Chapter 22:

'An Unfair Life'

Not long after Twilight Sparkle had finished putting the other books away, she immediately got back to her research on the Mad Unicorn. Normally she was always reading books by herself, which she didn't mind, as it didn't affect her interest in them. But this time, somepony was reading one with her, showing equal interest in the topic she was researching. Magister Sky Shadow.

The young Alicorn Princess had only known him for a short time and she already liked him a lot. Ever since meeting him, he had done nothing but help her whenever she needed it. Though she was nervous around the other Magisters at first, it was Sky Shadow who stepped in to help her feel more secure, something of which, she was really grateful for.

While Twilight was continuing her research, she had asked Sky Shadow to tell her more about himself, and she was quite surprised when she learned that he was originally from Equestria.

"When I was still just a colt, I was abandoned by my parents and ended up wandering from town to town, trying to keep myself alive by any means necessary. It was...quite a difficult time for me." Sky Shadow said in a slightly hurt tone.

"Oh my, that's awful." Twilight said, giving him a sympathetic look.

Sky Shadow looked at her. "I kept wandering for as long possible, until eventually I passed out just outside the next town I was heading to. I didn't have any energy in me, I was alone, and I was dying of starvation...and then...he showed up."

"He?" Twilight replied with a confused expression.

"Yes..." Sky Shadow said. "My brother. He was heading into town with his parents, and they stopped when they saw me just outside near the river..."

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"Hey!"

'I opened my eyes and saw a white Unicorn colt staring down at me, and I was quite surprised when I saw the worried look on his face.'

"Are you okay?!" The colt asked as he gently shook the small blue Pegasus. He turned around and yelled, "Mom! Dad! Over here!"

Two much older Unicorns rushed over to the two and were beyond shocked when they found their son sitting next to the exhausted Pegasus. One was a Unicorn mare. Her coat was a bright grey colour and her mane and tail were a mixed colour of white and purple. Her eyes were a bright blue colour and her Cutie Mark was three purple stars.

The other was a Unicorn Stallion. While his coat was a lighter shade of blue, his mane and tail were both a darker blue, and his eye colour was a shade of yellow. His Cutie Mark was a yellow waxing crescent moon with a smaller crescent moon inside. "Oh my!" The mare said as she rushed over to the small Pegasus' side and lifted him into her forelegs. "Are you alright dear?"

The small blue colt slowly opened his eyes again and looked at them for a moment before closing them again.

"Oh dear. He's so exhausted. Hurry, let's get him inside somewhere!" The mare said as she got up and levitated the small Pegasus onto her back.

The Pegasus managed to open his eyes slightly again as he felt himself being carried. He turned his head and looked at the side, seeing the young Unicorn colt trotting alongside his mother, not taking his worried eyes off of the Pegasus.

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Twilight didn't take her eyes off of Sky Shadow as he explained the events that happened.

"After that, they took me into their home..." Sky Shadow said before letting out a long sigh. "They fed me, kept me warm, comforted me. I was so confused as to why they would show me such kindness, even if I was just a colt. But they treated me...they treated me as if...I was their own son."

No reply came from the Princess, she merely continued to listen as the Pegasus continued his story.

"They asked me what happened to my own parents, and I told them in full detail, everything that happened. How they abandoned me, left me to die, and how I ended up wandering through the towns." Sky Shadow said before sighing again. "After staying with them for a few days, it was then that I heard those words..."

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"Are you feeling any better dear?" The Unicorn mare asked as she sat down on the bed next to the blue Pegasus.

The colt slowly looked up at her and nodded. "Y-Yes..."

"That's good." The mare said with a smile. Suddenly, her smile lowered when she saw tears forming in the young colts eyes. "What's wrong dear?"

Looking away, he closed his eyes and attempted to stop the tears from flowing out. "I'm sorry."

The mare tilted her head in confusion and put one of her hoofs on his shoulder. "What are you sorry for dear?"

"You took me in and gave me food, a place to stay, and I have nothing to repay you with. I'm sorry." The colt replied.

The mare gave him a warm smile and pulled him into a hug. "Oh my little pony, you don't need to repay us at all. We were just happy we could help, if we hadn't then who knows what would have happened."

Feeling the warmth from her embrace, he slowly returned it and softly sobbed into her fur.

"It's ok, you're going to be okay." The mare said as she stroked his spiky fiery mane.

The Unicorn stallion entered and sat down next to them. "Is something wrong?"

"No dear, he's just a little upset that he can't pay us back for taking him in." The mare replied.

"Haha, I see." The stallion said, laughing slightly before rubbing his hoof gently against the colts head.

"You don't need to pay us back son."

The colt slowly looked up at them, eyes widened. "S-Son...?"

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Twilight could feel tears threatening to appear in her eyes as the Magister continued to tell his story. At first, she really admired him, but now after hearing this so far, she only sympathized with him, and pitied him that he had such a rough start in his life.

