The Herald of Fire

by InsertCleverNameHere

Chapter 4

War walked with her head down, deep in thought. She thought of a lot of things. Se wondered if the pony she saved had escaped, she wondered if Canterlot was ready for what was coming, she wondered if there would be a soft bed for her to sleep in.But mainly, she thought about what the princesses of Canterlot would do to her.Would they simply condemn her to death immediately? Would they keep her as a prisoner of war? Would they simply banish her?
She almost chuckled. That was likely the best case scenario she could hope for. A simple banishment. Perhaps it would be to somewhere where she could be remain secluded from the rest of Equestria, living out her days living off the land, not giving her the slightest chance of hurting anypony ever again. The thought made her smile, if only a tiny bit.
“Um...excuse me...Miss...um...War?”
Ware looked to her side. The pink pony had called her. To Wars knowledge, it was the first time she had spoken to her.
War at first didn’t know how to respond. So she simply asked, “Yes?”
The pony was hesitant to ask.
“...What...what do you...I mean, what do they want? And why do they want to...kill...Twilight?”
The pony seemed to linger on the word kill. She also seemed to stress the word they, as if she needed a reminder that War wasn’t one of them.
War looked forward. Rainbow Dash hadn’t turned, but her ears had pricked. It was obvious that she was also curious as to the answer to that.
War sighed, and answered the question.
“Well, you see, there is this...creature...Death had told me that he had power unimaginable. The only thing was that he isn’t strong enough to return yet, so it was our job to eliminate anything that would stop him. And Twilight...not only is she one of the Elements of Harmony, but she also has almost untapped potential.”
War realized just how she sounded saying all this, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.
“Death said that we were going to help him change Equestria...for the better. She said that he would free Equestria from everything holding it back...I never imagined that he meant...all this...”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. War raised her head.
“Oh, I bet...” Rainbow Dash uttered.
The pink pony ignored Rainbow Dash’s interruption.
“Then...why didn’t you leave earlier when you saw what they wanted you to do?”
War almost chuckled.
“I wish it could’ve been that easy...If you leave, they wouldn’t just let you leave...If I betrayed them, they would have killed me...”
The pony just looked at her.
War sighed.
“Basically, I was just too much of a coward to try...maybe it’s because I didn’t belong anywhere else..?”
The pony seemed to be put off by War’s self pity.
“It’s okay...I don’t blame you...:
That really surprised War. She could barely get out her sentence.
“What-wait, what did you say?” War was dumbfounded. “How can you not blame me? I-I...This is as much my fault as anyponys! How can you forgive me so easily!”
War hadn’t been aware of how loud she was being. The other ponies had turned around to look at War.
The pink pony wasn’t hesitant this time.
“You never wanted any of this to happen...They tricked you, and you couldn’t do anything to get out of it without getting yourself...killed...”
She still stumbled on that word, but she still shook it off.
“I never really introduced myself. My name is Pinkie Pie. This is Rarity and this is Applejack.” Pinkie gestured at the white unicorn and the orange earth pony respectively.
War didn’t know what to say.
“Oh...well...th-thank you....Pinkie Pie...”
The pony smiled, but only lightly. War may have been seeing things, but she swore that she saw the pony’s hair...inflate? No, that’s ridiculous. Either way, if it did(which War doubted), it only did subtly.

War had never seen Canterlot before. The gates were enormous. They felt daunting. Against it, War felt small. She felt tiny. Insignificant. To think, her goal was once to conquer it.
From up in the turrets, guards took a look at the visitors. The ponies must have called ahead at some point, because, in no time, the guards were opening the gates. Everypony stood back as the massive gates swung open to let them in. Once they stopped, the ponies and War began to step into the walled city.
As she stepped in, she noted the irony. She had intended to come through these gates as a conqueror. Now, she stepped into the city as a prisoner. Or as its savior.
War shook that thought. There was no way she was going to help in this fight. The only extent that she had helped was in saving Twilight from Death. She was no savior.
At the other end of the gate, two guards waited. They eyed War as the ponies stopped.
They turned to Rainbow Dash.
“The princess has requested you come to the castle at once with Ms. Sparkle and...her...”
The guards paused as they motioned to her. They didn’t seem angry to see her or glad. Like every other pony lately, War saw confusion in their eyes.
War could guess what they were thinking:
“Is she good or evil?”
“She saved Twilight, but she’s also killed dozens...”
“How do we know we can trust her..?”
Rainbow Dash snapped them back to their posts.
“Alright then. Take us there.”
The guards took one last glance at War, eyes narrowing, before answering with a quick nod. They turned, and began walking, the rest of the ponies following close behind.
War walked through the city with her head hanging low. She averted the eyes on anypony who would look at her. They looked at her, but they didn’t run in fear. Of course, they must had heard of the attacks, but they had no idea of what the attackers looked like. It almost made it worse. War would get to see them not condemn her just before they did. It would make her pain, and their gaze, even harder to bear.

