Notice: THERE IS VERY DISTURBING THEMES IN THIS CHAPTER! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE PEOPLE GETTING A BLINDSIDE HIT FROM ANOTHER MOTOR VEHICLE, THEN PLEASE SKIP TO THE NEXT CHAPTER WHEN IT COMES OUT! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TRAUMA CAUSED TO YOUNGER AUDIENCES! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

A week later, Twilight had gotten up and got on the train to Baltimare. She still wasn't happy at her friends for still being so distrustful of Knuckles after quite some time, but she did understand their concerns. They have only known about his existence for about a month and during that time frame, they didn't always have the best interactions. Sure, Twilight has made some sufficient progress with Knuckles, but he still has that stubbornness within him.

All she has to do is keep trying with him and he'll finally open up to her completely. After three hours, Twilight finally arrived in Baltimare and headed for Brody Manor on Brody Island. She made it to the front door and knocked on it. Knuckles came over to it and opened it. He said "Oh, Twilight. I didn't expect to see you here. Come in. It's kinda cold out here." Twilight walked in and Knuckles closed the door. "I'm just reading a book over here in the living room, so if you need anything, let me know. If you want to join, just grab a book and sit in the other chair over there."

Knuckles walked away and went to sit back down in his chair. Twilight took a look around to find the library and then looked for a book. She grabbed one she liked and went back to the living room. She sat on the chair and began reading the book. After a few minutes, she looked up and examined the room. It was very nice to look at and the combination of the recliners with the fireplace made the environment very calming. She looked at Knuckles and asked "Is this something you do often?"

Knuckles looked up from his book and said "What do you mean exactly?"

Twilight said "Well, I know you like very loud music, so this quiet environment kind of surprises me. It kind of throws me off a bit."

Knuckles said "Oh, I see. You are technically correct. I love my rock music, but sometimes, I like the nice calm environment to block out all the noise. It's part of the reason why I live so far away from the city. I can't stand all of that noise and I would be constantly bombarded with a bunch of strangers trying to either sell something to me or fix my roof which I don't need either of those. This is just a nice relaxing way to destress and just enjoy life without being slapped in the face." He said that last part with bitterness in his voice and it made Twilight a bit unsettled.

She looked to the right of her and saw a bunch of different photos on the wall. She got curious and asked Knuckles "Hey, what are all of those pictures on the wall for?"

Knuckles looked up from his book and said "Oh, those? They are just photos of different people I met throughout my life. It's nothing too important." He looked back down and continued to read his book.

Twilight asked "Does that include your family?"

Knuckles looked back up again and gave her a hard stare which let Twilight know that was a subject she wasn't supposed to touch. She said "Sorry. I didn't mean to break that rule. I know you don't want to talk about it."

Knuckles sighed and said "It's fine. You were only asking a question. No reason to get mad over it."

Twilight examined the middle photo further and asked "Who is that in the photo next to you?"

Knuckles sighed again and said "That would be my little brother David. He and I were so close growing up and we were basically inseparable. He's the best little bro I could ask for. He went to the Top Gun school to become a Navy pilot and he became one of the best Navy pilots the U.S. military has ever seen. Our parents were so proud of his accomplishments."

Twilight asked "Did you have any accomplishments besides all of those tournaments you did?"

Knuckles said "Oh, sure. I definitely did. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and then a Master's in Political Science. I was working at the Pentagon at one point decoding hackers code and then getting them arrested. I was also a political analyst and strategist at one point and even had my own radio show going over how much the political climate had shifted in America and what it was doing to the country. I might have gotten a little... passionate to say the least, but I felt like it was important."

Twilight asked "Did your parents ever celebrate your accomplishments?"

Knuckles was about to say something, but then he experienced a flashback of his childhood. One day when he came home from a long day of work at the Pentagon, he wanted to go relax after catching the most wanted criminal on the FBI's watchlist, but his father told him to clean up the entire house. Knuckles said he was tired and his father asked rhetorically if he stuttered. He then repeated to Knuckles that he wanted him to clean the house or face consequences.

Knuckles wasn't putting up with it and told him to go kiss his butt because he wasn't doing that. His father got mad and punched him in the stomach. Knuckles winced in pain and retaliated by smacking his father's face with the back of his fist. The two of them began to go at it and fought each other. His mother came in and told her husband to stop for a second before landing a punch on her son's face as well. Knuckles tried to launch at the two of them, but his mother restrained him and his father swept his leg which caused Knuckles to fall to the ground in pain.

