In the jungle, even sleep is not a refuge from the horror of war. A radio operator tries to find something to hold onto while surrounded by nightmares, both real and imagined, and the line between the two is all too often blurred. One day, he knows, he'll go home and try to move on. Until then, he keeps the radio on.

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains potential triggers for veterans suffering from PTSD. It is based on the recollections of a dozen veterans I've spoken to over the years, in particular several Vietnam War veterans. The content is disturbing, but necessary to paint an accurate picture of one facet of war. Link to veteran helpline here.

This story is not intended to be a commentary on the Vietnam War. Rather, it is about a soldier finding something to cling to when surrounded by madness. This describes perhaps a majority of the men who served in that war: good people caught in an impossible situation and just trying to survive and keep their comrades alive. Whatever your opinions on the nature of the conflict are, please be respectful of the veterans in the comment section.

My Little Pony and its contents are the property of Hasbro, Inc. and its affiliates. Please support the official release. Cover art is a public domain picture from Free Images.

This story is considered canon for A 14th Century Friar in Celestia's Court, but may be read as a standalone.

Spearhead was a guard. Had been for years. He'd gone through the Academy with Shining Armor, seen action against bandits in the border territories, even served a stint in the Royal Expeditionary Force. It was good work; a noble calling. He loved being a Guard.

Spearhead was an artist. Sure, it might not have been his special talent, but he'd been creating avant garde art for as long as he'd been training with spears. He was planning on going back to school to pursue a career in art. He didn't want to stop being a Guard to make art, at least not yet, but he did wonder about the future, when he wasn't so fit or wanted a change of pace. But it wasn't an immediate issue. He still had years of service ahead of him, after all, and there was no reason not pursue art on the side. Plenty of soldiers had hobbies, and Spearhead was content to let the future look after itself.

Then, the day his buddy was supposed to be getting married, an invading swarm of Changelings broke through the city's shield, which did not sit will with Spearhead, to say the least.

This is a tale of the Battle for Canterlot, and of one guardpony whose life would be forever changed by it.

The character of Spearhead intrigued me. From the brief bit that we see of him in Season 7, he seems like a standup guy, even if he's not quite all there. I felt he merited fleshing out. This story is rated 'Teen' for violence, though I don't plan on making it gory.

My Little Pony and its contents are the property of Hasbro, Inc. and its affiliates. Please support the official release.

The 179th Battalion occupies the critical town of Galloper's Overlook. So long as Equestrian forces hold it, the 3rd Army in valley below is safe from bombardment. Should the town fall, then the Northern Front will collapse. The battalion must hold.

But they can't. Outgunned, outnumbered, and surrounded, the 179th is running low on both ammunition and hope. Captain Tome, a stallion painfully aware of his own shortcomings as a commander, must find a way to stave off the inevitable. In war, ordinary ponies must rise to become the heroes everyone needs. Courage takes many forms. So do legends.

This story is part of the AU canon "War's Generation," but may be read as a standalone.

As this story contains graphic imagery of war, I am placing a link to the Veteran Crisis line here, as well as links to the national suicide prevention hotline and a list of international hotlines. There is no shame in needing help. In truth, it is courageous to ask for it. To those who served, you served us - let us help you.

This story is dedicated to all men and women in uniform, to ordinary heroes, and especially to the 101st Airborne, colloquially known as the 'Screaming Eagles,' and to the 308th Infantry Regiment, colloquially known as the 'Lost Battalion.'

The cover art used with the kind permission of Vole-A, who commissioned the piece from FoxInShadow.

Original characters my own. My Little Pony and its contents are the property of Hasbro, Inc. and its affiliates. Please support the official release.

Rainbow Dash's mom receives a letter about her daughter's heroism in combat. Now she sits, shaking and trying her best to keep it together as she reads the letter at the kitchen table with tears coursing down. Her daughter was a hero. Was. You see, Captain Rainbow "Danger" Dash of the 91st Wing...isn't coming home.

EDIT: I was contacted and a brony (Seal2001) did a translation of it in Chinese. It's beautifully done and I think it deserves some love. You can find it in the following link
https://fimtale.com/t/10016/ta-shi-ying-xiong

Paul Werner was a soldier back on Earth; a high-ranking officer, to be precise. He still maintains that occupation in Equestria, as a consequence of both the best and the worst events which brought him there in the first place. In the end, he knows for certain that he would never trade his current life now for the one he had. He felt it was tainted by the... circumstances surrounding it all.

He thought he was over it, and that he'd never have to face any elements of his past ever again. Paul was one-hundred percent right... in a sense. As he gradually found out, Equestria and the world it rests on has quite the lot of parallels to the Earth he left.

Especially one in particular, a mare who goes by the respective title and name of Generalfeldmarschall Aryanne S. Land

Awesome base Aryanne art done by Antamoanimisan-m, sourced to derpibooru. (Their tumblr is NSFW)

Decades after the Great War, three ponies visit the site of a ferocious battle and reflect briefly on their lives, their struggles, and the future.

As the Great War rages on, Kaiserin Regenfall IV of Alemaneia spends some quality time with her most dedicated, loyal soldiers.

Namely, the ones who paid the ultimate price.

*Set in The Flower Mare Universe. Reading is NOT required.*

This story is a sequel to The Flower Mare: Seele

Schneeblume Herbstlicht—Ponyville's newer Flower Mare—was a withdrawn, grizzled earth pony veteran of the The Great War. It took the determination and attentiveness of the three Crusaders over several years to help Schnee slowly find peace in her tumultuous mind, and life. But it turns out, in a manner of speaking, there is one more battle that must be concluded.

And to lay to rest some more of her demons that have haunted her healing mind, Schnee realizes she must once-more return to where her journey through Tartarus began: back home.

Two-chapter, third and final installment of 'The Flower Mare' series.
Unlike my previous stories that had sequels, this is one that I highly recommend reading the previous two prequels for better world filling.

Cover art by the wonderfully talented pridark, sourced to her DA.

What is the cost of freedom?

It is not free, as many would like to think. It isn't guaranteed by words on paper, or by ideas formed in the minds of great thinkers. It's paid for at a cost; a dear cost.

Three little fillies are about to get a lesson in the true price that is to be paid to remain free.

At the height of the Great Crystal War, Lieutenant Rarity finds in her camp a strange mare claiming knowledge of how to end it.

But first, they must survive the coming battle.

Cover art from the gallery of Shamanguli. Edited by Cursori and Beltorn. An entry for the RariTwi Bomb.