Chapter 35 Opening Shots

"I've no taste for war, but war is what I've been served. Come, Merric. We'll fight together."

— Wendell, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Sailing Ship Commonwealth Zephyr, Off the Coast of the Lunar Commonwealth, Ginger Snaps.

Once we left the Ranger HQ, we headed straight for the airfield. From there we took a vertibuck to a small island off Manehatten where we waited three days to catch a ride on the Commonwealth Zephyr. It has been over a week since and I can now see the coast of the Lunar Commonwealth. I find it funny as I lean against the rail looking forward from the main deck, of how peaceful that it looks. Especially with the sun beginning to set soon.

Beside me Twinks snickers a bit, then she turns to me, “It does look so nice out here, but honestly Ging, we know the truth.”

“Yeah, and things are probably going to get a bit wilder for them there.”

Twinks then asks, “So, do you think the captain and his crew have any idea of why we are heading to the Commonwealth?”

I shake my head, “No, and it is best that they don’t know either. Part of why Choo has asked us to stay away from their crew.”

Shortly after this, I watch as the crew in the riggings start to reef in the main sails and we begin to slow down as the ship moves almost silently through the waves.

As the ship begins to crest the next wave, I see Cowlick run up on deck again, lean over the rail a few feet away, and release what he had for breakfast. I try not to watch as it makes me queasy as well. Twinks then walks over to him and puts a hoof on his shoulder and I hear her tell him. “Only a few more hours big guy.”

I see him nod his head in a sickly manner, “Thank Sweetcream and the Goddesses for that. Twinks, I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“You have done well Cow. Look at how Days End gets with flying. We all have those things.”

He nods his head slowly, “I understand Twinks, but I handled the riverboats, I should be able to handle this.”

I see her smile and shake her head, “Two different types of motions Cow. Besides, there you can see the shore more closely. Here, it is usually just the horizon.”

As we get close to the coastline, I first begin to see small craft at the river entrance that leads to the Hoofington waterfront as the water becomes choppier. Then I begin to see individuals from a distance. As I am looking Sunny comes up on my other side and points towards a large patch of clouds and says, “There is Thunderhead. Just how we left it.”

I am nodding my head in reply when my sister says from the other side, “Yeah, but look at that flotilla of skyships. I wonder where they are heading.”

I take a deep breath and I tell her, “Well, I can give you a couple of guesses, and none of them are good for our side.”
As we are talking, I see Cow put a hoof on Twinks shoulder and he tells her, “I best head below decks. No need to bring extra attention to the Zephyr.”

She nods her head and begins to follow him. Leaving me topside with Epona. She then tells me, “We should get below and grab our gear, Sis.”

“Yeah, we should. Only another a couple of hours till we should be pier side.”

As we go down below, I take one more quick look at the sky and watch as five Raptors fly in formation toward the NCR. I shake my head and worry about home, then I pass through the hatch in the deck back to the berth where the rest of my team is waiting.

Only a few hours later we feel the ship bump against the dock and we hear a knock on the door and a crewpony voice say, “We are secure, time for you to disembark.”

Choo nods to us and silently, we nod back, cinch up our web gear and battle saddles and follow her topside and into the darkness of the night and Hoofington.

As we reach the dock a brown and green unicorn pony steps out of the dark next to a shack and waves us down. Makes a few ear signals which I see Choo reply to, then he says, “Follow me, make it quick.”

As we follow him through the floating town we move from barge to barge along the bridges that have been built there. Finally, we cross the last bridge and are on dry land again I look back and see a sign hanging haphazardly to the side saying, Welcome to Flotsam.

Then we are back at the trot in silence as we move further into the ruins of Hoofington, once again. I am almost amused as I notice how close we are heading toward Chapel as we swing wide of Mega Mart on our way to what is supposed to be a safe house.

Soon we arrive at an old storefront. The lower main window has been boarded over. Our guide knocks on the door three times. As he is doing this we have all fanned out some and are watching for signs of trouble. As the door opens, I hear a familiar voice say, “Bring them in quick.”

As we enter, I see one of the guards from Elysium smiling at us. “Surprise seeing me here, eh?”

Xochitl grins at him and slaps him a high hoof. “Good to see you again, but yeah it is a bit of a surprise.”

“Well, my normal employers cannot have anything to do with you right now, but what they officially don’t know and all that.”

“Yeah, we understand Gate Guard, and of course, you never saw us here either.”

