The Vanishing Star
by NocturneD
ooo
"Grandma! GRANDMA!" My younger self shouted with excitement as I ran throughout her house.
I approached the old mare with another set of A+ papers varying from spelling, to math, to history, to advanced junior magic and my specialty of shop class. Yeah apparently they let seven year old unicorns take shop class because it did not involve their hoofs just their magic but it was something to practice precision. I even brought home another blue ribbon for my science project on a water powered carriage model I have been working on. Grandma Lucrecia was in the middle of a tutoring session with another of her students which were much older than I was. Probably from fourteen to fifteen. She turned her head to look down at my marks. My reward, hugs and compliments. And a little applause from her students.
"Oh Van you're grandma's best student." She said proudly, "Everyday you're out doing yourself. What am I going to do with you when you get older?"
"Still teaching?" I asked hopefully.
She smirked then turned to her students. "Why do you all take an early break. It was about to be that time anyway."
"Yes doctor Lucrecia." They all responded, they packed up their books and went outside.
"Did you tell your mom and dad?" She asked with a smile.
That's when my happiness shattered, my hoof pressing into the floor. "Well... no... Dad said he was busy and mom is out shopping for Twilight again."
Grandma frowned, "Typical of those two. Oh well."
I was still saddened by the fact that neither of my parents supported my accomplishments, "How come?"
Grandma rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Your mom is a bit crazy over getting Twilight into that gifted school. I can understand wanting to give her the best but you'll understand in the future when you have children of your own." She turned her head, "As your father he... Well let's say that school Twilight is going to and the academy Shining Armor is going to roll into is going to cost a pretty bit."
"So... he's upset about money?" I asked.
"Sort of. He's just feeling the pressure for all the great things going on there's always a negative aspect. But looking at those bills, acceptance fees, semester payments, maybe a dorm room..." She scratched her cheek, "Back when I was little if you were good enough and could impress the princess you got in."
"Was that easy back then? Would I have a chance back then?" I asked with a little hope for her answer.
"Eh. The rules were different back then before taxation took over. Was more like a pageant. And for your answer... Depending on what age you get in, you might have a fifty fifty chance."
"So... good? bad?" I held up my hoofs like a scale.
I knew she was trying to be nice, "I would let you in if I was in charge. I know potential when I see it."
"Aww..." I nuzzled my snout against grandma as she returned the favor.
But then I had to ask. "Say grandma? If you like teaching. How come you're not teaching at the school for the gifted or any other school?" I asked.
She smirked, "Let's just say that with the times, things change. How things are run by a bunch of bureaucrats where everything is being charged." With a sigh she turned to one of her shelves,
"Back when I was little. There was a satisfaction of earning things. If you did not perform well enough then you did not pass or get what you wanted. Now a days ponies just throw bits if their child isn't doing well enough in hopes for them passing without them learning anyway. Plus depending on the school, they want that so the school could keep floating."
"Doesn't sound like a school then." I pondered.
"Oh it only gets worse. Schools are for the privileged and any pony who wants to learn. Should not be a giant charity case." She grumbled. "That's why I went into medical practices to use my healing magic and that worked out for awhile. I seen a lot of injuries back then but some still haunt me. Some soldiers coming back home from the war are heart breaking, seeing them broken down and not the same pony when they left."
"Is the war ever going to end?" I asked.
"Oh. They have been talking about it ending soon and it looks like things are flowing nicely." Grandma smirked, "But between two, three or even four nations, remember that there are always going to have extremists who don't want peace and want to have their beliefs shown."
"Oh..." I pondered.
"But with war. Comes casualties.I see tons and tons of injuries from burns, to stab wounds, bullet wounds even legs, arms and wings gone." She frowned.
"Ponies get their arms and legs cut off?" My little mind could not wrap around that thought.
She nodded, "Grandpa Draco had some difficult fights where even he had lost a leg. One of the reasons why I went into making new limbs for ponies, griffins, elks, zebras and other species."
"Why Griffins? Zebras? Aren't they the bad guys?" I asked.
She turned to me with a serious look, "There are no bad guys honey. The only bad guys are the ones that want to hurt others for their benefit. What each side wants is just more rights and benefits they never had before. Wasn't easy for your grandfather's old friend to wander through Equestria because he was a griffin. But he was very loyal to us."
"What happened to him?" I asked.
"Got old and had a few kids then some grandkids. He was furious about the war and never supported it. The Griffin kingdom mirrors ours and would never think anything is wrong with it. But differences were known on how things should be done from different perspectives. They were doing things we did not approve of and we did things they did not approve of. So... in a nutshell the war was something unneeded in the first place." She explained while she fetched some old letters with the photographs still in them. "I think this little beauty is named Gilda."
"Ah." I looked at the picture of an elder griffin with glasses giving his little grand daughter a ride on his back with other small griffins cheering. I noticed the back leg of the elder griffin had a metal replacement leg. "So that's why you want to help griffins and other animals?"
"Yes. Because every pony deserves a second chance. If Garrus there died from blood lose he would have never had met his wife and had kids." She explained, "We're happy for him as he is of us. Though I have to admit those metal limbs are not that great and every year I try something new but could never figure out it out. Ponies and others would complain that its not durable enough but I never gave up... Well... maybe someday because I'm not going to be around forever."
