Wood Smoke

[twilightpony]

There was oak wood in with my firewood today. Road apples. I didn't realize it until well after I'd fed it into the fire. I was reading by the fire and getting uncomfortable. I was feeling a rising panic that I could put a hoof on. I had to get up and look around. It was the smell! The smell of burning oak. Again.

I rushed down to the map room. Above the table hung the silent remains of the Golden Oak. Immobile, trailing strings of picture gems, memories of the past. It was not on fire any more.

I went back up to my reading room and lifted up the logs in the fireplace. I found the oak wood and extinguished the flames. Cradling the split, blackened log in my magic, I carried it out to a small rise nearby. I chose a sheltered spot on the sunny side, and buried it in the frozen ground.

Comments

[flareblitzfury]

I'm glad you're alright.

[twilightpony]

Well, I am feeling better today.

[flareblitzfury]

Good to hear!

[algernon97]

It sounds like you may have some shell-shock.

[twilightpony]

Shell shock, like in acorn shells? From eating too many acorns? (If you must eat them, you should boil them first. A lot. They're poisonous.)

I'm feeling better now, I got over the panic and the grief. I'm just surprised by that rush of emotion. Surprised that my former home still has a strong grip on me. I want it back.

[algernon97]

Ah, no, not that sort of shell. Shell-shock (clinically known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD) is a condition where someone has a rather strong reaction to something that reminds them of a traumatic event in their life. This condition has symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, and other things. It's called "shell-shock" because in war, exploding artillery shells are one of the many things that can cause a soldier to develop PTSD.

After some consideration, I don't think you actually have it.

Sorry about the confusion.

[twilightpony]

No, no specific nightmares, or at least nothing that I or Princess Luna can't handle (she protects ponies in their sleep). Scaring soldier ponies that badly with exploding shells sounds like a crude and cruel joke to play.

[algernon97]

I'm afraid it's a bit more serious than jokes. Artillery shells are meant to kill large amounts of soldiers.

War is a lethal and horrifying thing. More often than not, the losses experienced in it outweigh anything gained in victory.

[twilightpony]

That is horrifying.

[algernon97]

Yes.

Yes it is.