“Saw who?” he says and gives us a wink. This gets us both to smile in understanding. Then he tells us, “The bathroom is just down the hall on the right. The kitchen is stocked with enough fresh fruit and vegetables to support your team for two days. Hopefully, that will be enough for you.”

Choo then tells him, “Thank you. Please let those who are assisting us know we appreciate it.”

He turns to her and in a somber voice tells her, “Ma’am, we know what it means if the NCR loses to the Enclave. We will be next. Unfortunately, our constitution prevents us from helping directly.”

She nods in reply and he then says, “I need to get going. If you hear anyone knock, use the emergency exit through the basement.” After he says this, he turns to the pony who guided us there and tells him, “Thanks for the assist. And tell your bosses that your being allowed to help like this is appreciated.”

He shrugs and tells him, “Same to yours. We are all eating from the same hay bale right now, just too many do not realize it yet.”

With that Gate Guard slips out the back door of the house, looking both ways before he does so, then he disappears into the night.”

Our guide then tells us, “Unless you are heading out for business, you might as well settle down for the night.”

As we begin to settle in for the night Choo tells us, “I want a watch set up. Everyone takes a turn.”

I nod to her and tell her, “You got it, boss,” then I begin to write up a watch bill, so everyone will know when it is their turn.

Two days later we hear a knock on the door. Then skittering of hooves away. Choo uses her invisibility spell to go out the back door and approach the front. When she returns, she has a note telling us, “Part one is a go.”

We all nod our heads, be it a bit hesitantly. “Ok, what is on your minds?” she asks.

“Choo, it's just that are you sure we want to expand into doing wet work like this?”

I hear her sigh and she answers, “Ginger, this is not expanding into it. We have been ordered to. This is why we wanted to stay independent.” She pauses and holds up a hoof then continues, “We have been drafted for the duration. So now we have to take orders, some of which we will not like. Remember what it was like on the expedition.”

I feel myself grind my teeth and hesitantly I nod my head, “Yeah, yeah I do. Ok boss. So, when do we go?”

She rereads the message and tells me, “Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Not even morning huh?”

“No, I think they want to send a message with this one.”

I nod my head as do most of the others. Epona is the only one to speak as she says, “I am sure it will. But I am afraid it may end up burning some bridges for us.”

“Perhaps, but it can’t be helped in this case. Ok, start to get your gear ready and get some rest. Come morning we make the trip and take care of the objective. I want to go with plan A first if we can, but if not, then we go with plan B. Got it?”

We all answer back in the affirmative. We may not like it, but we will do it. As Ma used to say, duty can be a cruel mistress. And like it or not, this is now our duty, to home and country I guess. But to myself, I admit, I really do not like it. It chaffs like an ill-fitting battlesaddle.

*****

Hoofington Safe House. Hoofington, Lunar Commonwealth: Xochitl

The trip here was not too bad for us, though it was boring on the ship as we were sequestered by Choo in our cabins, to keep us from talking to the crew and possibly slipping about what our mission is. Occasionally we could slip onto the main deck for a bit, but we had to stay away from the others. I could have really enjoyed it otherwise. I found the sound of the waves slapping the hull and the wind in the sails to be almost therapeutic. Though I did feel sorry for Cow, for some reason it was rough on him.

Our arrival in Hoofington was uneventful and to be honest, that has me worried, as it almost always seems to mean that when things go too smooth, something must go wrong. During our stay in the safehouse, other than when we had watch we basically sat there with little to do.

At one point while we are playing cards, Morning Mist asks, “So you guys have been around here a lot?”

Before I can answer Cowlick answers, “You could say that. Pona, Cookie, and Flower here have been here more recently.” He pauses, then says, “I’ll take two cards.”

As I deal him two new cards, he takes them and continues, “We have a lot of contacts because of our time down here, but not all of those contacts are to be fully trusted. Remember this is not home.”

Morning Mist laughs lightly and tells him, “Remember Salt, I was born in Thunderhead, I do understand.”

Cow shrugs and replies, “Yeah, I know, but you were still not that old yet either when you and your family made it to the Co-op. So I figure you did not get the same amount of time with hoofs on the ground as we have. Oh, and remember what I told you about the Burner Boys if we run into them.”

As the game continues into the night Sunny asks Choo, “Boss, do you want me to go make contact with the Thestrals?”