Sky Shadow looked at her. "You have no idea how happy I was, when I heard him say those words. "They comforted me, knowing I never got to have parents, and then, eventually, they said something that changed my life forever..."

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"If you'd like...we can be your parents."

The colt looked up at the stallion, his expression was beyond shocked. "W-What? What do you mean?"

The mare smiled as she gently pulled him into another hug and stroked his mane. "We can't even begin to imagine how awful it must have been for you to be abandoned by your real parents. So, how about this, we'll be your parents from now on. And our son, he can be your brother."

"I...I've never had a brother before either..." The colt said.

"Well...you do now."

All eyes moved towards the white Unicorn colt, who was standing by the door. "Nopony should have to go through what you did, it just isn't right." He said as he trotted over to the bed before jumping up to sit beside them. "And besides, I've always wanted a sibling of my own. I think it'd be great to have a brother. A Pegasus brother at that!"

The Pegasus colt looked up at the two older Unicorns. "You don't have a problem with that either? I mean, you're all Unicorns, and, I don't know if it would seem right-"

The mare hugged him again. "You are who you are. You're future is for you to decide. We won't pressure you or anything into making a decision. But..." She slowly pulled away and smiled at him. "You deserve better, and I'd like to believe we can give you what you never had."

The colt looked up at her, he then turned to the stallion, who was also smiling at him.

He felt a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to turn to the small white Unicorn colt, who, just like his parents, was also smiling at him.

"What I never had..." He muttered to himself. He looked up at them again. "I...have always wanted...a real family..."

The two older Unicorns smiled at each other before turning back to him. The Unicorn stallion shuffled closer so he could put his forelegs around his wife and the colt.

The small Unicorn colt moved over to them and hugged the colt also. "And I've always wanted a sibling."

Sobbing into the Unicorn mares fur, the Pegasus colt finally managed to smile.

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Sky Shadow smiled behind his helmet as he finished explaining. "And that's what I got. A real family. I got a real mother, a real father, and a real brother. Even though I was a Pegasus and they were Unicorns, they didn't care. They loved me for who I was, and didn't treat me any different because of it."

Twilight Sparkle just looked at him, unable to find any words to reply with.

The Magister looked at her. "I had been with them for a good few years, and those...were some of the best years of my life."

"So...what happened after? I mean, where are your parents and your brother?" Twilight asked.

Sky Shadow looked away from her. "They're..."

"Oh...I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Sky Shadow interrupted her. "Oh no they're not dead! They're absolutely fine."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "So, where are they?"

"Well, I...I don't know." Sky Shadow muttered.

Another question suddenly came to mind. "So...how did you end up with Dusk and his other Magisters?"

Sky Shadow looked at her. "I was found by Dusk and Magister Freed up in the Frozen North. The day my brother..."

Twilight leaned closer, eager to hear what happened. "Yes?"

The silver armoured Pegasus looked back at her, his tone was now cold and dark, and it scared her. "The day my brother abandoned me."

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"I'm telling you! It's going to be amazing! I can't believe we're actually going to have another sibling!"

The Pegasus rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yeah. I can't wait. Just when I thought our lives couldn't get any better, dad tells us mom is pregnant. I will admit, I was shocked at first, but, well, what can you expect, after all, it's not every day a new member comes into the family." He raised a brow at his own words. "Uhh...you know what, forget I said anything."

The Unicorn colt laughed. "Hey! It's okay! I know what you mean. I wonder if it'll be a filly. I sure would like a little sister..." He looked at the Pegasus and smiled. "Because I already have a brother. A little sister would be a wonderful addition to the family, don't you think?"

"Yeah. If it is a filly, I can't wait to meet her." The Pegasus colt replied as they two made their way through a large cave. "What are we doing up here in the Frozen North anyway? I know we were allowed to go and wander off but, this seems a little too far away don't you think?"

The Unicorn colt rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, we're old enough to take care of ourselves."

"Yeah, that's what colts like us say all the time." The Pegasus replied with a smirk.

"Sure. But really, stop your worrying, everything will be fine. What could possibly go wrong with a little trip through the mountains?" The Unicorn said.

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"What could possibly go wrong indeed." Sky Shadow said, his tone remained ever cold.

Twilight started to get nervous as he continued explaining what happened.

"I won't bore you with details Twilight. We were just wandering around the cave and ended up in large cavern as we kept walking. We relaxed there for a good while, until he decided it would be a good idea to shout at the top of his lungs because there was a massive echo. Unfortunately, that echo, that stupidity of his, cost me dearly." Sky Shadow said.

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The two colts ran for their lives as the entire ceiling of the cavern was collapsing. "I can't believe a little echo would end up causing this massive cave in!"

"I can't believe you thought it was a good idea to shout at all! You knew something like that was bound to happen if you kept it up!" The Pegasus shouted.

The Unicorn colt growled as he barely dodged a rock. They noticed that the tunnel up ahead was also collapsing, and, thinking fast, the Unicorn used his magic and attempted to slow the rocks down, giving him enough time to pass by them and make it outside.

