Why do we have Poppy Day?
Since coming to the Human world, although confused about things at first, Sunset Shimmer has learnt how to deal with them (of course at first she dealt with them in the wrong way, but still) anyway, one thing still confused her.
It happened around the same time every year, in November people would stand outside shops and students would come around the school to sell other people red paper flowers with black spots in the middle, and then a few days later on the Sunday gather in parks and just stand there in silence at 11 in the morning.
Who gets up to be somewhere at 11 am on a Sunday?
Why do they do it?
What are they doing for?
At first Sunset ignored it, not caring about some dumb Human tradition (what ever it is) but mainly she ignored it because she didn't want other people to know that she didn't know what this was about.
Well this year would be different. Because this year she had friends who would tell her what this is all about.
All she needed to do was work out the best way to-
"Omph!" She said as she bumped into someone with a tray of paper flowers.
"Watcha Sunset," Applejack said catching her friend before she fell to the ground.
Looking up the orange skin toned red and orange haired teenager saw she had bumped into Macintosh, Applejack's brother.
"Sorry Big Mac I was too busy thinking about something." She said finding her feet and nodding to Applejack to let her go.
"About Remembrance Day?" Applejack asked. "That's sweet of you."
"No, well yes, but not in the way i think you think im thinking about it," Sunset said coming over to inspect the paper flowers.
"Okay, since when have y'all been taking speaking lessons from Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash's voice said as she and Fluttershy came over, draw to their friends in the strange way they are usually able to find each other.
Rolling her eyes but smiling, meaning she agreed with the comments Fluttershy pulled out her coin purse and asked Bic Mac of one poppy.
Nodding Mac held out his hand for the coin and let Fluttershy choose the one she wanted. Once she had it she slipped it into the chest pocket of her shirt so the red petals and the black button and the green leaf were sticking out.
"What I mean is," Sunset said, hopefully calmly. "Is I was thinking of what this Day is for. Why do we have it? Why do people get up early on a Sunday morning just to be somewhere at 11 o'clock just to stand still in silence for two minutes?"
The four of them looked surprised before Big Mac asked in his deep voice.
"You don't know why we have this day, do you Sunset?"
"No." Sunset said looking down and hugging her arm to herself - something her ponyself did when she was nervous "No I don't."
Just as Applejack was about to explain a loud and extended gasp was heard and a pink something with a crown of poppies came over and started shaking Sunset about.
"How do you not know why we have Remembrance Day?" She said, saying each word with a different shake. "Do you not know about the Wars? About all those people who died? About the thousands of real life poppies popping up out of the ground over No-Mans-Land once all the fighting stopped? How do you not know?!"
"Because I'm not from her Pinkie!" Sunset said managing to get free from the pink on pink friend who seemed to be a bit more on edge than usual. "I'm from Equestria, remember? The only thing close to war we have there is a pair of friends arguing over what ice-cream flavour is the best. I mean I guess Nightmare Moon might count, but we have a different holiday for that."
"First of," Pinkie began trying to be calm "Best ice cream flavour? Strawberry and Raspberry ripple with chocolate chips. Second: You have been here for what 6 years and you never bothered to learn about any of this?!"
"It didn't seem all that..." But she cut herself off when she saw her friends shaking their head behind Pinkie and cutting their throats with their hands.
The look on Pinkie's face and the twitch in her eye stop her from finishing her sentence as well.
"Didn't seem what?" Pinkie asked strongly. "'Not that important?' It's not important all those people who lost their lives? All the families who lost family members because another family's argument couldn't stay inside their own house? Of all those little babies and grandbabies and great grandbabies who never got to meet their papa because they didn't make it back home?"
Sunset was starting in shock at Pinkie, her hair becoming slightly less pink and slightly less bouncy.
After a minute or two of silence, Fluttershy came and, gently grabbing Pinkie, lead her away.
"Um... What was that about?" Sunset said looking to Rainbow Dash and the Apple siblings.
