and of red stained fields
Author's Note
I do not honestly think I did the subject justice. However I hope it will at least be satisfactory.
and of red stained fields
Princess Twilight emerged from the portal, quickly followed by her human escort, a stocky man standing a full foot over her. He wearing a Khaki uniform with the Union Flag emblazon on the right side shoulder. She, wearing a simple cream dress. Neither paying much attention to the various ponies or humans milling around the facility.
The duo passed through the immigration and customs check, though the solider was forced to leave his L9A1 pistol behind. Bypassing public areas through restricted access areas, the pair shortly exited the facility and boarded an awaiting carriage surrounded by Equestrian Royal Guards.
After a few minutes of silence after getting in, the carriage started to move. A sigh of relief escaped the man’s body before he slouched upon his chair. Reaching up he started to massage his eyes, in the forlorn hope of easing the weariness he felt. A soft giggle form the opposite side of the compartment broke his reprieve.
“Sergeant Wilkinson, while I admire your, um, tenacity in your duty to protect me while visiting your country… you really should rest more! I mean, you didn’t even sleep last night”
Looking over, he stared at the sheepish grin the princess held, holding a hoof to her muzzle. She started to shuffle uncomfortably under his gaze. With no reply forthcoming, she felt that the growing uncomfortable silence needed to be filled. Spotting something she had noticed with a significant number of humans, at the time however was unable to get an answer.
“So errrm, sergeant, I’ve been meaning to ask this…” nervously started Twilight, her wings twitching slightly, “I’ve notice a lot of you humans seemed to have been wearing poppies- mostly red but with the occasional white ones. Is it some sort of holiday or festivity?”
As she spoke, a look of surprise then resignation crossed his face. Good memories turned bad, surfaced to his consciousness. Times with friends now gone, and stories passed down the family.
“Oh I’, so terribly sorry. I, I didn’t mean to upset you Ser-“
“You did not upset me, Princess. You just… brought back some old memories of mine” interjected the solider in a baritone voice tempered with a Dyfed accent.
The awkward silence seemed to grow for Twilight. A few minutes passed, and many pot holes hit, was the silence broken.
“I’m not supposed to tell you this Princess, you didn’t hear it from me. Ok?” he murmured. With Twilight nodding, he took a deep breath. “You see, us humans still have issues now. I was told you visited Caernarfon Castle, correct?”
“Oh yes! It was the most amazing thing, I can’t even imagine how you managed to build such a structure without magic just using rope and-“
Stopping her rant by placing his hand on her muzzle, Sargent Wilkinson gave an unamused look. Blushing Twilight mumbles an apology.
“As I was saying, you’ve seen what we have done in the past… well, as much as the Government and brass wants you to think we’re still fighting. Hell, we’re technically at war at the moment.” Pausing, he gauged Twilight’s reaction. A pale look seemed to have overcome the Princess, disturbed by how such information was not passed onto the Equestrian authorities.
“You see, we’re now fighting an unofficial war against radical militants whom have perverse a religion to gain support for their own selfish desires. Of course, thanks to that, the political right are painting them all in the same brush. I myself, served in our most recent war in Afghanistan…”
“I’ve also seen war sergeant, so don’t try to scare me! My brother was the captain of the Royal Guard you know. Moreover, I fought in the battle of Canterlot during the changeling invasion! You can get off your high horse an-“
“How many people died Twilight?” interrupted the sergeant. The calm, monotone voice unnerved Twilight. For all the time she had spent with him, this was the first time he had acted this way towards her.
“Errrr, none. Why would you ask such a horrible thing! I mean, there thousands who needed psychological counselling afterwards and many in the guard had broken bones. Last time anybody died in a war was… back during the post-Nightmare Moon Rebellion invasions when our neighbours though we were weakened by the long civil war.”
“Twilight, in Afghanistan, the British forces had four hundred and fifty four deaths. And we were a small part of the coalition of international forces sent to the county, hundreds more died from the other members. I’m glad to say none of my friends died, but many will never be the same. Humanity has been at war for hundreds of years and will be for many more”
Sunned, Twilight could only stare at him. Those numbers were huge for loss of life, and that was in a single war? She opened her mouth to make a question when Wilkinson held up his hand.
“We’re getting on a tangent aren’t we? Now, back to your original question… the reason we wear the poppies is to symbolise our respect for those who have fallen in war. The sacrifices they made was decided must never be forgotten and so commemoration occurs annually. Remembrance Sunday when we hold a service at our local place of worship to commemorate them, the date is chosen to be the Sunday before Armistice Day on the 11th of November.”
“Ok, I can see that. But how did this,” punctuated by Twilight waving her hoof,” even begin, and why are there different coloured poppies used? Why not just use one since they all mean the same thing!”
