Chapter 31: Not Backing Down

"Just because someone doesn’t like to fight doesn’t mean they can’t.”

— Methos, Highlander: The Series

Hoofington Grand Hotel, Lunar Commonwealth: Ginger Snaps.

The entire floor of the hotel is a beehive of activity it seems as we get ready for first, breakfast, then our first meeting with the leadership of the Society, and by extension, the probable meeting with Papa Badger’s birth family.

From the other room, I can hear our parents telling our younger siblings to hurry up. Because we are going to the Society as the official escorts for the delegation, we once again don our black uniforms.

I am coming out of our room after getting dressed and kitted out when I overhear my husband quietly saying, “It is ok Father Badger. I do understand what it is like. But it has changed.”

“I know son, it, it is just hard to deal with is all. But thank you for understanding. You probably are the only one of this entire delegation who does.”

Soon after this, our entire entourage is on their way. Our travel there is uneventful, however, once we get there, we are stopped by the gate guards. I recognize one of them and he discreetly flicks an ear at me in acknowledgment. Before any of our team can say something, Aunt Haze steps up and presents the letter of invitation from the First Citizen.

The guard takes the letter and envelope from her and reads them. I notice his lips moving as he reads it and think, well at least he can read. He finally looks up and says, “Hold on a minute while I call my superiors.”

As he uses those words, I sense the shift in Papa Badger’s attitude as his eyes begin to half close and his ears begin to go back. I am still scanning around, but I notice Mama Sumac putting a hoof on his side.

Then Bucky asks, “Hey Dad, what’s wrong?”

Badger sighs as his ears begin to go forward again. He then tells him, “Sorry son, just some bad memories from when I was a foal here.”

“Dad, you lived here as a foal?” Shadowbuck asks with a stunned tone of voice.

I do not hear his reply but I see the stallion Xochitl had talked to on the train approaching us with two more security guards. They stop in front of all of us and the older gray stallion says, “Welcome to Elysium, the hub of the Society and its farms.” He looks at all of us and then adds, “It is very nice to see all of you again,” He pauses and sees Raven and adds, “Especially you young mare.”

Raven the attention sponge she is, practically beams at him and she curtsies and she tells him, “Thank you, sir.”

He quickly looks at his pastern watch and tells all of us, “Ah, we need to hurry so we are not late for tea. Please, everypony follow me.”

I must smile to myself though as we go in as I notice Rain Dancer while flying low, has his tail hanging low enough it can wrap with Millie’s.

As we continue Upper Crust continues talking, primarily to Badger. As he does this, I notice Purple Haze at first is irritated by this, but then her irritation changes to curiosity. Myself, I am just keeping an eye out for trouble and making sure our group stays caught up.

“So, Badger, after our conversation on the train the other day I decided that I needed to make some inquiries for you concerning your mother. I do hope you do not mind?” The stallion asks him.

Papa Badger seems slightly irritated and just shakes his head and replies, “No, not at all. I am just surprised that you took such an interest in me is all.”

I hear the smile in Upper Crust's voice as he tells someone, “Well, I had heard a version of this tale many years ago from my wife. She once had a son named Honey Badger who ran away and she never knew what happened to him.” He pauses and takes a quick side look at Badger and then adds, “My wife’s name is Honeysuckle. That would not have happened to have been your mother’s name, would it?”

Papa Badger stops dead in his tracks, as do I and a couple of others. He stares at the stallion briefly and he answers in a hoarse voice, “Yeah, that was mom’s real name.”

The stallion then asks gently, “So you really are Honey?”

To which he slowly nods his head. I am stunned to find out my adopted father’s real name is Honey Badger and not just Badger, and by looking at many of those with us, I am not the only one. Finally, Papa Badger says, “Is, is she here? Can I see her? I want her to meet her daughters-in-law and our children.”

Upper Crust smiles and tells us, “She will be at the luncheon as will be your brother, Honeycreeper.”

Papa Badger has a tear in his eye which he quickly wipes away as he says, “I really would like that.”

Smiling, Upper Crust responds, “Ok, then,” as we enter the doors to a long chamber that is fancily decorated, he says, “They are waiting in the day room. We will meet them there and have lunch. After lunch, the First Citizen will meet with Purple Haze and her contingent. He pauses and turns to look at Purple and tells her, “Please forgive us for having everyone attend, but it was my idea so that my family could be reunited.”

Aunt Purple smiles as she tells him, “No sir, I understand entirely, as I am related indirectly to them so they are my family as well.”

We enter the day room, and I quickly scan it. Off to one side is a mare in a wheelchair with a ghoul servant that she is talking to. But in front of us is a mare that is about 10 years older than Mama Sumac. She has a gray coat as well as a brilliant yellow mane and tail. I quickly notice the Honeysuckle flower on her flank and I see both her and my Papa Badger tear up as they slowly approach each other. Finally, she sits down and holds out her forehooves, and says, “Honey Badger, my little colt, you have grown up.” Beside me, I hear my husband sniffle slightly and smile sadly at them.

Badger slowly and carefully hugs her back. I see him draw in her scent and she, his. Then I hear him say, “Mom, it has been so long. I am so sorry.”

From the side, we can see another stallion who is a couple of years younger than Badger, with an off-white coat and orange mane and tail, say, “So this is really him Ma?”

She nods her head as she continues to hug her long-lost son. “Yes Honeycreeper, this is your long-lost brother. He has come home.”

Once the hug has ended Badger tells her, “Ma, first I want to introduce you to my spouses.”

Next, all of my and Epona’s younger siblings begin to step forward and I hear Woodrow say, “Grandma, it is so nice to actually meet you.” She is soon mobbed by the rest as they all come forward for a hug from a grandmother who had just re-found her family.

When I get my chance to finally introduce myself and Xochitl she smiles and tells me, “It is good to see you two again. You know, that day I never imagined you were family.”

I grin back at her as I tell her, “You know what, neither did I, But I am glad to find out it is so.”

My team enjoys lunch with them. But after it is finished, as they continue to visit, we follow Aunt Purple and her people during their meeting with the 1st Citizen.

Toward the end of the meeting, Aunt Purple is invited for a private meeting on the back porch of the mansion. As her party’s escorts the three of us are allowed to stand far enough away that we cannot hear what is being said, but close enough that we can protect both. Our numbers during this are bolstered by two more of the First Citizen’s own private guards as well.

I can tell when one of them recognizes us as their eyes go wide briefly but they say nothing. Though they do briefly acknowledge us with a quick nod.

After the meeting is done, we return to the main hall where the rest of the delegation is at. As we enter, I see Honeysuckle has all my siblings as well as Windy’s son, and Millie’s special somepony Rain Dancer sitting collectively around her. As she and Badger exchange stories.