"Pinkie's family lost a family member who's wife didn't tell him she was pregnant with his children," Applejack said in a hushed voice. "He said that she can tell him when he gets back from the war, but he didn't make it back."
"Story goes, he was a tunneler and was tasked to get into the other sides trenches to set off some explosions to try and whipe some numbers out," Big Mac said giving another student their own poppy. "But the other side were tunneling towards his sides trenches at the same time, they met in the middle, let out gunshots, and the gas let off in the dark cramped muddy tunnel along with the injuries... Well.."
"And... We're sure this isn't just something Pinkie made up to get over... that?" Sunset asked unsure about asking this.
This made the Apple siblings look up, giving the same yet slightly less ferice look on their faces she had just got from Pinkie Pie.
"Sunset. Thousands of people, from both sides, men and women, lost their lives in both World Wars." Applejack said. "Thousands of families were broken. Children left without their dad's. Some never even got to meet them before they were called away."
Here Big Mac calmly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"This is a government made tradition," he said looking to Sunset. "Its a way to honour all those who fought for their homes and country and died as a result. Even now with the wars going on in different countries and people dying there, these poppies are for them."
"But why poppies?" Sunset said once again looking at the tray of flowers. "Surely for something that... meaningful and sad you would want something that didn't look like blobs of blood. And why get up for 11 on a Sunday morning?"
"We get up then because 11 o'clock is when all the firing and shooting stopped," Rainbow Dash said showing she knows something about all of this too.
"And it's the poppies, darling," Rarity's voice said as she came over in her usual white and purple outfit with a medium sized bejewelled poppy badge on her shirt. "Because after all the horrible fighting had stopped, along with some sun and rain and time, thousands of real life poppies started to come up over the ground of No-Mans-Land, the place between where both sides were fighting."
"Wow, I didn't know this paper flower meant so much," Sunset said finally coming over and inspecting one from Big Mac's tray. "But still, why a Sunday morning?"
"Because that's the day everyone has free," Rarity said unneedingly flicking her hair. "The fighting actually stopped on the 11 of November at 11am. But most of the time people are too busy with work or school to gather in great numbers in parks or town centres on that day. So we have a standing two minute silence wherever we are on the 11th and then we have a second on on the Sunday closest to the the date."
Sunset was still looking at the paper flower, twiling it in her fingers, thinking.
"Just because you don't understand why something is done," Applejack began to say "doesn't mean it's not important or that it doesn't matter. If those people didn't fight, the world as we know it now, might be a whole lot different."
Looking up to the blonde Stetson wearing girl, Sunset nodded, paid for the poppy and continued with her way to class. This time wondering why the Apple Siblings were almost as strong on this day as Pinkie was, and how she was going to make it up to their pink friend.
Over the next few days, Sunset Shimmer looked into this 'Remembrance Day' and World War One some more.
Most of it was basically saying what her friends had said in the corridor.
Thousands of people were sent to fight in trenches. The whole thing was a big family argument as the leaders of all sides were actually related by being descendents of Queen Victoria of England (this is a true fact by the way) and about the poppies and the fact it's a government holiday.
Finding a list of soilders coming from here, Sunset looked it over trying to find anyone who could possibly be related to Pinkie.
Unfortunately, there wasn't that many with photos, so she had to go on name alone, and therefore hope she had the right list.
"Hah finally," she said getting to the 'P's'.
Slowly Sunset scrolled down the screen and paused slightly surprised when she saw the name.
Crispin Apple-Pie. Tunneler.
There was a picture of a young man in uniform, smiling. His nose like Big Mac's, his face like Applejack's, his eyes the same shape as Applebloom's and his hair just like Pinkie's.
Clicking on the link that would take her to a family tree, it shows that his wife Sandstone, had anti-gender twins - a boy and a girl. The boy took the Apple name and later became Granny Smith's father. And the girl took the Pie name finally becoming Cloudy Quartz (Pinkie's mother)'s grandmother.
"He was the same person..." Sunset asked herself double checking this.
