Chapter 18: Reset

“It has been said that we only get one spin at life, but once in a while we may get another. What we do with it will determine whether or not it is deserved.”

― Dave Grossman, On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace

Meat Locker, Lunar Commonwealth: Ginger Snaps

Once the scavers had filled our cart and their saddlebags, we make our way back to Meat Locker to meet back up with Trader Jewel and his caravan.

We are greeted by the sight of him as we come around the corner of the building in sight of the caravan. As we get closer, we see him wave to us. I then smile as I watch Xochitl rise on his back hooves and wave a forehoof back. Then he leads us the rest of the way in.

“So, Choo, how did it go?” I hear Trader Jewel asks as we reach him.

She smiles and tells him, “Mission accomplished.”

“Glad to hear it.”

He then looks behind her and sees the ghouls who are with us. He nods his head, “I would say welcome, but I know this is not what you thought the world would be like.”

The Sergeant steps forward and tells him, “No, no it is not. We just thank the Goddess that some creatures survived.”

“Yeah, there is that. Well, it is good to meet you. I assume the others have already talked to you about Meat Locker and the Wastelands.”

“Yeah, they did. Now we just have to decide where we want to go.”

“Any ideas yet?” Trader Jewel asks.

He shrugs, “Well some of us have talked about checking out Meat Locker. If that doesn’t work out, we have heard about a place called Dead Quiet from Choo and the youngsters.”

Trader Jewel nods his head, “Yeah, some areas can be pretty hostile towards ghouls. So those should be pretty good places.” He then turns to Choo and tells her, “Ok, I need to chat with you a bit,” He looks at the rest of us and then says, “If you will excuse us.” Then he leads Choo towards his wagon.

The next morning the caravan begins its trek to Mega Mart. Trader Jewel has let Choo know we will be there for a couple of days before we continue on to the Applejack’s Rangers stable. From there the plan is to head back to Hackamore and Harness.

Part of me feels so relieved to know we will be heading home soon, but part of me really will miss some of these beings here in Hoofington. I get the feeling Epona really feels that way.

The trip between Meat Locker and Mega Mart is actually anticlimactic for us. Well, all except perhaps for Epona. I notice how excited she seems to be as we get closer to it.

Finally, as we come to the gate, I can see how disappointed she seems when she does not see Purchase Order at the gate as we enter the carriage lot.

Once the caravan has parked and the teams unharnessed from the wagons, we all meet again at the barrel. The skavers who are still with us approach Choo and ask her, “Ma’am, can we leave our stuff on your cart till morning?”

“Of course, but I thought you would like to take it in the right way.”

The one smiles at the other, “Now, normally we would, but we want to see what others have for trade first and what the prices are.”

She nods her head, “Makes sense. Any idea who you may be able to trade them with?”

Again, they look at each other and they hesitate. Then one says, “Well, the weapons we will probably trade with Salvage Value. He always likes to have a wide variety of arms. The ones in not-so-good condition he might even buy for parts. The rest we might be able to trade with some of the other merchants.”

“So, is he the one most of the outsiders would purchase weapons from?”

They shrug, “Yeah, I guess so. I had not thought about it.”

I notice her nod her head and look thoughtful. She is thinking something and I move my ears in a subtle questioning way. She barely moves hers letting me know not now, but to follow her. She then tells them, “Excuse me, I need to go speak with the gate guards,” as she begins to walk away.

I follow her until we are clear of the caravan and she asks me, “Ginger, I do not trust this Salvage Value already, but did you notice the way they acted when talking about him?”

I glance back in the direction of the caravan and Mega Mart, then back at her and tell her, “Choo, they do not want to say something.”

“I agree Ginger, I think we need to keep an eye out on them as well as check out Salvage Value some more. In fact, I may have you send in a couple of our team members to just look around. Perhaps I will wander through there as well.”

“Ok Choo go ahead; I will watch the caravan with my part of the team.”

She smiles at me and says, “Thank you, Ginger. I do appreciate it. I will let you know what I hear.”

Then I watch her walk towards the entrance of the Mega Mart and when no one seems to be looking I see her disappear.

Soon afterward I watch as Epona, Xochitl, and Tater all head inside as well. Outside with me are Cowlick, Twinks, and Sunny.

There is a slight chill in the later afternoon air so we soon begin to build a small campfire to sit around and keep warm. As we sit just talking, the dinner hour comes and goes, which the four of us partake in along with some of the other caravanners. Soon we are joined by Rosie and Nellie as well as a couple of the caravan ponies.

I find it telling when they begin to ask us more about where our team comes from. They all seem so curious about Manesville and its local communities, especially when they hear about White Cloud. Rosie then asks, “So you have mixed brahmin and cattle youngsters?”

