Chapter 26 Returning to the Fold

"I am not a good man. A good man would regret a lot of the things I've done, I think. But I've known good people. Or at least, people who deserved a lot better than what they got. And I figured that I could do things that good people can't." — Colt, The Zombie Knight

Repair Ponies' shop, Manesville, NCR: Ginger Snaps

For the next two days, we prepare our plans and equipment for going into Site Paddock. On the final morning, we all gather at the shop. Zhea has made us breakfast and as we eat it and drink our coffee she tells us, “Please be careful. I know now how ferals can be to your kind.”

I smile at her and tell her, “We will. I promise.”

She nods her head and I can see a touch of sadness in her expression and body movements. So, I ask her, “What is on your mind?”

She looks at me with her cloudy eyes and tells me, “I wonder if I knew any of those inside there.”

We all nod our heads. “I do understand Zhea, but we have to do this. Besides all of those who are still cognizant are evacuating this morning before we go in.”

I hear her let out a sigh, which coming from a ghoul is a show of expression as they really don’t need to breathe anymore. I put my hoof on hers and tell her. “I do understand how you feel, and we will do our best to make it quick and respectful.”

“I know you will, but it still disturbs me. What if you and the others here had not been the ones to find me and Xanthippe, or if either of us had been feral when we woke up?”

I nod again, not knowing what to say to her on this. A couple of us volunteer to help with the dishes while I go over the map one last time. Epona comes up alongside me and tells me, “Sis, time to go.”

“Yeah, I know, I am just worried is all. I mean I am still wondering if we should go in with heavy barding or go in light as we would as tunnel rats.”

She shrugs and tells me, “Time to quit doubting yourself and just do it sis.”

“Yeah, I know, you’re right.” I then call out, “Ok Team, grab your kits, let’s go.”

Soon we are all gathered outside the shop and begin our trek to White Cloud and back forty acres of our family’s farm. The sun is just starting to rise as we meet up with the Dead Quiet Militia troops that are going to be the cleanup team. High Grade sees us and nods to me. “You ready for this?” he asks.

I nod my head, “Yeah. Just the pre-mission jitters is all.”

He looks at me with a knowing expression in his eyes. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I used to get the shakes before a trench raid or if we were going over the top.”

I nod my head remembering the trenches we defended at the Valley. This time I let out a sigh. Then we are at the entrance to the cave. His troops move to the side and I see a group of ghouls coming out of the tunnel and heading up toward the cemetery across from our farm.

The mule lieutenant approaches High Grade and tells him, “We are all out now.”

High Grade places a hoof on his shoulder and tells him, “I understand how you feel. But it needs to be done.”

“Yeah, I know, I guess I best go catch up with the others,” he tells High, then he turns to us and tells me, “Be careful in there. Remember what I told you. Do not go into the warehouses until the rest of the complex is cleared. Got me?”

As he heads away, I see High Grade walk with him toward our farm.

As we get ready to enter the cave I remind my team, “Remember, go ahead and use your SATS, but do not depend on it.”

Again, they all nod in acknowledgment then I tell them, “Ok, let’s form the stack, Xochitl, you’re on point. Epona, Sunny your next, behind me I want Cowlick and Twinks. Tater, you got drag.”

Once we are all in the order to enter, we climb over the debris and begin to enter the cave. It is much as I remember it from all those years ago. Even the skeleton is there. Once we come to the door, I find it is closed and locked. I go to the monitor on the wall and I type in the override password that I received at Site Pasture from the Colonel.

I hear the locks shift through the large metal door and we are able to open it. Xochitl slides through the door and begins to enter the old facility. Which I notice is in better condition than I had expected. I guess those ghouls really took care of the place. I also notice how similar to a stable it looks. What I am really glad to see is that the auto-turrets along the corridor have all been shut down, so at least we are not having to deal with those.

Behind us, I hear the Dead Quiet Militia clearing out the trees that block the entrance so they can more easily enter when we are done.

I look down the corridor and over our radios, I tell Xochitl, “Ok Flower, lead us in.”

We are almost to the first intersection when I hear him fire two quick bursts and I see a feral land at each side of the intersection. He looks at all three of the corridors and I hear him whisper, “Cookie, I see some light flickering from the security office. I believe the security cams are still operational, do you want me to check them?”

I briefly think then I tell him, “Yes, that is affirmative, go ahead and do so.”

After a few minutes, he tells me, “Looks like we have several in the mess hall right now. The Corridors outside the admin offices and command facilities are clear and the doors look to be closed.” He pauses, “Ok, looks like we have several in the warehouse.”

I consider this and I tell him, “Ok, rejoin the team. We will take the main corridor toward the warehouse. Then we can swing back and clear the side ones.”

Epona clicks on the radio from down the corridor across from the security office and asks, “But what about the warning from the Lieutenant? Maybe we should clear out the sides first.”

