"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 Notes:

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!