Chapter 50 The Opening of Eyes

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Manesville, Manesville Region, NCR: Ginger Snap

As I begin to peek my head around the corner, I feel the sharp bite of brick fragments as they hit my face from the near miss. Without thought, I pull back around the corner and hear myself yelling, “Buck!”

From nearby I hear Twinks call to me, “You OK Cookie?”

“Yeah Danger, I am good, nothing to worry about this time,” I call back. I shift myself, go down onto my belly, and prepare to low crawl as I watch Choo, with Morning Mist, Sunny, and Tater form a stack behind a knocked-down wall across the street from me. Once they are ready, I see Choo’s horn flash as she puts up her shield and they begin to run towards the building across the way. I force myself to the corner and provide several quick bursts of suppressive fire as they run. From above me, inside the building I am hiding behind, I hear several bursts of medium machinegun fire as Cowlick also lays down some suppressive fire.

Once they are at the corner of the targeted building, I see Morning Mist take out a grenade and toss it through the window next to the door. Right after it explodes, I watch as Choo uses her TK to rip the door off its hinges and they run inside. I hear an exchange of MEWs and bullets as well as cursing and screaming. As this is going on Days End and Double Back run across the street to join them. I watch as Days End suddenly falls to the ground and skids. I hear Twinks yell out, “Cover me.”

Then I hear Days End call on the radio, “Danger, stay where you are. I can pull myself to cover. Flower, we have a sniper in that building to the right. I saw a flash in the second window from the right, second floor.”

As Days End casts a quick protection shield on himself and drags himself to cover, his right hind leg limp behind him, I feel my husband put a hoof on my shoulder and tell me, “Be back in a bit, time to go hunting.”

In reply, I simply nod my head. And keep overwatch on the street as I hear his hoof steps moving down the street behind us, as he falls back to make his way to a better sight to shoot from.

Just before Days End gets to cover, I see two bullets ricochet off his shield. I see where the flashes come from and I take a snapshot into that window, followed by two more to the window next to it.

I then duck back around the corner as more chips of pavement and bricks are thrown into the air from bullets striking where I had been.

From across the street, I see Choo signal to us that that building is clear. I then watch as in the shadows of the building where the sniper is I see first my husband cross the street, then behind him is a full squad of Manesville troops. They follow him into the building and I quickly hear gunfire and a sudden pain-ridden screaming, then silence. I look at the windows of the second floor with my scope and I see my husband shake hooves with some of the regulars then he is gone again.

I quickly tell him via the radio, “Flower, reform with the rest of the team.” Then I am up and running across the street, praying I do not get shot by another sniper or team we have not seen yet.

Once across I assist Days End into the building and Choo begins to work on his wound. We are soon joined by the rest of the team. As Xochitl enters the room he grins as he tells Choo, “Hey boss, Company A of the 2nd has been assigned to clearing this area. Their company CO wanted to know if we wanted to fall in with them.”

I see Choo think briefly and she tells us, “Wait here, I want to see if they are actually heading towards our shop, or if they are only passing through this area.” After which she quickly trots out of the building and down the street towards the regulars.

When she returns, she tells us, “Okay, they are working their way towards downtown and the riverfront. When they move out, we will head north again. Hopefully, this will clear most of the path. They say that currently, they are only hitting pockets of resistance right now.”

“Well, that’s good to hear boss, but how will that help us if we run into more Enclavers?”

She smiles at this and adds, “Well, it seems both Mort’s and Mudwing’s teams have been released as well, and they have offered to assist us. So, we should have almost a platoon worth of people.”

I find myself smiling at this as I now feel comfortable working with them. “Sounds good boss. How long until they arrive?”

“Well, the Troubleshooters should be here shortly. The Fixers are still closer to the stable so they will be a bit longer.”

Tater then asks, “Are we going to wait for them?”

She nods her head, “Yes, we are. This will give us a chance to take a brief rest as well as to take care of some of our minor wounds.”

About half an hour later Mort and his people arrive. As he enters, I hear him say, “Thanks for sending us your location Choo. How are we set up for defenses?”

“I have a sniper on the roof, and we are watching both the front and rear entrances. Most of the surrounding buildings have already been cleared by either us earlier, or by the Company A of the 2nd.

He nods his head, “OK, Smiley, assign two more watches to assist while we wait, the rest of you go ahead and grab some chow.”

We have rested here for two hours before I hear one of Mort’s team members call out, “Looks like we have the Fixers making their way about a block out.”

Once Mudwing arrives the three commanders all begin to discuss how to advance towards our shop. I find myself, Smiley, and Eni are encouraged to sit in on this planning session.

As the Fixers come in, I see Brandywine and my husband smile and hoofbump each other. Brandywine then nods to me with a grin and as he walks past the room, I hear him telling my husband, “Glad we are on the same side this time kid…”

It is then I remember he too is of the Serenity Valley alumni, just on the other side of the rifle sights. But that was a long time ago, and if he can let it go, then I guess I can too. However, I do find myself grinning as I realize that now he is fighting to protect the old Co-op too.

We wait another hour so that the Fixers can get a break as well, and then Choo stands up and tells us, “Ok, my team let’s form up and get moving.”

Right after this, the other two teams do the same. The watches all join us again as we make our way to the streets.

Once there we form a double column with each team, and we stay about a foot and a half away from the buildings. As we are doing this Double Back quietly asks, “Cookie, why are we so far from the walls? I feel naked out here.”

