• Member Since 11th Nov, 2017
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Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do study history are doomed to watch other people repeat it.

E

This story is a sequel to The New Blood


Years have passed since the Crystal War ended. Twilight Sparkle visits an old haunt to spend some time catching up with her friends. Then comes the question of who picks up the tab.


This story follows the alternate universe canon wherein Equestria fought in a state of Total War against Sombra's Crystal Empire. The New Blood is set in the same universe during the war, with some character overlap.

As a Memorial Day Tribute, this story is dedicated to all those who have served, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. For any veterans living with trauma, I've placed a link here for the veteran helpline. There is no shame in needing to talk to someone.


Folks were kind enough to submit this to the Royal Canterlot Library. Thank you to everyone responsible for adding it. I'm grateful that you found in it something meaningful.

My Little Pony and its contents are the property of Hasbro, Inc. and its affiliates. Please support the official release.

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 29 )

I truly adore stories like this.
I’m going to tell a story from my family, just so more people know the tale.
My grandmothers brother earned the Medal of Honor, fighting in Europe. Do read about this man.
http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2974/ross-wilburn-k.php

8953468
I teared up reading this. That man is the definition of heroism. Thank you for sharing.

The feels, it's too much.


8953468
Not a hero, a soldier doing for his brothers what any soldier would. As a man, he is a hero, as a soldier... He paid the tab, him and so many others. At least he got his licks in first.

"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
~G. Orwell
Thank you for writing this.
May the brave men and women who have fought and died for our sakes rest peacefully in paradise.

I've read several veteran-centric post-Crystal War fics. This is the first I've seen that isn't primarily a vehicle for PTSD drama. Magnificent work. Thank you for a much more nuanced perspective.

9206628
Thank you. As a man who studies military history perhaps more than any other topic and has a lot of friends and family in the military, I get tired of people assuming that war automatically equals PTSD. The reality is complex and varies from person to person, and I wanted to show that. I'm relieved to hear that came across. Thank you for the feedback!

This story is beautiful.

amazing story, i'd love to see what Soarin, Dash and the other bolts did at their reunion.

9237390
That may be a story for another day if the muse strikes me. It probably involved a lot of tall tales, reenactments of said tall tales, and entirely too much booze if the flyboys I know are anything to go by.

9237408
I put you on my watch list. my fav bolts are of course dash, spitfire and fleetfoot, and while she may not or ever will be a bolt, Lightning Dust is my fav pegasi ;)

9237413
Thanks for the watch! I'll bet the War might have actually had a positive influence on Lightning Dust. Seeing your buddy's face blown off because you were reckless has a way of sobering a pony. By the end she might have come around to being the sort of pony the Bolts would have been proud to call their own and... I think I just got a future story idea.

9237650
yay I gave an idea. lookin forward to seeing it

9237682
Fair warning, it may be a while.

9237686
of course, I wasn't expecting it to be done right away of course

Cool story!

Also, people can now put comedy AND sad as the genre's for their stories?!

...this story was beautiful and hurt my heart.

This gave me goosebumps, incredibly well-written.

As a veteran and long-standing self-proclaimed brony, I personally want to thank you for writing a story like this. I very much like the tone, the pace-setting, the character designs and everything else involved. I personally thank you for writing this it is very well done and it was an honor to a have read it. 🎖️🎖️

9268910
Thank you for your service. It is my honor and privilege to be able to give something back to you, even in some small way.

You earned a watcher through this story. The attention to detail you put into this story is impeccable, but it was so much more than a simple narrative or recounting of events. I especially appreciate how little information we got about young Maple and why he is how he is; we don't need to know that information. That was tastefully and tactfully done. Also, Bravo Zulu for the citation. That sounded spot on.

9293392
Thank you. It's always good to hear that I did justice to a story. As for the citation, I looked at a half-dozen actual Medal of Honor citations to get a feel for the cadence and phrasing.

As much as the darker stories on the war timeline are, this is good mixture of light in with it that still manages to be serious. It reminds me a lot of this story here.

9237682
Yeah, so, I went and wrote that... or at least started it. The New Blood.

I’m sorry if I already asked this question already, but are you ever going to write a story that follows the actual war from beginning to end and how the canon King Sombra episodes in the actual show change for it? I would also like to see this Sombra make a Take That! to how horribly his character was handled.

11660040
Not from beginning to end, no, but The New Blood is a story of mine that happens in the same universe. I don't update it super frequently, but it will show one snapshot of the war with references to the broader picture of war. The main characters from The Tab are only side characters in New Blood, but it's a look at some of their wartime experiences as a backdrop to the main arc.

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