“Negative, we clear out this way first, then we can draw them to us,” I tell her and the rest.

By now I am feeling confident and I figure we have this one. “Ok, let’s get moving again,” I tell them.

Xochitl leads out with Epona and Sunny only a couple of meters behind him. We have already passed and cleared the medical department and a set of male and female showers and latrines when I am really glad the Tater brought the auto shotgun with him this time. As he is the closest and reacts first when Xochitl goes past two open doors across from each other. He is three meters past them when I hear a growl from one side, and I see the feral come charging out at him from behind.

I watch in horror as my husband-to-be cannot turn quick enough, but I suddenly hear three quick bursts from a shotgun and I see the feral drop to the floor just inside the doorway. Then I see a second red dot with my Eyes Forward Sparkle just as Tater takes care of that one as well.

They are just getting moving again when I hear a moan and see a red dot appear in the room to their left. Then I see Epona fire a quick burst inside and the red dot disappears.

I look at my PipBuck and realize we have only a short distance more before we reach the mess hall. Behind us, I can hear the echo of a feral growling. This job may be more of a pain than I thought. Maybe we should have asked for more caps, I think to myself.

The mess hall will be the first large area we will enter. It also has an entrance on each side of it that would make it a hard place for us to defend if we were to get rushed by them. Once we get there, I see tables and chairs aligned so that the soldiers here could eat in small groups, like a restaurant. I notice the remains of old wartime posters on the walls. I smile at some of the pictures that show Equestria as it had to have been before the war also. The picture shows a small village with many brightly colored ponies in it who all seem to be smiling and waving at the camera.

I do not see any ferals as we first enter, then I hear some clanging come from the kitchen. I have Cowlick stay in the center to provide support fire if needed. Epona takes the west entrance and Twinks the east. I have Tater cover our rear and Sunny the north entrance that according to the map, leads to the warehouse. Xochitl and I go into the kitchen to investigate.

*****

Site Paddock, Manesville District NCR: Xochitl

I turn to Ginger as we begin to move toward the kitchen. “Have I told you before, how much I hate going underground?”

She slides to my right and slightly behind me as we approach the door, “Only about a dozen times today,” she tells me.

I hear a growling to my right and swing toward it just in time for something to ram as hard into me as it can from my left and I am thrown out of the door knocking Ginger to the side as I bounce off of her and land on a table breaking it. I then hear her SIR bark twice and she calls out, “Two Tangos down. Danger, Check Flower.”

While I am seeing stars, I get up to my hooves and call out, “Cancel that Twinks, stay at your post. I am ok.”

I shake my head to clear it and move back toward the kitchen. As I am doing this, I can hear growling coming from both the east and west doorways as well as the way we had come from. After a quick sweep of the kitchen and the food storage, Ginger calls out, Let’s go, Flower, take point again, we need to get moving.”

As I lead off, I taste a bit of blood in my mouth from biting my tongue when I hit the table. Without thinking I spit it to the side and move on. From behind us, I can hear the growls of ferals getting closer. Along the corridor we are entering, I cannot see any doors. But I can see a turn in it just like on the map. But it also means we are heading towards the warehouse already.

Behind me, I hear Cowlick open up with the MG a couple of times, but nothing too serious. Just a few quick bursts. Over my radio headset, I hear Tater calling out, “Ginger, are you sure we want to go this way already?”

“Tater, just do it, I know what I am doing.”

“Rodger that.” He replies, but I can tell by his tone he does not like it.

Once we reach the section of the corridor that jogs a bit, we stop and regroup. Twinks has me remove my helmet and she puts a magical bandage on my head. Then she checks my mouth and asks, “How is your tongue, can you still pull a trigger?”

I spit out a bit more blood, then I tell her, “Yeah, I can. But thanks for checking.”

She shrugs and tells me, “Look my flank is on the line here too, and you are a much better shot than I am.”

This actually gets me to smirk, so I tell her, “Gee thanks for caring.”

She smiles and pats me on the shoulder, “Put your helmet back on, you are good for now.”

I nod my head and put my helmet back on. I notice it stings a bit when the liner rubs against the bandage, but I can live with that.

I slowly slide around the s curve in the corridor, listening for any surprise ferals that we might not have heard before, or spotted on our Eyes Forward Sparkle. I take a deep breath and catch myself holding it as I look around the corner. It is clear and I begin to advance. At the end of the corridor is a double metal door that is closed, and I notice it has a chain around the push bars that are held in place with an unlocked paddle lock. I slip it off and slowly open the door. As I do so I see multiple red dots appear on my EFS. I point them out to Ginger. Then I really take a look at the size of the well-lit room with its high ceiling and rows upon rows of racks with materials and boxes upon them.

