sat there listening to Brandon's even breathing. That's when Derpy stopped, and once again gave a gentle peck on his cheek before motioning for Lyra and Luna to follow her.

"Wow, I didn't know you could sing Derpy," Lyra said looking at the grey mare once they were back in the hall.

"Yeah, I sing that to Dinky when she's upset or tired. I knew it would probably at least help him calm down," she replied.

"Well, I thought it was a nice song and you have a nice singing voice as well. I'm sure once Brandon wakes up he will agree," Luna said.

"So, what exactly happened?" She asked, looking between the two other mares.

"He was going to tell Applejack how he felt, and a few minutes later she came running out crying. That's when we heard him start as well, and you know the rest." Lyra said, looking back at his door.

"So she said no to joining the herd?" She asked.

"No, I think Brandon saw some kind of confusion in her eyes and made her leave to think about her feelings. I'm afraid that his fears may be taking hold," Luna answered.

"And how do you know?" Lyra asked raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Because I have better hearing," Luna replied.

"Please don't start arguing right now, it's obvious either way that he's been hurt. But are you sure she didn't give him an answer? I mean if she told him no, at least he could have a little closure and it might be easier to get him through this." Derpy asked.

"Yes I'm sure, he made it obvious that he knew about her conflicted feelings to some degree," Luna replied.

"Well, the first thing we need to do is to ease any of his fears. I'm sure after seeing the pony who called him a friend since he quite literally arrived here brought some up. I just hope he'll be alright," Derpy said and the concern was very evident in her tone.

"I believe he knows he will always have us, I mean that is one thing he made sure to tell Applejack. So I think as long as we're there for him it'll be fine," Luna said.

"Hey, do you guys think you can stay here with him while I run back to the house?" Lyra asked, making the other two mares give her a slight glare. "Look, as well as he responded with music I just want to get my lyre so I can play a few songs for him."

"It's fine Lyra, you go get your instrument. If he wakes up we'll tell him where you're at, but do hurry he'll need us." Derpy said, nodding towards Luna.

After that Lyra went to go get her lyre, and Derpy and Luna went back into his room to keep him company when he wakes up. Though once they got into the room, they saw him starting to cry again in his sleep. They both seemed to know what was wrong, not the heartache but his nightmares were starting again.

"P-please, I-I'm not a monster I had to do it! Please d-don't go that way!" They heard him whisper, and they both ran over to his side.

Luna quickly cast a spell to change the nature of the dream, and Derpy crawled next to him and brought him in close. Eventually, Luna joined, giving Derpy a little smile. To Derpy's surprise, after Luna gave him a little peck on the cheek she leaned over and gave her a little peck on her nose.

"That's for showing up when you did," Luna said winking at the blushing Derpy.

Though they stayed in silence most of the time, it was a very nice quiet that lasted for almost an hour before they heard the door open. To no surprise, it was Lyra who walked in, and she gave them a little smile as she walked in quietly with her lyre behind her. Once Derpy looked back to Luna, she had caught her winking at her making her blush again.

"So, how long have you been awake?" Lyra asked more loudly then what was needed, but before either of the mares said so his voice came as a surprise.

"Long enough to see Luna winking at Derpy making me wonder what happened while I was asleep," He replied making the two mares who were snuggled up to him take notice of his open eyes, though his voice was a little strained.

"How are you feeling?" Derpy asked, trying to avoid having to explain the wink.

"Better now that I have gotten some sleep and listened to your singing," he replied giving her a peck on her lips.

"Hey, don't forget us," Lyra said stealing a kiss from him, and Luna followed.

"So, what was with the wink and blush?" He asked, making both Luna and Derpy blush slightly.

"She gave me a peck on the nose after we snuggled up to you," Derpy answered.

"And you're embarrassed about that? You are in a herd with her, isn't that how it works? Otherwise, there is a chance that our herd won't work?" He asked, his hand stroking through her mane.

"Yes, it is how it works. Ponies in a herd must be attracted to each other," Luna replied. "And Brandon, I'm sorry about what happened with Applejack, and how are you feeling about that?" Luna asked, putting a hoof on his hand for comfort and he could see the concern in each of the mare's eyes.

"I-I'm scared that I lost a friend, no not just a friend, a piece of my new family. I-I already lost so much already, I don't want to lose anything else." He replied, tears once again forming.

"It's okay, we're here and we'll never leave you," Luna said, wrapping him into a hug looking at the other two mares.

"Yeah, and I doubt Applejack would let this ruin your friendship with her. She knows how tough it's been for you, and knows that you need all the friends you can get. We can't promise that your friendship with her will be the same, and everything might be weird but I don't think you lost her, and like Luna said we'll still be here for you." Lyra said, putting a hoof on his leg.

"I-I know and t-thank you. I love all three of you too much, and I don't think I c-could stand it if I lost all three of y-you." He said, and looking over at Derpy who had a smile. "Come over here Derpy."

"Um, okay," Derpy said, walking over and Luna broke the hug she had been giving him.

"I really would like to hear you sing a little more sometime, and I wanted to give you something." He then pulled her closer, giving her a nice long kiss. "That was for what you did at Twilight's."

"Hmmph, at least we see your wings do respond like a normal pegasus does." He looked at Luna, and at his wings and saw that they were now a little stiff making his face go red.

"Oh, come now I find it cute," Lyra said poking him in the side.

"S-so do I," Derpy said her smile had grown into a bit of a goofy grin.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I would like to do some scans on Mr. Jenkins." They all turned their heads to see Dr. Hayssed standing there with a smile of his own. "Also, I brought along somepony who wanted to visit you."

At that, Hayseed walked in and was being followed by a familiar pink filly, with a blue mane with a green streak going through it. The little one-winged pegasus gave him a cute little smile and wave before she froze at the sight of his three marefriends. Though as her eyes saw two of them she knew and then saw a princess she started to squeal.

"Oh my gosh! You're Princess Luna!" Grace said, hopping around making them all give a little chuckle. "But what are you doing here? I thought you lived in Canterlot?"

"Yes, I do live in Canterlot. But as of right now, I'm checking up and staying with my coltfriend." Luna answered with a little smile.

"Coltfriend?" Grace asked, and looked between her and the other two mares then at him. "I thought she was his marefriend?"

"Yeah, I'm one of them," Lyra answered, only making the filly more confused.

"All three of these beautiful mares are my marefriends Grace," he spoke up and in an instant, the filly's confusion disappeared.

"Ooohhh, so you're in a herd! That's so awesome that you're dating a Princess though! And really nice mares!" Grace said, starting her bouncing again.

"So, you three know this little filly?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, that's how Lyra found out I was released from the hospital after I was jumped, I ran into her when I was being released, and came to visit her with Derpy when I came to get my back checked out." He answered for all of them.

"Yup, and she's typically shy around others. I'm glad to see she's finally starting to open up a bit more, now extend your left wing." He did just that, only just remembering that Hayseed was there too.

"So, how does everything look?" He asked.

