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 Notes:

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!