Warning: this chapter contains pretty high levels of swearing.

Shadowbolt HQ - Outside Canterlot.

“Where is he!?” Night Fury was stomping her way down one of the halls as every pony in their right mind was getting the fuck out of her way. She found her target in one of the work rooms and her anger practically doubled on sight! He was laying on his belly, hind legs stretched out, forelegs crossed singing mostly to himself, with a mare over him that can best be called 'deep grape' in color with a folded towel cutie mark, massaging his back with her fore-hoofs.
“Still can't remember what happened in September, back when everypony died trails of blood during my stride.” He sang out before a loud audible pop rang from him as he went pretty limp giving a relaxed groan. Clearly this mare had skill in her craft because it almost made Night Fury forget why she came in here just seeing how quickly she just broke all the tension from Stream's body. Almost.
“You shit eating son of a,” She started getting the pairs attention. The complete fear on the mare's face and the sheer confusion on Steam's maked her inhale deeply glaring through her goggles.

Stream motioned with a hoof for the mare to leave, which she quickly did, grabbing her few things and bolting.
“First you tell me to take it easy and then come banshee screaming during a massage? This better be about something good or you are not the only one going to be screaming soon.” He said his blue eyes showing a strong amount of annoyed resentment.
“Why didn't you fucking tell me you had a brother!?” Stream froze on the table where he was.

“Because,” He paused inhaling,
“I don't have a brother,” He said strongly, as she yanked her goggles off showing her burning orange eyes.
“Horseshit!” She said stamping her hoof down hard,
“I met him just earlier today! Black fur, blue mane, blue eyed unicorn with a 4 point red star on his flank with 4 smaller stars on the points of that one!” Stream clearly was weakening to this as he shifted back on the table some looking both angry and abit afraid. “Cosmic Spark told me to tell his brother he is looking for him and has been worried about him.” Said Fury with an unusual level of calm trying to force herself to keep any tone of hatred out of the message despite how much she wanted to just tear into Stream right now. Stream would begin to tremble as he suddenly shot off the table landing in front of her with his wings furled out,

“LIES!” He screamed.
“I don't have a brother! I never had a brother! Brothers don’t end up going off to be a great student at Canterlot while you sit around in a nowhere edge town being told you can't even fly like any other pegasi because you have a heart problem!” Night Fury would growl,
“So you are mad at him just because he got lucky?!” Stream's eyes widened with burning rage as he reared up and brought his hoof down. Fury closed her eyes expecting him to slap her across the muzzle like so many stallions before him, but the blow never came. Night Fury slowly opened her eyes not sure how long she had kept them close but it had been enough time for Steam to sulk his way onto the table, back to her, his wings drooping as she could swear tears where hitting the table itself.

“When mom and dad died, the towns folk helped take care of me for months.” He inhaled slowly then exhaling weakly as she knew his heart had to be flaring up.
“Months had passed and they said that he simply must of moved on, how lucky he was to be going on his own in Equestria.” He trembled as she was listening,
“What kind of brother, abandons his only remaining family like that? For a future in Equestria's high society while his only remaining relative rots in a nowhere town with no family to turn to and a busted heart, both physically and emotionally?” Night Fury would slowly near but stopped herself sitting there as Stream would peak over his shoulder his eyes blood shot,

“So yeah, to me, I haven't had a brother sense he left for Canterlot University, as that was the last I saw of him. He spent the years there sending letters about how awesome it was and the friends he made and the grades he got, making mom and dad so proud and what not but... he just forgot I existed.” Night Fury picked up her goggles putting them on calmly heading to the door.
“Well I am not going to settle for half of a coin, I am going to, as you would say “get the flip side” of this story, or something like that,” Said Night Fury calmly as she left Stream there, walking out of the base as everypony still got out of her way.

Ponyville

Night Fury was scanning the small quiet town late at night looking for Spark. Her luck proved good tonight as she spotted him alone at the park, under a tree with his horn a glow with a blue light, he was reading something, the heavy saddlebags from earlier besides him. She landed not far from him as he looked up hearing the sound of impacting hooves on grass.
“Well we meet again so soon Miss Fury, what brings you out here so late?” He smiled though he could feel the strong glare through her yellow lens goggles.
“Okay Spark, lets hear your half of it,” He blinked,
“I am sorry but my half of what exactly? That sentence has no real context.” Her brow furrowed,
“Your side of the story, what is your deal with your younger brother Stream?” He was left gaping like an idiot when she said Stream's name as he was clearly taken aback by the boldness of her question. He gathered himself mentally inhaling deeply, he had to understand that she indeed did know his younger brother, but clearly something was wrong if she was here for a story, his side of things suggested she knew Stream well enough to get his side and that did not sound like it was pleasant.

