The Sibling Guardian

by Night-Shade

A Normal Afternoon

“So tell me squirt, do you like him?” asked Rainbow Dash.

It was a clear, warm spring afternoon with a gentle breeze blowing through the leaves in the park. It was perfect weather for flying practice and Rainbow and Scootaloo had been training hard for over an hour now. Rainbow had finally decided on a break and Scootaloo was laying on the ground panting.

“Well yeah, a bit, but I haven’t met or even talked to him yet. I only got to know his sisters and they haven’t really said anything about him,” said Scootaloo.

“So? You going to ask him out on a date and find out if you like him?” Rainbow asked with a smirk.

“Rainbow!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a long whine. “Do you really think I should? Isn’t that part of all that mushy stuff?”

Rainbow held her sides as she chortled while still hovering a few hooves above the ground.

“Nah squirt, dating and love isn’t mushy. Well, as long as you don’t act like Bic Mac and Cheerilee did when you and your friends gave them that love poison. That was one of the funniest pranks ever!” exclaimed Rainbow while laughing even harder as she remembered that day.

Scootaloo had a mortified expression on her face and blushed hard from the embarrassment. She buried her head under her forehooves as she was reminded of that day and the trouble they were in afterwards. Rainbow landed and started pounding on the ground with her hooves as she saw Scootaloo’s face. She even had tears coming out of her eyes from all the laughing.

“Ah squirt, that made my day.” Rainbow said with a last chuckle.

Scootaloo just grumbled and stood up shaking out her small wings. Every single one of her wing muscles were aching, luckily, they didn’t hurt as bad as the first few days when Rainbow had started working her on training.

“Time for cool down stretches squirt,” said Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo nodded as she followed Rainbow’s example and stretched her wings to get the lingering soreness out of them.

“Why are we training when my wings are still too small for flight?” asked Scootaloo.

Rainbow smirked and said, “Remember squirt, the sooner you work on your wing strength and learn wing positions, the sooner you will be able to fly. It’s especially important for you, since you haven’t had your last growth spurt yet. Trust me, it’s gonna hurt like Tartarus for a few days and afterwards you are going to thank me for all this. You will be able to start flying sooner with this training. Tomorrow we are going to work on wing positions. That will also be a tremendous help after your wings are ready.”

Scootaloo’s mouth hung open as she had never heard Rainbow say so mush in such a short time.

“What? You think just because I’m not an egghead I don’t know a lot about flying? I am the best flier in Equestria, of course I know all this stuff,” said Rainbow Dash.

“I guess you’re right, I just wish I could fly already. It’s been hard you know,” said Scootaloo while looking at the ground.

Rainbow walked over and started stroking Scootaloo’s mane.

“I know sis. Me, Vinyl and Octi talked about it a few weeks ago. It seems they’re glad we are so close, they feel like they have been leaving out something important to you that they couldn’t give,” said Rainbow Dash with genuine affection.

Scootaloo smiled up at her big sis and leaned into the hoof.

“It’s ok Rainbow, I’m getting flight training from you and I couldn’t be happier about it,” said Scootaloo.

Rainbow smiled down at her with sisterly love and pulled her into a tight hug. Scootaloo melted into the hug and a few happy tears came out of her eyes. I am extremely lucky that I have such an awesome big sister. She is somepony who will ALWAYS be there for me when I need her.

Rainbow Dash let her go after a few seconds and cleared her throat a few times while looking up at the sky. She knew her big sis also had tears in her eyes and just smiled at the thought that she cared so much about her.

“Anyway, how are Vinyl and Octi doing? Have they found a stallion to court yet?” Rainbow Dash asked with a wry grin.

“Nah not yet. They have been dating since before Vinyl took me in. I actually overheard them talking to Lyra and Bon-Bon about it the other day. They were talking about maybe merging, but Lyra and Bon-Bon also don’t have a stallion yet. I guess it’s kinda hard when there are so few stallions in Ponyville,” said Scootaloo.

