//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: And the Rest is History // Story: A Great Endeavor // by Rune Soldier Dan //------------------------------// (Small note, here: For whatever reason, my author’s note for the last chapter didn’t post until the next day. If you missed it, you can check it out for a bit more Trixie and musings) ”I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, if there is any good that I may do, or any kindness I may show, let me do it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -Quaker Proverb Applejack didn’t seem much different when she came home from the war. Rainbow Dash perhaps offered the best description, saying she was, “The same old Applejack, just moreso.” The blunt pony had grown even blunter, tipping her hat to no one who hadn’t proven themselves to her. At the same time, she had grown even more generous with her time and skills. She was – and always had been – a pony that could be counted on. If there was one thing substantially different about her, it was a newfound interest in the world beyond. The farm was still her life. But life went on beyond her farm, and she kept an ear open for news from the humans. Applejack’s opinions were strong, and she wasn’t shy on sharing them: ”Equestria was a force for good in the War, and you can’t tell me otherwise. Why not do it again? People know we have muscle, I say it’s high-time we flexed it. I ain’t saying we should let Uncle Sam ride us, but why not walk beside him? We’d put ourselves in a position where we can do good. If people start needing us, maybe we can make them play a little nicer with each other…” “…We can be a people that do right by others, not one that just does nothing. Nowadays, ponies think everything’s hunky-dory because everything’s going fine with us. They hear about killings in Africa or somesuch and roll their eyes and say ‘humans never change.’ Whelp, here’s something to chew on: Neither do ponies.” The political views were new, but on a daily basis it seemed Applejack hadn’t changed at all. It wasn’t until an event in 1949 that ponies saw a completely new side of her. The Flimflam twins returned to Ponyville, bearing paperwork that declared them the official owners of Sweet Apple Acres. There were no contests, arguments, or calling of her friends. Applejack grabbed a hoe and ran them violently off her farm. The twins returned a day later with a half-dozen royal guards to arrest her for ‘squatting.’ She ran THEM off, fighting with a frenzy that panicked the peace officers. On the following morning, a dozen guardponies arrived and stormed the orchard. Applejack brawled with them, but numbers told the tale. Until Big Macintosh weighed in. Then she wasn’t outnumbered anymore. At the height of the siege, the Apple siblings and a few galvanized farmhands were keeping thirty guardponies at bay. Their embarrassed, frightened sergeant begged Twilight Sparkle to intervene, reportedly shouting ‘save me from these APPLE-DEMONS!’ She did so willingly, asking Applejack to stand down and defend her claim legally. The response was not a positive. ”’Legally?’ Sugar, if defending what’s ours ain’t legal, then I don’t got much use for the word. I know you’re just trying to help, Twi, and I respect that. But sometimes you gotta draw a line. This is our land. If you don’t want folks getting hurt, you tell those ’ns to back off.” The standoff ended when a pair of Canterlot detectives examined the Flimflam brothers’ paperwork and found it to be fraudulent. Everypony breathed a sigh of relief – possibly including the twins, who were injured when the Apples launched a nighttime raid on their camp. The guards apologized to the Apples, the Apples apologized to the injured guards, and further litigation was quietly dropped. As they are wont to do around Ponyville, things quickly returned to normal. With the newfound knowledge in every pony’s mind that Applejack had grown less… ‘pleasant’ when defending that which she cared for. Overall, though, Applejack continued much as she always had. She worked the farm, spent time with friends, and went on the odd adventure. If anything, the war made her enjoy the simple life even more. And enjoy it she did, living – as much as any of us can – ‘happily ever after.’ ---------- Although they came from similar backgrounds, Jonathan “Jackie” Flynn started far lower on the ladder than Applejack. He left for war as a skinny nineteen year-old from the farm, who was no good at farming nor the college he wasted money on. He wasn’t any less skinny on his return. But inside, much had changed. During the war he progressed from a naïve teenager to a short-tempered sergeant, burdened with unwanted command. But the temper passed when he left the uniform behind, cooling into an intense drive that served him well. He got a job at a glove-making plant, progressed to be the plant’s manager in the space of a year, and in two became the manager of multiple factories. Always slim, always working overtime, but always plowing ahead against any adversity. Jackie never quite settled down. When his career stabilized, he turned to another project. It became officially (and clumsily) titled the VFW-AE: The Veterans of Foreign Wars Alongside Equestrians. The group dedicated itself to arranging reunions between pony and human veterans, navigating the myriad passport and travel issues involved. In an interview near the end of his life, Jackie proudly announced that he, “made a lot of old farts happy,” and “finally got to find out what’s so special about Apple Family cider.” When the reporter noted that the VFW-AE might dissolve soon (owing to the lack of combined-species warfare since WWII), Jackie gave a deft nod and announced, “Good.” ---------- Of Fred, unfortunately, little can be said except for an excerpt from Applejack’s memoirs: “Guy who lives on pop and crackers was never gonna be around for long. Poor fella. He was just born odd. Wish he could’ve made it to the first reunion, but…that’s life, I guess. I ain’t ashamed to say I cried.” ---------- “Big” Lee Paulson’s road would only grow harder on his return to America. His wife and daughter died in an auto accident scant months after he came home to them. During their 1950 reunion, a thinner Lee noted to Jackie: ”I didn’t even cry. Somewhere along the way, I think I forgot how.” He would have been content to fade to obscurity then: A silent, lonesome farmhand, working the soil until the day he joins it. Fate had other plans in the form of Silverwing, a pegasus hired to fix a worsening drought. She was a veteran too, with wings half-crippled from shellfire above Arnhem. This made her a weak flier, so she went abroad, where there was little competition for weather work. She was talkative too, which was nice. Lee was getting a little sick of the silence he lived in. Silverwing had a nervous chattiness to her that only increased in tempo the more nervous she got. Lee was the first to notice that she got a lot chattier around him. He would prove silent as ever about sharing the details. But, over the course of their working together…the two fell for each other. When word finally spread, their neighbors were not amused. American law clearly stated that marriage was for “one man and one woman of the same species,” and their rural Nebraska town was not keen on the pair’s “deviance.” In the space of a week, Lee found himself fired, barred from his church, and even shot at during an evening walk. The pair moved to Lincoln, hoping the more urban climate would be more tolerant. When that hope failed, they moved to Boston. While no one shot at them here, they still lacked for friends, and city life treated them both poorly. It was enough for Lee. Although initially hostile to the idea, he finally sat down and applied for Equestrian citizenship. Equestria pointedly did not accept human immigrants, but there were exceptions. One such exception was enshrined by the “Defense of Love” decree: A human romantically involved with a pony would be allowed to live there. After years of black smog and bricks through his windows, Lee didn’t hesitate when the time came to board the boat. So it was that Silverwing and him came to Equestria, and they married the next day. At Applejack’s urging, he moved to Ponyville and built a small house at its outskirts. Summers he would spend picking apples, and winters he would spend chopping wood for the town. There was a great buzz when he first arrived, but things quickly settled back down. It was strange to have a human in town, but Lee was – as ever – unobtrusive and quiet. And he would soon learn that he was far from the oddest thing Ponyville had to offer. (Note: I would define myself as a neutral when it comes to the whole ‘clop’ thing. Thus said, in a world shared by two sentient species, sparks are bound to fly every now and then.) ---------- Leslie “Tex” Burkes was one of the war’s winners. Armed with ambition and two purple hearts, he smiled his way into politics and ascended the ranks with ease. Within a few short years, he found himself in the US House of Representatives as a Texas Republican. Leslie proved unambitious as a congressman, carefully voting however his district wanted him to. In doing so he won re-election several times, and seemed set to keep his job until retirement. As the sun rose on the 1960’s, the United States came to grapple with itself on Civil Rights issues. One of these was a “Marriage Equality” movement