"Oh..." Grandpa Draco's death was still in my mind when I heard the news. That was one of the hardest things in my life to accept as he was the strongest pony I knew and appeared to be not afraid of anything. I knew, grandma still misses him as she kept his training room the way it was. Messy. But his trophy room had a neat collection of various armor, swords and other weapons. But there was this one sword that grabbed my attention that grandpa himself appreciated a lot. It looks like a regular Katana sword; a very famous style of Japonies sword. Grandpa said it was a gift given to him by a pony that taught him various ways of fighting and what he tried to pass onto us. But the pony he would tell me about sometimes was the fabled Kirin, a half unicorn half dragon hybrid. Sounds cool but also very scary at the thought of a pony having the power of a dragon. Grandpa mentioned that it if I wanted it I could have it while Shining Armor could have the rest. And that, I told him sure.
"I still miss him." I rubbed my eye a bit.
With that grandma came over and gave me a hug, "I know sweetie. But know that he's up there watching over us." I just could not bare the thought of grandma going away either, grandpa was just too much. He taught me to stand up for myself and would tell me adventure stories. Grandma was even helping him write a few story books about his adventures which are still just sitting in his shelf somewhere unpublished. Oh well.
Later that day I wandered into her office where she kept her own books. I admit, I used to be scared of going in there because of the medical skeleton that hung in the corner but now it was just silly. I looked at her degrees and some commendations. Even some old photos she had on the wall when she was younger. One always caught my attention is when before she met my grandpa she wore a cape with stars on it along with wearing a pointy hat with the same pattern. I read the name under the plaque, "The Great and Powerful Lucrecia". How cute.
Grandma caught me in her office again. Not that she did not want me being in there. It was just her stuff that was for her project to perfect the prosthetic. She gently sat me down and we looked at the pictures she pulled out of her shelf. A photo album from her youth. She showed me various pictures ranging from romantic to funny. Even the letters she sent to grandpa that he managed to save.
"And this here is when Draco and I had our first date." She flipped the page, "This here is when he proposed. Oh... My letter to him." She pulled out the envelop and a picture fell out. She read the contents while I looked at the photo. She smiled dearly at her literature expressing her love for him.
"Hey grandma? Who is this girl in her underwear on top of a grand piano?" I held up the photo.
Her expression fell from happy to panic. She grabbed the photo and slid it into her shirt pocket.
"Little boys and girls should not see stuff like that." Little did I know, that was indeed her posing
for grandpa as one of their love letters. Excuse me while I go get the brain bleach. "Here is your father with his older brothers Aries, Libra, the twins Gemini and little sister Lulumoon." Grandma would go on to explain what the rest of the family was doing. Libra was pretty much a lawyer to the Sparkle family. Aries was in the guard. The twins, well one of them became an advisor while the other one is a moocher off his girlfriend. Aunt Lulumoon I would not see as much but she is very much an awesome aunt though can't say much for her daughter Trixie. "Funny how little Trixie looks exactly like I did when I was young." We don't see Lulumon and Trixie too often, maybe once every two or three years for holidays.
So now. We finished up the albums and it was about time I headed home anyway. But before I did I noticed that grandma lacked awards except for the commendations. Sure she had those world's number one grandma from us but it was awkward when giving our other grandma an identical one. I of course asked her why. She said as long as we were around we were her awards. Back then, gold was always the meaning of excellence. But really, the heart was. Grandma achieved a lot of great things and was one of the ponies I always admired. Still she tried to fiddle with that project but she retired finally and gave up on it letting other inventors try. She might have not been the first pony to start the prosthetic idea but she was the one who inspired me to try. Countless others tried and got as close to a ridiculous stick being in the place of their limb like a pirate. All grandma wanted to do is share the joy and knowledge of magic with every pony to whoever was willing to learn. She never turned down a student and always gave every pony a chance...
That's why she deserves an award for just who she is.
ooo
When the princess announced my name. I felt the pressure in my stomach, I was nervous even dreaded the thought of my former family just sitting there. I took one step forward then another into the daylight. It was not like I was never up in front of a lot of ponies before in meetings and conventions, this was an entire city. I'm not joking. Beyond the final rows of chairs stood about hundreds from what I could count, but with the ponies I overhead it was in the thousands. Ponies from all over Equestria just came to see me? Impossible. The roar and chant of the ponies were empowering, the size, the happy faces, some ponies throwing streamers. Pretty equivalent to the new year's ball dropping in times square in Manehatten.
The closer and closer I got to the princess. The more welcoming the feeling got. Like I can just let go of all the pain and troubles. I can see why Twilight praises and defends her at all costs. I stood my place as she continued to speak to her subjects as I scanned the crowd. Over and over. So many ponies came out to show their support and appreciation. Some of them seemed familiar and some I knew as the two fillies that inspired me to do the Lucrecia program were there too. I saw signs proclaiming their thanks to me. One sign I liked said; Fade-Away 3:16. Heh.
