Have you ever seen your parents die? Like die right in front of you. If so then you know the feeling. The feeling you get when the people who loved and cared for you your entire life just dies right in front of you and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change it.
Nothing you can do to stop their agonizing slow fall, the shock, of their blood splattering on you, to stop their eyes from endlessly staring at you, the stare that will never end, stare that bores down into your very soul.
If you haven’t seen this you are lucky because this feeling is more painful than anything. It’s worse than being beaten to near death. It’s worse than knowing you going to die at least then you could just end your pain. This pain is unimaginable.
This pain always finds a way to come back. It comes during every day, hour, and every second of your life. No matter what you do you can’t just bury that pain, a pain that a little seven year old should never feel.
____________________________________________________________________
I still remember my parents dropped me off at the daycare that was only down the street from the peace meeting that was being held today in the royal city of Canterlot. The place had been seriously overcrowded. There was hardly any room for the hundreds of kids inside the tiny little room. The room was filled with baby humans, dragons, and griffons.
I wasn’t told until I was older that it was an experiment to help build the bond between the three races. Sadly for the parents it didn’t work. Mainly because one of the dragons thought someone took its gems when it ate them a couple minutes ago. The baby dragon was too stubborn to listen to anyone and started to blow small puffs a black smoke.
The smoke then annoyed a griffon with major anger issues. She tried to punch the dragon but luckily he was able to duck. Unluckily it hit a human kid that also had major anger issues. So this led to a bunch of misses and accidently hits and turning two kids fighting into twenty kids fighting. Making our situation turn from a dumb whiny little dragon to a situation where if one kid got beat up too much it could lead into a fight between their parents.
Each was a highly respected political leader. Meaning that this could easily ruin the peace meeting and at the very least make it more tense in the already tense gathering.
The relationships between the races have been at the very least pretty crappy. The only reason why the three hadn’t fought yet was because neither side wanting to see the other, making the three at the very least distant. There was a point in time where each thought the others didn’t even exist.
My parents were the advisors of the co-rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, The Goddesses of the Sun and Moon. My parents had been working under them before I was even born. They also had the tendency to talk about their jobs in front of me. If it wasn’t for them then I probably wouldn’t able to tell about most of the things I just did. They also didn’t mind me sitting with them during work.
So once I saw the fight break loose and the people working there trying to stop all of the kids I made my way out of the day care. The only reason I hadn’t done it sooner was that I always found their job to be really boring. After seeing the major stupidity that managed to start the fight I decided that it was better to be bored.
It was easy to make my way of the room and into outside. It was scheduled to be a bright sunny day but the sky was full of dark clouds and lightning. Each crack of lightning was enough to shake the ground. The weather had forced many of the town people indoors making me the only person that were outside.
I hadn’t brought a coat so the suit I had been wearing had gotten soaking wet. I tried to avoid the giant puddles that had been scattered against the road but I still managed to step in the puddles making my shoes wet and heavy. Even with my wet shoes and suit I moved towards the throne room of the princesses.
On any other day the castle would have been awe inspiring with the fifty foot tall towers and the magnificent domes that had been put on top. This day was different. The towers had managed to give off a dark and ominous feel to the castle.
The winds hollowing in my ears as if were trying to tell me to turn back and run from the castle. It was trying to stop me from seeing the sight that I was going to see. It was desperately trying to stop me from going inside the throne room. It was begging me to just to turn back and leave to save me from the burden that lay past those doors. The wind was the only thing that wanted to grant me mercy that day.
Even with the wind’s protest I pressed towards the castle.
Inside the room grew into the size of an entire football field. The ceiling must have been about thirty feet tall. The size of the room still wasn’t enough to fit the number humans and griffons that represented different cities or countries from the three races.
Many of the griffons and the humans with the ability to fly had taken to sky for more room. Strangely there hadn’t been that a single dragon inside the crowd.
Almost everyone in the room had been arguing about some type of government ranging from borders to trade. My parents had been the few that hadn’t been arguing. They were with the princesses and the royalty from the three races.
The dragon king, Jackal, had been standing in front of the thrones of two Goddesses. The fact he was alone meant that he couldn’t bring his many queens. The griffon king and queen, Hector and Isabel, were standing next to him.
I could see they were talking and from the looks of it they could’ve been the closest of friends. Whatever one said it would cause the rest to burst into a fit of laughter. The entire group was laughing and smiling with the expectation of a few.
My mom and the princesses were the only ones not smiling. They just stood next to the princesses’ throne, their ears and eyes catching everything that the kings and queen said and did.
My mom was standing next to the Luna’s throne. She had her falchion strapped to her hip and her hand was firmly placed on its hilt. Her helmet had covered her short black hair with a hole for her green horn. The golden armor glistening with the breastplate embedded with two blades crisscrossing each other, representing her birthmark. She was the princess Luna’s advisor.