I am still staring with my mouth wide open when I hear Ginger call me, “Flower, report.”

“Cookie, it is bigger than I imagined. Get me Wild P up here and have him go high to scout.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” she asks.

That is when I start to hear the growling from behind us as well as from inside the warehouse. “Cookie I am entering the warehouse, follow me.”

As I go in, I see two ferals rise from the floor to my right. I jump back as I raise my weapon, bumping into Epona as she goes to my left and covers that direction. I fire two quick rounds and watch the first one go down, then my carbine jams. As I am racking back the ejection handle to clear the spent casing from the ejection port I am hit again, but this time the bastard bites me and I feel something tear in my leg. I scream in pain as Ginger shoots him in the head from point-blank range. As I get up, I force myself to gulp a healing potion and I clear the area in front of the door.

As I limp forward, I am followed by the rest. We can begin to hear the growls echoing off the passageways coming toward us. I start to see more and more red dots on my EFS. Soon I hear Tater call out that he has been bit and I see Twinks run over to him and bandage him up quickly.

Then I hear Cowlick calling out for a reload as I see at least a dozen ferals charging us from between the rows of racks. Twinks runs over to him and I hear her soon calling out, “Ready.”

Above us, Sunny is shooting at the ferals on the floor of the warehouse. I see him moving a bit to adjust his shot. As he is doing this he calls out where more of the ferals are. Soon we are almost into a rhythm as our teamwork begins to overcome our fears. Then it happens, I hear Sunny scream in pain and I watch him and a pegasus feral fall fifteen meters to the floor, as they fall there is a bright flash of light and the pegasus feral simply ceases to exist. I look down to where the light came from and I see a very serious-looking unicorn filly. Then I hear Ginger call out, “Sis, what are you doing here.”

“I am here to save lives,” she says as she steps over Sunny, her horn aglow with power. Then I watch as her horn flares again, and I am just in time to see three more ghouls disappear. After which I see Moon Lily begin examining Sunny’s injuries.

We are suddenly attacked from the other side and I am shifting my arc of fire when I notice three more yellow ticks approaching us in EFS. I call out to the others and we check our zones of fire to avoid hitting them. As they enter the warehouse, they too are attacked by the ferals and I watch as the Colonel drops, slides, and rolls over before she shoots at two more flying ferals that Doc Sutures had just missed with her shotgun. Father, who is with them shifts his target and takes down another ghoul who was quietly sneaking up on us, while we were distracted.

As they approach, I have to shift my attention again. This time several others have gotten close as they simultaneously charge us from different directions. It is then that I am again hit by a ghoul that got too close and I am bitten in my neck. Instinctively I call out, “Medic!” and I hear both Doc Sutures and Moon Lily answer back, “ON MY WAY!”

I have just finished putting down that ghoul that bit me when Moon arrives, carrying Sunny in her TK. I swear she is setting up an aid point as she goes to work on my injuries before returning to Sunny.

Soon I see the Colonel get between us and the ghoul lieutenant as she yells to us, “I have lieutenant Cake from yesterday with me, do not shoot him.”

“Ma, what are you doing down here?” Epona calls out in reply.

Doc Sutures yells back to her, “Because we found out you were coming into here without a medic, now let me look at those wounds.”

Both Sutures and Moon Lily begin to treat the injured as the fight continues. As additional ferals come at us Moon Lily stops what she is doing, putting up a shield while the others fight. As she works, I notice Sutures checks over Moon Lily’s work on Cowlick, barely shaking her head but twitching her ear.

After Sutures finishes working on me, she gets up and begins to check on Sunny. That is when I hear her say “Sunny, I am going to have to set your wing. It is going to hurt very bad when I do it, but after that, I will give you a healing potion and you should be good in a couple of days.”

“Ok Cousin Sutures do what you must.” He answers her.

Her horn begins to glow and she magically manipulates his wing. As she does this he begins to scream in pain and Moon Lily moves closer to watch what her mother is doing very closely. It only takes a couple of minutes, but soon we hear the ferals who have already departed growling as they return towards us.

As they approach from multiple directions, Moon moves her hoof as done by the cattle preachers at the services I have attended with Ginger. She moves her lips, then we all watch as two of them simply cease to exist. We bring down the other three quickly. It is as the second ghoul disappears that there is a flash of light. At the time we are two busy fighting but after the fighting is done, we see she now has her cutie mark.

She hardly expresses any emotions over it. Then she pulls out a sheet from her saddle bag. I watch stunned, as she approaches the closest of the feral ghouls and covers it. I barely hear her say a brief prayer and again, moving her hoof in that rhythmic pattern. I then hear the Lieutenant quietly ask, “Colonel what is she saying?”

The Colonel in a mournful tone tells him, “She is giving them the blessing of the dead in the cattle tongue and asking Sweet Cream to judge them favorably.”

