Chapters Sunny always enjoyed spending the day with her dad. When she wasn’t busy working as a smoothie delivery pony or spending time with her best friend Hitch, the new deputy of Maretime Bay, she would spend the rest of her free time in her father’s study reading up on all she could about ancient Equestria and the reign of Princess Twilight Sparkle. So many wonders that she could only imagine, like pegasus flying in the air and unicorns lifting objects with her magic. Oh, just to have a pegasus or a unicorn friend would be so much fun! Even if the rest of the town would freak out.
However, today was different. When she came back from her job, she found her dad holding a worn out book and bundling himself up with a scarf. Blinking a bit in surprise, she asked: “Where are you off to?”
Argyle looked back over at his daughter and gave her a soft smile before replying: “Do you happen to know what today is pumpkin?”
Sunny tilted her head and looked up at the ceiling of the old lighthouse. Her mind went through all of the memories of important dates that school and her dad had taught her. Nothing stood out to her so she shook her head. Argyle smiled and made his way towards the front door, passing her and opening the door before turning his head and saying: “It's VC Day, or Victory over the Changelings Day.” He paused for a moment to add: “I do believe your teachers were just finished up on the Great War in Equestria and today is to celebrate our victory in that war.” He patted the book that he was carrying as he continued: “And I wanted to visit some heroes of Equestria in celebration and to pay my respects.” He paused for a moment before adding: “Would you like to join me Sunny?”
Sunny, excited about meeting some heroes just like Twilight and her friends bounced on her hooves and replied: “Yes Yes Yes I would so love to see them!”
Smiling, Argyle pointed to a scarf that was hanging nearby and said: “Then go on and get your scarf. It is a bit of a walk outside of the town.”
Sunny, always happy to spend time with her dad, was quick to grab her scarf and wrap it around her neck. All set for the trip, the duo leave the house and make their way down the well worn path. Halfway towards the town, Argyle made a right turn and started to head towards the nearby forest with Sunny following along beside him. As the two were walking side by side, she looked up at her Dad and asked: “So what is VC day anyway?”
Argyle smiled and replied back: “It is a very important day in Ancient Equestria.”
Sunny interjected: “Important to Princess Twilight Sparkle?”
He shook his head. “The day was celebrated before Twilight rose to rule all of Equestria.”
“Wow, that must be very important if it existed before Princess Twilight Sparkle. How come I never heard of it before?”
“It is because to many ponies it brings up some bad memories.”
“Why would it bring up bad memories if it's a holiday?” Sunny asked, feeling a bit confused.
In front of Sunny was a large clearing that went on for several miles in all directions. A few hills dotted the clearing, breaking up the terrain a bit and providing a rolling field experience. To Sunny’s surprise the entire clearing was filled with hundreds and hundreds of stone tablets sticking in the ground. Even from a distance, she could see a number of them look broken or covered in moss.
“What is all this Dad?” Sunny asked as she moved her head slowly from left to right.
“This, my Sunny bunny,” He replied, “is a graveyard your mother and I discovered during one of our trips to study Equestria in the past.”
“Is this a graveyard for those who lost their lives in the Great War?” Sunny asked.
Argyle couldn’t help but smile as he rubbed her mane. “Starting to put the pieces together huh. You are correct. Given what old records your mother and I could find in Maretime Bay and what gravestones were still intact; we think all of these ponies served in the same company.”
“There are so many of them.”
“That they are my little one and each one of them has a story to tell,” Argyle replied as he made his way amongst the graves. Sunny was quick to follow him as she took a closer look at the gravestones. A lot of them she could see were worn out by the ravages of time and negligence as they were either half crumbled or even fully gone, leaving only a small piece of stone to mark where they had once been. The few that were still in an okay state had a shape that looked like a hoof planted on the bottom and an almost illegible wall of text above it. Probably the name of the grave and their years marking their birth and death.
