Ryan had survived, much to his own surprise. You would think that the alabaster mare would have had him culled after catching him literally buried between her sisters legs. However, she just gave him a lesson that should have been explained before the day of the incident. The wonders of heat versus the human menstrual cycle, apparently different in a few aspects. Who'd of thunk?

That being said, he basically got away with a slap on the wrist by Celestia; whereas, when Luna was back in a proper set of mind, he was met a number of I'm so sorry's. The girl had basically lost control of her lust, which he wasn't really complaining about.

After all of that had been taken care of the mares informed him that he had a mere day to decide if he wanted to go home. He decided rather quickly not to, commenting that he nothing to go back to.

With that out of the way, Ryan and Luna worked on spending more time together to get to know each other better on a more personal level. They discussed their pasts; Luna told him about her time as Nightmare Moon and her banishment. He told her several parts of his past, but not as much as she had. Something about having a difficult time remembering most of it.

Luna knew very well why he wasn't able to remember a good portion of his life, but was still weary as to why. Yes, his subconscious mind told her that it was for his own good, but what exactly was it that had happened?

The human also spoke of possibilities of his return ending in his death, which led Luna to wonder, what had he done to deserve death back in his world. He had brought up before that he was technically on death row, but never specified why.

She wanted to know, but wasn't sure how to approach the subject, or if attempting to do so would anger him in some way. It was worth a shot she figured.

As the two sat beside each other on her bed, his arm wrapped around her shoulder comfortingly as she told the story about her banishment, she worked up the courage to finally ask, "Ryan, why is it that you were sentenced to death in your world?"

The human fell silent for a moment, not too surprised that she was curious about it, but still curious himself as to why she wanted to know. "Why so curious all of a sudden?"

She shrugged at his question. "I'm not sure, I guess I just can't see why they would require you to face such a fate. I've heard small tidbits about your childhood, from what you remember, but even less about anything else. I understand your memory is not what it should be, but I just can't seem to place you as one to deserve such a thing."

Ryan folded his lips into his mouth and bit down on them as he thought back on his last days on earth, the ones that revealed what kind of person, that he believed, he truly was on the inside. "I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to see me as...some sort of monster."

He seemed to be somewhat upset at this, and as much as she didn't want him to be uncomfortable, she had to know. And, he had to know that it was okay for him to talk to her, to confide in her, to trust her. She wrapped her arms around his side and offered him a warm embrace. "I won't, I promise."

The human nodded before taking a second to collect his thoughts. "It all started about two days before I came here..."

Ryan was standing wide eyed in a brightly lit hallway, donning a casual outfit consisting of a pair of dark blue jeans and a gray tank top and jacket. If he were to look down at his own attire, he would find fresh blood decorating several parts of his body.

Instead, his attention was focused on one of many rooms in front of him where an older looking blonde male was laying in a bed surrounded by different medical staff attempting to aid him.

Ryan ran towards the room, only to be stopped just a few feet away by security. He fought hard against them, trying desperately to get to the room where someone he cared so much for was being held. The struggle didn't go one for too long before the officers had to hit him with a taser gun. It took a few tries but eventually he stopped struggling and was dragged away.

The next day he was sitting in the waiting room, still wearing the blood stained clothing he had shown up in, waiting to hear something, anything. His prayers were soon answered by a nurse who entered and called out his name. "Ryan Curtis, you may come back."

The young human rose to his feet and followed the nurse to the room he was fighting to get to just the night before. In the room was a single doctor holding a clipboard and the same blonde male laying in the bed. Ryan walked over so he could be by his side, scanning his body and noting every bullet wound in his chest.

He moved his eyes from the sleeping form to the doctor on the other side of the bed. "Is he going to be okay?"

The medical expert held a solemn look on his face as he looked over to Ryan and nodded. "I'm sorry, we've done everything we could, but the wounds were too much. You have maybe an hour to say your goodbyes."

Ryan could feel wave after wave of tears rolling down his face as the man nodded to him and left the room for the two to have a moment to themselves.

He looked down at the man, his long hair push back so it was out of his face, and could do nothing but stare at him as he placed a hand on his chest. He could barely feel his heart beat. But, by some miracle, the man stirred from his sleep and looked up at the person by his bedside. "Ryan?"

Ryan couldn't help but smile as he awoke, but it didn't stop the water works from continuing to trail down his face. "Hi, Danny."

Danny took notice of the saddened expression on Ryan's face before speaking weakly to him. "Man, look at you. Standing here crying like a bitch."

The two shared a light laugh before Ryan's features became serious again. "Why did you do it? Why the fuck did you push me out of the way?" He knew why he did, but still found himself asking.