She thinks briefly and then tells him, “Sunny, while I would like you to tonight, that would run the risk of exposing the safehouse. We cannot take the risk. The night after this first part of our mission here may be a better time. Besides, our next safehouse is going to be a bit busier. Our coming and going would not be noticed as easily.”

I can see the disappointment on his face and I can guess why. But at least he does understand, and tells her, “Ok boss, in that case, I am going to call it an early night.”

From the side, I see Ginger put down her copy of the Book of Daisy Jo, and she tells Choo, “I think he has a good idea.” She gets up and comes over to me, kisses me on my cheek, and tells me, “I will meet you in our bedroll dear.”

As she begins to head to the other room, I hear Cowlick say, “Chotil, you know I am still getting used to you two being married now, but if I were you, I would fold and go join your wife.”

I laugh lightly and tell him, “You are just afraid I am going to with this hoof.”

He grins back, “Well there is that too, but honestly, if I had a wife with me, I would not be playing cards with a bunch of bucks and bulls.”

I smile at my friend and tell him, “Well, when you put it that way, I fold.” I set my hoof of cards down and get up to go join her. “Have a good night and I will talk to you in the morning.”

After I have joined her in our bedroll, I hold her close and just breathe in her scent. She rolls over and puts her muzzle to my neck and I feel her begin to breathe in my scent. As she does this, I feel her relax. And I quietly ask her, “You ok love?”

I feel her nod her head, and hear her quietly answer, “Yeah, just a bit of pre-mission jitters I guess.”

“Yeah, I understand,” I tell her. Then I kiss her gently on the top of her head and as I begin to relax and we share some pillow talk until we fall asleep.

The next morning after breakfast, Choo does go over both plans with us again and after we receive the go message, she has our guide make a trip to our target for a quick recon to make sure our plans are still accurate. When he gets back, he informs us of what small changes have occurred.

The morning of the mission she has us go over our equipment one more time, then reminds us, “Remember, we are not coming back here, so don’t leave anything behind that we want to keep. Remember the rally point location. If I give the order to rally, we split up and go in small groups to meet up there. Also, no pony left behind, got it?”

She nods her head as the rest of us respond. Then she tells us, “Ok, it’s go-time, grab your gear.” When she says this, we kit up and then we follow her out the back door after our guide checks to make sure it is clear first. As we head out, he asks Choo, “Are you sure you know the way?”

“Yes, but thank you for asking.”

“Well, be careful, and see you next time. Good luck.”

Then we are on our way. Soon we see it in the distance. I notice the machine gun turrets on the roof. Then I can start to see the walled fence around it as I lead the others behind us. As we get to the gate, we pay our fee to get in and I hear the gate guard say, “It is good to see you again Flower.” He pauses and then asks,” “Hay if you don’t mind my asking, we haven’t seen Purchase Order or that zebra scaver friend of hers in a while, you haven’t heard anything about them, have you?”

I nod my head, and I hear Epona say, “Yeah, they both headed toward where we come from. But, understand she was being chased when they left. Anything she left behind was not by choice.”

The gate guard seems surprised and tells her, “She really did not leave much behind.”

“Ok, thanks for asking about her. Next time I see her, I will let her know you were worried.”

After this, we are then passed through the gate and head towards the main doors of Mega Mart. Once at the door Choo turns to us and tells us, “As I said before, you three, stay out here. Do not enter no matter what, unless I call for you.”

Days End, Double Back, and Morning Mist all nod and signal they understand with their ears. Then they take up a position near the door, but not obvious.

Ginger, Sunny, and I head in as Choo cast her invisibility spell as Tater and Epona set up just outside the door along with Cowlick and Twinks in an ambush position.

As we go in, I hear Choo tell us over our PipBucks, “Remember you are the drivers once I get our target to begin to move.”

Ginger and I go down one side aisle of vendors, while Sunny goes the other direction. I notice as he goes that many of the locals almost dodge out of the way of him in his Enclave power armor.

As we begin to swing around the outer aisle, deeper into Mega Mart I look up and notice that Gun 2 is still sitting idle. We have just turned to head back towards the center when I see a security pony heading our way. Ginger and I stop and wait for them to approach.

“Ok, we don’t want any trouble in here,” she tells us.

“That is good because we don’t either," Ginger tells her. “Is there a problem?”

“We know you people have had problems with Salvage Value before, We need you to stay away from him.”

I nod my head, “I can understand that.”

Then Ginger asks, “And if we don’t?”