Eventually Argyle stopped in front of one grave and pulled out the book he was carrying. Sunny moved next to him and saw that this grave managed to survive a bit better than the others. Reading it to herself, it said:
“Corporal Fiji Apple. 22nd Infantry Born 992 Died 1017”
“Here we go,” Argyle said “Corporal Fiji was taking part in an offensive where his squad was to attack a reinforce position on the outskirts of the city of Varkas when mustard gas was deployed. Without protection he ended up choking and dying.” Taking his eyes from the book; he looked back at the grave stone. “Not a fun way to go out there was it? You showed a lot of bravery in standing your ground under that kind of situation.”
Sunny wasn’t so sure about that. To her it didn’t sound like the heroic tales that her mother and father would tell her as a kid. To her it sounded like he didn’t do all that much of anything at all. Still she kept that comment to herself as the pair moved on to another grave stone. This one was in a similar state of disrepair as the first though the words and numbers were too faded out that she could read it.
“Medic Clean Wounds Born 991 Died 1016”
“Ah, this pony was very brave,” Argyle said after he finished looking up that information in that small book. “According to the records that I was able to get; they were one of the medics that took part in the Spring Offensive of 1016 that pushed the changelings out of Equestria. She died when an artillery shell landed in the medical center that she was working in.”
Sunny looked at the grave stone and her face was a mix of confusion before she asked: “Hey Dad. I know you said that she was a hero like the last stallion but they don’t sound all that heroic to me.”
Argyle looked at his daughter with a bit of confusion also on his face as he asked: “What makes you say that?”
“Well…” She paused as she looked at all of the broken gravestones. “So far these sound like ponies who were called to fight in a war and then just didn’t do anything that was heroic. It doesn’t sound like the history we were taught where General Applejack held the line against a Changeling counter attack or how General Pinkie Pie led a massive artillery and air strike to take out Vesalipolis’ defenses which paved the way for her capturing the capital. Those sound like heroes to me.”
Argyle nodded his head. “I can see your point, but let me ask you something Sunny.. If the Changelings were to attack again do you think you would take up arms and fight them?”
Sunny looked down at the ground and pondered the question. The Great War was such a well talked about topic at school these days and all of her classmates were talking about how they would be the ones who would totally storm Vesalipolis and take out the evil queen and be a great hero just like the famous Generals Applejack and Pinkie Pie. However, she didn’t feel all that confident within herself. She couldn’t imagine having to hold up a rifle and take the life of another, especially a changeling. Their textbooks always talked about how evil they were. How they were just power hungry monsters that were jealous of Equestria and wanted it all for themselves.Yet Sunny remembered her parents telling her that history is complicated and you find that oftentimes it is written by the winners of a war. Considering the great divide Equestria was experiencing with Pegasus and Unicorns no longer around and hated on for having magic while the Earth ponies suffered with no magic beyond the tech they were able to build.
She looked back up at her dad and said, “I don’t know,” with as much honesty in her voice as she could muster.
Argyle nodded his head and his gaze swept around all of the grave stones as he said: “You know if I was to ask that same question to all of those buried here, I think I would get a similar answer.” He turned back to face his daughter. “We don’t know what we would do when faced with a threat as terrible as war. Yet these ponies did and they did so willingly because they believed in something greater than themselves. History always teaches about the famous generals and statesponies who rose up to make the tough decisions but we also must not forget the ponies who risked their lives every day to fight for Equestria and Harmony.” He turned to look back at the grave of Clear Wounds. “I’m sure she was working as hard as she could to save as many lives as she could and no doubt she did just that. Still, we don’t know what her life was like before the war. After all she wasn’t a celebrity, but I imagine for her community and any family she left behind she was considered a hero.”
Sunny took a look around the various gravestones and she started to really see how many ponies gave their lives in the Great War. Her teacher always told her about the hundred of thousands of lives that were lost during the conflict but the number was so large that she couldn’t wrap her head around it. Standing here now though, she started to realize that all of these thousands were each a pony maybe like her and her dad. Just simple ponies who ended up in a conflict that they were scared of but still did their duty. Without realizing it, a small tear started to form on her cheek when fell onto the ground. Letting out a sniff, she said: “I think it just hit me how many lives were truly lost.”
