//------------------------------// // Epilogue part 2 : A new horizon // Story: Friendship is dead part 2 : A stallions redemption // by ALoneWolf //------------------------------// The next few months went by in a flash without a single problem, and suffice to say, everything was now back to normal. Ever since the groups spiritual encounter with twilight, life has started to take a positive turn for each of them. With twilight having finally forgiven them despite the many hardships from last year, their spirits were as high as ever especially Shining Armor's. The stallion has finally found closure , with him not only reconciling with his sister, but with his parents as well after months of heartache. Now their bond was as strong as ever with them finally together as a family again alongside their long lost daughter/sister Cheerilee. And I'm pleased to say that the family has increased in size, with Cadence finally given birth to a beautiful baby alicorn. To which the couple have named Flurry Heart Sparkle, and Shining armor couldn't have been any happier to both be a father, and to start a family of his own alongside his beautiful wife. Speaking of family, I'm pleased to say that Velvet's cancer treatment was was a success without a single issue, Thanks to the blood transfusion courtesy of her daughter Cheerilee, the mare was as healthy as ever. She still goes down from time to time for routine checkups just to be on the safe side, but rest assured , the entire Sparkle family was overjoyed that the mare has made a full recovery. They even had a big family dinner to celebrate the successful surgery, inviting not only Cheerilee, but also her adopted parents as well, long story short, they were now one big happy family. And it wasn't just the stallion whom managed to redeem himself, I'm pleased to say that Dr Lockhard and his older brother finally found peace. Ever since his first session with Shining Armor, the griffon finally decided that it was about time he confronted his brother, after sending him a letter telling the stallion to meet him at the Crystal empire whenever he got the chance. The two sibling had a nice long talk, words were exchanged, tears were shed, but in the end the two brothers buried the hatchet with Lockhard finally forgiving his older brother after putting it off for all these years. And they sealed the deal with a loving embrace fully restoring their bond as brothers. And I'm happy to report that Buck Whithers won his election by a landslide thanks to the added support of the royal couple, the stallion was now officially Canterlot's newest congress pony. And not only that, he and his girlfriend Fleetfoot finally got married which made the stallion even more happy to not only to have won the election, but that he can spend his life with the mare of his dreams by his side. As for the mane six along with Spike, things for going well with them as well. Rainbow dash continued on her work at her friends library, and has found herself an extra boost in business after Fleetfoot put in a good recommendation with some of her friends and comrades, and soon the pegasus found herself some new and regular customers, including members of the wonderbolts and even some ponies all the way from the Crystal empire and Canterlot city. Pinkie Pie decided to move back to Ponyville, with her families blessing , the young earth pony returned back to her old life, to which she was greeted with a warm welcome party hosted by not only her friends, but every single pony in town , who were overjoyed to have the happiest mare back in town to bring smile and joy to all. She even took back her job at Sugarcube corner to which the Cakes personally welcomed her back along with the twins who were just as happy to have their favorite babysitter back. She also decided to continue working out having grown a liking to her new physique, and she also took a second job as a personal trainer at the local gym. The Apple family business continued on as normal, but now with higher spirits by not only Applejack, but from Spike as well as they knew Twilight would always be there for them whenever they were down or having problems, the purple sparkle apple continued to sell like hotcakes, even going as far as to outsell their signature and rare Zapp apple's, which really showed that Twilight was still there for them. And as for Spike, he still grew accustomed to his new home and family, and continued to help out around the farm , he also stopped by the library from time to time to give Rainbow dash a hand whenever she had a flash sale, and he was also taught how to make the signature apple family jams , cider, and pies. While his first attempts weren't the best, Applejack assured him that he'll nail it with her help. Rarity finally came up with a new system for her dress making, despite not having magic anymore, the mare managed to find the right rhythm to do things by hoof. And I'm pleased to say, her latest creations have been a raging