They both laid down on the cool grass and relaxed as they talked. The soft breeze was helping Scootaloo’s wings to recover a bit faster as she felt the wind ruffling her feathers.

“Yeah I can see that being a problem. You think Octi wants foals of her own?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo looked a bit sad when she said, “Yeah, she, Lyra and Bon-Bon all want foals. Vinyl is still on the fence about it but she will probably also want one of her own when they actually find a stallion.”

“Hey! Vinyl considers you her daughter squirt, don’t forget that,” said Rainbow Dash.

“I know, but she has always been more of a sister than a mom. Octavia’s been my mom for the most part, but she is not my real mom. No matter how much she acts like it. I respect her like a mom and I really love her for it but it’s just not the same,” said Scootaloo.

“Yeah. But always remember, you have an awesome pony like me as your sister who will never leave you hanging,” Rainbow Dash said with a wink.

“I know Rainbow!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a large smile.

---

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
Shadow smiled gently as he walked down the road on his way to Carrot Top’s farm, his sisters trotting alongside him, happily chattering about their first day of school and the friends they had made. He looked at them with a fond smile and thought that they have never looked happier. Not even when he had given them coloring books and pencils for their last birthday. It had cost him two days of hunger but the looks on their faces were well worth it when they saw it.

It was smiles and happiness like that that made it all worth it.

The day was warm and the air fresh as they made their way down the dirt path towards the outskirts of town were most of the farms were located. When they arrived at Carrot Top’s farm the mare already busy walking through her numerous lines of carrots.

So, it's gonna be carrots today again Shadow thought with an amused sigh.

The twins waved at Carrot Top when she saw them and made their way towards a big tree close to the farm house and sat on the bench beneath it. They pulled out their homework, laid it on the table and were about to start. Shadow stopped next to them and hoofed Clear a sheet of paper that she recognized as the school form that Cheerilee gave him that morning.

“Remember the address?” Shadow asked quietly.

Clear nodded and said, “Yup, I remember big bro. I’ll do this before our homework.”

He just nodded to her and gave her a smile of thanks. She returned his smile and got started on the form.

Carrot Top had come over while he gave her the form and asked, “They finally going to school then?”

Shadow nodded and said, “Yeah, today was their first day. It seems like they enjoyed it a lot.”

Carrot nodded thoughtfully and was silent for a few seconds as they walked back towards the rows of carrots.

“So, they are not going to be a menace on my farm today again?” asked Carrot Top.

“I don’t think so. They have homework to do. Having said that I don’t know how long they will be busy. They normally are bored and play to pass the time. It’s not like they go out of their way or mean to make a mess of things,” said Shadow.

Carrot Top merely snorted in amusement and waved a hoof at the rows of carrots, she turned to get her saddlebags off the fence that kept the path between her carrots and her other vegetables clear and slung it over her back and started walking towards Ponyville so she could get to the market.

Shadow was long used to her antics and merely started working.

---

It was just after six when Shadow and his sisters made their way into Ponyville, it had been another hard day of work on the farm and he was tired. Their destination was Carousel Boutique and Shadow was a bit nervous again. The Bearers still unnerved him, but at least he hasn’t met Princess Twilight or the pink one yet. Those two scared him the most, he knew they both were very perceptive in their own way and each spelled trouble for him.

His sisters were bouncing around like he had never seen before. They were clearly ecstatic about the sleepover tonight. He stopped them a few hooves from the door of Carousel Boutique.

“Now girls remember, this is Lady Rarity’s home. Do not make a mess or irritate her. Be respectful, mind your manners and listen to her when she speaks to you or asks you to do something,” said Shadow.

They both nodded solemnly and he gave him a small smile.

“One last thing…” he paused here and they got a bit nervous, “Have fun!” exclaimed Shadow.

“Sure thing big bro!” they exclaimed in unison.