"For a long time in education my school for the gifted wanted to reach out to every young pony out there but could not. For reasons ranging from not being able to afford to being unprepared. The Lucrecia tutorial has been accepted in public schools and used as a teaching aid. I am pleased to say that it really helped the young unicorns learn the basics of magic." Celestia proudly announced, "Another invention. Which I must say." She looked at me and smiled. "Not for education but to give every pony who has been affected by war, injured in accidents or was born without limbs. Fade Away’s version of the prosthetic arm, leg and wing. Medical practice has come a long way and finally these past few years have just been getting better and better."
One of Celestia's guards walked onto the stage with a box levitated in front of himself. He opened the box and from what I could see. A shining gold medal with a bright blue ribbon strap attached. Celestia raised the medal before her then turned to me. This was too good to be true. I was finally going to be recognized by my original family as a somepony, a somepony who went beyond the family tradition of serving royalty and help move pony kind forward. It was... Just too bad that they won't be knowing that instead of Vanishing Star doing it. It would be Fade-Away... Big Tex and Betsy's adoptive son...
I scanned the crowd some more and a few ponies down from my father's side. Was her. Grandma Lucrecia just standing there. Still happy for whatever occasion in the breakthrough in medical practice. But... It saddened me. She was older... Slower... The wrinkles are more visible on her. From what Twilight described she was having pain in parts of her body. She looked up at me. Surely not knowing who I was, she probably felt proud for a stranger in surpassing her ideas. For all the love and knowledge she gave me. The worse I felt. Her grandson was getting the award and she did not even know about it. But something told me in my thoughts... Maybe she did know.
"Mr. Fade Away could you please bow your head." Princess Celestia told me gently.
"Oh. Oh right." I lowered my head for her to slide the medal down my neck. The sweet silk around my neck felt almost ticklish. I nodded my head and thanked her. She motioned me to go up to the podium to make a speech. The crowd chanted and cheered as I approached.
I tapped the microphone and coughed slightly. The crowd died down. Only single chants from far and between could be heard. "I'm honored to be standing before all of you ponies. And I just wanted to say thank you to princess Celestia for considering me and taking notice of Big Tech's inventions in the past couple of years." I rubbed the back of my head and chuckled, "Eh. I did not have a long speech planned and pretty much you all know what I'm up here for. For the Lucrecia tutorial and the new prosthetic. I just wanted to say, I did not do this alone."
The crowd was silent.
"I could have never have achieved this without any of you." I slowly looked onto the crowd.
"Really without your problems I would have been still making plastic flowers that can dance to music." I heard a loud roar of laughs, I looked back to Big Tex as a big smile graced his face.
"The Lucrecia program is for the unicorns who want to learn magic but never had the funds or could not learn as easily. But it does not stop with unicorns as it was meant for every pony to show that learning does not need to be boring, it does not need to be rushed. This is for the unicorns and other magic wielding ponies who want to learn. Who deserve to learn! This award ceremony is more for you than me! So give yourselves a round of applause."
The crowd clopped and clopped. I heard whistles blowing.
"As for the prosthetic limbs and wings. It was not an easy task. Our soldiers returning home from war. Our veterans who lived without luck of continuing their lives the way they wanted to. The unfortunate who beg for bits and can't work. Babies, children and ponies who were born with deformed limbs. Pegasus who can't fly anymore because their wings are too badly damaged. Now can live among the rest of us." I breathed in, "The world can be a crazy place at times but you are played the cards you are dealt with. Well... No longer. Everypony here now has a second chance at life!"
The crowd roared and cheered.
"If you kindly please." I waited for the crowd to stop. "I would like to bring my family up here on stage." My eyes wandered to my real parents real quick but then I turned to the family I grew up with. I waved Big Tex and Betsy on stage then Ghendi and Synn. Swan next. I looked at Twilight and smiled at her. But she did not move.
I threw my arms around Big Tex and Betsy. Turned around and introduced, "Ladies and gentlemen. This here is Big Tex and Betsy. My parents who always encouraged me to go that extra mile and never gave up on me!" I gave Betsy a big kiss on the cheek. Big Tex patted me on my back. "These two have been married for over thirty seven years and going on thirty eight next month!" The crowd clopped harder.
Next was Ghendi and Synn. Ghendi wasted no time giving me another hug then a hoof pump for good show. I bent down for little Synn and he gave me a big hug. I nearly fell down with him on top of me. I asked if he was okay but he only smiled as I heard the crowd, "Aw..." I stood up proudly and set Synn down and had my arms around the two. "These two are the closets thing I had for brothers and they are just great! I love them dearly!"
I turned to Swan. Her beauty and charm enchanting me as I still look at her half way across stage. I let go of Ghendi and Synn as they let me part with them. I held out my hoof to Swan and slowly she took them, "Ladies and gentlemen. This here is Swan Song for a while she was my research and development partner but she is... my world..." I grinned sheepishly. "May I present to you the future Mrs. Fade Away!" I pulled her into a kiss and she did not fight it. We were both happy. Finally separating finally she could not help her flirty smile. Many ponies hooted and hollered. Happy for us.