I want to sigh, but I hold back as I realize he has only been with the team for five months, and his experience with urban combat only includes Baltimare and Manehatten. Finally, I tell him, “Two reasons Double, the first is that if we are too close to the buildings, we may bump them and make extra noise alerting those inside. The other, well, when bullets ricochet in places like this, they tend to follow close along the wall, so why give the bad ponies a second chance at hitting us.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I had not thought of that.”

I nod my head and then tell him, “Ok, let’s quiet down for now, just like Manehatten, we need to be quiet and pay attention to what is going on.” I pause briefly to let what I said sink in, then I further remind him, “Also, remember, as we move, only ear and hoof signals, no voice or radio except if we are engaged or it is an emergency.”

He nods his head, “Got it, Ginger.”

Soon after this, we come to the first major intersection. Our team provides overwatch as first the fixers run across the intersection and provide cover as the Troubleshooters go past, then us. Soon we are back in the lead and are only a couple of city blocks from the shop. Then it happens, we have just gone past a wrecked warehouse when we hear growling and howling coming from the darkness within. I also see at least a dozen red dots appear on that side of my vision from my Eyes Forward Sparkle.

My team quickly reacts to them and we begin to fire at the feral ghouls as they come charging out. Behind us, the Fixers also engage them while the Troubleshooters keep making sure no one is coming at us from the rear.

We are still engaging the ferals when we suddenly begin to take fire from above. Choo then yells, “Black Bird, Fog on me,” as she jumps into the air counter attacking the Enclave troopers who have ambushed us.

Those of us on the ground split our fire between the ferals and the Enclavers. Soon the ferals are all down, but we still have to fight the enemy troopers.

As I finish shooting the last of the ferals, I am bit by shards of concrete from the sidewalk next to me as the bullets from two of the pegasus as they strafe us. I roll to the side and once I stop moving, I begin to aim at others who are following them in their flight path.

I watch as some of the rounds from my SIR bounce off the power armor of one of them. They break away from their strafing run as Choo and the other fliers with her are hot on their tails. We fight them for only a few more minutes until they break away.

As they fly just below the roofline of the buildings to try and escape, Choo and the others stop chasing them and come back to us. Once they are on the ground, they land and Choo calmly tells us, “Well, that was interesting, now let us take stock of our situation and get ready to keep going.”

We quickly treat what wounds we suffered in the ambush before we continue. We got off lucky this time and we know it.

As we continue, I notice how blocks of buildings that were still standing before have been knocked down, while others are nearly in the same condition they were in when we last saw them. What really bothers me is how quiet it is. Before we left, we would usually see a couple of scavers coming and going as well as a few neighborhoods that had been reclaimed by the locals. But it seems that they are almost all gone now. I can only hope that they are safe. This line of thoughts brings me back to thinking about our shop and the team that works out of there.

As we get to within a few blocks of the shop, I can tell there has been heavy fighting here. There are fresh pockmarks in the walls as well as scorched marks from spells that missed and MEW beams. Sadly, there are also several fresh bodies now too. I can see several hanging out of windows and some just inside or out of the doorways to the buildings here. That is the buildings that are still standing. I find myself shaking my head at the wasted lives here.

Finally, we are only a block from our shop. It is here where we stop. Choo then tells Xochitl, “Flower, you and Rough Trail, go forward and recon the shop. Let us know if it is clear.”

“Roger, Boss.” He tells her and I watch as the two slowly begin to make their way forward as the rest of us provide overwatch.

Finally, I see my Double Back step back outside of the shop and wave us forward. As we do so, I find myself thinking, we have finally made it back home.

*****

Northside of Manesville. Manesville District, NCR: Xochitl

As Choo calls me and Double Back to go forward to recon the shop I cringe inside. I am really afraid of what I may find. I have already seen too many of my friends killed or maimed this week. But it is my job, so I step forward and lead Double Back along the buildings that are still lining the last block.

Outside the shop, I see several dead Enclavers, as well as a few of the locals I had come to know when we were here last. As we get close to the entrance to the shop I pause and listen, then sniff the air to see if I can hear or smell anything that could give us a warning. One of the more interesting things I noticed in Manehatten was that the Enclave troops smelled different, more like cleaner or antiseptics. I guess they use more soap or something. However, this time the smell of antiseptic and cleaner is joined by the smell of a body, dead for a few days. I first peek through the broken front plate glass window and see that the place is torn up, but I do not see any movement.

I then crawl to the door with Double Back covering me and keeping an eye out on the buildings across the way. Once at the door, with my weapon at the ready, I quickly enter the building as Double Back moves up to the doorway.

I find no living beings in here, but I am saddened when I see the body of Drain Trap. He is lying across the entrance to our bunker, with a broken shotgun next to him, and a pistol in his muzzle. Near the door I had entered are two dead enclave soldiers in standard barding.

I quickly signal Double Back to stand fast as I perform a quick recon of the rest of the rooms of our shop. I find no one else in there, but it seems the Enclave has torn apart most of our equipment and taken any weapons we had left behind.

Once I have finished my inspection of the place, I go back downstairs and signal to Double Back to send the all-clear. He nods his head and steps outside briefly and uses a hoof to signal the others forward.

While we wait, I take the pistol from Drain Trap’s muzzle and when I check the chamber, I can see he had fired his last shot. I then put it on top of the counter, alongside the now broken shotgun. I also take a broken MEW I find there and set it on the counter as well. Who knows maybe Twinks can use it for parts.

I have just moved Drain’s body to the side and wrapped him in an old blanket when the others arrive. Twinks comes in first and I see her stop in her tracks when she sees the blanket-wrapped body. “Who was it?” She asks.

