Lost in the Echo

Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining Armor, quietly trotted down one of the many streets that are in the Crystal Empire. They had just finished eating at a small little diner called the "Crystal Cafe". They were both walking home towards the Crystal Palace where they live.

"That was wonderful Shiny!," Cadence smiled

"Glad you enjoyed it dear,"Shining grinned,"only the best for my princess"

Cadence smiled and nuzzled her loving husband, but something piqued her interest. It sounded like the crying of a foal. She looked to Shining Armor who nodded with worry, he heard it too. They quickly ran to the sound of the crying. The found the source in an alleyway separating two shops. The quietly walked in to find the cause of the disturbance, and what they saw broke their hearts. They saw a small human boy, no older than five, hugging an even smaller girl, she looked as old as three.

The boy was a Caucasian, with brown hair. his skin was all scratched up and bloody. Dirt was smeared on his cheeks. The girl was the same way. Like her brothers', her clothing was ripped and her skin was scratched. the dirt on her cheeks were being cleaned away by her tears.

Cadence approached the two,"Hey there, are you two okay?"

The girl took one look at her, squeaked in fear, and buried her head into the boys chest. Cadence's heart broke into a million pieces, and couldn't stop her eyes from watering. She wiped away her tears, and sat down in front of the two children.

Cadence looked at the boy,"Whats your name, sweetie?"

The boy looked up at the pink alicorn,"M-my names Joshua"

Cadence gave a soft smile,"Joshua...that's a beautiful name"

"Thank you,"Joshua whispered

Cadence pointed a hoof to her husband,"This is my husband, Shining Armor", Shining smiled at the boy,"and my name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence"

Joshua took a small breathe before speaking,"This is my little sister, Megan", Megan took a another look at the two ponies and smiled weakly.

"Hey, Joshua,"Shining spoke,"could you tell us how you two got here? More importantly, where your parents are?"

At the sound of their parents, Megan broke down crying again, and so did Joshua,"Our parents are...dead,"he said through tears. That made Cadence and Shining gasp.

"What?," Cadence asked

"They were killed...right in front of us,"Joshua cried.

Looks of horror spread across the ponies faces, as Joshua told them just what had happened that day.