He smiled at them and walked the last few hooves and knocked on the door. The door opened almost immediately, in the doorway stood Applejack with a slight smirk on her face. Shadow quickly controlled his expression but it was not fast enough for Applejack to miss the panic he showed for a second.

He was silent for a few heartbeats then regained control of his voice.

“Good afternoon miss Applejack,” Shadow respectfully said with a small bow of his head.

“Now sugercube, none ah this miss business. Just call me Applejack,” she said with a genuine smile.

Shadow gave her a small uncertain smile and a nod. At that moment the three Crusaders appeared in the doorway next to Applejack.

“You’re here!” All three of them shouted in unison.

They pulled the twins inside and started babbling while Applejack just chuckled and held the door open for Shadow to enter. He did so with a nod in thanks and saw that Applejack was not the only Bearer in the room. Rainbow Dash was hovering a few hooves above the ground and was talking to Rarity and a beautiful yellow pegasus with a long pink mane. She was sitting on a red couch with Rarity. There was still a space left open where Applejack had obviously been sitting before she answered the door.

As Applejack closed the door the attention of the room was drawn to the Crusaders and the twins as both Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood up and made their way over. Shadow recognized the yellow pegasus as Fluttershy, the Bearer of Kindness. Four Bearers! This is getting ridiculous, if this keeps up I am going to be surrounded by all six Bearers tomorrow or the day after. Okay, just deep breaths. Just keep calm and nothing will happen. He repeated in his head a few times as he struggled to keep his composure. Both of his wings flared with a sharp spike of pain as he tensed as they came closer. He forced himself to relax and the pain receded to the dull throbbing he was used to.

“Lady Rarity, Miss Rainbow Dash, Miss Fluttershy,” Shadow greeted politely, he gave them a bow of his head as well.

Rarity tittered behind a hoof at his manners while Rainbow scowled. Fluttershy just smiled softly and hid in her mane.

“Just Rainbow squirt, don’t call me miss. Makes me feel old,” said Rainbow Dash.

Shadow was about to reply but Fluttershy softly said, “You can just call me Fluttershy, if that’s alright with you.”

Shadow gave them a nod and said, “As you wish.”

Rarity said nothing seeing as she quite enjoyed it when he called her lady. She looked over at the five fillies and gave a shudder as she hoped that her boutique would still be standing the next day. Her attention was brought back to Shadow as her spoke to her.

“Lady Rarity, I just want to confirm the plans for tomorrow morning. Will you be escorting the fillies to school or do I need to come by early to pick up my sisters? Also, will you provide breakfast for them or should I prepare something beforehoof?”

Rarity smiled at him and said, “You need not worry darling, I will provide them both with dinner tonight and a healthy breakfast and lunch for school. I will also escort all five of the girls to school tomorrow morning.”

Shadow smiled at her and gave her another small head bow.

“Thank you, Lady Rarity, your generosity is truly appreciated,” Shadow said with a small knowing smirk.

Rarity smirked right back and reached out to stroke his mane. Unfortunately for him all four of the Bearers noticed his small flinch. He stood completely still and allowed Rarity to stroke his mane but Applejack and Fluttershy noticed the tension in his stance. It was like he was expecting and was ready for pain instead of affection.

The five Crusaders saw none of this and were still happily talking to each other about all the things they could do tonight to help the twins get their cutie marks.

After stroking his mane a few times Rarity strode over to the girls to try and get rid of the sudden tension between the older mares and the young colt.

“Now now girls remember, it’s a school night so you can’t go to bed too late. Is all of your homework completed?” asked Rarity.

The five fillies all nodded. Rarity gave a single nod and a hum of approval and turned around to walk back to her friends. Shadow chose this time to get out of there as fast as possible.

“Lady Rarity, I am very grateful to you that my sisters can spend the night here with their friends. I will be on my way and get out of your manes,” said Shadow.

Rarity and Applejack both had small frowns on their faces after he was done talking. He saw non of this though as he had already turned and walked over to the twins and leaned down and gave them both a nuzzle.