“Yes,” Argyle replied as he wrapped his legs around her and pulled her into a gentle hug. “Many lives were lost on both sides of the war. Such is the nature of conflict. Yet without heroes like those resting here; we wouldn’t be standing here right now to honor and remember them by.” He pulled back to look at her face. “It is why I come out here on VC Day to honor the ones I can find records of and pay respects to all those who I can’t.”
Sunny smiled and nodded her head as she rested herself against her father’s chest and looked out at the many graves that dotted the hillside. Looking up at her father, she asked: “Can you tell me about any more heroes?”
Argyle chuckled and started to recount what ponies he was able to find as he pointed to the grave they were buried at. The cool autumn breeze flowed in the air as father and daughter spent quality time among heroes of the old Equestria.
Author's Note
Wish me luck in the contest.
High in the main tower of Zephyr Heights Castle, the youngest princess Pipp was sitting in front of her dresser mirror with a soft scowl on her face. Her eyes are doing their best to focus on the many high end beauty products laid out in front of her; most of them brought from designer brands but two of them being her own creation that she was still doing some testing on before she released it out to the public. Yet she found all of these products worthless as she stared at herself in the mirror and hoped she could set the dress she was wearing on fire with her gaze.
The dress wasn’t that hideous to her honest opinion but it was just so…ancient. The dress was made out of older materials of cotton rather than the lace and silks that she was more accustomed to wearing. The collar itched around her neck a bit and she could feel it tight around her hips despite the fitters doing their best. The color was also a single monotone color of purple that conflicted with her pink coat. It was also a color that was so out of season that she imagined the original designer of this outfit was some kind of hack. She swore if she ever found out the identity of this so-called “R” she would have words with them.
A knock sounded at her door and she turned her head to see her older sister walking in. A smile as wide as her wings on her face as she said “Are you ready to go Sis. The ceremony is starting in a couple of minutes and mom told me to fetch you.”
Bringing herself back to the moment, she let out a huff as she looked back at the mirror “No I’m not Zipp. I don’t know why mother insists on me wearing such a gaudy outfit that is uncomfortable but she even confiscated my phone!” She looked back at Zipp “How am I supposed to connect with my growing fan base without it.”
Zipp rolled her eyes and replied “You know there will be plenty of cameras during the ceremony like they were last y
Zipp rolled her eyes and chuckled at her sister’s antics. This always happened ever since she became an influencer and streamer a few years ago. Her status as royalty did help at first but it was her natural charm and her heart that connected with her fans that really caused her viewership to rise until she was considered the top influencer in all of Zephyr Heights. Now her streams and videos were played on the various billboards and any brands that she endorsed or even so much as mentioned would see a major boost in their profits. For many ponies all that success and fame would go to their head yet Zipp could see that her sister still managed to keep a level head on her shoulders even if she would get frustrated when something happened and she didn’t have her phone with her to record or stream it.
Shaking her head, Zipp turned around and made her way back to the door to Pipp’s bedroom and said “Come on Sis. The sooner we finish the ceremony; the sooner you can get out of that dress and get your phone back.”
The mention of her phone being returned to her was enough to invigorate her. She turned back to the mirror and with speed born from experience; she quickly applied some foundation followed by a touch of make up. Not too much to make her unsightly but enough to enhance her natural beauty and charm. After all, if she was to play the role of the high class pegasus nobility from Ancient Equestria she must look the part. Once finished, she hopped off of her chair and made her way to where Zipp was with all the grace and poise she could bring as a Princess. Zipp couldn’t help but smile and chuckle to herself as she pushed the door aside and gave a teasing bow saying “After you my lady.”
Pipp giggled and playfully smacked her sister on the shoulder before she replied “Oh come on ‘Commander’ Zipp. We have a ceremony to attend.”