"Well, since I was last in here they grew about another two inches. I really am impressed with how well your body is now handling their growth." Hayseed replied.

"Well, I had other things on my mind. So, Grace, you notice anything else that's different?" He asked, and the little filly took a moment to look at him and saw what Hayseed was doing making her eyes go wide.

"Y-you have wings?" He nodded. "That's so very cool! Maybe we can..." Grace trailed off, looking at where her wing used to be.

"Hey now, turn that frown upside down. How about this, I'll try to convince one these two," he pointed at Derpy and Luna. "...to give you a ride, how does that sound?"

"I would love it!" Grace's eyes were as big as plates now, looking at Luna with a little twinkle.

"So, do you think you can do that for me, Luna?" He asked, his eyes pleading making her give a sigh.

"Yes I can do that, but in a little bit if it's alright with you Grace?" Luna asked, giving a kind smile to the little filly.

"Yes! Yes! Yeess!" Grace said, jumping up and somehow ending up giving Luna a giant hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're quite welcome," Luna said her smile grew even more.

"Well, it seems everything seems to be in order. I think that's all I have to do for you today, call if you need anything or experience any sudden pain." Hayseed said. "And Grace, you know your way back to your room correct?"

"Yeah, I've been here for a little bit, remember silly?" Grace giggled, and Hayseed nodded.

"Okay, unless you have any questions I'll be going now," Hayseed said, walking towards the door.

"Hey, what happened to your Smarty Pants doll?" He asked after Hayseed left.

"It's in my room," Grace answered and smiled at Luna. "Oh, you have cool looking wings."

"Thanks, so how have ya been since we last talked?" He asked.

"It's been great!" Grace said, though her smile went down a little.

They all made some small talk after that, and Grace couldn't help but keep looking at Luna waiting for her to feel like she was flying. Lyra played a few songs on her lyre. Derpy kept a hoof on his hand, and he couldn't help but smile at her with an even bigger smile.

"So, you'll actually be able to fly?" Grace asked in amazement.

"Yeah, at least that's what Dr. Hayseed said." He replied.

"I wish my dad was still here, and I still had my wing so I could fly," Grace said, and for the fifth time, she looked at her missing wing.

"Well, if it'll help I could always stop by to take you flying on my back," Luna said, making him give her a grateful smile she had offered.

"Y-you would?" Grace asked.

"Of course," Luna replied getting another hug from the little filly.

"Well, could we go flying now?" Grace asked, giving Luna puppy dog eyes.

"Of course you two can go flying now, right Luna?" He asked, and she only nodded in agreement being practically pulled out the door.

"You know that was sweet of you, but you should really ask us first," Derpy said, giving him a little nuzzle.

"I thought I did ask," he replied.

"You know, I really like how your feathers are colored by the way, Brandon. I don't think I've seen a pegasus with their primary feathers like that, or the surrounding feathers. Usually, their wings are the same color as their coat." Lyra said, placing a hoof on one of his wings instantly making them fling out stiff.

"Well, looks like they're pretty sensitive too. That'll be fun when I get to teach you about preening," Derpy whispered making his eyes go a little wide and a whimper escaped.

"I-is it too late to reverse this?" He asked.

"Oh, why would you want to get rid of your wings? I do agree with Derpy, I think that'll be fun!" Lyra said, giving him a playful poke.

"Great, another way for you three to torture me," he gave a sigh, making both of the mares give a slight giggle.

"Now, now it won't be that bad," Derpy said making him roll his eyes.

"Right, after all the teasing that Luna and this one have put me through, and the teasing you put me through as well I'm expecting a lot more teasing because of my sensitivity." He said, crossing his arms but he had a little smile.

"Then why are you smiling then?" Lyra asked.

"Because for Derpy I at least know where she's most sensitive at on her wings." He said, reminding Derpy about the massages making her blush.

"Oh, do you now? How about you show me where her sensitive spots are?" Lyra asked, and Derpy gave him a pleading look.

"Naw, I think I'll keep them a secret for now." He said giving her a wink, making her give a sigh of release but her blush deepened as a thought came across her mind.

"That was sooo fun!" They all turned to see Grace and Luna walk in, the former was bouncing around the latter. "But I have to go back to my room for dinner, bye!"

"Bye." They all replied at once, and Grace soon left.

"That filly is shy but is also very full of energy. But I wonder what happened to her wing?" Luna asked, giving a glance at the door.

"She lost it in a house fire, she was the only one of her family that survived." He answered, getting a surprised look from Luna.

"So, she's an orphan?" Luna asked.

"I don't know, all I do know is that her mother and father died. I'm sure she has family that'll take her in." He answered.

"I hope so because a little filly like that shouldn't be going to an orphanage. But hearing what happened, I'm surprised she isn't more traumatized." Luna said, making all of them nod.

"Maybe she's just hiding the pain away," he suggested, knowing how easy it is even for a child.

"I think so too, but still though," Luna replied.

"Well, either way, I think you offering to take her flying will help her be a little happier," Derpy said.

"Yup, I know I would be happy if I was a little filly getting taken on a flight by one of the princesses," Lyra said, giving a smile to Luna who only shook her head.

"So, what's been going on since I left?" Luna asked.

"We found out that Brandon's wings are sensitive," Lyra said, poking his wing making them go stiff yet again.

"Will you stop that?" He asked, face once again going red.

"That is interesting to know," Luna said, though there was another knock at the door.

"Hi, how is it going?" Twilight asked coming into the room, looking between all of them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope, just teasing Brandon about how sensitive his wings are," Lyra answered.

"What brings you by Twilight?" He asked, changing the subject as fast as he could.

"Oh, well, um, I-I talked to Applejack earlier..." At the mention of Applejack, he flinched and they all could see the hurt return to his eyes. "...and I'm sorry about how things ended up, but she told me to tell you she will give you an answer, she promises," Twilight said, giving him a nervous smile.

"T-thanks Twilight, but that didn't really help." He admitted, looking at the now uncovered windows.

"Hey now, it's gonna be fine. Remember, we're here for you," Derpy said, nuzzling him again.

"I know, and thanks again Twilight for stopping by. Glad that this situation hasn't ruined anything else, it means a lot to me to see you again." He said, giving her a friendly smile.

"You're not going to admit you have feelings for her are you?" Lyra asked.

"Please, I lived with her already. I don't have feelings for her, no offense Twilight." He said, giving an apologetic look.

"None took, just glad to see you seem to take it well enough," Twilight replied.

"Yeah, tell that to him after it happened," Lyra said, making him give her a little glare.

"I kind of figured, but I knew he had marefriends to help him," Twilight said, giving them each a smile. "Oh, and Luna, Celestia is coming to Ponyville tomorrow and she wanted to talk to you at the library."

"Really? Wonder why she would be making a visit right now?" Luna asked aloud.

"Probably because I grew wings," he mumbled getting a confused look from Luna. "It's complicated, let's just say she's had someponies watching me just in case."

"What? Why would she.." Luna looked at his wings. "Of course she would have seen something like this coming, but to think she wouldn't trust you enough!"