success, with some of em being used in fashion shows, cinema, plays, and even for sporting events. She also continued to receive some help from her friends, Sweetie belle, and even her boyfriend Spike. Yes I'm happy to say she and Spike are now a couple, actually the two started dating ever since he hit his growth spurt a few months ago, But they decided to wait to tell everyone given the events that transpired. But after AJ spotted some lipstick on the drakes neck whom she recognized as the fashionista's favorite brand, she was quick to put two and two together, but she never the less promised to keep it a secret until they were ready to tell everyone about their relationship. Fluttershy still kept her daily routine of taking care of her animal friends , and helping out at the animal shelter. And not only that, she also started to tutor Apple bloom and some of their other classmates whenever they had trouble with a certain subject in class. She even formed a friendship with her former bullies Hoops, Dumbbell, Score, and Cirrus Cloud who dropped by from time to time to either hang out with her and dash, or to help out with the animal shelter and the weather team . Celestia continued on as the ruler of the sun, but this time with an added boost of confidence, knowing that her citizens need her, the alicorn no longer waits in the sidelines and now gives full assistance to the elements of harmony whenever they're in need of any back up, She also decided to have the main six store their respected elements at each of their houses for easier access whenever they're called upon to deal with the latest adversary, and suffice to say, the group thanks to the sun goddesses guidance continued on with their respected roles as the saviors of Equestria alongside the newest element of Magic..................Discord. Yes I'm pleased to say Discord passed his test with flying colors and was officially awarded the title of the Element of Magic, and so far the draconequus proved himself to be a worthy member of the gang. With his magical abilities proving to be a big help to the group, earning him vast amounts of respect from the citizens of both Ponyville, the Crystal empire, and Canterlot, and while he does play the odd prank from time to time, Fluttershy and the others couldn't have asked for a more suitable replacement for the magic element, and I'm sure Twilight thinks the same too. Celestia even told him that she was proud of all of his hard work , and Discord was happy to have fully redeemed himself for his past actions and to have made so many friends along the way. And as for Trixie, she kept her word to Shining Armor about being on her best behavior. The former magician has displayed model behavior and was no longer the boastful egotistical mare that she used to be, and she stopped referring to herself in the third person much to the relief of a few of the guards whom found that tick of hers rather irritating. Shining Armor, Cadence , and even Fluttershy stopped by from time to time to visit and to check on her progress, and It's safe to say that the mare will find herself released very soon if she keeps this up, and hopefully by the time she is released, she'll have been a changed mare. Despite the hardships from the year before, the group knew that it was never too late to continue onward, especially given that Twilight while gone, still has their backs no matter what, and that their friendship would still go strong despite a few obstacles along the way. Meanwhile "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Cried Gladmane as he was tossed inside a cell block by a royal guard and landed on the cold hard ground with a thud. The stallion let out a loud groan from the impact before the guard spoke up. "Welcome to your new home GladDICK" He said sternly. " Oh................ and consider this payback for costing me and my wife 30,000 bits from that rigged Casino of yours from our anniversary trip last year!!!!" He then slammed the cell door shut as the sound of clanking metal echoed throughout the corridor, he then locked the door before exiting the prison chambers leaving the stallion all alone with nothing but the sounds of dripping water, other inmates complaining, and banging metal to keep him company. The stallion let out one last groan before finally picking himself up from the hard concrete, he walked towards the bars and placed his front hooves on em. His mind was full of realization at the fact that he lost everything thanks to his little revenge plan, despite hiring the best lawyer this side of Equestria that money could buy, the stallion was still found guilty, when Shining Armor stated that kidnapping and attacking royalty was a serious offense, he wasn't kidding, and now the stallion was gonna be here for a while. No money, no girls, no penthouse, the only thing he had left was the clothes on his back and the rats that scurried through the chamber. Another loud groan can be heard from the stallion which