Chapter 53 Shuffling the Cards

“If you're confused about what to do, it's a sign that your enemy is winning.” ― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity

Baltimare Colt, Hoofrock River, NCR territory: Ginger Snaps

As I lay in my bunk, I feel the ship start to shift slightly. Then I hear five quick blasts of the steam whistle. My eyes pop open and I jump up from bed throwing my blanket aside. I see the other members of our team starting to do the same as we hear the twin 40mm guns begin to fire.

As we hear this we move as fast as equinely possible to put on our kits and grab our weapons from the ready service lockers.

Once we have our weapons, each team member gallops off towards their actions station. As I come out on the deck, I can see a flare high in the air against the dark sky, that partially blinds me. As I reach my station on the main deck, next to one of the 20mm guns I hunker down. As my eyes begin to adjust, I can hear the sounds of a vertibuck skimming along the water towards us, then I can see the flashes of its guns beginning to fire.

I raise my SIR and wait until it is close enough to hit. Soon the .50 caliber Auto anti-machine rifles join the fray as the aircraft closes. I see some sparks speckle off of it, and as it zooms down my side of the Colt, I join the party as I spray fire at the open doors along the side and the side gunner who is returning fire.

Beside me, I hear a burst of rounds hit the metal plating around the 20mm gun and I see the gunner go slack. As I pull the gunner away from the mount to cover, I see one of the Troubleshooters take his place and continue to fire.

When I reach the shelter of the tin siding, I call out, “MEDIC!”

In reply, I hear Twinks call out, “On the way!”

I am just applying a tourniquet to the wounded deckhoof when she arrives. She is doing a quick assessment when she sees the tourniquet and nods approvingly. “Good decision Cookie, now let me get closer to see what I can do.”

Soon after applying a few bandages, we hear another call for a medic as well as somepony screaming in pain. She tells me, “Help me get him to sickbay.” Then she calls out, “Medic on the way!” And I lose her in the darkness as her silhouette blends into the shadows.

After I have moved him inside to sickbay, I am returning to the main deck when I hear an explosion nearby. Followed by someone yelling for me “Make a hole!” as they and several others run by me with hammers, timbers, and other pieces of damage control equipment.

I have just reached the deck one more time when I see the vertibuck has begun to charge at us from our port side. It is slewing sideways towards us so it can bring one of its side guns to bear when both the Twin 40mm’s and some of the 20mm’s get their range and all hit it at once, from the cockpit to the closest engine. As the engine is shredded and the blades fly in every direction, the other engine cannot maintain control and I watch as the damaged aircraft flips to its side and drops into the river.

It stays afloat briefly then begins to sink. As it does, I see one of the pilots jump out pulling another crewpony out with them. But with the current and our speed, we are soon past them with no real chance of a rescue.

We stay at our action stations until after sunrise, when the damage control teams finally have the popped seams and holes plugged and shoring nailed into place so we can continue with our mission.

As my team heads back inside, I notice one of the engine room crew members coming my way. “Hey Rough Seas, how you doing?”

I see the tired expression on his face as he runs a hoof through his brown mane. “Making it Cookie, it was dicey a bit in there, we had one of the steam lines hit and had to isolate it. That is why we slowed down at that one point during the battle.”

I nod my head, “Anypony hurt bad?”

“A couple of steam burns. The 2nd Engineer and Oiler Babbit Bearing. Oh, and Senior Oiler Smoke Box took a round in his side, but he should be ok. He was still cursing as they carried him out of the engine room.”

I find myself forcing a smile and telling him, “Glad to hear it,” though I have seen ponies yelling and cursing as they bled to death.

He seems reassured by my answer and tells me, “I best let you get going; besides, I need to get topside to get some air.”

“I will talk to you later Rough. Glad to see you are ok.”

He nods again and I see him head outside into the bright light. Once back to our part of the old cargo deck we relight the lanterns and begin to clean our weapons.

As I look, I notice that Cowlick is not here, nor Twinks. This gets me to raise an eyebrow and I hear Morning Mist telling Tater, “I am sure Twinks will be back as soon as things slow down on the mess decks. Might be a bit longer for Cowlick, he took a couple of splinters when one of those bursts hit near him.”