His parents kicked him in the stomach once more and left him lying on the ground. After a little bit, he heard his parents talking positively to his younger brother and heard them say that they were proud of his latest accomplishment. That made Knuckles really angry, but he was too weak to do anything about it right now. He tried to get up, but he fell back to the ground and passed out.

The flashback ended and Knuckles had a hard glare on his face. He said "That's enough story time, Twilight." He got up and left the living room. Twilight didn't know what to say and just sat there in silence. Clearly, she must have hit a very sensitive nerve with him and didn't want to talk about it. She went back to her book and kept reading.

A few hours later, Twilight had finished her book and went up to walk around. She was walking through the hallways when she suddenly heard some loud music. She followed the sound of it and stopped at a room that she had never seen before. She slowly opened the door and saw a bunch of weights all over the place. She realized she must have stumbled into the personal weight room.

She saw Knuckles bench-pressing and noticed that he wasn't currently wearing a shirt. Twilight blushed furiously when she saw his muscles and chest being exposed as he walked around to get a towel. Knuckles suddenly saw her and said "Oh, I'm guessing you're not used to me half naked? Alright. I see how it is. I should probably put on a shirt before you faint looking at my body." Twilight nodded and Knuckles threw a shirt on.

Twilight asked "So this is your personal gym?"

Knuckles said "It's more like a personal weight room. I listen to my rock music and I do my heavy weight lifting."

Twilight got curious and asked "How much weight can you lift?"

Knuckles said "Well normally, I lift 1,200 pounds by doing 600 reps of 60, but my max is roughly 6,000 pounds doing 800 reps of 80."

Twilight's jaw dropped and she said "1,200 POUNDS?! That's insane! That is three times the Equestrian record here. How are you not crushed instantly?"

Knuckles said "Part of my supernatural abilities is being able to lift very heavy objects without my spine being crushed. Of course, it took me quite a while to figure it out, but once I did, I tried to keep it as low key as possible so that I wouldn't abuse it. As for my max, it's roughly the weight of about three cars. I just do this so that I can stay in shape when I'm fighting criminals. It allows me to get better and hone my skills so I can fight more efficiently. I'll be done in a bit. So, you can just chill in the library or something while you're waiting."

Twilight nodded and left the room. She realized she had to go to the bathroom, so she went down the hallway and went to it. After handling her business, she went out to find the library. As she was about to walk over there, she saw a door slightly open and a light peaked out. She looked around carefully and then headed in that direction. She walked inside and called out to see if anyone was in there.

Suddenly, she was dragged into some area and she was now viewing a night sky inside of the city. This looked slightly different than Baltimare because of the cars and people walking around, but for the most part, it looked pretty similar. Twilight heard some laughter and saw a couple together walking towards some sort of vehicle. She wanted to get a closer look, so she followed them to see where they were going.

She saw your typical average girl and then she saw... Knuckles. What the heck was he doing with this girl? Who was she? Where did she come from? Was she related to him? Were they together? So many questions circulated through Twilight's mind and she intended to find out the answers. She watched the two hop inside the truck and then drive off. Twilight spread out her wings and flew after them.

She heard Knuckles say "I'm telling you Maddi, those guys were absolutely nuts! I've never seen such stupidity in my life! You would think that Sheetz would be more civilized unlike 7-Eleven, but in this crime ridden city, anything is possible."

Maddi. That's what this girl's name was. This either has to be his sister or girlfriend. She couldn't tell. She needed more details. She heard the girl say "Caleb, you shouldn't be surprised that this sort of thing happened. I understand your frustration, but complaining about it won't do you any good." Caleb? Who the heck is Caleb? That confused Twilight and she didn't know what to think about that one.

Knuckles sighed and said "You're right. *chuckles* What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Maddi giggled a bit and said "I don't know. Just a handsome individual I happened to stumble upon that somehow had a lot in common with me." She pulled him in and the two of them kissed. Twilight was blushing quite a bit looking at that, but she had to stay focused. They were definitely together, that's for sure. Unless there was some serious incest going on, the two were definitely not related by blood. She saw the vehicle moving again and she heard Knuckles say "It really is such a beautiful night. It removes the distractions of the world and zooms on the beauty of nature."