"Why would she Luna? She barely knows me, and I'm still a strange creature who you all still don't know how exactly magic affects me!" He yelled, making the room go quiet.

Author's Note

The video I used belongs to Shez Applejack Bagnall. Also, the little fourth wall joke about them feeling as if a hundred people were watching them was actually a reference to how many people have Favorited this story. Also, a hundred likes finally! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to smile, smile, smile!

Spending Time With The Sun

He woke up feeling good, which was a good feeling since he had to sleep by himself this time and didn't have a nightmare this time. Though he had to wonder if that was Luna's doing mostly because he had a vague image of her in the background of a dream. But his thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at his door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He called out, getting out of his bed and walking to the door. "Who is it?"

"Lt. Bait, I was sent to fetch you by Princess Celestia." The guard said.

"Alright, just give me a moment to get ready." He said giving a sigh, wondering what Celestia wanted.

"Do you mind if I come in?" Bait asked.

"Uh, sure just let me unlock the door first." He replied undoing the chain lock and opening the door.

"Thanks, this will actually be my first break and I needed it." Bait said walking into the room.

"Guess you got stuck pulling a triple shift then?" He asked going over to his luggage.

"Yeah, and it's been a bit stressful." Bait said.

"I know you are a guard and all, but why don't they give you breaks again?" He asked.

"Because of the Changeling invasion that happened a little while ago, they've tripled security in the city." Bait answered.

"No offense, but wouldn't that be a bad thing when it comes to Changelings? I mean the more guards there are the more chances of them being able to infiltrate. After all, wasn't that the problem during the wedding, too many guards?" He asked.

"Tell that to the Princess, I mean she's been pulling newly trained soldiers and guards out right after they graduate the academy and positioning them around the city." Bait said, snorting a bit.

"Well that would make sense if the city didn't come under attack once, but if she's worried about another attack it's not exactly tactful. It would make more sense if she positioned more experienced ponies around the city." He said, and Bait nodded.

"So, you ready yet?" Bait asked.

"Yeah, and I'll bring up your concerns if possible with Celestia. Don't worry, I won't tell her it was you that brought the subject up." He said.

"Don't worry about it, it'll eventually calm down. Some of us are just getting a bit grouchy because we have to make up for the slake for the rookies." Bait said. "Now, let's get going."

They left the hotel, and Brandon made sure to have everything that he brought before he officially checked out of his hotel. As they walked, he couldn't help but wonder why Celestia would want to talk to him, after all, there were some trust issues between them. Though that made him wonder if that's the reason why.

"So, why did Celestia send you to get me? Or did she not tell you the reason why?" He asked.

"Said something about clearing the air with you, and seeing if you two can be friends. Something like that, though don't know why she would be concerned about that." Bait said.

"A few reasons first is because I'm the first human here. Though I think the main reason is that I'm dating Luna." He said.

"Didn't know Princess Luna was dating, then it makes sense now." Bait gave a laugh.

"Let me guess, been at work too long and couldn't find the time for gossip?" He asked.

"You've guessed it," Bait replied. "Now I know it's none of my business, but how is the Princess?"

"Um, she's pretty great in terms of personality, and she's a bit protective." He replied.

"I think you know what I meant." Bait said.

"I wouldn't know because we haven't gone that far, and even if we did I wouldn't just go around telling others." He said, giving a slight glare at the guard.

"Alright, fair enough. As I said, I know it's none of my business." Bait replied. "But anyways, I was wondering why I heard some of the nobles talking about a strange creature who was dating a small herd of mares. Though can't see why they would have a problem with it, I mean a good amount of them at least have a close retaliative whose married to a Griffon, or some other race."

"It's because I'm a new thing, and sometimes people and from what it sounds like, ponies have problems with new things that might change things. I try to not let it bother me much, shoot if I did I wouldn't be as happy as I am right now." He said.

"Well, that's good to hear. If it means anything, I've noticed Princess Luna is happier now then when she first came back." Bait said. "Looks like we're almost there."

"That's good to hear, and I mean that more towards Luna being happier." He said though he had to stop for a second to rub his temple.

"You okay back there?" Bait asked.

"Yeah, just a slight headache. Must have not gotten that much sleep or something." He replied. "Anyways, like you said we're almost there so let's get going."

"If you want we could stop at a pharmacy real fast and get something for that." Bait suggested.

"Nah, I'll be fine, it already went away." He said, his wings fluttering out of reflex as a guest of wind was brought in.

"You know, I may not know a lot about humans, but from what I heard they don't have wings." Bait said.

"You'd be correct on that, but for whatever reason, I ended up growing them. Don't really know why, though I guess some magic got into me somehow." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Hm, well guess that makes sense in a way. But it looks like we're here, and this is where we part. Princess Celestia wants to meet you in her private quarters, you know where that is?" Bait asked.

"Yeah, Luna showed me both of their rooms before we started dating." He replied.

"Okay then, well got to take care of some paperwork and then I can finally get a small vacation." Bait said, walking off.

He gave a small laugh and began walking into the castle, where many of the staff stopped and said hi. Though as he was making his way to Celestia's room, he couldn't but help overhear some of the rumors that were already spreading. Like for example, apparently he and Luna did it right there on the floor in front of the nobles, and one rumor went as far as to suggest that they had a threesome with a pregnant Griffon.

Shaking his head, he just kept making his way up to his meeting with Celestia wondering if she was going to bring up some of the rumors going around. Though that didn't actually make him nervous, maybe because he knew she would see through them, and she did show up. He did hope that all she wanted was to really become friends.

"Come on in," he heard Celestia say, and he looked up to see that he had already made it to her room.

"Oh, hey sorry I was a bit distracted." He said.

"I could tell, please come in and have a seat," Celestia said, giving him a little smile, and he did as she suggested. "So, I'm assuming Bait told you why I called you here?"

"He mentioned that you wanted to clear the air and try to be friends, though I thought we already cleared the air." He replied.

"Yes, we did, but I just wanted to make sure you know I don't hate you, or dislike you. I don't even distrust you, in fact, I admire you for being able to adjust here, even if you do still have a few issues." Celestia said.

"Yeah, a few issues." He muttered.

"Sorry, I know quite a few ponies have given you problems. I am sorry for all of that," Celestia said.

"It's fine, nothing a human isn't used to." He said slight tension spread across the room.

"Yes, well I do really hope what I did didn't put to much strain between us," Celestia said.

"Not gonna lie, it did. Though I am all up for giving second chances." He said.

"I'm glad to hear that," Celestia said giving another little smile. "Especially since I wanted to see if you would like to hang around so that we can get to know each other better."

"Wait, you wanna hang out? What about all of the work that you need to do?" He asked.

"I asked Blue Blood to do it, and before you say anything I know he's a spoiled brat and all, but he does have a gnat for paperwork and things like that. So don't worry about that, or me passing all of my duties to Luna. The question is, what do you want to do?" Celestia replied.