While Badger and the family continue to visit, Purple Haze and several of the others are led on a tour of the flower gardens. As they are asked, I notice my little brother Woodrow’s ears pop up and he looks like he wants to go too. Before he can say anything, I hear Honeysuckle tell him, “You can see them next time you visit if you like.”

“Do you really mean we can come back and visit Granny?” he asks her with surprise in his voice.

I am heading out to escort the tour group as I hear her say back, “Of course my grandchild you are family and I want you all to visit me as much as you can while you are here in Hoofington.”

Once the tour of the gardens is finished the groups rejoin. I hear Purple Haze tell Badger, “Captain, while I hate to say it, it is getting late in the day and we need to return to our hotel to get ready for the reception this evening.”

I see the consternation on Pa’s face as he turns to Mama Sumac and his mother. Honeysuckle must see it also as she says, “I do understand, besides, you are still going to be here in town for some time yet, so please come visit as much as you are able to.”

Badger looks at his mother and asks, “Do you mean that Ma?”

She smiles lovingly at her newly returned son and tells him and the rest of our family, “Of course I do. I want to get to know all of you so much more. Besides, there is so much to show all of you and to tell as well.”

Mama Sutures then tells the rest of us, “Ok, then. We best head back before it is too late. Oh and we need to swing by Chapel to pick up Mollygirl”

I hate to admit it, even to myself, but I breathe a sigh of relief when she says that, as I still remember how dangerous this area can be. Once all our goodbyes are said we are escorted back to the gate, and we begin our trek to first Chapel and then back to the Grand Hoofington.

We have already met up with Mama Mollygirl and are making our way through one of the seedier parts of our route when a blue pegasus with a black mane and tail steps out of the shadows of a doorway. He is shaking his head as he calls out, “Stop right there.”

Xochitl, Epona, and I all have our weapons drawn and trained on the stranger, but I quickly see he is not hostile via EFS. So, I signal the other two to relax and I call back, “What do you need?”

He walks slowly over to us with barely a sound being made. When he is close enough to talk in a normal voice he asks, “This the Manesville delegation?”

Before I can say anything, Aunt Purple tells him, “Yes, can we help you somehow?”

I see him smile at her and I hear a light chuckle from him, then he says, “Your lot certainly seems more polite than I would have expected for NCR types.” He then pauses briefly as he looks over our group and asks, “You wouldn’t happen to be Purple Haze, would you?”

I can tell Aunt Purple is a bit surprised, but overall, she does not show it as she replies, “Yes, that is me.”

Again, he shakes his head, he then tells her, “I was sent by the head of the Reapers to invite you to a meeting in two more days.” He looks at the entire entourage and then adds, “The invite is for you, and a small escort. No soldiers,” he says as he looks at my parents and Lieutenant Colonel Wind Rider.

Aunt Purple then asks, “Would the three who are our escorts currently be, ok?”

He looks at Epona, Xochitl, and me. He then asks, “They are not regular soldiers, right?”

Aunt Haze smiles, “No, they are part of my family but also do some private contracting.”

He nods his head and uses a wing to take a note out of his saddlebags and hooves it to Aunt Purple as he tells her, “This is an invitation letter from the Reapers. It has the time you are expected to arrive by. Don’t be late.”

He stops before he leaves and adds, “Two more things, “When you show up, you will have to turn in all non-close-quarter weapons. Knives, swords, power hooves are ok.” He pauses again as he listens to something it seems only, he can hear. Then he adds, “And do not take the same route twice on the same day. You have some of the Mayhems Mares waiting a couple of blocks further up on your route. Said something about waiting for some repair ponies, I used to be a bit of one myself, so I figured I should let you know. Professional courtesy and all.”

I smile and tell him, “Thanks for the heads up, Mister.”

He smiles sadly and shakes his head, and under his breath, I hear him say, “Manners, in Hoofington, that is refreshing.” Then he disappeared into the shadows once again.

I find it interesting that Ma Mollygirl almost acted like she recognized the strange pegasus from the Reapers. What was more interesting is that almost none of them realized they had met a Reaper until Epona explained it to them.

It happens as we are playing a hand of Euchre with me and Xochitl against Epona and Purchase. Papa Archer and Wind Rider are sitting next to us watching us play when suddenly Archer asks, “So, kids, what was up with that pegasus that stopped us earlier, you all seemed a bit surprised to see him.”

Taking the interruption for a quick break, Purchase Order takes a swig of Sparkle Cola just as Xochitl tells him, “Oh, he was one of the Reapers.”

I feel sorry for her as she starts to choke on her soda when Archer asks, “So what is a Reaper? And why should we be impressed with them?”

I am stunned and highly amused. I thought he would know that, but I guess not. When she finally catches her breath, she tells him, “Mister Archer, the Reapers are one of the big organizations here in the Hoof. Big Daddy is or was the head honcho over there. But to give you a bit of background. They are made up of the top 100 biggest and toughest beings in the Hoof. To become one, you have to defeat one.”

He looks thoughtful for a second and then says, “But he didn’t seem that tough to have an attitude.”

Purchase laughs and tells us, “Well, that one, he is one of the nicer ones. But don’t let appearances fool you. He has a long list of kills already.”

He nods his head and then asks, “Is it safe for you to be meeting them then?”

Purchase Order smiles at him and answers, “Meeting with the head of the Reapers if you are invited is safe. The problem is that all the want to be Reapers there will pick fights with others to show how tough they are and to prove how good of a fighter they are. Don’t show any weakness there either or they will be on you like timber wolves.” She pauses and then says, “Oh, and when you get to Reaper Stadium unless you are a Reaper, you have to turn in your weapons at the door, but you get them back, when and if you leave.”

Papa Archer nods his head, turns to Windy, and tells her, “Mollygirl is not going anywhere near Reaper stadium. Her ego might get her into trouble there.”

Windy smirks and quietly tells him, “Do not let her hear you say that. But I do have to agree with you.”

Then Windy asks, “So, can we play winners of this hoof?”

*****

Hoofington Grand Hotel Lobby. Lunar Commonwealth: Xochitl

“You know Ginger, we really did do a good job of avoiding Reaper territory last time we were here,” I tell my wife with a smile.

Ginger simply sighs and shakes her head. Then she tells me, “I know and I had hoped to keep that streak going, but we both knew better with this job. Besides, we are just going in as escorts for Aunt Purple. Then back out again. If anyone challenges us, we just keep our muzzles shut and simply tell them we are there on business.”

“Dear, I am afraid that may be easier said than done,” I look at the door to the stairwell and I see Epona emerging with Purple Haze right behind her. Well at least she knows how to use her horn, I guess.

Once we are all together, I lead out onto the front porch of the hotel with Purple Haze behind me and she is followed by Epona and Ginger both equal distance behind her and from each other.