But my conscience just would not leave me alone. I looked back at Twilight, I knew there was something eating at her. But all she did was just smile. She was happy. But I knew what she wanted. I looked back down at my real parents who were just seeing a random stranger get the highest achievement in Equestria. I looked back at my parents, then to Twilight. Then back to my parents. My eyes scanned the crowd again and went immediately to grandma Lucrecia. I took the stand again...
"Every pony... Could I have your attention again please?" The crowd slowly fell silent. "As like I said before with these inventions. I could not achieve them alone. That's why I..." I looked at my my family again then back to Twilight the to Celestia. "I'm sorry every pony but... I can't accept this."
The crowd gasped.
"Hold on every pony let me explain." I waved my hoof. "During my childhood." I sighed, "There was this special pony in my life who always would give and give and give but would not ask anything in return. All she wanted was her teachings to spread far and wide because she loved children and wanted to help pass on the knowledge. Well... She was my teacher from a long time ago and that was why I named the application after her."
I saw Lucrecia blink. Her eyes narrowed in my direction.
"As well I was a fan of her work. She paved the way for me for my inspiration to create these inventions for you all. She was an alchemist and a doctor before her retirement." At this point, my parents and the rest of the Sparkle household were shifting their heads to Lucrecia. "Her work on the prosthetic limb help get the attention of other inventors to help improve the idea. Many tried, many were close while others are still trying. But when I accomplished this idea. My friend Ghendi here." I pointed my hoof to the dark haired pony, "It was a huge success. He could jump. Run. Climb. And do all the things he wanted to do as if he never lost his own limbs out there in the first place almost being a casualty himself in the war a long time ago. Just look at his limbs! They feel like a real limb!" Ghendi waved his prosthetic arm to show the crowd.
I turned to see Celestia. Not disappointed. Not mad that I told her that I could not accept the award. But instead, I jumped down to the front row and wandered to my grandma. Who was completely oblivious. Probably trying to remember if she even had a student named Fade Away but I did not care. She deserved this more than I did. I made sure the microphone was not plugged in for anypony else beyond the few seats I sat in front of could hear.
"Doctor Lucrecia?" I asked facing the elder version of Lucrecia.
"Yes young man?" She smiled. And shook a little. Probably her elder body reacting. But with her hoof out I raised it and kissed it lightly. Again some hoots. "Oh don't get any ideas young man. I love my late husband Draco and you got a pretty girl up there." She pointed as we chuckled.
"Oh darn." I chuckled. "I would like to give this award to you as really... you're the one who deserved it." I used my magic to lift the medal over my head waiting for her to bow her head.
"Ohh... You don't have to present me with anything young man." She smiled, "You earned that with hard work, blood and sweat."
"But you're the one who inspired me." I smiled, "You're a great teacher. You were a great doctor. A great alchemist." I whispered into her ear, "And... the best grandmother a grandson could ever have." I backed away. Her eyes bulged at that little comment. She looked at the members of the Sparkle household then back to my parents but then back to me. She looked deeply into my face, there was something.
She smiled, "As your teacher young Fade Away." She winked. "I would also have to turn down your award." My face sunk. "You see... My family is my award. I know they love me as much as you did. And I want to thank you for granting my wish for every unicorn to get an equal education. And every pony, especially griffin, elk, zebras and other specials another chance at life." She sniffed, those tears were genuine. "I'm glad you thought of me and came down here to talk. I'm sure your parents are proud for all your hard work. And I'm glad... my work was not for nothing." She had to have been playing a long.
I could not resist while my medal slowly rested back on my shoulders as I was disappointed. I threw my arms around my grandma and pulled her into a hug. She returned the same. She was frail but I still felt her heart beating warmly. I missed this. I honestly did. For all the times I could try to run away from home, I would always come to grandma's house or at least someplace close to her. Always would accept me no matter how busy she was, as soon as she saw me either happy or sad she would take me. Pick me up and try to make me feel better. Right now, if there was anything than being near the princess. It was from grandma. I let go and nodded.
"You were always my hero." I told her.
She giggled slightly, "I know. I'm just glad you grew into some pony and never forgot about me."
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and posed in front of the camera for a few shots for the paper and some headlining magazines. We were happy. Glad to know each other was alright. Some shots were taken as normal, then I had one especially with a medal around her neck just so she could have the feel. But that was what was so great about grandma Lucrecia. She would give. Give. And give but never accept anything in return. All she wanted for us to go out and make something of ourselves. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and left to back up the stage.
"There is one more pony I want to thank." I looked back at Twilight who remained silent. "I want to thank miss Twilight Sparkle for inviting me here on princess Celestia's behalf and! Winning our tablet giveaway." I started to clop as she slowly came back on stage to wave awkwardly. But her face was scrunched like she wanted me to go on for a bit longer. But I just kept babbling, "What a great mare she!"
I let my playboy charm work out a bit more as I was awarded a plaque as well. More photos were taken and I was putting on a charming smile. I shook hoofs, signed autographs, received kisses on the cheek from fangirls. But I knew Swan would forgive me. Gave a sly smile to some of the very important ponies. And for my appreciation for the ponies who came out tonight. I gave away some free tablet covers to whoever could catch them as my own staff threw them into the crowd. At first I thought it was just going to be a small gather but jeez times that by a thousand. I told my crew to fly over the crowd instead. I saw the crowd almost fight over them but wow. Feel rather bad too.