"No offense, but I feel like I could punch Blue Balls every time I'm around him." Celestia gave a small laugh and roll of the eyes. "As for what I guess we could do is go for a little shopping trip?" He suggested.

"Planning on buying some gifts for your herd? Maybe I can suggest some special things for them? I mean I do think I know my sister enough to get something like that." Celestia gave a hearty laugh as he reddened up. "Just relax, I was only joking, besides there are worse rumors going around about you my sister. That and I heard you had magic fingers, at least according to Derpy."

"Wait, how did you hear that from her?" He asked, the room getting hotter by the second.

"Let's just say Twilight has her ways, though don't worry the letter she sent me didn't explain what that meant. But your reaction told me all I needed to know, and before we go I must know, how far did you get?" Celestia asked with a mischievous grin.

"I don't think that's any of your business." He replied.

"So, nothing past a little happy ending huh? Well, I'm sure you'll be able to convince one of them to go further. Anyways, let's get going, don't want to lose any daylight." Celestia said getting up and walking to the door. "Are you coming?"

"I rather not now," he muttered.

"What was that?" Celestia asked.

"Nothing, let's just go." He heard her give a slight chuckle as he walked by. "You should be this relaxed a bit more often you know?"

"Even if it means embarrassing you?" Celestia asked.

"Maybe focus on somepony else if you want to embarrass someone." He replied.

"Nope, not gonna do that considering you are dating my sister. But, what are you planning on buying for her and the others?" Celestia asked.

"Don't know, I figured I could look around today at the shops." He answered.

"Hmm, well I know I'll be able to help with Luna, but for the others, I guess I could make some suggestions," Celestia said.

"I think I'll be fine picking stuff for them," he said. "So, any good places to actually shop around?"

"Plenty and I'm glad you decided to take me up on the offer of hanging out," Celestia said.

"Well, I need more ponies to hang out with anyways, and to be honest you really shouldn't feel guilty about wanting to keep an eye on me. Though how you did that I'm still a little upset about, and also you need to give the guards a break. They're feeling a bit overworked after the whole wedding thing." He said.

"I figured as much, I'll get on that and I really am sorry. You are right about how I should have gone about keeping an eye on you. Well, anyways here we are, this is mine and Luna's favorite places to window shop." Celestia said, making him look around.

"Wow, did you teleport us or something?" He asked.

"Yeah, and then we walked for a little bit, did you really not realize that?" Celestia replied.

"Um, not really, but I guess that saved us from walking all of this way, so thanks I guess." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"You do have wings," Celestia said.

"That I don't know how to use in order to fly." He reminded her.

"No pony even taught you the basics for flying yet?" He shook his head. "Well, I'm sure they'll get around to it, by the way, how sensitive are your wings?"

"Well, they're very sensitive to touch, why?" He asked.

"Oh, because somepony is gonna have to teach you how to properly preen them, so that'll be fun for them," Celestia said.

"Yeah, fun for them." He muttered. "Oh, let's look in here."

"A Jewelry shop, what are you planning on buying here?" Celestia asked.

"Well, a little while ago Lyra said she wanted a locket for a picture of her and her Dad." He replied.

"Aww, isn't that sweet of you. Do you have an idea what to get Derpy?" Celestia asked.

"She really wants a new side bag to help carry stuff around because her old one is to torn up." He answered. "Though it's Luna I can't figure out and that's why I'm glad you came to help with that."

"So, you wanted to get Derpy a designer bag? That's nice, and as for Luna she can be tough to shop for." Celestia said nodding her head remembering her younger days with her sister. "But, lucky for you I know what she likes."

"Well, I know a little bit about what she's into but anything you can suggest will be great." He said giving her a little smile of thanks.

"You could always buy her one of the new games that came out, but those things are expensive." He gave a nod in agreement. "Something you could give is a good night, though I think it might be a little too early in your relationship, and she won't go for that either. Oh, I know but we can finish up here before I tell you." Celestia said.

"Why not tell me what it is now?" He asked.

"Because it's one of those things you have to see for yourself. That and I can't remember exactly what it's called, only where you can buy it and what it looks like." Celestia answered.

"Hmm, well that's a bit funny. Well, I think this one will be just fine, so let me go pay for it and we can get a going." He said picking up the locket and taking it to the counter.

"So, you want to get Derpy her bag first? I mean it'll be a bit faster, and the fashion shop is closer anyway." Celestia suggested as they walked out of the jewelry shop.

"Still not gonna tell me your idea for Luna huh?" He asked.

"Nope, you're just gonna have to wait. That and like I said, it'll be a bit quicker to get that bag first." Celestia said walking in front of him, and he couldn't help but see her sway her hips. "I don't think Luna would appreciate you staring at my flank you know?"

"I wasn't staring at your flank, at least not by choice." He muttered his face beet red.

"What, you saying I have a fat butt?" Celestia asked giving him an evil eye.

"No, you're just tall is all." He replied., though Celestia couldn't help but give a laugh.

"I'm sorry, but you really should look at your expression, it's hilarious!" Celestia said catching her breath.

After that, it took a bit before Brandon felt comfortable talking to Celestia again, but they did start to have a good time. Brandon managed to find a side bag that he thought Derpy would really like. Though Celestia still wouldn't tell him her idea and insisted that they go window shopping first.

"You know, I never really looked at the shops here. I mean I've looked, but never paid attention." He said.

"Really, find anything interesting?" Celestia asked.

"Actually I did, that neat little chest in here. It reminds me of something back from my world." He said.

"Do you know exactly what it reminds of?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, I think I had a chest like it. I think I got it from my mom, and if I remember correctly my great- great grandpa actually hand carved it." He said giving a sigh. "Though it's missing the designs that he put on it, other than that it looks like it."

"Hmm, well I'm feeling a bit hungry. How about you get us a table at that little sandwich shop over there." Celestia suggested.

"Umm, okay but why does it sound like you won't be joining me at first?" He asked.

"I just wanted to go see about the gift for Luna, you know if they still have it in stock," Celestia said.

"Okay, well let me know when you get back. Anything you want to drink?" He asked.

"Oh, orange juice, they have the best there," Celestia replied.

Brandon went over to get a table, which he got a nice shady spot and ordered their drinks. Celestia made sure he wasn't paying attention and made her way to the nearby shops. After a little bit of time, she finally made her way to the table, and made small talk and ordered her usual.

Author's Note

Hey guys, been awhile hasn't it? Sorry, I've very busy. But I hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

(P.S. If you have suggestions for Brandon's favorite drink please leave a comment.)

Attacker Found

As they walked out of the buffet to head home he saw Tallia and Ginger with their egg. He waved to them and after seeing them wave back he caught up to his group. During dinner, Dinky invited Grace to a before School sleepover with all the other fillies.

The sleepover was actually on his one-year anniversary party day so they decided to let her go, but Derpy had told him to talk to Cheerilee about it to get a permission slip signed for her. Though he didn't mind as he looked at the two fillies and gave a smile as Dinky managed to get past Grace's shyness a bit. Soon though, Derpy and Dinky went to their house with the promise to see them tomorrow while the rest of them went home.