The Pegasus colt watched in horror as he saw his brother make out, after which, the tunnel collapsed right in front of him, separating them and cutting off his escape. He held his breath and raced back to the open cavern they were in earlier in hopes that there would be another way out, but there was none, he was trapped.

"No...no...this can't be happening..." He said as he dropped to his knees. "Brother...how could you...how could you just leave me like that?"

Realization hit him as he remembered what they were talking about. "Mom...dad..." He looked around again hoping he could see an exit, but no matter how many times he looked, there was none. He was alone once more.

"No..." He could feel tears forming in his eyes. He quickly rubbed his eyes with his hoofs and lay down on a flat part of the ground, curling up into a ball. "Mom...dad." He muttered quietly as his soft sobs echoed through the cavern.

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Twilight Sparkle was speechless.

Sky Shadow slowly turned to her again. "My brother abandoned me to save his own flank. And because of him, I was no longer able to return. I couldn't see my mother or father ever again. Because of him..." He turned away and let out an angry sigh. "Because of him, I lost my family. Because of him, I lost everything..."

Sky Shadow looked at Twilight and let out a softer sigh this time. "Because of him...I never got to meet my sister."

Not understanding the amount of pain he was enduring, Twilight did the first thing that came to mind. She put her forelegs around him and hugged him, unfazed by the cold feeling of his silver armour. Sky Shadow was surprised for a moment but eventually returned her hug.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that Sky Shadow. You sound like you've had such an unfair life." Twilight said as she felt a few tears slide down her face.

The silver armoured Pegasus smiled slightly. "Unfair is an understatement." He said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, as he didn't like to see the Princess cry.

Twilight eventually let out a soft giggle and pulled away. "So...what happened after? How did you escape? If you don't mind me asking that is."

Sky Shadow shook his head. "I don't mind." He said before taking in a deep breath. "After that, I was stuck in the cavern for atleast nearly two days. Nearly two whole days before I heard something breaking in..."

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A banging noise and the sound of rocks breaking was music to the Pegasus colts ears. He quickly got up and yelled out. "Is sompony there?! Help! Somepony help me!"

The banging sound stopped.

He started to worry and yelled out again. "SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! HELP!"

A good few long minutes of silence went by.

The colt started to feel tears forming in his eyes. He let out a sad sigh and curled up into a ball again on the flat part of the ground. "Figures. It was probably just my imaginati-"

He was quickly cut off when a large part of the caverns wall was blown aside by a powerful explosion. He covered his ears and used one of his wings to hide his head.

As soon as the explosions echo died down, everything finally went silent once more.

Then, an unusual sound caught his attention. The sound of rattling metal, and it was getting louder, almost as if it was approaching him.

Finally, the sound stopped, and he couldn't be anymore scared as he heard it stop right in front of him. He shook with fear and slowly removed his wing to see what the source of the sound was.

He was able to make out four armoured hoofs. He slowly looked up the legs of what stood in front of him. It was a Unicorn, that much he knew just by looking at the horn. The Unicorn was literally covered from head to hoof in armour, and his horned helmet didn't do anything to help him feel any better.

After a long minute of silence, a muffled voice spoke from behind the helmet. "This is quite a surprise. What is a young colt like you doing here by yourself?"

The Pegasus colt looked at the ground and tried to find the courage to speak, but he was too scared, and he was still shaking.

Noticing his fear, the armoured Unicorn kneeled down next to him. "There's no need to be afraid little one. Here, let me introduce myself..." He said before removing his helmet.

The colt was surprised to see the face of the Unicorn. He looked slightly older than his father. His coat was a dark tan colour, he had a long dark grey mane and his kind and gentle-looking eyes were a bright green colour.

"I am Magister Freed. What is your name?" The Unicorn asked.

The colt stuttered as he tried to speak. "M-My...my name...my name is...L-"

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Sky Shadow stopped explaining and turned to Twilight, who had a confused expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

With a sigh, Sky Shadow got off the chair and turned to leave. "Nothing. I think I've said enough for now. Remembering some of these bad memories has taken its toll on me."

Twilight was about to push for more answers but refrained against it, knowing that his past was indeed a troubling one and talking about it was only hurting him. "I...I understand." She said before managing a smile. "Thank you for sharing your story with me, Sky Shadow."

Sky Shadow nodded. "Thank you, for listening, Twilight Sparkle." He made his way over to the door. "When we have more time, I'll tell you the rest." He said as he opened the door.

"Sure." Twilight replied before turning back to the book on the Mad Unicorn.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Wait. What were your parents and brothers names?" She asked as she turned to the door, only to find he was no longer there.

She shrugged and turned back to her book.

Twilight flickered through a few pages as she recalled everything Sky Shadow told her. "That was quite a story. I can't believe he went through all of that...but..." She stopped for a moment and pondered on the description of his parents and his brother.

"The description of his parents and his brother...it seems familiar."