This story is a sequel to My Neighbor
Mr. Arrow was a friend to her family. Now, Applejack joins him on his yearly visit to Arlington.
Reading My Neighbor is not strictly necessary for this story, but it is very short and will give a lot of context. Other stories with Mr. Arrow are My Neighbor's War and My Neighbor's Neighbor.
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. You served us. Let us serve you.
My Little Pony and its contents are the property of Hasbro, Inc. and its affiliates. Please support the official release. Cover art is a public domain image from Free Images.
Happy Memorial Day, and may those who have fought all our battles rest in eternal slumber.
This story is amazing and heartwarming. I also got a history lesson out of it
Don't you worry Big Mac, you have a sister here who supports your decision, even if she's sad about it. She might even be able to help you explain to your family members.
Indeed it is, indeed it does.
Having walked through Arlington myself, I can say that it really weighs on you what those men did for us.
It's important to remember what those heroes sacrificed on our behalf. I hope that they are remembered and honored for years to come.
americans really are brainwashed. i really don't know where to begin, it's like looking at the behavior of a cult member who's gone past the point of no return. I mean you're using a little girl's cartoon as a receptacle to vomit pax americana sentiment into. what a sick compulsion
9647150
I would suggest you mind your manners. I don't know who you are, let alone care to know, but if you truly believe this story to be Pax Americana, you would be wrong. This is a story about sacrifice and honoring that memory. You don't need to be American to give your all for people you will never meet. War affects everyone, and sometimes, the only thing we can do for the Fallen is remember them and share their stories.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm offended by your comment, as I am letting you know in this response. However, you are permitted your opinion, and seeing as this is a forum for open speech, are allowed to express it. I'm sorry that you fail to take away what the story was meant to provide, and wish you well on your endeavours, whatever they may be.
9647121
Arlington is a Powerful place, that much is true. I've never not cried like a baby after being in Arlington for any amount of time, let alone the various other military cemeteries across the States. For as long as they remain in living memory, they will be. Thank you for your kind words, on behalf of our Fallen. Have a good night, and pleasant dreams.
Great story.
9647150
Just to clarify, I actually despise globalism in any form, so Pax Americana doesn't really fly with me either. This story is about honoring the bravery of people who died trying to make the world a better place - both Americans and others. That's it. It's not intended to make America out to be perfect or acting like every soldier is. It's about the people who did the right thing when it cost them everything in this world. No more. No less. I'm sorry you didn't see it that way.
9647292
I'm grateful that you picked up that this wasn't just about American veterans. That's the primary focus, of course (American holiday and all that), but it's about anyone who's ever made that sacrifice. After posting, I was somewhat worried that that was too subtle, but I didn't want to lengthen the story.
9647434
Thank you. Given your own storytelling, that means a lot coming from you.
My grandfather fought in WWII. I wonder how many friends he lost. I think I'm going to ask him. Thank you.
9647150
I'm not entirely sure you know what pax americana actually means...
Incredibly powerful read. Not much to say beyond that. Thank you for it, and thanks to those who inspired it.
Ah, you always are good at tearing hearts but then restoring them with your short stories.
I'm half Japanese, half Filipino, so I have the blood of two different sides of WWII. It's... it can be a mess at times.
9650413
Thank you.
You know, in every war there are men and women of honor on both sides, even in wars where one side was clearly wrong. I have both German and Polish blood in me, and both Scottish and Irish (among other things). I get the messiness.
9647782
I've loved the story of Mr. Arrow since the first one. This one was very well written and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Amazing writing.
9651430
Your words fill me with joy! I've actually been toying with doing a series of shorts called "Our Neighbor," where the Human Seven get to interact with him in different contexts. So you might see that happen one day.
This.
This is a sobering read.
And somehow makes me love the Lord for his sacrifice even more so.
9652153
9647150
It's already hard trying to take you seriously thanks to those grammar issues on your comment. I am trying hard to sympathize you, but then if I did, I would lose brain cells. Oi, I see now, your brain can't handle a very well written story so you try insulting it, but fail to do so.
If you think this is sick, try reading clop or fetish fics. Or better, try those tagged along with Sex and Sucide/Self harm. This story is nowhere near the level of 'sick' you're talking about, smh. I don't think you even know what Pax Americana is either.
9660354
The American military cult is a thousand times worse than anything people masturbate to. Get out of my country.
9662087
I make a policy of not deleting comments even if they offend me because I don't believe in censorship (unless it is something that would be actively dangerous, like someone telling someone else to commit suicide). That being said, you do not have the right to tell someone who is a citizen of this country (presumably; I admit that I'm guessing here) to get out of it just because you don't agree with that person. It's wrong when the Alt-Right does it. It's wrong when the Alt-Left does it. It's just wrong. This story was about honoring people who died trying to make the world a better place. Whether you agree with that principle or not, it's wrong to come in here and just malign everyone without rhyme, reason, or understanding. On that last point, it is plain that you do not understand the story or any of the people who like it because no one even knows what 'Pax Americana' and whatever else you accuse them of, actually seems to mean. The only person thus far who has known is me, and, for the record, I'm not thrilled with Pax Americana myself, though my personal thoughts on the matter are a subject for a lengthy and reasoned discussion which you don't seem to want to actually have, given your demands to 'get out' and accusations of masturbatory behavior. You're fighting the specter of a problem that isn't even present in this context, assuming that everyone who holds a position different from yours is from the far Alt-Right, when they could be anywhere left of that on the spectrum; you don't know; you're just shouting into the void.