"You looked like you were having fun Grace," Luna said and the filly gave a big but tired smile.

"Yeah, Dinky is so great! I can't wait for that sleepover!" Grace said.

"That's good to hear, I'll pick up the permission slip tomorrow and get it signed. I'm glad you two hit it off so well," He spoke up.

"Yeah, we'll be the bestest sisters ever!" Grace said making him get a little blush and soon after that, they were at the house.

"Alright little missy, time to take a bath and brush your teeth!" Lyra said as they walked in.

"Do I have to?" Grace groaned.

"Yup, sure do." He was the one who answered.

"Alright," Grace said heading to the bathroom with Lyra.

"She is a remarkable filly to be so happy like this after what happened to her," Luna said once they heard the water come on.

"Hmm, I think she hides it well but something like that sticks to you. But we'll see, and again thanks for bringing her." He said wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, also giving her a kiss.

"No problem, but you should thank my sister. But that can wait, tell me about what happened yesterday?" Luna asked making his face go slightly red which made her raise an eyebrow.

They went to sit down on the couch and he started to tell her all that happened at the auction. As he told her the part with Applejack she told him that it was fair since he did begin to move on to take his time. He then went on to tell her about how many bits he had brought in and who the winner was, telling her about the date on Saturday.

"Hmm, well I'm glad to hear that you at least find her physically attractive. Maybe it could lead to a second date?" Luna asked making him roll his eyes. "Alright, let's just see where the first one goes. But something else happened last night didn't it?"

"N-no..." He looked at Luna before giving a sigh. "Fine, me and Derpy almost went all the way."

"Wait, almost?" Luna asked making him nod.

"Yeah, things started up and just before we committed the faucet exploded again." He said turning red.

"Ooohhh, so you guys got cooled off huh? That had to have been frustrating, I know Derpy was looking forward to letting you rut her." Luna gave a little laugh as he reddened even more.

"What you guys talking about?" Lyra came in though she couldn't help but stop and laugh when she saw him. "Never mind, I know what. To change the subject I got Grace in the tub, she'll be out in a little bit."

"Thanks, she didn't ask you about being my marefriend did she?" He couldn't help but ask remembering the story Lyra told him.

"Yeah, but I told her that we just decided to go ahead and be more than friends. Didn't go into detail if that's what you were worried about." Lyra said sitting down next to him.

"Nah, just curious is all. But man the last couple of days have really worn me out!" He said stretching purposely brushing his wing tips against both mares flanks making both of them blush. "I think I'm going to the bathroom in the bedroom and cleaning up a bit."

"Alright, just don't take too long," Luna said as he went to the bedroom.

After taking a quick shower and brushing his own teeth he went out to see Grace with a small towel on her head, and Luna seemed to be the one in the bathroom now. He went to sit next to Grace as Lyra excused herself to go to the bedroom bath. He looked at Grace who seemed to be focused on trying to play the lyre, and soon both mares came back.

"Alright, who's ready for bed?" He asked.

"Not... *Yawns*... me!" Grace said as her eyelids seemed to droop down.

"Are you sure?" He asked picking her up.

"M-maybe a little tired..." She gave another yawn. "W-would you tuck me in?"

"No problem," He rubbed her head as he carried her to her room.

He laid the already half-asleep pegasus down on her bed quickly covering her up and making sure she was comfortable. After she asked for a bedtime story, not just any story but a story from his world. Quickly thinking of one he began telling the filly.

"... I guess I'll finish it up tomorrow night then." He looked down at the sleeping filly gently giving her a pat on the head before he left the room.

"You're a good storyteller you know that?" Lyra whispered as he came out of the room.

"Thanks, but it took me a minute to remember the story." He told her giving her a smile. "Would you like me to tell a bedtime story?"

"Nah, I just need your arms around me," Lyra said giving him a quick peck before heading into the bedroom and he soon followed.

Grace screamed in fear and panic making him jolt right up and before he knew it he was in her room wrapping her in a hug. Though she was still asleep kicking and screaming for a second as he comforted her getting her to wake up and calm down. He knew what had happened and knew something like it was going to happen.

"Shhh, you're okay nothing is on fire. That's it, let it out," He said as Grace fully woke up as tears filled her eyes that still shined with fear, and she wrapped her hooves around his neck crying into it.

They sat there for a good minute as both Lyra and Luna both soon came in looking at the scene, he locked eyes with Luna who gave a nod of understanding of what happened. It took about an hour before the filly stopped her crying, which he knew by the way she was breathing she had cried herself to sleep. He looked over at Luna and she gave a nod as she pulled Lyra out of the room.

This time when the filly woke up it wasn't from a nightmare it was because it was now morning. As Grace looked over she saw Brandon sitting in a chair half hunched over in her bed. Grace quickly got out from under the covers and nudged him a little making him wake up.

"Hmm, morning Grace how are you?" He asked as he stretched feeling a bit sore from how he had slept.

"I feel better and rested!" Grace replied though he could see that the nightmare still lingered in her eyes as he looked but decided not to press.

"That's good because I smell pancakes!" He said making the fillies eyes go a little wide in excitement. "I'll race you to the kitchen!"

"I win!" Grace said soon after.

"That's because you shut the door on me," He said giving the filly a pat on the head. "Now did you guys leave any for us?"

"What, you guys wanted some?" Lyra said teasing them, though it made Grace give a sad look. "I guess I'll have to give you some of mine!"

Soon the four of them were sitting at the table eating their breakfast not really talking about Grace's nightmare, but he did make a few jokes that got them to laugh. After they finished and put their plates in the trash they heard the door open and hooves running across the floor. Dinky popped in followed by Derpy soon after.

"Hi Grace, you want to come to hang out?" Dinky asked making Grace look at him for permission.

"Go ahead, and Dinky she hasn't been back in town in a minute so keep an eye on her for me okay?" He asked making Dinky give a little eye roll along with Grace.

"I promise! Now let's go!" Dinky said pushing Grace out the front door.

"She can be a hoof-full sometimes. So did the plumber come by yet?" Derpy asked making him shake his head.

"Grace had a nightmare last night, though before me or Luna could even wake up Brandon was already in her room comforting her!" Lyra belched out making Derpy give a little surprised look before giving him a smile.

"Aww, but do any of you know what it was about?" Derpy asked making him and Luna look at each other.

"It was about what happened with her parents," Luna answered and he nodded.

"Wait, you two already knew? I mean Luna I can understand, but how did you figure it out?" Lyra asked as he rolled his eyes at the obvious.

"Because it's hard to get over something like that, especially when extended family won't help." At that, he gave a shiver remembering his own nightmare. "It's been difficult for me, and I only remember bits and pieces I can't imagine what that poor filly is going through."

"I agree, and if we press her right now she may just shut herself off from us. Let's give her time, and if she doesn't bring it up herself eventually then after she's been here for a minute then ask her to talk about it." Luna suggested.