“Yeah, we do, in fact, my younger siblings go to school with a couple of them,” I tell her with a smile.

I see the surprise on all of their faces when I say this. Then Rosie asks, “You mean brahmin and cattle really get to go to school too?”

Then I hear one of the caravanners asks, “You mean there really are schools that anyone can go to where you come from?”

I nod my head and tell them, “Yes on both counts. Even where there are not enough students for a big school, we still have one-room schoolhouses that are shared between the grades.” At first, I am surprised they ask this, but then I realize how rare generalized formal schooling is outside of the Manesville region.

Then I begin to tell them what Granny Emerado told us about how the schools even helped to educate her after she was rescued from slavers even though she was already a teenager.

The one stallion asks me, “So they would be willing to help me to learn to read?”

I smile sadly at him, “I am sure of it. We prize education back home and want to share it, not keep it as a secret resource.”

He simply shrugs, then he points out what should have been obvious to me, “Well it is kind of hard to take the time for schooling when you have to concentrate on surviving.”

“I am sorry, I had not thought of that, and I am sure after a couple of generations a lot of skills can be lost if not used.”

He nods his head. Then an idea comes to me, “Do we have some members of the caravan who can’t read?”

Rosie and Nellie both nod their heads as well as some of the caravaners. Then I ask, “Do you think some might want to learn? I mean nothing fancy, but enough to give them a start?”

Beside me I see a look of surprise come over Cowlick’s face and a look of curiosity over Twinks.

I hear Nellie ask me, “Cookie, would you really teach us to read?”

“I will try to Nellie, but I am not a teacher.”

Sunny then tells me, “Cookie, don’t sell yourself short, remember you and Xochitl, both helped me when I started school.”

I then hear the one stallion ask again, “So you don’t think we are dumb because we can’t read?”

I shake my head, “Of course not, and I don’t think someone is smart just because they can. It is a skill like anything else.”

I then think briefly and tell them, “Ok, for the rest of the trip, when I am in camp in the evenings, we will hold a brief reading and writing class if you want. I will see if I can get some supplies for it when I go inside Mega Mart later, ok?”

The few agree and I can’t help but smile to myself knowing I will be helping them to learn how to do something I love doing myself. Soon, our conversations begin to change to other subjects.

A few hours later, the rest of the team comes back outside and my section gets our turn to go inside. As they come out, I notice that Purchase Order is walking alongside Epona. I can read their body language and I can tell they both are interested in the other but cautious to make a move.

I see Xochitl and Tater both laughing about something as they walk closer. Finally, I see Choo as she walks out of the doors of the marketplace. Her expression is anything but happy. Then once she is further away so the staff of Mega Mart cannot see her, I see her crack a smile.

Once they reach us, I overhear what they are laughing about. When I hear them talking about it, I have to smile also. It seems Choo was at it again.

Once they are close enough, she tells us, “If the rest of you want to go in for a bit, please do so. Oh, and please avoid the shop for Salvage Value, it seems we are temporally banned from approaching him or his shop by Bottle Cap.”

With that, I tell the others who are still with me, “I am heading in to pick up a couple of things, if you want you can join me, or you can stay out here.”

Cowlick just shrugs and tells me, “I can wait for another time, Go on in without me.”

Twinks then says, “I will go Cookie.”

Sunny then looks at the others and says, “I will be back in a bit, I only want to grab a couple of things.”

Then he grins as he flies off to the Mega Mart doors.

I go give my intended a quick kiss on his cheek and make my way along with Twinks inside.

As I enter, I begin to wander down the rows of merchants’ stalls. A few of them call out trying to get us to look at their wares. It seems kind of silly to me to be doing this right now, as we have to think about how much we can carry back home with us. However, I do finally find a vendor who has a few chalkboards and some chalk. I pick them up for a couple of caps along with a few rags to wipe them clean.

I then come around a corner and find myself face to face with Tek as he grins at me and tells me, “It is good to see you again Cookie,” in the zebra tongue.

“It is good to see you too sir,” I reply.

Beside me Twinks asks in the same language, “Tek, why are you choosing to speak this language instead of Ponish?”

He smiles slightly and tells her, “Because I learn more by listening if they do not know I can understand them. Often times they feel I am just an ignorant zebra who barely speaks their language.” He then shrugs and finally says, “I find it easier this way.”

Twinks and I both nod our heads in understanding. Then he asks, “Have you seen Purchase Order? I am looking for her.”

Twinks answers before I can, “Yeah, she just went out to our caravan with Epona. If you want, go ahead and go find her there. I am sure the rest of us would be glad to see you.”

He seems to be considering it then tells us, “I think I will do that in a bit. Perhaps it is best if I give her some time with your Epona. But I do have to say, I am afraid of her being hurt when all of you leave.”

