Friendship is dead part 2 : A stallions redemption

by ALoneWolf

An old "friend" and a "happy" reunion

A week later

Near the Canterlot city cemetery, we find Shining armor making his way through the gate towards his desired destination. After the meeting between the remaining elements and Discord, the stallion found a small bit of courage to finally visit the one destination that he was anxious about seeing. Ever since he started having the nightmares involving the former element of magic, he's been too afraid to step put into the cemetery without the fear of reliving those nightmares all over again. But thanks to his therapy sessions along with the boost he received from the meeting last week, the Stallion now found the courage to finally visit................

His sisters grave

After a short trek, passing through the many gravestones along the stone path. Shining Armor finally reached his younger sisters grave, the stallion took a deep breath as he stood only a few meters away from the gravestone which read.....

"Here lies Twilight Sparkle, a loving daughter, a bookworm, the BLSFF, a star pupil, and a good friend"

The stallion tried his hardest to hold back his tears as he surveyed the words written on the gravestone, the thought of his little sister ending up here broke his heart , especially given that he was partially responsible. But Shining knew that he couldn't avoid this visit forever and it was about time that he finally face his fears, finally he took a short bow as he looked at his sisters gravestone. After another long breath, the stallion finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"Hey Twily" He said quietly. " Listen , I know I'm the last pony that you'd wanna see, and honestly I don't blame you. Plus you did make it perfectly clear when you appeared in the nightmares that I used to have, and I know that I have no right to call you by the nickname that I gave you" He then took a short sigh and a pause before continuing.

"Believe me sister, even though I've been taking therapy sessions every other Thursday since last month, I'm still reminded of how I treated you. I should have realized that there was something off with Cadence at the start as she would have never acted the way she did, hell I can even remember the last time I've heard Cadence swear. I should have saw through that insects disguise, but I didn't, and because of my foolish mistake I lost not only you, but mom and dad as well. And honestly I don't blame them for being pissed off, I'd give anything to make amends and to bring you back, just so I could tell you how sorry I am"

"But I know that isn't possible, I was a foolish stallion twilight. If I hadn't said those hurtful words towards you and ban you from the wedding, you would have never turned to the dark side and team up with that Lunamoon mare. Twily I could sit right here all day just to tell you how sorry I am, but I know that's not gonna bring you back or erase what I've done. But I promise you Twilight, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to redeem myself and to move on"

"And the same goes for Celestia, Spike, and your friends. This might be hard for you to believe Twily, but they're also truly sorry for abandoning you and they wished so badly to have you back, I know you believe that friendship is just a waste of time . But not all friendships are perfect, and they have their ups and downs, and while it might seem that they don't care. But deep down they genuinely care for you. take a look at Comet tail, I know he only pretended to be your friend back in Highschool just to bully you, and to be honest I'm still pissed at him too for pulling that prank at you in the gymnasium"

"But he now regrets what he's done to you when you were kids, and he along with his friends wished so badly to take back everything and to make amends with you just like me and the others" Shining then took a long breath before finally getting up. " I know this won't mean much Twily, but I'm sorry for what I said to you, truly I am. And I promise to work my hardest to redeem myself and to make you proud, and hopefully I'll be able to win mom and dad back"

With that, the stallion gave a gentle pat to the mares gravestone before making his way out of the cemetery. As he exited out the main gate , he suddenly bumped into another stallion walking in the opposite direction as him.

"Oh sorry , didn't see you there" He apologized.

"Nah its cool bro" The stallion said. " I wasn't watching where I was going eith......wait Shining Armor?"

"Buck whithers?!" Shining armor replied in complete shock, as there standing right in front of him stood hos former rival and bully from Highschool Buck Whithers. Ever since the prom fiasco where the jocks bullying and cruel behavior was exposed, Shining armor hasn't seen him since. There was no doubt in his mind that the former jock decided to isolate himself from his former peers after his true colors were exposed, Shining armor then took a long look at the stallion and was surprised to see that he hasn't changed a bit , the only noticeable difference being his natural blond hair having grown slightly longer, and he was as ripped as his days on Canterlot highs Lacrosse team. There was an awkward silence between the former schoolmates before Buck broke the ice.

"It's been a while" He said.

".......It sure has" Shining replied. " So.....how have you been Buck?"

"I'm doing good" Buck said. " I'm actually started training to become Canterlots next Congresspony"

"Oh, that's great " Shining armor replied. " Hehe guess you decided to follow in your pops hoofsteps huh?"

"Well I pretty much had too" He said in a smug tone. " I mean I do have the looks for it so it's only fair that I make this my career"

"Hehe classic Whithers" Shining said in his head.

