Coming of Age

Smoke. It's everywhere. It's burning my eyes and scratching my throat. My wing is shattered, my blades are dull, and my gear is out of gas. I'm in pain. So much pain. I listen for my comrades, but all I can hear are the footfalls of Titans and the screams of soldiers being devoured. A large shadow covers me, and I turn around to meet the cold, dead eyes of a Titan. This is it. I'm dead. I collapse on the ground, ready to die. I use my supposed final breaths to scream my last words.

"You bastard! I hope I taste good, 'cause I'll be your last victim!" No response, of course. Just lifeless eyes and a sadistic smile. I shout in pain as the Titan picks me up by my broken wing and dangles me over its gaping mouth. Time seems to stop as memories flood my mind. My family, laughing and smiling seconds before their demise. My friends, seeing me off on my mission with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. My comrades, all dead now, helping me gain strength and offering their support. I close my eyes, letting the images fill my mind. A feeling of calm falls over me, and I prepare for death. Suddenly, my death is interrupted by a moan of pain from the Titan and a splatter of boiling, crimson blood. I'm dropped from its grasp and, in the blink of an eye, I'm caught by another pony. The stranger moves in a zig-zag pattern, ricocheting off buildings until we reach the top of the crumbling wall. The mystery pony places me down gently, and I look up into the eyes of my savior. I gasp when I recognize him.

"Eren! You saved me. Why did yo-" he places his hoof on my mouth, silencing me. Tears form in his eyes as he grabs my hooves and helps me up.

"Don't you dare assume that I wasn't going to save you!" He shouts. Still holding my hooves, he delivers his confession in tears. "Ever since I met you in Shiganshina, on the boat, I made a vow to protect you. I knew you weren't going to make it here, not alone. You're just so fragile, so gentle, so beautiful! Prodigy, I.. I lo- " BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Eren!" I bolt upright, looking around the room finding myself disappointed. No sexy anime colts anywhere. I roll out of bed with a groan and unplug my alarm clock. Just a dream. A beautiful, awesome, kick-ass dream. Man, Luna's gonna pay for ending it early. If I ever meet her, I mean. I rub gunk out of my eyes, and make my way across the room to my closet, avoiding gargantuan piles of dirty laundry. I fling the door open and dig through my dresser for something to wear. I eventually find an old hoodie and throw it on. I run a comb through my mane in an attempt to tame it, but deem the task hopeless. I walk out of my room, shutting the door behind me, and, still half awake, trudge down the stairs and into the kitchen to see my father at the stove, making pancakes.

"Good morning, Prodigious. Did you sleep well?" He inquires, not even looking up from his task. I give a half-hearted nod and a grunt of approval and proceed to the dining room. My little sister, Radiance, is blabbering about something Japanese to my mom, who was drinking her morning tea and nodding along, pretending to listen. As soon as she notices me, she hops out of her chair and rushes over to me. She's always so happy to see me, as I'm the only one who actually pays attention to her weeaboo ramblings.

"Konichiwa, onee-chan! How are you today?" She asks me question after question, her huge, sparkling eyes looking up to me with joy, excitement, and admiration. I smile and give her a hug, which she happily returns.

"Geez, Ray Ray, what is this, 20 Questions? At least let me sit down." She returns to her seat, and I sit next to her. My mom pours me a cup of tea and I take generous gulps. She stares at me, a mischievous grin on her face.

"So, who's Eren?" She asks teasingly. I panic for a second. Buck, she heard me? I put my cup down and try to come up with a smart ass remark, but I'm interrupted by Radiance, who starts gushing like the little weeb she is.

"You don't know who Eren is!?! He's only one of the most sugoi anime characters OF ALL TIME!!! I can see why you had a dream about him, onee-chan!" She continues prattling on about hot anime stallions, but she's muffled by Mom's laughter.

"An anime character? You have a crush on a cartoon? You REALLY need to get out more. Or at least be a normal teen..." She says jokingly between spurts of laughter.

         "I don't have a crush on him! He's a fictional character!" I lie. Mom lifts her eyebrow, aware if my lie. I make a pouty face at her and finish off my tea. She smiles apologetically and refills my cup. I accept her apology with a giggle and sip my tea. My father enters the room, carrying four plates in his magical aura. He sets them on the table and takes the seat next to Mom.

"Dig in, everypony " He announces. I take a huge bite of pancake heaven, savoring the taste. My father may be strict and demanding, but he can make great food. As I'm eating, my father speaks up.

"I had a brilliant idea last night." We all stop eating and look up from our food. My father is beaming, obviously excited to share his thoughts. I look at my mom who shrugs, just as confused and oblivious as I am. I drink my tea as he continues.

"Well, we've lived in Manehattan for a very long time. So I was thinking, 'Why not a change of scenery?' I want to move to Canterlot!"

I swear to Discord I almost choked on my tea, fell out my chair and died.

"Moving to Canterlot? Hell no!" I yell.

"Moving to Canterlot? Omigosh!" Radiance squeals. Mom shoots my father a threatening look.

"I think this is something you and I should discuss alone, Onyx." The smile disappears from his face and an angry expression replaces it as he realizes he's not getting his way so easily.

"What is there to discuss, Sora? Canterlot is the perfect place to raise our girls! The economy is excellent, we have family there, and it has the top schools in Equestria. It has everything we can ask for!"