The two sisters made their way around the castle, passing by guards and servants as they went about their day. Today, on VC Day, their shifts were on a reduced schedule so that everyone could have some time to spend with family and to pay respects to the brave Pegasus of the past who claimed total victory over the threat of the Changelings. All of them were wearing a red poppy as part of their uniform or added as a necklace around their necks. Zipp and Pipp got many well wishes and comments about their outfit from those around them as they finally reached the main hall that connected to the outside of the castle. It was there that their mother, Queen Haven, was waiting for them.
Unlike the two sisters, the queen was dressed in the finest dress among the many that she keeps in her wardrobe. Her mane was done up with a bun with her crown being used to help keep it all together. She looked over at her two daughters and let out a soft coo of delight as she said “Aww look at my adorable little commander and princess. All dressed up and looking their best.” She clears her throat a bit as a few of the guards quietly chuckle to themselves before she added “Now then, the ceremony is going to be taking place at the Tomb of Flyers and everyone in Zephyr Heights is going to be watching so be on your best behavior.”
“We will Mom.” Zipp replied without any of her normal cocky attitude or even the undertone of disdain she would have when she was made to attend a royal event. Perhaps she was taking the role of commander a bit too much in her head. It wasn’t that big of a surprise though as when they were younger; Zipp was always fascinated by the tales of the elite Wonderbolts Squadron which were a group of fighters who as Zipp put it ‘kicked so much bug flanks that they must have taken out half of the Changeling Air Wings on their own.’ Pipp didn’t quite believe that to be true and her tutors would say that there was evidence that the squadron played a vital role in the Great War; it probably wasn’t as grand as Princess Zipp made it out to be. Still it was probably the only point in Ancient Equestria that Zipp was really into.
The royal family turned and formed up in a line with the Queen in the middle with Zipp on her right as first Heir to the crown and Pipp on her left as the second Heir. The three royals in sync got into a more elegant and regal pose before they started to walk towards their carriage that would take them to the ceremony. Their honor guards formed up a step behind them with spears and unloaded Starlight rifles although all of them were just replicas. The carriage was ornate in design and Zipp had to suppress her urge to gag a bit as looked at it. She knew that as a princess she was supposed to be seen riding in one of these and not say an airship or even one of those large planes that Pegasus paratroopers would use to flank behind the changelings. Queen Haven was the first to step in followed by Zipp and then Pipp which at that point the door was closed. The guards gave a signal and started to form up around the carriage and once they were all in place it started to move.
In the privacy of the carriage and starting to hear her mother talking about how good her sister looked in that silly dress; Zipp turned her mind inwards and peered out the window. In her mind she could see herself there in the skies above Equestria; riding inside her own Spitfire Mk.IX. Guns firing as she shoots down plane after plane as her squadmates would be engaging in their own dogfits. Her landing with hardly a scratch on her plane as the Commander awards her another medal for bravery. She would be a hero for all of Equestria showing off the skill and pride of the Pegasus race.
Pipp, after finishing her conversation, looked out the window and saw all of the pegasus lining up on the streets cheering as the carriage passed them by. Her mind was thinking about how this would be a good chance to get a video for some content for her growing platform if she had her phone. She regretted not being able to come up with a new song in celebration for the event but all of the songs they had from back then were so military focused that she couldn’t think of any way to remix them. She did wonder what it must have been like to live in such a time if that was the only kind of music which talked about honor, victory and defeating the enemy over and over. Such somber music to say the least.
Eventually the carriage stopped and the royals waited until the music that was playing outside stopped. One of the guards came over, a pony named Zoom is Pipp recalled, and opened the door. Pipp could see a red carpet running from where their carriage parked up to the monument. Along either side was some dividing rope and the crowd to make sure they couldn’t get close to them. Unlike the cheering from before the mood got more subdued as the three got out of the carriage and waited. Another guard, this one named Thunder Flap, brought over a large reef made of white roses and artificial poppies. He gives the reef to the queen before stepping back to the side. That being done, the Zephyr Heights Anthem started to play, a rising and falling melody with no words to it but always gave Pipp a sense of flying and one that was shared by the others. She took a quick glance at one of the billboards and saw the cameras were focused on her and her family before she turned back to look at the monument.