“Drain Trap, he was on top of the bunker entrance when I came in.”

I see her shake her head and a bit of a tear forms in her eye that she holds back as she slowly moves away from the door and walks over to the pony who had taught her what she knows about plumbing.

Soon the others have entered as well. As Choo comes in, Twinks goes over to the bunker entrance and I see her horn light up briefly. She steps back and then says, “Boss, there is a curse on the hatch again. We will need to disarm it before we can enter.”

“Can you do it, or do we need to get Morning Mist to assist?”

She shakes her head, “Boss, let me try one thing first.” Then Twinks steps next to the hatch and I hear her tap out RP three times in Horse Code.

From below I hear the code repeated. Then she taps out BH. A few minutes after this there is a small flash of light and then Twinks checks the hatch again with her magic before she says, “Ok, they have disarmed it.”

I then step forward and open the hatch, when I look down inside, I can see Diode standing here with one of the M10 Auto rifles that we left behind being held in his magic, pointed right at me. I can see the anger change to relief on his face, and behind him I see Zhea, holding Xanthippe in one hoof, with a pistol in her muzzle as well. A scared Xanthippe hugging her mother in one hoof and her stuffed zony in her other.

Then I hear Xanthippe yell out, “Xochitl!” as she breaks away from her mother and runs past Diode and gives me a big hug.

I give her a brief hug back and I watch as the other two slowly make their way back into the shop. As they come up, we all greet them, then we introduce them to the Fixers and the Troubleshooters.

I watch as the little ghoul, and then her mother both go over to Drain Trap's body and both thank him for saving them and then say goodbye to him. I then watch Zhea make a motion with her hooves and I hear her chant something that I do not understand. So, when she is finished, I ask her, “What was that, Zhia?”

She smiles sadly and tells me, “That is the zebra form of the blessing of the dead. I studied up on it after Xanthippe learned about the cattle blessing from Moon Lily. My father was a shaman so I learned much from him, such as how to cast the curse we used on the door to the bunker.”

Choo then turns to Twinks and asks, “Did you know about her being able to cast a curse like that?”

Twinks nods her head, “Yeah boss, last time we were home she and I discussed it as well as a code for her to let her know it was us and we were home.”

“Do you not think you should have told me and the others Twinks?”

I see the look of confusion on Twink's face as she hears this and tries to process the question. Finally, Twinks asks, “Why Boss? I figured I could let you know if and when it came up.”

I watch as Choo Choo sighs and gently shakes her head before she tells her, “In case you had been killed before now. Such as we saw had happened to the you from another universe.”

I notice the home team all spin their heads to look at them in surprise. Then Twinks answers, “Yeah, I know boss, but I guess it just never really occurred to me that it would happen.”

Ginger then asks, “Zhea, since you performed the blessing, should we still call my little sister in to perform it as well?”

I watch the old ghoul shake her head, “No need to now, I felt him depart. But I do think we should provide a proper burial for him as well as those two over there even.” As she looks at the enclavers I see anger flash in her eyes.

“Okay then, it seems we need to start setting things back in place. Xochitl, you and Tater, please dig a grave for Drain Tap in the empty lot next door. As for the Enclavers, well, later, I would like to take them by cart to the stable so they can go into the cemetery there. Mort, Mudwings, would one of you mind having your team perform security while we begin to clean up? Zhea, how are we set for food?” Choo asks.

The zebra ghoul thinks briefly and tells us, “Most of our rations were in the store room up here. However, I had a lot of dry goods stored in the bunker, you, know, just in case.”

“Excellent, if you would, please begin to prepare a very large dinner for all three teams, make sure there is meat for those who desire it if you can.” She pauses then tells the rest of us, “Ok, time to begin cleaning up.”

At this time Mort tells her, “Choo, my team will pull security for the first shift. I noticed that one of the buildings looks to be in good shape still, would you mind if we checked it out and perhaps, we can make a barracks out of it?”

“Mort that is an excellent idea. You are welcome to it. We had considered using that one for barracks before, but we have not had time enough to do so. Also, some of the more run-down buildings near here are ones we have used for training purposes. If we are here for a while, please feel free to use them as well.”

As the team leaders dole out their assignments to their people, Tater, and I both grab a shovel and we make our way over to the lot and begin to dig a grave. We then stack our weapons to the side so they are not in our way after we pick a spot. As we dig, Tater and I begin to talk.

“You know Chotil, I never really thought we would be burying one of our shop crew like this?”

“Yeah, I know, and I think Twinks is taking it a lot harder than she is letting on.”

“Yeah, I think you are right on that, but she was a lot closer to him than the rest of us.”

I nod my head and then feel a bit of a kick in my teeth as the shovel hits a rock. I shake my head briefly and slowly move the tip of the shovel until I find the edge of the rock. After which I pry it out and Tater helps me move it out of the hole and set it to the side.

As we continue digging, we are almost five feet down, well below the old frost lines, when I hear a clunk of metal upon metal from Tater’s spade.

We both look at each other and he tells me, “Might be just an old pipe.”

“Yeah, but it if is we do not want to damage it. Maybe we should shift the grave a bit.”

“Well, maybe we should dig a bit around it to find out. Who knows, what it could have been?”

As we continue to dig, I hear Tater say, “Hey Cohtil, uh, it’s not a pipe.”

“Then what is it?”

“Come look?”