She sighs and tells her, “You will no longer be a valued customer and forcibly ejected if necessary.”

Ginger smiles and tells her, “Ok, we can understand that. Thank you for letting us know.”

The guard seems to think that the situation has been resolved and she nods to us, “Thank you for understanding.” Then she heads toward the back offices again.

I feel myself beginning to smile a feral grin as I begin to hear screaming coming from the area that I know is where Salvage Value has his stand. I then see several ponies that I know are associated with him, running in that direction.

That is when I hear Choo call out, “Plan B is in effect, Team two you are free to enter.”

Ginger turns to me, “Buck, that is not good. Let’s go Flower!”

As we hit the center Aisle I see Sunny has flown high already and is looking through his scope. I turn my head quickly towards the door and I watch as team two comes through fast and hard and separates to the side allowing the aisle way to be clear from the door for team three.

As they run in, I watch as the customers and vendors begin to jump out of the way of these crazed ponies and the huge bull who already have their weapons drawn. Several of them are yelling about getting out of the way so they aren’t killed by Gun 2.

I look up as I run and I see it still has not moved. But it seems nopony else has yet. I grin again and activate the bit for my battle saddle, and bring my carbine up to bear. The hunt is on. And we are the hounds bringing the game to bear.

*****

Mega Mart, Hoofington, Lunar Commonwealth: Choo Choo

Our return to Hoofington went better than I could hope. Except that as quiet as it has been, I have had too much time to think. About what is to come, what we are to do, and how I cannot mess this up. Not for mine, but more importantly, not for my ponies’ sakes. During the journey, I remained below decks in our cabin to keep the crew or other passengers from getting a good look at me. While I am really happy to have my cutie mark back, I have found a drawback, it brings attention to me and makes me very easy to identify.

Inside I wish things were different as I would love to be able to go topside and just enjoy the wind through my mane and the sea spray on my face. But alas, not this time. Perhaps another time.

Shortly before we arrive Ginger comes back below decks and she tells me, “Choo, things do not look good for the NCR.”

I tilt my head and ask, “What makes you say that, Ginger?”

“I just saw five Raptors heading in the general direction of Manehatten.”

“That is interesting. But we do not know for sure if that is where they are heading yet.”

“Yeah, I know. They could still turn and head somewhere else.”

“I hope they do,” I tell her then I pause briefly. “I also hope that perhaps this possible war blows over and becomes a big to-do over nothing.”

“Even if we do this job?”

“Yes, Ginger. I hate these types of jobs, but this one is also personal for us. I warned him last time I saw him that I would be back for him if any harm came to those who are my ponies. I know about Mama Magpie being wounded. She is family. I also know he put our Moon Lily in danger, and for that, I cannot, and will not forgive him.”

We talk a bit more, then we arrive and depart the ship. Our guide meets us and gives me the signals that I was told to look for before we left the island off the coast of Manehatten. While I am not sure who he normally works for, under the guise of using my horn for light as we travel through Flotsam, I actually use a quick memory scan spell that I learned from Pumpkin. Shortly after this, I know that his secondary employer is with the Rangers and he is a deep plant. Funny, I would have thought I would have known his regular employer, but it seems the Rangers are more important to him.

He leads us to the safe house and after we arrive, he stays with us, only leaving once to obtain some supplies for all of us, and to perform a quick recon of the target, the day before we are to move.

That night though, it happens. Double Back has just turned on the radio when we hear what I learned is the Grand Pegasus Enclaves National Anthem.

As it finishes I hear first a stallion say, please stand by for a message from the President. Then I hear a mare's voice that I have started to become familiar with in the last few months.

My fellow Equestrians, tonight I have ordered, the forces of the Grand Pegasus Enclave to engage in military operations to disarm the New Canterlot Republic, free its ponies, and defend the world from grave danger.

It is on my orders, that these forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine the regime of Regina Grimfeather and her ability to wage war. These are the opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign.

To all the mares and stallions of the Enclave Armed Forces that are now in the New Canterlot Republic, the peace of a troubled and rebuilding world as well as the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. I know that this trust is well placed in you.

The enemies you face will come to know your skill and bravery. The ponies you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the Enclave military. In this conflict, The Enclave faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Regina Grimfeather has placed NCR troops and equipment amongst their civilian population, in an attempt to use innocent Stallions, mares, and foals as shields for her own military. Committing once again, another atrocity against her ponies.