I have finished cleaning my SIR and the magazines I used as well as refilling those magazines with rounds when Twinks and Cowlick come back in.

The first thing I notice though is that he has a large bandage on his hindquarters. I have just raised an eyebrow when he looks at us and tells us, “Yeah, I got hit in the ass, and before you say anything no it was not a brain shot.”

I lose it at that and begin to laugh. Off to the side, I see Epona stifling a laugh with her front hoof. Then I hear Xochitl ask him, “Well, did it at least make your life flash in front of your eyes?”

“Very funny Chotil, but it did make me think a bit. At least I got a good burst into the SOBs after they did it. But it still hurts like all get out.”

Twinks shakes her head with a smile. Then she asks, “Anyone in here with a minor wound that needs to be checked still?”

A couple of the others have light wounds that are already bandaged, and one of the Troubleshooters tells her, “Nah, Pressure Wrap already got us. Thanks for asking.”

This seems to mollify her and she goes over to her bed, removes her bloody clothing, cleans out her pockets, then takes a length of rope with her and the bundle and tells me, “I will be back in a bit Cookie”

I have to laugh, now that we are back in the field, both teams are starting to use their field names again. However, even the crew has started to pick it up mine, including the captain.

When she comes back, most of us are done cleaning our weapons, Twinks on the other hoof has a damp bundle of her uniforms with her. When she gets next to the wood stove, she hangs the rope toward the back of it, and then hangs her uniform on it, as well as her web belt.

She then turns around and tells me, “I had to get the blood out. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, yeah, I do. Make sure you keep warm while your uniform dries.” Tater tells her.

I watch as she smiles and asks him, “You offering?”

He gets up, grabs a blanket, and puts it around his shoulder then sits next to her and wraps it around her. As he does this I have to smile.

From the table off to the side, I hear Cowlick ask, “Ok, who wants to play cards?”

Later Mort comes in and tells us, “Cookie, Smiley, Captain Rust Water wants to talk with us.”
We follow him up to the mess decks, which are still being cleaned from earlier. As we arrive, I see Rust sitting there drinking her coffee. She sets it down as we arrive.

“Ok, we took some pretty good damage there. But we should still be able to make our drop-off point for you. But until we get there, I will need your help with ponying some of the guns. We lost one of the gunners, and had two more wounded and out of action for a couple more days.”

We all nod our heads. “Ma’am, do you think we have to worry about the Enclave hitting us again?”

I see her sigh first, then she takes another drink from her cup before she answers, “Maybe. We may have come across a scout or somepony on a special mission. Otherwise, I think we would not be having this conversation onboard the Colt.”

Mort then asks, “Anything else we can do to help?”

She shrugs, then turns to me, “Cookie, could we put Tater and Epona on the watch bill for the pilot house? We may need the extra set of hooves.”

“I do not think that will be a problem Captain, but I will ask if they mind when I get back to the berthing. I am sure they are getting tired of just being cargo most of the time.”

She smiles, then tells me, “Ok, sounds good. Let me know.”

Two days later we arrive at Western Landing. There we take on more fuel and we receive assistance in making repairs to the major damage we received during the fight. We spend four more days there before we are ready to go again. I am surprised though when we are met there by Blackberry Pie and her team. Along with her, I see three new ponies. One an earth pony mare, the second a unicorn stallion, and the final one, a unicorn mare.

As she comes aboard, I call to her, “Good to see you again Blackberry.” She waves back and once she gets to me, I ask her, “Who are the new ponies?”

“The earth pony is Jelly Bean, the stallion, is Rare Find, and the final mare is Ember Rose. They are to help build up your team. Choo will have been notified by a message about them already.”

I find myself very frustrated as I ask, “And you are having them meet the team in the middle of a mission?”

“Sorry, but the timing was off. We had wanted to bring them to Manesville, but we had a few other distractions first.”

This wording gets me to raise an eyebrow. “So, they have seen action then?”

She nods her head, “Yes, they have. I have full confidence that they will be fine.”

“Ok,” I look them both over and then ask, “So what about you and your team Blackberry?”