I put my shovel against the side of the hole and I look over his shoulder, and I see a large metal box. It is about three feet wide, looks to be two feet deep, and about four feet long, from what I can tell so far. “Well, that is interesting, let’s get it clear so we can see what it is, “I tell him.

Once we have it cleared off most of the way, we still cannot pick it up, however, we can move it slightly with our shovels. Tater then tells me, “We better get the boss on this one.”

I am just getting ready to climb fully out of the hole when Brandywine of the Fixers walks by and asks, “How’s it going?”

“Well, it was going good until we found this metal case. It is too heavy for us to move, so would you mind going and getting our boss Choo, so she can help us?”

He looks over the edge of the hole and nods his head, “Yep, if you two can’t get it, might take a bit more. I’ll go let her know,” he tells us then trots off to the shop.

We continue digging the rest of the hole while we wait for Choo. When she finally arrives, she asks, “So, what was it that you wanted me for?”

She looks down and I see her eyes go a bit wider when she sees the box. She then tells us, “I need you out of the hole for this one.”

Once we have climbed out of the hole I watch as her horn lights up and she slowly lifts the box up in her TK. Once out of the hole she sets it by the side and I watch as she uses a cleaning spell to clear off the dirt and rust that have accumulated since it was buried. When she notices us watching she stops and asks, “Is the grave ready now?”

I look back down and I notice that with the metal box out of it, the grave is now ready. I nod my head, “Yeah boss, it is.”

“Ok, I will have the others bring him over and we will have a brief service for him.”

Soon the rest of the team brings the blanket-wrapped body of Drain Trap over. Ginger performs a brief reading from the Book of Daisy Jo over his body. Choo and Twinks both use their TK to lower him down to the bottom. Once there, they release their TK. After which, Twinks throws the first hoof full of dirt into the grave, followed by the rest of us. Once all of us, both field and home team have done so, Choo and the others head back to the shop, taking the metal container with them. Then Tater and I finish filling the hole back in on top of the first of the Repair Ponies to die in the line of duty.

This gets both me and Tater to think. Once we are done, we place a board with his name on it at the head of the grave. Then Tater tells me, “You know, it does not seem like much, but I know he would have appreciated it.”

I nod my head. “Yeah, he would have.” I pause then look at the building and ask, “What do you think about suggesting to Choo we have a memorial wall in the headquarters of the shop? You know, to list him and any of us who may die while on the job on it?”

He looks thoughtful as he first puts his battle saddle back on, then slings the shovel across his back. Finally, he answers, “I think that is a good idea.”

*****

Repair Ponies Shop, Manesville, Manesville Region, NCR: Choo Choo

When I saw the box in the grave, at first, I was not sure. However, once I started to clean it off some, I saw all the telltale markings on it that identified who used to own it. Because I am not certain as to what is inside of it, I do not want to open it out in the open. Instead, I wait until after the brief funeral for Drain Trap to take it inside the back room of the shop.

There I finish cleaning it off with a minor restoration spell after the cleaning spell. That is when I can see the three balloons as well as the MoM of the Ministry of Morale on it clearly. That alone removes all doubt in my mind.

While I was cleaning it the others were trying to straighten up the shop and undo some of the damage caused by the Enclave. I am just getting ready to open the box when I hear Xochitl and Tater enter the room. They both stop and I hear Xochitl ask, “So what is it, Boss?”

I find myself sighing as I had hoped to do this alone. Instead, I look up at him and tell him, “I believe it is a Ministry of Morale Party Kit, you know, what most of us would call a mission cache.”

This gets Tater’s attention as he steps closer, “Really boss. I wonder what kind of mission it was for. Especially since it was here in Manesville.”

“I do understand, how you feel, now if you will excuse me, I would like you both to step into the other room while I open it, just in case it is another surprise.”

They both look at each other and I can see the surprise on their faces. They both nod their heads and Xochitl tells me, “OK boss, we will be right outside. Let us know when we can come back in.”

“I will. Just give me a few minutes.”

Once they have left, I step back from the case and cast the special MoM unlocking spell I learned from Pumpkin Cake at the Followers camp several months back. Once I cast the spell, I can feel the protection spell on it dissipating. Patience I must have patience, I remind myself. Remember that was a special surprise for any party pooper who tried to peak into the presents.

After I feel the spell having fully released, I step closer and use my TK to open the lock, after which I use my forehooves to open the top. When I open it, I first feel a preservation spell release, then I see several packages all covered in wrapping paper and bows. Laying on top of them is a letter.

I pick up the letter in my TK and I begin to read, Special Agent Choo Choo, congratulations on your having finished your MoM special surprise party agent training. These presents are for you and your team to use on your upcoming missions. You will not be contacted by anyone from the Ministry due to the state of current events in your time.

Instead, your great, great, great, great, great, granddaughter Moon Lily will be discussing it with you. DO NOT discount her suggestions for the party. After all, it is a surprise party for a very naughty pony and Moon knows how to best surprise them.

Oh, that reminds me, when you see her in a couple of days give my congratulations to her on her ascension into an alicorn. I am so proud of her. It reminds me of Twilight and how she ascended in another universe, but you know all about that don’t you, you big silly? Having tea with the princesses and then surprising those ponies in even Manehatten that one time. You sure do get around, and that makes you best qualified for this mission.

There are a couple of presents in there with Pink Bows, those are not to be given right away, please deliver those when you begin the mission. Now good luck Special Surprise Party Agent Choo Choo and make it a great party.

Sincerely

Pinkie Dianna Pie

Minister of Morale

P.S. I have included your official Ministry Badge inside the box. I pulled some strings so that it is the same as your old locomotive number, 42.

