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// The Mistake 
// Story: Just Another Filly 
// by Cupcakesfilly 
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When my sister and I were only 4 or maybe 5 weeks old, I started to speak. Finally, I was first to do something. My sister always seemed too fast for me.
Anyway, we quickly learned each other's names, and then some random words. My pointed ears picked up everything. I think I have a good sense of hearing. Anyway, one chilly night I hobbled over to Celestia at the window.
"Essia, Essia!" Yeah, that's all I had to work with then. The princess turned towards me, surprised. She probably didn't hear me coming. She levitated me onto her back. I shivered. She seemed upset, I could sniff out sadness. A tear ran down her cheek. I licked the salty water off of her face. Yes, licked it. I'm weird and always have been. She asked me a simple question. One word, so much meaning. "Why?" I cooed to her, yep, all I had. Still, she smiled. That was all I'd needed.
Celestia was calm, so calm, as she crooned to me that night. I sighed as her sweet vocalizatians reached my sleepy little head. My tail swept across the soft fabric as I curled 
up, preparing for sleep. I soon drifted off on my fuzzy carpet.
Let's fast forward a little, or a lot, really depends on perspective here... 50 years or so. Foals, being foals, we wanted adventure. Well, Skyla wanted it anyway. I'm not so sure about me. Unfortunately for us, Celestia had forbidden us to leave the castle. Too bad.
I had observed the castle guards for a while, scheming. I probably didn't have to, it's easy to escape a giant building if you're quiet enough and less than a foot tall. I led the way, stepping carefully, so that my sister could see how I walked without making the clopping sound. Slowly, back of the hoof first, then gently drop the front of it. Repeat for the other three over and over. We couldn't get too lost, the hallway seemed to lead us to the door. 
That door. I pushed it open. Skyla tapped my shoulder. "Look behind you. They've found us." I just motioned for her to go outside. We tumbled out of the door. Our fur was sticking out in all directions. We were so excited! So many wonders out here, so many things to see. We were simply astounded by the bright colors, strange smells, and the feel of grass under the hooves. We loved it all. We heard the songs of birds, and got to see them all. I had never seen so many at once. My sister must have assumed that a small flower was as tasty as it smelled. It wasn't. At all.
She suddenly turned to me, after spitting out white petals and what I could only assume were roots. "Ya wanna go to the Everfree?"
That question was surprising, to say the least. We had heard stories about it, how its inhabitants could paralyze a pony with the baring of their teeth. We learned that it was no place for foals. I stayed cautious. "What if something eats us?"
She laughed at me, at my concerns, at my caution. "Aw, don't be a scaredy pony. You led us here, and you're gonna save us if somethin tries to eat us. You tough. No foals on da menu tonight."
Yeah, that encouraged me. She galloped farther and farther from the castle, from home. I thought for a second. No way would any guard go to the Everfree. We were tougher and smarter than them. We had magic, and wings, and powerful legs for bucking. My small stature was the only flaw. Oh well. Being the typical tag-along little sister that I was, I blindly followed.
I caught up with Skyla, gasping for breath. She stood at the border between the forest and civilization. "Well, here it is," she stated proudly. "Ya gonna go?"
Aw mane, I was hoping she would go first. I slowly raised a hoof and put it on the even newer land. Skyla joined me as we trotted side-by-side, straight into the belly of the beast. Not literally, in case you were wondering. Brownish leaves crunched beneath our shaking hooves.
We'd been trotting through the forest for a fairly long time, and we were becoming less and less frightened. That is, until we heard the growl. This growl, it wasn't just any old growl, like an agitated dog. This was a thundering, booming sound that seemed to echo through the entire forest. And then we saw it. A relatively small creature, but the size didn't matter much. It had two beady, crimson eyes the color of blood, and batlike wings poking out of its sides. 
We had to act quickly. My heart was pounding, my eyes dilated, and my fur stuck out again. Yet I couldn't move. My sister seemed to act before she thought, flying around the thing as it took off into the air. I watched them go higher into the air, and it seemed like a switch had been flipped in my legs. I powered up my horn and fired it at him. I'd read some books on magic, but never had to use it one battle. The creature yelped in pain, the turned his eyes toward me.
Oops. My legs froze again under its unblinking gaze. For a second, just a second, I saw something behind those blood-red eyes. It flew downward, hissing with its claws bared. I noticed they had red tips. There would be a lot more after what it planned for me.
But he never had the chance. My sister, my beautiful sister, she was there. The animal's teeth collided with her hInd leg as she turned around, just to look me in the eye. The thing carried her off into the Everfree, leaving me, done with me. I watched, I stared, as my twin, probably injected with venom from the monster, was taken away from me. And I had heard it all.
I screamed in the silence.