//------------------------------//
// Chapter 0:2 - The Order of the Sparrow 
// Story: Camaraderie is Sorcery 
// by FireOfTheNorth 
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Chapter 0:2 – The Order of the Sparrow
Year 986 of the 4th Age


“Come on, Fluttershy!  Cloudsdale won’t stay put forever!” Rainbow Dash called to her friend, who was lagging behind.  
In Fluttershy’s defense, she was already not as fast as the blue ball of energy that was Rainbow Dash when she wasn’t laden down with heavy packs.  Dash had recently discovered how to hover, and she was determined to stay in the air as much as possible (even when her wings ached every night); however, she couldn’t stay up when carrying excess weight, so Fluttershy was carrying both of their packs.  Confined to the ground, the miniscule pegasus also had to deal with the thick layer of snow covering the highlands they were trekking through.  
“It won’t move until Spring, Rainbow,” Fluttershy protested as she climbed over a rock, “I’m cold and tired; can’t we rest?”  
“We have to keep going!  Cloudsdale’s close, I’m sure of it!” Rainbow Dash said as she tried unsuccessfully to gain more altitude to see over the hills, “I want to get settled in before training starts, don’t you?”  
“No!  I never wanted to go to Cloudsdale!” Fluttershy cried out as she collapsed in the snow and covered her face with her hooves, “Why did my parents make me go?”  
“We’re going to be Hunters, Fluttershy, both of us,” Dash said as she landed next to her friend to comfort her, “The Order of the Sparrow in Cloudsdale teaches you how to slay monsters before you can go on to one of the other Hunter schools.”  
“I don’t want to be a Hunter!” Fluttershy sobbed, “Glydwen said Hunters are all vagabonds and orphans with nowhere else to go!  Did I do something wrong that my parents made me leave home?”  
“What?  I’ll kick Glydwen’s teeth in next time I see her!” Dash vowed furiously, “Hunters are heroes, Fluttershy!  The Wonderbolts are Hunters, aren’t they, and they’re respected all across Equestria!”  
“I guess, but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to kill anything,” Fluttershy sniffled as she buried her head in the snow.  A moment later, she jumped back screaming and fell into the rock she’d previously stepped over.  
“What?  What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around before looking down at the Fluttershy-shaped indentation in the snow.  
Where the pegasus’s face had been, another face was staring up, the flesh left on it blackened and pulled taut against the bone.  As Rainbow Dash cleared away more snow, she uncovered the rest of the corpse.  The cause of death was evident; the tip of a spear was still lodged in the pony’s ribcage.  
“Whoa, he must’ve fought at the Battle of Caignwall,” Dash said, “That means we are getting close to Cloudsdale.  I knew it!”  
“See, Rainbow!  I’ll be a terrible Hunter,” Fluttershy moaned as she cradled herself, “I can’t even handle something that’s already dead; how am I supposed to kill?”  
“It’s okay, Fluttershy, we’ll get through this the same way we always do: together,” Dash said as she sat down next to her and put her wing over her friend’s back; really, her wings were too small to be as comforting as those of a full-grown pegasus, but it was the thought that counted.  
“You promise?” Fluttershy asked as she wiped her tears away before they froze on her face.  
“Of course!” Rainbow Dash said, “I promise I’ll always be looking out for you, Fluttershy, just like I know you’ll always be looking out for me.”  
Fluttershy wiped her face clean and nodded, giving her friend a smile.  If she had to go to Cloudsdale and become a Hunter, at least she’d have Dash by her side.