"Derpy, what do you think since you're the only one who dealt with adopting a foal?" He asked making the mare think.

"This is a bit different, I got Sparkler because her mother couldn't afford to take care of her. She still has the right to visit and everything, as for Grace both of her parents are gone. Not only that but she lost a wing which is traumatic in of itself." Derpy answered. "But if she doesn't want to talk about it then like Luna said, forcing the subject could make her shut down."

"I-I get it," Lyra said nodding her head though before any of them could say anything else there was a knock at the door.

"Coming!" He called out getting out of his chair, to his surprise as he answered the door it was three Royal Guards standing there.

"Brandon Jenkins, may we come in to ask a few questions?" The one in the middle asked this stallion was an earth pony.

"Uh, no problem but what is this about?" He asked and couldn't help but feel a little nervous, the three of them came in and sat down as the guards came in.

"This is about the pony who attacked you during your last visit to Canterlot." The earth pony answered walking in the door, as he shut it he himself went to sit between Lyra and Derpy. "We are sorry if this inconveniences you any at all."

"If it's about his attacker then it's fine, but what's this about questions?" Luna asked. "And does this mean you found the stallion?"

"Yes, as for the questions it's because we matched the hooves to a stallion who was found strangled by a creature with the same kind of paws as Brandon." The one earth pony replied making all four of them go silent in shock.

"You can't seriously think that he did that out of revenge! None of us knew who it was that even attacked Brandon!" Luna yelled a bit.

"We read the report, but we have to make sure of something first. Which leads me to my first question, how many of those long things are on his paw?" The stallion asked.

"First, they're called hands not paws and these are fingers. Not trying to be rude here, but you come in here making it sound like I actually had something to do with this!" He let out a bit of a frustrated grunt as he lifted up his hand to show them. "Satisfied?"

"Hmm, yes that'll do thank you. I don't mean to sound like I'm accusing you, and forgive me for not knowing the proper terms for your anatomy. The reason for this is because we believe whoever killed your attacker was most likely a Minotaur since the bruising suggested the perpetrator had four fingers on each hand. But if you don't mind showing us if you were to strangle somepony what would it look like?" The stallion asked.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Why would I even pretend to do something like that?" He asked though he already knew the answer.

"To make sure there is no way for you to strangle somepony with just using four of your fingers sir. If they work similarly to Minotaurs then it shouldn't be possible." The guard said.

"Fine, but how do you want me to do this?" He asked.

"Brandon!" Lyra yelled a little though he turned to look at her giving her a smile to calm her down.

"Demonstrate it on Keys, the unicorn." The earth pony said making him turn to the unicorn guard who stood there.

"Alright, but after I do this I want to know more details." He said making the earth pony guard nod in agreement, and he put his hands around the unicorn's neck and gave a little squeeze as if he was going to strangle the guard.

"That is fine, you can stop." At that, he put his hands back to his side and went back to his seat.

'Alright, time to tell me what exactly is going on here." He said looking at the earth pony.

"Very well, there is no doubt you aren't the one who did it." The stallion said and then started to explain.

The stallion that had attacked him that night was just found in the early morning hours in an alley in Manehatten. After a medical examiner looked over the stallion that's when they noticed the bruising, it wasn't until they ran the stallion's hoofprint through a magical database and got a hit from an assault and attempted murder case.

As they looked at the case it had involved the victim being attacked in their sleep by strangulation. Which lead to them taking a closer look at the bruising and they noticed that it wasn't hooves around the stallions neck but fingers. They did jump to the conclusion that the victim, which of course was him, had tracked down the stallion somehow to get his revenge.

Though the examiner pointed out that whoever strangled the stallion only had four fingers and if he had remembered right then the victim from the assault case should have five. The doctor suggested with the pressure and finger structure that it had been a Minotaur. They had to make sure and rule out any other explanation.

"So you think somepony was trying to frame him then?" Luna was the one who asked.

"Either that or since the stallion didn't succeed in his attack that he had worked with somepony. We may even deal with some kind of secretive group, there have been rumors coming up recently now that I think about it." The earth pony guard said.

"What rumors?" He asked.

"Hmm, supposedly there is a group that is recruiting ponies and other creatures that may fear humans. Maybe enough fear that they would even kill the only human here, and if they don't succeed then they get killed themselves. This group supposedly knows all the myths surrounding humans and use them as recruitment material. But these are just rumors of course, but we're still looking into them." The stallion answered.

"That doesn't sound good at all, I mean what if it's true and they send somepony to attack him again?" Derpy spoke up.

"If there is any proof to that rumor then we'll send some men to keep guard. But until then keep an eye out and ears open. Now if that's all, we have to report our findings so far." At that, the three guards saluted Luna before walking out the door leaving them with some unanswered question.

'L-lucky Grace and Dinky went to go hang out somewhere else," Lyra said.

"I-I think I'm going to go pick up that permission slip now." He said though his tone made it clear he wanted to be alone for a minute as he walked out the door.

"Are we sure letting him go alone is a good thing right now?" Derpy asked.

"Hmm, yes he needs to clear his head. Besides, it's broad daylight right now and with how fast he moved last to comfort Grace I think he'll be fine." Luna answered.

"Not to change the subject, but how did he move that fast?" Lyra asked.

"I'm a little curious too," Derpy asked as both mares looked at Luna.

"Well, you know how a pegasus bone structure is like a bird?" Both mares nodded.

"Of course I know, our bones are hollow but yet we have stronger bones than most normal flying creatures," Derpy answered making Luna nod.

"You see where I'm going with this right? Because of his wings giving him flight, it also hollowed out his bones to make take off and flying easier. According to Dr. Hayseeds reports his bones may just be as strong as a pegasus bone. Which all of this adds up to him not only being able to move much faster than he used to. To him being able to take falling from a height or high speeds without breaking his bones." Luna explained making the other mares nod in understanding.

"Hmm, wonder if he could do a sonic rain-boom or something like it then?" Derpy asked as they completely distracted themselves from what they had learned about Brandon's attacker.

Author's Note

Hmm, so the group of ponies who hates humans is starting to pop up and coming a little out of the shadows now. Now is it really a good idea after you know what he knows to go out on his own? Does he not remember that is one of the core rules of horror movies? Anyways hope you all enjoyed and remember to smile, smile, smile!

A New Visitor

He had finally fallen asleep which was their cue to leave except for Luna who had entered his dreams to prevent the nightmare. After a while, she came out with the rest of them taking a deep breath trying to prevent her own tears. Though as she looked at the others she could tell they were doing the same.

"I-it's no wonder he didn't remember his past when h-he came here. H-his world i-is horrible..." Twilight spoke up breaking the silence.

"Yes, f-from what he told s-so far it does sound h-horrible. But it's o-only part of his s-story, a-and let's not forget h-he has yet to fully remember things." Luna said as she looked through his window along with Lyra and Derpy who each took one side of the Alicorn, and wrapped their hooves around her.

"Hey, Luna?" Lyra spoke up.