This time I speak for my sister to him, “Tek, my sister is very lonely, and to be honest, we will probably be coming back here periodically so when we leave, it will most likely not be the last time they see each other. But I do understand how you feel. I don’t want to see Epona hurt either.”

He nods his head, “Thank you for helping calm my fears. Please understand that Purchase is my best friend. I may not want her to be my mare, but I care about her like a sister as well.”

Right after he says this, as we are walking, a large orange unicorn stallion with a death head cutie mark bumps into me hard and says, “Watch where you’re going zebra lover.”

I stop and look at him and coolly tell him, “First, you are the one that bumped into me, second, you say zebra lover like it is a bad thing.”

He seems to be getting angry at me for not reacting the way he wanted and he tells me, “You better watch it before you get yourself hurt you little zebra-loving whorse.”

I feel my face go into the resting mare's stare as I look at him and tilt my head just slightly and I tell him, “Why are you jealous because you can’t get a mare? Or do you prefer stallions and keep getting turned down as not being stallion enough?”

I watch his eyes go wide in rage and I see him begin to rear up to strike at me. As he does, I pivot on my forehoof as Xavier taught me how to do, and I kick out with both back hooves, striking him right behind his stallionhood and in an even more sensitive part of his anatomy. Then I leap forward enough so I am clear as he drops down clinching himself with his forehooves.

As he lies there and some of his friends come over to investigate the three of us continue on our way.

The three of us then decide it is time to head back out to the caravan and we are intercepted by a couple of members of the security team. The leader of which stops us and asks, “Everyone knows this is neutral territory, what happened back there?”

I shrug and tell them, “Yeah, it's neutral ground, but he raised a hoof to me first after insulting me, so I reacted in self-defense. I am sure your cameras got it.”

They all look at each other and then they ask, “How do you know about the cameras?”

“Oh, that is easy, because I and another member of our team worked on them a while back,” Twinks tells them. This answer seems to be discomforting to them.

“So, you were one of the two who worked on our security systems?”

Twinks grins as she nods her head and simply says, “Yes.”

One of the others tells their leader, “That would mean Bottle Cap trusts her. Maybe we should just let this one go.”

The leader’s ears shift somewhat as she thinks about it and she tells us, “Ok, but you can’t come back in till morning, got it?”

I nod my head and tell them, “Yeah, we got it. Thanks.” Then they step aside and we leave and head back to our camp for the night.

*****

Mega Mart, Lunar Commonwealth: Xochitl

As I walk the aisle between the vendors' stalls, I am not sure what I want, just killing time, I guess. While I could be spending more time with Ginger, I also know she and I both need time to relax by ourselves. In fact, I am kind of looking forward to just hanging out with Tater and Epona.

While it is early evening when we enter, there is still lots of life left among the vendors. The three of us are keeping each other company when I spy Purchase Order at the end of the aisle that we are in. I see that Epona has seen her too as I watch her ears go forward and she begins to smile.

I can also tell the exact moment when Purchase sees Epona as I see her sad expression turn to one of joy and perhaps, hope. I watch as they trot slowly to each other and begin to talk animatedly to each other.

As they are doing this, I notice Tater is looking at a few pieces of combat armor at one of the stands. As I approach, he shrugs his shoulder and sets it back down.

“So, what were you looking at?”

He turns to me and tells me, “Just some old wartime barding from the Equestrian Army. Nothing spectacular. In fact, we saw better just a couple of days ago.”

“Are you looking for anything in particular?”

He shrugs and answers, “I was thinking of picking up something for my fathers. I know Chain Lightning would really appreciate some of these old military weapons. Even if it is just a wall hanger. The problem is I am not sure what to get Tail Spin.”

I put a hoof on his shoulder and tell him, “I am sure he will like anything that you pick up for him.”

“Yeah, I know, but I want to get him something he can really use too.”

As we peruse the vendors, we don’t think much about anything other than just shopping and spending time together. Purchase Order shows us who she thinks are some of the better merchants. Then, when we are half an aisle away from his stall. She points towards Salvage Values and tells us, “Best to watch that one. He is well known, but only because he has some good connections on getting weapons. Unfortunately, I have seen him sell stuff to good ponies that I would not arm a raider with, and he charged them too much too.”

We all think about that a bit. As we get closer to the weapons merchant’s stall, we see an orange earth pony stallion with a death's head cutie mark go into the stall. As we come close, we see him talking to the merchant animatedly. When we get close, I hear them arguing about finding a new source of weapons. I am ready to just walk on past when I hear Tater say, “Hey Chotil, check out that rifle up there,” as he points towards a lever action rifle on the top rack.

