//------------------------------// // Observations // Story: The Sibling Guardian // by Night-Shade //------------------------------// Scootaloo sighed as she came up to the schoolhouse on her trademark scooter. It looked like another boring day was ahead of her. It was the first day of the new school year and she just wished school could be finished already so she could go crusading with her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She let out a long sigh as she thought of how boring school was going to be. Spike, Twilight Sparkle’s number one assistant and a dragon to boot, had allowed them take one of Twilight’s precious books the previous day with a pinkie promise from them to bring it back in spotless condition. The book was at least somewhat interesting, it was about cutie marks, so for her and her two crusader friends it was a given that it was a book that they would actually read. She was still lost in thought as she settled at her desk. She glanced around and saw that she was quite early today, something that didn’t usually happen, as none of the other foals were there yet. She frowned as she looked at the teacher’s desk and thought about what to do until her friends showed up. Miss Cheerilee was already at her desk and was sorting though some papers that Scootaloo recognized as math tests, she quietly groaned as she thought that this was a horrible way to start the new school year. As she had come through the door her teacher had looked up and nodded at her with a bright smile in greeting before going back to her paperwork. Just as she was about to get up and go wait for her friends outside and maybe play on one of the swings to pass the time, there was a soft knock on the door. Miss Cheerilee called out it was open and after a moment the door opened with an unfamiliar dark grey pegasus colt, maybe three years older than her, standing at the door. He looked at miss Cheerilee expectantly with two fillies, probably about two or three years younger than her, riding on his back. She didn’t know who he was but she had seen him around town a few times in the past months though she couldn’t remember exactly when or where she had first seen him. The colt’s coat was the same shade of grey as that of the darkest storm cloud she had ever seen. What was very strange was that his mane, tail and wings were pitch black. It was very rare for a pegasus to be born with wings a different color than their coat. He was also thin, very thin, he almost looked starved but there was a subtle hint that he was well built with a strong muscle structure. She could tell he did physical work every day, as she continued to stare at him she noticed that he was very attractive and she felt a light blush coloring her cheeks. The feathers on his wings was distinct and each one shined slightly in a prismatic glow, it was very subtle though but she knew miss Cheerilee could not see it. Only other pegasi could see the slight glow, though it was very rare. Rainbow Dash, her idol, was the only other pegasus she knew of with such a glow to her wings. Each of his feathers stood out to her and she could only stare with amazement at the colt’s wings. She also noticed something else about his wings as one of the fillies, who were clearly his sisters, fidgeted with the wing on the side that was facing her. It was so subtle that she barely made the connection. The primary bone, she couldn’t remember what it was called, that connected his wings to his body had a break in it and had not healed properly. The more she stared the more she realized that it had not been set or treated properly or perhaps at all. Staring openly now she realized that it was barely visible and even another pegasus would most likely overlook it. She only saw it because of Rainbow Dash, she had drilled the importance of caring for one’s wings into her. She couldn’t fly yet as she was still waiting for her growth spurt, Rainbow said she was just a late bloomer but her wings would soon be the proper size. She realized that he was just as ground bound as she was but for a wholly more terrifying reason. As she sat there in shock the colt had calmly walked up to Miss Cheerilee and greeted her with a polite, "Good morning". She smiled kindly at the colt and cheerfully said, “Good morning. What is your name?” The colt’s lips twitched as he shortly but respectfully replied, “My name is Shadow. Miss Cheerilee, I take it?” She giggled at the colt’s manners and gave him a single nod while looking at the fillies and waited for them to introduce themselves. His lips twitched again as he realized she was waiting for his sisters and gently swatted each of them with his tail. The filly on his right shoulder yelped and jumped onto his head, balancing there and boldly proclaimed with a smirk that would be a fit match on Rainbow Dash. “My name is Windy Skies!” she exclaimed. The other filly on his back hadn't moved when he swatted her and continued to fidget with his wing as she softly said, “My name is Clear Breeze.” Her tone was almost as soft as Fluttershy’s. Scootaloo raised her eyebrows in shock at the way the colt didn’t even so much as twitch as his sister fidgeted and pulled at the broken wing, she could not even imagine how painful that must be, but the colt looked as relaxed as though nothing was amiss. Miss Cheerilee clearly saw none of this and just smiled as she cocked her head slightly to the side. “Hmm, this is a bit unorthodox that a colt your age is here to bring his siblings to school alone. Shouldn’t your mother or father be here for this?” she asked. Shadow’s smile slipped for such a brief moment that Cheerilee wondered if her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her and dismissed her confusion as he replied in a completely neutral tone, “My mother is at home as usual, but she trusts me with the twins.” Cheerilee frowned and asked. “What about your father? Does he have a reason for not being here then?” Shadow’s smile faded and with a dark expression on his face he said, “Yes, but the herd left us a long time ago.” It looked like he wanted to added more but he didn't as his expression changed back to calm again. Cheerilee’s eyebrows shoot skyward before she could revert to her previous expression of mild interest. “My apologies,” she stated with utter sincerity. Shadow merely shrugged with disinterest and kept the neutral expression on his face. “If I may ask, why is your mother not here then?” Cheerilee asked with confusion clear on her face. Shadow slightly frowned again, but kept the rest of his face composed and said, “Well, with her injury she never leaves the house.” Cheerilee wanted to ask more but felt it could wait for another time so she just gave a single nod. Cheerilee’s expression brightened as she asked the twins. “And how old are your two?” They smiled slightly and Windy said, “We turned seven a little more than two months ago.” Cheerilee smiled widely and let out an excited giggle. “O, how I love having a pair of twins in my class,” she said. Shadow merely raised an eyebrow with a smirk. Cheerilee just continued smiling and addressing the twins she said, “Very well, you two can go and sit on the two seats to the left of Scootaloo, that is the filly over there behind you, those are the last two open seats I have in the class.” Shadow nodded at the twins and they hopped off his back and leaned close as he whispered something in their ears, they each gave him a serious nod. As he tried to give them a loving nuzzle, they grimaced in the typical way of foals not wanting to be seen given affection by their parents in public. They trotted off towards their designated seats while Scootaloo saw a brief flash of pain in the colt’s eyes, though he gave no outward sign of disappointment. As he turned around back to Miss Cheerilee, Scootaloo was still staring at him and had to stop herself from gasping as she saw a similar break in his other wing which was about a hoof length further down the margin - that's what it was called - and just as invisible as the other one. She also saw that his feathers were clearly not being preened on a regular basis. Rainbow Dash had taught her how important preening was for pegasi wing health and flight. This colt could clearly not fly and any movement of his wings whatsoever should come with an agonizing pain, seeing as the most nerves reside in a pegasus’ wing. Cheerilee then fiddled around in one of her desk drawers for a few moments then brought out a sheet of paper, held it out to Shadow and said. “Please have your mother fill out this form and bring it back tomorrow. It is just the basic school forms every parent has to fill out for their foals. Since they are twins there does not need to be two forms, just make sure that both their names are on there.” Shadow gave her a respectful nod and put the paper in his saddlebag. He looked at the twins a last time then walked out of the schoolhouse without a backward glance.