"Yes, Lyra?" Luna quietly responded.

"W-when he was sleeping for those days was he dreaming?" Lyra asked making Luna sigh.

"In a way, but not normal dreaming. I would have been able to visit him while he slept," Luna answered and they all knew what she meant by that.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" It was Fluttershy who asked.

"I have no idea at this point, we'll have to wait and see how he responds to his full memories. We really have no idea when his full memories exactly came back to him, and even if they came back while he was held captive he was more focused on staying alive. Not his memories," Luna answered though no one asked anything after that, at least not from her.

His doctor came by himself to check everything though none of them asked because they all knew how he was doing physically. Anytime he seemed to go into a nightmare Luna's horn lit up and her eyes glowed for several seconds. Soon he completely stopped stirring and a little smile tugged at his lips.

"They're even worse than before, which does not surprise me as it took some time for his nightmares to not be as potent the first time around. I honestly had expected this for a while for when his memories came back." Luna said with a deep sadness in her voice. "Hey, Twilight? If you would do me a favor and send a message?"

"Um, sure no problem. But where? To who?" Twilight asked bringing out an empty scroll and quill.

"First let's take care of writing the letter, in private, and then I will tell you. As to who, I'm afraid I cannot say but he is someone who might help." Luna then got up making Twilight follow her making the rest of them wonder about the letter.

"So, um, Lyra do you mind playing me a song?" Derpy asked making Lyra give a little sigh. But the unicorn nodded and looked at the mailmare for her request. "Um, hang on."

To Lyra's surprise, Derpy came over and whispered in her ear and then gave her a deep kiss. Which did seem to energize the unicorn as she grabbed her lyre and began to play. Which all of them couldn't help but be mesmerized by the song, her voice coming out like silk and her lyre sang sweetly. Derpy leaned against the wall with her eyes closed with a little smile.

"My mom used to always sing me this song before bed," Derpy said after a few more notes.

"Y-yeah, it's a classic and old lullaby. I remember when my mom did the same, before she, they, passed on..." Applejack said wiping a few tears away.

"I actually remember when the song was first written," Luna said making them all jump, and Lyra all but dropped her lyre. "A nice mare actually, she wrote it for her sick filly. It... was hard on her, and when her daughter passed she taught others that song because it had brought her daughter joy in her last moments. The mare knew that joy would help her heal in the long run."

"I-I see, and it lasted this long," Rarity said.

"Yes, it has because the song was created from the heart. Anything from the heart will last in some shape or form," Luna simply stated and they couldn't help but agree.

"D-did you get your letter sent?" Lyra asked as she tuned her lyre.

"Twilight is working on it, the place I want it sent can be difficult to transfer to, even by magic. But my guess is that we will have a new visitor in a day, maybe two at the most." Luna answered. "Before any of you ask, it's because the town was built surrounded by mountains that contain magic damping crystals."

"W-wait, who did you send it to though? And to where exactly?" Derpy was the one who asked.

"It is a place no normal ponies live, as to whom that will be answered when he arrives." Though as Luna gave her answer she seemed to have some regret in her voice. But neither Lyra or Derpy asked her why mostly because they knew she would not give them an answer.

Once again they all sat in silence, mostly as Lyra started to play her lyre again but she did not sing this time around. Rainbow and Applejack volunteered to go get them some dinner as Twilight finally came back a bit exhausted. She nodded to Luna who gave her a smile of thanks, and soon after the doctor came and checked in again.

"I think he will be able to travel by tomorrow, but I want him to check in with his doctor at Ponyville once he arrives. As for any visits after, that will be up to them," The doctor said.

"Thank you, for everything," Luna said not taking her eyes off of Brandon as he was starting to wake again.

"It's been my pleasure, may have been the highlight of my career. But I'll take my leave, nurses will still come and check on him. They'll also give you some instructions on his treatment, and I'm sure his primary doctor will go over it just in case." At that, the doctor gave a little bow before going on his way.

"Are you ready?" Twilight asked, mainly directed at the three mares now looking through his window. Which after that they did not hesitate and went in.

"H-hey..." Before he said another word Luna locked lips with him, and after her Lyra and Derpy then took their turns. "W-wasn't expecting that..." He had a little grin as he got into a sitting position and winced as he put a little weight on his injured side.

"Be careful!" All three mares yelled at the same time, making him give a little laugh. Though he seemed to have cheered up a bit, they could tell he was trying to be strong for them. It was obvious his memories weighed heavily on him, but to hear him give a little laugh brought them hope he would recover.

"I'll, be fine but thank you all for staying here," Brandon said giving them all a smile.

"We wouldn't be anywhere else darling," Rarity said and the other nodded and his three marefriends each gave him another quick peck.

They all sat in his room again in silence, until he asked them they wouldn't mind playing a game with him. Which when they finally decided which game to play they had a decent time. The game they decided on was just go-fish, and as they played it became obvious Brandon didn't want to tell them any more of his past or his world. For the time being, they were glad since all it would have done is to make them all upset and feel sorry for him, which they knew wasn't what he wanted at the moment.

"I see, but didn't you say you were expecting somepony?" He asked after Lyra let the letter thing slip.

"Yes, but if he arrives after we leave I will ask the staff to inform him where we have gone. And please do not ask any more until he arrives, alright?" Luna asked and for whatever the reason it made it start cracking up. "W-why are you..."

"I-I'm sorry, but you sometimes have this tone. Never really thought much of it, until now at least. Reminds me of this Principal that seemed to have it out for my brother," He looked out his window with a sad smile.

"Oh, and it's just funny?" Luna asked but she couldn't keep a straight face herself.

"Yeah, because he never actually got into trouble by her. They had a bit of a weird mentor-student relationship," He answered. "By the way, do you have any three's?"

"Here, and I'm glad to hear you give an actual laugh. I-I... we didn't know i-if..." Brandon gave a sigh and put down his hand.

"I'm not completely sure how they're going to affect me, let's just call this a good day and a good sign. But whatever happens, I know you'll all be there for me. Oh, that reminds me, and to change the subject, did Tallia and Ginger mention anything about their friend?" Brandon asked, making all but his marefriends confused.

"No, I think they wanted to wait until after you came back to Ponyville. I may know the answer, but are you planning on canceling your plans with Baron?" Luna asked.

"No, the opposite actually. I-I think it would be nice, just like I want to take you three out on a group date before my one-year anniversary here," Brandon replied making them all give a look of surprise. "Look, I know but I-I want to try to get back to some kind of normalcy."

"We're glad to hear that, but just as long as ya don't try to hide from your past," Applejack said making him nod.

"I'll try, but no promises for now okay?" He asked locking eyes with each and every one of them. They all seemed to understand exactly what he was asking, which none of them would have pushed anyway.

"I'm glad you're at least going to give it a try, and we're looking forward to our date," Luna said.

"Can you give us a hint though?" Lyra asked.

"Also, remember your shoulder," Derpy mentioned making him shake his head.

