//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Filly // Story: Hero of War // by Teal //------------------------------// Why am I even doing this? Rainbow Dash thought as she stood in front of an unfamiliar door. It was the next day after the tragic incident at the hospital and Rainbow Dash, after having been cleared and permitted to by the staff, had volunteered to tell the tragic news to his family. This shocked the staff at the hospital and indeed it shocked Rainbow Dash herself. She was no relative to that pony, nor a friend, yet she was here willing to tell the news of his passing to his family. But why? She thought to herself. Why? I barely even knew that guy, heck, I literally only talked to him for a few seconds! She pointed out to herself, as she had an internal debate. She was here to rest and relax, not worry over things like this. Instead of volunteering, she should have let one of the staff members of the hospital to do this job. And yet, why do I feel compelled to do this myself? Was it because she was a fellow member of the military? Was it because she felt guilty for not being able to stop him. No… She thought as she shook her head. …it’s not just because of that. There’s another reason why I’m doing this. Despite not personally knowing the pony, she somehow felt a connection with him, a connection she could not explain and express in words. Having seen him and looked him directly in the eyes, she somehow understood what he felt and knew the pain he was feeling. That short encounter with him brought a whole list of emotion to her and it wasn’t hard for her to see herself in his position. He was just like her and she was like her. They were going through the same thing and she couldn’t really blame him for doing what he did. She could feel the internal pain and the way he spoke showed to her a broken pony, a pony just as broken as her. I’m no hero, but soon I’ll be with the heroes. Those words he said still sent chills through her spine, as she knew how painful those words are. Just like me buddy, just like me… They were no heroes, yet nopony seemed to understand that. No matter how they tried, they, the living, were treated like heroes for surviving, while those who dead were only buried and given an underground home for their bodies and eternal peace for their souls. There were times she felt jealous about the eternal peace they got, as she wished to have some of it herself. Perhaps that was what the pony wanted, eternal peace. Well, he has it now. She thought, a little bit happy that he finally found his peace, yet saddened in the way he had to take it. She perfectly understood his reasons for doing it, but others usually won’t. They would have labeled him insane and indeed, the doctors at the hospital declared him insane and placed that as a reason for his suicide. But Rainbow Dash knew better, she knew he wasn’t insane. He was just misunderstood and place in a world that wasn’t accepting to who he was now. Maybe that was the main reason why she volunteered to tell his family; so that she can make them understand what he did. But then again, maybe not. She knew that other ponies wouldn’t understand how they felt, they just wouldn’t. Trying to explain it would just be a fruitless effort. She was just here to deliver the news, to deliver it to another pony who has suffered. Sighing, she shook her head and pushed away all of those thoughts away. Whatever her reason for doing this didn’t matter now. She was already here and she had a job to do and turning back now would just be shameful. So without any further hesitation, she brought her hoof upon the wooden door and knocked. There was short moment of silence after that, but the sound of light hoof steps could soon be heard. After another moment or two, the door swung open, revealing a young orange filly who looked up at her. The filly was small, and by Rainbow Dash’s estimates, she couldn’t have been older than ten years of age. Pausing as she looked up, the filly stared at Rainbow Dash with her purple eyes and Rainbow Dash could see in her eyes that she was lost at the sight of her. The two of them stared at each other in silence as they waited for the other to make the first move and Rainbow Dash felt awkward about this situation. Ultimately, it was the young filly who made the first move and what she did caught Rainbow Dash completely by surprise. “Oh, my gosh!” The filly shrieked, before jumping in excitement. “Its…it’s you…it’s really you! Major Rainbow Dash, the war hero! I can’t believe it, I…I…I just can’t believe it. I just want to say, that I am a big fan of yours. Like, ending the war! Just wow!” Rainbow Dash felt a sense of dread and disdain as the filly continued to talk about her. This was the very thing she avoided, the main reason why she went to this town. All the praises and claims that she was a hero, she hated all of it. But now this filly was here praising her as if she were Princess Celestia. Great, this is just perfect… Gritting her teeth, she was tempted to just turn back now and avoid all of this. This was the last thing she wanted. But despite her desire to escape it, she still felt the duty to deliver her message. So despite the annoyance and the fact that her half of her mind was telling her to back away, she instead stood there and stayed. “Uhh…listen kid…” She said, a little awkwardly. “…is your mom home or something? I’ve got something important to tell her.” Hopefully, she would be able to avoid further prodding from this filly if she managed to get her mother. That way, she would not only be able to get this filly to stop pestering her, but she might also be able to avoid telling some devastating news directly to the filly. Stopping her praising and almost endless talk, the orange filly calmed don’t for a bit and shook her head. “Well, she isn’t here right now. She’s down at the market, buying groceries. But…” She said, shuffling her front hooves. “…I think she’ll be back soon and if you come in and stay and wait for her.” Rainbow Dash knew that she should have said that she’ll just return at another time. But she knew that she would only be just delaying if she did that and besides, matters like this should not be extended to longer periods. So instead of making an excuse to come back at a more convenient time, she just nodded her head and gestured to the filly to lead the way. Excited and smiling, the filly practically took Rainbow Dash’s hoof and tried to drag her in. Unable to draw back her hoof, Rainbow Dash allowed herself to be led inside and into their small living room. The room was simple and a bit cramp, with a fire place in one corner and a large sofa just right in front of it. To the side of the sofa was a small, and almost flimsy looking, table, where a large array of portraits were placed. Passing by the table as she was led towards the sofa, Rainbow Dash caught a quick glance at a set of picture frames