She does this with all of the ghoul remains, before she comes back over to us and says, “Ma, could you check my leg? I think I got bit earlier.”

Sutures begins to examine her, and we all can now see on her flank a solar eclipse with a phoenix flying wings fully extended in front of it. Moon does not become excited but exudes a simple pride in her new mark as we all congratulate her on them.

Soon the Colonel uses her PipBuck to call High Grade, “High Grade, this is Lieutenant Colonel Mollygirl. You can begin the final phase of this operation.” As she says this, I realize that we are done. We have accounted for all of the ferals we were told about.

I hear him reply, “Roger ma’am, they are on their way in now.”

That is when the mule ghoul lieutenant tells us, “I know I told you all about the supplies that we had housed in here; now I want to show you what the biggest reason for it was. Follow me.” As we begin to regroup and follow him, we all find ourselves shifting our weapons to the ready.

Honestly, we already have an idea, but the Colonel and the others do not. We follow him down a side corridor that we had not been through earlier. As we go, I see a sign that reads Reactor Room, Keep Out. Further down the hallway is another one that says Cryogenic Storage Facility. Restricted Area, Authorized Personnel Only. Deadly Force Authorized.

The Lieutenant stops at a terminal by the door under the sign and punches in a password again and smiles as he tells Mollygirl, “I will write it down in a bit for you.”

We all follow him through the door. That is when we see over twenty large tanks that are connected by hoses. Around the room, there are several warning placards for liquid nitrogen and freeze damage warnings to unprotected tissue.

I am looking off to the side when I hear the Colonel asks, “Ok, Lieutenant, so what is all of this for?”

As I turn my head, I can see him smiling as best he can as he tells her, “Ma’am, these are the real treasures here. What you are seeing are storage containers for frozen embryos. Part of the deal to purchase this land from Sweet Corn’s family was that the Equestrian government was required to store frozen embryos from not just ponies, but cattle. From what the Captain was telling me, ya’all are having problems with genetic diversity for the cattle. Well, this should really help with that.”

Next to me, I can see Cowlick nodding out of the corner of my eye. I also see Twinks put a hoof on his shoulder and smile.

She smiles at what he has just told us. Then she turns to us and tells us, “Good job all, now let’s head into the White Cloud Inn, you all have earned a drink and I am buying.”

As we walk out, my father and I are side by side. I tell him, “Thanks for coming Father.”

He quietly tells me, “You are welcome, but do not worry me like that my son. I know your work is dangerous, but a father should not outlive his child.”

I nod my head. “My apologies father. I am just following the example you have set for me.”

He then looks at Ginger and quietly asks, “With this new discovery, do you think that you and she may consider carrying one of these unborn?”

I shrug as I answer, “Time will tell Father, but that would have to be a joint decision between both of us.”

He smiles, “A good answer my son. You do make a father proud, even if worried.”

Soon we are back outside again and it feels almost like we are entering a new world as we all find our way to the Pub in White Cloud and break the news there of what we have found. It is there that Lieutenant Johnny Cake finds out how much of a new world it is, and how much their sacrifice was appreciated as the local cattle preacher buys him a drink and sits to talk with him, and tells him.

*****

Junction Town, NCR: Choo Choo

“Miss Choo, will you follow me?” I hear the young unicorn stallion ask me.

In response, I stand up and I tell Days End and Double Back, “Please wait here for me.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Days End answers. Double Back merely nods his head and acknowledges the order with his ear movements.

As I enter the office of the Lead Ranger. I see Chief Ranger Faintstride sitting behind his desk wearing his wide-brimmed ranger hat. As I look him over, I cannot help but think how his light tan coat and white mane and tail must have helped him to blend into the wastelands. I also notice how wide his eyes get when he notices my re-earned cutie mark and I hear him say, “By the Goddesses, they weren’t lying.”

I find myself smirking as I tell him, “I guess not, it is a nice flank isn’t it.”

I hear him laugh lightly as he shakes his head, “Yeah, I guess it is, but honestly, I was not checking you out Choo. It is the fact that as an alicorn, you now have a real cutie mark. And before you ask, I have talked with Veteran Rangers Blackberry Pie and Chip, so I know about your previous use of paint. By the way, that was good thinking back then.”

I find myself blushing slightly when he says this, as I have always felt blasphemous in a way when I would pretend to be her royal highness, Luna. But I simply answer him by saying, “Thank you, sir.”

He then tells me, “Please sit, I need to talk with you about you and your team’s previous mission.”

“Of course, Chief,” I say as I take the offered seat.

“I have seen the photos your team took from the other side of the Doorway. Choo, are we in danger of others coming here the same way?”

I sigh, as I have wondered this myself and am not really sure. “I don’t think so. The energy source to the Doorway was disconnected when we got back.”

