He remembered leaving the house for the first time to move into his own apartment, his dad patting him on the back and his mom giving him embarrassing good bye kisses that were too public for his liking. “You packed everything, didn’t you? You didn’t forget to pack your toothbrush, did you?” Despite his embarrassment, he assured he had.
Then he got to his apartment and realized he hadn’t.
The house looked pretty empty when he got back. Twily would be at school, probably. Who knew where his parents were. But to be honest, he didn’t really mind all that much. The just meant he didn’t have to embarrass himself and admit he’d forgotten.
He headed down the hall towards his old bedroom. He paused outside it a moment before poking his head inside. Besides a few piles of cardboard boxes, it was empty. Glow in the dark stars were still tacked to the ceiling, and he could see imprints in the carpet where his bed and desk had been. He glanced at one of the boxes, with the word “comics” written in bold black ink on the side, and grinned. There may not be room for them in his new apartment, but he’d be back for them, one of these days.
Closing the door behind him, he stepped back out, heading down the hall a little ways further. His toothbrush would probably still be in the bathroom, or at least, he hoped so.
But as he walked, he paused. He could hear someone, no, two people, actually, sharing a whispered conversation. Frowning in confusion, he quietly followed the sound to his parents’ door. Standing close, he put an ear to the door.
“He’s a grown stallion, Night. We have to tell him some time,” came a firm strong voice, unshakeable and confident.
“I know we have to tell him eventually, but so soon? I mean, this is already a big change for him, we said we’d taking things one step at a time,” pleaded a softer gently voice.
He could hear a deep breath before the stronger voice, the one he recognized as his mother, spoke. “Nightlight, we promised we would tell him the truth once he was old enough to move out,” she insisted. “Listen, I’m just as nervous as you are to tell Shining Armor the truth.”
‘Truth?’ he wondered, frowning. ‘What’re they talking about? Tell me what?’ He leaned closer to the door, straining to here what came next.
“I know Velvet, I know,” his dad said tiredly. “It’s just not going to be easy. Not on him, not on Twilight, not on us. Not on any of the family. It’s not everyday you find out you’re adopted.”
“What!?” Shining screeched as he lost his balance. He tripped and banged into the door. It flung open and he landed face first in his parents’ room.
Shaking his head, he pushed to his feet, rubbing at his face as he stared at his parents. “What do you mean? I’m adopted!? Am I adopted!? Since when! I mean, it would be since always but-how could you not tell me!” he panicked.
“Honey, please, calm down,” Nightlight begged, looking at his son worriedly. “It’s just-we were going to-”
“We’re sorry, Shiny,” Velvet cut in, putting a gentle hoof on Nightlight’s shoulder to calm him. “We didn’t mean for you to find out this way. We should have told you sooner.”
This had to be some kind of joke. Some sort of weird prank, probably the idea of one of the guys from his old school. Was it April Fool’s day? It must’ve been April Fool’s day. Of course. That explained everything. Well, except for the fact it was the middle of winter. “I’m adopted?” echoed Shining Armor in disbelief, still staring.
“Yes, Shiny, you’re adopted, Twilight Velvet said gently, moving closer to try and comfort him. “Before Twilight, we thought your father was infertile. It was a closed adoption, right here in Canterlot. All we knew was your given name.”
“Given name?” Shining Armor said in disbelief, shaking his head slowly. “You mean-you mean even my name’s not real?” he said, pulling away.
“It’s real,” Nightlight said weakly, trying to support Velvet.
Taking a deep breath, his mother spoke again. “Shining Armor is your legal name, sweetheart, it’s not any less real. But the name your birth parents gave you was Pitch Fader.”
“Pitch Fader? What’s that even supposed to mean? Does Twily know this? And what about my real parents? Who were they? Where are they now?” Shining asked, taking quick deep breaths as he tried to calm himself.
“Honey, sweetheart, it was closed adoption, we have no idea who they were,” Nightlight said softly, chewing his lip and looking like he might cry.
Velvet cut in firmly. “We are your real parents Shiny. Just not... you’re biological ones. We haven’t told Twilight. It seemed more important to let you know first. We love you, Shiny.”
For the longest time, he just stared at them. “I need some time to think,” he finally said, speaking weakly, barely managing to stand straight. “Please... please don’t call me. Okay?”
“Shiny-”
“Velvet,” interrupted Nightlight gently, giving her a long sad look. “He’s a stallion now. We... we need to respect his choices.” He avoided meeting his son’s gaze as he lit up his horn, magically summoning a sealed envelope. He levitated it over to Shining Armor, offering it hesitantly. “It’s your papers. Certificate of adoption and such. You... you should have it.”
Taking a deep shaky breath in, Shining Armor set his jaw firmly and nodded as he received the envelope. He looked down at it, this culmination of everything he couldn’t believe. Lying. His whole life they’d lied to him, told him they were his, and they never were.
He knew this wasn’t going to be easy. But he had to know the truth. He had to know who they were, and why they’d given him up.
Closed adoption or not, he was going to find his real family.