"Don't worry, I think you guys will like it and it won't bother my shoulder at all. Before you ask again Lyra, no hints for you!" He said and gave her nose a little poke. Though he gave a big yawn right after.

"I think we've kept you up long enough, I will keep the nightmares away," Luna said helping him lay back down.

"I'll only go to sleep if you guys get some rest yourselves," He said though they knew it was more of a command.

"Deal, and don't worry you can tell us the rest of what you remember whenever you want," Luna said as his eyes closed and it wasn't long before he was fully asleep. "Good night."

At they all said their goodnights to him they all went back into the hall where a nurse gave them some clean blankets and pillows. Soon they all had fallen asleep except for Luna and Derpy, who both sat looking through his window. The only reason Lyra hadn't stayed up was that she seemed completely drained from the day.

"I've thought about your letter, and I think I know at least where you sent, I think we all know," Derpy spoke up.

"Yes, the badlands, but do not worry for the pony I asked to come may help far more than any of us," Luna said.

"I hope so, he may have acted like himself but he didn't have the same sparkle in his eyes or the same enthusiasm that he had before. I mean it was good to hear him genuinely laugh, but how long will it last before the grief he's holding back breaks through? The pain he must be in for all of the guilt, we all know he won't be able to resist going into another depression. That's why I pra whoever you sent for will be able to help," Derpy said giving a sad sigh.

"I hope so too, even if I do have to see that pony again," Luna said and Derpy knew from her tone that was the end of that discussion. So, she just lay her head onto Luna's shoulder who wrapped her wing around the pegasus as she fell asleep.

It was midmorning, and they were all wide awake and talking to each other. Rarity had suggested that they send a letter to Pinkie Pie to let her know when they were coming back, which would be tomorrow morning according to one of the nurses. After that, Brandon managed to convince them all to go get something other than hospital food. He even, with the help of Luna, got Derpy and Lyra to go as well.

"It's fine really, just bring me back whatever looks good on the menu," Luna said as they walked out of the room giving Brandon a concerned look. "I will watch him and keep him company."

"Alright, it really is too bad they won't let him eat anything else right now other than that soup." Lyra said,

"That soup actually has medicine in it to help drive out the remaining toxin, now get going!" Luna said making both of the mares run and catch up to their friends.

After that, Brandon and Luna sat quietly enjoying each other's company despite the sadness that he now seemed to radiate. Luna started to hum a sweet little tune that made Brandon get a little smile which she quickly wondered why. Which he just simply told her that he just simply enjoyed hearing her hum.

As the two talked, they jumped when a hard knock came at the door and they knew none of their friends would knock. Especially a knock like that, and the staff had a tendency to just barge in even if they knew that was their job. Which one look at Luna and he knew it was the pony she had sent the letter to, and she seemed to be asking him for permission for whoever it was.

"Come on in!" He called out, and as the door opened in stepped a stallion, but just not any stallion, a bat- pony.

Just from first glance, Brandon could tell that the stallion had seen a lot of battles, mostly from the stallion's eyes. As he looked the stallion over, he had a black coat and his mane and tail were red as if stained with blood. Signs of battle were written on the stallion's body as well, as Brandon could see some scars. One caught his attention as it was the most prominent scar, as it ran around his leg as if had once been severed.

"Lt. Knuckle Shadow reporting for duty ma'am!" Knuckles said, though as Brandon looked the stallion over he noticed that the stallion wasn't wearing any kind of guard uniform. Which when he looked over to Luna he saw the pain in her eyes making him guess who this stallion exactly was.

"I see, you're not a current Lieutenant, at least not for the current guard," Brandon said, which the stallion regarded him with a cold hard stare. Which he could tell would have made lesser men run in fear, but he had been through a lot himself and did not fear the stallion.

"You are right, he was a Lieutenant of Nightmare Moon, and it's been a long time Knuckles. I am glad to see you seemed to have found somepony," That's when Brandon noticed the mare. This mare was mostly white with a few speckles of black, and with a blond mane and tail.

"Yes, this is Bird Song, and before you ask ma'am, we've been together for five years now." Knuckles said looking at the mare and nodded his head toward them.

"H-hi, it's nice to meet you," Bird said giving a shy little smile.

"It's nice to meet you too," He replied giving the mare a little smile which she seemed to shrink a little.

"Yes, it is a pleasure. Now, let's get down to why I have called you here. I very well know you still seek redemption for your time serving under Nightmare Moon, despite you being imprisoned for nearly eight hundred years for your crimes." Luna said and an understanding seemed to pass between them, which told Brandon they knew each other before she became Nightmare Moon.

"You want him to my bodyguard," Brandon said snapping the two ponies out of whatever telepathic conversation they were having.

"Yes, but I may now have regrets summoning him. As loyal as he was, that loyalty leed him to commit heinous crimes in the name of Nightmare Moon." That told him that their conversation hadn't gone well, and he had reminded her of her past.

"I swear that I have left that part of myself behind, and if you really think by me helping protect your lover here then I will do just that," Knuckles said looking him over making him give a sigh.

"If only I thought that was the only reason she brought you here. I believe another reason is to help me deal with the pain that my memories have brought back," Brandon said making Luna lock eyes with him and that is what confirm it.

"He is very perceptive, I'll give him that. Yes, I believe that's exactly why she sent for me," Knuckles replied. "But from the sounds of it, we may have to take our leave."

"I don't think so," Brandon said still studying the stallion like he was studying him.

"Brandon, are you saying your willing to accept him as your bodyguard?" Luna asked making him nod.

"Yes, I-I'm tired of fighting and despite his hard exterior and his mistrust of me, I think it may work. After all, like you may have hoped he may be able to help me through..." He put a finger up to his temple and started rubbing, the pain and sadness now fully evident in his eyes. "Through the pain of remembering.'

"If that is what you wish, and as long as it's for a good cause then I accept your job offer and I swear my loyalty to you. I will guarantee you will not have to defend for your life no more, may the heavens strike me down if so," Knuckles said bowing a little.

"Brandon, are you sure?" Luna asked the doubt and regret clear in her voice.

"Yes, I accept, and thank you. I may not know what your crimes are, but I hope this is the start of a friendship. One that hopefully will guide both of us to a path of healing," Brandon said and at that, he seem to fall back asleep.

"Hmm, he must still be weak from his battle and his memories. But I do swear Princess, I will make sure he stays safe," Knuckles said as Luna stroked Brandon's cheek and planted a loving kiss on his forehead.

"I thank you, but know that I do regret calling you here just prove me wrong that you are not the same stallion from all those years ago," Luna said.

"H-he's not," Bird said making Luna look at the mare who shrank back even more under her gaze.

"You may be right, as you seem to be proof enough he has changed, even just a little," Luna said her gaze shifting back to Knuckles. "And know if you fail in your task, the heavens will be the last of your worries."

Author's Note

Alright, ladies and gentlecolts! I know it's been a year since the last chapter and I am very sorry for that. Also, all credit for the character of Knuckle Shadow goes to Darksoul85!