“Yeah, so what so special about it? It’s just another lever action rifle.” I say to him.

This gets Salvage Value's attention and he stops the other pony from talking by putting a hoof up to him and telling him, “We will continue this conversation later.” Then he turns to us and says, “Good evening gentlestallions, I see you have a good eye. Would you like to examine it a bit closer?”

Tater grins like a foal in a candy shop. Then he replies, “Yeah I would.”

After the merchant takes it down, he racks it to make sure it is empty before hoofing it to Tater. Tater repeats the process and checks the chamber. Then he tests cycles it a few times. Before putting it to his shoulder. Then he cycles it again and I see a slight frown on his face as he cycles it again and it seems to catch. After that, he begins to examine the outer surface of it. I see him smile and nod his head. Finally, he looks at the merchant and asks, “How much?”

Salvage Value tells him, “500 caps.”

I watch as Tater shakes his head, then he tells him, “This old thing is a nice wall hanger, but let’s be honest, it is chambered in .357, it is one of the older firearms used by the Equestrian army, and it catches, so it is not dependable. How about 150?”

I watch as Salvage Value looks angry and tells him, “I can’t sell such a rare piece for such a low price, that you even suggest it is an insult. 400 caps”

I watch as Tater thinks then he tells him, “250 caps. At that rate, I am being generous because if I want to use it, I am going to have to spend some serious time troubleshooting it and then getting the spare parts.”

I see a pained expression come over Salvage Value's face and he tells him, “350 caps.”

Tater shakes his head and tells him, “Like I said, too much against it, sorry for taking up your time,” and he begins to hoof the rifle back to him.

I watch as Salvage Value thinks quickly then he says, “Ok, 300 caps.”

I hear Tater let out a sigh and he tells him, "Tell you what, 290 caps and that is my final offer. Seriously, I have some real work to do on this old girl before anypony could reliably use it. That or throw in a sling for it and I will make it an even 300.”

I hear the weapons merchant grumble slightly but then he holds out a hoof and tells Tater, “It is a deal. I have a sling for it in the back.”

The other pony tells him, “I will watch ‘em.”

When he comes out of the back, I notice that the shoulder sling is one of the old equestrian army web slings. Tater then pulls his caps from his saddlebags and sets them alongside the rifle and sling on the table. Once the exchange is made, he then asks, “Shall we go back to camp.”

“Sure Tater,” I tell him and notice Epona and Purchase both nodding their heads as well. As we are leaving, I hear the larger yellow stallion telling the merchant, “See, that is why we need to find some other supplier. Look, Air Burst comes up with some good stuff, but how many caps has it cost us…”

We are halfway to the main entrance when I hear Choo whisper to us, “Keep walking. We need to keep an eye on those scavers, it seems they work for the big orange pony that the weapons dealer was talking too. I will go over some of what I heard once we are back in camp.”

In acknowledgment, I simply flick an ear as does Tater. Soon we are passing through the door and I hear one of the guards/greeters say, “Have a good night, Purchase, be careful out there.”

She smiles and nods to them, “Will do, just going to my friend's camp.”

“Ok, glad to hear you’re not going out too far tonight.”

As we walk across the carriage lot to the caravan I ask Tater, “Ok, what was so special about this rifle?”

Again, he grins like a foal in the candy shop. He then tells me, “Well, not only was this one of the first models of firearms adopted by the Equestrian army, but looking at the receiver I noticed it was stamped with the 1st Hoofington National Guard. That unit was one of the ones that saw combat on the border before the Littlehorn Massacre. That combined with its low serial number tells me it was around back then.”

When he says this, it takes me a few seconds to remember my wartime history from school. Then it hits me. Littlehorn was a school for gifted unicorns that for some reason the zebras attacked and used a Pink Cloud Talisman on, killing the staff and the young students. After that, Celestia stepped down from the throne and Princess Luna assumed it. She also created the ministries after Littlehorn. It changed everything and there was no turning back from the path the war was following.

“Tater, are you sure you really want it then?”

He nods his head, “Yeah, I think Papa Chain will really appreciate the history of it.”

I shrug, “So is it really sticking, or were you just using that as a reason to lower the price?”

“Oh, it really was catching. I was surprised too. I will really have to examine it closer to find out why.”

As we approach the camp some of the others decide it is time to head inside. However, I am a bit surprised when Cowlick decides he just wants to stay with the caravan while Ginger and the others of her team head inside.

As they head toward the market, I notice Sunny is flying toward it, then he zips up into the sky and I notice he is flying off in the direction of the Colligate and the University. I scratch my head as I wonder what that is about. Maybe he is trying to find Morning Star again.