I finish reading the letter and smirk to myself as I shake my head. Yep, Pumpkin was not kidding about how Pinkie really did seem to know it all. But I am particularly surprised at all the presents. As I look inside, I notice right away, a longer one that is tagged to Sunset Waters. I gently pick it up and set it to the side. Next, I pick up another one of similar weight and size that has a card with Sweet Potato written on it, taped to the wrapping paper.

I pull out several items including one more that is for me. When I am finally to the ones with pink bows on them, I find myself surprised at the names as I really do not know three of them. The fourth one however is for Moon Lily. I take these presents and I gently place them back in the box. I then call the rest of my team back inside to give them their presents.

As they enter, I see the surprise on their faces at the wrapped presents with their names on them. I then hear Ginger ask, “Boss, how come these presents have our names on them?”

I simply smile as I remember the family story from ten years ago. Then I answer, “Pinkie.”

I watch the surprise come over her face as well as Epona and Xochilt’s as they realize what that means.

Ginger then asks, “Is this like what happened with Mamas Mollygirl and Sutures, and the envelope in the walls?”

I nod my head, “From what I understand, yes, yes, it is. So, most of these are for us for our next missions. I have some others that I am to give later, but until then those will remain locked up to keep the surprise.”

This gets all of them to raise an eyebrow and I smile as I watch them open their presents.

Both Xochitl and Taters are the largest of the gifts, and I watch with interest to see what they are. When Xochitl opens his I am surprised to see it looks like some form of zebra sniper rifle. Xochitl looks at it with some interest, but I hear Tater say, “Oh, wow, Cohitl, you got a Z1-1P, that was a zebra precision infantry rifle, look at that scope and silencer.”

When he hears this, I see Xochilt start to smile, which grows to a wider one as he hefts it a bit and notices the new sling for it. Then he sees something on the receiver and he reads it in Zebracan.

Diode then asks, “What’s that mean Xochitl?”

“Orcus, Chooser of the Slain.”

“Interesting.”

Finally, he looks closely at it and says, “Wow, that is going to take some getting used to, it uses .308 instead of the 5.56, and it is a lot lighter, so I hope it doesn’t kick like a mule.”

Right after he says this, I see him look embarrassed and he apologizes, to which I hear Double Back say, “No offense taken Xochitl.”

The next person to open their gift is Twinkle Hoofs. As she does so, I see her face break out in a big grin. Then she looks up and tells me, “Boss, it’s a mint condition set of Stable-Tec PipBuck repair tools and a set of prints for modifications to them.”

I simply nod my head and smile, then I hear Ginger ask, “OK, Sunny, what do you think is in yours?”

I see him looking at it nervously, then he answers her, “Well cous, I am not completely sure, probably a weapon of some kind.” After he says this several of the others encourage him to open it, just like it was Hearth’s Warming.

He slowly opens the paper and there is a cardboard box inside. I see a look of surprise and pleasure on his face when he looks at it, and Tater tells him, “Cool, you got a Flim-Flam Arms Bozar.”

Sunny looks at it and asks, “So what makes it so special?”

“Well, besides seeing very limited production, it was the only burst-fire sniper rifle I know of.”

When he says this, I see Sunny grin as he hears this, “Huh, Pray and Spray with divine guidance, eh?”

Ginger opens hers and I hear a slight squeal of joy out of her as she holds up a mint-condition gilded e1911 pistol. On the grip are the three balloons of the Ministry of Morale and I can see her name etched on the slide.

Most of the others also get a pistol matching hers, all with their names on them. I then hoof a small package that is inside the box with Xanthippe’s name on it. I watch an expression of sheer joy come over her face as she looks at the brown teddy bear that has come out of it.

I then hoof an envelope to Zhea that has her name on it. As she opens it, I see her gasp at first, and if she could I can tell she would be crying. She then shows us a picture of Xanthippe, herself, and her husband from before the Last Day. “I, I cannot believe it, I remember this day. I thought I lost this picture; how did it end up here?”

I shrug slightly and I tell her, “It is a gift from Pinkie Pie to you. Please feel free to hang it wherever you would like.”

After she hears this, she nods her head and tells me, “Thank you, Boss. I will do that.” She then notices the letter that was in the envelope with the photo, she briefly looks at it, then gently folds it up and replaces it in the envelope along with the photo.

Cowlick on the other hoof opens his and finds a full kit of explosive demolition tools. At first, he looks overjoyed, then his expression turns serious as he asks aloud, “I wonder what we are getting into next that we need all this fancy stuff?”

Finally, Tater answers, “Not sure, but at least we will have some stuff to deal with it.” He pauses and then looks down and opens the envelope on it. I see him look confused. Then he checks his PipBuck and says, “Holy Cow, I had forgotten it is my birthday today.”

Xochitl asks him, “You forgot your birthday?” then he asks, “So what reminded you of it?”

Tater laughs lightly, “It is a birthday card from Pinkie. How about that, I never expected to see that in my life.”

Xochitl nods his head and then tells him, “That is great, so what is in the present there?”

Tater then excitedly rips into the wrapping paper and opens the box within. Inside it, he finds a modified assault rifle. He looks at it lovingly, as I try to figure out why the magazine is behind the trigger in the stock rather than where it should be.

He then looks up at me and tells me, “Boss, it was an experimental design. They call this type of arrangement a Bullpup. It has the same range as a normal rifle of this type, only it is a bit shorter. Oh, and the box on top is a special night vision sight that can keep track of your target when used in SATS.”