Danny raised one of his hands and placed it on top of Ryan's, grabbing it with what little strength he had. "Because you're my little brother, I couldn't let you get hurt. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you did."

Ryan gripped the hand of the man he happily called his brother. They had only known each other for a few years, but with everything that they had gone through together, with all of the bullshit that surrounded them, they stayed loyal to each other. This meant the whole world to both of them; neither of them had ever found that kind of loyalty from anyone else but each other.

Danny could feel himself slipping away, Ryan could see it in his eyes as well. He wasn't going to be here much longer and they both knew it. "I love you, little brother." He said as the life in his eyes completely died out.

"I love you too, buddy."

The room was suddenly silent, minus the heart monitor that showed a flat line stretching across the screen. Ryan could feel the sadness in his heart slowly fading away and being replaced with something else, something stronger, something angry. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crescent moon, much like the one he wore around his neck, and placed it in his brother's hand before releasing him from his grip.

Ryan went to leave the room, but took notice of a small pile of clothes neatly folded in the corner. His brother's signature clothing, a black trench coat and a pair of cargo pants. He walked over to the clothes and reached into the coat pocket, knowing very well what was hidden within it.

What are you doing?

He pulled out a small hand gun and inspected it. The safety was on and the magazine was full. Before anyone could see it, he stuffed the weapon into his pants before looking back at his brother. "They're not getting away with this."

Ryan, no!

Ryan sat in the middle of the woods, staring down a large shed that rested within, hidden from the outside world. He stopped at his house just before to grab a different set of clothes then made his way here. He remembered how Danny would always tell him to stay away from here, that the people out here didn't like their family and would kill him on the spot. These were the bastards that did it.

Drove by in a black SUV with gun blazing. He tried to shove Danny out of the way, but he just grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. Ryan was spared, but Danny wasn't so lucky. This was all their fault and there was no way in hell he would let them get away with taking the only person who meant anything to him away.

He watched as a single SUV pulled up to the shed, the one that had drove by and taken his whole world away from him. Exiting the vehicle were six men, all dressed in black to make them harder to spot.

He waited for them to enter the building and close the door before coming out of hiding. The hideout had several windows just low enough for him to peek through. All of them were taking a seat at a small table, lighting cigarettes and starting up a game of cards.

Time to crash the party.

Ryan, don't do this. It's not what Danny would have wanted.

Danny is dead. Kill them. Kill them all!

Ryan was about to be at a crossroad for a moment there, but with a much louder voice egging him on his mind settled on continuing what he had set out to do. He checked the vehicle, it was unlocked. Climbing in he tossed his bag into the backseat and reached under the dashboard, removing a small panel before pulling down several wires. Time to see if his older brother's teachings were going to pay off.

The six men now sitting at the table started up their game. "Pair of kings!" One of them called out, making all but one of them groan in anger.

The one that remained silent threw his hand down on the table. "Royal flush, bitch." The whole table erupted with angry yells. Once the yelling died down and the winner collected his earnings they started up another hand. "You think we should have stopped to take out the kid?" he asked, thinking back on when they finally brought down Danny.

"Nah," One of them replied, "he's just some punk that hung out with Danny. They weren't even related, he's got no reason to do anything. Besides, he's only like nineteen, what the fuck is he gonna-"

The room fell silent as the sound of their vehicle coming to life echoed through the woods and into the shed. They all looked at one another before pulling their guns out of their pockets and going out to inspect the area.

When they went outside they were met with a bizarre sight. There was nothing out there, just the over-sized car running for god knows what reason. They put their weapons away before one voice spoke out among them. "Hey, it's your shit, go fix it."

Two men groan in annoyance and went to go see what was wrong with their vehicle. The headlights suddenly shinned brightly, blinding them for a few seconds.

A few seconds was all Ryan needed as he stepped on the gas and drove over the two, crushing them under the three ton beast's tires before continuing to drive at the building. The four remaining men ran out of its way, letting it tear through the wall and crash into the one on the other side.

They looked over at the now totaled vehicle, only one of them being man enough to run over. He held his weapon up and pointed it into the window only to find that nothing was there. He pointed to the others, "You guys, look around outside, I'll check out everything in here."

They obeyed and started searching the forest while he looked back through the window to see the kid they had almost shot earlier sitting in the seat and holding a gun to his head. He back way from the vehicle and Ryan climbed out, keeping the weapon pointed at him. "Drop it, fucker, or I'll blow your brains out!"

The man laughed at Ryan. "Come on kid, this isn't like one of your stupid video games. Put the gun down and let's talk."