"So " Buck replied. " Word on the street is that your now the Prince of the Crystal empire and my former girlfriend is your Princess"

"Hehe yeah I am" Shining giggled. " Also I don't remember you and Cadence ever going out"

"Heh yeah I know, I was just kidding" Buck replied. " Besides, after how I acted back then, she's deserves better than me" The stallions expression then changed to a look of remorse as he began to think back at his time as a bully along with his friend Flank Thrasher. " Hey listen Shining, I'm sorry for how me and Thrash treated you and your friends back in Highschool, it wasn't cool. Honestly i deserved the comeuppance you gave during prom, cause I was nothing more than a bully and a terrible excuse for a stallion............." Bucks apology was soon interrupted as Shining armor placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"It's alright Buck" Shining said with a smile" I forgive you and Thrasher too, we were just kids back then, it's all in the past. Besides the old Buck Whithers would have never apologized , that right there is a sign that you have changed and are no longer the bully I knew back in school"

A warm smile formed on Bucks face as his former victim accepted his apology despite the hell he subjected him and his friends through during their teenage years " Thanks Shining armor, would it be cool if we started over .............and became friends?"

"I'd like that very much Buck" Shining replied with a smile, and then brought his former bully into a forgiving hug to which he was quick to return as a small tear fell from the stallions face after about a minute, the two stallion ended the embrace.

"BTW, I heard what happened to your sister, my deepest condolences for your loss " Buck said with a hint of sympathy.

"Thanks Buck" Shining armor replied " So aside from your upcoming election to be congresspony, what else have you been up too Buck?"

"Well actually, I recently got engaged as well" Buck replied.

"Really?" Shining said slightly surprised. " That's great Buck! I'm happy that you managed to find someone yourself"

"Yeah me too bro" Buck replied. " I tell ya, Fleetfoot made me the happiest man in the world when she said yes"

A look of shock formed on Shining armors face after hearing the familiar name of Bucks fiance. " Wait Fleetfoot? Fleetfoot of the Ariel acrobatics team The Wonderbolts?!"

"Yup that's her alright" buck answered.

"Damn Buck, how'd ya get so lucky to hook up with a Celeb?" Shining armor asked.

"Hehe I asked myself the same thing bro" Buck replied and then flexed one of his biceps as a way of showing off. " I don't know whether it was my chiseled features, or the fact that I'm about to be a Congress pony?"

The purple maned stallion couldn't help but roll his eyes and chuckle a bit at his friends remark " Well I'm happy for ya Buck, I hope you two spend many wonderful years together. Speaking of which, hows Flank Thrasher doing these days?"

"Thrash is doing great too" Buck replied. " I actually hired him as my deputy chief, and in case your wondering, he's reformed as well. Also you'll never believe this..........he and your old buddy Gizmo are dating" Shining armors jaw dropped in shock after hearing that last statement.

"Wait WHAT?!" Shining said in shock " You mean Gizmo has been gay this whole time, as well as Flank Thrasher?! * Actually that kind of explains a lot*"

"Oh yeah bro it's true" Buck answered. " It's actually a pretty crazy story, when you had him cross dress to distract Flank while you made your move on Cadence, he couldn't stop thinking about him. That is until the day after Prom when Gizmo finally revealed himself to be a stallion in disguise, I legit though Thrash was gonna kick his ass for tricking him. But to my surprise, Flank wasn't attracted to Gizmo when he was in disguise, he was attracted to Gizmo himself. As it turns out he knew it was Gizmo this whole time and thought he looked cute in that dress you made him wear. Heh guess it took a nerd dressed as a chick to get my best friend to come out of the closet, as for Gizmo, he was a bit shocked at first to learn that his former bully was gay, but once they began college, he actually started to grow attracted to him as well. And they're still going out to this day" Shining armor remained both shocked and amazed not expecting one of his former bullies to be LGBT not to mention one of his best friends too, but he was never the less happy for the two of them.

"Well I'm happy for him, as well as Gizmo" shining armor replied with a smile. " I can already tell they're gonna be a happy couple, good for them"

"Amen to that" Buck said with a nod, and then took a second to notice the unicorns mane. "Say did you dye your mane? It looks great, what made you wanna change colors?" He then playfully tussled it causing Shining to giggle uncontrollably.

"Hehe lets just say I got inspired by someone special" Shining armor replied as he continued to laugh at his new friends playful behavior.

---

An hour later

We now find Shining Armor making his way towards the Canterlot train station, his mind was now filled with even more of a boost of confidence. With him finally mustering up the courage and making amends with his former bully, there was no doubt in the Stallions mind that things were starting to get significantly better for him. After saying goodbye to Buck, he kept a smile on his face throughout the long trek towards the train station, but as he made his way towards the entrance , he would soon find that his happy expression wouldn't last long. As he was about to open the door, someone else beat him too it as a unicorn stepped out of the terminal entrance. The purple haired stallions happy expression changed to a look of shock , as there standing right in front of him stood non other than his father.........