“When we where growing up, my father worked hard in the mines to make sure we had food and a home.” He would take a slow breath,
“When my magic began to manifest so strongly they worked as hard as they could together to send me to Canterlot, wanting to give me a chance to fully explore my gift.” He remembered the day as the young colt foal with his bags, having finally arrived there sadly, scared of the new city.

“I however made a friend when I arrived,” The image of a young foal filly with a soft powder blue coat would smile to him,
“Hi, I am Snow Dust.” She said as the memory faded from him.
“The next few years I made many “fans” as I have come to believe of them now, but only one true friend. I sent letters, trying to make my folks proud, trying to give Stream a brother to look up to, a reason to stride to do his best.” He chocked back a desire to cry remembering that letter,

“Then I was told of Stream's condition, and I felt my world shatter.” Night Fury would blink, slowly removing her goggles as she sat down slowly, having been keeping that strong glare going the whole story. She would relax a little as Spark offered her a bottle of water, which she was quite gracious for when she realized how dry her mouth was as she took it carefully in her hooves and drank.

“So what happened to you?” She asked after wiping the drips off her muzzle from the water.
“I became a shut in. I lost all care for crowds, for attention, for anything.” He exhaled as he remembered all those days slaving away at book after book, reading and re-reading everything he could find.
“I turned my focus from just any magic I could learn to one thing, medicine. I was determined to find a way to help my younger brother, at all cost.” He remembered all those who had become his “friend” slowly leaving him in chunks, until there was but 1.
“But she stayed with me longer then anyone else,” The memory flooded his mind as Snow Dust would be at his side,
“Spark! You need to rest, your running yourself ragged!” She had tears in her eyes, looking hurt at his actions,
“NO!” He screamed at her face, growling,
“Not yet! I am sure I will find something soon, I can feel it!” He said going back to the books.
“Spark... you are not helping anyone running yourself this hard, please, for me?” He stopped for a second and turned to her confused,
“For...you?” Her face paled some as his eyes burned with rage,
“For you!?” He stomped his hooves down hard,
“This isn't about you! This is about my brother!” She turned and ran out, crying hard, sobs echoing through the halls as Spark slammed the doors behind her with his magic, hard.

Tears streamed down Spark's face as Night Fury felt something she had not felt in years, genuine sympathy for another pony.
“What happened, after that?” she managed to ask as Spark looked at her,
“I never saw Snow again, I put all myself into my grades and my studies of medicine, earning money to buy supplies on the side and store them away. I realized quickly that a lot of practices had stopped being used or just not been developed further because times where good enough without them, and that I would never be able to save my brother with conventional medicine, no pony with a heart condition could be.” He felt his frustration again,

“I began to restudy old practices and began to push the boundaries of existing medicines in my studies but there was only so much one could do without actual work in the field.” He would recall him getting his graduation certificate,
“I pushed myself to graduate earlier and then set out to Equestria to learn all I could through the actual pratice of medicain. I quickly found myself however running into a lot of the small problems, things I could cure with a simple medicine.” Night Fury nodded,

“I once stopped here and became friends with a medicine zebra named Zecoura that to my knowledge has actually become part of the town through the help of new friends she made in the last year.” Night Fury would tilt her head having never actually met a zebra face to face.
“From her I learned of even more effective uses of herbs and medicines even though they where not what one would call modern medicine, and that is what elicited me to try pushing the limits of medicine to the limits I have. All of it in the end is more to learn to push it to where I can finally help Stream, and finally I believe I have found out how.” The instant grab of attention he gained from the muted yellow mare showed he had a hook.

“What? How?!” She said not sure exactly why this mattered to her.
“A heart transplant,” Night Fury tilted her head,
“a heart whatplant?”
“Transplant, you know, like how some orchards and farms transplant trees from one farm to another?” She blinked,
“But that would mean you would basically be taking out his heart, and putting a...” She had to stop herself, no that was madness, no doctor had done something like that ever! He was either a genius or a insane pony to think of such a thing!
“Organ transplants where actually done a century ago, when population was low, they began to transplant organs that where easier to reach for some patients to keep them alive. The main ones where, stomach, liver, kidneys, some time intestines when injuries called for it, as they had to harvest the organs from ponies on the way out with their consent, but for some reason the nobles actually put an end to the practice a century ago, gaining the support of the common pony to force the governmental body to deem it, morally incorrect to take parts from one pony and put them in another.”