"Like you talked to Danny, you fucking bitch!" Ryan pointed the gun at the mans leg and pulled the trigger. As the whole area erupted with a loud bang the man dropped to his knees, screaming in pain. "Now put it down!"

He decided it would probably be best to cooperate with the little brat and tossed his weapon aside. His buddies likely heard the gunshot and would be here any minute.

Ryan was going to say something, but his mind was starting to become a blur. The man saw this as hesitation, thought that maybe he was afraid to kill him. "I told you, it' not the same in real life, is it?" He said, reaching for his weapon.

He watched as the young adults eyes started to become blood shot, now thinking that he was on some kind of drug that was just starting to kick in. As he went for his gun, Ryan charged, tackling him to the ground and wrapping his fingers around his neck.

Do it! Strangle him. Kill him!

Ryan obeyed the screaming voice and tightened his grip, watching the guy beneath him suffocate in his grip. The sound yelling came from outside, the others were on their way.

The fucker laying beneath Ryan started smiling, despite not being able to breath. Ryan remove his hands and delivered a hard punch straight to his wind pipe, shattering it in an instant.

As the others entered the building they found their friend alone in the room, laying on the ground as he struggled to take in what air he could. They ran over to check him, one of them dropping to their knees and holding him up.

"Erin, what the fuck happened!?" He yelled, watching his friend turn blue as he suffocated in his arms before he stopped trying to breath, his body going completely limp. "Fuck!" The man yelled, getting back to his feet. "Where are you, you prick!? Come out and face me like a man!"

As much as Ryan would love to, he knew that he had backup and each of them were armed, they'd play dirty. So he would have to respond in kind.

He waited under the vehicle for them to separate once more, much to his luck, they did. They thought going their separate ways would help find him faster and that would be it, but he wasn't going to let that happen. Ryan sneaked his way outside, to wait for his next target. Soon enough the shorter one of the group came out, looking around the building.

Every passing second felt like an hour. Finally he reached the spot where Ryan wanted him, out of sight of the others. He pulled a line of guitar wire out of his pocket and threw it over the guys head, wrapping it around his neck and sawing at his throat.

"I can't remember a lot pass that point, it's all very hazy, it was like I wasn't in control of my own body anymore." He explained to the night princess who just stared at him in a mixture of shock and sadness, just watching his frozen expressionless face as he spoke

She didn't want to press too much, and to be completely honest, she wasn't sure how much more she wanted to hear. But she had already pulled the pin on this grenade, she would have to put it to use now. "Is there anything you can remember."

"Well..."

Ryan rested just outside of the carnage he had created, sitting on his knees in the cool night air, listening as the signs of an oncoming storm approached, letting everything that had just transpired sink in. They were dead, all of them. In his mind he had done what was right, he avenged his brother's death. But, even when all of this was done, his heart still hurt at the loss of someone so close to him. At least now those bastards wouldn't be able to make anyone else go through what he was.

A sudden familiar flashing of lights entered his vision and when he looked up he found himself face to face with a police car. It stopped just a few feet from him and out came a woman dressed in what appeared to be a black military combat suit. "Well, well, well. Ryan Curtis, right?"

He didn't say anything, just stared up at the woman. He could have sworn he had seen her somewhere before.

She leaned closer to get a better look at him. "My god, it is you! I remember you back in high school. The kid that everyone accused of bringing weapons and bombs to school." She said with a laugh. "How did I know that some day I'd end up finding you like this one day?" She asked with a cocky attitude.

"Probably because you were an ignorant bitch who judged people without knowing them." He explained. "You're self-opinionated, you're ignorant, and above all you're a fucking cunt."

She nodded and walked over to him before grabbing her pistol and slamming it into the side of his head, causing him to fall down into the dirt. "You wanna run that by me again, sweetie?"

He was about to respond but was deterred from doing so when she pointed her gun at him. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of-"

"Just shut up and let me grab my bag so you can arrest me with more than enough evidence to put me away for life." He said to her, knowing very well that once he was sent to prison for all of this that he was never getting back out. A small price to pay for family.

"Put you away!" She said with a laugh. "You're funny! No, baby. You just killed six men, they're not going to lock you up, they're gonna put you in the chair." Hearing this made his eyes widen. Prison was one thing, but death was another. "Well, if they still used that. Now they're gonna strap you down and stick you with a needle. Either way, I'm still gonna enjoy watching your ass die."

She got down on her knees so she would be face to face with the rising, soon-to-be, corpse. "Do me a favor too and don't bother running. I'll catch you. Now what was that about a bag of evidence?"