She shrugs, “We will be riding until we are near the Everfree and will make our way to Hackamore. We have another assignment waiting for us there.”

“Well, at least Tater will be able to see Tail Spin. I know he has missed him.”

“I know Tail Spin has missed him and Chain Lightning as well.”

“Well, follow me and I will take you to the passenger berthing.”

“She looks at the Pilothouse, then back at me and tells me, “Please take the others, I need to talk to the captain, but will be there soon enough.”

“Do you need me to lead you there?”

“No Ginger, I can find my way, this is not my first time on the Colt,” she says with a smile that makes me wonder what she was doing then, and why did I not know about it.

It is three days later when we make our way up the smaller river that leads towards the Everfree Forest and Ponyville. We are near enough now that we can drop off Blackberry Pie and her team, which we do, just before the Everfree, which we can see in the distance.

Before they go ashore, they wish us good luck as we do for them. Then they are off and on their way again.

*****

Baltimare Colt, River through the Everfree Forest: Xochitl

I watched as Blackberry, Chip, and Tail Spin were ferried to the shore. It was great to see them all again. After all, I have known both Blackberry and Chip since I was a young buck with the scouts on the Expedition. Tail Spin, well I met him a bit later and through Tater, as Tail and his husband Chain Lightning adopted him after he came through the Doorway along with Epona and so many others.

While they are being ferried ashore, I look back and see the flight crew as well as several crew members have removed the tarps from over the vertibuck and have taken down the timbers that assisted in holding the tarps up and off the aircraft. As the tarps come down you can once again tell that the Colt now has a flight deck again. The flight crew then begins to unfold the blades of the rotors in preparation for flight.

Once the launch returns to the Colt, I see the anchor windlass begin to rise and I feel the pulse of the steam engines begin to increase in speed as we get underway again. As we approach the Everfree Forest, we can see the forest extend on both sides, and Captain Waters calls us all to action stations.

As we knew this was coming our team was already kitted up, and all we had to do was run to our required stations. I find myself running from the upper deck by the 40mm mount down to the main deck on the port side, between one of the 20mm mounts and one of the .50cal auto anti-machine rifles.

I find myself hunkering down behind the wooden railing along the main deck that has been reinforced by sandbags. As I peer over the defensive works in front of me, I only see a wild forest at first. Before too long I see a pack of Timberwolves on the hunt along the shore. I have never seen them before, but I know what they are by their rough wooden bodies in a canine shape. I am looking at them through the scope of my rifle when I see a dragon-shaped creature with the head of a chicken fly into the air from some brush just in front of one of the Timberwolves. I see it hover and suddenly the predator turns to a stone in mid-leap.

I turn to Tater beside me and ask, “Did you see that? What the buck?”

He laughs slightly and responds, “Yeah, I saw it through my binoculars. It is a cockatrice. Nasty buggers. The Door Kickers lost one of their ponies to one during their first deployment to the Hackamore region. They were at a village just at the south edge of the Everfree.”

I nod my head, then look upriver, and in the distance, I can see the ruins of what looks to have once been a castle. Near it, I can also see the wreckage of an Enclave airship. From the other side of Tater, I hear Epona say, “I know that place. It is mentioned in the Book of Little Pip. It is called the Cathedral. Red Eye was holed up there at one time. But let us talk about that later.”

I feel the Colt start to turn slightly as it adjusts its course. Then I hear Epona say, “I just wish Rust would have kept me and Tater in the pilot house for this.”

Tater then tells her, “Yeah, it would have been nice, but let’s face it Pona, we are only axillaries on the watch bill. She needs regulars for action stations.”

I wonder how Ginger is doing on the other side. I worry as she has taken two of the three newbies with her along with Morning Mist. Two of them are supposed to pony one of the 20mm guns there. Up on the focsle is Twinks, Cowlick, Double Back, and the newbie, Ember Rose.

Mort’s team is covering the upper deck above us similarly. This helps me to relax as I now know they will have our backs.

As we approach closer to the ruins, I can see that for about a mile around them, the forest is nothing but new growth, trees, and brush that can be no older than ten years old. A few sections of buildings are still standing. However, I can see in the debris of one of them, the wreckage of a raptor sticking out as if it crashed into it.

