//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: The Herald of Fire 
// by InsertCleverNameHere 
//------------------------------//

War looked at herself in the mirror. Her red hair fell to the side. She was wondering whether or not to tie it back again.
It had been three days since she had arrived. Not much had happened since that first morning. War’s days had been spent wandering the castle and admiring its beauty. Every so often, Celestia or Luna would find her wandering, and tell her some story about the castle from decades ago, long before War was born. It was interesting. It gave War something to think about while she wandered. It amazed her that the castle was so much older than her. Simply walking through it’s halls, she could feel the history seeping through the walls, making her feel small.
Other than that, War spent her night alone, listening to music, paging through books that she had found, or just lying in bed, watching the moon fly by, wishing she could sleep.
The only other thing to break the monotony was combat training.
She wasn’t allowed to use a sword, but simply showing her physical strength was all Shining Armor wanted to see. He trusted she could hold her own with a sword. They trained out in a clearing in between the gardens and the castle, under guard supervision.
Everytime Shining Armor would try to knock War off her balance, she would maneuver herself under him, topple him, and pin him down.
By the end, Shining Armor was giving her a look of either awe or worry. War couldn’t tell which. Maybe both.
Besides that, War’s days had been uneventful. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she again, pondered whether she should tie her hair back. After all, she needed to look her best today.
Today was the funeral.
She had wondered whether or not she should even attend. After all, she was just as responsible for Fluttershy’s death as anypony.
But there was something nagging at War. Something told her that she had to be there. She had to see this through.
After all, even if it was hard for her, it’s not like she didn’t deserve the guilt. If she felt bad, she deserved it.
War finally decided to tie it back. She felt anxious. She almost wanted to push the table in front of the door, and refuse to come out, but that wouldn’t solve anything.
War sighed, and turned to the door. The guards were waiting, ready to escort her to the funeral.
She only nodded, and they turned, and began leading her to the service.
She was told that it would take place in the Canterlot Gardens. Fluttershy had apparently loved the gardens. War hadn’t gone in during her stay, but the aroma that came from it was divine. 
War and the guards stepped outside, stepping on the path to the gardens.
War smelled them before she saw them.
Flowers, mostly. But War had never seen flowers that could spread so sweet an aroma so far. She could see why Fluttershy had liked it. It seemed like a place one could lose herself. When the gardens came into sight, they looked like an explosion of color. Flowers of all shapes, sizes, colors, and aromas filled the gardens to the brim. Some had been placed there, likely for the occasion, but many were simply growing on their own.
The actual entrance was a hedge archway, but the flowers seemed to spill over. When War did pass through the arch, she was met with even more flowers, plants, and the noises of distant animals. Twilight, her friends, and Princess Celestia were idle, some chatting, others staring off into space.
A hush took hold of the garden when War stepped in.
Everypony simply stared at her, as if expecting her to say something.
War opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn’t find the words.
The silence was heavy. It was almost choking.
Much to War’s expectations, the first to break the silence was Rainbow Dash.
She stepped forward, her gaze coldly set on War.
“What in the world is SHE doing here?”
She addressed Celestia, but her gaze never left War.
Celestia spoke in a leveled manner, not betraying any remorse or joy at War’s appearance.
“I invited her. I did not know if she would come but...”
She trailed off, not needing to finish.
War looked past them. Just behind them was a casket. It was simply. It wasn’t anything fancy, seeing as the funeral must have been last minute. The light brown wood gave a warm feel to the casket.
Rainbow Dash brought her back to the problem at hand.
“LEAVE!!!”
War focused on Rainbow Dash. She didn’t budge an inch.
Not this time...
“Are you deaf? I said...”
“I heard what you said,” War responded.
Rainbow Dash seemed taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected the retort.
She opened her mouth again to speak, but Celestia intervened.
“That’s enough, Rainbow Dash,” she said.
Dash looked at her in disbelief.
“But-”
“She has just as much right to be here as you do, Rainbow Dash.”
Dash just looked at her, mouth agape, at a loss for words.
She turned back to War. War hadn’t moved.
She wanted to see this through. She couldn’t leave without doing something. Exactly what that was, she wasn’t sure.
War began walking to the casket. As she trotted past Rainbow Dash, she could almost feel her eyes boring a hole through her.
War stopped at the casket, and looked into it. Fluttershy lay there, unmoving, her yellow coat, once pale, restored to what War assumed was her usual light color. She seemed at peace. As if she was simply sleeping, and a gently nudge would stir her awake.