Celestia closed the ceremony by letting princess Luna raising the moon. I had to admit, this was fun. I walked off stage with my family and let little Synn ride on my back. Twilight soon swung in front of me.
"Wa...Wait please." She stopped us. "We still have the banquet to go to."
Really? I'm dead tired Twilight.
"As much as the idea is enticing I'm really ..." I tried to say.
"Ah come on Fade Away it's your honor." Big Tex patted me on the back pretty hard. Thank Celestia Synn was no where near the pats.
"And I'm pretty hungry." Synn muffled his voice through my hair.
"What happened to the snacks I gave you?" Ghendi asked.
"A duck took my snacks away." Synn lowered his face into my hair sadly.
"Stupid duck." Ghendi muttered.
I sighed. "Oh alright. What's one meal going to hurt." I looked at Twilight, "After the banquet is that it?"
"Well there's still the tour of Canterlot but that won't be until tomorrow." She smiled.
Twilight... I know where you're going with this.
Soon not long we met up at the banquet hall at the castle. Twilight really pulled out the stops and asked her teacher a big favor. Pretty much the entire Twilight household was there, probably confused on how they could be invited to something in Fade Away's honor. Among other ponies that she introduced as her friends such as Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Oh also Spike the dragon, Twilight's assistant. Rather cute little guy. I saw Twilight over at mom and dad again talking, she was very happy but something on mom and dad's face like they were shocked. The party did not even start yet so I went outside for a few minutes to get some air.
I must be having a headache and constantly having ponies come up to me saying how great I was. I said thanks then walked away. Soon... I cloaked myself again. Turned invisible to have some peace and look up at the stars. You're probably wondering why the sudden mood change huh? Well... Call it stress and anxiety probably taking over. The anxiety of my sister trying to see mom and dad again. I was still cloaked and decided to go pour my own drinks at the bar back inside. Must have had two and snuck out a plate of food. Twilight was furiously looking for me.
About forty minutes have passed.
That's when... things turned a bit sour.
"Well young lady... You really pulled a fast one over ours eyes." I noticed my father was in a familiar mood. My mom was wiping her tears, "You really have some nerve telling us that Van is not dead. Do you have any idea how much that affected your mother mentally?" Mom was upset again.
"He's here you gotta believe me!" Twilight tried to reason.
"Honey. Van died in the desert years ago. Whatever this Fade Away fellow told you was probably a load of bull to probably sympathize for him."
"Dad he is not lying." Twilight argued back. No pony was paying attention as the room was so loud with the sound of ponies talking and plates clanging.
"I would like to believe you Twilight but did you know how upset your mother was when she read that letter?" Dad shot back.
My eyes widened. I told her not to send that letter. And she did anyway. Just for that. I'll let her sink for this. I watched Twilight scurry back and forth between her table and the one where Ghendi and Synn was sitting at to ask where I was while keeping her parents still. Oh this was just too much fun... But... it ached seeing Twilight panic and welled up tears in her eyes. She had this whole night set up for me and here I was hiding myself away. I looked at Big Tex and Betsy looking all around for me, Ghendi, Synn and Swan the same.
"Young lady. It was a nice night and I'm glad you set this all up for Mr. Fade Away. But nopony knows where he is." My mom told her.
"No he's here trust me!" Twilight started to freak.
It would not be too long until Shining Armor sat down with his wife Cadence next to mom and dad.
"Wow what a party." Shining Armor chuckled.
"Shut up I tried!" Twilight frowned.
"Whoa. Whoa little sis." Shining tried to calm the situation down.
"I know it's frustrating Twilight." Cadence also tried to help ease the tension.
"NO trust me he's here and I want to tell you all something!" Twilight cried.
"Well. He decided he did not want to show Twilight so what's this big news?" Shining asked.
"You better not be pregnant with his kid." Mom cried. "This family has already been through enough I just can't take it." Bleah. But when I saw mom... She looked horrible. Looked dead tired.
"No. No!" Twilight shook her head, "It's nothing like that!"
"Just tell us then." Dad told her.
"I want to wait for him!" Twilight cried.
"Honey... I just want to ask you this one thing." Dad asked. "Why did you invite the entire Sparkle clan for this banquet? Sure your friends and ponies we know but.. why?"
"Dad are you so blind?" She yelled at him.
"What?" Dad asked.
"You can't see the connection between Van an..." Twilight tried to speak.
"Twilight. I told you to not bring up Vanishing Star again in front of your mother this way. We went looking for him, he disappeared. We looked for a while then the police declared him dead." Dad tried to explain. "I know it hurts losing a brother that protected you but you have to let it go. Sometimes I'm still haunted for even doing what I did to him..."
I froze.
"Never got to tell him I'm sorry I yelled at him on his birthday and made him feel bad..." He played around with his glass of gin. "He never asked for anything and always kept to himself. Would always stay in his room playing with his toys and studying. Always brought home good grades but your mother and I were worried about how we're going to pay for your schooling..."
"But dad pleas..." Twilight tried to explain.
"NOT...Another word..." My dad warned her.