We come to the NCR with respect for its citizens, and for the civilization that they are trying to rebuild. We do this to assist our brethren in returning to the fold and reunifying the three tribes of Equestria once again.

I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Our people are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the Enclave ponies. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

The Enclave enters this conflict reluctantly but with a sure purpose. The people of the Enclave will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that supports Dashites, threatens the peace with terror, and is currently trying to obtain the weapons that have brought our world to where we are now. We will meet these threats, with our forces, so that we do not have to meet them later with armies of firefighters, police, and doctors on the streets of our cities.

Now that conflict has arrived, we will use decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, we will accept no outcome but victory.

Ponies of the Enclave, The Goddesses are with us and will protect us, and our forces in the days to come.

Thank you, and good night.

We all look at each other and I hear Double Back calmly say, “Well Buck.”

We all look at the mule and suddenly we begin to laugh. Cowlick shakes his head and then says, “Well, I guess this ups the ante a bit.”

“In for a bit, in for a cap,” Tater tells him.

Then Morning Mist adds, “Yeah, but come tomorrow we begin to call the hoof that has been dealt.”

All I can think of at this point is that I remember a similar speech by one of our leaders over two hundred years ago that set events in motion like this. That was when Princess Celestia announced she was sending the Wonderbolts and support troops to rescue the crew of a ship that had been taken by Zebra pirates. The mission was not only a bust, but it also angered the zebra Caesar as it was a loss of face for him as it occurred in his territory without his consent, and lead to twenty years of war that ended with the destruction of all we held dear.

Soon after this, we return to a more normal routine. I do get some sleep, but after the second nightmare, I am up for the day. I read quietly in a room away from the others for several hours until it is time for everyone to get up and get ready for our first mission.

Breakfast is filling, but quiet as we all seem to be in our own thoughts. Finally, after reminding them where our rally point is, I tell them, “Ok, it’s go-time, grab your gear.”

On our way out we say our goodbyes to our guide and host and begin the trek to Mega Mart. For this part of the mission, we all go in on hoof. Xochitl is on point again. We have our weapons at the carry and are going in our standard two by two, road march staggered formation. This time we stick to the main roads as Tek taught us our first time here.

As we get closer to Mega Mart, I feel myself begin to tense up a bit. But once we reach the gate and Xochitl talks to the gate guard it is almost like my body is going on autopilot as the training kicks in and we begin the approach to our target. I quickly remind the new team members that they are not to enter Mega Mart at all unless I specifically tell them. Then as Twinks and her fire team set up, Ginger, Xochitl, and Sunny begin to head in and as planned, I cast my invisibility spell as I begin to head towards the door and trot straight past the security pony there.

Directly ahead of me, I see Salvage Value’s booth. He is currently talking to two customers and I notice he has one of his hench ponies off to the side watching. Plan A is for me to spook him enough that he begins to run, then Ginger and her team will drive him out the main doors to the parking lot where we will eliminate him. This has the advantage of giving others a good view, so the message is sent to more people, and it also means we do not fire inside Mega Mart and give away our secret of having modified the program so that those on my team that were here the first time will not be targeted by Gun 2 if we open fire first inside. I really would prefer that one. But we will have to see how he reacts.

I sneak past his guard and into his booth. As he finishes his sale I calmly tell him, “Salvage, I warned you before. But you had to keep trying to cross me and those I work for.”

I see him look around in near panic. Then he yells, “She’s back! HELP!”

I shake my head as I suddenly see several armed ponies who I know work for him running in my direction. I then call over my PipBuck, “Plan B is in effect, Team two you are free to enter.”

While still looking half panicked, he starts to have a smug expression come across his face. So I drop my invisibility spell and I grin as he sees my cutie mark and I hear him ask, “You’re a Princess?”

“No Salvage,” I answer as I step closer. “I am not, never was, but I have met them.” I shake my head, “I once told you that I worked for the Pinks, you should have listened.”

I use my TK to set a glass bulb on the table and he begins to scream as I perform a quick memory extraction spell and place it into the bulb. He writhes in pain as I do this.

As this is happening out of the corner of my eyes I see both of my senior team approaching the area as do Salvage’s ponies.

Finally, I end the spell and I step to the side as I loudly announce, “You were warned, Salvage. You have been setting up ambushes of those you traded with, including those from the NCR, and you worked with the Enclave to try and capture my family. This ends now.”