Epona tells me, “Yeah, they mentioned that one too. Red Eyes forces put up quite a fight here against the Enclave. The Enclave even had a Thunderhead class skyship as well as Raptors. Goddess, I cannot imagine what would have happened to Manesville if we had been hit this hard.

I find myself shaking my head. “Glad I wasn’t here for that.”

She nods her head, “Yeah, I get you on that one. By the way, have you ever read any of the Book of Little Pip?” she asks me.

I shake my head, “Only about half of it. I, I just could not help thinking about all we lost back then because of the war. I wanted to keep thinking of our heroes as heroes and not flawed ponies and zebras.” I let out a sigh after that and then add, “Besides it hurts to know how far we fell.”

She nods her head, “Yeah, I get that,” she tells me.

From the 20mm mount nearby I hear one of the new Colt crewmembers named Rough Seas say, “Yeah, I get that. I wonder where the world would be if they had just tried to understand each other.”

I nod my head as I hear Epona tell him, “Yeah Rough, I have to agree with you on that too.” She pauses and then asks, “How come as an engineer you ended up on a gun crew?”

He smiles and shifts his forelock away from his face. Then he tells her, “I volunteered for gun crew duty. I was hoping for the twin 40s, but they still had a full crew. Besides, the captain said since it was an extra duty, I would get some more caps for it.”

I find myself as well as several others nodding our heads. I peek again over the side and scan the shore with my scope as I hear Tater ask him, “So, Rough, how did you end up on the crew of the colt?”

He shrugs, “Luck I guess you could say. I got tired of the regular navy but still wanted to sail when I first saw the Colt in my hometown of Baltimare. But she had a full crew. About a month back I heard she needed crew from another riverboat that was heading up towards Manesville and decided to try my luck.”

I see Tater nod his head in my peripheral vision as he then asks, “That’s a big chance, what if you had not been hired?”

He smiles “Well, I had heard Manesville was the home of the 1st NCR River Flotilla, so worse come to worse, I guess I could have signed up with them, but honestly, I did not think that would happen.”

He then asks, “You guys ever been to Baltimare?”

As he asks, I find myself laughing, and I hear Tater tell him, “Yeah, you could say that. Been a while, but we ran some ops up that way. Even made a raid into the old Ministry of Wartime Technologies hub there.”

About this time, I see movement along the shoreline sliding into the water. I call out, “340 meters, to the port side bow, I just saw a radgator slide into the water and it is heading our way.”

We all swing our weapons in the direction of the radgator as it quickly makes its way toward us. From above I hear the captain yell out, “Take the blasted thing out before it hits the hull or flops up on deck!”

I am just aiming to fire when I hear Rough Seas open fire with a quick burst. Through my scope I see a shot hit its head first, then two more along its back. I also see several more shots landing near it. I watch as it rolls over and begins to sink, but I soon see a hazel aura surround it and lift it out of the water, bringing it closer.

I then hear my wife yell out, “That’s right Rare Find, bring it in close. I hear these things are good eating.”

As it gets over the deck, I see it try to roll itself over. One of the ship's crew from the focsle then jumps up and quickly slices its throat.

The gator then starts to flop around even harder at first. I see that now several of the unicorns have joined in holding it in place as it fights their hold. Finally, It goes slack and I watch as it is at first lowered to the deck. From above I hear Rust call out, “Well, since you caught the dang thing, some of you better start cleaning it too now. The rest get back on watch.”

We continue our way upriver until we are near Ponyville. Once there, Rust drops anchor several hundred meters from the shore. We have one more meal on board, and then Mort tells us, “Gear up, we are leaving as soon as the bird is loaded.”

With that, we all grab our kits and whatever we feel we will need in the Mohoovie. Part of this is that we all carry two canteens on top of our normal loadout.

As we lift into the air, I look out the window on the opposite side then back down the loading ramp, and watch as first the Colt, then the still rebuilding Ponyville pass into the distance as we chase the sun across the sky and toward the next phase of our mission.

