Author's Note
Update 3rd Nov 2016:
Wow! I've only just realised how much this fic represents my current situation right now!
And there are a few subtle hints about me in the fic that you may pick up on, remembering that I'm Shining Armor in this fic.
The Argument
“But I NEED to practice big brother… Please?!” The high pitched pleas of Twilight Sparkle could be heard as she and her older brother (Shining Armor) walked down the busy streets of canterlot toward their house.
“Twily…” Shining said with a sigh, looking at the filly with a look of sympathy dawning his face, “I’m sorry, but I told you I’m busy tonight.” he concluded simply.
Twilight looked up at the colt with wide eyes, to which shining nearly grimaced as he weighed out his options;
He could help Twilight practice her magic,
Or he could do some studying himself and not risk punishment.
He stopped walking and knelt down to his younger sisters level, looking her in the eyes as he spoke; “Look, I promise I’ll help you some other time, but I have work of my own I need to do. I’m sorry Twi.”
Twilight nodded and sighed as she accepted what Shining had said.
“C’mon, let’s get home.”
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…4 Days Pass…
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“So, how did the test go?”
Shining’s mother (Twilight Velvet) asked shining at dinner that night.
Shining, feeling low at the moment, simply shrugged and said “C -” looking down at his food, chin resting on his right hoof.
“What about Royal Guard cadets, How did that go?
To this, shining only shrugged again, giving the very clear message ‘Not well’
His mother placed a hoof on his own, gently rubbing up and down from his fetlock downward in an effort to comfort him, but to no avail.
Shining had been having a rough time recently, he was having a hard time at school, and a hard time at royal guard cadets.
Why? Well, Shining didn’t know why. He wasn’t the only gay colt in class, he wasn’t the youngest, he wasn’t a bully, and he had his Cutie Mark.
He didn’t know why he was feeling like he was, and why he was being bullied by the other colts in class.
All he knew, was that he liked to keep it to himself, and not to take it out on ANYONE, especially his younger sister who he adored so much, he had to be strong, for her.
The next day was rough for shining; After being verbally tormented by some other colts about his choice in computing equipment, he was ridiculed by them because of a mistake he made in mathematics class, causing him to shout at a teacher and get into trouble, avoiding detention only by a hair.
And then after lunch, he’d had enough;
He got into a fight with the colts from before, the only thing stopping him from full on thumping him was his low pain threshold. And the fight only ended because his friend (Silent Strings) pulled him back, as the teacher pulled the colt he was trying to fight back.
“No getting out of it this time’” Shining sighed to himself as he waited in the corridor to be called into the principal’s office, keeping his eyes fixed on his front hooves as he sat, Silent Strings by his side.
“What’s gotten into you lately?” Strings asked, placing a hoof on shining’s shoulder as they waited; “You used to be a model student, what happened?”
Shining swallowed a lump in his throat, he shrugged, still looking down; “I don’t know Strings…”
Shining rested his head on the shoulder of his coltfriend, Strings’ dark grey coat making a contrast from his own white fur.
Strings wrapped his forelegs around Shining, gently squeezing him in an effort to soothe him; “It’s ok… Whatever it is your going through, we can get through it.”
Shining put on a weak smile; “Thanks…” he sniffed “I needed that”
The two colts sat there for a while, hugging each other silently until the silence was shattered by the sound of the principal’s voice coming from the doorway just up the hall; “Shining Armor?”
“Good luck” Said Strings, who then walked away to go home
“I’m gonna need it” Shining muttered under his breath as he made the walk of doom to the principals office where no doubt the principal was waiting with his mother.
********************
…An Hour Passes…
********************
Twilight Velvet opened the door to leave the principals office, a look of disappointment on her face; “Okay… thanks…”
Shining was still looking at the floor, he had been since he’d sat down next to his mother in the principals office.
“Oh shining…” his mother sighed; “What am I going to do with you?”
********************
…The next day…
********************
“But you promised!” Twilight pleaded “You promised you would help me practice magic today!”
Twilight and her brother were in Shining’s bedroom, Shining sitting on his bed doing homework on his computer, Twilight having entered only minutes ago.
Shining groaned and flopped backward onto his bed.
“Oh, Twily…” He sighed “I’m really tired, and I have homework to do, I’m sorry Twi”
“Pleeeeaaaseseee?” She pleaded
Shining sat up, set his laptop aside, and calmly said “No Twily, I can’t”
“Plllleeeeeeaaassseeeee?
Shining shot up off his bed; “Twilight I said No! I have a life too you know, and I have to concentrate really hard if I don’t wanna be EXPELLED! I’ve been so stressed out recently and it’s bad enough having to deal with all of it without having you to deal with as well, so just give me 5 minutes to myself will you!”
Shining stood there for a second panting and looking at Twilight who then burst into tears and ran out of the room slamming the door behind her, and at that moment, the expression on Shining’s face slowly changed from pure anger to a look of horror at what he had just done. How could he have shouted such things at his sister like that? It wasn’t her fault, and yet he had taken out his anger on her.
He felt a tear run down his own cheek as the realisation sunk in about what he had done. He ran to the door that Twilight had slammed and flung it open, he then galloped down the hallway to twilights room.
As he approached the door however, he slowed down and paused.
He knocked on the door before peeking his head in to see Twilight on her bed crying into her pillow.
“Twily?”
“GO AWAY!” She shouted through the sobs.
“Twily I-I…”
“I Said GO AWAY!” Shouted the filly, punching her pillow with her hoof.
Shining slowly closed the door. He then sat down outside her room, and thought hard about what to do next. A tear fell from his eye and rolled down his cheek as the realisation hit him again, harder than it had before.
Shining wasn’t the type of colt who liked to show his emotions, even to when he was alone, but he couldn't help himself. He let the tears flow as he began to cry himself, collapsing onto the floor as he cried for the first time in years.
10 minutes passed, and all that could be heard from Shining and Twilight was gentle sobbing accompanied by sniffles and sighs.
Shining slowly got up off the floor, and reached a hoof out to the doorknob. He opened the door and stepped inside, Twilight was still on her bed curled up in a ball, her head resting on her now damp pillow.
He walked slowly over to her, sat down on her bed, and placed a hoof on his younger sister’s shoulder;
“Twily?” He said slowly and gently
His only reply was a few sniffles and a shuffle to get further away from him.
“Twily, please. Just listen. I’m just having a really hard time at the moment, and I know that’s no excuse for how I behaved, it was wrong for me to take it out on you, and I’m sorry. I love you Twily, and nothing could ever change that. I understand if you don’t wanna forgive me…”
He felt himself welling up again as he choked his words, struggling to keep himself from bursting into tears again.
“I-I love you Twily..”
Shining got up from the younger unicorns bed, and slowly made his way to the door across from him.
As he was just about to reach out for the doorknob, he heard a faint squeak coming from Twilight’s direction. He hesitated, wanting to find out if she was just sobbing, or if she had said something.
“Sh-Shiny?” Twilights voice could barely be heard due to it’s pitch, and volume.
Shining turned around, and trotted to beside Twilights bed.
“Yes Twily” he said expectantly, hoping that she would forgive him and not simply turn around and hit him, ‘But I deserve that’ Shining thought.
“I love you to Shiny”
But Shining didn’t ‘Pick her up, wrap her in a giant hug, and they lived happily ever after’ no, Shining got up onto Twilight’s bed beside her, pulled her into a gentle but meaningful hug, kissed her on the forehead, and then concluded simply;
“I love you to Twily”
THE END