Spark felt her eyes water. She looked away. She couldn’t cry. Not now.
Spark cursed herself. 
And she cursed herself again.
Of course, now of all times is when I’d forget my name...
War(how hard is it to remember a simple name?) turned when she heard others approaching.
It was a small band of ponies, instruments in tow. One of them, a grey earth pony with a large case strapped to her trotted to Celestia, whispering something to her.
Celestia only nodded. The mare turned, and said a few words to the group, and they began setting up.
Each pony opened up their case and took out their instrument.
The grey mare opened her case and took out what looked like a large violin, a cello.
The band was very last minute in it’s feel. The entire funeral seemed very last minute.
War shook the thought off, and turned. Everypony was either chatting, or looking at Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was one of those at her side, so she wouldn’t have to deal with her. For now, that is.
Twilight was speaking to Pinkie, who’s normally poofy hair had deflated, not entirely, but noticeably.
So then I wasn’t seeing things...
Twilight looked at War, and smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile. War couldn’t pin down what kind of smile it was, but it definitely wasn’t happy. She and Pinkie trotted over to War.
Twilight spoke first.
“You okay? I’m sorry for Rainbow Dash. She’s just...”
She didn’t finish. War had something to ask.
“Why her?”
“What?” Twilight seemed confused.
“Why, of all of you, does it seem like she’s the one who hates me the most?”
Twilight waited a moment before responding.
“It’s just that...Rainbow Dash, out of all of us, was the one who knew Fluttershy for the longest. She’s known her since they were fillies.”
Of course. As if I didn’t feel bad enough...
“Her...death...I think it just...I just...I can’t imagine the pain she must be going through...”
I could.
War only nodded. She looked at Pinkie, who was smiling, but it wasn’t the same smile that Twilight wore. It wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t sad either.
War just had to ask.
“Pinkie, why are you still smiling....how are you still smiling?”
Pinkie just tilted her head, as if she was confused. Her answer came quick.
“Well...don’t get me wrong. I am sad. I miss Fluttershy so much...but...I’m smiling because, funerals aren’t places to be sad. They’re places to be happy. They’re places where we celebrate that pony’s life. I was thinking of all the fun we would have together. It made me smile.”
War stood, mouth agape. She had no response because, in many ways, she was right.
So then why do I still feel like crap?
She shook the thought away.
Twilight asked again, “Are you okay, War..?”
War only nodded, not looking at her.
Twilight smiled her false smile, and walked away, taking Pinkie with her.
War sighed.
What am I even doing here? I saw the body, what else am I waiting for?
War waited, as if somepony would give her an answer.
No such luck.





Everypony stood in front of the open casket, placed right next to the freshly dug hole.
Every cell in War’s body told her to run, but she stood fast, standing next to Twilight, who already had tears in her eyes.
Everypony had tears, except for Rainbow Dash, Celestia, and Luna, who had joined them shortly after the band.
The clearing they were in was just a fragrant as the rest of the gardens, and color was in no short supply. Though, notably, light pink and yellow seemed to be the dominant colors now, for reasons obvious to everypony.
Celestia spoke, and for the first time, they betrayed emotion behind them. For the first time, War heard sorrow behind the ancient mare’s voice.
“Does anypony have any last words?”
The silence was ringing. Inside, War begged somepony to speak.
She can’t go without SOMEPONY saying something!
Luckily, somepony spoke.
“Ah have something to say.”
Applejack stepped forward, looking at Celestia. Celestia only nodded.
Applejack removed her hat, holding it to her chest.
“Fluttershy...ah...ah don’t know how to say this, but...” she spoke to the still open casket. “You were the kindest pony ah could ever meet. You stood by us all, even if it scared you.” Tears began to fall from the orange pony’s eyes.
“You helped us when we needed it most. You comforted us, talked to us, defended us...you stood up to a damned dragon for us!”
The tears wouldn’t stop.
“Ah...ah just wanna thank ya kindly...for everything...not just for the stuff like the dragon...but for everything...we’ll miss ya, sugarcube...”
She took a step back, letting her tears run freely.
Twilight stepped forward next, not even making an effort to hold back tears.
“Fluttershy, I...I..”
War impulsively placed her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. She didn’t expect to do it, and any other day, it would’ve earned her odd looks, but today wasn’t any other day.
Twilight simply looked back, and gave a grateful smile.