The rest of us sit back and begin to talk. I watch as Epona pulls out a copy of the Book of Little Pip and begins to read it in the firelight. As we all talk, I notice Cowlick is sitting closer to Rosie and Nellie.

As we sit there, Tater and I discuss the history of his newest purchase. What really surprises me is how much of the history of the war he knows. When I ask him how he knows so much he shrugs and tells me, “I had Magpie teach me how to use the archives back home. After I learned how to use them, I learned how much I enjoyed learning the history of Equestria and the war; especially firearm evolution during it.”

I nod my head, “Is that why you didn’t join us for our hunts? You were doing research?”

I see him blush in the dark light, then he tells me, “Part of it. I also was apprenticing with Upset Forging, he taught me a few tricks too, and it helped me earn a few extra caps too.”

Choo sits quietly listening. Before too much longer she turns her ears first then her head. In the darkness, we can see the silhouettes of the scavers as they get closer. Once they are close enough Choo waves a wing to them and greets them. “Good evening, I hope you found out what you were looking to find out.”

The older of the two grins a smile that is missing a couple of teeth. Then he replies, “Yeah, I think so. Found out who might be interested in what we got and about how much we should be able to get for them.”

She nods her head, “Glad to hear it. I am sure you should make plenty of caps then.”

The one grins and nods again. Then he says with a slight dry laugh, “Should be. We will find out though.”

Choo just smiles that knowing smile of hers, nods back, and tells them, “Sounds good, now have a good night.”

*****

Meatlocker, Lunar Commonwealth: Choo Choo

As we arrive back at Meat Locker, we are greeted by Trader Jewel who talks with the ghouls a bit and then soon afterward tells me, “Big Blue, I need to talk to you, come along.”

I follow him to his wagon and once we are inside, he closes the door and tells me, “Ok, we need to plan for the next couple of weeks.”

“What do you have in mind, Sir?”

“Choo we will let you rest till morning here first, our next stop will be Mega Mart, I want to lay over there for three days.” He pauses, then he tells me, “Keep an eye on those scavers. I don’t fully trust them. They ain’t acting like they do normally.”

I nod my head, “That is an understandable attitude. I noticed it a bit while we were on our previous, Uhm, diversion.”

He smiles when I say that. “I am sure you were. After we leave Mega Mart, I was considering going to that stable for the Apple Jack’s Rangers you mentioned. What do ya think about that? Do you think we might be able to make some caps there?” he asks me.

I consider it and tell him, “Yes, I think so. In fact, I think it would be good for you to go there and find out what they may need so you can cater to their needs more easily.”

He pours himself a shot of Wild Pegasus and offers me one. When I decline, he nods his head and takes a sip of it. Then he tells me, “I think your right Big Blue. By the way, I have a message for you, it was delivered yesterday by a courier.”

After he hoofs me the envelope, I open it and see who it is from. I fold it up and tell him, “Thank you, Trader.”

He nods and I tell him, “It is good news.”

“Glad to hear it, we could always use some.”

I talk with him a while more while he finishes his drink then I head back out to the team. Once with them, I tell them, “When we leave here, we head to Mega Mart for a couple of days. Then a couple of more places and we will be heading back to Harness.”

I notice a slight look of disappointment on both Sunny and Epona’s faces. When I ask why they both tell me that they have friends here now that they are going to miss is all. I smile when I hear this and tell them both, “Don’t worry, I am sure we will be back here again sometime.”

The rest of our time at Meat Locker is fairly uneventful, as is our travel to Mega Mart. Things begin to liven up though when we arrive there.

Once we arrive and have our caravan camp set up for the night, I let half of my team go at a time. Xochitl, Tater, and Epona go in first and I follow behind them shortly afterward, using my invisibility spell when I figure no one is watching.

I follow and watch as my team members randomly shop through the market stalls. However, my attention is heavily drawn to the scavers who were with us, as I watch them glance here and there as if casually shopping, but always moving closer to Salvage Value’s shop.

Soon they are approached by a large orange unicorn stallion with a raider’s cutie mark. I begin to listen to them as they talk. I am not really surprised that they know each other. But I am surprised when he asks them, “So what did you find out about the caravan?”

“Well, this is one of the ones that carry coal into the Hoof. Also, one of the caravanners let it slip they usually carry weapons back to the NCR. The guards with ‘em are all hired guns. Their first trip out, so a bunch of newbs.”

The orange stallion smiles and tells them, “Go ahead and let Salvage know. But keep it on the down low other than that.”

Interesting, I think to myself as I debate whether to follow the scavers or this buck. Finally, I decide on the scavers.

They continue slowly on towards the weapons dealer's stand. Myself, I decide to just slowly make my way behind them keeping myself out of sight and not bumping into anypony. At one point I get so frustrated by ponies and some others getting in my way that I almost decided to fly. But I am afraid they might feel the breeze from my wings, so I stay on the ground.