We stop one more time to rest the aircrew and to let the magic batteries recharge. Once done we take back to the air. As we near our estimated drop-off point the sun is almost fully down. In the valleys ahead I can see flares, tracer rounds, and artillery explosions in the distance.

It looks like we may be going into a hot LZ. I feel my stomach tense and I have a bitter taste in the back of my mouth. As we get closer, I can see the trench lines ahead of us. Wait, I thought we were advancing on Reino. Why are there trenches on both sides if we are still advancing? I ask myself. Then Flight Plan flares the aircraft and while we are still pony high above the ground we hear, “Go, Go, Go!” and we run out the loading ramp, jumping to the ground. I feel my ankle buckle slightly but run on the injured limb toward a nearby bunker with the others. After all, it still supports my weight so I can still use it. We can take care of it when we are safe.

As we run, I watch the last of us in mid-jump and the door gunner on one side starts to open fire as sparks come off the transport. Then Flight Plan and the Hot Shot spin and take off as fast as they can at the nap of the earth.

Once we reach the bunker, we are met by a grizzled-looking sergeant major who tells us, “Welcome, I have a feeling you were not expecting this.

*****

Manesville, Manesville Region, NCR: Choo Choo

As I arrive at the shop for the day, I see the door is already open and Diode is at the workbench by the counter working on a couple of pieces of electronics. I stop briefly and watch him solder a piece in place and once he is done, he blows on it lightly then looks up at me, “Oh, good morning, Boss.”

“Good morning, Diode, what are you working on?”

He smiles and then tells me, “Oh, before she left Twinks gave me the plans for some radio direction finders. I am building a couple of them so besides the ones on your PipBucks, you can have one on the Colt and one on the Vertibuck to help triangulate the location of a broadcaster.” He pauses and then adds, “She did not tell me why, just that you would need a couple.”

I nod my head in reply I tell him, “Thank you. These should help.”

Just then Zhea calls out from the back, “Choo Choo, would you like me to bring you some tea?”

I think briefly and then tell her, “No, do not bring it to me, I will be there in a minute. Besides, I have a few things I want to discuss with you.”

As I arrive in the mess hall area of our shop, she is taking a pot of water off the stove.

I grab a cup off the rack and take a seat. As I do so, she brings the pot over and places some tea leaves in my cup as well as one for her. She then hurries back and brings out a small bottle of cow’s milk as well as a small container of honey.

Once she has everything ready, she sits down and we begin to talk as we let the tea steep.

“Ok Choo, what do you have for me today?”

I find myself smiling at her business upfront approach. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about hiring a couple more people for the shop. I would like to add a couple more actual repair ponies if we can get them.”

She nods her head in understanding. “Do they need to be ponies Boss?”

I shake my head, “No, just that they can be of use in keeping up the storefront here. Oh, and combat experience would be a plus.”

When I say this, she puts a hoof in front of her muzzle to stifle a slight giggle. Then she tells me, “Choo, I do not think that last one will be hard to find. Not after that last incident with the Enclave here.”

I find myself smiling as well, as I remember some of those who I had not expected to be involved in the fighting, being in the thick of it and coming out of it still alive. “Yes, you are correct I suppose.”

She nods her head, “Do you have any suggestions, Boss?”

“Not off the top of my head. Rumor has it that they may try to keep the Militia activated for an extended period, so that may reduce the number of ponies we have available to us.”

By now we have already mixed the honey and milk into our tea and begun to drink it. We discuss a few other things that are of concern to me about the shop. Then we begin to talk about personal things.

“Choo, would you mind if I had Xerxes from Site Paddock come and visit us?”

I find myself smiling and I lean forward in my seat, “Not at all. I did not realize you two struck it off so well.”

I see her move her head as if she is blushing. Then she answers, “We seem to have so far. It felt so good to talk to him while we were at the welcome home party for Captain Archer. He even enjoyed talking with me and my daughter.” She pauses, then asks, “Choo, if I were to begin dating him, do you think it would be too soon? I mean do you think I have gone through a proper length period of mourning for my husband?”

I think briefly before answering her, “Myself, I do. However, the real question is are you ready to date? If you feel you are, then go for it. If not, then wait and build a friendship with him that can be transitioned into more later.”

