//------------------------------// // I Remember What I Fight For // Story: Warfare // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// April 4th, 1422 E.F I technically got home two days ago, but I was so excited to be back and tired from the journey that I’ve held back from writing for a few days. Being back in Cloudsdale isn’t what I thought it was going to be. I knew the war had changed so much, but I didn’t expect it to change like this. Most of the homes are being boarded up or have been abandoned by others seeking refuge in places like Ponyville and Canterlot. Families I knew in my neighborhood are completely gone. Businesses have closed down as well with many unable to support themselves due to war effort and high taxes to keep it going.  Soldiers are patrolling the entire streets with checkpoints and there is a curfew now. The worst are the faces I see. Expressions of utter despair and fear as ponies look into the sky every so often in fear of seeing an attack. Wreaths are put on display over the lawns of those who have died in battle or from the human’s air raids with the photos of those who died. Some of them I recognized. Like Sports Rush, who always wanted to be a professional racer. Bam Bam, who loved making thunder effects at the Weather Factory. Surprise, who was one of the most joyful ponies I ever met in my life. All of them are gone to their eternal rest with their ashes flying forever in the air. Yet for all the depressing scenes that lay before me it was all overcome by the joy of seeing my family again. My sister couldn’t stop crying as she nearly tackled me off the cloud we lived in. To be honest, I couldn’t either. There were times when I thought I was never going to see her again, but holding her made me thankful to the alicorns that I was alive so far.  My parents were next. My mother was amazed by how muscled I was. If there was one thing the war prevents its getting fat. She was quick to rush me in while asking me what I wanted to eat as my father just smiled and hugged me, whispering how proud he was of me. I could only smile back and hug him. That evening we ate as we laughed about anything that wasn’t about the war. It was just for that one night we felt like a normal family again without any fear of the humans. I missed it so much that I even cried a few times, but my family thankfully didn’t say anything and just let me let it out before we had dessert.  That evening, my father and I went to the roof to have a hard drink. We didn’t say much, but then I told him my doubts and my fears of losing my faith.  That was when Dad told me something I never thought I’d hear from him. The Princesses were not gods.  I was shocked. My father ran a church. He worshiped the Princesses for years. All his life. He turned to me and said it was a bitter realization, but he said that there was no point in denying what was real in front of us. If the Princesses were gods they wouldn’t have died. They would have protected us better. No, it was clear they were mortal like the rest of us with god-like powers.  I asked him if this meant that there were no gods, but he said he didn’t believe that. He still believed that there was something out there. Some being or power that was guiding everything around us in some unknown way. Maybe it played a huge role in our lives or maybe it didn’t. Maybe it was one of the human gods or the ancient gods' ponies prayed too. Regardless, he still had faith something was out there and the one thing he believed in most was Equestria.  A nation of friendship. Harmony. Unity. And Love.  That was why he still had the church opened despite denying his former worship. Because in the darkest of times like these ponies needed faith. Even if they didn’t believe, they needed it. Because that small bit of faith can lead to hope. A hope that we’ll all come out of this alive. And so I no longer pray to the princesses. I still love them. I still follow them because they are our rulers, but I no longer see them as our gods. I don’t know if there is a god or not, but frankly I don’t care. I believe in Equestria. I believe in my father. I believe in us. -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** April 5th, 1422 E.F Despite now accepting the fact that the princesses were not gods, I still went to my father’s service at church. Mostly because I missed it. The prayers. The literature. The singing. I felt more at peace there then I had in nearly a year.  Afterward, I went out with my sister to the graveyard to pay our respects to those I know who died. Pegasi are cremated after their funerals and their ashes either preserved by their families or scattered into the wind. Unlike graveyards down below, ours just are clouds shaped in the cutie mark of the deceased. After giving my prayers, I met with someone unexpected. My ex-coltfriend, Dalewind. He was there as well to give his prayers. We chatted over coffee while my sister left us for us to catch up. I could tell Dalewind missed me, even tried to hold my hoof a few times, but I told him I was with somepony else now which made him give me a sad smile. After saying our goodbyes, I went back home. I also decided to tell my family about Thundershot and I. They were happy to hear that I had someone special back in the military, with Dad promising to marry us after the war. I miss Thundershot so much. I wish he was with me to visit my family. If there is anything I want if I survive this war it's to be with him. There wasn’t much else done today. I just stayed home and played games with my family. Maybe I’ll dream of Thundershot tonight. Hopefully nothing that will wet my sheets. - Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** April 7th, 1422 E.F I finally got asked about the war. It was kind of unavoidable due to what’s happened. There was an attempt to assassinate Princess Celestia yesterday. Not by a human but by one of her own generals in the army. Apparently, he blamed her for everything and that Equestria was doomed unless they surrendered. He killed himself before he could be captured.  To have one of Princess Celestia’s own generals betray her like that...I honestly don’t know what to think. I finally got asked if the war was that bad. I answered it was as bad as it could be. Before I knew it, I was telling them everything. Jerusalem. India. Sri Lanka. The dead. The wounded. The screams. The bombings. The guns. How you made a friend one day before saying farewell to their coffin. The endless nightmares in your sleep as you see the faces of your allies and enemies haunting you while dragging you into the abyss. The fact that you know you could day at any moment. The amount of hate you see in a human’s eyes as they try to shoot you down.  The days you think about just ending it all just to have it all silenced.  