//------------------------------// // "Family reunion" // Story: Friendship is dead part 2 : A stallions redemption // by ALoneWolf //------------------------------// The next day The sound of tapping sounds illuminated the dining room table of the Sparkle household as various hooves tapped on the wooden surface, Velvet along with her husband had anxiety written on each of their faces as they along with Shining Armor patiently waited for the arrival of velvet's blood donor for her cancer treatment. After the unicorn was informed about the news of the couple finally locating a donor for Velvet's treatment, the stallion was quick to catch a train to his hometown the second he woke up this morning. Cadence however decided to stay behind as this was mainly between the Sparkle family, but never the less wished her husband luck with his parent's. The couple however didn't inform the stallion on whom was coming which fueled Shining's curiosity. But given how nervous the couple has been the second they invited their son in, there was no doubt the guest who was to arrive soon has a past with them. Suddenly the sound of the doorbell could be heard, indication that someone has arrived. The stallion took it upon himself to be the one to open the door, given that he wanted to know who it was that this parents requested for a blood donor. After a few seconds, the stallion made his way towards the front door just as the doorbell range for a second time as he began unlocking it. As he finally opened the door, Shining Armor got the surprise of a lifetime after witnessing who was at the other end of the door................................ Miss Cheerilee "Shining Armor, we meet again" She said. The stallion was speechless as he glanced at the mare standing right in front of him, not expecting to encounter her again after only meeting Cheerilee weeks ago. "Uh yeah" He replied with a stammering tone. " So.........what brings you here?" "I'm sure it's pretty obvious" She stated. " I'm here to finally meet my real parents, plus I've been told that my A positive blood is needed for cancer treatment" There was an awkward silence for a moment as Shining Armor was visibly dumbfounded at the fact that Cheerilee was the blood donor, but what was even more shocking was that she was finally gonna meet her biological parents after all these years. "Ya know, it's rude not to invite your guest inside right?" Shining Armor quickly went back to reality knowing that the mare was right. " Oh! Of course, sorry, come on in. My folks are waiting in the dining room" The mare gave a nod as she made her way inside of the Sparkle household. Soon the brother sister duo entered the dining room where they ( mainly ) Cheerilee were met by the married couple, whom have which were anxious and rather nervous about her arrival. Once the duo were seated, there was an awkward silence at first as Crescent levitated some cups of tea for everyone at the table. Only the sounds of quiet sips could be heard as everyone around the table struggled to find the right words to say especially towards the young school teacher. After what felt like an eternity, the family matriarch finally broke the ice. " Thank you for coming , Miss Cheerilee" "Well actually, my "parents" requested that I come" Cheerilee replied in a quiet tone. " And I'm only here because you guys are their childhood friends, and I couldn't say no to that" "We know.................." "Stop" She interrupted. " Before you say anything Mr Crescent, and before I even give you my answer as to whether or not I'll go through with the blood transfusion for Velvet. I have one question , and you better give me an honest answer, otherwise, I'm out of here" Crescent gulped after hearing the mares demand, he gave a fast nod, not wanting to risk the one mare who might be his wives only chance of surviving this predicament to leave. "Why?............why did you guys abandon me? Did you not wasn't me, was I a mistake or something?" "No it wasn't like that Cheerilee" Crescent corrected. "Then what was it then?!" Cheerilee shouted. " What could possibly be the reason for you two to just up and give me away like some sort of last minute birthday present?! You know, those two may not have been my real parents, but they loved me and treated me like I was their actual daughter, and I have them to thank for everything. If it wasn't for their love and support, I wouldn't be where I am today. Unlike you two, they actually gave a shit about me, they didn't care that I wasn't related to them, once again they treated and loved me like I was their own daughter, honestly if this is how you two treat your own flesh and blood, it's a miracle shining Armor and even Twilight........................... "WE WERE YOUNG CHEERILEE!!!!!!!!!!!" Velvet roared, interrupting the earth pony, Velvet panted for a bit as well as let out a small cough before continuing. " We didn't abandon you sweetie, we just weren't ready yet. Me and Crescent weren't planning on getting married immediately after we graduated, when I found out that I was pregnant a week after losing my virginity to crescent, we were in a panic. Like I said, we were young back then and weren't expecting to have a kid of our own so soon, and we couldn't just force ourselves to get married immediately believing that it was the right thing to do in this situation. But me and Crescent didn't want to put ourselves and our respected families through all that" "And we didn't want to go down the abortion path either , so we figured out the more reasonable solution" Crescent jumped in. " I'm sure your mother informed you a while back when she told you everything that she had terminal issues which prevented her from getting pregnant. Unlike us, they were actually planning on getting married after college, but when she discovered her terminal issues, she and her mate were heartbroken at the fact that they'd never get the chance to start a family of their own. So that's when we gave them an offer...................to have them adopt you" " When we explained our little situation with them, they were on board with the idea" Velvet replied. " After waiting for month's , I finally gave birth to you the night before their wedding. Soon we took care of the adoption papers and handed you over to them before they headed out for their honeymoon, then a year later me and Crescent finally got married and had Shining Armor. But I'd be lying if I said that me and him haven't regretted our decision. When I had Shining Armor, I was full of nothing but guilt at the fact that he'd go on without knowing that he had a sister, but when I had Twilight a few years later I figured that would fill in the rift, but that only made me regret my decision more and more" "Especially given the fact that the both of them would be born without even knowing of your existence, except for Twilight whom lived in the same town as you" Crescent said. " It only made matters worse that she had no Idea that one of her friends turned out to be her long lost sibling, and now she'll never know" There was a long silence for a moment as Cheerilee collected her thoughts. "I know this is gonna be hard to believe Cheerilee, but me and Velvet regretted giving you away, there hasn't been a day where we wished that it could have been different back then. But again, me and Velvet weren't ready to have a kid yet, if we had you and something bad happened to you because of our stupidity, we would never have forgiven ourselves. We didn't mean to give you away like that Cheerilee, we just didn't know what to do. I know this won't mean much, but we're truly sorry for all of this, I don't blame you for hating us " Cheerilee was at a loss for words after hearing her biologic parents explanation, while a part of her was still upset about the couple just giving her away, the mare also understood their reasons for doing so given that they didn't plan on getting married immediately after graduation, even though it was a pretty drastic choice. After a moment, the mare let out a long sigh before speaking. " I..................I guess I can understand your reasons for doing so, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't understand how you felt. I had a few pregnancy scares myself during my college days, so I understand the feeling. But why didn't you guys at least come to see me or something?" "We were afraid that you wouldn't want anything to do to us if we told you the truth ourselves Cheerilee" Crescent replied. " And you were already having a happy life, and we didn't want to ruin it so suddenly by revealing ourselves to you" "......................That's understandable as well" Cheerilee said. There was another awkward silence for a moment before the mare broke the ice. ".............................I'll do it" "What?" Velvet said in a shocked tone. "I'll do the blood transfusion" Cheerilee replied. " You may have given me away, but you guys are still my parent's, my biological ones at that. And I wouldn't forgive myself if I refused a cancer patients request, and again I can understand you reasons for giving me away. I can honestly see that your not bad ponies, you were young back then and didn't know what to do in a situation like that. Believe me, I've been there. So I will help you guys, but I want you to promise me something. If there's anymore secrets that neither me or Shining Armor AKA my little brother know about, I expect you two to be honest with us from now on" The trio were speechless after Cheerilee finished her little lecture, Crescent and Velvet were especially shocked that she agreed to it despite learning the truth about them. Tears started to form on the couples eye's and soon they collected the mare, no their daughter into a hug. She didn't return it however, but never the less smiled and accepted it as Shining Armor looked on with a smile of his own. "Thank you Cheerilee" Velvet sniffed as the group hug ended. "Thank you so much sweetheart" Crescent replied. " I promise , no more secrets. and we'll be there for you this time we promise. And to start off our path of honesty, I kind of have a confession for both you and Shining" Hearing this caused Cheerilee and shining Armor to raise an eyebrow as they wondered what their father was about to reveal. "You see, Crescent isn't actually my name. My real name is Night Light" The siblings jaws dropped in shock after their father admitted that Crescent wasn't his real name. " You see, I have quite a history with my actual name. Back in grade school, I was bullied and teased a lot by my classmates because I was named after a literal Night Light, especially since it didn't make much sense as my cutiemark was a Crescent moon , not a Night Light. When I started highschool i practically had to beg mom and dad to have my name legally changed, cause there no telling what kind of hell I'd go through if any of my highschool mates found out my actual name" There was a long silence for a moment after Crescent finished his little tale, the silence turned into chuckles, which eventually turned into full blown laughter by Cheerilee, Shining Armor, Velvet, and even Crescent AKA Night Light.