"DAD YOU STUPID ASS HOLE!" Twilight shouted, "FADE AWAY IS VANISHING STAR!" She cried and slammed her head into the table making all the plates jingle. "HE never died... He just wanted love and you two just let him go!"
"Twilight.. Those two don't even look alike." Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "Don't even act alike."
"Times can change honey." Cadence told him.
"Why did you have to beat him up all the time?" Twilight raised her head.
"Come on I never did." Shining Armor shifted his shoulders.
You broke his stuff and always had your friends give him a hard time!" Twilight accused him.
"Twilight you were young and barely could remember when you got Smarty Pants." Shining rolled his eyes. "That's not what happened."
"You pinned him on the ground and kicked him in the head a bunch of times!" Twilight shouted.
"And the time you slammed his arms in the door. Broke his arm while rough housing. Tried to act nice to him by letting him on the tire swing but with a rope you tried to cut with! Shoved him down a hill in a trash can. Beat him. Punched him. Kicked him. Even if he tried to fight back you cheap shot him! Just because he was smarter than you! Just because grandpa was offering him better stuff! I got news for you mister why didn't you try to earn a simple damn good grade instead of screwing around!" She was furious, "And dad would not even pay attention to this until there was blood! And mom you were just as bad!"
"Twilight keep your voice down." Mom scolded her.
"Honey is this true?" Cadence asked.
"No." Shining denied. Lying ass hat. "Even if I was violent back then I calmed down because of the guard being so strict."
"Honey... this... pretty disturbing." Cadence shook her head in disbelief.
"That was a long time ago. The guard straightened me out." Shining put on a serious face.
"Even so! That is pretty deep!" Cadence shouted.
"Come on! My dad hit my little brother all the time!" Shining argued back. "He's the one who left him to his death out in a desert."
"Don't start son you're just making us look bad again." Dad frowned.
"A come on dad we all know you took Vanishing Star out back and beat him until he's covered in bruises a couple of times." Shining tried to turn the tables. "But oh yeah, he was the smart one! Always comparing me to him. Why can't I be more like him?"
"I'm a shitty parent. There you go happy?" Dad shot back. "And because Vanishing Star tries. He can be yelled at, spat at, beaten and yet he still comes home with straight A's. I don't know how that is possible but he did it!" Dad was angry, "You stub your hoof on something and suddenly your C- grades turn to D- within a snap. Only decent thing you did academically was hoofball and yet you could barely keep that going steady."
"I can't take this anymore... You two are clearly monsters!" Cadence got up and walked away.
You know what. I like this Cadence girl. Too bad she married my ass hat brother and found out about his terrible past tonight. Too bad her butt is too small. Can just see the headline news; Crystal Kingdom princess married ass hat child abuser.
"Oh great. Now you made my wife leave and think I like to hurt kids!" Shining Armor scolded Twilight. She only continued crying into her own arms. Shining Armor got up from his seat to chase after his wife. But I decided to step in and put my hoof to his chest.
"No... Stay awhile." I turned visible again and shoved him back down to his seat.
"Now is not a good time Mr. Fade Away." Shining got back up again to shove his face into mine.
"I insist." I smirked. "This will just take a few minutes because this story was getting really interesting."
"Mr. Fade Away it's really a personal family sort of thing." My dad tried to ease his way out. But he knew he was sunk just seeing me appear out of thin air.
"Ah. I see. Just could not help but notice how you handled the situation." I smirked, "But I do apologize for listening in."
I looked down at Twilight who was staring back at me. Knowing that I stood her up. Her face was angry with the makeup running down her cheeks, then again it was my fault.
"And when I said I want to do it my way... I meant... My.. way..." I beamed at Twilight. "That is twice you went back on your word Twilight. Twice. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me."
"What way Mr. Fade Away?" Dad crossed his arms but still tried to act professional.
"Well since the whole family is here why not." I chuckled. "You were mentioning your son Vanishing Star?"
"Ye..Yes." My mother's tired eyes wandered.
"Ah. Bet he was a good kid." I smirked.
"Oh..." Mother looked down sadly and rubbed her tummy. "He was an thoughtful child. Always loved making things and giving them to us. He was a little artist."
"Yeah. When he was born... He didn't cry. Just looked up at the doctor, then to me with his little eyes. Nurses said he was the cutest thing they ever saw." My dad finished and took a sip of drink. "I held him up to his mother." He put his arm around mom, "This kid is going to be some pony. I had a good feeling about it."
"We had three wonderful kids... Would have been four but Twilight Velvet here had a nasty fall at home while I was at work and the kids were with their grandparents." My dad continued. "We came from a family clan that had high expectations but on my end it was pretty lacking. We saved enough for Twilight's entrance fee for the gifted school for unicorns but I was really undergoing a lot of stress and had to tighten my wallet. Shining Armor here." Dad raised his hoof,
"Went to the academy for royal guards also costed a pretty bit. Since my mother was a Sparkle she had a lot of offerings but turned them down because how of how she did not like how royalty was going. My father was an orphan and was accepted into the family but not as greatly... So because of their love they were thrown under the bus and had to make with what they had. So I had to take out loans, borrow money from friends and family..."