“Very nice. I am glad you like it,” I tell him.

Twinks then moves closer to him gives him a peck on his cheek and tells him, “Happy Birthday Dear.”

He then puts a hoof around her, drags her closer, and returns her kiss, which is the first time they have done so in front of the rest of the team.

When all the others are done, I open mine. Inside I find first a Ministry of Morale badge with the number 42 on it. Then I notice that I too have received a new E1911, however not only does it have the MoM markings, but it also has Special Agent Choo Choo on one side, and the other side has engraved Night Train. With my current Cutie Mark on it.

After we clean up the mess from the gifts, Double Back and Days End head out to stand watch along with some of the Fixers and Troubleshooters. Both of the other teams then join us for dinner in our old mess hall. As we eat, someone turns on the radio and we hear,

That is right everypony. Those monsters in Manesville have been killing the wounded who could not escape after they again used more mega spells to destroy two of the three remaining Raptor class ships that were left to support our valiant airborne soldiers on the ground. That is after their previous use during their treacherous fake surrender ceremony only days earlier.

He slams his hoof down on something and then continues. And do not let any neighsayers suggest that it was not done that way. Come on, they are even trying to say one filly was able to take down a raptor by herself and that three of those pony-made monstrosities we call chemical alicorns took down the other. What kind of foals do they take us for?

Mares and Gentle Colts, I implore you to keep this in mind when others around you say that they would never attack civilian facilities such as our peace workers in the Volunteer Corp stations. But we all have seen the results of that.

I have it on good faith, that these attacks, both mega spells and on our volunteers were on the direct orders of Regina Grimfeathers herself. The barbarian who styles herself as President of the NCR. To those in the legislature of the NCR, take that into consideration and I suggest impeaching her and removing her from any leadership positions from now on.

The next day I receive two messages, the first is from Paper Work letting us know that Ginger and Epona’s adopted father Archer has been found and is in critical condition at the Stable. The second is from Ball Lightning on the backdoor channel. This one actually surprises me, but I am pleased with how the discussion goes.

*****

Rainbow Dash Skyport, Hoofington, Enclave Territory: Ball Lightning

As the investigation continues, I find myself at the morning officers' call being summoned into my CO’s office.

Once we both arrive there, he has me close the door and tells me, “I have a special message for you. I am not privy as to who it is from or what it is about.”

“Yes sir. Do you want me to read it here, or take it with me?”

“Might as well take it with you. It is probably one of those enchanted messages that only the recipient can read.”

This gets me to raise an eyebrow as I tell him, “Sir, those are real? I only thought they were some props from the movies.”

“No, they are real, but that makes me wonder what you are involved in Captain, and I hope it does not mean you will be on a temporarily assigned duty again.”

“I hope not too sir. I am getting a bit tired of going TAD myself.”

“Well, let me know.”

“Yes sir. Will do,” I tell him.

I take the envelope and put it in my saddle bag. I will read it after I hold my morning officers' call with my platoon leaders.

“Good morning, sir,” I hear Bulls Eye Squall say in welcoming me, as well as letting the others know I have arrived.

I then give them a rundown of the orders for the day. Once I have finished, I dismiss them and close the door to my office. Once back to my desk I take out the envelope and read it,

Captain Ball Lightning,

I need you to verify through your special connections if the NCR is behind these bombing attacks. I also need to verify with them the accuracy of reports of them using mega spells and taking no prisoners in the Manesville region. If so, I need to know if these are now their official policy. Their answers could lead to a change in the conduct of the war.

Sincerely

W.B.

I finish reading the letter and return it to my saddlebags. I then look at the time and notice I have several hours to wait until I can try and contact Choo Choo to ask these questions.

When Noon comes, I make sure I am near enough to a repeater that I can broadcast to her. My biggest worry now is if she is close enough to receive me.

On my third attempt I hear, BL this is RP1, I read you. What do you have for me?

RP1, our big boss wants to know from your head honcho if the NCR is responsible for the bombings of our Volunteer Corps offices.

BL, I will pass the question up the line.

RP1, they also want to know if the NCR did in fact use mega spells at Manesville, and if they are killing POWs?

BL1 I can answer that one personally. They did not use any megaspells. As for deliberately killing prisoners of war, that is unacceptable behavior, so if it did occur it is not the norm.

RP1 thanks I will let them know. Now, on a personal level, I have a question that I hope you can answer for me, one of my adopted foals is a unicorn filly and she doesn’t know how to use their magic. Is there anything we can do to help her?

I hear a shift in her voice as she answers back, BL, I do believe there are several good books for teaching spells to young unicorns. Perhaps you can obtain some from the Collegiate bookstore.

RP1, do you think a book would really help?

I then hear her laugh lightly before she answers, Yes, I do. They helped immensely with our tutoring of Moon Lily.

RP1, did they really help that much?

Again, I hear her chuckle to herself, then she answers, Well, they must have as she was raised by mainly earth ponies and she just got her wings a couple of days ago.

I feel annoyed at her obviously making fun of me so I tell her, RP1, that was a serious question, I was not joking.

I hear her voice become completely serious as she tells me, I am completely serious. She has ascended and it was her that brought down one of your Raptors by herself.

Without meaning to I let slip, By the Goddesses, I thought that was just propaganda.

No BL, that was real. I have now flown alongside her with my sisters. By now you should know I do not make light of my family.

Sorry RP1, it was just a surprise.

BL, one more question for your president that I know mine will want to know the answer to. Is scorched earth now an official policy of the Enclave for territory they cannot hold?