to allow humans and Equestrians to marry. The battle lines proved mixed on this, with many right-wing veteran groups coming to support the rights of “our historical allies.” Leslie remained publically neutral on the subject, but his district polled heavily against the bill as it came to Congress. In his witty autobiography Life of a Car Crash, Leslie would note: ”It was one of those deciding moments you know? One of those times where you find out just who you really are. Everything told me to vote against. I would’ve kept my job, my power, my life as I had been living it. And hey, the damn bill would’ve passed anyway. There was no reason to switch sides.” “But here’s the really shit thing about voting in Congress: there’s no hiding which end you came down on. I damn well knew Applejack would be watching this, and would be watching my vote. It’s like I could feel her behind me, glaring at me, daring me to do what I knew was the right thing.” “She just had to go and save my life, didn’t she? One day I snapped. I shouted ‘Fine, you orange bitch!’ at my office wall. And the next day, I went and shot my career in the foot.” “Looking back…well to be honest, that was the first thing I’ve ever done that I look back on and think, ‘Damn, I’m awesome.’” When Congressional hearings began, Leslie came down hard on the Reformists’ side. The bill passed by a sizeable margin, and the next election he was unceremoniously kicked from office. Disgraced, but popular, he became something of a professional celebrity. Time was spent managing football, business investing, and even big-screen acting as a WWII soldier. He finally settled down as the host of a radio show, which he continued until his retirement. ---------- It was obvious to any who knew her that Rarity had been greatly affected by her time at war. She had become short-haired and practical…and more than a little jumpy. Even a slamming window would cause her to start. A louder crash would send her diving for cover, occasionally shouting for others to do the same. At their worst, Rarity would demand ponies get down before the “shells” or “sniper” struck again. Her friends initially put it down to jittery nerves, but an ill-timed sleepover showed them there was much more to it. Although fast asleep, Rarity shrieked and whimpered for half the night, calling out human names and thrashing in her bed. A deeply-concerned Twilight finally penned a letter to Princess Celestia, asking what was happening to her friend. Celestia responded with honesty: She didn’t know, but Rarity was not the only veteran with these symptoms. It was hitting close to home for the Royal Family as well. Luna reported that every night, Blueblood was having the same nightmare: one of a muddy field filled with dying soldiers. Equestria soon learned the humans called it “PTSD” or “shellshock,” and many attributed it to simple cowardice. Ponies refused this explanation and sought their own, researching it with magic and science. Their conclusion, while perhaps no more scientifically accurate, was much kinder: It was titled “War Sick” and viewed as an infection of the spirit. It was incurable, but not contagious, and its symptoms could be managed. Living well and talking freely of wartime events helped manage the “disease,” ideally reducing the symptoms so they didn’t affect a pony’s everyday life. In response to the findings, veterans’ clinics began springing up across Equestria, helping them air their troubles and re-adjust to the peaceful life. Membership in one of these aided Rarity, but only so much. As noted in Applejack’s memoirs: ”One of their pamphlets said that reconnecting with your human friends might help. I suggested it to Rarity one day. She looked scared for a second, then sad, and then she gave this little smile that just made her look sadder. ‘I can’t,” she finally said. ‘They all died.’ Poor Rarity. It made me realize just how damn-fool lucky I had been.” Better news came when Stern Glare moved to Ponyville, and it didn’t take much deduction to figure out why. His scars made him painfully shy, but Rarity pushed him along: Out in the daylight, out with her friends, out to the good restaurants. They were engaged within a year, and married within two. Both had their own demons. But now, they would be faced side-by-side. Rarity well-knew the marriage would be the end of her business. Profits had shrunk for years, owing to many factors: Rarity’s interest in fashion was declining, and her practical designs did not sell well among the wealthy customers. And, cruel as it may sound, a disfigured husband was a lodestone in the skin-deep world of fashion. Fiercely loyal to Stern, Rarity refused to hide him, and thus guaranteed the Boutique’s