"Ah... that must have really worked on your psyche." I cupped my chin.
"Believe me it did. I got the money, I paid it off for both schools. Would have been three but Vanishing Star did not want to attend the school for some reason. Said my mother did a way better job." He smiled, "She taught him all the basics and loved spending time over there." He finished his drink, "But the more money I owed and the more harassment I got. The tougher it got on all of us. And... I focused all of my rage on little Van whenever I freaked out... I vowed it would not happen again but... it just kept happening and he would do nothing wrong or I would misunderstand something... I wanted him to live with his grandma until we got financially stable again but that's when things went horribly." I listened.
"The one place called Pony Canyon. He always loved going there but the ticket prices were expensive. My parents loaned me the money for a weekend trip for his birthday but... The park was closed for maintenance as I read on the intersection, so we went golfing... He hated it. If you could just see the disappointment on his face once we got out of the carriage and I told him this what what we were going to do. He fought with me and I told him to knock it off. A lot of times he would walk away and just sit by himself... Well, I guess he finally told me how he felt. With that response. I told him he could walk home so as a little trick I was going to drive around the block to teach him a lesson but we got held up in traffic halfway and when we got back... He was gone. We panicked, I thought of all the bad things I said to him and wanted to kill myself for it. That was the final nail in the coffin for me..." He sighed. "The police looked for days. We were told to go home and would be called if they found anything. Well... Walking through our front door... My mom planned a surprise party for Van. Only thing, there was no Van to enjoy it. Twilight Velvet here just fell to the floor crying... I was speechless. And I died even more inside... Was not long after I explained, my own mother gave me the worst chewing out I ever received. She smacked me probably around ten times and told me she never wanted to see us again. I was cut off from the family since then."
"And?" I asked.
"Well... that year and the next was torture. We were hounded by news channels and child services. Shining Armor went to live with one of my brothers. Twilight went to the castle as planned but was ordered to stay there. Velvet and I went to trial, found not guilty. Every pony wanted us strung up and... I somewhat agreed I should have. We had our house marked with paint. Had our windows broken. Had protesters in our yard. I hated myself... At that point I was thinking about suicide but..." My dad choked, "Velvet stood by me and stopped me. I went to therapy and even consoling but still... I still feel empty."
"I loved Orion through all the goods and the bad time. I just could not imagine my life without him." My mom sniffed. "I just wished I stepped in for my son. He grew in me for eleven months and I just let whatever bad thing happen to him. What's worse is that we lost the remaining kids we had and our neighbors hated us."
I had no idea that since I left things got really bad for my family. My father was just almost a shell, my mom went through a lot of disbelief and aggravation that it almost screwed her up mentally. Almost like the news was still fresh in her mind.
"Eventually... the heat died down and ponies started talking to us again and the news went onto the next big thing." My dad jumped in as he patted my mom's back. "But for us. It was still a difficult road. So... Velvet and I would would take a trip every year down to Pony Canyon on Van's birthday to leave flowers and a had a bench named after Vanishing Star... Soon some friends and family joined in and left things. Still... it does not ease my conscience. Reliving that horrible night over and over again... Sometimes I would walk down from the hotel and just sit on that bench where Van was upset... Lay on it and sleep... Wishing that I would catch ammonia or something. Just last week we went to leave flowers and a few toys. But there was always this crazy thought little Twilight would have thinking you were alive somewhere. But we always told her he was in heaven, playing with grandpa liked they used to." At this point he arched his head forward as he brought both hooves to his forehead, trying to cover his eyes.
Twilight cleared her face. She pulled out a little gadget and laid it on the table. Oh my Celestia... It was the little music box I worked on and gave to her.
"I used to play this over and over again when I got upset. One of the first things I took to the castle with me." Twilight sniffed. "It broke some years ago but I always kept it. Van told me it could always be like a little angel on my shoulder telling me to get up whenever things looked pretty bad." She rattled it a little, "It came in handy a couple of times. Facing the horrible things to help save Equestria." She could not hold back anymore, "I just thought if he were still around..."
I started to feel really bad. With that I asked for the little trinket. Slid on my glasses and pulled out my multi-tool. I flipped the top open to find a lot of familiar pieces. They were so difficult to figure out when I was smaller but now it seemed almost like nothing. With a few more moving some pieces around I discovered a few pieces were out of place and worn.
"Ah... Just need some new parts also... Looks like it was dropped a few times..." I listed off the reasons. "Other than that I think I..." Her face was too upset for me to even take. "Just allow me to fix it. I had experience with watches."
"Hey... just out of curiosity." Shining Armor asked. "Why so interested in Vanishing Star?"
"Fellow student of Lucrecia's teachings." I mumbled.
"Ah... You knew him?" He asked.
"Uh huh." I tightened the screw.
"So... Did he..." He tried to ask. "Tell you anything..."
That worked my last never, "Don't you have a wife to chase?"
"Why all the hostility?" He eased back but still I remember he was still quick to get angry.
"Nothing... I... Excuse me every pony." I pocketed the trinket and walked over to the bar area again. This is not what what I was expecting. I wanted to yell at them, still do matter of fact. I talked with Swan for a bit and she asked where I was the entire time. I told her that I was just chatting it up outside. She said she was having fun talking with other members of high society. She excused herself to talk to a female doctor that was currently working at the hospital, had no idea what her relation was but whatever.