Maddi agreed and said "Yeah, who knew that the night sky could be so beautiful? It fascinates me how people were able to get to the moon over 50 years ago. It's still hard to imagine that." Knuckles nodded and the two of them laughed a bit. Twilight saw the light turn green, but then she saw some sort of car flying down the other road with police chasing right behind them and she knew that wasn't good.

She saw the truck move forward and then as the two inside were talking, that car came running straight into the side of it at a very fast speed. A bunch of glass was shattered instantly along with body panels flying off and airbags being deployed. Twilight was in a state of shock and she saw Knuckles eventually come out of the truck after pushing around some broken body panels. He was wincing in pain and holding his shoulder tightly as he limped over to the other side of the wrecked truck.

He looked for Maddi, but he saw her crushed body completely dead with her head resting on what was left of the dashboard. He realized he made it out alive, but Maddi wasn't so lucky. He now had tears in his eyes and shouted "MADDI!" He banged his fist against the hood and wept bitterly. Twilight eventually heard more sirens coming and that must have have been help. Next thing she knew, she was back in the room that she had stumbled upon.

She was in a state of shock and she didn't know what to say. She had just watched someone very close to Knuckles die instantly and have her die at the price of him living. He was probably alone after that and suffered greatly. Twilight suddenly felt a hand drag her out of the area and put her somewhere else. She turned around and saw Knuckles with a very angry glare on his face. He yelled "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WHY ARE YOU IN HERE?!"

Twilight was starting to panic and said "I-I didn't mean to! I-it w-was an accident, I swear!"

Knuckles growled and picked up the crystal to see what was in that memory. He growled even more and said "NO! NOT THAT ONE!" He was breathing very heavily for a few seconds and then shot a deathly glare at Twilight. He grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. He said "YOU! HOW DARE YOU INVADE MY PRIVACY LIKE THAT! I LET YOU INTO MY HOME, FULLY KNOWING THE RISKS THAT CAME WITH IT, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!" As he was saying that, Twilight saw all of the pain and trauma that he had experienced over the years in his rage filled eyes.

Twilight didn't know what to say and attempted to say "I-I'm sorr-" but Knuckles wasn't done yet. He said "SHE MEANT EVERYTHING TO ME AND THE FACT THAT YOU BOMBARDED LIKE THAT SHOWS YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR PRIVACY AT ALL! THAT WAS MY LAST MEMORY OF HER AND NOW IT IS GONE! SHE WAS THE BEST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN TO ME AND THAT GOSH DARN CRIMINAL TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME! I NEVER FORGAVE HIM OR THOSE DEMOCRAT FOOLS AFTER THAT!" He was about to land a punch on her with his red lightning, but he let go and walked a little bit away.

Twilight now had tears in her eyes and she tried to apologize, but Knuckles turned around and yelled "GET OUT! DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!"

Twilight said "But-" however, Knuckles shouted all the more "GET OUT! NOW!" Twilight didn't say anything else and ran out of the mansion crying. She didn't know where she was going, but all that mattered at the moment is she needed to go somewhere where she couldn't hurt him any further. She did not mean to stumble upon that at all, she just thought it was some cool room to explore. But that clearly wasn't the case.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Knuckles was still trying to grasp all of this occurring. Part of him felt bad for yelling at Twilight like that, but she had discovered one of his darkest secrets that he has tried to bury for years and now with that exposed, the other ones may soon follow and he didn't want that. As for now, he didn't know what to do. He walked very slowly up the stairs and then walked towards his bedroom. He opened up the door and closed it. After a few seconds, he crashed on the ground and just let the waterfalls come out at that point. He wept bitterly and held his arms tightly together.

Author's Note

AN: Well, things definitely got sour to say the least. I know this seems a bit intense and maybe unrealistic, but it's a fanfiction anyways, so who cares? Regardless, this is supposed to explain Knuckles' constant anger towards others. Also, I apologize if that notice seems over the top, but I wanted to give people the heads up so that they don't complain whenever they read it. But who knows? Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next chapter: The Aftermath! Twilight eventually returns home to Ponyville and she explains to her friends about the fallout that happened with Knuckles. Meanwhile, Knuckles is talking to his butler Reginald about how to move forward from this and how to handle it properly. Will the two ever see each other again, or will they forever remain apart?

Until then, my fellow readers