Crescent Moon Sparkle

The older stallion had a look of pure shock himself at the sight of his son, with the father and son having not seen each other for a few months ever since the falling out in Ponyville, neither of em knew how to respond to each other or if they even wanted to respond to each other. But after an awkward minute, Shining finally broke the ice.

"Dad?" Shining said.

"Son" Crescent said in a quiet tone. " It's been a while"

"Yeah.........it has" Shining armor replied. " How have you been?"

"Good" Crescent replied.

"How's mom?" Shining asked. " I heard about the cancer, is she doing ok?"

"Your mothers doing fine" Crescent answered. " The doctors said that the signs are still a bit early, but she's still pulling through as they take test, I actually just got back from Applepaloosa to get her medications as that was the only medical wing that carried them" He then held up his medical container which housed his wife's medications.

"I see" Shining armor replied. " I'm happy moms doing ok, I hope she pulls through"

"Me too" Crescent said, there was another awkward silence for a moment before Crescent finally spoke again. " I heard Cadence is pregnant, congratulations"

"Thanks pops" Shining said.

"So......how have you been?" Crescent asked.

"I've been doing pretty good, despite the fact that ya haven't written back to any of my apology letters or even have the decency talk to me stallion to stallion" Shining armor replied with a hint of sass earning him a small growl from his father who was quick to grab the young stallion leading him away from the train stations entrance as to not draw any attention, he then guided him towards a secluded area before finally replying to his son"

"Don't you talk to me like that, I'm your father !" The stallion boomed.

"Oh are you pops?" Shining shot back. " Cause you made it perfectly clear back in Ponyville that I was no longer your son! I screwed up alright?! And I don't blame you for being angry, but you could have at least heard me out first before shunning me for months!"

"Well can you blame me and your mother?!" Crescent replied. "After how you treated your sister, do you honestly expect me and your mother not to react?! She was you sister boy, your little sister. And you also have the nerve to dye your mane the same color as her?! Even though you haven't seen each other for a while , she was still willing to risk her life to save you from that changeling queen, but you were too blind to see through her disguise. And to make matters worse, you banished Twilight from your own wedding when she was only trying to warn you and now look what's happening? And now look what's transpired, she turned over to the dark side and was this close to becoming the next Nightmare, all because......................"

"Of my stupid mistake I know!!!!!!" Shining interrupted. " You think I don't feel bad about what I did old man?! Yeah I messed up, and I should have reacted differently but I didn't. And now thanks to my stupid words, my little sister is gone and I'll never see her again. I didn't want to do what I did back in Ponyville dad , but I didn't have a choice. She could have killed those three fillies if I hadn't stopped her, plus non of our words were able to get to her no matter how sincere we were. It was pretty obvious that she was completely lost and no longer believed in friendship , and I can't blame her, me and the others were terrible towards her and we can't take back what we've done. But maybe I was wrong, maybe there was a chance that we could have reasoned with her and changed the outcome"

"But it's too late now, and even though I've been taking therapy sessions, my actions still haunt me to this day. And I have tried to apologize and to make amends with you and mom, if you guys seriously haven't forgiven me by now then I an done trying!!! I get that your sore at me dad , but would it have been too much trouble for you to at least hear me out first, especially given that I'm pretty much the only kid you have left aside from your third one"

Crescent was taken aback by that last comment made by his son as he raised a confused eyebrow. " Third one? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh come on dad!" Shining armor retorted. "Why don't you just admit it already? I've had my suspicious for quite a while and it wasn't just me, i know Twily was suspicious as well. You and mom have a third kid that you never told us about don't you............don't you?"

The older unicorn was in a state of shock after hearing his sons accusation, Shining figured that his pops would deny this claim believing it to be utter bullshit. But the look in the stallions eyes made it hard to believe that this accusation was false, after a moment of waiting for his father to give him an honest answer, the unicorn took a long deep breath before making his way towards a nearby bench, he then took a seat while ushering Shining armor to join him. Knowing that this would be his only way to get answers, Shining obliged and took a seat right next to Crescent. After another awkward minute, the matriarch of the Sparkle family finally spoke up.

"It was during me and your mothers senior year" He began.

---

Many years ago

Before our graduation from Canterlot state university, our class took a week long trip to Las pegasus to celebrate. Needless to say, your mother as well as our friends were overjoyed to spend the entire week at one of the most luxurious cities in all of Equestria. Once we arrived at the city, we were instantly mesmerized by the various shops, restaurants, and many other attractions that loomed the entire city, Las Pegasus really was a city full of lights and fun all around. Throughout the week your mother and I enjoyed ever single tourist spot that we came across, and stuffed ourselves from the various restaurants that we came across and danced at some of the finest night clubs, in short we had the most incredibly romantic time, but that wasn't the end of it.