As we are walking down the street, I hear her finally ask, “Now that we are away from the others, I must ask, just what all were you three up to last time we were down here? I have noticed you are way too familiar not just with the area, but many of the ponies here as well.”

Behind her, I hear Ginger say in a fairly quiet tone of voice, “Aunt Purple, really we can’t talk about it.”

I am still looking forward as we travel so I cannot see their faces or body language, but I can hear a note of resignation in Purple's voice as she then says, “Ok, I will have to accept that. Now, is there anything I should know about where we are heading and who we are meeting with?”

Epona answers her this time, “Aunt Purple, we are heading to Reaper’s home, the Hoofington Sports Arena. It is both the former home of the professional hoofball team from Hoofington, and it is now home to the faction called the Reapers. As you know Big Daddy is the founder. He has a very old and long reputation in the Hoof. He has put together a gang of all the toughest beings in the region as a single faction. To become a Reaper, you must defeat one of them. Either in a formal setting, which you have to earn the right to challenge; or you have to kill one of them in combat.”

Epona pauses briefly and I watch as she suddenly stops and sweeps through some buildings ahead of us with the scope on her carbine. Then she continues. “The problem with Reaper stadium is that once you get there, a lot of those who are trying to become Reapers are hanging out and acting tough. On the other hoof, we may be able to pick up some stuff while there, depending on what the merchants have available.”

Purple Haze replies to this information by telling her, “I find it interesting how this Big Daddy has found a way to lower the number of gang wars, by drawing in the meanest and toughest of all the gangs. Well, for a group of ponies who have avoided that part of town, you sure seem to know a lot about it.”

This time Ginger answers, “Aunt Purple, you have to know those who you may encounter in our line of work.”

We are about halfway there when I hear a familiar voice call out, “Hay Cookie, Flower, heard you were back in town.”

I look up and I see one of the younger Burner Boys along with their lieutenant Naphtha and a couple of others all heading in the same direction.

I wave back and once closer tell them, “It is good to see all of you again. How have things been going?”

They all shrug, except Naphtha who tells us, “Better than when we first met. But We have been having some issues with the Mayhem’s Mares and Broken Clocks lately. By the way, rumor has it they know you guys are back in town. You might want to let Big Blue and the others know.”

Ginger nods her head and waves back, “Thanks for the heads up. We appreciate it.”

As she says this, I notice several of them looking around then one of them asks, “Big Blue isn’t around right now, is she?”

Ginger has a smile in her voice as she answers, “Maybe, maybe not, you know how Big Blue is.”

I then overhear Purple Haze quietly asking, “Big Blue?”

Epona tells her, “We will explain more later.”

“So, where you heading?” Epona asks them.

“Reaper Stadium, we have a couple of bucks here who feel frisky and want to work out some. How about you?” Naptha responds.

“Business, our employer here has a meeting with the head of the Reapers.”

I notice the body language change for the more junior Burner Boys. Naphtha simply raises an eyebrow and reappraises Purple Haze. Finally nodding her head as she seemed to make up her mind on something.

Our two groups continue along the way with each other. I find myself talking with a couple of them who we worked with before.

“How’s it been Flameover?”

“Not bad Flower. Been kinda boring since you left to be honest. The Broken Clocks are really upset about the clocktower still, but they have no idea who did it. Mayhem’s Mares are still licking their wounds too.”

I find myself smirking at that. “Have they tried to cause you any more problems?”

“Not yet. They did sniff around a bit, but nothing serious.”

“Glad to hear it. We did not want to cause any more grief to come down on you.”

He nods his head, “Yeah, but after they snuffed out a couple of ours, we owed them, so we appreciated the help getting payback. By the way, is that one-headed brahmin with you still? Salt taught us some really neat tricks and we were wondering if he had some more to share.”

“Well, the next time I see him I will ask him for all of you,” I tell him.

“Great, thanks Flower.”

At about this time, we are getting close to the Hoofington Dome. I notice first that the stadium does not have the dome on it that gave it its name. There are several large carriage lots surrounding the outside of it. I then notice the fencing around them. Next, I notice the shipping containers that seem to almost make a small village as well. Among the containers, I see shops set up as well as small fighting rings and other areas for training. I find myself nodding as I watch those in the training areas going through the motions and honing their body skills to move almost automatically.

By now we are getting close enough to the entrance that I can see the signs directing visitors to turn in the weapons at the armory trailers located near the south main interest. Flameover sees me looking at the sign and asks, “First time here?”

“Yeah, but we know about having to turn in our weapons while here.”

“And you are ok with it?” he asks.

I shrug, “They do the same thing with the stable back home. There even most of the officers have to turn in theirs at the armory unless it is an emergency situation or in the line of duty.”

He seems surprised and asks, “Flower, you and the others are stable ponies?”

I laugh when he asks this and tell him, “No, the stable in Manesville has been open for over a century. They use it as a military headquarters and barracks now. The rest of us live in town or on farms.”

He seems surprised and asks, “Are the towns big there?”

“Nothing like here. Even before the final day, it was a backwater from what I have learned.”

Finally, we are at the gates of an area where four shipping containers have been welded together. There are two counters there. One has a sign saying weapons check-in and the other weapons check-out. Behind the counters are some ponies that look like typical gang ponies. Nothing special to look at, but not as rough as raiders.

I watch as first, the Burner Boys turn in their weapons. Then Naphtha turns to us and tells us, “Well, if you are going in, you need to give up your weapons.”

I turn to Purple Haze and she nods to me. I step forward to the counter and they use a grease pencil to write my name on my weapons, as I hoof them first my zebra carbine, then my pistol. I begin to reach for the family knife that I carry and the clerk tells me, “Best keep that one. Melee weapons like that are ok.”

“Oh, thanks,” I tell him and move to the side as both Ginger and Epona step up, in turn, to add to the process.

As Epona steps up, one of the clerks looks at her centurion sword and begins to be snarky with her by telling her, “I see you bought a sword. You know they really are not that impressive.”

Epona simply tilts her head and tells her, “I did not buy it. I took it off the legionnaire I killed in a close-quarter battle. But, whatever.”

They think they are being smart still when she asks her, “So where did you do that, you don’t seem old enough to have been around when they were still big here.”

Epona looks her in the eyes and coldly tells her, “Fort Hope, seven years ago. I snuck in on the raid with my mother to get the Praefect.”

Still being snarky the mare asks, “You mean the Legate?”

Epona shakes her head, “You know buck about the legion, don’t you? The Praefect was third in line. When the Legate disappeared the legion split. He took part of them with him.”

“You are really smart-mouthed; you should watch that here. Someone here might try and change that for you.”

Epona taps her chest with a hoof, “Frog landing zone bitch, you feel froggy, jump. Otherwise, shut up and do your job and I will do mine.” She starts to turn and then pauses as she tells her, “I don’t get my weapons back when we leave, I will show you what these swords are good for, do you understand me?”

I see she looks shocked and her partner puts a hoof on her chest and lightly pushes her back, whispering something to her. That is when I notice that Ginger has moved closer and has her ears pinned back already and is looking daggers at the clerk.

Then I see Purple Haze reach into her saddlebags and pull out a Colt E1911 .45 auto pistol. I smile as I notice that it is nickel plated with gold inlay. Luckily, I stop myself from laughing when notice that engraved on the sides is Failed Diplomacy. She sets the pistol down and tells them, “Take special care of this, if it comes up missing, the results would be,” she pauses as she thinks about how to word it, then says, “Unpleasant, for both you and whoever took it.”

The clerk snickers and asks, “Why do you say that?”

“Oh, because of the curse put upon it by a zebra shaman. Something about a revenge spirit or something. But you have been warned.”

I watch as the mare gently picks it up and carries it to the back as if it is a venomous snake. Purple then tells me, “OK, let us make our way inside now.”

As we head inside, we are met once again by the large blue pegasus from the other day. He looks at his watch and smiles. “Glad to see you took the time of the appointment so seriously, please follow me and I will lead you and your people in.”

He leads us through the corridors that go along the outer walls of the stadium. As we pass one entrance to the stands, I notice a large scoreboard with pictures of all the Reapers as well as their ranking number and names. On one end of where the field used to be is a large caged arena that is currently being used for a fight.

He sees where I am looking and asks, “You interested in becoming a Reaper kid?”

I shake my head, “No, just checking out the scenery. I like the job I have, and besides, I am not from around here.”

He does not say much more to me as we continue along our way. Finally, we come to an area of the hallways that are less cluttered than most of the others. As we enter it, I can see the team posters of those who played here against the Hoofington Reapers. The teams are from all over the former Equestria, including Cloudsdale, Appleloosa, and Fillydelphia. But the ones that seem to almost be a religious shrine are those of the Manehatten Maulers. I see that and smile.

The Reaper with us asks, “SO, why are you smiling?”

I nod towards the wall covered with graffiti but untouched posters as I tell him, “There is real respect there for their rivals. I would say by the graffiti and how those posters are in as perfect condition as they can be for their age, they were their top rivals.”

He looks at me in an appraising manner and asks, “And what makes you say that?”

I look at him and tell him, “You respect your toughest opponents. If your opponents are not worthy of respect, then, are you?”

He seems surprised at my answer and quietly says, “A philosopher too. You know you are not the typical merc nowadays.”

Finally, we reach a door with a plaque on it saying, Manager. He stops, knocks on the door, and tells us, “Miss Haze, please accompany me inside. The rest of you, please wait out here.”

Purple nods her head and tells us, “I will be out after we are done.” The three of us nod our heads and take our positions as we wait.

After a couple of hours, I hear the door knob click and we see Purple Haze come out first, followed by our Reaper escort. She tells us, “Thank you for waiting, we should get going now.”

We take up the same positions as before and follow our escort back out of the office area to the armory. We are almost there when I have an extra-large gray stallion with scars on one side of his face forcefully bump into me. I ignore him and try to keep moving forward but he steps in front of me and puts a hoof on my chest stopping me. I simply take my right forehoof and knock it away.

“Clear the way, I am on official business.”

The stallion laughs, “Business he says. He is in Reaper territory and he claims to be here on business.” He laughs some more and tells me, “Give me that knife business pony.”

“No.”

“I said give it to me. Reapers right to take what they want.”

I look at our guide and he rolls his eyes and shakes his head no.

As we have this exchange, I see several of the ponies with him shift to block our group's path. I look at this scarred stallion and tell him, “You’re not a Reaper, so no. Now move along and go play your games somewhere else.”

“Well, I am going to be one, so give it here and I might forgive you for not showing the proper respect.”

“See, where I come from that is not how it works. You really have to be something to claim the rights of that position. Otherwise, you are just a want to be trying to claim what is not yours. That makes you a Conpony, a thief, or a raider. So, which are you?”

As I was speaking, I was slowly getting myself ready for his attack, and when it comes, I am as prepared as I can be for it. He charges at me and takes a swing with a forehoof, landing the punch on my jaw and sending me flying back. I hit the wall, and am seeing stars and I taste blood in my mouth. I spit out the blood and a tooth. The others with him begin to advance and I hear Ginger calmly tell them, “Stay out of this. It is between them.”

I know where I am, but my mind takes me back to the Valley and our fight against the raiders there. I feel my heart pound in my chest and I fight back the memories. I can’t take too many more hits like that one so I will have to end this as quickly as I can. I am back on my hind hooves and make use of the combined slave form of self-defense. Father had no specific name for it, but it is effective.

He begins to come at me again and as he throws another punch, I dodge and roll to the side taking his forehoof and guiding him past me. Once he is past, I drop to my one forehoof and kick out with my back hoof and land it right behind his left ear.

As I recover my stance, I watch him shake his head then he is on his back hooves and he begins to come at me again. As he moves, I see his tail shift and I notice he has tail flail in it. I shift my footing and wait for him to make the next move, as he begins to bring his right forehoof back I notice his hip shift and his tail begins to move back for a strike. I roll the other way and as I stop, I draw my knife in my fetlock. He swings his flail and I jump over it, grabbing his tail by my teeth and cutting his entire tail off with my knife.

He howls in pain and as he begins to kick back at me, I spit out his tail and leap forward to his offside and lift his head with one hoof, while I put the knife under his throat and I quietly tell him, “It ends now, or your life does. Your choice.”

I see the fear and hatred in his eyes, but he answers, “It's done.”

I begin to let him go, but I feel him tense up as he begins to move to strike me again. I then whisper, “I mean it, your funeral if you do it.”

He goes limp in resignation and I hear him ask, “Someone get my tail and a bandage, we need a sawbones.”

I let him go and put my knife away. Ginger nods to me, and Epona puts away her sword that she had drawn while I was fighting and simply tells me loud enough for him to hear, “You should have killed him.”

One of the others who are with him, who also happens to be wearing the colors of the Mayhem’s Mares asks in a cautious tone, “Who are you?”

Ginger looks her in the eyes and calmly answers, “We are just some repair ponies here to do a job. Have a good day.” With that, she turns and asks Purple Haze, “You ready again Ma’am?”

I notice the ones with the Mayhem’s Mares all have their eyes go wide and their ears forward with Ginger’s reply, but they do nothing.

Purple nods her head and tells her, “Yes, let’s get our weapons and head back to our hotel.”

Behind us, I notice our Reaper escort leaning against a wall. He says nothing, but he does nod to us.

Once we are at the armory, we recover our weapons. The three of us slide to the side and begin a quick check to make sure they are all functional. When satisfied, we reload them and put them back on.

As Purple Haze receives her pistol back, the one clerk asks her, “So where did you pick up such a nice piece?”

Purple smiles and tells her, “It was a gift from the Twilight Society back in Ten Pony Tower, as a reminder of what I am working to prevent.”

He looks at her funny and asks, “What do you mean?”

She sighs and tells him, “Military action is the violent extension of diplomacy. However, it should be used when all other peaceful means have failed.” With that, she picks up her pistol, returns it to her saddlebags, and tells us, “Alright, let’s go.” As we walk, she also says, “Oh, and Xochitl, make sure to have Sutures check you out when we get back to the hotel.”

*****

Foal Mountain, Ministry of Peace Science Depot, NCR Territory: Choo Choo

While we wait for the rest of my and Mort’s teams to be brought down, I turn to Spiral Notebook and ask her, “What can you tell me about where we are going and who we are facing?”

She is surprised and asks, “Don’t you want to know about those you are going after?”

I find myself sighing as I tell her, “Of course I do, but you need to understand, I want an idea of what we are going into as well. How we can rescue those we are going after, is determined by those factors.”

She seems kind of surprised at this and asks me, “Choo, you sound like a soldier now, what happened?”

I realize how hard my voice must be sounding as I try to speak more gently, “Spiral, I was a soldier for the Goddess for two hundred years. After Unity was broke, I ended up spending over six years a scout for the Co-op Guard and the NCRA.”

She then shyly asks me, “Choo, what is the Co-op Guard and the NCRA?”

I shake my head slightly as I realize how isolated they have been here. Then I explain to her about the old Co-op and the NCR Army and what I did while in service.

She is stunned. “Choo, I never knew you had that in you.”

I smile at her and reply, “Spiral, neither did I.”

She then tells me, “I am having them brought down to the room outside of the Portal, shall we go meet them there and I can give you all the briefing at one time?”

“Yeah, that makes sense Spiral.” I pause and ask her, “Spiral with all this time that has passed, did you ever get married and have a family?”

She smiles sadly and tells me, “Yes, I did Choo. Two of those who are missing are my granddaughter and her husband. Both are scientists.”

“I am sorry to hear that they were captured, but I am glad to hear you had a family as well.”

“Thank you, Choo, let’s head down to meet the others, shall we.”

Soon we are entering an elevator. Once we reach the floor that is our destination, the doors open and as I step out, I see the rest of my team get off from an elevator opposite us.

As the door opens Twinks nervously tells me, “Mort and his people are on the next elevator car. Choo, what is going on?”

Behind her Cowlick comes out looking somewhat amused as does Sunny. Days End and Double Back both appear apprehensive to me. But the team forms up on me as we wait for the next elevator.

During the wait, I begin to introduce my team to Sprial. She seems very surprised to hear about Sunny’s parents being an earth pony and a unicorn. But her jaw drops when she meets Sweet Potato and he explains to her how he is originally from the other side of a portal.

“You mean you really were not born in our world?”

He shakes his head, “No ma’am, a good part of White Water came through the Doorway about six or seven years back. We were running for our lives. That is kind of why our people are wary of them.”

“Was it that much different where you came from?” she asks him curiously.

He shrugs, “Yes and no. There, well there, Red Eye’s army seems to have won. Our home in the Co-op was destroyed and many of those we knew were killed on that side or never existed on this side.”

“Excuse me, people never existed on this side?”

“Ma’am, events occurred that changed the possibility of others being born on both sides. I am surprised you have not experienced that yourself if you have traveled through the Doorway.”

About this time the elevator door opens again and I watch as Mort steps out first with the rest of his team behind him. He looks at me and asks, “Choo, what do you mean we are going through a doorway?”

“It’s a portal to another universe. They have lost a team of scientists and have requested we go through and rescue them.”

He shakes his head, “How long ago did this happen?”

I look at Spiral and she tells us, “Three days ago.”

“How do we even know that they are even alive, much less in the area if it has been three days?”

She looks at him and tells him, “Time differential. On that side, it has only been ten minutes. We are still trying to figure out when that universe came into existence as they are about two hundred years behind us, but the time dilation is greater than expected.” As she says the last part, she rubs her chin with a wingtip.

“WHAT? Choo, what are you getting us into?” Mort all but yells.

“Mort, I have known Spiral since long before the Final Day. She has asked us to do a quick snatch and grab for her.”

He sits on his hind haunches and crosses his forelegs. “What are we getting paid for this?”

She nods her head, “Choo told me that would be your response. What do you want?”

“Caps, lots of them. If not, something we can use to earn more caps.” Behind him I see several members of his team nod their heads.

Spiral looks at him and tells him, “What caps we had, were recycled. You must excuse us, but being as isolated as we are, we did not know their worth. However, we could offer you quarters as well as some weapons that we have, not all of them of course. Oh, and perhaps you would like some of the improved healing potions that we have developed.” She pauses and when she continues tells us, “They are an offshoot of the original megaspell, which coincidentally was developed here too. They are more powerful than the original healing potions. They seem to work much like Hydra, but without the nasty side effects. However, for a severe brain injury, while they will save your life, you may lose many of your memories and will have to relearn how to use those portions of the brain that were destroyed or damaged before.”

The Troubleshooters look at one another, then Mort says, “Deal. Now let us talk about the mission.”

She leads us into another room, with a table surrounded by chairs. On one end is a chalkboard with information written on it. As we file in, she has us each take a seat. Once seated she tells us, “I really appreciate your doing this. My people are scientists mainly. Our security team is just not up to snuff to perform the type of rescue we are going to do.”

As she says this, the Kirin called Smiley nods and then says, “You say we as if you are going to, is this the royal we?”

She shakes her head, “No, it is not a royal we. I am going to share the risk with you. This also helps to guarantee that we will keep the gate open for your teams.”

I am surprised at this and look quickly at her. She looks back at me and nods. “Well, I always Cosplayed Daring Do, now it is time for me to really do it.”

When she says the last part, the Troubleshooters all look confused. My team on the other hoof snicker slightly and I hear Twinks asks, "Is this like the faux Luna from the Valley that Ginger told me about?”

I feel myself blush as I tell her, “Yeah, sorta like that.”

Twinks grins and looks at Spiral Notebook and tells her, “Well, welcome to the herd then.”

We get a quick briefing of what was on the other side, and what the setup is like. As soon as we are done, she tells us, “The security chief will take you to the Portal Control Center. I will meet you there.”

Less than thirty minutes later both of our teams are assembled and ready to go through the Doorway. Sunny and I will be leading the way with Smiley right behind us.

I cannot help but smirk as Spiral walks in wearing a full Dearing Do outfit. Mort asks her,” Uh, shouldn’t you be wearing some barding to protect yourself?”

She grins and tells him, “Oh, this is all ballistic weave fabric. Another thing we have been working on. Much easier to move in, and protects against projectiles and slashes as well as the standard Equestrian Army barding.”

Mort grins and tells her, “Can we get some of that when we get back?”

With that, the familiar hum of the portal begins to become louder and I watch as Double Back and Days End have their jaws drop as the pink mist in the doorframe begins to swirl faster. Twinks looks back at the operators and nods to them. And we are given the hooves up to go. Spiral looks at me and tells us, “It is time to go Choo.” We both hoof bump and then I lead the way with Sunny and her flanking me, weapons at the ready as I fly through the entryway and into another world.

As we go through the portal, I throw my shield spell ahead of us. I hear screaming ahead of us, including some yelling “My Goddesses, the Princes is leading them, she has Daring Do with her, she knows we are traitors.”

My mind reels, they are traitors to Equestria. They, they betrayed our nation and lead to the world we now live in. Now I am angry. I start to lash out with my spells as well as weapons against those opposing us. I hear Days End yell, from behind me, “I’m hit!”

Twinks calls back, “On the way!” We are just coming to a long corridor when Cowlick runs past me, firing his heavy machine gun. Tater next to him acting as his loader.

We soon come to a room marked Security Only. I use my invisibility spell and sneak into it. Once inside I use a sleep spell to knock out the guard. Then I look at the screens for the security cameras. I also notice that on the wall is a map as well. What surprises me most is that when I look at the map, I see the name of the facility we are at. Four Star Grand Terminal. Manehatten. The headquarters for the monorail system in Manehatten. But why here, and why would they be considered traitors?

No time to think about it, we need to find those scientists and get out of here. I look one more time at the cameras and I see them being held in a room in a different section of this floor. What shocks me is that I look at the time stamp and it is the Final Day. We really need to hurry then.

From over my shoulder, I hear Spiral say, “There they are. But who are those ponies and zebras with them?”

I shrug my wings and tell her, “I have no idea. But we are going to find out. It looks like they are holding your daughter and the others as prisoners.” Then I remember reading about Four Star Headquarters in the Book of Little Pip. This gets me to scan over the picture tubes and I see one that is down the hallway to a stable door. Then I hear explosions and gunfire in the distance and I see fighting going on in what looks like the reception area of a business, with Steel Rangers assaulting it, and the staff as well as robots fighting back. It is then that an idea comes to mind and an evil grin comes over my face.

I next notice movement on another camera marked Security Cells. As we watch I see one of them take out a pistol and shoot one of the male scientists that are their prisoners. They look like they are yelling at the others. I make a snap decision, “Mort, Smiley get in here.”

Once they enter, I point the camera to them as well as the map. Mort grins and tells the Kirin, “Let’s go into the hallway.” Once there, he all but yells at Smiley “Time to show us what your peace-loving hindquarters can really do, or are you just going to let them die like your kind did the rest of us.”

As he says the last bit, I watch the anger begin to build in the Kirin’s eyes. Then I watch as he goes full Nirik and flames begin to flare off him as he begins to run down the hallway scorching any who try to come out of the doorways to the side. As he runs ahead, I turn to Cowlick and Twinks, “It is the Final Day, there is a stable down the hall to the right, those who are responsible for the death of Manehatten will evacuate there. Make damn sure that door can never close fully, but is still operational enough to fool them. Then fall back to the doorway and cover it for us.”

They look at each other and grin. “Gotcha Boss,” Cowlick says as he and Twinks turn and run back the way we came.

Then I am flying as fast as I can in these corridors to catch up with Mort and his team, my people, and Spiral with me. As I go, I see several security turrets that are either melted or have been destroyed by gunfire on the ceiling of the hallways. I also pass one half-melted security bot that had its back to us when Smiley caught up with it.

We are just short of the security cells when we stop. Smiley has returned to his Kirin form and I watch as one of his teammates hooves him something to drink. I look at Double Back, Days End, Sunny, and Tater and tell them, “Time to do some door kicking. I will lead, and the rest follow. Careful of the scientist.” I then turn to Mort, “Cover the hallway. Once we got them, we fall back to the Doorway.”

They all nod their heads in acknowledgment and I hear several say, “Roger.”

I turn to my team, “Go, go, go,” I blast the door with a spell and as it flies back, Sunny, myself, and Spiral fly in. The others of my team go in on hoof, guns at the ready, and taking out the targets as we run in.

Once the room is secured, we release the captured scientist, I see Spiral looking sadly at one of them. She shakes her head and I watch her put her wing around one of the mares as she tells her, “I am so sorry dear. But we need to go now.”

Her granddaughter is hesitant to leave her dead husband. I tell her, “Move it now, it is the Final Day and we are in Manehatten, back to the gate now. I got him.”

I use my Tk to place his body on my back and we all begin a fighting withdrawal to the Doorway. We are met by Twinks and Cowlick who are both smiling and he tells me, “Job done boss. We used some thermite on the locking mechanisms of the door, it will close, but it will never seal.”

I nod my head, “Good, everyone through the doorway now!” I yell.

I watch as they all begin to run through the doorway. Spiral guides her daughter and the other scientist first. Then the Troubleshooters. Finally, my team begins to go with me last. As I get ready to enter the doorway, I notice that there is a timed thermite device on the control panel for the doorway on this side with the countdown at ten seconds. I smile as I run through the portal and return to my own universe. As I appear, I hear Spiral Notebook yell out, “Shut her down.”

I then hear the hum slow down and watch as the pink mist in the portal slows down, stops spinning, and disappears.

I notice several of mine and Mort’s team have light wounds. And most of us have post-adrenaline shakes. Spiral then looks at me and asks, “Is it always like that?”

“Is what always like that?

She looks shaken and asks, “The combat?”

Days End answers her, “That, that was a raid or a skirmish, you should have been with us at Serenity Valley. Now that was a fight, right Boss.”

*****

Rainbow Dash Skyport. Enclave Territory: Ball Lightning

“Good morning Alizée,” I say as I enter the older pegasus mare’s shop.

“Good morning to you as well Lieutenant, how can I help you?”

“Just stopping by to see how things have been going with you and the youngsters.”

“Ah,” she says then smiles. “Well lieutenant, in that respect, we are doing well. I have even taught them to read a bit, so they can find more of what I need. That young Little Bit. She is smart as a whip. The others, for being from down here; well, they are pretty good too. I will admit I am surprised.”

I smile and nod my head, “I can understand that. I am just glad they are helping you. I know some of my troopers have become fond of them too.”

She looks worried briefly and asks, “Is that a good thing?”

I shrug my wings, “Perhaps, I hope so. Have you seen them yet today?”

She nods her head, “Yes, they headed out just after dawn. They mentioned something about an old factory down the road.”

