We're Gonna Hang Out the Washing on the Lunar Line

“We’re gonna hang out the washing on the Lunar line, have you any dirty washing mother dear!”

The halftrack rolled along, the ponies in the back singing their song. Their voices were full of energy, carrying for hundreds of meters. The song was a familiar one, having been written in the last war; though things were different, they were still at war with the same bloody ponies over the same bloody thing. So, not really different

Although most ponies sand, Trixie did not; she just huddled up against her rifle, holding on to the smooth steel and cold wood tight. Some Lee-Field or other it was called; what mattered is that it worked and felt nice to cuddle against, to shelter herself away from her problems. Away from the cold, biting wind, snapping at her hindlegs, and the rumbling of the engine under hooves...

“We’re gonna hang out the washing on the Lunar line, for the washing day is here! Whether the...”

Tuning out the ponies, she quickly slipped deep into her thoughts, dark may they be. Three days ago, she was a normal magic student, studying to become a great magician to rival Starswirl himself; now, she was a dirty conscript, riding in this carrier thing. Forced to fight a war she didn’t care about for some stupid idea of supremacy. Of course, she knew Unicorns were superior to Pegasi, and Earth Ponies, and Thestrals, and... the traitorous unicorns. Insidious agents who espoused racial harmony. Trixie knew better than to listen to such vile talk, such treason; she was a pacifist, simply believing that the superiority of the Unicorn race would propel them forwards with time.

That had put her at odds with the Solar Guard more than once. The evangelists had attempted to arrest her multiple times, but thankfully the courts weren’t so religious.

Yet.

Either way, she was taken from her home at five in the morning, given a gun, a day of training, and then sent with this dreadful squad of hers. A tear formed in her eye as she went and reviewed her short life, normally a comforting activity. So, I was born in a pretty bad situation. Mom and Dad left, but first they gave me a crack addiction, physically harming me as a child. At least the doctors said that. And it explained the shaking. And shivering. And the small height...

She squeezed the rifle harder than anything she had ever squeezed, holding onto it for life. But then I got to school. I did well. I got all As, and I brought it to the orphanage to show Mrs. Welded. Heh, she was so proud of me. Like a mom... like my mom...

The tear rolled onto her cheek, slowly dragging along her fur. And then I kept doing well in school. Through Middle School and High School, I kept those grades up. Hell, the government even gave me a college grant I did so well! Everything was looking up...

And then...

...

She felt a hoof on her shoulder and quickly whipped her head around, wary of danger. “You ok?” Sparkling Blaze asked quietly.

Ah, Sparkling Blaze. Trixie’s closest and most trustworthy friend since childhood. Even just her voice made her feel a bit better, a little less afraid. After all, no matter what Trixie did, Blaze was there beside her with a smile on her face. So, how to answer...

Trixie forced on a smile, knowing she wasn’t fooling her friend. “Yeah. I’ll be fine,”

“Ok,” Blaze also forced a smile, though Trixie noticed it looked a lot less fake, then returned to her singing. Something about a Yellow Rose in Hayxas. Trixie sighed. She missed Albaneigh; the suburban, yet rural lifestyle, not too far from Neigh York City either. She was three years into magician school there, having learned all but the most intense of magics. She quietly ran her eyes over her rifle, lost in thought. She could have been a magician, earning a living by making ponies happy. Fillies and colts and mares and stallions would all come to watch her shows and she would make them all happy and she would be famous and she-

A bump in the road jumped her up, causing her to squish herself into the corner and hold on tighter. Stupid fucking army with it’s stupid fucking wars and it’s stupid fucki-

“Alright ya lazy slobs, get out!” Sergeant Dripping Mane was the only mare with experience, or even more than a few days of training. A veteran of Tanneighburg, she had plenty of experience with war and death. “We have word of Earth ponies just a couple miles from here! Get out, get low and follow me! If you make a noise, we leave you!”

Trixie slowly hopped out then lowered herself, staying just above the ground. Blaze jumped down and followed, getting ahead of her, though not before whispering “Make it through for me, ok?” With a warmer heart and stronger will, Trixie proudly galloped off with her squad, repeating her mantra in her head.

You don’t have to do the best, but do it anyway.

At first her hoovesteps were full of pride as she gallantly trotted with her unit; then, as they traveled, the bounce in her steps disappeared. A couple miles while crouching and running is no easy feat with a 20lb backpack, especially for a conscript of three days. She set up a tap from her magic to her energy reserves in her head; that should at least keep her going. For now.

She refocused a few steps away from crashing into Blaze, and halted herself just in time. She peered over the tan mare and saw a patrol of twelve Earth Ponies. They each had a similar, though different, rifle, except for the lead. His gun was much shorter, though it had a stick-like object - magazine? - sticking out from the left.

Mane hissed in a low voice “Spread out. Shoot after I fire. Don’t die,” Her waving hoof signaled everyone to find a spot and aim, and she quietly dashed off.

Trixie carefully approached a nearby bush, trembling. Although not crowded by any means, the field had some vegetation on it, so she wouldn’t have to rely on a flimsy wooden fence to stop a bullet. Her rifle peeked out of the bush and she locked her aim on the rear pony. Her sights lined up - mostly - just like she had been told to; front finds the target, back aligns. She slowed her breathing down as she tracked the purple pony, watching him slowly trod through the mud. In... out... in... ou-

BANG. Her left ear vibrated as she heard a rifle shot. She instinctively pulled back the trigger with her magic, causing it to go off and...

BANG.

After a second, she opened her eyes and eagerly looked for her target. She hit it. She hit it! She had done her part for her country, for her people! She had faced the vile beast an-

BRATATATATATAT. Bullets whizzed all around her, then to her left, then her right, and then stopped. She peeked out and saw the lead pony, busy reloading his gun. Holy fucking shit! How do I-

BOOM. The pony was replaced by a bright flash of light and metal. Eyes open in awe, Trixie stared. When the flash had cleared, all that was left was a rear hoof and a flying head. Holy...

Several cheers rang out as her squadmates jumped up and rushed the remaining ponies. She quickly got up and followed, more timidly shouting “Aaaaaaaah!” The two Earth Ponies - looking like her, but inferior of course - turned around and started running away.

But Unicorn magic accelerated her squad forwards. Their stride grew longer, their gait faster. They quickly caught up and sank their bayonets into the two remaining ponies. Blaze specifically gave out a triumphant roar when she ran her bayonet through the closest one’s back, quickly pulling her trigger then dropping the dead body. Brutal...

The squad stood there, panting. They quickly huddled up, all seven of them. They were missing five then. That included their sergeant it seemed.

“Well...” Trixie panted. “What now...?”

“Um...” A blue stallion clicked his tongue. “Check for wounded...?”

After a fe minutes of searching, Trixie found the sergeant. Her eyes were glazed over, and a huge hole was torn into where her left eye should be. That could’ve been me... “I found the sarge!” she called out, voice shaky yet holding.

The group quickly gathered around her, each taking a look at the body. Blaze draped a hoof over her shoulders. “You ok Trixie...?”

“I... I wanna go home...” That could’ve been me...

She tuned everyone out again, silently wishing it was her. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with all this shit again. But alas, she had survived...

After a few more seconds of thinking, Blaze shaked her shoulder. “We’re going...” Trixie silently trekked to where they had come from, barely noting the rest of the patrol behind her.