“Now you listen to miss Rarity and behave. Also remember to give miss Cheerilee that form. Have fun.” Shadow said in a serious voice but still with a smile on his face.

They both nodded and in unison said, “Yes big bro.”

He nodded to them and saw Scootaloo standing next to them looking at him with curiosity in her eyes. He gave her a genuine smile and inclined his head in a respectful bow. Scootaloo blushed again, even as she smiled at him and gave him a nod of her own head.

Shadow smiled at her one last time and walked over to the door and closed it behind him.

The five fillies immediately stared talking again while Scootaloo stared at the door for a few more seconds before her attention was drawn to Apple Bloom who was trying to tease her for having a crush.

Applejack was standing with all three of her friends who were still looking at the door in concern.

“There is something off about that there colt. Do ya girls agree?” asked Applejack.

She kept her voice low so the fillies couldn’t hear. Rarity and Fluttershy both nodded in concern while Rainbow scoffed.

“But it’s not really any of our business,” Fluttershy whispered.

“Hmm, perhaps you are right darling,” said Rarity.

Applejack was not convinced but kept her opinions to herself.

---

Shadow was almost home, he hoped his flinch and the tension wasn’t too obvious to the four Bearers. If it was, he just hoped they thought it was something totally unrelated to his situation. He didn’t want to say goodbye to his sisters yet. For the first time ever, they were truly happy and he really didn’t want that to change.

His home came into view, the one-story house was in the older part of town and it was a bit rundown. Nothing too obvious, other ponies didn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary was going on there. The garden was none existent but luckily it wasn’t that odd for a family consisting only of pegasi.

He hated, truly hated this house with a passion. Not so much the building itself but he hated what was in it. If there was any other way, he would have slept outside that night – even in the rain that was scheduled if he had to, just as long as he wasn’t in there – seeing as the twins weren’t there, but he knew he couldn’t.

He made his way into the building and to the small dilapidated kitchen and made himself a rare meal with the few things he gotten from Carrot Top that afternoon when she had returned from the market. He pulled out a single apple and two carrots from his saddlebags.

He ate slowly, savoring the food. It was rare that he had so much he could eat in one meal. Normally he ate this much food in two or three days. He knew he actually needed to eat more, there just wasn’t enough for all three of them for proper meals.

When he had finished his food, he made his way to the room he shared with his sisters. The small single bed’s sheets were still messy from this morning. His thin small blanket serving as his bedroll was on the floor to the side of the bed. He made his way to the bed and slowly climbed up and relaxed for the first time since that morning.

He looked at the small desk on the other side of the room. It only had a single chair that his sisters had to share if they were busy on the desk. His sister's coloring books were there along with their coloring pencils scattered about the desk. They truly loved those books and he loved seeing their genuine smile when he complimented them when they had finished with a picture.

He gave a long sigh as he tried to get comfortable on the small bed. Sadly, it was not to be as he heard an ominous stomping, snorting and growling coming through the walls of the living room. He grit his teeth as the noise became louder and the growling increased.

He frowned, it was still early and the sun had barely set. Suddenly he was very grateful that the twins were not here tonight. They would still have been awake at this time.

He jumped down from the bed and made his way out into the short hallway. He stopped in front of the door that lead to the living room. He just looked at it for a few seconds as the noise also reached the other side of the door. There was silence for a few seconds but it was soon interrupted.

Suddenly the door shook and rattled in it's frame from the force as it was hit hard. He didn’t so much as flinch, the door shook with another harder impact. He grimaced as he unlocked the door, he then yanked the door open with a growl and charged through into the dark room beyond.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Great Work as always! I am delighted to see no dislikes. And Rainbow, i could Think of a stallion for her

[Neighful]

Suddenly the door shook and rattled in it's frame from the force as it was hit hard. He didn’t so much as flinch, the door shook with another harder impact. He grimaced as he unlocked the door, he then yanked the door open with a growl and charged through into the dark room beyond.

I thought he said they were safe in ponyville