Closing the laptop down, Sunset turns to the poppy she bought and tried to think of someway to make it up to her friends.
Feeling bad about what she had learnt, and wanting to make up to Pinkie, Applejack and Big Mac, Sunset tried to think of a way to do so, but as Sunday got closer she couldn't think of anything by herself so she asked Fluttershy for help.
"You don't need to do anything big to make up for it, Sunset, she said petting her bunny. "Just show up and support them and show respect. You will need to get a poppy though."
On Saturday night, Sunset set her alarm and went to bed early so she would be up in time in the morning.
Thankfully it worked and she was able to have breakfast, brush her hair, get dressed, and find the poppy she got from Big Mac, slipping it into her coats top button hole, before leaving to meet up with her friends.
After some searching she found everyone was meeting up in the carpark of a corner shop, not realising so many people would be here.
There was a marching band, and Guides and Scouts of all stages from at least 6 different places.
Looking around she saw the Crusaders in their uniforms with Applebloom in the middle holding a wreath.
"Um hi guys," Sunset said coming over.
"Nice to see you show up young'n" Granny Smith said in her Sunday best with a poppy attached to the coat.
"Thanks, um... I looked online after that conversation in the corridor," Sunset began nervously. "And I am sorry for what I said, I just didn't understand what this day was about or why we have it. Equestria doesn't have this... day."
"Bah, I understand, Sunset," Granny said clapping a hand on the teens shoulder. "But it's nice to know you understand now too."
Smiling, Sunset nodded and out of character for her, hugged Granny Smith.
"So," Sunset said looking around. "Where are everyone else?"
"Big Mac is in the park setting up the pedestal for the mayor," Applebloom said smiling "And the girls are at Fluttershy's helping her look for her ear-defenders."
"Why?" Sunset asked confused.
"Because she can't find them," Scootaloo said answering the obvious question.
"No I mean why are they looking for her ear-defenders?" Sunset asked trying again.
"So Fluttershy isn't scared of the noise from the band when it starts up," Sweetie Belle said, pointing over to the band.
"Being such a good friend, Fluttershy comes out to be a part of this parade, but the noise sometimes gets too much for her," Granny explained. "So a few years ago, Applejack lent her some ear-defenders to blot out the noise."
Slowly Sunset nodded in understanding.
As it got closer to 10:50 - when the parade would start, the girls still weren't there.
Taking out her phone, Sunset tried texting them in their group chat.
'Where are you guys.'
'Almost there darling. They've closed the roads so we need to get there by foot.
'All these people aren't helping 😒
Rolling her eyes, Sunset closed her phone and put it in her pocket ignoring the other messages.
With two minutes to go, the five girls arrived, Pinkie Pie with her Poppy headband and her slightly less bouncy hair, and her sister Maude.
"Um, hi Pinkie," Sunset said as they came over.
"Sunset..." The pink girl said looking her over and spotting the poppy on her friends coat.
"Um... About the other day..." Sunset began but was cut off by a hug and the smell of strawberry scented hair.
"Thank you." Pinkie said quietly, before pulling away and rubbing her eyes.
Before anything else could be said the band started, indeed making a lot of noise and making Sunset jump, and slowly - owing to the numbers - everyone walked to the park.
A few words were said by the mayor, the flags were dropped, and the 2 minute silence was delivered.
During the time Sunset thought about all she had learnt about this day and of those people who lost their lives so their friends and family can have theirs.
Once the time was up, the wreaths were laid at the base of the memorial statue. When it was Applebloom's turn, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came up with her, no one questioning it.
Once the last one was laid, the flags were raised again and the parade made their way to the the town hall.
Inside there was a large poppy shaped cake, and red balloons, with outlines of poppies on them.
Sunset looked to Pinkie who shrugged a small smile on her face as she went to dish out slices of poppy cake.
After getting her slice, Sunset stepped outside, wondering... If life was different in Equestria, would they have something like this day to honour those who were lost?