“Good, good. Is it in a safe location?”

“Yes, it is. Very few know for sure where it is. And not all of them understand what it is for.”

He nods his head. Then he changes the subject. “Your team also did well during the Hoofington operation.” He pauses, “Would you and them consider becoming official Rangers for the NCR?”

I shake my head this time, “Chief, we don’t mind hiring on as we have, but we want to be able to walk away if we feel we are being thrown away or used as bait again.”

“But Choo, that wasn’t the Rangers.”

I hold up a hoof and then tell him, “Chief, we know that. But there may come a time in the course of your duties when you would be tempted. Besides, this means you can still pretend we never were employed by you when we go into certain places.”

I watch as he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I see. I can understand your motives, even if I feel they are unfounded. Now back to the previous subject, your mission in Hoofington. What were the feelings you got down there towards the NCR, don’t sugarcoat it.”

“Chief, they consider the NCR as potent as a mule and we were questioned several times down there about our government. We told the truth as we know it.”

He nods his head. “And the Enclave?”

“In my opinion?” he nods in the affirmative and I continue, “I think they are almost back on their hooves and spoiling for a fight. They want the old Equestria back, but they want to run it, and they do not want any undesirables in it. You know, non-Enclave pegasi or the rest of us.”

We talk for a while more about our mission down to Hoofington and what occurred. Then he puts his forehooves on the table, crossing them as he leans forward and asks, “So Choo, what were the princesses like over there?”

I can’t help but grin as I tell him all about them and our tea. After we are done, I am dismissed and led to a nearby hotel with my other two team members and Blackberry’s team. As we get to our rooms for the evening, I am told by one of the local Rangers that guided us, “In the morning, have your stuff ready Ma’am. We will be taking you to the local headquarters of the Followers. I do believe after that you will be taken to their alicorn camp.”

“Alright. Will you be the one taking us there?”

She shrugs, “Not sure, but if told to, I will.”

“Well then, have a good evening and hopefully we will meet again.”

“As well. If it is under positive circumstances, I would be happy to.” She looks at my flank one last time, smiles, and shakes her head as she walks away.

I guess I am going to have to get used to everyone checking out my flank now. I sigh as I realize how different I am now from the others of my kind. Then I look at the copy of the photo that the Chief Ranger gave me of myself and Luna as well as our team with all of those we meet for tea on the other side of the Doorway.

As I look at the photo, I begin to think of what the chief asked me about having my team go back through on a regular basis to explore the other timelines, as he called them. This brings me back to thinking about the other part of that discussion. The need to wait until this current bruhaha building with the Enclave is either over or has blown by.

I will have to discuss this with the rest of the Repair Ponies when I get the chance. As I am thinking this, I begin to ready myself for the night. I first take a nice warm shower; I choose a book from the library and have a Nuka-Cola Rad brought to my room. I then settle down to read another chapter of this book called the Book of Little Pip. I have heard much about it and the Destroyer, and I want to hear what happened in her own words as she seems to be such a hero to others that they call her the Light Bringer.

I have finished up to the point where she confronted my sisters in the ruins of Canterlot by the time I decide to put it down for the night. I find it interesting and a bit distressing to read it from her side, and yet still retain the memories of my sisters who were there and their deaths at her hooves. But honestly, after having met Luna in the other universe, I do admit I feel less than sorry about the death of my sister Night Seer, who desecrated the princess's remains.

I awake in the morning to a light knock on my door. I take the Book of Little Pip from the nightstand next to the bed and place it in my saddlebag before I answer the door. I am still wiping the sleep from my eyes as I answer the knocking.

When I open the door, I notice Doctor Tourniquet from the Followers is there.

“Good morning, Choo. It is good to see you again. May I come in?”

I slowly nod my head and indicate for him to enter with my wing, “Please do, it has been a while, sir.”

“Yes, it has, the last time you visited Fort Hope I do believe.” He tells me as he enters the room and closes the door behind him.

I nod my head and remember seeing him there. That is much more of a pleasant memory for both of us than of him being a civilian doctor who joined us on the Expedition against Silver Spite.

“I see a smile Choo, what memory are you thinking of?”

I shrug and I tell him, “Oh, just that night we interrogated those prisoners at the valley and I was disguised as Luna.”

He laughs lightly, “Yes, I remember that one. Quite a good show that was. But that is part of why I am here. Let me see your flank.”

Without thinking I turn and let him examine my cutie mark on both sides. As he does this, I hear him say under his breath, “Well I will be.” He then looks up, “Choo this is real. How did you get it back?”

“Doc, I don’t know if I can tell you, but honestly, even if I do, I am not sure if you would believe me.”

He laughs, “Choo after we were assisted during the expedition by a spirit I have come to believe in a much wider world. Especially after I have met some of the Others.”