The lunar princess was sitting on her throne was glaring at the griffon king and queen, her eyes which almost completely fading to white. While her sister just sat on her throne.
My dad was about the polar opposite of them. He was the only one laughing and smiling like everyone else. Unlike my mom, my dad didn’t carry a weapon. He only sat in chair that was right beside Celestia’s throne with his netbook in hand.
It took me about five minutes to reach the throne. This immediately made my parents bring their full attention to me.
“Blade Shield! Why are you soaking wet?” my mom asked.
“I walked through the rain.”
“Rain?” my mother looked puzzled.
“Yeah it’s been raining for a while now. You really need to fire the weather guy.”
“You really need to bring a coat like I told to.” my dad told me. I stuck my tongue out at him in response.
“Celestia who is this child, Shouldn’t he be with the others?” said Jackal. I turned to face him, only to be met with his eyes.
They seemed to examine every inch of me. Trying to find every weakness I had and what was the easiest way to bring me down.
“Oh. I’m very sorry to intrude my majesties but I wanted to separate myself from the fight between a human child and a small griffon.” I bowed down to each person including my parents.
“Hmm... you speak well for someone your size.”
“Thank you your majesty.” I bowed to him.
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“Oh...um...” I was thinking of a lot of ways to react like tell him to go die or to hell but I chose the one that wouldn’t have my parents shove a bar of soap down my throat. So I said nothing.
“Will this boy be staying with us?” asked the impatient griffon king.
“Why should this child be even allowed in here? By the looks of it he still sucks on his thumb.” this coming from the griffon queen.
“I say let him stay. He probably won’t understand anyways.” said Hector.
This rubbed me the wrong way, mainly because whenever someone saw me they instantly thought I was some stupid little kid. The stereotype didn’t seem to vanish no matter what I did to kill it. But before I had a chance to respond he turned to the crowd that was behind him.
“Brothers and sisters!!! It is time!!!” after he said those words everything went to hell. Every single griffon started attacking in an effort to kill any human within their reach. I could only stand in watch as the humans were brutally killed.
The unicorns having their horns snapped of and used as knives for griffons, for the pegasi it much worse. They had their wings yanked out of their backs. Some of the regular humans tried to fend off the griffons but had easily beaten and/or killed.
I could see every gruesome detail, the blood shooting out of a pegasi when his wings were ripped off. As a unicorn screamed as its horn was torn off its head to be mercifully killed by it. I could hear the crying of the few that hadn’t been fighting for their lives.
At the time I wasn’t sure whether to run or just crap myself. Seeing people being killed in a videogame is so much different than someone dying in real life. It’s the realization that this is real not a game and that you can die and you can’t come back. Just seeing someone lying there dead is just enough for you throw up, at least I did.
“Celestia you should have given the crystals like I asked but now everyone in here will die.” the griffon king said.
The princesses were too shocked to even move. That they were just as shocked that this happened as I was. I found out later that they were.
My parents were the only ones who could react to the scene. Mom drew her sword and ran to cut the king’s head off but was tackled over by the griffon queen. Almost immediately about ten other griffons dog piled on top off them. It wasn’t a few seconds later did the pile on top of her exploded, throwing the griffons into the walls of the giant room.
I wasn’t able to see more when suddenly couple of griffons thought it would be a great idea to kill me. Sadly for them I was wrong and my dad did have weapon. His pistol easily killed my attackers with a couple of shots through their giant eyes, splattering their brains across the floor.
“Blade get behind me.” my dad yelled while pulling out another pistol. I hurried to his side while my mom was fighting the griffon king.
“Dad what’s going on?!” I asked him.
“Do you remember the Crystal Empire, Blade?”
“Yes…Why?”
“Well the griffons wanted the crystals and we said no.” my dad said while shooting down another wave of griffons.
“Why do they want it so badly?”
“The crystals are magic amplifiers and are enough to make someone with no magic to someone with enough magic to cast a magic blast. We knew that the griffons would use the crystals against us so we said no and then he decided to kill everyone in the room.” he told me while aiming at king Hector’s head but dropped it after seeing the intense from my mom’s fight with Hector.
The two were moving too fast for my dad to take the risk of taking the shot. There was also the fact that mom would’ve taken his head off for taking her kill.
Luckily for my mom her special talent was sword fighting. My mom was so good that the head of the royal guard, Shining Armor, couldn’t beat her. Hector somehow managed to evade most of her attacks but still was wounded. His face had a couple of cuts that was gushing with blood and his front legs weren’t much better. My mom was going to kill him.