demise. She was neither poor nor distraught over the closure, and quickly found a new career in managing the veterans’ clinics. On Applejack’s suggestion, she began sending information on War Sickness to human groups. Rarity began to tour overseas to speak on the subject, eventually coming to include a broad spectrum of social awareness in her presentations. Rarity had found a new and far more gratifying passion: alleviating the pain of others, wherever its source. In addition to her WWII memoirs, she published multiple books and essays dedicated to raising awareness of injustices across the world. Making the acquaintance of a pair of British writers, she founded Amnesty International along with them and became very prominent in its activities. This she continued for a decade or so, lobbying for universal rights among the sentient species. She retired from life abroad after a while, but still religiously continued to write and manage charity funds. So feverous was Rarity’s activism that a dozen countries across Africa and Asia declared her Persona Non Grata, a fact she wore as a badge of honor. As she passed slowly into retirement, heads cooled and she became beloved for her pioneering activism. The last years were not overly kind to Rarity. After Stern’s passing, the nighttime fears and nervous tics she had suppressed for so long returned with a vengeance. A difficult few years went by, followed by a blessed month of peace she spent with friends and family, children and grandchildren. She died at the end of that month, and headlines across the world carried the news. A loosening of human passports was arranged for the funeral, allowing in a flood of well-wishers and mourners. Never before or since had Equestria seen so many humans at once. Their line stretched across town, each one patiently waiting to offer their blessing over Rarity’s casket. Her younger sister spoke at the burial site, noting a thing Rarity said during the final days. It was uttered when Sweetie complimented her for spending so much time solely for others: ”I am the Element of Generosity, Dear! It is a thing to be shared!” ---------- It was a wiser, quieter Rainbow Dash who made her way back to Equestria. War had cooled her impatience – Cloudkicker work emphasized teamwork and caution, and she got used to it. The war also pierced her ego. When she met up with her friends, she saw them covered in mud from month-long battles and privately wondered if she had done “enough” to be their equal. Rainbow wanted to remain in the military, but her excursion to Berlin ended that idea. Soarin and Celestia both took supremely dim views of her action, the former noting that it was ‘effectively a mutiny.’ No charges were ever pressed, but it was clear that there was no room for Rainbow Dash in Equestria’s peacetime army. Including the Wonderbolts. Responsibility proved a hard lesson, but one she took well. Rainbow returned to Ponyville with a quieter mouth and firmer devotion to her friends. She had to be tied down to keep her from throttling the Flimflam brothers when they moved on Sweet Apple Acres. She half-dragged Rarity to her first appointment at a veterans’ clinic. And, many years later, she was the first at Rarity’s side when Stern Glare passed away. Rainbow’s dream of fame faded at the war’s end. She merrily gave interviews and comments, but remained content to manage Ponyville’s weather until her retirement. The ambition in her heart had been replaced by a deeper, stronger loyalty to those she cared for. Perhaps, though, Rainbow felt that standing on the Reichstag – on the warm ashes of the Third Reich – was something that could never be topped by mere stunt flying. She would certainly never apologize for doing so, always taking great pride in being there at The End. ---------- The ‘Human Refugee Decree’ allowed a brief window for those displaced by the war to migrate to Equestria. It was an option for those fleeing Communist rule, but leaving human society would be a bitter pill to swallow. Less than a hundred accepted, and General Stanislaw Sosabowski was not among their number. Facing execution in Soviet-dominated Poland, he instead settled down in Britain. He worked in a London factory until his death in 1967. His friends and neighbors were shocked when Soarin and a dozen former Cloud Kickers arrived for the funeral. They were just as shocked when Sosabowski’s military record was read out, and he was laid to rest in full uniform. Asking around, Soarin learned that the man’s neighbors never knew “Stan” had fought, let alone his rank and accomplishments. The man in the war from the beginning to the end…chose never to speak of it. ---------- Joachim Peiper, orchestrator of the Malmedy Massacre, was