Wha- My turn?

What would be the point? You already know my story. You were there on my first day.

No there wasn't. I've always been in the war. My life is the war. Beginning, middle, end, all of it is my hoof in the crystals' face.

I know it's over, dammit. I'm not stupid. I was there when we ended it. But just because the war's over, doesn't mean we stop being soldiers.

With all due respect, commander, that's a load of shit.

What do you think's gonna be different? D'you think that just because the war's over, folks will stop looking? Think the Iron Wing won't be recognized on every street corner, worshiped at every intersection, given medals made out of paperclips and a bottle cap every time they meet a foal's eye? That kid got her cutie mark when she ran up to give that to you, sir. Ponies love you enough that you give them purpose in life, just by smiling at them.

We're no better off, Maud. We're the Rockbuster Brigade, Strike Team Pie, the Demolition Crew, whatever they want to call us. You're gonna miss that cramp in your throwing leg when you've got a sore tongue from all the autographs you'll sign, and we both know you won't turn a single one of them down. Those last few days, our scribbled names were practically part of their uniform. The war hasn't stopped. We just don't have a battlefield anymore. It's just the barracks, across all Equestria.

Oh, you think I'm celebrating that, huh? Think I'm happy that we can never be normal mares in a normal world? Think I want to hear the words 'war hero' so much I start to think it's my name? Because I was normal once, and you know what normal got me? Normal got me a boring job on a boring farm with a boring family and no cutie mark and no friends and no colors and I would go back right now if it would stop me from seeing red when I close my eyes!

...

You know, I used to think they had souls.

I remember, maybe a day after you enlisted, Celestia came to the farm. Limestone and I were rotating rocks from the south field to the east field when I stopped for a break and looked up. It was like seeing the sunrise for the very first time. She cut through the clouds like a sword of sunshine, and with every beat of her wings I expected to be blown off my feet. If she had merely passed over us, it would still have been the most glorious day of my life. Instead, she came down to land, and started me on the path that brought me here.

She had just finished mustering the troops at Appleloosa, and was on her way to Las Pegasus to speak with the populace. And on the way she saw us, a humble little rock farm with a family of six, and she came to warn us. I had never felt so important, so cherished. Don't beat yourself up, Maud, this is the Princess we're talking about.

She told us everything. She told us all about the Crystal Empire, and about the evils of King Sombra. The tragedy of the crystal ponies, and those helmets he made them wear, was outlined... vividly. She stressed with every word that they were victims, innocent pawns with no control of their actions, and that the only reason the soldiers were killing them was because there was no other way. "Forgive them, for they know not what they do". That was something she said to us. I hear it was the cornerstone of most of the speeches she gave about the crystal army. Mom actually made a needlepoint of it, if you can believe it.

Celestia was very patient. She answered every question, even the irrelevant or stupid ones. I didn't feel like a child, or a peasant. I felt somehow equal to the Princess of Equestria. It was one of the most amazing feelings I had ever felt. She stayed so long, you could almost believe there wasn't a war on. When she finally left, there was something she forgot to take away.

She left us with hope. She left a fire that burned so bright in my heart that all the blood on my hooves hasn't been able to douse it. From that moment, I have believed in the Unconquered Sun. And yes, I have seen what it made me. But faced with the alternative, I would much rather play the path of the fanatic than that of the heretic.

Those first few days, I prayed. Not to Celestia, because as much as I believed in her, I had seen the look in her eyes. Whatever she is, she believes herself mortal. So I prayed to any god that would listen. Any legend I could remember, I repeated to the heavens, in the hope that one of them was real, that one of them would listen. I prayed for the souls of the crystal ponies. I prayed that they would not be judged for the blood that Sombra had bathed them in. I prayed that history would forgive them, would absolve them of their horrors. I prayed for them to have something, anything, even a moment of freedom before the end. I cried so many tears for the enemy.

How I wish I had saved those tears.

Do you remember when it happened, Maud? No, I'm not asking if you remember it, I'm asking if you know the date.

It was the Third of March. It had been two weeks since Celestia visited. Two weeks of prayer, of belief, of hope that our soldiers did not go to war with smiles on their faces. I was in the west field with Marble, and we were trying to articulate a surprise obelisk when I smelled something. There isn't much on a rock farm that makes any kind of smell, and this was no normal smell. It was the smell of burning wood. Then I heard the screaming.

I don't know why I ran. A scared blank-flank trained in rock farming, with no idea of what's going on, runs toward a burning building with at least ten exits, only two floors and at worst three expert rock farmers who could tunnel out of flame's reach in the blink of an eye. Maybe I just wanted to get a better look. If that was what I wanted, you can bet I got it.

It was Sombra's soldiers. I'll never know how they got past the front lines in all that armor and with glowing green eyes, but they did. They had set fire to the house, and to the silo, and they... and they were beating Mom and Dad and Limestone. Dad was holding his own okay, but I could see him faltering. Mom was just barely avoiding being battered into pulp, and Limestone... I think they broke one of her back legs.

But do you want to know the worst part? The moment where I lost faith in the crystal ponies, the moment that made me me?

They were laughing. The crystals were laughing while they broke my dad's back, they were laughing while they tore my mother's shawl and smashed her glasses, and they were laughing while Limestone tried and failed to stand up. And it wasn't crazy laughter, it wasn't the giggles of a pony who can't fully comprehend what they've done. I know, I've heard that kind of laughter. No, they were laughing like... like normal ponies. They were laughing at the misery of others, the way we might laugh when a clown does a pratfall. They were laughing like they were happy to be alive, like every moment of their lives was pure joy.