Turning back, Twilight found her words.
“I never imagined any of this would happen...and especially not to you...you...the kindest, sweetest, most gentle pony I knew. A pony that would literally never even hurt a fly...”
Twilight wiped away the tears that had begun falling.
“You were always there for us...any of us...no matter what the problem...I’m sorry I just can’t...”
Twilight turned away, and buried her face into Rarity’s side, sobbing.
War looked away. Something about seeing Twilight like that felt...wrong.
Pinkie stepped forward next as Rarity comforted Twilight.
She looked at the casket, her hair staying at the same volume it had been. Pinkie, herself, however, seemed to be on the brink of breaking down. Maybe it was the happy memories, like she said.
Whatever it was, Pinkie began to speak.
“Fluttershy...I don’t know what else to say...you were one of the best friends I ever had. You always gave me a reason to smile. You gave us all that reason to smile....something I always wanted to do...”
Pinkie sniffed, a tear finally falling out of her eye.
“I’m going to miss you...I just wish you...I just...”
Pinkie stood, not knowing what to say.
“I just...I just want to thank you. None of us...nopony will ever forget you...never ever, ever, ever, ever...”
Pinkie stepped back, looking to Rarity, who had finished consoling Twilight. She stepped forward, and breathed a heavy sigh.
“I just...I wonder why this had to happen...to us...to you...to everypony...”
War looked down. She couldn’t look at anypony.
“What did we do to deserve this..? I just wish it didn’t have to be you, Fluttershy...we had so much fun together...those spa treatments, those conversations we had...the ones we all had...together...I just wonder if things will ever be the same...”
War was on the verge of tears. She looked up, and saw Rarity, tears freely flowing.
So many tears.
None of her own.
A knot formed in her stomach at the thought.
It took War a moment to register that Rarity had stopped, and that everyone was looking now at Rainbow Dash.
But Dash didn’t step forward.
She stared at the ground refusing to make eye contact.
“Rainbow Dash...do you have anything to say?” Celestia asked cautiously.
Dash slightly looked up, as if only realizing where she was.
Without a word, she turned and spread her wings. Quick as she could, she took off, flying high into the air, leaving behind her friends, Celestia, and the funeral.
“RAINBOW! Where are you going?” Twilight began to run off after her, but Celestia touched her shoulder.
Twilight looked at her mentor.
“Twilight...let her be...I can’t imagine the pain she must be in...”
I can.
The thought made the knot ever tighter.
Twilight looked back at the funeral, and sighed. She slowly trotted back to her place.
Celestia cleared her throat.
“Well then...if there’s nothing left, then we’ll begin with the burial.”
As Celestia stepped forward, her horn glowed a golden color. The top of the casket closed slowly, giving Fluttershy’s friends one last fleeting look at her. The casket closed, revealing Fluttershy’s cutie mark emblazoned on the casket.
Three pink butterflies, taken by the crow.
Celestia looked at the band, set up a short distance away from the hole. She nodded, and the band began to play. The tune from their instruments seemed to echo the funeral.
Celestia turned to the casked and, her horn glowing once more, lifted it and floated it over the grave. Slowly lowering it to the music, a silent tear fell down the mighty alicorn’s face.
Out of all the tears Spark had seen today, none fell so heavily as that tear.





War sat on her bed in her room, thinking about what she had seen today.
The sun had already set, and the moon provided the only light in her luxurious room.
Several things were going through her head.
Sorrow, fear, anger, grief...
But most of all, hate. Hate for a certain pony with a black hide and a face resembling a skull.
War hated Death. She hated her with a passion. She wanted to see her pay. Pay for taking the life of such a sweet and innocent pony.
She wanted to gut the crow for killing the butterfly.
Was this what kept her going?
Hate?
War didn’t want to hate, but she couldn’t NOT hate.
And why shouldn’t she?
Shouldn’t she be allowed to hate that vile excuse for a pony?
War waited, as if she’d find an answer.
She found none.
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
“She’s not allowed out after dark,” the guard said sternly.
“I don’t want to take her out, I just want to speak with her,” another voice spoke.
It was Rainbow Dash’s voice.
There was a pause.
“Alright then. But don’t linger,” the guard said.
War heard the click of the locks being undone. The door opened and creaked with age. The sky-blue pegasus stepped in, and didn’t even flinch when the door closed loudly behind her.
For a moment, Rainbow Dash and War simply stared each other down, making eye contact for the first time in a while.