Night Fury blinked, she wasn't sure how to feel about it,
“Do you think it is?” She asked,
“Only if you are stealing organs from the dead. If the pony is willing to give up what they have because they won't be around much longer, so some other pony can get the chance, then let them. It's their body, they can choose if someone else can do something with it if you ask me, and you did.” Even with his sense of class and manners she could hear that edge of sarcasm that linked him to his brother.

“Did you..get a heart?” She was now in too deep to be afraid to ask, as Spark nodded slowly while they both drank some water quietly.
“I began to actually practice some of these riskier procedures hence how I knew how to help your wounded earth pony comrade with the spike in his side.” He had managed to pack his stuff with his magic as they had been having this talk,
“I have actually done heart transplants, a total of 4 but sadly only 1 has survived. The first one did not take to the new heart and unfortunately crashed the night after. The second died on the operating table, when I had gone in I did not notice the damaged kidneys and, sadly, there was nothing I could do for her.” He would feel that lead weight in his stomach remembering all the ponies who he felt he had let down in the end from his failures, even when he knew well intellectually he could not of done anything for them.

“The third one is still alive living a quite happy life from what I understand in Chicoltgo, the last one was the most difficult for me I believe to lose.” Night Fury would gently lean in trying to silently press him on.
“The surgery went well, the heart seem to be taking but the stallion was up in his years and in the end his body and his health where just not strong enough. He had fought but in the end he just did not,” He was cut short by a hard choke in his throat as tears fell down his face quietly. Night fury would slowly near him sitting beside him and put a leg around his shoulder some,
“You really are trying to do this for the good of others... you would of fit in with a lot of our members if you simply had not been in Canterlot and all that upper class stuff. Our goal is just to help small town stars get their talents noticed, find jobs or places where they can unleash their talents and professions and actually make a life for themselves beyond the small towns they come from.”

Spark looked at her some smiling,
“That came from my bro didn't it? It would be like him to be focused on not only getting his talents but others noticed. He was always a brash but big hearted colt, no matter how gruff and rough he acts.” He would dab his face with a napkin from his bags gently with his magic,
“I did get a heart, a rather well built earth pony stallion. He suffered a serious injury to his back legs and organs, I had tried to help him but in the end all I could do was manage his pain with some medication and make it easier on him, in the time while he passed we talked about our lives much like you and I, I told him why I got into medicine and when I told him of my brother's condition and my desire to master the art of organ replacement, he offered his to me, told me that if it would help me learn how to save more ponies like I tried to save him, then it would be the least he could do...” He smiled,

“I stored it with magic in a special container that keeps it ever so slowly pumping with a set of tubes that pump blood through it. I have found some special gems that generate electrical current, for which I have found a few medical uses for.” Night Fury would slowly nod as she put her leg down and remembered one thing that some how hadn't come up,
“There is one thing I got to know before I feel it safe to try to bring you two together, why did you not go home after your parents died?” Spark froze as tears began to refill his eyes, quite strongly this time, not like the light choking here or soft tears there, this was a very strong very pained level of sorrow.
“I did not know they had passed, until a year after the fact....” He pulled out another napkin and blew into it using another to clean his face of tears trying to keep his composure,

“I am sorry, this is, still a very bitter subject,” He inhaled,
“See news reached us slowly, and at the time I did not check my mail that often, I often let it pile off to the side while I studied. So the letter to inform me of this was only written 2 months after it, and arrived another 2 months after it was written...” He suppressed another wave of sobs with what strength he had left right now,
“I did not open it until 3 months after it arrived, that was what pushed me to graduate early the most, but by the time I got home, it was a total of a year after they had passed...” Night Fury felt a swirl of emotions, strongly first came sorrow. She felt his sorrow strongly a level of empathy she did not even know she could reach, she felt anger that they had taken a total of 4 months to even reach him about it, she felt pity, that he had never even had a chance to be at the funeral, she felt an understanding frustration, that he had poured himself so much into what he was doing to let the mail slide that much, but still to do so was a bit much.

“If your wondering, Steam left 3 months after they passed, even if I had opened the letter when I got it, I would have been a month to late. I still did not give up though, I had to find him, and I had to get better at my craft.” He stood up slowly,
“If you won't take me to him then I will continue to search for him, but I won't stop until I find him, and do all I can to help him.” He pulled his saddlebags on with his magic calmly as Night Fury knew what she had to do.

Author's Note

passing the half way point, what do you guys think so far? comments still welcomed.