As the night started to blow towards the dungeon cell, a stallion glanced towards the night sky. It had been years since he had been locked inside and never seen the light of day.

"How did I end up like this?" he asked. "Did Celestia planned all of this?"

While he moped about the area, he heard the jail cell open. Expecting them to free him, he noticed two new Pegasus entered in chains. As they were pushed inside, the door was shut.

"Hey! Let me out!" the first replied. "I'm innocent!"
"Cool it, kid." the second stated. "They're not going to listen to us jailers."
"They'll only open the door for food and water." the stallion replied.

The two of them glanced as the stallion came out of the shadows.

"Who are you?"
"My name's Shine."
"You seem dull to be Shine."
"Sprinkle!"
"No, it's okay. Well... since you introduced us, let's introduce you to each other. I'm Blaze and this is Sprinkle."
"What did you ponies do to end up in here?"
"Blaze here was trying to kill the Pharaoh, by giving him the cup filled with poison."
"I was trying to give him the cup filled with chocolate, but he grabbed the wrong cup."
"So, you've been charged for almost murdering the Pharaoh?"
"I never wanted to murder the Pharaoh! I want to protect the Pharaoh! He's like a father to me!"
"Then what? Did you intend to kill him in the process?"
"Why you-"
"I would calm your nerves if I were you."
"Why?"
"If not, the guards will harm you, just like they did to me."

Blaze did calm his nerves and turned away.

"What about you, Sprinkles?" Shine asked. "Why are you in jail?"
"I was charged for ruining the Pharaoh's cake."
"Why did you ruin his cake?"
"How should I know? He told me specifically for chocolate cake, but we don't have chocolate. Instead, I went to get him vanilla, but I dyed it with brown food coloring to see the difference."
"So, you were charged for lying?"
"Yes."
"I see."
"What about you? I don't suppose you were here as a murderer."
"No. I was placed here innocent."
"Huh?" the two stated as he glanced at the moon.
"I'm no servant to the king, but a mere slave."
"Slave?"
"Yes, though I don't know why I deserve this..."
"Deserve what?"

Shine sighed as he glanced at the moon.

"I guess it's right for you two to know my story. Though I cannot bear to live with the past, I can only tell you what I know."

He glanced at the moon one last time as the scene changed to a certain place in the mountains. Certain ponies had lived there for many generations. A certain Pegasus, however, was flying from the mountain range to see what new plants he could give to his mother.

"Almost there..." the young Pegasus replied.

When he reached towards the vibrant flower, he grasped the plant by his teeth and flew towards his home. When he reached his destination, his ten sisters had just returned from work. With a smile on his face, Star Shine started to fly towards the girls to greet them.

"Sis! he called. "You girls are back!"
"Oh, great." one called.
"The Pegasus is here." the other complained.
"What do you want?" the third replied.
"Shouldn't you be helping Mother out with your duties?"
"It's mom's birthday. I wanted to get her something from the mountains."
"Instead of doing work, can you believe this kid?"
"It's a pretty flower after all..."
"Radiance!"
"Sorry. It truly is."

As all of them entered into their tents, their mother had just come in with a smile on her face.

"Children. Welcome home."

All but the Pegasus groaned as she came towards them in a row.

"Justice," she called out to the unicorn with the fire mane. "How was work today at the mine?"
Justice replied. "It was hard to go through, but as luck would have it, I was able to find the most beautiful jewel that would be perfect for you."

With that, her magic brought forth a beautiful necklace.

"Why, thank you Justice."

She went towards her second eldest and noticed her depression.

"Time Twist. You don't seem cheerful tonight."
"Well, according to my calculations," she explained, "we may not be able to reach our goals to buy food this year before winter."
"Don't worry my dear." she replied to her purple coated unicorn. "I'm sure we can do something to help out."
"Mom," one of the twins Eminence complained, "Emerald has been using my shovel."
"Eminence has been using my shovel for far too long," Emerald, the other twin responded.
"You girls are so immature." the third unicorn replied softly.
"What was that, Lunar Moon?"
"I mean, come on. They use the very same shovel since day one. It's no wonder our job has been slow. Even Radiance spends less time with her part since she pays attention to the jewels."
"I do not. It's called perfection and patience."
"It's called procrastination, if you ask me."
"Procrastination?! Why you-"
"Girls. Now isn't the time."
"Yes mother..."
"Good."

While the two calmed down, the mother went through her other daughters to see if anything had happened during their day at the mine. Finally, she came across her youngest and only son.

"My little star. What do you have there?"
"I have a small little gift I got for you up in the mountains: A vibrant Fire Flower."
"Those are usually rare to find them this season. Did you go up there on your own?"
"Yes ma'am. And I made it back here on time on your birthday."
"My dear, next time, just be careful. You never know what will happen if you disappeared. Which reminds me: your birthday is tomorrow isn't it?"
"Yes..."
"Then that means one thing. Diane."
"On it."

She ran towards the kitchen to prepare for some treats and returned with the biggest cake she has ever made.

"Make a wish, my son."

With his eyes closed, Shine blew the candles and all his sisters clapped unamused.

"Now. Radiance, could you get the box from the closet upstairs for me?"
"Of course."

While she went upstairs searching for the box, Star Shine glanced at his mother, wondering what she may have in store for him this year.

"Your father wanted to give you this on your seventeenth birthday, however, due to his passing, I want you to open it before it has come to pass."

Within a few moments, the box was levitated towards Star Shine as he stood there happy. In just a few seconds, he grabbed the strings and pulled it lightly for the present to appear. To much of his surprise, what laid before him was a beautiful cape colored in royalty.

"Mother, is that one of the rarest silk?" Radiance replied.
"The rarest of them all, Radiance. Your father bought this silk from a merchant while he was travelling and he asked a seamstress to make him the finest suit for a Pegasus, if he ever had one. This is yours now, Shine. Wear it proudly."
"Thank you mother."

With such happiness, Star Shine wore the cape on his body and smiled proudly. However, from what he didn't know, his ten sisters glanced towards him with hatred on each on their face.

"What I never knew on that day," he continued as the scene changed, "was when my life started to change forever."
"Wow." Blaze responded in such awe.
"Oh, please. You can tell us a sob story all you want, but it doesn't explain why you're here." Sprinkle complained.
"It does. Be patient and your answer will become quite clear."
"Then what happened?" Blaze asked.
"I would tell you more, but I believe you two need to sleep."
"He is right on that one."
"Will you tell us more about it tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Good night, Shine."

Blaze and Sprinkles went to sleep as Shine glanced at the stars.

"May Celestia be upon you two." he silently prayed as Shine fell asleep.