Then the rest of the griffons attacked. My dad downed as many as he could but he only managed to kill ten to twenty from of the hundreds of griffons. Even with the princesses’ help, who both broke out of their shock, we were over run. I was knocked out by the giant mass of the griffons driving me to the ground.
_____________________________________________________________________
I woke to the laughter of the griffon king and queen. My parents and I had our hands tied behind us and the princesses’ lay on the floor in front of us. Their horns had been cut off and they their hands, feet, and wings were tied.
“Celestia you should have given those crystals. A lot of people would have lived if you had but now they are dead. Like these three will be if you don’t cough up a crystal.” threaten Hector.
“Celestia don’t you dare!” my mom commanded.
Isabella walked up to her with my mom’s sword in her hand. She waved the blade in the air. Then she swung at my mom’s throat and stopped only an inch away from her neck, gently pushing the blade against mom’s skin causing it to blade slightly.
My mom spat on her face.
“Honey please let me kill her now,” she sneered.
“Just wait a little bit. So what the “Alicorn Princesses” going to do now? Their precious Twilight Sparkle is in Ponyville and the captain of the royal guard is on his honeymoon. So I have to ask you something are you going to give us the crystals. If you don’t these three are dead.” said while pointing to us.
I couldn’t help but think, “This is how I’m going to die. I’m going to get killed by a griffon. Why couldn’t I just have stayed in the daycare? I would’ve lived. I would’ve been spared.”
“Never.” said Luna staring down Hector. Hector smiled.
“Well then your choice and your advisor. Izzy, you can kill her now.”
“Finally!” she said eagerly.
Then with one swing my mom’s head was cut clean off. Her blood was splattering out of her neck and onto my face. I could just sit there and watch as her head rolled across the floor. I tried to fight it but I couldn’t hold back the tears. I placed my head on top of my mom’s lifeless body.
“Look at what you did Luna. You just stole that kid’s mother.” he mocked. The griffon king turned to Celestia. “Do you also want to take his father away from him too?”
“Blade, you know that your mother and I love you, right?”
“Yeah,”
“Good. Whatever happens today I just want you to stay strong okay. You’ll always be my little soldier. So stay str...”
I never got to hear what he was going to say because a bullet interrupted him.
“Okay, that was just annoying. Sorry, Izzy, I had to kill him.” Hector said while he dropped the gun.
Dad’s body went limp and fell onto the floor. He landed on his back so I could see his eyes, the eyes that had been always filled with love. Now, they were staring at me a look that reminded me every time he would play and loved me. The look on how I failed him, I couldn’t save him.
I turned to my mom’s head which lay at my knees. Her short hair managed to fall on top of her face.
“How could I fail them like this? Why wasn’t I strong enough? If I was stronger I could have saved them but I couldn’t because I was too weak. I let fear overcome me.”
The laughter of the king and queen made something snap inside of me. “How dare them! How are they laughing like that after they killed my parents!”
I couldn’t just let them laugh at this. I wasn’t going to let them act like this was some kind of great victory. I was going to make them look back on this day with regret. Each time they would remember this day they would be reminded of me and what I did.
“Hey! You forgot one!” I yelled.
“Oh! A kid that wants to die, Isn’t that just cute Hector.” said Isabella.
“It’s just precious, Izzy.” replied Hector.
“So how do you want to kill him?” asked the queen.
“Mother like son.” said Hector.
“You moron it’s father like son but I shouldn’t expect of dumb griffon to know that.” I retorted.
“If I’m a stupid griffon then how did I beat you? Huh, human what do you have say to that?” the king asked.
“You “really” think this took brains to think up this plan? The only reason why you beat us because we thought you were going to have enough courage to at least say they’re going to attack but you guys aren’t are you? You guys are a bunch of cowards and that would make you two king and queen coward.”
“Shut up!” Izzy yelled. She brought down my mom’s sword in her claw like hand.
I rolled out of the way, feeling the blade whoosh behind my back. I took a quick glance into the crowd and saw how they cheered. How they knew I was going to die. None of them were going to stop this fight.
Izzy charged at me with the sword still in hand, or claw. She swung the sword rapidly. Each swing cut off more and more of my suit.
“Boy, you are going to use magic?” a voice told me. Even though I hadn’t known him for that long I knew it was the dragon king.
I hadn’t realized my own horn had been untouched. I assumed that the griffons also cut it off. They made a big mistake by not cutting it. Now, I could be on the offensive instead of the defensive.
I focused my attention on my mom’s sword, wrapping my magic around the blade. The blade had been quickly enveloped by my magic allowing me to rip it from the queen’s claw. I brought the sword to me as fast as I could and used it to cut off the rope.