The three royals started walking towards it. The monument was a large stone structure that, according to her teachers, was created when Zephyr Heights was founded to honor the sacrifice of the Pegasus during the Great war. It was made of smooth marble brought up from inside of the mountain and shaped into a pair of wings that were attached to a rectangle in the shape of a casket. The casket was positioned on a raised platform with steps leading up to it. Normally it would take a pony a couple of seconds to go from the base to where the casket was but in this ceremony it took the royals a full minute to do so.
When they got closer, Pipp noticed that some of the names that were etched on the casket, which were the names of heroes of the Great War, were rubbed out. She once asked about it when she was younger to both her mother and her teachers but neither could offer an answer that wasn’t just the passing of time. It didn’t make much sense to her since some of the other names like Surprise and Fleetfoot were still very much readable. She did see that one of the names was an “M.P” but the rest of the letters were worn out.
Queen Haven, in a royal stoic that was a sharp contrast to her usual personality, carefully placed the reef down in front of the casket. The three ponies stepped back and gave a salute with their wings which the crowd followed. A few guards holding rifles lifted them up in the air and started to fire blanks as the song finished its climax and started to wind down.
The dim hum of the music broke up the quiet atmosphere of his tea room. Alphabittle enjoyed the calmness of it all even if it did cause old memories to bubble in the back of his mind. He ignored those memories and did his best to not stare at the picture that was under his counter as he cleaned off a tea cup and looked around his establishment. As more or less the de facto leader of Bridlewood, he found that his time was either spent dealing with problems in the community or running his store. Neither of which allowed him a lot of free time to himself so any chance he got to let himself relax he did.
He took a look at the clock and nodded to himself before calling out “Alright go on and turn it on.” Dapple, one of the regular players here at the room nodded his head and moved to turn on an old gramaphone. Soon the room started to fill with the sound of an old time jazz tune as the patrons settled in with their tea. To Alphabittle’s eyes, it looked like everypony here just aged twenty years right in front of him and a small chuckle escaped from his lips.
It only lasted for a minute or so before the ringing bell of the front door alerted him to another guest. To his mild surprise, the pony entering was the resident arts and crafts designer herself who likes to live on the outskirts of the town. Smiling a bit, he lifted up an empty tea cup and said “Welcome Izzy. Care for a spot of black tea to go with your new look.”
Izzy was wearing an attire that was quite different to her usual bubbly self. She was wearing some sort of black dress that covered her entire body. Only her legs and head were exposed as she made her way towards the counter. Her mane wasn’t the normal messy poof that he had come to know but actually more maintained and done up in a ponytail that still had some poofness going for it.
Once she reached the counter, she propped herself up and leaned on it before saying “I’ll take a cup of the house special tonight.” Her normally cherry voice was subdued tonight and that made Alphabittle think that she must have something on her mind. As his father told him the first thing on being a bartender was knowing your customer so he quickly poured a glass of black tea with a hint of lemon and a dash of sugar before placing the cup in front of Izzy.
Izzy smiled as she lifted the cup with her hooves and took a small sip. The warm black liquid ran down her throat and caused a warm sensation to flow from her chest. Letting out a relaxing sigh, she reaches into her dress and pulls out a few small crystals; the medium that Bridlewood uses for goods and services. The three small blue crystals landed on the counter with a small ping sound that was overshadowed by the music. Looking back up at Alphabittle as she listened to the music; she asked: “So you're playing this because of the date?”
He nodded his head and started to wipe down his counter “Aye. It's VC Day after all. A very special day for us Unicorns as we used our” He paused for a moment and looked around the room to see if anyone was listening to them “ ‘that’ to defeat the Changelings and restore peace to Equestria.”
