for lace-face the rainbow pony <3

Israfel pretends she is a goddess, sitting proudly next to Father in Helovia's pantheon.

With the nub of her antler-horn, barely anything to intimidate, she chases mice and moles and butterflies in the sun-warmed pastures of her home; white legs stained green with chlorophyll from the budding grass. She dances and leaps, although she never plays with the fire she has been blessed with - Mother warned her not to ignite any part of their foggy home; she had led the girl into an ugly, charred clearing, deep into the heart of the hazy green forest. Mother had explained that fire had caused this, and Israfel should never, never play with it, for she could easily cause something like this. The girl, stunned, had begged Mother to tell her what caused it, but Israfel's badgering only earned her a tired look from her dam, so she stopped, although the curiosity still ate - still eats, at her heart.

The business of herding small animals had quickly grown boring, so the demigoddess, pearl-white and radiant beneath the beaming face of her luminous father, stood idly in the field; perhaps she would try to watch the grass grow. She eases herself onto the green vegetation and let her head rest on a bed of cool grass. Dark pupils fixate on a single blade, its color almost lucent as light filters through emerald green. After a few moments of this, however, the demigoddess finds the grass exactly the height she had found it, and tosses her head upwards in exasperation. Yes, the day was glorious - the skies are cloudless, but by the Gods, how boring it is here! She untangles the mess of her toothpick legs and stands up without trouble, pink lips pressed into a delicate pout as she surveys her options.

She could explore Helovia, although Mother had told her to stay close to the Edge for today, afraid that her vagabond daughter would stray too far and get lost. Israfel snorts indignantly; how can a daughter, guided by the gaze of her heavenly father, get lost in a world of his creation, which is therefore her's to explore? Her gaze flicks to the sea which seems to swallow the sky in its enormity. Perhaps could try to find a path down to the ocean and play with crabs? Or she could find Mother and help her with the duties of her healing profession. A sigh escapes her lips and flits on the clear noon atmosphere, burdening it with childish boredom.

Suddenly, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, the girl perks up - red-orange eyes wide with epiphany. Haunches push off, and she delves into the hazy forest, falling deeper and deeper into her arms. She does not slow her hasty amble for a long time, and the forest is so lovely and cool and dark, she cannot help but revel in it, get lost in it - but she will not get lost, not today, for she needs to find something first. Golden cloven hooves dig into the forest floor, clothed with needles and leaves, leaving a serpentine track of disturbed earth. Where is it? Pink nostrils flare, studying the scents of the forest. In all its stillness and stagnancy, the air is not very revealing of its contents, but she catches the faintest bitter taste entwined with the musty wood-smell. She pauses, hesitating, trying to find its direction.

Content with her results, Israfel continues on at a graceful lope, head held low like the finest of bloodhounds.

Then, trees, thick with foliage, part to reveal a patch of scorched earth; deadened, charred and still. She gasps, digging her hooves into the ash, sending it swirling around her like fairy dust. It never fails to astound her, how strange this patch of death is in a maze of life - she lets herself stride weakly into the burned clearing, raising a cloud of black in her wake like the Grim Reaper.

Who did this?

"blah blah blah."