I stepped out of the main door of the NCR Forward Base, it was a quiet night, the cool night air hitting me as I looked up at the cloud covered sky. I hadn't seen Celestia's sun since I had first left Central Equestria to fight the Crimson Empire.
I couldn't believe it had been this long, the Empire seemed to almost be endless, no matter how many of their soldiers we killed, they just kept coming back. They had been sending soldiers from the west and attacking villages and settlements out of our reach. I hated not being able to do anything, it felt like we were just sitting here and doing nothing ever since the stalemate had begun.
Maybe what we needed was something that might give us an edge, but I honestly didn't really know what that might be. I sighed and shook my head, I really didn't know what I was going to do, but we had to figure something out, and soon.
"Oh, Colonel, I didn't expect to see you out here," a stallion's voice said, I turned to see Private Quill, a new recruit from... where was he from again? I was suddenly drawing a blank. He was a grey Earth Pony, and was holding his rifle to his side, he had been stuck with guard duty of course.
"Its okay Private, even Colonels need fresh air once in awhile," I said with a light smile. "So, is this your first assignment, Private?"
"Yes ma'am, I just graduated from the Ranger School outside of Junction Town," Quill said as he stood at attention.
"At ease Private, before you strain something," I said with a shake of my head. "What made you join the Rangers?"
"I wanted to help Equestria, ma'am," Quill said as he relaxed. "The Rangers are the best hope we've got."
I couldn't help but smirk at that, I had been a Ranger ever since the unit was first conceived from Gawdina's mercenaries. Calling us the best of the best wasn't an exaggeration, many of us had been picked from the mercenaries, tribes like I had been, Raider gangs that joined up with the NCR, Enclave defectors... the list went on.
The Rangers weren't just a unit, we were a way of life.
"Where are you from?" I asked out of genuine curiosity, there was a time when I'd have known everything about the Rangers under my command, but the war had made that difficult.
"Seaddle, ma'am, my family came East about, six years ago now," Quill answered. "What about you, I heard you were from a tribe up north."
"That's right," I said with a nod, my thoughts going back home to my tribe, my family. "The Dayrunner tribe, up near the northern border. I, haven't seen them in years now... do you have any family Private Quill?"
"I have a wife," he said with a sigh. "And we're going to have a foal in a few months, I found out just before I shipped out."
"Congratulations Private," I said with a genuine smile. "She's a lucky mare."
"May I speak honestly, ma'am?" Quill asked.
"Of course," I said with a nod. "I expect all my soldiers to be honest."
"I'm scared," he said, looking at the ground. "I'm afraid of what we've been fighting here, that my foal is going to be born into a world so torn by war. I don't even know if I'll be the father the kid needs, or if I can be there for my wife."
"How much longer does she have?" I asked.
"About, nine months," Quill said. "What should I do, ma'am?"
"In eight months, request leave," I replied. "You need to be there for your wife, for your family. The war will be here when you get back."
"Do you really think I should?" Quill asked, tensing up a little. "And what about..."
"Private, every expecting parent in the Wasteland goes through the same thing you are," I said reassuringly. "We live in a dangerous world, but that doesn't stop ponies from loving each other. You and your wife should never give up on what you have, you're lucky to have each other."
"Thank you Colonel," Quill said with a nod. "May I ask you a personal question?"
"Go ahead," I said with a nod.
"Do, you have any foals of your own?" He asked, making me pause a little. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"I have a filly, back with my tribe," I said with a slight sigh. "I haven't seen her since the war began... I'm not going to lie to you Private, being a military parent isn't going to be easy, but think about it like this, we're fighting for them every day. This war is to keep our families safe."
"Thank you Colonel, that makes me feel a lot better," Quill said.
"Keep up the good work Private, and don't worry, you'll see your wife and foal before you know it," I said..
I hoped that I could keep that promise to Quill, the war had already been going on for too long. The Empire was constantly pressing against us, and we had barely made a dent in their territory.
That blasted pony Gale Force was always on their radio, still spouting his propaganda at the insistence of that, Empress. There wasn't even much of a war going on right now, just some minor skirmishes.
Maybe something could still happen to change that, I just hoped it would come soon.
"Good night Private, keep up the good work," I said and headed back inside towards my quarters.
Once inside I opened up a chest and removed a picture, it was of me and a filly with a lighter shade of blue to her coat and a long white mane and tail with a line of blue running through it.
"Hey Aurora... I'm sorry I couldn't make it home again this year..." I said, holding the picture close, wishing it was my daughter instead as tears welled up in my eyes. "Happy Birthday..."
Author's Note
Dedicated to everyone who has ever fought and died to keep us safe.
