This story is a sequel to When The Field Becomes Fallow
Mac attends a ceremony to honor his service in the Army of the Sun's reprisal against the Changeling's brazen attack on the Equestrian capital during Prince Shining and Princess Cadence's wedding. He continues to cope with the often unseen aftershocks of conflict, trying to find some semblance of the life he once knew. With the help of his family, he's sure he can overcome his adversity. However, a mind is a terrible thing to leave broken.
Chapters (1)
So many feels
Beautiful read
Sequel to Fallow AND using Equestria Prevails? I am seduced and must read
6475494 Equestria will prevail. The ponies burden is to teach the uncouth savages the proper way to live. The sun never sets, cynbro.
6475535 kick the Hun in the ass for PAX CAMTERLONIA
Very much out of the vietnam, or korean war vibe out of this overall. Interesting choice of character to do so. But it works.
Well done.
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Grunts have it hard,
Nice.
That story of how his comrade passed... my eyes got wet.
Damn you, that was moving.
Amazing story.
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Nice emotional setting. I'm guessing you used Saving Private Ryan as the push for the last bit? A good choice. Not many people can get the emotional trauma of a warrior turned civilian. You, however, did. For that, this was especially enjoyable. Thank you for the good read.
Congrats. This is the only fanfic I've ever read that actually made me tear up. And I've read a lot of them.
Well, I'm surprised to see this so soon!
Not after the last one, since it's been roughly 2 1/2 years since that one was released on here, but in terms of from when I saw the blog you made about it! Just read that one again, before I ventured forth into this one. I didn't think you wouldn't do it anyways perhaps, but it just seemed that if you're still on your tour of duty/Army career that it wouldn't be anytime soon.
While it definitely retains the sadness When The Field Becomes Fallow had, it definitely lets us see more perspective from the one who's actually suffering, compared to how it was an outsider's (Applejack) perspective. Though he still seems to be stuck by his PTSD (as best it would be diagnosed as, despite not being referenced as such directly in either fic), he does seem to be getting better by the end of the fic. And at least he's getting help as opposed to before the first fic, though I suppose a near-attack on his eldest sister would make him do that. Dunno if this is shortly after that fic or some time later, since it references Mac being awake only briefly when his last "episode" happened but the one with the attack implied more time passing when he was awake, perhaps.
But anyway, while it does show us what happened to that Private Shield guy and later his lieutenant, it does seem less... somber, I suppose, compared to the first fic. Maybe that's just me, even if I do acknowledge this as being just as much a sad story as its predecessor, but not so over the top in trying to instigate feels that it fails to make me feel something for Mac more than a little. Ah well...
A couple things I'm slightly confused about within the fic:
Implying that there are other species of changelings that can't fly, or just saying that there's alternate means for changelings that're flying, versus ones that're still on the ground in their hives, as the later paragraphs indicated? Also should be "there're", instead of they're.
This line does seem slightly confusing in its wording, but I assume it means Mac has a weapon that's more casualty causing than the ones on the battle blimps. Unless those aren't casualty causing since it's just crystals that boost magic in unicorns on there and nothing else?
I do wonder if somewhere along the line, if you haven't considered it with the addition of this fic, you might do an Apple Bloom perspective or Granny Smith (who I realize now was absent in both, but also by even one mention in this fic). Just a thought perhaps, even if AB wouldn't understand what Mac's going through apparently or know fully, unless she was made older in the timeline of events. And Granny Smith, well... I dunno. But ultimately, that's up to you and I certainly don't expect it to be anytime in the near future, but it might be something to write down as an idea for a possible later story, among what others you come up with? Anyway, good job on this Maximus!
Damn. This fic hit me in the feels. Well done.