placed on top of it. One picture managed to catch her eye, as it showed the face of the pony from the hospital. But unlike the broken and tired face that she remembered from last night, the face on the picture showed a carefree and happy expression; a reminder of time long ago. Taking a seat on the comfortable sofa, Rainbow Dash took long glance at her young host, who sat on a small wooden chair in front of her, and felt a small sense of shock on how similar she and the pony from the hospital looked like. She has his eyes and his fur color… She thought, feeling a haunting feeling within her. The two just looked all too similar. For a long moment, Rainbow Dash found herself staring at the young filly, the resemblance making her drift back to memories of the terrible happening of last night. She could remember him staring, as she stared on and waited, helpless to the events that unfolded. She could remember her anger, and her understanding. Her sorrow towards the pony she didn’t know, and the pain of having lost somepony who she felt was the same like her. Thoughts like this swirled around her head, echoing in ghostly haunting, as it tried to test her emotions. But this was eventually snapped out of this inner battle when a loud awkward cough came from the filly, breaking the silence within the room. “So…uhh…” The filly said, looking down at first, avoiding eye contact with her and only glancing up once in a while to meet her eyes. “I know you’ve been asked this before, but…I’m a really big fan of yours, like I said earlier, and would it be alright if you can…tell me how you’ve managed to end the war? I’ve been hearing many rumors about what happened there, but I don’t know if I can believe any of it. And the media isn’t really much of a help, since all their reports on it are vague and barely hold and detail. Like come on, what happened is now an important piece Equestrian history and yet nopony really knows what happen. So I’m really curious on how-“ Before she can continue, she was suddenly cut off by Rainbow Dash, who had her eyes firmly shut, as if trying to suppress something within her. The scene played out before her eyes and despite trying to push the images away, they just kept on coming. The horror of it all would never leave her and would forever be in her mind. No matter how she tried to suppress it, how she always tried to forget, it was always there. And yet other ponies would always want to know about it. Time and time, she would tell them that what happened there was no worth retelling, yet the always persisted. Couldn’t they understand? Don’t they know that what happened there was never meant to be retold? Of course they don’t. All they can think about is the hero that came out, the hero they believe she was. Not of those who were left there, not of those who deserve more credit. Not them, but her. All because she was alive. “Listen, kid, the reason why the media doesn’t know much about it, except for mere details, is because I refuse to tell them. What happened at the Crystal Empire remains a secret in which I’m not willing to share any time soon.” Her voice was cold as ice and harsher than she thought she can do. In fact, Rainbow Dash was surprised on how harsh her tone was and felt bad for the filly, who seemed to have been shaken by it. Feeling a little bit guilty, Rainbow Dash gave a sigh. “Listen, kid, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that I try not to remember what happened back there.” Rainbow Dash said, her gaze trailing away from the filly and out to nearby window. “There were things that happened there that I just wish to forget, and it’s really hard to forget when ponies keep on pestering me about it.” “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to insult you…” The filly said, hanging her head low. “I didn’t know that you were one of them… I didn’t know you were a Silent.” That peeked Rainbow Dash’s curiosity, as she stared at the filly with a questioning look. “A Silent?” “Yeah, a Silent.” The filly said, looking up and nodding. “That’s what the town calls the war veterans who avoid talking about the war. I don’t want to offend you, but I think you’re a Silent too.” “Hm, yeah, well what makes you say that?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to hide the fact that she and others like her were being branded. “Cause you remind me of my dad.” The filly admitted, making Rainbow Dash stare at her with full attention. “He was just like you, refuses to talk about what happened at the Crystal Empire, gets agitated when you try and force him to talk, stuff like that. Sometimes, if things got bad, he’ll go wild and just throw stuff around.” A frown then formed on her face. “It got so bad that we had to bring him to the hospital for treatment. The hospital says that they have a special division in charge of taking care of ponies like them and they promised us that he’ll be cured, but during our weekly visits, he still seems the same.” The now seemed depressed and for a moment Rainbow Dash felt sorry for her. This was the first time that she fully realized that the problems and inner demons that she and ponies like her face were not just affecting them, but also affecting the ponies that were close to them. Looking at the filly, and feeling the sadness radiate from her, she moved off of the sofa and placed a gentle hoof on her back. Although she didn’t know what to tell her, she hoped that this simple action would somehow help. It hurt inside, knowing what happened to the filly’s father and what she would have to tell her about. Mentally, Rainbow Dash felt beaten. How could a situation like this happened to her? Why did the filly had to be here and why did she have to suffer too? When she decided to go on this mission, she thought all she would have to do was tell the poor pony’s wide of his death, and leave it to her to tell their foal what had happened. But now it seems that, when this filly’s mother arrives, she would have to tell them both the sad news. And that time didn’t come too long, for soon the sounds of hoof steps came from the front door. The clicking sound of the lock and the sound of the door opening soon came, followed by the gentle voice of pony calling in. “Scootaloo, come over here and help mommy with the groceries.” The pony said, as she trotted towards pass the living room with a pair of filled saddle bags. Just as she came in view, she turned in surprise to see Rainbow Dash standing in their living room. “Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t know we had guess over here…” The pony said, seemingly confused and worried. Although Rainbow Dash really couldn’t blame her, seeing that she was indeed a stranger in their home. Keeping in her stresses and frustration, Rainbow Dash did her best to look professional as she looked towards the pony. “Mam…” She began. “…I am Major Rainbow Dash and I’m sorry to say that I have sad news for you.”