Little Star trotted next to her mother as she walked. The clamour of hoofsteps behind her let her know her friends no longer marched in lockstep. It was a small detail, and she guessed it was alright. There was no longer a line of sight back to the throne room and the Griffons there.
The mean griffon’s words played through Little Star’s mind for the four-hundred-and-sixteenth time. I can accept nothing less than your death.
Zero, times has your mother been in danger from that creature.
Thank you. Little Star thought back to Grey. Each and every time she said that it made Little Star a little calmer. If it were not for the first time she said that after the Mean Griffon made his challenge, she would have lit her horn and dealt with him.
I can accept nothing less than your death. Four-hundred-and-seventeen times she absently noted as her mind worked. Who thought like that? What sort of mind did it take to be able to say something like that and mean it? Eliminating a threat and protecting somepony you cared for, those were reasons to use magic that could kill.
Twilight’s horn lit, and a door up ahead opened. The inside was packed with furs, comfortable cushions and a stack of large paintings.
“So, my daughter, how have you been? Has anything interesting happened while we have been apart?” Twilight asked as Emerald carefully removed each bit of Twilight’s regalia.
Like the floodgates had been opened, words spilled out of Little Star. All the things she had wanted to say to her mother, but separation had prevented it. It was not long before the others joined in, and the tales of their adventures transmuted from a mere story to an energetic reenactment.
The pride shining in her mother’s eyes were like two beacons of hope shining in the darkest abyss. It was almost enough to make her forget what was going to happen in less than ten minutes, almost.
“Mummy?”
“Yes, my Little Star?”
“Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes, there is nothing to fear.” Her mother said as one of her soft wings enveloped Little Star in a warm hug. She hummed lovingly and spoke in the silent whispers beneath it. “There are some that can’t be saved, some that must be killed, and then there are fools like him that force others to kill them.”
Little Star asked in kind. “You are going to kill him?”
“I am going to turn his wasteful sacrifice into an example.”
“An example for what?”
“Of what happens to those that chose to become my enemy.” With those dark words silently filling the space between them, her mother leaned in and kissed her below the horn. Her voice then returned to the normal audible range. “You and your Crusaders may remain here when the time comes.”
The play fight that her mothers had came to mind. The blood and body parts as they fell to the ground and stained the sand. The horror and disgust that Cadance made her friends forget. The look of joy on her mothers’ faces as they fought.
This time there would be no illusions to hide things. This time it was not for fun. This time someone would die.
Her head started to nod in agreement when another thought came to mind. What if the other Griffons were Bad Griffons too. The nod turned into a defiant shake of the head. “No, mummy.”
“Then, my daughter, watch and learn this most dire lesson.”
Little Star nodded as her mother offered one last hug before she stood.