“So, you know about the Doorway?”

He cocks his head, then asks, “Is that what you are calling the portable portal they came to our side through?” I nod my head and he asks, “And that had something to do with this.”

I nod my head, “In part. But honestly, Doctor, are you cleared for this information?”

I see him take a deep breath, then he pulls out three letters, The first is from the Deep State, the Director of the NCR Intelligence Agency. The second from Faintstride with the Rangers, and the third from the office of the President and signed by Regina herself. All authorizing me to discuss the Doorway and our mission with Doc Tourniquet.

I look up at him and I tell him, “Maybe it would be easier if I just showed you a couple of pictures.”

He looks skeptically at me, “Really Choo, I doubt a couple of pictures could explain that much.”

I use my TK to bring out the pictures of me next to Luna and the other group shot. When he sees the one of me with Luna he turns his head slightly and cautiously asks, “That isn’t really her is it? I mean that is just one of your sisters.”

“No, that really is Luna. Just one from another timeline. Here look at this one.”

He looks at it and asks, “I recognize Luna and Celestia, but who is the other alicorn?”

I smile softly and tell him, “That my friend is Twilight Sparkle. In that universe she never became a ministry mare, the war with the Cesar never happened, and she was able to follow her path and ascend to being an alicorn.”

“What? How can that happen?”

I simply shrug my wings. “I am not sure. Maybe I can ask if I ever return there.”

Looking nonplussed he nods his head, “Yes, perhaps. I envy you having gotten to do so.”

“Do not envy me, my friend, for it reminded me of everything we lost that horrible day.”

Suddenly he looks uncomfortable. “Yes, I forget how long-lived you are.” He shakes his head sorrowfully, “My condolences on such a horrible reminder my friend.”

I lightly touch his shoulder with a wing and I tell him, “I appreciate your sympathy, but honestly, I have learned to live with it. So, what do we have on the agenda today?”

“Choo, we will be transporting you to the Followers camp for alicorns over in Whitetail Woods this morning. If I may, I would like to recommend your two escorts be left behind. Perhaps for additional training by either the Followers or by the Rangers.”

I am just about ready to argue about this with him when he holds up a hoof and tells me, “Choo, Whitetail Woods is highly irradiated with magical energy. I cannot even go there; it would kill me. It is staffed by Hellhounds and Ghouls from the Followers.”

This gets me to raise an eyebrow, “But how? I thought the Gardens of Equestria cleaned out all of the Magical Radiation.”

He shakes his head, “We had thought it would, but no, the missiles brought down by Celestia had contaminated it so strongly even that was not enough.”

I turn my head, “Is this one of the sources for Aqua Pura that the ghouls are able to drink?”

He nods his head, “A minor one mind you. Most is still obtained from foreign lands. But some. Why?”

“Besides the large community of ghouls at Dead Quiet, I have two employees who have that condition. I have found I have become quite fond of them.”

He raises an eyebrow. “In what way? I do remember your former fiancé had become a ghoul according to the others who went under the mountain with you.”

I nod my head, “Yes, but he is different. These two, well we woke them from the long sleep.” I look down and then up at him, “Doc, they are mother and foal. They were being chased by a mob on the last day.”

He looks surprised and asks, “Why would a mob chase a mother and foal?”

I look at him and tell him, “The mother was a zebra, the child, a zony.”

“Ah, now I understand. Well, perhaps we can make sure that we can get an occasional ration to them in payment for your helping us with this?”

“Perhaps. I would like my team members to come with me as far as is safe for them. On the trip, we can discuss who they will train with.”

“Sounds good Choo, but before we go, I need to take you to our office for a full check-up to set a baseline for before and after you visit our camp.”

“Is that really necessary Doc?”

“Sadly, yes. Choo, you are no longer like all your sisters, things may affect you differently. So, we want to take a look and see what all has changed.”

“Alright, let me grab Double Back and Days End and we can go,” I tell him as I send a quick message via PipBuck to both of them.

I get a quick reply from both of them and within ten minutes we are on our way to the next part of our journey.

*****

Neighvarro, Grand Pegasus Enclave: Ball Lightning

I awake with Sundancer in my hooves and wings to a knock on the door of our room. As I stretch getting out of bed I call out, “Just a minute.”

She turns her head towards me, “That time already?”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

When I open the door, I see a uniformed corporal standing at attention with a packet under his left wing. He salutes me with his right wing and asks, “Sir, are you 1st Lieutenant Ball Lightning?”

I return his salute, allowing him to drop his, “Yes, that is me, Corporal, what do you have for me?”

He hands me the packet, “Sir, I am not sure, I was only told to deliver it to you.”

I nod my head, and take the package, “Thank you, Corporal. Have a good day,” I tell him in a form of dismissal. As he turns to walk away, I close the door behind me and go to the desk in my room. Once I open it, I see it is orders for me, assigning me back to Thunderhead.