Soon they reach Salvage Value's stall and begin to talk with him. “Hey Salvage Value can we talk to you for a bit?”

I see him look at the two scavers with a slight sneer. “Ok what do have for me this time?”

The one scaver looks at the other and then tells him, “Could we discuss this a bit more privately?”

I watch as the one called Salvage Value pins his ears back and he tells them, “You better not be wasting my time.”

The same scaver tells him, “We ain’t, Broken Value even said to talk to you.”

He squints his eyes some and looks down the aisle at the large orange unicorn and asks, “He did, did he?”

I turn and see the unicorn nod slightly than look back and hear Salvage value say, “Ok, give me a minute.”

I watch as he puts out a sign that reads, “On break, back soon.” Then he begins to pull curtains closed around the booth. As he is on one end, I slowly sneak in and go into the back where the scavers have already gone.

After he is done closing up his shop, I watch him come to the back also. I notice that the area we are in is actually not only part of his shop and a storeroom, but also his living quarters.

Then I listen as the scavers give him the rundown on the bunker and what they have recovered first. Salvage tells them, “Ok, that sounds good, start bringing in some of it in the morning and we will see what I can pay you. But that is not enough to cause me to shut down my shop, you better have something else for me.”

Both skavers fidget slightly then the second one says, “We have some information about the caravan for ya.”

When he says this, I begin to lean forward some to hear better. The one then begins, “Yeah, the guards for them call themselves the Repair Ponies for some reason.” He hesitates, then begins again, “They are a bunch of rookies. A couple of the caravanners were telling us this is their first run down here in the hoof.”

Salvage Value simply shrugs and with his ears still back asks, “And why does this matter to me?”

“Well, Salvage, we heard they was carrying weapons and equipment back to the NCR to trade to their army over by some place called Hackamore. That means they have some good stuff, and they did not get it from you.”

I watch as Salvage Value starts to rub his chin in thought and just as he begins to say something, I feel my invisibility spell wear off. I have not misjudged it like this in almost a century. Suddenly I am fully visible to them and I decided to run with it and quickly cast one of my medic’s immobilization spells on the two skavers, rendering them helpless and unable to support Salvage Value. I then smile at the merchant with what I hope is a vicious grin as I tell him, “Go ahead and try something. Do it. My suggestion to you is to forget what you heard from these two. If you cause harm to one of my people or those we are guarding, I swear by the Goddesses that I will come back for you personally. You will not see me coming, just like tonight. Do not forget, I know where you live Salvage.”

As I am speaking, he has backed up slightly and I watch as he turns and runs out of the stall throwing the stall curtain wide open. As he begins to run off, I prepare to drop the spell on the two scavers and I tell them, “What I told him, goes for you as well, harm my people and we will hunt you down along with my sisters. Remember what one of us knows, we all know.”

I then drop the spell and as their eyes go wide, they scream and try to run past me, knocking things over as if a barfight was going on in the shop. Once they are gone, I come out of the stall and turn down the aisle to head to the exit. I see the other members of my team already at the door and leaving. Then I notice a group of ponies in blue vests with Mega Mart badges and shotguns trotting quickly in my direction. I know they are coming for me and I wait.

Once they get close enough, I ask, “Can I help you?”

They are all covering me still with their weapons cautiously, then one asks, “Did you threaten one merchant named Salvage Value?”

I tilt my head as I look at her and then him in the distance. Then I smile and answer, “Oh, no, I did not threaten him. I warned him. He threatened me and mine when he thought I was not around. So, I let him know I heard him and I gave him the warning.”

The lead mare of the security ponies then asks, “So there is a problem between you two?”

I shake my head, “There was not one. In fact, even one of my team members had purchased things from him before, including tonight. But as I said he made threats. But no blows were exchanged or blood spilled, so no problem.”

I hear her take a deep sigh and she says, “Ok, but for now on, you and your team should stay away from Salvage Value and his stall. At least until he calms down.”

I nod my head and flick my ears in agreement. Then I reply, “Sounds fair enough. If you have nothing more, may I go now?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” she tells me and I briskly trot out the main entrance of the market. I keep my face straight until I get outside, then I begin to smile as I wanted to the whole time.

Once back to the caravan I check out my team members and I ask, “Where is Sunny?”

They all shrug, except Xochitl who answers, “Oh, I think he went to find those batponies again. I saw him flying off towards that way,” as he points towards the direction of the major remains of Hoofington.

What is the colt up to now? I ask myself. Then I just shake my head and hope for the best. Before much longer the others begin to drift off to their bed rolls. I don’t need much sleep so I stay awake and wait for Sunny to return.

