-Sometime before the ban-

Philip never thought he could feel so scared. And considering that the fiery being had been in battle more times than he could count, that was saying something. It was more complicated than that, however, considering that the reason for his fear was currently within the crystal tree-like castle before him.

All his life, Philip had only known his father to be a heartless individual towards him, so it made him nervous about what TD would say to him. But he had to do this. If not, then the rift that was between them would only grow bigger. And deep down, even if he was grown now, Philip still possessed that childish desire and longing for his father's love and acceptance.

With a deep sigh, he opened the doors to the Castle of Friendship and followed the signature that he knew belonged to his father's magic, until it led him into the lounge of the castle. There, TD was sitting in a seat musing over some kind of journal. When he saw the room get illuminated a bit more by the light and felt the heat given off by Philip's form, he looked up with surprise.

"Philip? I thought you were still recovering," he remarked as he set the journal aside.

"You know I can recover quickly," Philip commented, raising an eyebrow and giving a chuckle.

"I know... but a father can worry about such things," TD replied, causing a silence to fall about the room. It was he who broke it, as expected. "I know why you're here. And before you say anything, I just- I want to say that... I know 'sorry' won't bring your mother back. I know it won't fix anything that I did or said to you back then, or how negligent I was to you. And I cannot stress enough how sorry I am for what I have done to you." Tears were forming in the human's eyes, even if he wasn't sobbing yet. "I don't deserve it, but I ask that you can find it in yourself to forgive me. Please... I don't want this to be a rift that stays between us... forever..."

Philip knew his father could be blunt and straight to the point when he needed to be, but this was not how he had expected it to go. Not to say that he doubted TD's words; he knew that his father was not a liar nor would he wish to lie to anyone in his group of friends and family. As bad as he had been, it was obvious that TD had changed. But could he truly forgive him?

"I... I don't forgive you..." Philip said after a moment, to which TD just bowed his head.

"I understand-"

"No, you don't father," Philip interrupted. "I don't forgive you, because you're not the same man I once knew. You are a different person, and I can't be mad at someone who didn't commit the crimes against me. It... it wouldn't be right. To you, or myself. And... you're not the only one who needs to apologize. I wanted to get revenge on you so badly, that I let it consume my very being. I was driven only by rage and the desire to harm. And in that rage, I harmed others who didn't deserve it. And then when I actually found you... I couldn't bring myself to kill you when you apologized at that one point here in Ponyville. And on top of that... there was that time at Canterlot... After that, I started to see how changed you truly have been. Now hearing that you have a ban to put up and me having to take care of the remains of Nameless's armies, I wanted to talk to you before I-"

"Oh, shut up and hug me already," TD cut in, and then suddenly the fiery humanoid was brought into the human's embrace, already feeling and hearing TD's tears sizzling on where they fell on his shoulder. While unfamiliar with the feeling, Philip knew what a hug was and soon returned it, thankful for once that TD was immune to fire and therefore was unable to be harmed in this fashion. TD held him closer as he cried some more.

"I've missed you, my little prince," he whispered. This made yet another unfamiliar emotion well up in Philip, and then he noticed the dark red, lava-like drops that were pouring out of his eyes and onto his father's shoulders.

"What... is this...?" the fiery man asked in confusion.

"I think... those are your tears..." TD answered him.

"Tears..." Philip said the word as if it was foreign to him, then hugged his father once more.

"I missed you too... Dad..."

For the next few moments, the only sounds to be heard in the castle were the tears of father and son reunited, even if for a short while. And for the first time since he could remember, Philip had found something better than revenge, something that made him finally feel at peace.

Acceptance.

I know I called this story "complete" and all, but I felt that there was one last problem that needed fixing.

So, I hope you enjoyed this.