echoed through the corridor before he finally spoke. " Damn it, how could it have come to this? I was so close, that plan was foolproof. But that kid just had to ruin it with those new powers of his, I lost everything. My money, my Casino, my aids, my fans, my penthouse, my gym membership, everything is gone! And worst of all, that dang unicorn is probably up there laughing at me, I swear if that bitch was still alive I'd strangle her and that little sidekick of hers too, if I ever get out of here Ima track that Lulamoon down and end her" " Shame you'll never get the chance big boy" Came a voice which slightly startled the stallion as he was quick to recognize whom it came from, he looked up towards the cell that was 5ft away from his, and there stood non other than Trixie Lulamoon herself looking all cool and collected as she surveyed the "new guy" all while Gladmane stared in disbelief. " Well, well, well, we meet again "boss" "Oh shit" He groaned. " I forgot this place was unisex" " Nice to see you too" Trixie replied with a smug tone. " So I take it your little revenge plot didn't work out so well?" "No it didn't" He said with a growl. " Damn it it's bad enough I'm trapped in this place, but now I'm stuck in here with you of all ponies?" "Hehe cheer up Gladmane, it's not too bad in here" Trixie said. " We get three meals a day, warm beds, 2 hours of outside time, and Trixie even made some new friends in here" "Well good for you" He replied sarcastically. " I wouldn't act so smug Lulamoon, I ain't gonna be in here as long as you, need I remind you that your ass is gonna be in here for 35 years?" " Not anymore" Trixie replied. " I had a nice talk with Shining Armor and he managed to convince the council to lower my sentence to 10 years, 5 years if on good behavior" "So that's it?" Gladmane said with a smug tone of his own. " This goody twoshoes act is just so you'll get an earlier sentence?" "Nope" Trixie replied. " Don't get me wrong, I'm super dooper happy that I'll be released soon, but I'm not doing this as an excuse to lower my sentence, I'm doing this to redeem myself. Ever since my conversation with Shining Armor, it gave me a chance to look back at my past mistakes, his words of wisdom really hit he hard. He's actually a very nice stallion , I can see why Cadence was into him or why Twilight used to idolize him. I've spent half my life in my parent's shadows thinking that I'll never live up to them. But now I know that I don't need to be anything like them, it's high time I learn to be myself and to do things the right way, I know it's gonna take time and a lot of training , but I'm gonna do my magic the right way this time and actually entertain everyone instead of making a mess wherever I go. It's like Shining armor told me , it's never too late to redeem yourself. I know me and him will never be friends after everything in the past, but I'm gonna make him and everyone else proud" "Well good for you" Gladmane said unimpressed. " I'll give it a month that you won't keep that bullshit promise" "Whether you believe me or not, I don't care" Trixie shot back. " I'm gonna work hard to redeem myself and to make up for my past mistakes, no matter how long it's gonna take. and unlike you, I actually wanna try to put my past actions behind me. Need I remind you that your in here because of your petty grudge, which was my fault I know. Plus you've conned hundreds of visitors at your resort/casino thanks to those rigged machines of yours. So in a way, your in here thanks to your greed getting the better of you" Gladmane only responded with a growl, not even bothering to fight back with the mare, as it would be pointless at this point. "Oh ? Hehe looks like he woke up" Trixie said in her head. " By the way big guy, you do squat exercises don't ya?" Gladmane raised an eyebrow at the mares question. " What kind of question is that? I never skip leg day, why?" "Cause your gonna need some tight buns when big Eddie is done with ya" Trixie replied with a giggle. "Who the hell's Big Edd....................... "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Came a voice causing Gladmane to turn his head back, his eye's widened in shock as a stallion as massive as Bulk biceps was standing over him with a thirsty look written on his face as he licked his lips " It's been a while since I've had some fresh meat in here" Big Eddie then took it upon himself to give Gladmanes butt a good smack causing him to wince slightly. " And your just my type of stallion, bulky, rich, and with a fine ass. Get comfortable Gladmane, cause you and I are gonna have a fun time together, now spread those cheeks for me bitch"Gladmanes expression turned to a look of fear as he knew what was about to go down, all while Trixie looked on in amusement as if she was watching a good show, the stallion let out a gulp and a nervous sweat as he knew what was about to transpire between him and the massive stallion whom he was sharing a cell with. "Mother💧"