Being a soldier is something most equate to honor and the highest respecting position in the world. Some soldiers offer the ultimate sacrifice for their country, others come home in one piece. Big Mac isn't in the glory business, he just wants to serve his time and come home. He finds there is no such deal with the army.
Picture by GordonFreeGuy. This man is a drawing genius. http://gordonfreeguy.deviantart.com/art/Comrade-Macintosh-316577336
Page generated in 0.16 seconds
Total duration
692 users online
812,662 hits today, 2,004,447 yesterday
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Wow...... Deep stuff good story also
Good story bro.
http://gordonfreeguy.deviantart.com/
good story and this is the source of the picture
4539700 Thank you. After checking out his stuff, I can say that the man is a virtuoso. He deserves all of the attention his art can get.
Really good job with this chapter.
4547456
4538551
Thank you for the kind words. Couple more chapters still left!
A good chapter. I'm glad you added Celestia's responding letter, it was good characterization.
4574607 Thanks. I had some trouble writing in her character and I feel it could have been done better.
I do hope that mac doesn't die on his last mission as that'd be a bit cliche, but so would him returning and just shaking off the damage his psyche has taken. Your characterizations have been quite good so far from my experience of knowing a few soldiers of various amounts of experience, if a bit severe. His sudden epiphany seems a bit abrupt to me though. Perhaps a few lines about how he's slowly turning away from military life, or an increasing longing for home being the catalyst for his decision to finally leave the Military/Special forces/Private Military Contractor he's involved with.
More chilling was the princesses response to Applejack's letter. Both understanding yet with some subtle undertones of a form letter, or at least one she's written many times before. Mac is apparently a very good killer and she has no intention of letting him leave early, both out of fairness for every other soldier and a practical need for experienced murderers.
While a dark ending would fit this story I kind of hope it ends on a somewhat hopeful note; not sunshine and roses but at least with his family happy to see him. They'd have a right to be angry considering he never wrote but if AJ tells him where to go when he's finally home it could be the final reason he's looking for to hang himself.
4583547 I'll probably release the epilogue today, so I won't be talking about the ending until afterwards. There's also a bit of explaining in the last AU as well so keep an eye out for that.
However I can talk about Mac's epiphany, which is anything but sudden. It may not have been stated but there were signs that he was mentally getting better as time went on. His sentence form got more coherent and he said the "I can't cry" line less often. Little things, but still small changes that are supposed to make you believe that Mac's mental state is becoming better. Especially when he admits that his gun is the best friend he has been speaking of, that was the first big step to healing and realization.
I am glad you picked up Celestia's reasoning as a ruler for not forcing him to leave. Writing as her was a bit difficult at first but even the most peaceful and merciful ruler needs killers like Mac.
Thanks for the read and comment.
An interesting Epilogue. Overall, a nice short story.
4585805 I'm glad you liked it.
When I was a young boy my Uncle who we always loved and was a caring man went to war, he came back 4-5 years later different, the things he saw scarred him for life, he was still a caring guy, but not as much as he was before, PTSD destroyed him, and we (As in his family and us) kept him sane, but he will never be the same again, no matter how many PTSD sessions he goes to, he is a good man, but war fucked up his mind, No-one deserves that, but we still need a fighting force, so when I become a USMC soldier I know I will get scarred, but its for people how deserve to live, so I don't give a damn.
OH MY GOD WHAT ABOUT WINONA IS SHE ALRIGHT.
The applejack and celestia chapters really elevate this above the typical "my first war is hell story"
Methinks Spring knew he was a dead man. So rather than drag it out...he stepped off the mine and said goodbye with What time he had left.
You know, this is making me think a lot of the Vietnam War. Back then those soldiers were treated so harshly when they got back. Most never even got a warm welcome. My dad fought in the Vietnam war and he told me stories on how once back. Their commanding officer would order them not to set foot off the base with their uniforms on. And now years later, what my dad went through is still affecting him. He was affected by one of the gasses their and has gotten dementia because of that. So he can’t even appreciate a welcome home from people after the fact. This story has me tearing up between jobs as I read. I agree with Celestia. All we can do is support our soldiers and let them make their own choices on when they want to leave service. And to always make sure to give them a warm welcome. Cause they won’t come home the same, all we can do is be patient. And help them through it