“Whoa there Princess, one question at a time. Unlike you, I’m not an academic, I’m a career solider. I may be learnt but I’m no professor. Well you see… it all started in the closing months of the First World War after the-“
“FIRST. WORLD. WAR. You mean you had a war all over your planet, TWICE?!” shrieked Twilight.
“I’ll get to that, now-“Wilkinson grunted as there was a hoof tap in the skylight. Looking up, he saw it was one of the Pegasus Royal Guard, assigned to escort them back to Canterlot. Sighing over another interruption, he stood up inside the carriage and opened it to allow the Pegasus to speak.
“Princess, we heard you shouting! Are you ok? This… ape hasn’t done anything to you has he” inquired the guard, glaring daggers at the Sergeant.
“Ev-eveything is ok Corporal Iron Sky, I, I was just surprised. Also I’d appreciate it if you do not call the pony, I mean person, who has been my bodyguard for the past couple of days an ape.” Nodding at her response, the Pegasus gave one last glare before flying off.
“Rude. I’d love to give him over to my old drill sergeant” cracking his knuckles, he turned back to Twilight, “Yes, we did. It was the first war that entire countries set their whole economy to support princess. It wasn’t pretty, new technology used against one another brought stalemate and turned it into a war of attrition. The fighting lasted from late 1914 through to November 1918, though the war officially ended in 1919.”
“Four, four years of fighting… why?” her despair over such a long conflict etched into her words.
“Why? People are arguing over that now… to simply, tensions had built up between the large empires of Europe and an assassination trigged a cascade of alliances escalating it from a local event to the First World War. The scale of losses were staggering, Seventeen Million people died Twilight, and millions more were wounded. It affected every family directly or indirectly from the loss.”
“Seve- Sev- Seventeen Million?! That’s nearly a quarter of the Equestrian Population!” Whatever else she had to say was inaudible to Wilkinson as she started to sob. In a lapse of professionalism, he leant over hand pulled her into a hug. Flinching at first, Twilight relaxed into his embrace. Staying like that for a few minutes, Twilight gently broke the hug and sniffed trying to hold back whatever was left and using a hoof to wipe of the last of her tears.
“It’s hard to imagine Princess. That is why we started to commemorate the lives lost in war. The people then swore that it was the Great War, to end all wars. Naïve but after what everybody went though, you can’t blame them. As for the poppies, the red poppy was the first flowers to bloom after the war on the various battlefields. So it was taken as a symbol of that war, and how we would never forget those whom died.”
Nodding, Twilight simply waited. From the implications so far, he had much more to say. Taking her silence as permission to continue.
“Originally, it was simply meant to commemorate the deaths from the Great War. However…. With the following wars it started to encompass them as well. Now, you asked about the different colours?”
“Yes, why have different colours? I mean, is there a point if they mean the same thing?”
“Ah, that is where you are wrong princess. While the poppy DOES symbolise commemorating the dead, due to some political and media factions, many people have started to feel the red poppy is a sign of jingoism. From there, they created the white poppy, there to show that they mourn the loss of life but oppose all conflict. There are other colours out there for different meanings for the commemoration, but in the end, all of them commemorate the loss”
Nodding, Twilight looked out of the window. Nearing the top of the road between the portal site and Canterlot, she could see her home and beyond. Deciding it was for the best, Wilkinson decided it was best to leave Twilight with her thoughts as she digested the information he had given her.
The miles rolled by, shortly entering Canterlot and soon afterwards the Royal Palace. While everything looked the same to Twilight, she couldn’t shake the thought about what had been said. Everything she had seen had seemed so peaceful, even the giant fortresses of old on earth looked peaceful- and yet that peace was built on the death of millions?
Once the carriage had stopped, the guards outside opened the doors to allow the duo within to dismount. A polite nod was given as the Royal Guards dispersed and so they proceeded to the entrance. Castle staff hurried by as Sergeant Wilkinson escorted Twilight towards the Royal Hall. Once or twice the staff bumped into the human, fleeing in terror as he turned to look at the offending pony. Reaching the doors hall, Wilkinson checked his walk and stopped. Looking at the Princess with a little guilt, he smiled think about her antics on earth. Having noticed her companion stopping, she turned and looked inquisitorially at him.
“This is where I stop Princess. It has been an honour to protect you during your visit” he softly spoke. Without notice, he snapped to attention and gave a salute with the palm facing forwards. Twilight returned the gesture.
“Thank you for what you have done Sergeant… also for the information you have imparted. I, I have a lot to think about”
“It comes down to one thing Princess, we remember our fallen. To quote a great poet; they shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.” Deciding not to give Twilight a chance to speak, Wilkinson turned and walked away.
Watching the receding solider, Twilight sighed. It appears her job had become increasingly more complicated than she had envisioned. Trying to put her negative thoughts to one side, she turned and opened the door. Without a moment’s hesitation, she trotted into the Royal Hall.