From the side, I hear Sundancer asks with worry in her voice, “What is it dear?”

I take a deep breath and slowly let it out, “Just my orders assigning me back to Thunderhead. They have assigned me to a security platoon. It seems I was replaced in mine.”

“Does this mean they are taking Funnel Cloud and Gunter from you?”

I run a hoof through my mane and then put it under my chin to think briefly. Then I tell her, “I am not sure. It all depends on the needs of the Enclave. But I hope not.”

She nods her head in understanding. Then as she rests a hoof on my shoulder she asks, “When do you have to go?”

It then hits me. My orders do not say anything about taking my wife with me. In fact, they mention I will be quartered in the BOQ. Damn, I was just getting used to married life too. I then look at the orders again and I tell her, “Two days love. I will be leaving when the Haboob departs for Thunderhead.”

This time she sighs. Then she tells me, “Well we knew our jobs might separate us, I just had hoped it would not be so soon.”

“Yeah, me eighter,” I tell her as I place the orders back in the envelope and reseal it. Then I tell her, “Maybe we should go see the others to see if they have heard anything.”

As we head out the door, I see Funnel Cloud and Gunter both coming out of the BEQ. Both are in full uniform also, and neither looks particularly happy.

Once they see me, they both head in my direction. When they are about three meters away they stop and salute me. I return their salute and tell them, “Good Morning. I was just coming to let you know I received my new orders.”

Funnel Cloud nods his head, “We did to sir. We are being assigned to a security battalion out of Thunderhead.”

“So am I. They are sending me to the 353rd. How about you?”

I see the surprise on their faces. “Sir, why are they sending us to a security unit?”

“I was going to ask you that. But maybe, just maybe, they feel we now know how to run counterintelligence operations. I mean, we have been on both sides now.”

“Well, I would like to think of it that way,” Funnel tells me. Then he asks Sundancer, “Any word for your lot yet?”

She shakes her head, “No, not yet. But who knows the way things are anymore.”

He nods his head, “Unfortunately ma’am, I do. Part of why I never got seriously involved with anypony.”

“I do understand that. I just hope that if we are separated it is not for too long. But again, we all know, the needs of the Enclave.”

The other three of us all nod our heads at this. That is when I am surprised as I hear Funnel quietly say, “Ma’am, sir, the corporal and I were talking a bit, and the way things have been going, maybe we should have a plan if things go really bad. I mean branding kind of bad.” He pauses, looks around, and then quietly says, “After being here in Neighvarro and seeing how they still look down on us Thunderheaders, as well as how the last couple of missions have gone, I have begun to worry.”

Both Sundancer and I nod our heads then I tell him, “I can understand that what do you have in mind?”

“Sir, having looked at the places we have traveled through. If I might suggest if things go bad, maybe we follow the Sergeant’s example.”

“You mean White Cloud?” I ask quietly.

He nods his head, “Yes sir. Perhaps make it a rally point of a kind.”

Beside me, I hear Sundancer tell him, “Sergeant Major, I do believe that is a splendid idea if we need it.”

The four of us then head to breakfast together where we are joined by Alto and most of the rest of Airburst team.

At breakfast, Sundancer asks, “So where is the boss?”

One of the other of their team members looks up and quietly answers, “Over at our employer's office trying to get us our next job.”

“I wonder where we will be going next?” I hear Alto ask.

Then I hear Gunter say, “I am not sure, but I think you will be finding out before too long.” As he says this I look to where his wing is pointing and I see Air Burst coming in our direction, and he does not look happy.

Once he arrives with the rest of his people, still standing he tells them, “We are heading home to Thunderhead for a bit. We are being put on the shelf for now. We leave on the next airship heading home.” He then looks at me, “How about you Lieutenant, do you have orders yet?”

I nod my head and I tell him. He shakes his head and I hear him say, “They are putting us all on the shelf it seems. I am sorry to hear that my boy.”

I then shrug my wing and tell him, “Well, it happens. Besides, you can use the break to think about what to suggest to your bosses next.”

“If only it worked that way Ball. If only it worked that way.”

“Any Idea of what they may have you do in the meantime?”

“Hopefully they will give my team more time for training. Other than that, I am not sure.”

I nod my head as do several others around us. Then I ask, “Which ship are you taking?”

He answers, “The Haboob of all ships. She was with Neighverro when they attacked Thunderhead all those years ago.”

“Well, at least we are heading home. I know I will be glad to get away from here. I have had a couple of the civilians make comments once they heard my accent.” Alto tells us.

I nod my head and twitch an ear for emphasis, as both Sundancer and I have had the same type of treatment during the last couple of weeks. Seeing how the others react, I can assume they have as well. “Air, how can we keep the Enclave together if Neighvarro feels like this about us?”