I see the pain, horror, and fear in his eyes as his bladder releases after hearing me say this. Part of me feels pity and sorrow at having to do this, but part of me hates him for putting my family, especially Moon Lily in danger.

By now Ginger and Xochitl have arrived at the west side of the booth. Sunny is up high, aiming his rifle and I see my second team skid to a stop with a gap between their two sections as they set up weapons. Around us, I see the other shoppers and vendors running for cover, as well as Salvage Value’s cautiously approaching us. I turn to my team. “NOW!”

I am surprised when the first shots to hit him are not from those closest but from Epona. Before he hits the ground a round from Xochitl’s zebra carbine hits him and I watch as he begins to burn.

Salvage Value’s team begins to bring up their weapons and as we prepare to engage them I hear the gears on Gun 2 begin to move and we back up toward the door, firing at them as we make our way out. From the side, I hear whistles being blown and calls of “Stop, Security!” and “Someone get the Brood!”

This ends when Gun fires its first round at the large orange pony with a death heads cutie mark and he goes flying through the air along with those who are close to him.

I then hear Sunny callout, “Big Blue, this is Black Bird, we have security ponies heading your way right now, with more of the crew here grabbing their weapons.”

I nod my head as I hear this and tell my people over the PipBuck, “Rally out! I will see you at the rally point.”

It is as this is happening, I see Xochitl take a hit that spins him around causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. I fly to him and toss him on my back, yelling to the others, “GO! GO! GO!”

This gets everyone moving. As we hit the parking lot my team blends in with those who are still running outside in a panic. I take to the air with Xochitl still on my back, flying him as fast as I can toward the rally point.

Once there I set him down and begin to evaluate him. As I am doing so he wakes up and shaking his head he asks, “What happened?”

I am just applying a magical bandage as I tell him, “You were hit, one shot hit you in the helmet, the other, the meat of your neck. You were very lucky. The bullet all but shattered your helmet, but only grazed your scalp, knocking you out. The neck wound, well that is why I already used a healing spell on you.”

“Thanks, Choo,” he tells me, then he looks around as Sunny comes in to land, “Where are the others?”

Sunny grins at him, “Oh they should be here in a few minutes, They split up in the crowd and well you know how that is. All but Cowlick are hard to find in a crowd.

As the team members begin to arrive. I see Ginger is in a near panic as she asks, “How is he, Choo?”

Then she sees him sitting up drinking a Sparkle Cola and says, “Oh thank Sweet Cream?”

Soon I see Twinks arrive and I notice a slight shimmer next to her. Then I hear Cowlick say, “Thanks for having picked up that stealth Pipbuck boss. I don’t think I could have gotten out of there otherwise.”

“You’re welcome, Cowlick,” I tell him, then I notice all our team members have arrived. I then tell them, “Ok, come sundown we head to Meat Locker. Until then, Ginger set up a watch.” As we hunker down for the next portion of our travels so we can go onto the second part of our reason for being in Hoofington.

*****

Nightingale Army Hospital, Thunderhead, Grand Pegasus Enclave: Ball Lightning

I first feel a sharp pain in my right forehoof, then I hear a repetitive beeping from the side. As I begin to open my eyes, without thinking I groan out, “Not again.”

From the other side of the bed I am in, I hear somepony say, “That is exactly what I was thinking when I saw them bring you in again lieutenant.”

I turn toward the voice and in the dim light I see it is one of the nurses that I had during my previous stay, and I ask her, “How bad is it this time?”

I hear her sigh as she tells me, “Honestly, I cannot tell you. That is something the doctor will have to discuss with you.”

I nod my head, “I know it was closer than the last time, so you can go ahead and tell me.”

“Seriously sir, I can't do that, that would be a serious breach of conduct on my part, and no offense, I really do not want to lose my job, or even possibly be branded.”

I cautiously nod my head, then I ask, “How long?”

She sighs and tells me, “Just over a week and a half. We put you in a medically induced coma to give your body a chance to heal this time.”

Again, I nod, then I ask, “What time is it?”

She looks at her hoofwatch and then replies, “2:30. You really should try to go back to sleep sir. The doctor will see you and talk to you in the morning.”

I lay my head back down and tell her, “Ok, Thank you, nurse.” Then I close my eyes and attempt to go back to sleep.

I awake again a couple of hours later when the nurse returns. This time she tells me, “Ok, we are going to go easy on you for breakfast today. Remember after this long without food it can be very hard to start eating solid food again.”