Victims don't laugh when they're being tortured. Puppets don't laugh when they can't control their own hooves. Those crystal bastards were laughing like nothing was wrong. They were taking everything from me, and laughing over it like they were drunken idiots splashing paint over somepony's carriage in the dead of night. Every giggle, every chortle, every guffaw and hollered hoot was punctuated by their hooves on the backs of my family. They were mocking me, breaking me, and laughing about it the whole time.

There's a very, very small part of me that still knows what laughter is supposed to be. It hid from the rest of my brain on the Third of March. The rest of me forgot about happiness on that day. The rest of me learned what hatred felt like.

They took my father. They took my mother. They took my home. They were trying to take my sister. Then I felt tears staining my cheeks, and I realized they had been taking my pity. They had stolen my mercy, my kindness, my every sympathy, and laughed the whole way. And now I had no more left to give.

I didn't know until then that crystal ponies are literally crystal. I didn't expect my hoof to go straight through his neck and out the other end. I didn't realize until the fight was over that I had just earned my cutie mark. All I knew was that I packed a hell of a lot more punch than they did, and it was time to take back what precious little I could from them. Lost count of how many died. Wasn't enough, that's for sure.

Don't think I've ever been more happy to see wanton cowardice than when I saw Limestone and Marble running away as fast as Marble could carry them. In that moment, I didn't care if I died. They had escaped. Some part of my family was safe from those lunatic heathens. All I had left to do was try to fill the hole with dead bodies. I did my best with what I had.

Eventually, it got to a point where I was too tired to kill any more. I had rage enough to fight the whole war by myself, but there's only so far adrenaline will get you before it starts to quit. There was at least half of a whole lot of crystal ponies still to go, and I could just barely stand. So imagine how grateful I was when a whole line of those green-eyed freaks suddenly lost their heads. They all fell down, and I got front-row seat view of the Iron Wing's first public appearance. And behind her, I got to see my big sister explodin' fools like nobody's business. Mom and Dad would have been so proud. Probably would have thrown up, too, but it would be proud vomit.

I didn't expect to ever feel safe during wartime. Even when Celestia gave us her speech, and looked at me like I was just as important as her, I still didn't feel safe. But seeing you two cuttin' through the enemy like that, showing Sombra's mooks who the real boss was... I knew I was safe. Probably the only reason I passed out.

Hey, did I ever say thank you? You know, for saving my life?

Well, thanks.

Sweet merciless Tambelon, feels good to be allowed to drink. How did anypony fight in that war without being drunk off their hooves?

Guh. But anyway, here we are. At the end of it all, we're the ones who came out on top. The best soldiers Equestria's ever seen, but just look at our roster. The thing's downright eclectic; we've got a one-winged pegasus, a walking, talking earthquake with a massive soft spot for said cripple, and a wannabe Solar Paladin who lives faith and breathes hatred. Now, I don't know about you girls, but I wouldn't have pegged myself as a savior of Equestria if Star Swirl himself had showed up and slapped me in the face with my own war medals.

Yeah, I know, it's weird. Can't remember the last time I was this cheery. What do you wanna pin it on, the booze or winning the war? I'm puttin' my bits on both. Oh, that's another thing, bits. We got a few years of back pay to finally cash in. Any plans for that sweet dough?

Me neither.

I mean, what are we supposed to even do now? There's no rock farm to go back to. That and the war is all I've ever known. What, am I just supposed to get a job at a bakery and constantly fight the urge to kill my customers? Look at this mark! A shattered rock in the shape of a horse's skull! Would you trust a pony with this mark to watch your kids? To wash your cart? Even just asking directions, ponies will probably be too scared to do that!

Clothes. That's your answer to my problem. Just put on some pants? Yeah, because my work history will totally vanish if I wear a dress and do my mane up real nice. I wore clothes all through the war, and when I took them off for a shower, you know what? My mark, my war-forged destiny, was still there.

You don't have to deal with this. You earned yours before the war even started. You'll just go back to university and get your degree. Your teachers won't see any difference in how you act. And what about you, commander? You're still a Wonderbolt. They'll be back to being stunt flyers in a few months, and then you can live your childhood dream in the same outfit where you shaped everypony else's dreams. There's nothing about two metal wings and a rainbow lightning bolt that says you wouldn't be any good at acrobatics.

Yeah, or you might both end up drinkin' yourselves to death in some crappy little apartment, or die from stayin' awake because you're afraid of your own dreams. But the thing is, you two have got a choice. That's practically the only path I've got left to tread.

As if you'd keep me around. Two lovebirds with promising careers? You won't be caught dead dragging an angry drunk along while you live your perfect lives.

Well, yeah. You complete each other. Where would you be if Maud had never made you that wing? And where would you be, right now, if you hadn't seen her on the stretcher? You've saved each others' lives so many times they closed down the betting pool. I just got dragged along because I had the right skills, and we all know Maud was always pickin' up my slack. You don't need me. You never needed me. And now the war's over, so you can stop pretending.

Go on. Say it. You've been thinking it ever since my first day, so just admit it already!

Shut up! I know exactly what I'm talking about! Do you want to know why I fought so hard? Why I would only stop when everypony was dead? It's because all that rage, all that hatred, all those sun-crazy thoughts, were the only things keeping me from realizing that I'm just a broken little girl who watched her parents die in front of her!

No. Don't you even try it. You are not going to just hug this out of me.

I mean it. You can't just take all this away with a group hug. That's stupid.

You really aren't going to leave me?

...

Thanks, guys.