He sighed and rose to his feet, her doing the same and keeping her gun on him. Ryan walked over to the vehicle he had used to literally crush two of the guys earlier and pulled out a single-strapped backpack, once he had it he opened it and grabbed his brother's gun that he had somehow managed to drop earlier and placed it into the largest pocket.

Here he was now, after just finishing his work to making sure his brother's death wouldn't be in vain, about to be sentenced to death. Redemption was a hell of a thing if you looked at it from every angle, as well as being sure to observe the consequences; something he did not do thoroughly.

Ryan made his way over to the woman and threw the bag over his shoulder. "Uh, uh, no. Not happening. Give it here."

He sighed and grabbed the strap.

Now!

Once he was sure he had a firm grip, he swung the bag at her, knocking her in the head. Inside of this thing were a couple of clothes, yes, but mostly tools. The hard structures from within the cloth carrying bag struck her right to the dome with enough force to knock her down.

Ryan took advantage of this opportunity and ran out into the woods. The forest was dense with trees and wet leaves. The sound of rain and thunder echoing in the distance as a storm tore through the area.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" The officer he had just struck yelled as she started chasing him.

"I'll stop running when you stop being a cunt-odactyl!" Ryan shouted, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

As he ran the woman behind him fired two shots in his direction, intentionally missing. "I said freeze, dirt-bag!"

"And I said fuck you, bitch!" He shouted to her before finally coming up on a clearing and being forced to stop. "Holy shit!" He shouted, stopping just short of a cliff. He leaned forward to see if there was a way down, but sadly that trip would be very muddy and likely lead to a few hundred foot swan-dive straight into the raging waters below.

Damn... He thought to himself. That would have sucked.

The woman behind him came to a halt, holding her gun up only a few feet from his head. "Hands up, now!" She demanded, taking an internal sigh of relief when he actually complied. She walked up behind him, grabbing a set of hand cuffs strapped to her side. "I told you I'd catch you, Ryan. You can't run away from me forever."

"It wasn't you I was running from, it was the death-sentence. But, seeing how I'm a little fucked right now, how about you do me a solid and just pull the trigger." He said as his eyes scanned the area for anything he could use to escape.

"Sorry, buddy," She started, grabbing one of his hands and pulling it behind his back, "but I'd rather watch you suffer. I know the needle of death thing doesn't scare you, but just the fact that you've finally lost is enough to get me off. And I plan to ride it out for as long as I can."

Don't do it.

Ryan took one last glance at the edge of the cliff. "Sorry sweetheart, but I never lose." He quickly used his free arm to elbow the woman behind him, breaking her nose the second he made contact.

Don't do it!

The woman stumbled and took a step back, giving her almost-prisoner more than enough of a chance to execute his plan of escape. The only part that sucked about it was that if it didn't kill him, it was gonna hurt a lot.

Goddammit!

Once he knew he was free from her grip he took a few steps forward and jumped, letting gravity do the work for him. He looked down and stared at the fast approaching waves beneath him and closed his eyes.

Ryan's body hit the water with a loud smack.

"That's when I heard your voice." he said, causing Luna to look up at him. "While I was literally drowning in those waters, I could hear your voice. You saved me."

She didn't know what to say, not just about saving him, but about any of it. He went through all of that because some punks killed a man that he considered family.

"So what do you think?" He asked, wondering if her opinion of him changed, if it had he hopped it would be for the better, but he highly doubted it.

Morally, she knew that what he did was wrong, but in the times that she grew up in as well as the things she would have done if she were in the same situation, could she blame him? No, she couldn't. "I think that what you did was wrong, but honestly I can't say I blame you." Ryan shot her a curious look. "You're a good person, Ryan, I can see it in your eyes. You've just gone through something that not many can say they have. You did what you did out of anger, but if somepony were to hurt my sister, or take her from me...I'd probably do something similar." She confessed.

He couldn't help but notice a growing wetness in his eyes, but he quickly wiped it away. "You really cared about him; you have so much love in your heart, but every time you give it to something it's taken from you." Reading him was becoming somewhat easier with each passing day. He would open up more to her and confide in her and she could understand his pain.

She cupped his cheek and made sure that he was looking at her when she said this. "Ryan, don't let your past haunt you. You did what you had to and if you ever need anything, I'll be right here. I will never leave you."

Her words brought a strange comfort to him, like he knew she was being truthful, that she really would be there no matter what. It reminded him of Danny. When ever Ryan needed something, truly needed something, Danny would be there for him. He would do anything for him, even risk his own life to save him. He could feel that comfort with Luna, but he would be damned if he let something happen to her.

Ryan took a silent vow at this moment to protect her no matter what. He's not gonna let another persons coffin rest on his conscience; he wasn't going to lose anyone ever again, especially her.