I nod my head, then I ask, “Oh, can I have guests soon?”

She nods her head, “Yes, you can. In fact, I am sure you will.” She shakes her head, “You have had several check in on you.”

After breakfast, the doctor arrives. First, she does a cursory check on me after reading my charts. Then he tells me, “Lieutenant, you are putting me in quite the bind here. Due to your injuries, I should be discharging you from service, but with the war on, we also need experienced officers.”

“Excuse me doctor, but what war, and how bad were the injuries?”

She looks over his glasses at me and tells me, “I forgot you have not been told yet. The bullets ruptured your spleen and one of your kidneys. Son, to be honest, we should not be holding this conversation, the spleen alone should have killed you.”

Understanding I nod my head. Then she continues. “Your other organs such as your liver will take over some of the functions of your spleen. But your days of being a top athlete and going hard and heavy in the field are over with. As for your kidney, congratulations, you have a new artificial one.”

I feel myself sigh as I look at her and ask, “So, my days of being in the scouts are done?”

She tilts his head as he looks at me, “Yes, lieutenant, for you, they are done. But because of the war, we most likely will be keeping you in service.”

“Ok, now that we have gotten past how I am, when did we go to war, and with who?”

The doctor nods her head and tells me, “Yesterday the president officially declared war on the NCR. Hopefully, it will be quick, but if we must do occupation duty that could get really messy.”

I nod my head, “You said it Doc. But if so, we will need more troops to win the peace, than to win the war.”

She looks at me, “You know, you seem kinda cynical for someone of your age. Maybe having spent so much time dirtside has not been good for you.”

I shake my head slowly, as I have already learned that if I do it too fast that I get a bit of vertigo right now. “No, I don’t think being dirt side has been that bad for me. It just made me look at the world a little bit more honestly.”

She nods her head in response, “I guess, but what about the one who did this to you?”

I try to shrug, then answer, “The mare that did this to me, I know I got a piece of her too. I just don’t know how much of one.”

She gives me a half smile and slowly shakes her head. “Alright Lieutenant. I can understand that. I guess you have a good attitude still. I need to continue my rounds now, but I should see you later today as well.”

It is near the end of the day when I get my first visitor. I have just woken up from a nap when I hear Sundancer and Alto talking as they come down the hallway.

I then hear a nurse in the hall tell them, “He woke up last night. The doctor has said he can have visitors now.”

“Thank you, nurse. I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. I am just glad to help one of my trainees.” I hear the nurse say.

Humph, I guess she really did have some good trainers then, I think to myself.

I am smiling as she walks through the doorway. “Good afternoon love,” I tell her.

She walks quickly over to me and hugs me, she steps back then and tells me, “How dare you scare me like that. I am not ready to lose the father of my foal and here you go almost get yourself killed again.”

It dawns on me what she has just said. “I am sorry love.” I say at first then I ask her, “Are you saying we are going to be parents?”

She nods her head, “Yes, that is what I am saying. I have already told our parents. Sorry, but I had to tell them, especially after we got the news of how badly you were hurt.”

“I understand. How did your boss take the news?”

While she smiles, Alto, standing to the side answers, “Well he was not overly happy about it, but he did say at least he had a few ideas of how to use it for our team.”

I laugh lightly,” I am glad to hear that.”

We visit for a while after this before they have to leave for the night. The lights have gone down for the night and I can hear little noise other than the occasional hoof step or wing flap from the hallways outside my room and the beep of the medical monitors. I am just about ready to fall asleep when I see a dark shadow enter my room.

As I watch it, I notice it is actually a black pegasus in a doctor's coat. He looks at my charts then I see that damn wild pegasus smiling at me as he says, “Damn, the Colonel really got you pretty good. You got her pretty good too, but your luck was not as good.”

I find myself groaning, then I ask, “Sunset Water, what do you want?”

He comes closer, “Ginger and the others recognized your name and the description the Colonel gave them of the pegasus who she had a gunfight with. So when I heard that one of your people had said that the Lieutenant was hit bad, that it was probably you, and I wanted to check up on you.”

“Sunset, why, why do you care about someone who is your enemy?”

I hear him sigh, “Ball, are we enemies, or is it just our governments? Myself, I like you as a pony. Yes, I will fight you if we oppose each other, but that is not personal. I had hoped you would see it that way as well. Oh, and by the way, my friends call me Sunny, only my parents call me Sunset, and that is when I am in trouble.”