This surprises me, and I ask, what do you mean scorched earth as a policy?

Any territory they could not hold they either burnt or destroyed. Is your president trying to cause a famine?

RP1, as far as I know, that is not official policy, however, again, I will ask her and get the reply back to you as soon as I can.

She then asks, “BL, do you have anything more?

Negative RP1, this is BL out.

After this, we break the connection and I go back to my office to write up what I learned for the President. Once done, I put the report in a sealed and addressed envelope and take it back to my CO so it can be delivered.

The next day I am working on some supply requisitions when there is a knock on my door which is followed by Lieutenant Blotter asking, “Captain Lightning, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I look up and I see he has a look of worry on his face. I know this must be serious then, so I tell him, “Please come in and take a seat, but close the door first.”

Once the door is closed and he has sat down I ask him, “OK, Blotter, what’s up?”

He looks around nervously and quietly tells me, “Sir, during our investigation we found a surveillance recording for the 24 hours previous to the first explosion, unfortunately, the camera that recorded it was destroyed in the blast.”

I find myself rustling my feathers as I wait to hear why this is important. “And Lieutenant what has you riled up?”

He looks around briefly again as if afraid to even speak, but finally, he tells me, “Sir, on the tape I saw only one pony drop off a crate. He entered there and everyone seemed to know him.”

“Well, pick him up for questioning then.”

“Sir, it is not that easy.”

“Why not Lieutenant? If it is an issue with a Commonwealth citizen, we can always contact the Brood or the Reapers for assistance. Maybe it would even work in our favor to improve relations with their government.”

I hear him sigh and watch as his ears go down alongside his head as he says, “If it was only that easy sir.”

“Why isn’t it?”

“Sir, I recognized the stallion who did it. He works out of the off-limits hanger that you have been to several times.”

I feel my head move back and my wings pop up, “What? You don’t think one of our people did this, do you?”

He looks nervous and answers, “Sir, I do not want to, but the evidence points in that direction.”

I feel myself sigh. Then I tell him, “OK, keep this between the two of us for now. If it was our own people, we may have just kicked over an ant’s hill.”

“What do you mean sir?”

“They break your wings and legs and brand you for being a Dashite, kind of ant hill.”

“Sir, you really don’t think our own government would do something like that do you?”

I sigh and tell him, “While I hope not, I am afraid of what the answer could be.”

I watch as his eyes open wide as he looks at me and says, “Sir, you were never involved in those types of operations, were you?”

“Against our own people, no. Against some of our allies, Buck yes. But you didn’t hear that, alright.”

I watch him slowly nod his head with fear in his eyes. He then hooves me a digital copy of the recording.

“Here sir, here is a copy of it.”

I nod my head. “Thanks, Blotter. I will review it in a bit, but understand until we can break this loose all at once, we keep quiet.”

By now his confidence has returned. “Thank you, sir.”

Once he departs, I try to decide how to best handle this situation. I feel like I am walking through a dark tunnel filled with feral ghouls without a light. I look at the recording he has given to me put it into the computer and watch it.

When finished, I feel sickened to my stomach. One of ours has done such a thing. My next question is, is this a lone wolf, or is he part of some dark operation that I know nothing about? Without enough evidence though I could be putting not only mine, but those around me lives in danger.

I take the recording and place it in an evidence envelope. I then try to think of where to safely stash it. However, I also worry now about breaking the chain of evidence. That could cause us to have to release a guilty pony as the evidence would not be useable in court. Finally, I decide to make a copy of it and place the original back into the evidence packet. The copy I place into my saddlebag until I can figure out where to stash it. Finally, I take the original, in its package and turn it into the evidence lock up.

The guard there looks at it with a board expression and then tells me the handling number for it. Finally, it is stored securely. After I leave there, I write the number down so I will not forget it before returning to my office. I figure I can check on it in a few days to see what has become of it.

Two days later, in the midafternoon, I get a reply from the president.

Sir,

In reply to the concerned party’s questions, no, it is not our official policy to conduct scorched earth practices. In fact, this type of behavior is not to be tolerated by our troops and I will be looking into the matter myself.

Also thank them for letting us know that no megaspells were used. If you can, please try to pry out of them just what was used to bring them down.

Thank you

While I had not expected our conduct of war policy to have changed, I am relieved to have it verified that my hopes were correct. Now begins the tricky part, verifying from Choo, just what they had that was capable of bringing down, not one, but five raptors of a six-ship squadron. We have not lost that many ships in one battle since the great war that caused us to form our Enclave.

When I try to contact Choo Choo in the evening time, I am unable to. I am very disappointed in this, but I will try again tomorrow afternoon. Instead, I pack up my desk and head home for the night.

As I make my way home, I notice the same pony from the surveillance video walking towards me. I nod to him and he nods solemnly back to me and keeps walking without saying a word to me. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I get the feeling I passed some kind of test.

After we clean up from dinner, Sundancer tells me, “I picked up some apple cider today at the market. How about I heat it up for everypony so we can drink it while we listen to the radio?”

“Dear, that sounds great. By the way, have you heard anything about them opening a new Volunteer Corps office yet?”

“No, not yet, however, I was informed that I am temporarily relieved of duties to the VC until after I have the foals.”

“Well, I am glad to hear that.”

She looks at me and bites her lip slightly as she asks, “Ball, would you mind if I did some light work over at the terminal? You know something to keep the caps coming in, but not enough to harm the foals?”

I think briefly, then I tell her, “Dear, I think that may be a great idea.”