I was surprised by its light weight because of how heavy it looked but must have weighed in between three to seven pounds. The blade was as tall as me so it was about over three feet long. The blade was long and narrow but at the tip was curved to make a sharp point. I put the blade inside my left hand.
“Give that back!” demanded the queen as she flew at me. Her claws scraping the ground as she made her way over to me leaving her face wide open.
“You going to die today, kid!” she said as sliced at my head but I was quick enough to duck.
“No, you are.” I whispered as I plunged the sharp end of the sword into her eye. I could feel the tip pass through the soft brain and the snapping of her skull. The only thing that stopped it was when the top of the hilt went past the eye socket. The tip of the blade was sticking out of the other side of her head.
I slowly pulled the blade out of her head. Her body fell to the floor like a brick. I turned to the crowd.
The room became a ghost town. Griffons who had been cheering suddenly stopped. Everyone couldn’t help but stare at me. It was as if I had moved the sun and moon by myself. The king glared at me probably angry that I killed his wife.
“Kill him!” he commanded. The griffons were all too awestruck to respond.
“I said kill him!” he repeated in a louder voice. This managed to break the rest of the griffons’ shock but they didn’t move a muscle.
“What are you doing?! Kill him!” he screamed. He stared at them with his anger slowly turning into fear.
“This is so pathetic.” The voice came from the entrance of the room. The voice belonged to tall and lean man with short brown hair. He wore a nice black suit and a pair of black designer dress shoes, his white horn sticking out of his head. He walked into the room like this was a walk in the park.
“Do you really not know why they won’t kill the boy? It’s because they respect him more than they do you! What king orders an entire army to kill a child? This boy has just killed your wife and like the coward you are you want them to kill him.” he said mockingly as the griffons parted while he slowly made his way to the throne.
“You should learn who you're talking to.” Hector replied.
“No, you should.”
“So who are you then?”
“I’m the royal advisor of Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, Shimmering Emerald.”
“Well then so you could give me what I want?”
“Depends,”
“I want your crystals.”
“Oh. You're in luck I have one right now.” he said as he dug into his pocket.
“What the hell are you doing? Didn’t you see all the bodies?” I asked him.
“Yes.” he answered.
“Then why are you giving him a crystal?” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This guy was just going to give them a crystal even after seeing what they did to us? I couldn’t let him do this! We fought too hard to keep the crystal safe and no one was going to stop that!
I grabbed his arm making him pause.
“If you give them the crystals then you’ll be making the sacrifices of all these people go to waste. They would have died for NOTHING!” I said as my voice rose to a yell.
Then he turned to me and got on his knees. The advisor placed his hand atop my head and started to ruffle my hair. “All I’m doing is giving him an itsy-bitsy crystal.” he said in a carefree tone, even with that though his eyes told a completely different story.
They seemed to be daring me to try that again and see what happened. His eyes were full of strength and power. It’s coldness sinking into my skin. They alone managed to force me into a quiet submission.
After he knew that I wasn’t going to try again he got up and pulled the crystal out of his pocket.
“Here you go.”
He flicked the crystal like a coin. It was the size of a small piece of glass and as smooth as one to but its surface was pitch black.
The king greedily snatched it out of the air with a giant grin slowly forming. In his joy he laughed. He held the crystal in front of face.
“With this I will rul...”
The crystal started spreading across Hector’s fingers. Trying to stop the process he dropped the crystal but even without it the crystallization continued. It spread from fingers to his elbow then proceeding with his entire arm. It didn’t stop until the king was completely encased in a giant black crystal.
The griffons gasped in horror as they stared at the giant crystal that used to be their king and looked as if they were going to turn and run. Emerald only stood there completely unfazed. The dragon king examined it with his eyes as they darted from part of the crystal to another. The princesses, who stayed silent during this whole ordeal, dropped their gaze from it. Their mouths closed tight and looked like they were on the verge of tears.
It was obvious that Emerald knew that this was going to happen but the question was how he did. I was about to ask him when a griffon advanced, her smug smile growing bigger and bigger.
“Good show but...” she let the sentence hang for a moment. “What about us?
“Now you all leave.” Emerald said.
This caused to start laughing. “You, really, think, you, can, beat us?” she said in between laughs.
“Yes.”
“Good luck with that. There no way you could beat us even if you did then you have to deal with the changelings. They still want you guys.”
“Do you think it matters?” his tone becoming serious as he began to stare her down. She started to stare back at him. Not five seconds after the stare down began the griffon’s smug face quickly turn to one of horror. It was as if his presence alone frightened her. Being unable to deal with the fear she ran out of the room screaming, the others following her lead.
Once every single griffon left the room the adrenaline in me vanished, allowing me to feel the deep gashes on chest.
Then, I blacked out