I find myself nodding my head and I ask, “So are you saying that if you saw me on a mission, you might shoot me, but it is only if in the line of duty, not hate?”

“Exactly. We are both equines after all. But again, if we are on a mission, and your duty is to stop me, I understand that as well.”

“What if I felt it was my duty to yell out right now and warn others here that you had infiltrated our city?”

He smiles at me and from out of the shadows I hear a high-pitched voice speak as it says, “He is not alone this time, and it would not go well for those who try to stop us.”

“So the Thestrals have chosen sides have they?”

I see a dark gray mare and a white one, both with fangs and what looks like bat wings step out of the shadows and the white one says, “No, the Thestrals as a people have not. But a few of us have. Much like your young ones at the Rainbow Dash Skyport. While they were born in the Commonwealth, they all consider themselves to be Enclave citizens. We are like that.”

I nod my head in understanding. “In that case, I think you need to leave soon. But Sunny, be careful and I hope to see you again sometime when we have peace again.”

He smiles back and puts a hoof on my shoulder, “I would like that Ball. Take care and heal up. Oh, and from our team, congratulations on your coming foal. We heard about your good news earlier.”

I shake my head and wonder why I am not surprised they found out about Sundancer and me becoming parents. I then smile and tell him, “Thank you. I will pass it on to her as well.”

He grins, and then says, “Have a good night and I really am sorry you got hurt so bad. “Oh, and here is your pistol that was taken when we captured you in White Cloud. Windy gave it to Epona and the team to return to you if we saw you again. She has one very similar and knows it is a private weapon and not an issue one.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Ball, I am not sure, other than she really likes hers and wanted to return a personal possession.” He pauses, “Ok, I really have to go now. Take care and I hope to see you around under better circumstances, and if not on this side, then on the other.”

As he says this both of the Thestrals step into the shadows and disappear. Then I hear a voice say, “Come on Sunny, we need to go now.”

“Coming Morning Mist.” He replies then I see him walk out the door and turn down the hallway.

The next morning, I am visited by Air Burst. After we exchange pleasantries, he quietly but angrily tells me, “Those repair ponies are back.”

I nod my head, “Yeah, I know, one of them visited me last night.”

He shakes his head, “You are lucky to be alive then,” he tells me with wide eyes.

“What makes you say that?”

“Ball, those bastards waltzed into Mega Mart and gunned down Salvage Value in the middle of the place. Reports say that Alicorn used a memory extraction spell on him even.”

I nod my head and half close my eyes as I ask, “But I thought if you fired your weapons in there that Gun 2 would fire on you?”

“That’s it Ball. They did and it did not fire at them. When some of Salvage Values crew tried to fire back, it opened fire on them. No pony knows how they did it.”

*****

Good evening Wastelanders, welcome back to my show. This is DJ Pon3 and I have some news for you. For those of you in the NCR who have not heard yet, Winter Breeze, the president of the reformed Grand Pegasus Enclave has officially declared war on the NCR. While we all have known it was coming after the recent skirmishes and attacks, the hammer has finally fallen.

In tonight’s news, both riverboat and oceanic NCR shipping has come under attack by Enclave forces. Ironically part of the reason used in justifying her official opening of hostilities was that an NCR force supposedly attacked a Volunteer Corps base that was on an island in the Hoofrock River. Folks, let’s be clear, that base was deep inside NCR territory, and if that base was a Volunteer Corps base then I will eat my hat. Well, someone’s hat as I don’t own one.

Other attacks have included air raids on Baltimare, Manehatten, Manesville, New Pegasus, and Junction Town. While damage has been limited it still has not been without cost to both sides.

In the NCR Parliament, there have been some rumblings calling for President Grimfeathers to step down. The spokesgriffon for the president has been quoted as saying that such calls are unfounded and the claims against her are baseless propaganda from a power-hungry mare.

I will be back with more news and service announcements after this next song. Here is The Lions Roar

Author's Note

Much like real wars, there is a slow escalation in hostilities that finally hit a boiling point where full war is either declared or acknowledged. In this chapter, we see that occur. The speech by President Winter Breeze is a ponifed and slightly modified version of the speech given by US President George W. Bush during the beginning of the US war in Iraq. So if it seems familiar that is why. I chose to use this modified version not to be political but as an example of how a president can often use their words to influence the opinions of their people as well as others.

For those who would like to listen to this chapters dedication song the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLZKEC-IV48