Once she finishes heating it, she calls out, “OK, could a couple of you help me with the cider?”

I smile as I watch Savanna and Scraps get up and trot over to help. As they are assisting her, I turn on the radio and adjust the tuner so we have less static. We then hear the familiar voice of Hallowed Dreams as he continues.

My Fellow Equestrians, today I have the sad duty of reporting that three more of our Volunteer Corps offices have been bombed. This time in Van Hoover, San Prancisco, and one in a small town outside of Whinnyappolis. That’s right Mares and Gentlecolts. These deceptive monsters in the NCR have once again proven their deceptiveness and desire to destroy all that is good.

But the last laugh is on them. Since their campaign of terror started, we have had record numbers of volunteers enlist. We will overcome these barbaric attacks and we will stand together, wing tip to wing tip against them.

Madam President, I beg you let slip the dogs of war and cry havoc!

As he says this my mind begins to put some things together that I rather would not have. Tomorrow, I must send out a message to the president as soon as I can, whether I have Choo’s answers or not. I need more answers as well.

All too soon I notice how late it is getting and I tell the youngsters, “Ok kids, time for bed.”

As we walk up toward their rooms, I hear Bent Plate ask, “Can you read us a story again tonight, Papa?”

I run a wing through his mane messing it up slightly as I tell him, “Sure, which one would you like to hear tonight?”

I see him pause for a moment then he asks, “Could you read some more of The Adventures of Shadow Spade?”

“Sure, sport as long as everyone else agrees.” I pause and then ask the others if they would mind hearing me read that one. They all agree and once I have them all in their beds, I settle down on the floor in the doorway to both rooms and I begin to read to them. Once I have finished, Sundancer and I finish tucking the younger ones into bed for the night before heading to our room.

Once in bed, Sundancer asks me, “Dear something is bothering you, what is it?”

I find myself sighing then I tell her, “Dear, it has to do with one of the cases my troops are working on. But I am not sure, and if I am right, it could put our whole family in danger. So, it is best you do not know.”

I feel her shift as she puts a hoof on her belly and then back on me before she says, “What do you need me to do? Should I prepare the children to make a run for it?”

“No, not yet at least, but maybe have a bugout bag ready. I will let you know if it gets bad enough to run.”

“Ok dear, I will do that tomorrow.”

The next morning, I am at the battalion HQ for the morning officer’s call. After which Full Bright has me go into his office with him again. Once the door is closed, he does not even take the time for me to sit. Instead, he tells me, “Captain, the investigation into the bombings of the Volunteer Corps office has been concluded. The higher-ups have determined that it was NCR operatives that did it, and any further investigations would be pointless and a waste of time and ponypower.”

Part of me is surprised to hear this, but another part half expected it. In reply, I simply answer, “Yes sir, I understand.”

“I am glad to hear that Ball, now get back to your troops and after passing on the orders for the day, reassign your ponies who have been working on the case and have them finish the paperwork up to reflect the findings of our superiors.”

“Yes sir,” I tell him, forcing my face not to show emotions.

He notices my expression and quietly tells me, “I hate it too, but what can we do Ball? We follow orders.”

“Yes sir, you are right.”

Later that day I am able to finally contact Choo Choo.

RP1, this is BL, RP1, this is BL, do you copy? Over.

BL, this is RP1, I copy, what do you have for me?”

RP1, my big boss has stated that scorched earth is against her policy and orders and she will be looking into it.

Roger BL. I appreciate that. As for the attacks on your Volunteer Corps offices, the management here states that they are not involved in that and hope that you can find and prosecute those responsible for attacking civilians.

Thank you RP1, I appreciate your letting me know and I will pass that information along.

No Problem BL, oh, and on a separate note one of the first books we used to tutor Moon Lily was A Spell Guide for Young Unicorns. As I said before you should be able to find a copy at the book store at the Collegiate, or perhaps at Mega Mart.

Thanks, RP1, I appreciate it, if you have nothing more, I should get going.

That is all for now BL, this is RP1 Out.

Once she has signed off, I turn off my broadcaster. Then I go back to my office. Once there I take the copy of the surveillance footage and make one more copy of it. I then place one of the copies into the envelope along with a brief message about my discussion with Choo, as well as about my concerns with the investigation. In the morning I will send it out. For tonight, I will just go back home and enjoy what time I can with my family.

*****

Good evening to all you listeners in the NCR and the Wastelands. You are listening to Manesville Radio and me, your host, Sounds Waves. I am happy to say that I am back on the air and that the Manesville region has once again been liberated with the surrender of the last of the Enclave holdouts just yesterday. Now the real work begins for us and we will rebuild and replant. We were knocked down, but we are not out of the fight yet. So, before those of you in the Enclave or who support them think that, know it is not over until it is over. This brings me to our first song back on the air, here it is, The End.

Author's Note

And so ends the Second Battle of Manesville. As we can see a lot of destruction occurred as well as lives lost there. Perhaps we need to remember that sometimes a victory can be almost as costly as a defeat, and only slightly less demoralizing.

From the other side, we can also see that things moving behind the curtains in the Enclave now, and Ball Lightning while not involved, seems to have a front-row seat for the show. It seems Ball has a lot on his plate as he decides where he stands and what he should do. Not all choices are easy or good.

For those who would like to listen to this chapters song, the YouTube link is: url=https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DT93TCSREh0s&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1697946438256307&usg=AOvVaw2pfpEUS04IO80ahEMGOI7a] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T93TCSREh0s