The castle gates were not nearly as large as the city gates, but they seemed even more daunting. They were golden, and made of bars, as opposed to the solid concrete walls of the city gates. They bore decorations of the sun and the moon. Behind these gates, lay the one who would decide War’s fate, and she feared...
No, she knew that it wouldn’t be a pleasant one.
The gates slowly opened, the squeak of the metal seemingly mocking War. The pathway was bricked very purposefully. War hesitated to enter. The path to the castle was bordered with beautiful plants of all colors and sizes, giving the path and the castle a prestige War didn’t deserve. Every step she took, she felt like she was defiling the castle and all it stood for.
What right did she have to be here?
The front doors opened into the hall, a large hall floored with a red carpet in the middle, with large windows on each end, letting in light for anypony to be washed under. The door on the other end was wide open, and it was close enough for War to see Princess Celestia in conversation with somepony else. The stallion’s dress clearly showed that he was the captain of the guard. War could also faintly make out Princess Luna and Princess Mi-Amore Cadenza chatting in the back of the room.
As they walked closer, the Princesses and the captain turned to see their visitors. Once they were close enough to see them clearly, the captain ran forward.
As he ran, he yelled, “Twilight!”
He stopped and looked at Twilight, a grim look of worry clouding his face. After looking at Twilight for a moment, she turned at the pony he knew was the prisoner, War. A fire of anger blazed in his eyes.
“I swear, if you hurt my sister in any way, I’m going to-!”
“Shining Armour!”
Celestia had silenced the captain, and apparent brother of Twilight. He looked back at War for a moment, fury still burning in his eyes. Nevertheless, he turned and went back to Celestia’s side. Celestia turned to War for a second, her eyes not betraying a single thought in her mind. She then turned to the entire group.
She spoke, her voice laced with regality, yet hard enough to show her caution.
“I had recieved your letter, but it did not mention that you were bringing a...guest...with you.”
She looked at War when she said guest.
“I am also curious as to why Twilight is unconscious. If anypony would be willing to explain to me exactly what happened in Ponyville-”
“War saved us.”
Everypony turned when Pinkie spoke out. Out of all of them, War was willing to bet that she was the most surprised.
Despite the stares, Pinkie continued.
“The other pony...what was her name..? Um...oh yeah...Death. Death found us before we got out of Ponyville, and she was going to...she was going to...”
Pinkie trailed off, as if it hurt to remember. At some point, she found the strength to go on.
“But War found us, and she fought off Death long enough for us to teleport out of Ponyville. Then she shared her magic with Twilight. She was able to teleport us out of Ponyville, but she got all tired after that. She fell asleep after that, and then...we came here...”
Pinkie looked down as soon as she had finished, as if something had been lifted from her shoulders.
War couldn’t believe it. Pinkie, one of Fluttershy’s friends, had just defended her. She had just defended the pony responsible for her friend’s death. War couldn’t believe it.
At this point, Luna and Mi-Amore Cadenza had joined them, and had both been listening to Pinkie.
Celestia looked at War.
“What do you want? You participate in one of the most gruesome attacks on Equestria, killing dozens, and yet, you save the very pony you were after. Why?”