swiftly brought to trial for his crimes. He was sentenced to death at Nuremburg, but uncertainties in the evidence let his lawyers haggle it down to life imprisonment, then imprisonment with parole. He only served twelve years in jail before being released. He did not, however, escape vengeance. Peiper’s house was attacked and firebombed one night in 1976. His charred body was found riddled with 23 bullets. The perpetrators were never discovered. ---------- Bradley’s careful, managerial style would serve him well in the postwar. He became the fifth and last General of the Army and served as an advisor well into his later life. His politics would be characterized by prudent, but uncompromising anti-Communism. Bradley would oppose talk of using nuclear weapons, but argued strongly for intervention in Korea and Vietnam. In both wars he appealed to his old friend Celestia for support, and in both cases he was rebuffed. Their correspondences grew antagonistic, and the friendship cracked apart. Where once Bradley would visit Canterlot at will, now he swore to never return. In 1980, one year before Bradley’s death, the two sought reconciliation. Bradley wrote to Celestia, acknowledging that they would never agree, but congratulating her for “charting her course by the stars, and not the lights of passing ships.” The two would not visit again, but Celestia did make a rare journey to America for Bradley’s funeral. She spoke no words there, but touched her horn to the casket: A silent gesture of respect for the human who genuinely became her friend. ---------- Soarin’s life would be a colorful one. He returned from the war a hero, a confident commander who led ponies from the beginning of their fight to the end. He had several American and Equestrian medals to boast of, as well as a firm grasp of pegasus-human tactics. He would have been even more beloved if not for his politics: the captain was fully in favor of Equestrian action in the wider world, and his walk matched his talk. Soarin beseeched Princess Celestia for permission to aid the Israeli bid for independence in 1948, and she partially acquiesced. The shared suffering under Nazism had made Equestrians very favorable to the idea of a Jewish state, though she firmly denied sending ground-bound soldiers. Under Soarin, pegasi Cloud Kickers flew once more into a warzone, and served with distinction. It would be the last time. Several years later he would ask to aid the Hungarians in their 1956 revolt against the USSR, and this would be roundly rejected. The same would occur with Korea and when Israel fought new wars with its neighbors. He managed the Royal Pegasi Army in these decades, but was unhappy and bored in the role. Fulfillment for him came in politics: Soarin founded the “Ponies for World Justice,” a group that lobbied Celestia for greater involvement abroad. His politics made him a celebrity in the West, many seeing in him hope for alliance with Equestria. Attempts were made to subvert his loyalty, and these were sternly rebuffed. For all his disagreement with Celestia’s course, Soarin remained unwaveringly loyal to his Princesses. With so much intrigue circling around him, Soarin slowly realized that he was becoming an embarrassment to the Twin Crowns. He resigned his commission and settled in to teach military classes at a Cloudsdale Academy. Soarin would fade into the background thenceforth. The group he founded…less so. ---------- Spitfire’s stunt flying days were over. Surgery and prosthetics would aid pinioned pegasi such as herself, but they would forever remain weak fliers. Undeterred, she planted her roots in Vanhoover and became a rehab coach for others with wing injuries. Her escape from Warsaw would be dramatized in later years with the movie Spitfire’s Flight, and the wing-clips Milo made for her would be donated to the Equestrian Wartime Museum. She would readily tell her story to any who asked, always affectionately referring to the old Pole who saved her life as “Grandpa.” ---------- ---------- Some were destined for bigger things after taking off the uniform. Anthony McAuliffe, hero of Bastogne, was not one of them. Already 47 at the war’s end, no more glory would come to him, and he did not seek it. He worked for a chemical corporation for eight years and then retired, content to fade from public sight. ---------- Of Twilight Sparkle, the other hero of Bastogne, perhaps little need be said. Later study would show that she played a far greater role in the battle than was initially believed. But her coronation would come, and many battles and travels awaited her. Bastogne would prove a very small chapter in the very large book of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s life.