" I just think that it's a bad idea to relocate the girls. They've lived here their whole life, and I don't want to stress them out. We're not moving." Mom is determined to stand her ground, but Father isn't having it. He gets closer to her, looking at her with an enraged expression. I'm starting to feel uneasy. Father tends to overreact when he doesn't get his way. Radiance senses it too, and runs over, snuggling close to me. Without a warning, Father raises his hoof and strikes her across the muzzle. She stumbles backward, obviously shocked. A single tear runs down her cheek, which is already red. Radiance starts crying hysterically, and I'm about to run over and fight back against my father, but my mother speaks up before I have the chance to act.

"Prodigy, take Radiance and go upstairs. I'll be up in a minute. Everything is fine, I just need to talk to your father."

"But Mom, he hi-" I begin to protest but she interrupts me.

"Just go upstairs! Now!" I'm taken aback for a second. Mom never raises her voice at us. I grab Radiance by the hoof and try to lead her out, but she jerks out of my grasp and tries to get between Mom and Father. Before she can intervene, I pick her up and carry her out of the room. She screams and kicks me in an attempt to escape, but I remain unfazed and carry her to my bedroom. I place her on my bed and, before she has the chance to run, I wrap her in a huge hug while simultaneously holding her back. She continues to struggle, hell-bent on stopping the fight, and I try to calm her by stroking her wavy mane and whispering reassuring thoughts in her ear. Finally, she stops struggling, and the fighting downstairs continues as my sister sobs into my hoodie. I continue to soothe her but find it difficult as the yelling echoes throughout the hallway and into my open door. Even though I can't hear what they're saying, I can tell it's only just beginning. There was no telling how long the fight was going to last. I considered calling the police, but realized, to my dismay, that I left my phone downstairs. Eventually, Radiance's heaving sobs were reduced to pathetic whimpers and sniffles.

"Why do they have to fight?" She asked, still muffled by my hoodie. She looks into my eyes, tears still pouring down her face and soaking my shirt.  "Why couldn't they just talk it through? Why did he have to hit her?" I don't know how to answer her. They haven't had a fight in quite a while, and even then, they never got this severe.  I just continue hugging her and try to put on a brave face.

"I don't know, Ray Ray. But they'll stop soon. And then we'll probably talk about it together." She seems satisfied with the answer and wipes away the last of her tears. I reach for a t-shirt laying on the floor and wipe her face. "Do you want to move? You seemed a little excited when he brought it up." She hesitates for a moment as if she's considering lying.

"Actually, yeah. To be honest, I was being bullied here. Other ponies would mock me and call me a fag for being a Japanophile. I never did anything to them! I don't have any friends here. It would be nice to have a chance for a fresh start." I'm appalled, enraged, disgusted. Who would call an 11-year-old filly a faggot?

"Why didn't you tell someone? They would make sure their asses were expelled in a heartbeat!" I asked her. She hung her head in shame, and I reeled her into another hug. "It's over now. You just have to tell someone next time, okay?" She nods, and I let her go. Downstairs, the shouting has been reduced to regular voices. "So, if we move, what school do you want to apply for? There's a lot to choose from." Her eyes light up, and she beams.

"Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, of course! I've been practicing my magic for years, and it's my dream school!" She jumps off my bed and starts dancing around the room. "If I can get in, then my life will be per-" Before she finishes her sentence and her dance, she trips over an old pizza box and falls on the floor. She's lays still but after a few seconds she sits up and starts giggling. I smile at the goofy filly and even laugh a little myself.

"Do I hear laughter? Happiness, perhaps?" A voice says from my doorway. I turn to see my mom, who looks pretty banged up. Her cheek is bruised from the first strike and her wings are missing a few feathers here and there but other than that, she seems okay. She's even smirking. That's one thing I never understood about that mare. She can literally go through Hell and back and still be able to smile and laugh and enjoy life. Radiance leaps to her feet and sprints over to Mom, hugging her tight. I notice her wince, indicating she has other injuries. She hugs her back, holding back moans of pain. I walk over to her, a stern expression on my face.

"Are you okay? Where's Father? Did you call the cops?" I interrogate her, expecting her to have already called the police. She looks at me, and I notice tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Prodigy. I didn't call the police, and your father is out getting boxes because we're moving to Canterlot!" She isn't yelling, but her voice is louder and slightly angry. She lets go of Radiance and covers her mouth to attempt to muffle her oncoming sobs. But they come clear as day. I walk over to her and hug her, attempting to soothe my own mother. Radiance joins her, and three ponies, mother, and daughters hugging in a dirty bedroom, them against the world.

"C'mon, Prodigy. It's time to go." My mother calls from the bottom of the stairs.

"Give me a minute, ma!" I yell back. I hear her walk away, her hoof steps echoing through the empty house. I'm in my now empty bedroom, right where my bed used to be. I can't tell you how long it took to sort through my clothes and get them through the wash. Long story short, it took a full two days of cleaning to even be able to see the floor. Packing was a traumatic experience that I hope I never have to experience again.

          A feeling of nostalgia filled the room as I reminisced. I've lived in this room my whole life, and it's weird to think of it belonging to anyone else. The ambiance of the empty room is unsettling, so I say one last goodbye, turn the light off, and shut the door for the very last time. I proceed down the stairs that I've walked up and down so many times, meander through the living room that once had so much life, and eventually find myself at the front door, where I've begun and ended so many adventures. My family is on the sidewalk, waiting for me with our luggage. We sent most of our stuff to our new house ahead of time, so all we had with us were a few suitcases and saddlebags. Hesitating for a second, I take one last look at my childhood home before walking through the door for the final time, closing it behind me. I join my family and we begin the long trek to the train station, and once there, the even longer journey to our new life.