War looked down. She opened her mouth, but stumbled for words. What could she say? How could she justify herself? Then again, there really was no way to justify anything she had done. Why start now?
With a sigh, War started.
“They never told me the truth about what I was going to be doing. They told me that they wanted to change Equestria. They told me they wanted to make things...better. Death had told me that she’d seen true suffering first hand. She told me that if she was in charge, that she could end all the suffering. She told me that this...transformation...was only for those who caused the suffering. She said she wanted to make those who create suffering to suffer themselves. But...all this...I never wanted...this...to happen...”
At this point, War’s voice was cracking. She was holding back tears.
“After I found out what I had to do...I wanted to leave, but...I saw the evil in their eyes...any hint of the pony in them was gone...I knew that, if I left...they would...they would kill me...I didn’t know what to do...everyday seemed like torture...it was like they had my leg twisted behind my back, and everyday, they twisted it a little more until...”
War was only subconsciously aware that a tear had fallen down her cheek. War looked up at the princesses. Mi-Amore Cadenza had the easiest face to read. She was shocked. War could bet that she wasn’t expecting such a display from a killer. Especially from one who had killed so many. Luna’s was a little harder, but War could still make out...caution. She might have held pity for her, but she still was wary.
Celestia was an entirely different story. War couldn’t see anything in her face. She gave no chance for War to see what she was thinking. She had only ever seen that with Twilight. The look Celestia gave her made War’s skin crawl. She looked away, not daring to look her in the eye, almost as if she was looking into Pestilence’s eyes.
It caught her by surprise when Celestia spoke.
“Guards, give Twilight and her friends somewhere to sleep. They must be exhausted. Me, Luna, and Cadance will discuss what to do.”
She didn’t say it, but War knew that that’s where her fate would be decided.
War took one more look back at the ponies she had saved. Pinkie had kindness in her eyes, and a light smile. She couldn’t hide her sorrow, though. It was as though it were streaks of paint across her face, and she was desperately trying to wipe it off, to no avail. Applejack had a face that looked like confusion. Unlike Celestia, though, it’s more likely that Applejack simply didn’t know how to feel. War wouldn’t have been surprised. She didn’t know how to feel either.
Rarity shared that look. It was almost more sad that these two felt so...out of place.
Rainbow Dash’s look was easy. It was full of poison. it didn’t take much to tell what she was thinking.
Twilight was sound asleep. She looked peaceful. It almost made War envious.
War made the mistake of taking one last look at Fluttershy. She was limp. Her
yellow hide had grown pale since their journey began. War looked away. She couldn't take looking at it.
War’s sword, still on Rarity’s back, was taken by Celetia, held in her golden magic.
“And I assume that this is your sword, War?”
War only nodded.
Without a word, she handed it to Shining Armor, whom she beckoned to follow her.
A pair of guards came and began talking to Rainbow Dash. War was too distracted to listen to them. Soon, she heard the sound of hoovesteps, and she knew that her companions were gone. She looked up, and saw Celestia walking with Luna, Mi-Amore Cadenza, and Shining Armor to the throne room to talk. As they stepped through, the door began to close behind them, until, with the resounding thud of the door, they were gone.