I see her think briefly and then she nods her head. Then she tells me, “I have heard you talking about your great-granddaughter going with you when you leave to join the rest of the team. Have you thought about how you might prepare her for it yet?”

I nod my head, “Yes, I have, right now I am having Sunny train her with in-flight maneuvers and formation flying as well as why we do it.”

“And what about fighting on the ground as well?”

I find myself biting my lip because I had not thought about that. She smiles as best she can and tells me, “I was afraid of that. But, when I was last over by White Cloud, I had heard several members of the Militia there talking about how much the old Pegasus Tag games had helped them when the Enclave attacked. Something about teaching them how to react to a quickly changing environment.”

I nod my head and think briefly, “That sounds good, but who would I get to participate in it?”

This time she leans forward and says, “How about forming a youth pegasus tag league? If you add non-fliers to it, then you can work on ground situations as well.”

I put a wing under my chin, “Hmm, you know that may just work, I will have to talk to Sunny about it. Thanks for the suggestion Zhea.”

I see her smile back at me as she tells me, “My pleasure. Besides, it may help many others who are not going with you as well.” She pauses and adds, “And it may just keep some of the youngsters out of trouble.”

I then tell her, “In a bit I am heading over to White Cloud, would you like me to stop at Site Paddock and let Xerxes know you would like him to visit soon?”

She says nothing, but instead nods her head excitedly.

“Ok, I will my friend,” I tell her.

“Thank you, Choo. I do appreciate it more than you can imagine.”

I find myself smiling at the zebra mare ghoul, then I tell her, “I think I have a fair idea, have I ever told you about when I found my old fiancé Side Track about ten years back? He was in the railyard on the final day…” And I begin to tell her about him, our old friend Firebox, and how Paper Work had conspired with her to get her and Side Track together.

After I finish my story to her, I notice the time on a Sparkle Cola clock that is on the wall and realize I need to get moving. I excuse myself and begin to make my way to White Cloud.

I am only a couple of miles away when I see four specks flying in formation. As they fly, I notice that they keep adjusting their formation as if keeping the tail of their wing mares clear. This gets my attention and I adjust my course to meet theirs.

Once I am close enough, I realize who it is and I smile as Moon Lily and three or her friends all fly up to me. Once close enough Moon yells out, “Granny Choo!” and flies over for a hug.

After we break our hug, her friends fly over to me as well.

Once they are close enough, she reintroduces me to them.

“Granny,” she points a hoof towards a young yellow-coated hippogriff filly with a tail of mixed yellow and brown, “This is Slipstream. Her pa works with Mama Mollygirl.”

I find myself smiling as I tell her, “A pleasure to meet you Slipstream.”

She giggles slightly then moves back as two young pegasus mares who if I remember correctly are sisters fly slightly forward. She then says, “And this is Snow Song” The light gray-coated mare with her braided white mane and tail, raises a hoof and waves to me. Moon continues, “And her sister Frost Glitter,” who is a light gray coated young mare with a medium gray mane and tail which she wears in pig tales, who then waves briefly too, “Their ma works with Mama Mollygirl too. Frost and Snow and their little brother Rain Dancer all went to Hoofington with us.”

“A pleasure to meet you formally young mares,” I tell them and nod my head in their direction. For some reason, their names tickle the back of my mind and I cannot think of why. It must have been from the family stories about their escape from Hoofington. I block this away to think about more later and I ask, “So what are you three up to today?”

Moon excitedly tells me, “I was teaching them what cousin Sunny had taught me, so I could practice it more.”

“Really, and what do you mares think of it?” I ask.

They all look at each other and it seems almost like I am witnessing Unity from the outside as they all look back at me at the same time and say, “It is a lot of fun. We like the challenge.”

I feel my eyes go open wide and my ears are forward when they do this which causes them all to giggle. Then Moon sends me, ({Do not worry Granny, it is not like this or with my aunts. We just are close friends.})

I feel relief when she says this and send back, ({Thank you for understanding Moon.})

Then she asks, “So were you coming to visit? Maybe some more magic lessons?”