It is several hours later that I see his dark silhouette in the sky. At first, I am not sure it is him, but as he comes into land and then approaches the camp, I can see him in the firelight.

“Evening Choo.” He tells me.

“Evening Sunny. How was your night?” I ask, expecting him to have been trying to find the batpony mare Morning Star.

I am however very surprised when he tells me, “Ok, I guess. I went over to the Volunteer Corps office at the University. I wanted to let the buck who told us about the ghouls in the bunker know we got them out.”

I nod my head and ask, “And what did he say?”

He sits down and tells me, “Choo, he and that team of his got chewed up real bad by the Hoof’s Ferals. But the Enclave rescued them with a quick reaction team. I guess he is in a hospital up in Thunderhead recovering from wounds. That is if he is still alive.”

I nod my head, “I am really sorry to hear that, Sunny. He seemed like a good buck for an Enclaver.”

Sunny nods his head, “I hope you don’t mind but I also found Morning Star and her pals. I had a couple of drinks with them before I came back.”

I shrug, “You are free to do what you want during your free time Sunny, this is not the army, just be careful. Also, I would prefer it if you let us know if you are going out of the immediate area. After all, this is Hoofington, not Manesville.”

He grins, “Ok, I will do that Choo. I best go catch some rest now.”

“Yes Sunny, you do that.”

I smile as he walks away and I think to myself how much he has changed over the years and especially since we left Manesville. I do worry though about him having taken off by himself like that.

The next day most of us spend with the caravan working on our equipment. However, Sunny asks me, “Choo, do you mind if I take off for a bit of flying?”

“Where are you heading Sunny?”

“I was thinking of flying over towards the Skyport and maybe the airfield, just to check things out that way.”

“Sunny, you aren’t planning on fighting or anything are you?”

He grins at me, “By myself, with no backup? No Choo, I am smarter than that. Besides If I did you would kill me.”

I find myself grinning back at him. Then I tell him, “Ok, but be careful out there.”

“I will Choo. I promise.” After which I watch him take off and climb fairly high above the Mega Mart before he begins to go towards the Rainbow Dash Skyport. Sunny just be careful I think to myself and then I head over to Trader Jewel's trailer to explain to him what I heard last night and why I am now being watched by the security team for Mega Mart.

*****

Thunderhead, Grand Pegasus Enclave: Ball Lighting

I awake to a brightly lit room and at first, I wonder if I have died. Then I notice the steady beep of monitor off to the side. As my eyes begin to focus, I recognize my surroundings as being a hospital room. I also notice there is a curtain dividing the room.

My mind is foggy as I try to focus on where I am and why. I try to lift my head to look around, but I just feel too weak. I soon hear a set of hoof steps approaching and I see a mare in medical scrubs come into my line of visions.

As she approaches, she is smiling and tells me, “Ah, good to see you are awake finally Lieutenant. Welcome back to the land of the living.”

I try to speak but my mouth is so dry I can’t make my tongue form the words properly. She sees this and tells me, “Hear let me get you a bit of water.”

She helps me hold my head up so I can drink some water. Then she sets my head back down on the cloud pillow. I finally am able to ask, “Where?”

“Oh, you’re at the Nightingale Military Hospital in Thunderhead Lieutenant, and to tell the truth, you gave us quite the scare.”

I raise an eyebrow and force my ears to move in a questioning manner. As I try to ask why.

She then asks, “Lieutenant, what do you remember?”

I close my eyes and I tell her, “Last I remember I was being loaded into a vertibuck on a stretcher.” I pause and tell her, “Not sure why for just a couple of broken ribs.”

I see her shake her head, “Well, honestly Lieutenant, you had a lot more than a few broken ribs. Three bullets penetrated your barding. You right lung collapsed before you made it here. Also, a few more millimeters to one side, and you and I would not have had a chance to be holding the conversation.”

“Why not?” I manage to croak out.

“Lieutenant they barely missed your heart. You are either very lucky or very unlucky, but I tend to go with the former.”

“How long was I out?”

I see her features go slack and she tells me, “About two weeks.”

I feel my eyes go wide and I ask, “Seriously?”

She nods her head, “Yes, I am serious. But now that you are awake finally, I think we may be able to let you have a few visitors for short periods of time.”

“That would be nice,” I tiredly tell her as I fall back to sleep.

I awake an unknown time later and I see my father sitting in the chair next to me quietly reading a book. I clear my throat some and he turns to look at me worriedly. When he sees I am awake and ok he smiles and tells me, “Hi son.”

“Hi, Dad.”

“You scared me, son. A father is not supposed to die after their children.”

“Sorry about that dad.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. From what I have been told by your friends and your Sergeant Major.”