He looks me in the eyes and tells me, “Ball, I like you kid, but never let me hear you say that again. If you want to get branded, fine. Don’t take me or even more importantly, your wife down with you. You got me?”

I am stunned at the venomousness in his voice. I simply nod my head. Then he tells me, “I will see you all at lunch. My team come with me; I want to talk to you about the additional training courses we can expect to come.”

Sundancer looks at me and kisses me lightly on the cheek before she trots after him. Beside me, I hear Funnel Cloud quietly say, “Let's go, sir. And for what it is worth, don’t take it personally. I have a feeling he is in heavy turbulence, if not a wind shear right now.”

“Yeah, your right. Let’s head on over to the Transient Pony Unit and see if they have anything for us to do today.”

Two days later I am standing on the rail of the Haboob as we get underway from Neighvarro. As we pull away, I notice how much of the city is built up around the base. Almost like they wanted the civilians to be in the way of any incoming attacks. This thought makes me shake my head. Near me I see Funnel Cloud leaning on the rail as well. He lets out a sigh and drops down from the rails and as he walks away, I see him shaking his head. I would love to know what he is thinking, but after the warning from Air Burst the other day, I dare not ask.

As I lean against the flight deck rail of the Haboob, just before one of the topside anti-griffon turrets, I notice that down the deck aways is Air Burst. I think about going to talk to him, but then I notice his face. I can see the hate as he looks at Neighvarro. I also notice his ears are pinned back. Then I remember him telling me one night by the fire how his entire fire control team was killed and he was the lone survivor during the battle when Neighvarro attacked Thunderhead. I cautiously approach him and in the wind from our movement through the sky I can barely hear him say, “Damn them all to Tartarus.” Then I see him spit in their general direction, this is followed by him saying, “Bastards, every bucking one of them. Their Goddesses damned gits too.”

“Air, while I have to agree with you, remember we are still on one of their ships.”

He looks at me surprised and asks, “Did I say that out loud?”

I nod my head, “Yeah you did. Now, something happened back there, this goes beyond the unpleasantness of ten years ago.”

He nods his head, “Yeah, but I really can’t say anything about it. But I will tell you, us placing Corporal Anan there as an undercover agent did save our flanks.”

I nod my head. “Well at least we did something right I guess.”

“Well, that and we know a bit about their POW facilities as well as the layouts of their local communities.”

I nod my head and really hope that information is not used against them. Even if they did capture us, they did treat us better than I had expected. I do wonder though if Anan will actually act as an agent, or if he just took this as his way to escape. Again, something I hope we do not have to find out.

“I am going to head inside Air, sorry for bothering you.”

“You were not a bother kid. I just have a lot on my mind, and thanks for reminding me to watch my mouth too.”

I smile at him and tell him, “Of course, you did the same thing for me and I am sure you would again if need be.”

I watch him tilt his head briefly and shrug his shoulder then he gives me a slight grin. I nod at him in return, turn and head back inside the Raptor class airship as it makes its best speed through the sky toward our home, well at least mine and Air Burst team's homes.

*****

Good evening to all my Wasteland Listeners out there. This is Ocean Shores coming to you live from Junction Town Radio. Bringing you the best music and news from the capital of the NCR.

In the latest news, The President Winter Breeze of the Grand Pegasus Enclave has sent representatives to our fair city in an attempt to de-escalate the rising tensions in response to the recent border clashes between them and the NCR. From an unidentified source, we have heard that part of the proposals was for a cessation of the use of teams of mercenaries and spies to stop the recovery of technology from before the last day. This is to extend towards the opening of stables that are still being located and the recruiting of their inhabitants by the finding powers. Among the clauses being asked in return is the sharing of such technology. There is currently no response yet to these overtures of peace.

In other news, there have been unsubstantiated reports from the Followers of the Apocalypse of an alicorn having regained her cutie mark. This has not been verified, but some have suggested this is just a ruse to try and demoralize those who are opposed to the Regina Grimfeathers regime in parliament. If this is true, the question then becomes, what does this mean for the NCR and Equus at large?

We will be back with more news and information following our next set of songs, starting with All the Things I’ve Done.

Author's Note

A lot has happened in this chapter. For those who have read FoE: Borderlands, I hope this fills in some of those blank areas I had left before as they were just not things Mollygirl would have seen. Part of that was Choo and what she was doing during this time.

As for Ball Lightning and his team, we can see the tension that still exists in the reunited Enclave after all these years. We can also see how they have to live and hide their thoughts and feelings from the powers that be. This chapter has also allowed me to show you a bit more of Air Burst's past and how it affects him as well.

I hope you the readers are still enjoying the story and remind you to feel free to comment if you would like to.

For those who wish to listen to this chapter's song, the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHnWVVTAk5k