I.. I can’t write anymore. I just can’t. *** April 9th, 1422 E.F I’m going back to the front lines. My vacation got shortened because it's believed that the invasion is just a month away. A month. A single month before the battle of our lives begins.  A month before our fate is decided. Will Equestria survive or not. I think of my family. Of my sister smiling and promising me to come home. I won’t fail them.  I cannot fail them. Equestria must survive.  -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** April 11th, 1422 E.F The first thing I did was check up on Thundershot. He was recovered from his bug and we proceed to have sex the first chance we got. Heavens, I missed his touch.  Come morning, I had to get back into training. We’ve managed to improve our weapons skills in the brief time I was gone. The tanks and artillery were being used to effect and our drills were preparing us for anything. Morale is also boosted thanks to the fact that the Wonderbolts themselves are going to be fighting with us. Captain Spitfire. Lt. Soarin. Lt. Rainbow Dash. Corporal Scootaloo and many others. They were heroes in this war and they were going to be fighting beside us. The Wonderbolt fan in me is geeking out at the prospect.  I even saw them during our training schedule. They moved like a single unit against the wooden made replicas of the human ships. They were so fast it was almost impossible to see them. I believe they could even dodge gunfire if possible. The humans won’t know what’s going to hit them when they come to our shores.  -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** April 14th, 1422 E.F Preparations are still being done. We’re now going over drills in what to do should the enemy take the beach. We were given orders to hold the city to the last pony with plans to regroup at key locations should the worst happen. I actually managed to meet Corporal Scootaloo of the Wonderbolts during a break. She’s pretty cool. One of the youngest to ever make it to the Wonderbolts. She grew up idolizing Rainbow Dash and wanted to be just like her except she was born with tiny wings due to a problem at her birth. Thankfully, she was able to get an operation that gave her new wings to achieve her dream of flying beside her mentor. I asked what Rainbow Dash was like and Scootaloo must have talked for about thirty minutes about how awesome Rainbow Dash was. If it wasn’t for the fact she was already engaged to her friend Apple Bloom, I’d believe she was in love with her.  To my surprise, she actually said she liked humans. She thought they were cool with their gadgets and entertainment. She even made a few friends on their social media sites before she was forced to cancel it due to the war. I pointed out all the problems with humanity, but she said she’d seen similar things in Equestria as well. She saw horrible ponies who had done bad things growing up in her adventures with her friends or heard about from Rainbow Dash. Regardless of her feelings, she was still loyal to Equestria, and if that meant she had to kill humans to protect us then so be it.  I guess I never thought of seeing a pony actually like humans but still willing to fight them. I always thought it was loyalty to your kind or being a traitor like that accursed Lyra Heartstrings. Were there humans who thought the same as us?  Well, it doesn’t matter. The humans are coming here to destroy us and we’re going to give them everything we got.  -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** April 17th, 1422 E.F Still, nothing going on to write about. It’s just drilling and preparing. I think that’s all any of us can do now. -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** April 19th, 1422 E.F Testing. Testing. One. Two. Three. Huh, this spell works. So, yeah. One of the unicorns in our group taught us a spell on how we could mentally write in our journals without physically writing it. It was a spell the Royal Guard once used in past wars to write their journal entries during battles so they could be recorded for... damnit Thundershot stop feeling my butt. Wow, he was right. It really can read your thoughts. Hmm, I’m going to have to practice with this outside of my journal. Don’t want it recording me when I’m doing something embarrassing. Crap, I’m going to be late for shooting practice. How do I shut the sp- *** April 21st, 1422 E.F So I’m using the spell now as I stand in front of a speech being given by Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. My journal is in my armor and I plan on keeping it there during the invasion so it can get my thoughts. Although I hope I don’t die or something and it records something embarrassing as my final words.  I should be paying attention to the speech, but I believe I have to do this. We’re going to be on full alert soon due to the invasion mostly coming in the next few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, it's a good speech, but when she said something about remembering what we’re fighting for. I figured it was a good time to write this as I watch to remember what I am fighting for. This way, should the worst happen, my words can be known to Equestria and my family should I fall. First, I am fighting for them. My family. I am fighting so that they can live again in peace with my sister smiling in the sun without the fear of war or bloodshed. I fight for them so that we can be a united family again without the bitterness of the hated humans tearing us apart. Second, I am fighting for Thundershot and the future I want with him. I want us to get married and have a good long life while raising our own children together. I was us to find a place to settle, a nice and quiet place to recover from the war while giving our children the future they deserve. Third, I am fighting for Equestria. It’s the greatest nation ever made. Once three tribes of ponies hated each other but came together with friendship to bring the magic of friendship to all three races. We become the most powerful, wisest, and greatest civilization that has shown that we cannot be defeated. Time and time again our way of life was threatened and we will win this time again. We will not let the humans defeat us.  Fourth, I am fighting for justice. Justice for all the ponies who have suffered or died at the hands of these humans. These creatures who know nothing but war, death, and greed. I both piety and hate them, but I know we will defeat them. We’re the good guys. We’re fighting for peace and justice. They will face judgment for their crimes. And finally, I am fighting for myself. Now more than ever is the time I show that I am a true patriot of Equestria. It matters not if the Alicorns are gods or not. It matters not that I will live or die in these coming days. I am going to go out there and fight for the fallen, for the innocent, for the virtuous, and for the future. Bring it Humanity! We’re ready! -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon