Chapter 34 Reflections and Decisions

“I'm going to fight for a better world. For some, that means a bandage. For others, a bullet.”

— Jean-Baptiste Augustin, Overwatch

Wastelands, Train in route to NCR: Ginger Snaps

As the train pulls out of the station, Papa Badger, Epona, and Purchase are watching the front door of the car. Papa Archer, Xochitl, and I are guarding the back one. Most of Epona and my mothers are in one of the sleeping compartments that they had paid for with Mama Magpie, who was wounded during the last stretch of our run to the station.

We were all making a dead mare’s run down the city street when the Mahem’s Mares open fired on us. Mama Magpie was hit in the shoulder and hit the broken pavement hard. Mama Sutures used her TK to pick her up to put her on the cart and Moon Lily used a shield spell to protect them from the gunfire still being shot at them. The thing that surprised me most is when my youngest sister Raven yelled out, “This is for my mom,” and balanced her grenade launcher on the edge of the cart and fired a round right into the window of the room where most of the gunfire was coming from.

This bought us enough of a lull in their firing for us to make a break down the street and past the ambush point.

In the sleeper compartment with them helping her mother Sutures, is my little sister Moon Lily. I smile sadly as I think about how she has followed in her mother’s hoof steps, treating the wounded no matter how dangerous it is. I do worry about her.

As the train rolls across the wastelands, we begin to settle down. My siblings sort themselves out and our fathers help them to clean their weapons. While we begin to rotate a guard watching the door for the first couple of hours.

Most of our group begin to tire and fall asleep in their seats. I smile to myself as I see that Epona has fallen asleep on her bench seat with her back to the car wall, but with Purchase leaning against her. Epona’s hooves are wrapped around her and they are both asleep. Even if Purchase has her eyes half open.

When the conductor comes into the car, my husband and I assist him in converting several benches into beds for the passengers to sleep on. While we are doing this, I see Mama Mollygirl come out of the sleeping compartment and begin to check out our siblings. I see her talking with Shadowbuck and then I see her climb into one of the now set-up beds. Then I hear Bucky asks, “Mama Mollygirl, can I sleep with you tonight?”

In the faint light of the lanterns, I see her smile lovingly at him and tell him, “Of course dear. Please do."

Then I smile myself as he crawls under the blanket with her and she wraps a hoof around him just like she would do when I was having a hard time sleeping as a foal. For a short time after this, I hear them talking quietly, but I cannot understand what they are saying. Eventually, I hear his breathing shift as he falls asleep and then Mama Mollygirl begins to snore lightly.

Twice during the night, the train stops to pick up water for the boiler and fuel. At the last stop, one of the other passengers asks the conductor if they can get some of the water from the water tower to clean up in.

The conductor shakes his head, “No, best not. This water is not safe here. Well unless you are a ghoul.”

The passenger looks startled and asks, “But where do you get your drinking water from?”

He smiles as if to a slow child and tells them patiently, “Ma’am, we fill our tanks at every station when we stop. It is not always safe to fill them elsewhere.”

Late the next day we are almost across the empty space between the NCR and the Lunar Commonwealth when I hear the train blow its whistle five times quickly, then let out a solid scream as the brakes screech and the conductor then Papa Badger yells out in a terrified voice, “Hold on, the tracks are out ahead!”

We feel a sudden jolt and it continues to slide another fifty feet along the rails as the engine and cars bounce off the tracks briefly and back onto them, before it stops. Once stopped the crew of the train checks first on the passengers and then begins to check on the equipment. I see Moon Lily sneak off the car and then I see Mama Mollygirl catch up with her as they examine the broken rail.

Our party then begins to look out both sides of the car cautiously in case of trouble. I watch as Mama Mollygirl and Moon Lily talk while pointing at the break. Then I see Ma begin to look around slowly and she quietly says something to Moon. After which Moon Lily starts to walk back towards the rest of us and the cars.

Suddenly I hear the sizzle of a MEW from the direction of Mama Mollygirl as she is almost hit by a MEW beam and I see her dive into the ditch by the side of the tracks drawing her pistol. As she takes cover, the rest of our family begins to fire at what we can see of the ambushers in the distance.

We are engaged in a firefight with them when I suddenly hear Mama Mollygirl screaming in pain followed quickly by an unarmored Enclave officer who staggers in flight and then glides slowly back towards the rock formation. Once he gets there, I hear one of them yell to some others, “The LT is hit bad, somepony give me a hoof so we can get him to safety and treat him.”

I then hear Papa Badger call out, “Ceasefire.”

The rest of us stop right then but I hear Raven whine, “But Papa, I was just going to hit them with Badda Boom.”

“Raven, unload it for now and help your brothers,” he tells her while shaking his head with a smile on his face.

With an unasked-for cease-fire seeming to be in place, we watch as they then have their largest squad member carry their lieutenant away on their back. A pony with a medical insignia on his saddlebags gives him an IV as they fly.

Once they are gone, we establish a perimeter around the train. During this time, I see that Moon Lily has gone over to Mama Mollygirl and is treating her wounds as Mama Sutures joins them.

Closer to me, the crew and passengers begin to take care of the wounded and dead from the train. only a couple of the civilians are dead, it seems they panicked and jumped off the train on the side of the fighting.

Soon Ma Mollygirl is moving very tenderly on her own hoofs and she walks slowly to the rest of us. We can hear the train crew talking about how the guide wheels are off the tracks and how hard it will be to get them back on. Then Purple Haze tells the Engineer, “Have all the unicorns assemble at the front of the train please.”

He seems confused at first and begins to ask her why. She puts up a hoof and tells him, “Just get them and I will explain.”

As I watch soon there are ten unicorns, including Purple, Sutures, and Moon at the front of the engine. My team sets a loose perimeter around them and I overhear her telling them, “We are going to all use our TK to just lift it enough so that the engineer and some earth ponies can adjust those front little wheels back on the track. Now on the count of three, we lift.”

She gives the count and I watch as all ten of their horns light up at once and begin to lift the engine. I see the engineer and two others lean into the guide wheels and once they have them in position, he tells Purple, “That should do it.”

The unicorns then lower the engine the last little bit all at once and I see it hit hard, but the engine is now ready. Soon everypony is reloaded onto the train and we are back on our way to the NCR.

As we pull into the station at Checkpoint, We can see a squad of NCR Soldiers ponying a couple of defensive positions. One of which has a Mare Duce heavy machine gun. I notice them all looking at the condition of the train as we pull into the station. A couple of them are pointing at the rail cars. Then we see their expressions as the dead ponies’ bodies are offloaded followed by the rest of us.

As I and my family get off, I see the soldiers go to attention and salute the officers with us. Then I barely hear one whisper to another, “I've never seen that many officers before. Look at them all.”

One of his partners replies, “Yeah, look at the scars on the Lieutenant Colonel, and she looks to have been wounded again.” I look at her and while I hope Ma did not hear him, I have to agree.

As we begin to enter the station she is approached by a captain for the local forces. He salutes her and asks, “Are you Lieutenant Colonel Mollygirl of the 1st Manesville Regiment?”

She then nods her head and tells him, “Yes captain, can I help you?”

Still being formal he asks, “Ma’am, can I see you PipBuck to verify your ID?”

“Sure,” she tells him as she holds it up so he can see it.

He looks at it closely and then says, “Ok, Ma’am, could you please follow me to the office over there? I have a package for you.”

She then turns to all of us and tells us, “I will be right back.”

When she returns, she tells us, “We are to proceed as quickly as possible to Junction Town and that the tracks are being cleared ahead of us to expedite this.”

As she is talking Epona, Xochitl, and my PipBucks suddenly buzz and vibrate with an emergency message. As we look at them, I feel my expressions turn serious. We have our new orders and an assembly point. I turn to her and tell her, “Ma, we are to meet Choo in Junction Town. As soon as possible, we have a job.”

She does not seem surprised by this, and tells us, “That is ok, we are all going there right now. I have to report to the war office.”

Soon the train has been readied and we all begin to climb back on board. Once we are all loaded the train begins the trip again, but this time we do not make all the stops and layovers we did on the way out. I also notice several locomotives going the other way that are on the sidings having cleared the tracks for us. I smile when I see the telegraph wires going to the small building next to each siding and realize they are using them to clear our path. Who knew that the telegraph and Horse code would be making a comeback?

The deeper we go into the NCR Territory the more the rest of my family begins to relax. Purchase has Epona tune into a radio station and we begin to hear the reports on the radio of major Enclave incursions into the NCR. It seems the war has either kicked off or is about to. These incursions seem to be in several areas, but one of them seems to be heading toward Manehatten

The civilian delegates with us almost panic at this news. Finally, Purple Haze calms them down and tells them, “Calm down everypony. First off, we are heading to Junction Town, and barring that we can always go to Manesville to wait until the NCR retakes our home.”

Once they are calmed and have settled down, she approaches Ma and asks her, “Colonel, can we talk someplace privately?”

They slide off to the side and do not realize I can still hear Purple ask ma, “Colonel, what do you know about Celestia One?”

She responds “Actually I never heard of it before.” And to tell the truth, neither have I so I listen closely.

I hear aunt Purple sigh then she tells her, “Ok, what I am telling you stays between us,” and she begins to explain what Celestia One is to her. As she does, I feel a bit of horror wash over me and I fear for what this could mean for the rest of us.

*****

Junction Town, New Canterlot Republic: Xochitl

As the train pulls into the station Our team quickly gathers our things as do the rest of our entourage. One of the first things I notice is how much JR 7 has changed as it has become Junction Town. As we gather our kits and get ready to say our goodbyes, I notice a couple of anti-air mounts that have been set up near the station. In the far distance, I can see an airship coming overhead as well as some vertibucks coming and going from it.

One of the many officers that are on the platform looks over our party as we offload the train. He then waves to the Colonel and I see her signal back to him that she will be there soon. She then first tells the other parents that she will only be a minute. Then she turns to our team and tells us, “Look you three I know you are used to your special missions and all, but things are really getting serious now. Please be careful.”

Ginger gets her cocky grin on her face and tells her, “Come on ma, you know we will be. Besides, look who is talking. Remember, you are the one who raised us this way.”

Beside her, both Epona and I nod our heads and smile. She then tells us, “Yeah, but I keep telling you to do as I say not as I do,” and gives us a wink, and continues, “Well give me a hug and I will let you three get going. Remember to say hi for me to the rest of your team. Especially Sunny and Choo Choo, ok.” She pauses and then adds, “Oh, and tell Tater I am glad he finally asked out Twinkle Hoofs. It is about time.”

Epona blushes slightly, then says, “Ok ma, we promise.” She hesitates, and then she says, “Oh, Ma, could you talk to Mama Magpie about getting me another copy of the Book of Little Pip, I, Uh I left mine behind on our last mission.”

She seems suspicious and raises an eyebrow and tells her, “Sure, but how come you had to leave it behind?”

Epona blushes deeper this time and Ginger answers for her, “Ma, she gifted it to somepony you would never believe, but we can’t go into details right now. All I will say is it was through the Doorway.”

The Colonel seems stunned she has said that much and only nods her head telling us, “Ok, I understand, and Epona I will get you a new copy as soon as possible. Do you still need a new copy of the Book of Daisy Jo?”

This time Epona grins and tells her, “No ma, if I want to read it, I will just ask Ginger if I can borrow hers. Oh, when you get home tell Buttermilk and the calves, I said hi and I miss them.”

She nods again and then has us step closer to her before she whispers, “Kids, for the love of Sweet Cream, be careful. I am really worried about what is building up between us and the Enclave again. The last time I felt like this was before the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows.”

Ginger and I glance at each other and nod. She takes my tail in hers and then we shift closer to each other. Epona nods her head and tells her, “Ma, thanks for taking Purchase with you back home for me. I had not planned on this.”

The Colonel then tells her, “Dear, I am happy to, but when do we ever plan for things like this? But when duty calls and all that.” Then she exchanges a quick hug with all three of us and as she turns to go meet the staff officer, she tells us again, “Take care and I love you all. It was great seeing all of you again, thank you.”

We then walk back to the rest of our family as she heads over to the waiting staff officer.

Once we are with the rest of the family, we again say our goodbyes to them. I see the concern on all of my parents in laws faces. My siblings-in-law on the other hoof all look excited for us.

Raven emphasizes this to us as she tells us, “I wish I could go with you. You guys get to have all the fun.”

I smile sadly at her and tell her, “It is not all fun now Raven, you should know that now.”

She waves a hoof, looks at her parents then us knowingly then gives me a wink, as if sharing a secret, and tells me, “Yeah your right Cohitl.”

This gets me to grin slightly and shake my head. Goddesses, she is such a scamp. Considering her biological parents are Archer and Magpie, I have a hard time trying to figure out where she gets it from. Then she gives me a quick hug before going back to stand next to the rest of our family.

Right before we depart Badger approaches me and pulls me to the side. He then quietly tells me, “Be careful son. Remember to come back as well as to bring back the others on your team.” He pauses briefly before adding, “I know it’s your job, but I think things are about to get really rough for all of us.”

I look him in the eyes and I tell him, “ I will do the best I can, but remember that goes for you as well Father.”

Ginger then comes over to us and exchanges a quick hug with him and tells us, “Ok, we need to get moving. What we don’t need in the field we are leaving with the rest of you. We will pick it up at the farm once we are back, Ok Papa?”

He nods his head in understanding then tells her, “Yeah, I will see you at the farm dear. Be careful out there. And remember to look up too. Most of us forget about the sky.”

She smiles in understanding then She uses her head to motion to me and Epona as we follow her away from our family and head to the address we were given as a rendezvous point on our PipBucks.

As we go I notice the park to the side with a statue of a unicorn mare that looks to be wearing a PipBuck and stable barding. I would really like to look at it closer, but I know we do not have the time right now. We do talk some as we go. At one point I hear Epona tell Ginger, “Sis, I don’t know how Ma and our Pa’s can do it. I mean leaving their partners like this all the time.”

I hear Ginger sigh and then tell her, “Sis, I know it isn’t easy on them. We both have heard them talk about that.” She pauses and then asks, “You really are fond of Purchase, aren’t you?”

I look over and see Epona nod her head slightly then she replies, “Yeah, a lot more than I had realized. Sis, I think she may be the one.”

This gets me to raise an eyebrow and turn to look at her more closely. However, I keep my muzzle shut. This is a conversation between two sisters and one they need to have. So instead of contributing to the conversation I concentrate on finding our goal.

As we follow our tracking markings using our Eyes Forward Sparke, I notice we are approaching what looks to be a fairly recently built wooden building. Once we go inside it, notice a receptionist at a desk who is typing something out. She nods to us and tells us, “Just a minute please.”

Once she finishes the page she is typing, she pulls it out and asks, “Yes, how may I help you?”

Ginger steps forward and tells her, “We were sent to pick up some Sparkle Cola?”

The receptionist nods her head and tells her, “It is in the back, but I need to see your ID first.”

She looks at Ginger’s ID on her PipBuck and then pushes a button on the side of her desk. We hear a buzz and a door that we had not seen before opens behind the desk. She then turns to us and tells us, “We were waiting for you, the others are already waiting for you in the basement.”

We then move around her desk and enter the hallway through the door behind it. Once there we see several doors and a set of stairs that go down. We follow the steps and come to another door. It is locked so we knock. A unicorn in civilian clothing opens it and tells us, “Follow me please.”

As we go through the door, we see another hallway. This time there are several doors with frosted glass windows on them or the windows blocked over with wood. The doors have numbers on them, but no names. When we reach one about halfway down the hall, they open the door and we are escorted inside.

Inside sitting behind a desk, I see a light tan unicorn stallion with a white mane and tail. He is wearing a park ranger uniform and on the wall behind him is a ranger hat. The name on the plague on his desk pronounces him to be Faintstride; Chief Ranger.

He smiles, then nods to the pony who led us here. He then puts his two forehooves together under his chin and as the door is shut behind us he tells us, “Welcome to the Ranger’s headquarters. You will rejoin the rest of your team shortly. Now before they get here I will have to say I appreciate the updates on Hoofington and the power plays behind the scenes there. That is really good work, and to be honest, it will help with what you and the rest of your team's next assignment will be.”

Ginger then asks, “So, what do you want us to do this time? Also, why do you want us to meet with us personally?”

“Well for the first, I will wait for the rest of the team to arrive. As for the latter, well, let’s just say I wanted to meet you three to get a feel for who you are and to ask you a few questions.”

Epona and Ginger both look at him with one eyebrow raised and eyes half closed. Epona then asks, “What kind of questions?”

“Just a few about your previous missions and yourselves. It seems you have had contact with several Enclave officers. Can you tell me about that?”

This time I hold up a hoof and ask, “Excuse me, but could I see your credentials?”

He looks stunned, but as I ask this, I notice both Ginger and Epona sit back in their chairs with their forehooves crossed. He shakes his head briefly and he presents his PipBuck for me to examine.

There I see his name, title, and clearance level listed. I nod my head and then we begin to talk. After a short time, he finally tells us, “OK, I have heard enough, let’s bring in the rest of the team.”

He pushes a button on his desk and I hear a voice ask, “Yes, sir?”

“Rolodex, could you please bring the rest of the Repair Ponies to my office.”

“Of course, sir, we will be there momentarily.”

Shortly after this, the door opens and our full team is back together again. I find myself grinning at them and I tell them, “Looks like you guys have been busy.”

*****

NCR Ranger Headquarters, Junction Town, New Canterlot Republic: Choo Choo

Once the vertibuck picked us up we were taken to another airship that carried us to Junction town. During our time onboard we received treatment for the wounds that some of us had received during the crash and subsequent pursuit. That was three days ago.

This morning we arrived at Junction Town and once we were transported down my team has been taken to what I now know is the headquarters for the NCR Rangers. As we enter I hear Double Back say, “Oh, Hey Rolodex, good to see you again. How have you been?”

The unicorn stallion that was just coming to the reception area smiles and replies, “Living the dream, how about you Double Back?”

He grins awkwardly and tells him, “Same here, same here. But any day this side of the grass is a good one.”

They both laugh lightly at each other and then Rolodex tells us, “Ok, follow me. We have a few people who want to talk to you and you will also be able to get something to eat and drink if you like.”

“Thanks, Rolodex. We really appreciate it,” Days End tells him.

“Well, us rangers got to stick together, even if we are behind the scenes.”

This gets several of the other members of my team to raise an eyebrow but they all keep silent and fall in line as we follow him inside. Especially those who stayed in Manesville when I spent my time with the Followers. Myself, I simply nod my head slightly and adjust my wings and ears a bit.

“So where are you taking us?” I ask Rolodex.

He grins as he says, “The Chief said to bring you here as soon as you arrived.”

As we enter the room, he has taken us to I notice it is half waiting room, half rec room. Rolodex then tells us, “You should only be here for an hour or two. If you need anything just use the phone over there and press three. That will go to my desk. Oh, and the drinks and food here are free.”

From the side, I hear Sunny say in a cheerful voice, “The drinks are free, eh?”

This is followed by Rolodex answering him with, “Yes, they are, however, being this is a place of official business, they are not adult beverages. Sorry.”

This is followed by a light chuckle from several of our team members, including myself. Tater then tells him, “Thank you, sir. We will call you if we need anything.”

He nods his head in reply. Then closes the door on his way out.

Soon I see we have a game of Dodge City hold’em being played by Cowlick, Sunny, Double Back, and Tater.

I then notice that Twinks is reading an old tech magazine and to the other side of her on the couch is Morning Mist taking a nap.

I take a seat on another couch and I just relax and bask in the comfort of safety with my team. Soon I find myself awakened as the door opens and I hear Rolodex say, “If you would, please follow me. The chief will see you now.”

As we get up, and follow him, I find myself smiling and hoping the rest of my team will join us soon. This hope is surprisingly filled for me as we enter the Chief’s office and I see Ginger, Epona, and Xochitl already in there with him.

As we enter, I hear Xochitl say, “It looks like you guys have been busy.”

I grin at them and tell them, “Just a bit, but judging by the condition of your uniforms and kits, I would say the same for you. By the way, where is the rest of your gear?”

Ginger gets up and comes over and tells me, “Sorry boss, we only kept our field gear with us, the dress uniforms, and other gear we sent home with the Colonel and the rest of the family.”

The way she says it gets me to think and I ask, “Am I correct in assuming they are safe.”

Epona answers this time, “Yeah when we left them at the train station they were.”

“When was this?”

“A couple of hours ago Choo. We just got done telling the Chief Ranger here about our recent experiences.”

This is when the Chief turns to me and begins, “From what they have told me, your team is perfect for this next mission.”

I raise my eyebrows and look at the Hoofington trio and ask, “So, what have you told them?”

They shrug and Ginger tells me, “We told them about what we saw this time compared to last time, as well as more of the political setup that we experienced.”

“Interesting.” I tell her, then I turn to the Chief, “So what is this mission you are planning on hiring us for this time?” I ask him.

He lets out a bit of a sigh, which I realize is not a good sign, He then tells us, “Just so you know, this was not my idea, but your team and several like it, have been drafted into the Rangers for the duration of the current crisis.”

“WHAT!” I all but scream in surprise. Which is joined by similar but not all nearly as polite epitaphs.

He holds up a hoof and tells us, “As I said, it was not my idea. Actually, they were trying to get you as part of the regular army. Thanks to a couple of your people being reserve Rangers, I was able to use that for the rest of you.”

I feel my ears have slid back already and my eyes are half closed in anger. Then I hear him say, “Part of this is so that if you are captured, you are treated as prisoners of war. This gives you a better chance at surviving some of what I think is coming down the pike at us.” He pauses and looks at all of us before continuing, “This also means you get full support from the Ranger network and supply system. That ammo you used on the last missions, well, that can all be requisitioned from our quartermasters.”

Epona then asks, “But what if we don’t want to be Rangers?”

I hear him sigh and under his breath, he says, “There always has to be one.” Then he answers her, “You are either one of my Rangers, or you are a common grunt. A lot has happened in the last few hours. We have had several steamers hit on the rivers by deep incursions into our territory.” I see him look at us and he adds, “This goes no further, but Manesville has already been hit by an air raid as of two hours ago. Nothing major, just some damaged buildings.” Again, he pauses, and then looking at me he tells me, “Your shop was not hit, we already checked for you.”

We all nod our heads and then I ask, “So, sir, what do you have for us next?”

He grins widely and begins to lay out what he has in mind for our next mission.

As he tells us of our main goal, I begin to see the others on my team begin to smile feral grins. Then he finishes up by telling us, “Oh, and Choo, just so you know, The Troubleshooters, they too are being notified of their status change, but they will hear about it when the diplomatic team arrives at that research center.”

I smirk as I think of what Mort and Smiley's reaction to this news will be. But I have a feeling they will appreciate the extra support in the field. Then the Chief asks, “Ok Choo, what is so funny?”

“I was just thinking of how Mort and his team might react to the news.”

He looks at me with his head tilted slightly and asks, “So, did your team get along with his?”

This time Twinks answers before I can, which I find indicative of how she feels, but I also notice his slight look of disapproval for answering for me as she tells him, “Actually we did. His team and ours were able to work together and adjust on the move with each other.”

“Humph, that is good to hear, we may have your teams work together occasionally. Also, this at least lets me know your team can work with others Choo.”

That is when I hear Xochitl asks, “So, who are the Trouble Shooters, Mort, and Smiley?”

Twinks quickly tells him. Then she says, “We can go into more details later.”

Once our briefing is finished, the Chief tells us, “The rest of you can go get some rest. Choo, I need you to stay a bit longer, I have a special favor to ask of you.”

As I nod my head and agree, I hear a slight buzzer and soon the door is opened by Rolodex. He smiles and tells the rest of my team, “Just follow me, I will take you to the barracks and show you where the cafeteria is.”

Once they are gone, he smiles sadly and asks me, “Choo, how do you feel about Scootaloo Dash?”

I shrug my wings, “I really have not thought of her sir. I mean, what she and the others in charge of Stable-Tec did was horrible in many cases, but that is all water under the bridge. I mean she and the others have been dead a long time.”

I see him squirm slightly then he tells me, “Well, actually Miss Dash is not dead. She somehow has survived and if you listen to DJ Pon3, he calls her the Wanderer.”

I am surprised and tell him, “Well I’ll be, another old-timer then.”

He looks at me, “Another old timer?”

I shrug again and tell him, “Sir, I just meet a friend of mine from back during the war. She is the one in charge of the facility we just came from.”

I see him react in surprise as he tells me, “I had not known you knew her before, or that she was that old.”

“Yes, we knew each other for several years back then. I will include the circumstances of her survival and age in my report to you.”

“Ok, Thank you, now back to the subject at hoof. Choo, The President has requested to meet with Miss Dash. Lieutenant Colonel Mollygirl has been assigned to escort her to the executive office. I want you to use your skills to make sure they make it from and to the hotel safely.”

I nod my head, “Ok, which hotel and when?”

I see him smile and he gives me the address and time I am to be there. “Thank you, Choo, I don’t expect trouble, but I want to be ready if there is any, and I know you will be discrete.”

With that, I am dismissed and escorted by another ranger back to the main entrance as I make my way to the hotel.

I wait in the alley for only a brief bit of time before I see Mollygirl approaching. I quickly cast my invisibility spell and I follow her inside.

She goes straight to the staircase and upon reaching the appropriate floor she checks to see if she is followed. Then she enters the hallway and goes to the room I was given the number for. She listens briefly before knocking.

The Colonel knocks and when the door has opened a mare fitting the description of Scootaloo is there. Mollygirl nods her head and asks her to confirm her identity, “Scootaloo Dash?”

Once that has been confirmed, Miss Dash asks “What do you want?”

"President Grimfeathers wants to have a word with you in her office.”

As I watch from by the wall on the other side of the hall, I see she is slightly surprised. Behind her in the room coming towards the door is a blueish-grey unicorn mare with an orange mane and tail who is wearing a stable jumpsuit with the number 66 on it. The Colonel nods to the unicorn mare and tells them both, "Just Scootaloo, the President was very insistent."

Scootaloo nods her head and tells the unicorn that she will be fine. To which she asks “Please be careful.”

With that, Scootaloo grabs a hat and trench coat and follows the Colonel out of the hotel as they walk through the park and past the statue of Little Pip. I see her looking at it as the Colonel begins to try and chat with her.

Quietly she asks her, “Ma’am, are you really one of the mares who set up the stables?”

She shifts uncomfortably and the expression on her face is one of guilt but she answers, “Yes, me and my friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, why do you ask?”

Mollygirl smiles at her and replies, “Well on the behalf of those of us from Stable 48 I want to thank you.”

She has a perplexed expression on her face at first and tells her, “You come from Stable 48? I am surprised at your being so high in rank as Reino is not a part of the NCR.”

Now Mollygirl seems to be a bit confused and tells her, “No Ma’am, I am not from Reino, I am from Manesville. That is where Stable 48 is.”

She stops in her tracks and shakes her head, causing me to almost run into her. “Lieutenant Colonel I am sorry, but I am sure of which stable is where as well as what each stable had for an experiment or if it was a control base,” Scootaloo tells her. After taking a brief pause, she then asks, “You said Manesville right?”

The Colonel nods her head again and tells her, “Yes that is right why?”

I am a bit confused at first when next I see her laugh slightly as she presses a hoof to her face, “Lieutenant Colonel, I must apologize, you see there was only one stable in Manesville and it was 4B. I remember one late night while we were going through the paperwork that there was a typo on the paperwork for the number on the items on the uniforms and such. By then Stable 48 in Reino was also being started and we decided to just leave it as it was cheaper to buy two stables worth of equipment with the same numbers than two different numbers. Apple Bloom also said it would probably confuse any Zebra spies with the same number and two locations.”

Laughing lightly the Colonel then comments, “So a typo. Well, that explains that.”

Seeing Scootaloo’s expression, Mollygirl then tells her, “Ma’am, about ten years ago I was led into the remains of Stable 4. I found the deceased Overcows diary and they said that they had sent out the call for help to Stable 4 B in Manesville. Ma’am for the last nine years we have searched high and low for it and never found 4 B.” Then she laughs a bit more. “I always thought the misshaped 8 was just a bad casting job on the main door. I never realized it really was a B.”

She seems somewhat serious when she hears this. Then she quietly says, “So Stable 4 died too.” As she shakes her head, then continues in a more normal tone, “I really had hoped that the two stables could sustain enough cattle to avoid genetic problems.” Then she looks at me and asks, “How did it work with having an Overcow as well as an Overmare?”

“Ma’am, it worked really well. When we opened the stable up, they were right there with us ponies. They really helped us as we formed the Co-op and began to reclaim the towns and farms in the surrounding areas too.”

I see her smile sadly and she shakes her head. Then she asks, “And the seed stocks?”

Still smiling Mollygirl tells her, “Ma’am, those helped us to begin again up there. We were lucky and were able to run the Co-op under the detection spell for a century. During that time, we got a good hoof hold on rebuilding. Those seeds kept us and the local communities fed and after the NCR formed, we even traded some of the stock to help others as well.”

I see her smile at that and she says, “Thank you, it is good to hear of something going right and not being distorted in the stables.”

When we are almost to the Government building the Colonel twists an ear in a bit of nervousness before she asks her, “Ma’am, I have to ask. When our stable closed there were two male pegasuses in it. What was that all about?”

I watch her look surprised and answer, “Lieutenant Colonel, I have no clue. They were not supposed to be there.”

“That is funny because I am descended from both of them. Thank you, ma’am, for the conversation.”

She nods her head and tells Mollygirl, “Oh, not a problem. It was slightly refreshing to have the rare experience of meeting somepony whose stable was successful and who does not hate me.”

By this time, I so want to become involved in this conversation, but I must bite my tongue as no one is supposed to know I am there.

As we arrive at the President’s office door. Mollygirl tells her, “Please wait here.” She knocks and enters the office.

When she comes back out, she collects Miss Dash’s weapons and tells her, “Ma’am, I will wait out here and watch your weapons while you are in the meeting.”

Once she is sure she has all her weapons collected she tells her, “You can go in now,” as she holds the door open for her. Once she is inside, she closes the door and sits in a chair off to the side.

I sit on the floor to the side of the room trying to not be noticeable when I see the commanding general come out. She stops and tells the Colonel, “I appreciate your discretion on this. After you take her back to her room you are done for the evening. Please report to the War Department in the morning for your full report.”

She nods her head, moving her ears in an affirmative manner as she tells her, “Yes General. I hope to see you then.”

Once she has departed, she sits back down and then quietly says, “Ok Choo Choo, you can show yourself for a bit.”

I realize she has caught me and I drop my spell. I can tell when she notices that I now have a cutie mark again. She raises one eyebrow and tells me, “Well that is new. When did you get that Choo?”

Smiling, I tell her, “On the whole team's last mission, but really Mollygirl, you know I can’t talk about what happens on them.”

She sighs and nods her head, “Yeah, yeah, I know Choo. I am just really surprised as I did not know you could get one again.”

Nodding I excitedly tell her, “Neither did I, but I will say it is something I will never forget. Hopefully, someday I can tell you about it.”

She pats me on the shoulder and tells me. “Ok, Choo. I look forward to hearing it someday.”

We continue to talk for a bit then we hear someone begin to open the door and I quickly cast my invisibility spell again.

I see Scootaloo come out with a concerned expression on her face. She is very quiet and does not seem interested in a conversation. We walk with her back to her hotel room, once we arrive at the door, she tells Scootaloo, “Ma’am, it was a pleasure to meet you. If you ever make it to the Manesville area, I would be pleased to show you around and let you see the good that we have done up there.”

While she still seems distracted, she smiles and nods. Then she offers a hoofshake to the Colonel. Once finished she opens her door and as she goes inside, we then hear her call out, “Hey Arc, we need to talk,” as the door closes. We then turn and head back outside.

Once on the street, I first look to see if anyone is looking in our direction then I drop my spell. I smile at my friend and tell her, “That was interesting. She really does seem to feel bad about what happened in the stables.”

She nods and replies, “Yes, she does. I hope she can find peace with it.”

“Mollygirl, give it time, I am sure she will eventually.”

We talk for a while more as I approach her hotel and she gets ready to go see our family. I stop her and tell her, “Well, I need to go meet up with the rest of the team, Colonel. Take care of yourself and be careful.”

Smiling she tells me, “I will, you also. Be careful and keep your eyes open. It seems all Tartarus is getting ready to break loose again.”

I must nod in agreement, but slip as my ears go back momentarily. Then I tell her, “I will. Oh, and when you get back to Manesville say hi to George for me and tell her I will be back as soon as I can. And when you see Paperwork tell him I send my love and that I can’t wait to see him again.”

“I will Choo. Take care,” she tells me. Then as she enters the hotel lobby, I turn and walk away quickly disappearing amongst the crowd.

Once I am back with my team, I tell them, “OK, grab your kits, we need to get to the pickup sight for our ride.”

I smile at their eagerness as they put on their barding, and web gear, then grab their weapons as I do the same. Once done Ginger tells me, “Ready when you are boss.”

With that, we head out the door of the safe house and are back on the job once again. All be it with more support, but less pay. However, with what is coming down the pike, I think we all prefer it this way.

*****

Wastelands, Territory between NCR, and the Lunar Commonwealth: Ball Lightning

I grin to myself as I watch the railroad tracks a few hundred meters away. We were able to get a jump on the NCR delegations train using a couple of vertibucks that we have hidden in a small valley behind us.

We have cut a one-meter section of the track out so that the train has to stop or be wrecked. When that happens, we snatch the colonels and the lead diplomats and take them back to the Enclave with us. Well, at least that is the plan.

“Sir, don’t you think we should have had people on both sides of the tracks for an ambush?”

I shake my head, “Not this time Sergeant Major. We really do not have the troops to do it that way. Besides, hopefully, this gives the civilians a way out and if they run from the other side, we can always fly above them and capture them that way.”

I see him shrug. “Yeah, I guess your right sir, but it just goes against my nature.”

“Mine too, Mine too, but I think it is the right thing to do this time.”

Soon we can see smoke from the locomotive in the distance as it moves closer. We can tell when the engineer sees that the tracks are out ahead of them as he blasts five quick blasts on the steam whistle and then holds it as they hit the missing rail.

I am stunned when instead of the engine coming off the rails it simply bumps and keeps rolling until all the cars are past it and they slid to a stop. Using a set of binoculars, I can see that the only thing that is keeping the train from being able to go about its way again is that the front guide wheels are twisted to the side. Well, at least that gives us time to do what we need to do.

As the passengers and crew of the train get off and begin to mill about looking at it, we first move closer, I am in the air above them. When I see one of our targets I tell Flash Bang, “The red mare with the black unicorn filly next to her examining the tracks, I want her wounded so we can capture her.”

He nods his head and carefully sights in his MEW and just as he takes the shot and while I am not sure if he hit her or not, I see her fall into a ditch by the tracks. I tell the others, “Cover me, I am going after her.”

“Sir, do you want backup?” I hear someone ask over my radio.

I quickly reply back, “No time. Suppressive fire people.”

Then as all Tartarus is breaking loose I begin to aim at the mare below me. As I do this I catch myself smiling as she has not looked up yet.

I am only about seventeen meters above her when she looks up. I pull the trigger on my pistol just as she does the same. Two of my shots miss, but one hits her and I hear her howl in pain as I suddenly feel the same as her return fire strikes me in the gut twice. I almost lose my pistol as I scream in pain and I feel the blood soak into my uniform as I at first drop like a rock then catch myself in time to glide back to my people, safety, and help. I know I am hurt badly this time.

As I land, I collapse into the dirt and sand. I hear one of my people call out “The LT is hit bad, somepony give me a hoof so we can get him to safety and treat him.”

In the back of my mind, all I can think of is thank the goddesses I made it to them. I am not sure, but I think I hear someone screaming in pain. That is when I hear Doc say, “I got you LT. I am going to give you some Med-Ex to help take the edge off of the pain.”

I find myself nodding as I feel a jab into my foreleg and my vision begins to blur and I hear the screaming stop.

Then I hear someone from the direction of the train yell out, “Cease fire.”

I then hear Funnel Cloud tell the others, “Ok, we have a cease-fire, You four, grab the LT and carry him for Doc. The rest of you form a perimeter around them as we move back to the Vertibucks.”

My vision is starting to go dark and I feel cold as I hear Doc tell them, “We need to hurry, and if I tell you to set him down, I mean it because I will be trying to save his life.”

As I feel us moving I think I hear Doc say under his breath, “Thank the Goddesses we have these blood packs as well as healing potions.”

I can barely hear the rotors of the vertibucks starting to turn when I hear him say, “Set him down, now!”

Then the world goes first black, then I once again see a bright light and I feel so much better. I stand up and I am surprised to see Mom standing there.

She smiles at me and tells me, “I have missed you son, but are you sure that it is your time already? You have so much more ahead of you.”

“Mom, what are you talking about?”

I hear her sigh, “Ball, you shouldn’t be here yet.”

“Ma, where are we?”

She smiles reassuringly at me, “We are in between right now son. You have a decision to make.”

Before I can ask her more, I hear two mares arguing to the side. The first one I see is an earth pony who has a bright white coat, dark mane, and tail and is wearing a black cloak. The second is a pegasus. She too has a white coat, but her mane and tail are yellow. Her mane pulled back and knotted. Unlike the simple cloak of the other, she wears a simple light blue gown that looks as light as a cloud.

As I turn to look I overhear the first telling the second, “He is mine Val, you know by rights he is mine.”

“Bah, you have no rights to him, he is one of mine.”

“But he has died fighting one of mine!”

“Are you the only one who chooses who dies in battle and guides their souls on? Do you not think he is one of mine and should be with me?”

I hear the first scream a neigh and then she says, “No!, He was in battle against one of mine.”

“Ah, but he was in battle as one of mine. Therefore, he is mine.”

From a slightly further distance away, I see another form start to appear. This one laughs dryly as he approaches. I do not know how, but I can tell he is male. He is skeletal and wearing a dusty and worn wide-brimmed hat as well as a torn, battered, and faded duster. Once he is close enough, the tells them, “Mares, I do believe you are forgetting something. Where he died. He was in neither of your territories. Therefore, I do believe he is mine.”

They both turn to him and simultaneously tell him, “Shut up and stay out of this.”

This almost makes me want to laugh, but then I realize, they are talking about me.

The stallion then tells the mares, “Tell you what, how about we play a few hooves to decide who gets him.” He turns to me and then adds, “Maybe we can even deal you in if you want. Make it a bit more sporting.”

While I have no idea who these ponies are, I feel my soul run cold at this and I answer, “No. I do not play cards.”

He grins as best he can at me and tells me, “AH, but you do gamble, don’t you? All three of us have seen that. In fact, you drew a bad hoof to end up here.”

I again tell him no, and I see the mare with the dark mane tell him, “He has made his choice it seems. Leave him alone.”

The second mare steps up alongside her and continues, “Yes, leave him alone. Besides, don’t you have enough already?”

He nods his head, “Oh yes, but I am always open for more. But so be it.”

He turns to me and tells me, “Until next time, perhaps,” and I watch him walk away into the light.

The other two both look at me and the one with the yellow mane tells me, “Return as you desire. But understand, when it is your time, if it is a warrior's death I will be there for you.”

The mare with the dark mane turns first towards her, then me as she says, “As shall I if it is against one of mine, or while doing my work. Farewell, until we meet again.”

I find myself nodding toward her.

The final one turns to me and my mother and tells me, “You had earned the warrior's death, but I do understand, and you have much work you can do still.”

I finally find my voice again and I ask, “Who and what are you?”

She smiles proudly and tells me, “Just call me Val. I am but a spirit here. I guide those who die a warrior's death to the great hall on the other side.”

Feeling a bit more comfortable with who I am talking with now, I ask, “Who were the others?”

She smiles, “The other mare, was the Mareigan, her territory is far from here, but you have visited it, as well as going against some ponies she favors. The other, well that was the spirit of the wastelands and you chose wisely not to play a hoof of cards with him. Now it is almost time for you to return to where you came from. Farewell and know I will be watching over you.”

For some reason, this comforts me. Then I hear my mother say in a gentle voice, “Ball, it's time for you to go home.”

“I am sorry I cannot stay Mom.”

She puts a hoof along my face and looks into my eyes and smiles a motherly smile. “I know son, you have a lot to live for. Your wife really does love you, and I have met your foals. It will be very hard at times, but I will be watching over you, and waiting. If you can remember, please tell your father, that I still love him too, and that I want him to be happy and to love again.” Then she kisses me on my forelock.

“But Mom, we don’t have any foals yet.”

She smiles knowingly at me and with that darkness returns and I feel a hard kick to my chest as I feel the vibration of the vetibuck and I hear Doc say, “Thank the Goddesses, he’s back.”

Then I hear a strange voice say, “Pilot says we are ten minutes out of Hoofington.”

“Thanks, hopefully, he can make it that long,” Doc replies.

Then I relax as I know I will. I have made my choice, and duty calls.

*****

This is DJ Pon3 coming to you from Tenpony Tower in Manehatten. That last one was a classic hit from Sweetie Bell. Thanks again to some of the survivors from Stable Two for providing me a copy of it to share with all of you.

In national news, there have been reports of several raids by the Enclave into NCR Territory. This has included attacks on river traffic as well as several of our major settlements and military outpost with undetermined results. While we have not yet had a formal declaration of war, it seems like that is now only a formality. If you see an incursion of Enclave forces, do not try to stop it by yourselves. Let the local authorities know so that the NCR Government can allocate resources to help.

As a side note, if you find weaponry laying around for no reason be careful. It may be boobytrapped or, it could have been sabotaged to fail when you need it most. Make sure to inspect it before betting your life on it.

For those of you out there in the NCR and the wastelands beyond hoping to make things better, here is a little song for you called, My Silver Lining.

Author's Note

While there is a lot going on in this chapter, I hope it is one that you, the reader enjoy. It does lay the foundation for a lot of what is to come yet, as well as gives us some answers to other questions.

The character of Scootaloo is portrayed as she was shown in Survivors Guilt. In that story, she is escorted by an anonymous Lieutenant Colonel to see the president. This allowed me, with permission from the author Ruin Queen of Oblivian, to connect my story with hers.

For those who would like to listen to this chapters dedication song, the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkBO7R-k5m8