Do you know what it's like to have everything you've ever cared for, everything you've ever known, used against you? I do. I'll tell you a little story... A story about the day my heart was frozen and sealed away tight.
It was getting late. I look out the window, noticing the sun was starting to go down. I should probably be fixing dinner for my sisters and I pretty soon. Mom and dad were gone on a business trip, so it was just the three of us.
I look over at the two fillies playing a board game together on the floor. I smile. They look so cute and happy. I wouldn't trade them for anything. I quietly turn my head, my horn glowing faintly with magic as I lift my camera from a nearby table. I try to inconspicuously take a photo of them while they play, but at the very last second, right before I take the shot, they both turn and make silly faces, posing for me. I laugh. They were always doing things like this. I shift off the couch to stand, stretching my hooves before trotting into the kitchen to find something to drink while my sisters play.
"Want a drink, you two?" I call.
"Chocolate milk!" one shouts back.
"No no no, make strawberry milk!" the other objects.
"Strawberry? Eeeeew. You're weird!"
"Hey! You like strawberries and you like milk, so why not try them together?"
"Weeeeeeird!"
"Shut up!"
I smile, resisting the urge to giggle at their playful banter. "Now now, calm down. I can make both, it's no trouble. Really! Want straws with it too, as usual?"
No response.
"Girls?"
Still no reply. I start to get a strange twisting feeling in my stomach as I finish up the drinks, placing a straw in the glasses, my horn glowing as I carry them with my magic out to the den. Then, I freeze instantly, my eyes widening and my blood running cold as I see both of my sisters being held at knifepoint by a tall unicorn and a Pegasus, both of which were wearing ski masks. The glasses drop, shattering them and sending the chocolate and strawberry milk splattering messily across the floor.
Burglars... This had never happened before, not in our neighborhood. I glance over to the front door, seeing that the lock had been picked. Catching my glance, the unicorn smirks at me and the door magically slams shut.
"You're gonna do something for us, kid," he hisses at me. "or do you want your precious sisters to bleed?"
I stiffen. "N-No! Please, don't hurt them! I'll... I'll do whatever you want, just let them go!"
"Not until you find us something valuable," the unicorn states. "If you don't hurry up, we'll kill these two brats!"
The Pegasus grins, seeing my worried expression. "How long should we give 'er?"
"Five minutes."
My body shakes. "J-Just five? B-But I-"
"No complaining! The clock's ticking. Now go!" the Pegasus barks at me.
I scramble off to try and hunt around the house for something of value they might want, my stomach twisting and turning. My head feels like it'll explode, my heart pounds inside my chest. I feel so sick, so dizzy... but I have to do this! I have to, or else...
I soon come across one of my dad's swords hanging on the wall above his dresser. I mentally apologize as I climb up to the dresser to try and reach it so I could grab it with my teeth. I couldn't think well enough to remember I could use my magic. I struggle for a few moments before it finally tears from the wall. I cry out as I land hard on my back, wincing. I start to try and drag the thing out of the room, finding it increasingly difficult with how heavy it was. It must be real, then... good. Maybe this would get them to leave without hurting my--
"Time's up!"
I freeze yet again, then drop the blade and hurry down the stairs, tripping over my own hooves and crashing at the bottom. I scramble into the den, just about ready to scream for them to wait, to give me more time. I... I was too late.
Blood. So much blood. My sisters had been murdered, their throats slit open. Their lifeless bodies were lying on the floor in crumpled heaps.
The burglars rush at me, but I can't move. I can't... I can't take my eyes away from my sisters. I failed them. I... I couldn't save them in time. What have I done?
After the initial shock finally wears down, I realize I'd been tied up and tossed into a closet. I could hear liquid being spilled just outside the door. Then... it happened. A flash of orange, a bright glow, suffocating heat. They'd lit the house on fire.
"Mmf!" I struggle against the restraints, my mouth taped over. Finally, I remember my magic and tear the tape and bindings off, opening the door only to be assaulted with a blast of thick smoke and intense flames. I cry out, then jump through the fire and run toward the nearest window. Second story... I look back at the flames quickly filling the hallway, then down at the lawn. I swallow, then suddenly leap out of the window, falling several feet before landing and rolling a bit. When I come to a stop, I slowly push myself up, wincing. My left front hoof was cut up, but that was about the extent of my injuries.
I look up at the house as flames slowly devour it, unable to move from that spot. I sink to a sit in the grass, just... watching the house burn down. I didn't really notice at first, but I've been crying for a while now. Then, just like that, it all hits me. The tears won't stop. The shaking won't go away. I vomit, I sob, I scream. And most of all... I punish myself.
It's my fault they're dead. It's my fault for not putting better locks on the door. It's my fault for leaving them alone. It's... it's all my fault.
They suffered such horrible deaths... because of me.
All because of me.