---

War felt like she was going to explode.
It had been two hours since they had entered. When were they going to come out?
It’s not like it’s a hard decision. Just banish me or sentence me to death already! she thought.
She could hardly bear the suspense of delaying her fate.
War was sitting at one side of the hall, and two guards flanked her. Each was tense. They seemed like they were trying to hard to act in control. They would twitch every time was shifted, sneezed, or scratched the back of her head. it was if they expected her to make some grandiose escape.
As if... she thought.
Not only would she not be able to get ANYWHERE without her sword, but where would she go? Back to Death? The simple thought made her chuckle, which, in turn, nearly made the guards jump. If she faced Death now, well, she would surely face death.
War sighed. She would’ve groaned, but she was sure the guards would’ve had a heart attack if she did.
War couldn’t help but wondering what they were discussing in there.
Shining Armor and Luna were almost certainly against her, maybe Luna a little less than Shining Armor. Cadance would likely speak for her. Celestia was the wild card. Not only that, but she was, in the end, the deciding vote. How would she decide?
Every time War’s thoughts went to that face, War came no closer to what Celestia was thinking. She only felt even guiltier.
The tension in the air cracked like glass when the large doors finally opened with a loud creak.
The guards jumped, but quickly composed themselves as the princesses and the captain of the guard exited.
Celestia wasted no time.
“War. Come here.”
Reluctantly, War stood, and began to make her way to them, averting Celestia’s gaze as she did. She sat in front of them, doing her best to look at them and, at the same time, not make any eye contact.
Celestia began, her tone leveled, and impossible to decode.
“My sister, Cadance, and Shining Armor have been discussing what to do with you, and we’ve finally reached an agreement.”
War nearly gulped, but suppressed it.
“It is true that you are responsible for the deaths of countless ponies, as well as the destruction of four towns across Equestria.”
Here it comes.
“That alone would be enough to consider banishment or even death. Then, your group attacks my student, and kills one of the Elements of Harmony.”
Whatever happens, I deserve it, after all.
“However...”
“What?” War couldn’t help but say it out loud.
“However, you did decide to try to stop your companions. Not only did you leave them, but you saved the pony they were after, as well as the other Elements of Harmony.”
War couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You may have been too late to save Fluttershy, but you saved the others. Also, according to your tale, you didn’t have much choice.”
“But...but...” War was ready to argue. Why should she be given a second chance?
“Also, you give us an interesting opportunity,” Celestia continued, sensing War’s surprise. “Your are the only pony who knows these...heralds...well enough to know what they are planning. Therefore, we have decided to spare you in exchange for you helping us.”
War was dumbstruck. Not only was she allowed to live, she was going to help them. How did this happen?
Celesia went on, her tone suddenly tenser.
“However, do not think that your crimes are pardoned. You will live in Canterlot, but you will have rules and you will be expected to follow them to the letter. Firstly, you are not to leave the city or be allowed to see Twilight Sparkle and her friends without an armed escort. Secondly, your sword will remain with me.”
Celestia opened her wing to reveal War’s sword strapped to Celestia’s side.
“You will have a room in the castle, but you will be restricted on where you can and can’t go, and you will have a strict curfew. Finally, when everything is said and done, and when this threat is neutralized, you will answer for your crimes. Do you understand?”
War was too surprised to speak, so she only nodded.
“Well then, it’s settled then. Guards?”
The guards appeared behind War.
“Please find a room for War in the castle.”
The guards nodded, turned to War, and said, “Follow me.”
War numbly followed them. The was too shocked to see where she was going. The fact that she saw the guards was enough to know she was going the right way.
What had just happened? She had been pardoned. For now, at least. But why? Why would they pardon her?
War’s mind was buzzing, but it didn’t stop the guards from interrupting her.
“We’re here.”
It brought War back to reality. She looked at the guards. They seemed unsure of what to do.
War nodded at them, and entered. The room was obviously extravagant. It was reserved for guests of the princess, after all. If made War wonder why they didn’t just give her a dungeon cell. The room was wide and circular. On the other side of the room was a large bed with pillows a plentiful. The windows were large and ornate, with deep purple drapes. One even led to a balcony. To her left was a desk that had a mirror, as well as drawers and a ox no doubt filled with the finest make-up, though War doubted she would ever touch them. There was even a large bookcase filled to the brim with volumes of books. At least it would give her something to do while she remained awake through the night, though at the moment, she still felt drowsy, as not all of her magic had returned.
The door closed behind her, to War’s surprise. She looked back. No doubt the door was locked, though she was too tired to test her theory.
As she began to trot to the bed, War realized that she had forgotten what it felt like to be tired. The drowsiness was almost welcomed. It was a reminder that she hadn’t always been a monster.
War quickly realized, though, that any sleep she would get wouldn’t be a peaceful one.
Nevertheless, she jumped onto the bed, too tired to even pull the covers. She drifted off quickly, to her surprise. Her last thought was of what Death and the others were up to at the moment.

Comments

[KingOfTheMuffins]

Abrbrbr. Did I miss something, or are the Heralds' swords the source of their power? Just noticed that War was tired at the end of this chapter, and I'm not sure if I missed anything.

[Tygerburningbright]

Just a little something at times War is a good girl it would be better to use the name Sparks (improves empathy).

[InsertCleverNameHere]

837000
No, at the time, she was still exhausted from giving Twilight some of her power.

[KingOfTheMuffins]

Alright, just making sure.