At this time I don't plan on censoring your comments because I don't believe in doing that and you haven't quite crossed the line into defamation or slander - emphasis quite. With that said, I would humbly submit that you are not accomplishing anything here; none of us are. We are clearly not going to convince you of anything, since by your angry and unreasoned rhetoric you have made it clear that you're not interested in rational discussion. Moreover, you are not going to convince us of anything, since you plainly fail to even understand what we believe in order to debate us; it's like you're telling a bunch of apple farmers that we shouldn't grow oranges; we're not even talking about the same things. I ask that you not waste your time and ours by continuing this conversation, and I would ask that everyone stop addressing you as well. Kindly leave and don't come back, and I will ask (though I can't promise people will listen) that they not address you in this thread. If you're so convinced you have the moral high ground, then act like it by being respectful of your fellow human beings.
9660354
Please do me a favor (and this goes for anyone who wants to address KH_Boy) and don't engage. I don't want this entire comment section to fill up with a flame war. That's not what this story is about. While I respect people's rights to express their opinions (after all, that's one of the things these men died for), there's nothing to be gained by a fruitless battle. Believe me, I understand the urge and it's all I can do not to give in to it, but it's not productive. I ask that everyone chose the moral high ground and just move on.
If people are bound and determined to fight it out, fine, but don't do it here. Create a blog post or use personal messages or something. Out of respect for this story, please take it outside.
9647150
Yikes! Now this is cringe.
9667262
I agree with you but, as I told Sky Serenade in an earlier comment, please don't respond to that guy's comments. It only keeps the flame war alive to acknowledge him and I don't want the comment section to be filled with nothing but this. The story should be the focus; not one man's failure to understand it. Thank you.
9667872
I understand your reasoning and perspective on this whole matter. Nobody wants to see their work be taken away by such meaningless nonsense. Great work on your stories mate. This one, The 14th Century Friar and the multiple war stories you've written. Been enjoying reading them in my past time. Keep up the good work.
9669271
Thank you.
I finally got a chance to read this and I'm sorry I didn't get to it sooner.
I was wiping away tears constantly as I read this. So many people do not understand the meaning of sacrifice; or the wounds left behind by war; how important that we love and care for our neighbors, those around us even if we are of a differing politics or religion.
I cannot thank you enough for writing this. Thank you sir, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
9673114
My pleasure.
Well I wasn't expecting to cry today, but here we are.
A good read, and a thought-provoking one.
Every cross/Star of David a story. The stories keep them alive.
Our Hitch in Hell
When the final taps is sounded and we lay aside life's cares,
And we do the last and gloried parade on heaven's shining stairs,
And the angels bid us welcome and the harps begin to play
We can draw a million canteen checks and spend them in a day.
It is then we'll hear St. Peter tell us loudly with a yell,
"Take a front seat, you soldier men, you've done your hitch in Hell."
~Frank B. Camp (1917)
I’m glad I ran into this. I really enjoyed the previous story and this one was good as well. These little slice of life stories are always great.
I will say it’s a bit... jarring... to have AJ and Mr. Arrow reading the graves of Bill, Joe, and Frank. Something about it being EQG and also modern day USA causes a bit of a disconnect for me. Some dissonance.
Still, an excellent little read. Thank you.
10114754
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As to the names, I'll actually be touching briefly on that in an upcoming story involving Mr. Arrow and Sunset, but even that won't go very in-depth. Basically what it comes down to is that Canterlot (and a handful of other places on the globe) have strange naming conventions for reasons that almost no one is entirely sure about (and those that do know about the mirror world can't share for security reasons). Most people just put it down to odd cultural quirks and laugh about it. Even Canterlot natives tend to have a mix of community pride and willingness to laugh about the oddity of it. This was really the only way that I could pull off having real-world events (like WWII) and also have the EqG world. It also assumes that we, the audience, see the world through the magic-saturated 'pony vision' with all its colors, while humans in world see, for example, Rarity with black hair, Pinkie being a redhead, etc.
10115518
Oooo!
Now that’s an interesting tidbit. AJ is kinda odd in that her coloration aligns pretty well to human standards. The fact the rest of the strange colorations are muted out in the more human areas is really interesting. Rarity having black hair and such.
As strange as it is, that little tidbit alleviates all of that jarring quality. Just knowing there is a lore reason thought about and built into the world makes it work. Thanks for the extra info!
I’m not great at words, so I’ll leave it simple. This is a great story
10134398
Thank you!
I don't have anything really deep or profound to say. Just that this was a very well-written and moving story, and that I am very glad to have finally read it.
I am reminded of a quote from a book I once read called My Brother Sam Is Dead. "In war the dead pay the depts of the living and they have payed us well" I didn't really understand until I enlisted in 05
10536307
Thank you for your service. I hope you enjoyed this.
Thank you for writing this.
THIS.
This right here. This is what I wish every tombstone had space to incorporate. These personal anecdotes, glimpses into a life that SHOW someone's character, rather than simply trying to tell us, are the stuff of memorable legend.