Hey, everypony! Hope you're ready for a brand new MLP:FIM story!

I won't lie, I loved "A Canterlot Wedding." The story was great, the songs were great, the villain was great...everything was great. But I did feel a little disappointed that Shining Armor didn't apologize to Twilight onscreen and offer her the best mare title again. This story is my theory as to how his offscreen apology went. I hope you guys like it!

Shining Armor looked at himself in his mirror, admiring the uniform he was wearing. He would be marrying his true love Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (Cadance to her friends) soon, and he had just helped defeat an army of Changelings, insect-like ponies who fed on love and were attempting to take over Equestria with help of their Queen Chrysalis, who had disguised herself as Cadance to get to Shining and feed off his love for his fiancee to become more powerful that Cadance's aunt Princess Celestia herself. He should have been filled with joy and pride.

Instead, he was filled with sadness and self-loathing.

While rehearsing the wedding before he knew that Cadance was really Chrysalis is disguise, Shining's younger sister Twilight Sparkle had burst in, accusing "Cadance" of being evil and trying to harm him. When "Cadance" had run off crying, pretending to be hurt, Shining had chastised Twilight for her words, accusing her of not caring about his wedding, revoking the title of best mare that he had bestowed upon her and practically un-inviting her to the wedding.

Now that he knew that Twilight had been right about "Cadance," Shining felt like a prize idiot. He had told off his loving baby sister for no reason, breaking her heart for trying to save him, sending her into a spiraling self-hating depression that she didn't deserve. He wanted to beat himself up for what he had done to her.

Shining growled at his reflection. "You moron! How could you let Chrysalis get to you and use your power to nearly take over Equestria?! You don't deserve the title of captain of the royal guard! You don't deserve a wife like Cadance!" He choked up. "And you DEFINITELY don't deserve an awesome sister like Twilie! She tried to help you, and you shut her out!" He kicked the mirror, shattering the glass, cutting his hoof in the process. "OW! BUCK!" He grimaced, then broke down crying. "I deserve that pain...AND the seven years of bad luck breaking that mirror will bring!"

Shining shook his head. He knew he had to apologize to Twilight, but he also knew that after what he had done, she might be upset with him...and with good reason. He needed to talk to somepony. Somepony who was close to Twilight. He smiled as he realized who would be the perfect pony.

"OK, y'all, get to corin' those apples!" Applejack told her cousins, who were helping her make the food for the wedding banquet. "Red Gala, Apple Fritter, press that cider!" Just then, there was a knock on the kitchen door. "Oh, ya gotta be kiddin' me!" The orange earth pony groaned. "Come in!"

Shining opened the door. "Hi...Applejack, is it?" She nodded. "Can I talk to you? I need advice."

Applejack smiled. "Well, sure, Cap'n, c'mon in!" Then, she noticed that the white unicorn was limping. "What in the hay happened to ya, Cap'n?" She inspected his injured hoof. "Holy applesauce! There's GLASS in your hoof!"

Shining blushed. "Yeah, I...broke a mirror."

"Well let's fix up that nasty cut." Applejack carefully removed the glass from Shining's hoof, washed it, put antibacterial cream on it and bandaged it. "There ya go."

"Thanks, Applejack."

"Aw shoot, you're welcome, Cap'n."

Shining blushed more. "Please, just call me Shining Armor. Captain sounds too formal."

"Sure thing, Cap'n...I mean, Shining Armor." Applejack chuckled. "Now, what do you need advice about?"

"I need advice about Twilight," Shining explained. He sighed, starting to tear up again. "I really screwed up at the wedding rehearsal, AJ. Twilight was trying to protect me, and what did I do? I yelled at her! I practically threw her out of my wedding! I chose to believe that...MONSTER over my own baby sister! I'm no captain, I'm an idiot!"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over that," Applejack told him. "You were bein' brainwashed by Chrysalis. I'm sure that if you had been in your right mind, you would've paid better attention to Twi. And it's not like me an' my friends treated her any better. We walked away from her when she was despairin', but she forgave us when we apologized. An' I'm sure she'll forgive ya, too."

Shining shook his head. "I doubt it. She'll never forgive me. I don't blame her. I acted like a total flankhead to her. I don't deserve her forgiveness. If she forgave me, then she's a saint." He hung his head in shame. "What would I even SAY to her?"

"Try startin' with "I'm sorry,"" Applejack suggested. Shining looked up at the earth pony, who smiled at him supportingly.

The unicorn sighed. "Thanks, AJ. I'm going to go find Twilight."

Twilight smiled as she watched Cadance dancing with her friend Pinkie Pie, enjoying the various activities that the bubbly pink earth pony had planned for the wedding reception. "I'm SOOOOO glad you like my ideas, Princess Mi Amaretto Carumba!" Pinkie spoke up, mispronounciating the princess' full name.

The pink alicorn smiled and laughed. "Please, Pinkie, call me Cadance."

Shining gulped as he entered the room. He was playing in his head what he was going to say to Twilight. He had had it planned for some time now. Still, the unicorn felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach. "Hey, Twilight, can I talk to you in private?"

Twilight looked at her older brother. "Sure, Shining." He followed him out of the grand room and into a small room. "What's up?"

Shining sucked in his breath. "I am so, so, SO sorry for the way I treated you at the wedding rehearsal, Twilie! I acted like a total jackflank to you, and all you were trying to do was help me see the obvious fact that Cadance was not right! Because I ignored you, I almost let Chrysalis take over Equestria! I will NEVER forgive myself for being so cruel to you, and I don't expect you to, either! But I DO apologize." He hung his head and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for Twilight's reaction. He expected her to tell him off, to ask how he had the gall to treat her so badly, to scream that she never wanted to see him again, even to smack him a few times.

He didn't expect her to hug him, practically in tears herself. But she did. Shining looked at her with confusion. "Twilie? I thought you'd hate me!"

"Of course not, Shining, I could never hate you," Twilight wept. "I completely understand why you acted the way you did. I sounded insane! You were just trying to protect your fiancee...or, rather, who you THOUGHT was your fiancee." That made him chuckle.

"I won't lie, I was a little miffed at you, my friends, and Princess Celestia when I found Cadance in the Canterlot Caves, proving that I had been right, but mostly I was glad that I had found her...and now I'm so glad you guys are marrying for REAL now!"

Shining smiled. "Well, still, I know ONE way to try and make it up to you...are you still up to being my best mare?"

Twilight squealed. "Hoof YEAH, I am!" She hugged him tighter. "I love you, BBBFF."

Shining smiled as he hugged her back. "I love you, too, LSBFF."

D'awwwwwww! Ya gotta love sibling relationships!

I know what you're thinking; why did Shining go to Applejack for advice? Well, A. she seems to be Twilight's closest friend out of the Mane Six, B. she was the one who apologized to Twilight on behalf (behoof?) of the others, C. she's the Element of Honesty, so she'd be blunt with what she says, and D. I just like the idea of her being an advice-giver. Hopefully I didn't muck up what she would talk like TOO badly, LOL!

Just so you know, Twilight and Shining's scene together was partly inspired by the scene from the third season of "Avatar: the Last Airbender" when Zuko apologizes to his Uncle Iroh for turning his back on him, and Iroh hugs him and immediately forgives him. That scene is one of my favorites in Avatar history, because it shows just how much Iroh loves his nephew, and I'm not ashamed to admit that it made me cry a little!

Thanks for reading, y'all!

All my best, DiscordantPrincess.