“How, how are my people dad? Do you know?”

He grins, “Well, the VC did lose a couple of team members. Your Sergeant Major and I have talked quite a bit. He seems impressed with you; he says all of your team members made it out alive.”

I feel such relief when I hear that. I have been fortunate in that I have not lost any troops under my command other than when our transports were attacked by that Roc. That reminds me, I wonder if those ground-bound, so-called guards were able to get those ghouls out of that bunker. Later I remind myself. I will find out later.

Then my father surprises me and tells me, “By the way, Sundancer and her friend Alto came by to check on you almost every day. They both seemed very worried about you.”

I can’t help but smile, “So are they ok?”

He nods, “Yeah, nothing a few magical bandages and a healing potion couldn’t take care of.”

I decide then to tell my father about them. After I am done, he looks horrified, “Son, you should not have told me about them, or who they really are working for. If the wrong pony hears you, you’ll be branded.”

I still feel like I am drunk, so I know it has to be the medications making me talk. Part of my mind is horrified at the realization of what I have said, the other part just doesn’t care about anything really.

He then gets up and moves to the other side of the curtain. I can hear him talking to someone briefly then when he returns, he asks, “Would you mind if I pull the curtain?”

I try to shake my head, but can’t, so I tell him as best I can to go ahead. When he opens the curtain, I am stunned to see Funnel Cloud in the other bed. Then I am really stunned when I notice that his right foreleg ends just below the elbow.

I can see he is looking at me and he asks, “How are you doing Lieutenant?”

I try to raise my head to respond and instead I barely croak out, “Not sure Sergeant Major. Not sure.”

He nods his head, “Yeah, I understand. I felt the same way at first, and I was not hit near as bad as you were.”

I raise a weary eyebrow at this and he nods his head, “Yeah sir, you were a lot worse off than you realized, you were already in shock when they got you on the bird.” I hear a catch in his voice and he says, “We were lucky that they had a really good medic with the Quick Reaction Force. Sir, we lost you twice on the way here. I am not even sure how they saved you.”

I try to remember but everything is fuzzy. I feel like there is something to remember, but I can’t do it. However, I do swear I remember seeing mom at some point as well as a white mare with a black mane. But like most dreams, I just cannot remember it clearly.

I want to change the subject from how close I came to dying and ask him, “What happened to your hoof?”

He shrugs, “Round struck the bone and shattered it. Then the bone got infected. They have already begun to fit me for a cyber leg though.”

“You don’t seem too concerned about losing it Funnel.”

He then nods and tells me, “I am not really. It is only one leg and the replacement will work well enough. They are not even talking about retiring me for it.”

I can’t help but try to smile when he says it with such heartfelt happiness. “Does that mean you still want to work with me Funnel?”

He nods his head, “Yeah, I would say that.”

The three of us talk until I can no longer keep my eyes open. When I next wake up, I notice that while my father has returned, the Sergeant Major is missing from his bed. When I ask my father about this he smiles and tells me, “He is going for his first fitting of his prosthetic.”

I nod my head in understanding. Then he tells me, “By the way, you have some interesting friends. I could not tell you this while Funnel was here.”

I am now curious and ask, “Tell me what?”

He looks around and tells me, “A couple of days after you were brought here, a pure black stallion showed up. He asked about you and told me to tell you that the favor was done. I noticed he had an accent that while part Thunderhead was mixed with something else. He said he came from a place called White Cloud. You know I don’t know of any place called that in the Enclave.”

I look at him with a questioning look and he simply says, “His name is Sunset Waters, but some call him Wild P. He said you would know who he is.”

I simply nod my head. That crazy wild pegasus had not only visited me, but he had to sneak into a military base in Thunderhead to do it. “Yeah Dad, I know him.” Then I begin to laugh. When I stop, I tell him, “Dad, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you who he was.”

*****

Okay, children of the Wasteland, that last song was Rainbow by Songbird Serenade. Remember that while things may be quiet, that does not mean we are safe. A reminder that raider activities have increased along the western border of the NCR. Rumors have it of increased gang fights with the Steel Rangers in the Van Hoover region, if anypony can confirm the truth of this please let us know.

We will have more news following this song. For all you listeners out there here is Feed the Machine

Author's Note

Dear readers, for those who have noticed the time gap between the Repair Ponies and Ball Lighting, that is intentional for now, but it will work its way out later. But just because he is down, for now, does not mean Ball and his team are out yet.

On a personal note, I have taken a new job and will be working a different shift that will require me to work every third weekend. So I may be late on posting future chapters by a few hours. However, I will still try to maintain my normal schedule as much as possible for releasing the chapters.

For those who would like to listen to this chapter's dedication song, the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4HVJvTGbkc