Izzy, knowing full well what word Alphabittle wasn’t saying because of the stigma around it, nodded her head and replied: “Didn’t your great great grandfather fought in the war?”
Alphabittle nodded in response “That he did. He was one of the officers serving underneath a very talented but…odd unicorn.”
Izzy took a sip of her tea “Odd like me?” She giggled and spoke in a teasing tone.
He shook his head “Different odd. If I remember the stories that my father told me that he heard from his father and so on; this unicorn tended to wear clothes made of a strange material, would walk on their hind hooves from time to time and would constantly be writing in a journal.” He let out a soft hum before adding “But her…’skill’ was considered legendary and my great grandfather gossiped with his co-workers that she might have been a Princess.”
Izzy chuckled a bit before saying “A Princess really? You know those don’t really exist do you.” He let out a soft chuckle in response and Izzy found herself staring back at her half empty cup of tea as she said “Still it would be nice to talk to some pony outside of Bridlewood.”
Alphabittle watched as the unicorn reached into a hidden pocket in her dress and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. Unfolding it, he looked down to see a crude drawing of an Earth pony, a Pegasus and a Unicorn. The paper itself was a bit worn most likely due to age but the words were still readable as it said “You have friends in Maretime Bay.”
Izzy took a sip and said “I want to with all my heart. I found it not too long after my parents passed away. I was feeling really alone during that time. This little letter made me believe that there are others out there just like me and I guess on this day I was feeling a bit of longing.”
“Do you actually believe that those other races want to be your friends? After all they still have their you know what when we lost ours. Who is to say that Earth ponies won’t make you work on their farms or the Pegasus would throw you into a colosseum.”
“I don’t know for sure.” Izzy replied as she rubbed her hoof along the paper and seeing the smiling faces on the drawings.”However there is one thing that I have come to realize today.” She takes a small breath and sips on her tea again. Seeing that her cup was love, Alphabittle went and poured her some more which she gave a small thanks before continuing “I don’t think the Great War was won by only Unicorns. I’ve went to just about every pony in Bridlewood to hear their stories including yours and they all share the same theme. A Unicorn or a group of Unicorns coming together and using ‘that’ to say destroy the entire Changeling Air Force out of the sky or drain several rivers so they could flank the enemy.” She chuckled, “Shoot one of them said that it was a unicorn who summoned a giant dragon from the sky to breath fire on the capital of the Changelings.”
Alphabittle gave a hard look at the young unicorn and said “You are lucky I like you Izzy. A fair number of unicorns I know would be offended and insulted that you would be implying our race wasn’t the reason we won that war.”
“That is the thing though.” She replied back “We were a reason we won the war. Just not the only reason. I found some old books that talked about how Unicorns would use our ‘M word’ to assist the rest of the army. The books made it sound like the war brought Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasus all together to fight a common threat.”
The larger unicorn chuckled, “I can’t see myself fighting side by side with an Earth Pony or a Pegasus.”
“It was a different time. A time of great sacrifices and heroes.” Izzy finished up her tea and leaned against the counter as the music started to fade from the gramophone. One of the unicorns quickly flipped the disk and a new track started to play as Izzy glanced at the ceiling. “Those stories and that message I got when I was a filly convinced me that nothing will change unless somepony makes the first move.”
He looked at her with a hard gaze.” You aren’t thinking of leaving are you.”
“I am but not right now. I’m not ready to make a journey without knowing more about what is out there.” She pushes the tea cup back to the stallion who took it and moved to place it in the sink to start washing it. “I plan on spending a few years studying as much as I can about the forest and plotting out my journey before I set out. Either I’ll make friends or not.”
Chuckling a bit, a small part of him felt her confidence and belief in her ideals. Reaching over, he ruffled her mane a bit and said “Well if you do happen to make some friends; make sure to invite them over. I would be interested in seeing how well they can play Prance Prance Revolution.”
Izzy giggled a bit before she hopped off the stool and said “Happy VC Day.” He watched as she made her way out of the tea room just as the last song started to play.