“Well, hopefully, they will be safe.”

She smiles, “I have to agree.”

I then notice that in the back I can see several beds have now been set up. As I look with one eyebrow raised, she tells me, “I rent them a place to sleep and keep warm. They give me better deals on scrap and look for what I want.”

I nod my head in understanding. “Sounds good, and makes sense.”

Then she surprises me, “You know that they all have started calling themselves Enclavers?”

“No, I had not heard that. When did this start?”

“Last week.” She shakes her head slightly and continues, “They said no one else had ever tried to teach them before or treated them like equines except you and the Enclave.”

I smile sadly, “That is too bad, they are good kids.”

She nods her head, “I never dealt much with griffons before, but that one, Savanah, she is pretty sharp and seems more like a pony than I ever expected.”

“I am surprised you like her so much, but I am glad to hear it. That is how we will win the wastelands.”

She smiles, “Maybe, but let's just take them one at a time.” She pauses again and asks, “Do you think I should talk to her about helping around the shop instead of heading into the field?”

“Maybe, but she always seemed a bit more militant to me, but I may be wrong. Go ahead and see if she is interested. I look at my pastern watch and tell her, “Sorry, I need to get going, but I will be back later if you don’t mind.”

She smiles and nods her head, “Sounds good Lieutenant. I look forward to chatting with you more over some tea.”

I then begin to make my rounds of the vendors' hall as I have gotten to know it. In reality, it was the main terminal and entrance when built. The quality of the vendors here, as well as their honesty really varies from one to the other. It is also where most of those who want to trade enter the facility.

I normally will make a stroll a couple of times a day through here, talk with a few of the merchants, and even sometimes make contact and shake hooves with outsiders who are there to shop. Normally it is just the typical wastelanders and Lunar Commonwealth scavers and traders. Today I receive a surprise.

As I am coming around one of the booths by the front door, I look up and see them. Son of Celestia, what are they doing here and who is that with them? I ask myself. Then shaking my head, I ask myself, By Celestia and Luna what did I do to deserve this torment?

As I look at them, I notice one of them wave a hoof at me. I remember her being called Serendipity, but occasionally they slipped in front of us and called her Epona. With the three repair ponies, I notice a gray earth pony and I am surprised to see a pegasi officer in an NCR uniform.

Well, they have seen me and are coming my way, so I might as well go with it.

Once they get close enough, I notice the pegasi officer looking at the insignia on my uniform and nodding appraisingly. The earth pony officer with her I notice is doing the same, and I am surprised to see that he can read my ribbon bar.

Epona takes the lead and tells me, “It is good to see you again. I wanted to introduce you to one of my adopted fathers,” she points a hoof at the older, light gray-coated Earthpony and says, “This is Captain Badger.”

He nods his head and sticks out a hoof. I remember what I was told just the other day by the base commander so I mind my manners and shake his hoof and tell him, “A pleasure sir, just call me Ball Lightning.”

When I say my name, I notice the Pegasi mare's head adjust as she looks at me more closely. It is then I see she is a Lieutenant Colonel in the NCR and remember her from when my team was exchanged.

The Lieutenant Colonel then says, “It is good to see you again Lieutenant, and yes, I was once from Thunderhead too. How have you been since you returned?”

I clear my throat and tell her, “Tolerable Ma’am. Tolerable. But thank you for asking.”

“I see you picked up a couple of wound bars Lieutenant. For your age, you have already had a busy career.” Captain Badger tells me.

I find myself looking at his and I notice the typical wound badges and campaign ribbons, even if I do not recognize them. Then I notice one insignia that shows a frontal view of a skywagon with a single large wing on each side of it. As I look at it, he says, “Air Assault badge. Some of our units in Manesville are trained that way.”

“Excuse me sir, but are you saying you are trained to fly?”

He grins, and nods his head, “Yes and to be honest, I love it. I cannot tell you how much. Some of my troopers are not too happy with it, but they are all volunteers, so they tolerate it at least.”

I shake my head, and ask, “So how many of you are trained that way?”

He grins and looks at the Lieutenant Colonel who nods back to him and he tells me, “The Manesville Brigade's entire second regiment is trained that way.”

I feel the surprise must be showing on my face and Epona tells me, “I am not sure why you are so surprised. I am sure you must have seen some of them flying while you were in the camp.”

I shake my head briefly to clear it, and tell her, “Epona, I only got to see them at a distance, I never expected you to have that many ground bounds trained that way.”

Badger grins even wider and Wind Rider simply shrugs as she tells me quietly, “Remember we are always looking for more settlers. Oh, also Anan sends his good wishes to you from White Cloud.”

This gets me to raise an eyebrow and I reply, “Thank you for letting me know he is doing well ma’am. Now, what can I help you find today?”

They notice the shift in topics and go with it as Wind Rider tells me, “Well if you have a Vertibuck or two for sale, we might be in the market.” Then she gives me a quick wink and I almost choke.

I laugh lightly, “Sorry, but no, we don’t. Anything else though?”

Captain Badger then asks, “Do you have any radio equipment for sale? Even spare parts would be good.”

As he finishes saying this, I see a familiar black unicorn mare with a prosthetic hind leg approaching us, with her are three youngsters who are very excited. One is a red earth pony mare, who happens to be holding tails with the medium gray pegasus colt. The other young mare is a black unicorn filly with a green mane and tail. What strikes me is her cutie mark is a phoenix in flight over an eclipsed sun. What could it mean I wonder.

As they get closer I see the young unicorn look at me funny then she smiles sadly at me. What does she see when she looks at me? After her mother ask me where some medical tools might be found the young unicorn slides next to me and whispers, “I can see you too were turned away from Elysium like Mama Mollygirl and the ghouls. Remember you are here still for a reason.”

Before I can answer back, she has wandered off to the side by a couple of booths we have trouble keeping vendors in. As I watch she sits down and makes a motion with her forehoof while saying something in a language I do not understand. I look at Epona and the others and ask, “What is she doing?”

The unicorn mare, answers, “My daughter is giving the Blessing of the Dead. She feels some souls are there that have been reluctant to cross over. She is helping them find their way.”

“Excuse me, what?”

Epona then tells me, “We did not believe it at first either, but the ghouls even have told us she is different. Also, the places she has performed the blessings at do feel different afterward.”

I feel a chill go through my body. “Oh, ok, I guess.”

I have just begun to introduce them to some of the medical merchants. When I hear a ruckus from the main entrance, I hear Little Bit yell out, “Where is the Lieutenant?”

Behind her I see Savannah carrying another one of the youngsters in her front claws and I see blood on their sides. I yell back, “Over here,” and wave, once they are close enough, I ask, “What happened?”

I am pushed to the side by the black unicorn mare who is joined by her daughter as she tells me “Combat Medic, let me treat them.”