War was almost afraid to break the silence.
As always, it was Rainbow Dash who broke it.
“Okay, listen up, because I’m only going to say this once: I want answers!”
War almost flinched.
“If you want answers,” she began, “You came to the wrong place. I wish I had some myself.”
Rainbow Dash seemed confused, but spoke again.
“I just want to know something right now! All I want to know is...”
She paused before asking.
“Why?”
War stayed silent.
“Why do you care?”
War stayed silent still.
“You could have ran. The moment you saw that...that...that MURDERER kill my friend, you could’ve ran! Why not, huh?”
War opened her mouth to answer, but she couldn’t find her voice.
Rainbow Dash didn’t take it well.
“ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!”
War had had enough.
“What do you want me to say? That I felt some righteous need to help you all? That I was tired of all the killing? Because as much as I’d LIKE to say that, I can’t!”
That truly silenced Rainbow Dash.
But War wasn’t done. She got off of her bed, and looked out of the window.
“The truth is, I was scared. Scared of what they’d do to me if they found me...and scared of what I’d do if I stayed...”
War looked at the moon. Sometimes, she’d wondered what it’d be like to take Princess Luna’s place up there, alone, with only the stars to accompany her.
“I was scared and tired...I was tired of all the suffering...”
“Suffering?”
Rainbow Dash had seemingly recovered from such an unexpected response.
“Not a single pony you’ve killed has ever been connected to you! To you, they’re faces! You’ve never had to suffer like we’ve suffered! Like I”VE suffered!”
War half chuckled, much to Rainbow Dash’s surprise. She turned to face her.
“Suffering? You think you know suffering?”
“I HAD TO WATCH MY CLOSEST FRIEND DIE! Have you ever had to watch the pony closest to you DIE?”
“I WATCHED ALL OF THEM DIE!”
Rainbow Dash flinched, but War kept going.
“You think you know suffering because you saw someone close to you die? What would you have done if ALL the ponies close to you died, huh?”
With every word, War drew closer and closer.
“Every time I had something GOOD in my life...every time I thought I had a chance to be...happy...I had to watch it burn...”
War sat, and all the tears she’d held back came up. They were silent tears, but tears nonetheless.
“I watched them all burn...”
Rainbow Dash looked at the pony in front of her. War didn’t mean to break down in front of her, but it’s not like she could’ve stopped it.
Rainbow’s next words came to War’s surprise.
“What’s your story, anyways?”
War looked away.
On any other day, she would’ve wondered why she had opened her big mouth.
Where to begin?
She sighed, and began to speak.
“I was born in Ponyville. My parents, grandparents, my baby sister and me lived in the same house. We were a close family.”
She didn’t make eye contact with Rainbow Dash. That would’ve made things all the harder.
“I had a pretty simple childhood. Nothing real special. I was pretty quiet, though. Never got out much, and didn’t have many friends, but I could live with that, right? I didn’t need them, right?”
War paused, as if she was trying to answer those questions.
They weren’t any easier to answer than when she was a filly.
“But then it all changed. It all changed with a...”
She almost laughed at the irony.
“It all changed with a spark.”
War wiped the tears away.
“There was a fire. A large one. It took everyone I knew. My parents, my grandparents, my sister...all gone. And there was nothing I could do about it. I was in school when it happened...I can still see it...the burned wreck...the smoldering ashes of the living room I played in...the kitchen table I sat in...I think it’s ingrained itself into my memory...”
Fire. Why was fire always in her life?
“I was sent to live with one of the only relatives I had left...my aunt and uncle living in Manehattan. They tried to make life...easier for me, but...I always felt this sense of...loneliness I couldn’t shake off...they claimed to feel my pain, but  they didn’t. Their entire lives didn’t change...yes, they lost some family members, but...they were far off in Manehattan...I was there...I had to watch the workers dig through the ashes...”
War stood, and walked back to the window to look out at the moon, just to give her something to look at. She couldn’t stare at the floor any longer.
“Everyday, I went to school, I came home, I went to the store...I tried living life again, but...the loneliness never left me. Everyone around me seemed to have nothing better to do than to feel sorry for me. I heard it from my new guardians, from teachers, from neighbors, from other fillies...how could I move on when everywhere I went, people had to bring it up?”
The moon shined down on War. It almost sheltered her.
“It never felt like...like a home. Home is supposed to make you feel safe...secure...I never felt safe. I felt like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.”