Was not long until I was joined by Cadence who needed a drink just as I did.
"Pretty shocking huh?" I asked.
"What? Finding out your husband did horrific things to a child or him lying to your face?" She sat down next to me at the bar stand.
"Yeah... Shining Armor was always an ass hat." I smirked.
"He's really sweet though. But once Twilight yelled all those things it's just... I don't know." Cadence flung her arms apart in disbelief.
"Well... that's what Van told me. He had the bruises to prove it. Half of them from his dad, half of them from his brother." I chuckled. "Sorry you had to find out though."
"No... No I'm glad I found out. Just wished it was earlier before I married him." She swirled her glass around.
"Well... I can't help you with that. But if I were you I would hold off on kids until he straightens up. He might be captain, but the maturity of a ten year old." I took a swig. "I mean no offense princess. I bet you're a smart pony but there was no way you would have known without him telling you... But it was a dark part of him that he wanted to hide."
"Was he that bad?" She blinked.
"He thought he might be playing around but really... he was a jerk. I have no idea how he is now and I bet he probably did change... It's just back then..." I put down my drink. “And from what I heard. I would not be surprised if the kid ran away from them...”
Well for maybe a couple of minutes we were really talking. Enjoying each other's company. Have to be honest, she was a pretty sweet sister in law. Too bad she did not know. I went back to fixing the little trinket but Cadence hung onto me for some reason looking at what I was doing it. I explained how things were working.
"And with a few adjustments here I can make it play a littl..." I stopped. With a tough hoof on my shoulder I turned my head. "Oh hey captain..."
He was not happy. Before I knew it. Shining Armor pulled back his arm and punched me in the face knocking me off my bar stool. Cadence shrieked and asked what the hell was wrong with him. A lot of ponies gasped.
"You snuffed me at the ceremony. Already trying to turn my wife against me. Now you're flirting with her?" He picked me up by my collar with his magic.
"Shining Armor we were just talking!" Cadence shouted.
"No ass hat I wa..." Again I was punched in the face again and again.
Even with Twilight, Cadence and Swan shouting to stop. Shining would not let up, I got a couple of shots in. And soon... it was ON!
*BAM*
*BAM*
I punched Armor in the face. He punched me back. Again I punched him. Using a few wrestling moves by throwing my arms around him and breaking a table, he kept coming. Kicking harder and harder. And harder. Soon he started kicking me in the head. Oh dear Celestia the painful memories of him towering over me. But this was my chance to fight back. I kept throwing punches but he kept ducking and kicking me in the side. We were ordered to stop many times. Even mom and dad tried to stop us but that did no good. I took every chance I got and tried to cheap shot him many times. He would throw up his barrier every time I had him, even with my cloaking ability really can't play a part in this fight no matter how hard I tried. But soon my body was reaching its limit. Blood ran from my nose and lip, he was still fine. Unbelievable. He was still like the invincible monster I remembered him, whatever I threw at him he just hit me back five times as harder. He head butted me a good couple of times.. Eventually I fell over. Swan and Twilight ran to my side.
"OH MY CELESTIA! FADE!" Swan tried to look for some towels. "Some pony call an ambulance!"
"Here just wipe the blood." Twilight ripped part of her skirt to wipe my face clean. Again, she was fussing. She supported my head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"
I coughed, "I'm sorry Twilight... I should have been honest with mom and dad..." Again I coughed, "I never meant to make you cry like that..."
"Shining Armor what in tarnation is wrong with you?" The pony named Applejack came over.
"Mr. Fade Away has been disrespecting my family ever since he got here and he was trying to flirt with Cadence after making me look bad! Rich boy thinks he can just walk in and do whatever he likes!" Shining yelled back. "I'll take whatever punishment the princess gives me. I just want this piece of trash to learn!" At this second, I felt Swan loosen her grip and let her mouth hang open.
"Honey just stop!" Cadence shouted. "He was just showing me how something works!"
I could see Lucrecia watching from a distance holding her mouth. She slowly walked over with her sore muscles and knelt down. She moaned a little trying to use her magic to heal me.
At this point Ghendi walked over to me. With Synn walking in small steps after him. I looked up at the two. The pony that took them in, fallen on the ground and beaten like a worm. When I saw Synn tear up, I let him down. I always taught him how to rationalize but instead I fought like a brute. He watched all of it. Ghendi though... He shook his head with a heaving breath. He looked at Twilight, he had a difficult choice to make. I knew he liked her but... something tells me he wanted to stand up for something other than just avenging his friend. Wanted to stand up for the little guy. He stood back up and faced Shining Armor with the ponies questioning and tried to pull him away to calm down.
"Ghendi... wai..." I coughed up some blood. I know Ghendi is fast and trained in some weird art something called taijtisu or whatever, but he was lacking in size and muscle mass compared to Shining Armor still dwarfed me. Made me feel like a small little kid again.
"HEY!" Ghendi shouted.
Everything stopped.
"You knocked him down... Why don't you try knockin me down?"