Savannah sets the young colt down and I see it is Bent Plate, an earthpony who is only slightly older than Little Bit. Both youngsters look worried, as the medic uses her horn to begin treatment on the gunshot wound.

I ask her again, “What happened Little Bit?”

She chokes up as she says, “We were in the factory, we found some ghouls and we overheard them saying they were going to attack the skyport. They saw us and shot at us as we ran.”

As the civilian medic is treating Bent Plate, I notice the little unicorn mare using her horn to cast a healing spell on Savannah, healing a graze. Her mother then looks at me, “This is bad, do you have a full medical facility available?”

“Only the one for our forces down here. Other than that, it is just sawbones.”

She shakes her head, “Call your medical team, or this kid is not going to make it.”

I get on my radio and call for help for him. Soon I see them flying as fast as they can. Once there they stop, “Sir, this is an earthpony, we don’t treat wastelanders.”

As I look at the Enclave medic, I see him blanch and before I can say anything he tells me, “Yes sir, I got him.”

Then I hear the medic, Sutures is her name, giving the run down to my medic of treatment so far as she drops an IV for a blood pack into his foreleg. Soon she has the youngster in her TK and is running alongside of my medics as they take him to our medical facilities.

Little Bit then tells me, “Scout and the others are right behind us, they were still begin chased by them ghouls and ponies.”

I nod my head and call out the ready reserve team from my platoon and tell them, “We have hostiles inbound chasing the youngsters, weapons free on the ghouls.” I watch them flying out the door as they head towards the perimeter and the main gate.

I am just about ready to head to the compound's HQ when beside me, I notice the young mare has finished working on Savannah. The Griffon asks her, “So where did you learn to do that?”

She grins as she answers, “From my mother. She used to be a combat medic with the Co-op Defense Force before she lost her leg. She is a midwife now, but I have gotten to see her work and learn from her.”

She looks up at me and then down the hall, “So that was your ma who was working on my friend?”

The little mare nods her head and then she tells her, “Yeah, don’t worry, your friend will survive.”

Savannah looks at her with suspicion as she asks, “Why because your ma was working on him?”

The little mare floors all of us with her response, “No, because she that collects souls has already told me so.” The little mare then looks back at me and tells me, “He was not as close to death as you and Mama Mollygirl. He will be ok.”

Then Savannah asks, “Where do you come from?”

“Oh, I am from White Cloud, it is by Manesville up in the NCR. By the way, you look a lot like my friend Slip Stream's father. He has the same color of plumage and fur as you.”

Savannah shakes her head, “You have Griffons up there?”

The young mare smiles, “Some, not many. Slip Streams ma is a pegasus and is married to Dull Beak.”

As I hear this, I think of all I now need to report when I do my next write-up for intelligence. As they talk, I look toward the gate as I hear firearms and MEW weapons exchanging fire. Soon I see a Vertibuck heading that way to provide fire support. I look over at the gray stallion they called Badger and I notice he is watching our response as well. I shake my head as I realize what he is doing and grin as I tell him, “Well, sorry about the extra paperwork you will have to fill out, but at least it will make for an interesting report.”

He grins back knowingly, “Yeah, that it will. I just hope it does not take Sutures too long. I wanted to get back to the hotel before dark.”

I decide then and there, “If it takes too long, you and your group are welcome to spend the night here. After all, it seems your wife saved our youngster.”

“We thank you for the offer, but are you sure? What would your superiors say?”

I find myself shrugging, “What can they say? I will be back soon.” I tell him, then I run back to the HQ and the security cams. As I enter the security area, I ask, “Close Up, what have you got for me?”

“Sir, the quick response team is currently engaging the hostiles along the front gate. The youngsters are almost to the terminal. Do you want me to call for backup?”

“How many hostiles, and do you know who they are?”

“Sir, I have counted twenty-five to thirty, a mixture of ghouls and ponies. The one that is the apparent leader is wearing a coat that appears to be marked Hoof’s Ferals on the security camera feed.”

I think briefly, “Do our troops have enough firepower to deal with them with the current air support?”

He shakes his head, “I am not sure sir.”

I take a deep breath and let it out, “Call in outside assistance.” I tell him as I start to see a second gate come under fire.

I then notice several of those who had come to the market and that were still outside when the attack began are trying to make it inside. However, I notice on the camera a mare helping to remove the harness from a stallion in the traces. They both are wearing military uniforms and once she is finished, she and he both use the cart for concealment. Soon I notice several others doing the same forming a rough barricade in front of the main entrance.

As they are doing this, I see Scout and the rest of the youngsters running up and pulling their cart. As they reach this new barricade, they slew it sideways and join the others on the defenses.

As I watch the cameras, I soon see a vertibuck flying over at about 1000 meters. It slows some and I watch as power-armored troopers start to drop out of them. Each opens up its wings once they are clear of the vertibucks down blast.

They come in hot and fast, firing as they go. Soon the gunfire starts to die down as what remains of the attackers starts to fade back into the ruins that lead up to the gates and perimeter. I remain in the HQ watching the screens as the mop-up operations begin and inside the perimeter, things begin to return to normal. Soon I see a vertibuck land and I watch as the power armored soldiers load onto it. It lifts into the air, spins in place, and flies off, gaining altitude as it goes. I feel a familiar pang of wishing I was with them. I then notice on the camera for the front entrance, the mare and stallion in military uniform watching it fly off, and I see the same look of longing on their faces that I feel as the vertibuck zooms off, and I wonder, why would two earth ponies look at them like that?

*****

Good evening, that last song was by Song Bird Serenade, you are listening to FLANK and I am Smooth Melody. Remember to come get not just what you need, but what you want down here in the Flank.

I know you all are waiting for the latest news, well today we have reports from all over the Hoof as well as the wastelands. In local news, we have reports that the NCR has tried to make nice with the Reapers this week but of course, were turned away. What did they think they could get from the Reapers? I mean, I can understand the Society or the Finders, but the Reapers, might as well as try to make a treaty with the Brood.

We also have reports of rumors saying the remnants of the Hoof’s Ferals attacked a bunch of kids and chased them all the way to the Rainbow Dash Skyport. How low those who once thought they were mighty have fallen if they are after a bunch of kids and can’t even catch them?

Speaking of standing up, there are reports that the Mayhem’s Mares attacked the Burner Boys near Reaper Stadium, with less than hoped-for results on their parts. With that in mind, here is I Won’t Back Down.

Author's Note

There is a lot going on in this chapter. Some of it just gives a different perspective of some of the events from Fallout Equestria: Borderlands, However, most is new. There is a lot of crossing of paths in this chapter. But as the chapter is named, the characters stand firm.

For those wishing to listen to this chapters song, the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h9HPZhqHE