War sighed.
“So, I ran. I ran away. I wanted to find a home. Someplace I could feel like I belonged...I spent many nights alone in the Manehattan streets, and I learned just how unforgiving ponies can be...how they can just cast a blind eye over somepony. But that’s also where I learned about fire...where I learned the other side of it. For the longest time, I’d hated fire. It’d taken away what I held dearest, but then...on those streets...I saw something different.”
She turned to Rainbow Dash.
“Ever notice how the homeless have those barrels that are on fire? It always seems obvious, but that’s the thing...it was so obvious, that I forgot about it...fire...it destroys, but it also heals...it gives life...warmth.”
The anger in Rainbow Dash’s face had subsided, replaced with something else. War couldn’t tell with what.
“It IS life, in a way. We heat our homes with it, we cook our meals with it, we make jewelry and mold tools with it...we do so many amazing things with it...it’s like ponies...they can do so many great things, but...far too often they’re misused. That was the only solace I found in my life on the streets...
I returned to my supposed home some time later on. They welcomed me back, in tears, but I think they were just afraid to lose another family member. They didn’t care that it was me.
I spent the next few years in my own quiet suffering, dealing with the loneliness I found in Manehattan. I don’t think it was a surprise when I left the city as soon as I came of age.
Without a cutie mark, though. I found it odd that, here I was, a fully grown mare without a cutie mark. Anyways, I raised as much money as I could so I could go traveling. I wanted to go to places I’d never seen...just hoping to find somewhere...somewhere that I could call...home.”
War looked away.
“I didn’t find one.”
War wished Rainbow Dash would say something. Something to let her know what she was thinking.
War knew the next part of the story, and it pained her to recall it.
“That’s about when Death found me.”
War had expected some reaction. As far as she could tell, Rainbow Dash didn’t react any differently. Then again, she wasn’t looking at her.
“She found me...and she was able to tell that I’d been troubled...I told her my story...and...she offered me this chance...or, what I thought was a chance...a chance to change things...she told me I could make a difference. She said she wanted to bring justice for those who were suffering. She told me I’d be a herald for change in Equestria...”
War chuckled.
“...I was such and idiot...I really thought that she was telling the truth...I really thought I could...ugh...I WAS SO STUPID!”
War slammed her hooves on the ground as hard as she could. She couldn’t even look at the moon anymore. She felt ashamed.
Which made her all the more surprised.
“You’re not an idiot.”
War’s head raised. She turned to face Rainbow Dash. For the first time since they’d known each other, Rainbow Dash had just complimented her.
Well, not complemented. Not really. But it was still a surprise.
War shakily asked, “What did you say..?”
Rainbow Dash looked hesitant, but she repeated herself.
“You’re not an idiot...you’re...”
She trailed off.
Rainbow Dash looked down, but quickly composed herself.
“Listen, I’m not saying I particularly like you or anything. You still killed innocent ponies, and...I’m not likely to forgive that so easily...but I don’t hate you.”
War couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“And I hate that. I know I should hate you but...I don’t. I just can’t. And I hate that.”
She turned away. She was no longer yelling. She was probably as calm as she had ever been as long as War had known her.
“My home...it’s destroyed...and you’re partially to blame, but...”
She turned back to face War, and War could see that she was holding back tears. Her eyes had a fierceness to them. Almost like a flame.
“You better be telling the truth when you say that you’ll fight to defend us...because if you’re life was really the hell you say it was, then I don’t think I need to remind you of the chance you have here...”
She paused as if to give War time to respond. War stood silent.
She nodded, and turned for the door. She raised a hoof to knock on the door to be let out, but paused.
She looked back, and asked, “What was your name?”
“What?” War was confused for a moment.
“I’m guessing your parents didn’t name you War. What was your name?”
War paused, hesitant to reveal it, but when she tried, it came out as if by instinct.
“My name was Spark.”
The flame in Rainbow Dash’s eyes didn’t subside as she silently nodded.
She knocked on the door, and almost as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.





War was looking at the moon, listening to the sounds of the night.
She was intently listening to one sound.
It was coming from the gardens.
To the rest of the ponies in the castle, it might have just sounded like the wind.
But War knew what it was. It was the sounds of a sobbing pony, grieving over the loss of her dear friend.
They lasted for hours.
Then the world went silent.
Not even the crickets chirped.
It was as if the animals themselves were grieving for the dead pegasus.