On the final night before we were to head back home, your mother and I decided to officially lose our virginity. Once our classmates, teachers, and chaperones turned in for the night in their respected hotel rooms. Velvet snuck out to meet me in my room while my bunkmates gave me some privacy, especially given that they had similar objectives with their respected girlfriends. As soon as your mother entered, our night of passion officially begun, and I tell ya, we really did have the most romantic time imaginable, but alas that's where it all came crashing down.

After Velvet and I graduated and moved into our new apartment ready to start our new life together, she gave me the most shocking news imaginable..................she was pregnant. There was no deny that it was during our first time together from our trip last week, needless to say we panicked and were full of so much anxiety. You see, your mother and I weren't planning on getting married immediately after graduation, and being a couple of 21 year olds, we had absolutely no idea on how to raise a child. Velvet didn't want to go through an abortion as she would have never forgiven herself for doing so, and we didn't want to rush into a forced marriage. We had absolutely no idea on how to resolve this little mishap, that is until we came to a silverish lining.

You see a friend of our’s, who along with his girlfriend were actually planning on getting married after graduation, but there was a slight problem. You see his girlfriend was born with some reproduction issues and just found out that she wasn't able to have a kid which devastated her as she was looking forward to starting a family with her fiance. So one day when we came to visit them at their new home, we came to a proposition. After we explained our little situation and that we weren't ready to have a kid, we asked if they would like to adopt our soon to be son or daughter, and they were quick to say yes as their dream of starting a family would finally come true.

---

"To make a long story short, months later Velvet gave birth to our would have been daughter, just in time after our friends wedding, we then proceeded with the adoption papers and soon she was brought to her new home. I'd be lying if I said that we haven't regretted our decision , but we both knew it was for the best, cause like I said we weren't planning on getting married immediately and if something happened to that poor infant if we hadn't done what we did, I would have never forgiven myself"

As Crescent finished his story, Shining armor had various reactions to his fathers explanation. The thought of him having another sibling that he and twilight never knew of shocked the stallion to the core , especially given the thought that she's somewhere out there in Equestria with no knowledge that she has paternal siblings that she's never met or even knew existed.

"What happened to her dad?" He asked as Crescent got up from the bench.

"Last I heard from them, she moved out of her hometown years ago and became a school teacher somewhere north from here" Crescent answered. " But that's all I'm gonna tell ya, if ya wanna find out the truth, ya gotta put the pieces together yourself. Now I gotta go, I need to get these to your mother" Crescent then walked off leaving Shining on the spot, but not before turning around for one last time . " It was...................nice to see you again Shining"

"You too dad" Shining replied in an awkward tone, with nothing else to say the older unicorn made his way back home to meet up with his wife while shining armor remained entranced with the though of his mystery sibling living somewhere out there in Equestria, after a moment of collecting his thoughts, the stallion finally got up from the bench and made his way towards the train station, As he reached the entrance he stopped for a second as the thought of his other sister continued to play out in his mind, while he tried to fight off the urge, he knew that this was one mystery that he couldn't just ignore. And if he was to get one step closer to his closure, he had to get answer's.

"I gotta know"

Author's Note:

Say what?! You did not see that coming did you? While it wasn't a happyish reunion between the father and son, it was still a good start, velvet will appear later on in the story, and don't worry she's gonna be fine

And for those of you who aren't familiar with the character's Buck Whithers, Flank thrasher, and Gizmo. They're characters who appeared in the IDW MLP comic story showing Cadence and Shining armor during their Highschool days, Buck and Thrasher were Shining's old bullies and Gizmo was one of Shining armors friends, I also included a few references and callbacks from the story that they originally appeared and extended upon it.

Anyways hope you guys are enjoying the story👍 Who could Shining armor and Twilights mystery sibling be? Find out in the next chapter, until then I'll see you guys around

Comments

[Tiber Septim II]

Why did you change the name of Twilight’s dad?

[ALoneWolf]

11824444
Like I said in the previous story, I preferred his fan name over his official name as Crescent moon sounded a lot cooler, especially since his cutie mark is literally a crescent moon.

[SonicStreak5344]

Wait?! There’s a 3rd sibling?! One that Shining nor Twi knew about somewhere in Eques. I wonder who it is?

Life has a strange way to bring things into your lives. Maybe it’s Shining’s destiny to find his missing sibling and find her. An older sister.

[SonicStreak5344]

I bet at the end of the story Shining has a dream of Twilight who is back to the way she was and tells him she forgives and telling him that she’ll always be with Shining in his heart before vanishing as her spirit can finally rest in peace.

[SonicStreak5344]

Shining’s journey to find his older sister has begun.