I nod my head, “I was coming to visit, but I have to visit Site Paddock first.”

“Oh, ok. I was just hoping since Sunny has not come over yet. He was helping with his Pa for a bit today.”

I nod my head as Sunny has told me that he was going to help around the farm as his father, Trouble Water, was still trying to get the farm back in shape after having recovered from his wounds from the Enclave incursion.

I think briefly and then tell them, “If you want to accompany me to Site Paddock, we can practice some more maneuvers.”

As we go, I have them show me some of the various maneuvers that they have learned so far. By the time we reach Site Paddock, I have a fairly decent understanding of their level of flying skills and how well they can coordinate together. As I get ready to land, I start to think about all those years ago when I ran away with Ginger and Xochitl on the Expedition and I feel guilt creep into my mind as I think about taking my great-granddaughter on such an adventure. At least I hope her friends do not try to join her when we leave.

Once on the ground I turn to them and Moon tells me, “Okay Granny, we will meet you back at the farm.”

“Sounds good Moon, I will be there in a bit.”

As I enter Site Paddock, I notice a couple of ghouls from Dead Quite are leaving and I overhear them joking with each other. When they see me, they both go silent briefly until I wave a wing at them. Then they both tell me, “Good afternoon Ma’am.”

“I smile at them and wave a wing as I tell them, “Good afternoon. I hope you are both doing well.”

They both smile as best as they can and the nearest of them tells me, “We are, but I am surprised to see one of your kind visiting the site here.”

I wave a hoof, “While I do not visit here often, I sometimes like to talk with somepony about the old days. After all, there are some things that others cannot ever understand.”

They both look at each other and nod their heads, Then as I shift the light falls on my cutie mark and I hear one of them say, “Oh, you are her. We heard about you. Lieutenant Cake told us about you and your great-granddaughter Moon Lily. It is a pleasure, ma’am.”

I feel myself blushing. “Well, thank you. But both she and I are both ponies just like you.”

I hear a rough chuckle come from both of them and the one says, “I guess they were right about you and her then. You really do consider us to be ponies still. Well, we need to get going before it gets too late. Have a good day Ma’am.”

“And you two as well. Take care.”

As they head their way, I continue mine, in search of Xerxes. I stop at the security office and I see one of the original inhabitants of the old underground storage base sitting behind a desk watching the various monitors. When I enter, he turns to me and asks, “Can I help you, Choo?”

I smile as I recognize him from around town and the family farm. “I think so Sergeant Apple Dough, I have a message to Lieutenant Xerxes from Zhia.”

I see his remaining ear go straight up and his foggy eyes focus on me. “Really? I hope it is a good one. I know he has talked about her and her little filly a few times since Captain Archer’s party.”

He then gets on the Public Announcement system for the facility and announces, “Lieutenant Xerxes, you have a visitor in the security office, Lieutenant Xerxes, you have a visitor in the security office.”

After this goes out on the PA, I notice on one of the monitors the zebra ghoul raises both ears straight up and almost trots on his way to the office.

As he arrives, I see a look of disappointment come over his face. “Oh, I thought it would be someone else, what can I do for you today, Choo Choo?”

I smile sadly in understanding then I tell him, “Since I was coming this way, Zhia has asked that I let you know that you can visit the Repair Pony shop and her as well, any time you would like.”

He seems to smile and I see his spirits rise some again as he asks, “Ma’am, are you saying she would like to see me again?”

I nod my head and gently tell him, “Yes, I am. But she is very nervous still as to her, she has only been a widow for a year or so, even though he has been gone for over two centuries. All I ask is that you do not rush things, take it easy, we all have time.”

I hear him laugh hoarsely and then he tells me, “Yes, yes we do, but I never expected one of your kind to play matchmakers for a couple of ghouls.”

This time I chuckle dryly and tell him, “You would not be the first, perhaps sometime I can tell you about my old fiancé and our friend whom both Paper Work and I have helped to get together.”

He smiles and replies, “I would enjoy that Choo. Perhaps another time, as you have mentioned you were coming this way before she asked, so I will let you get going if you have nothing else for me.”

I shake my head, “No, not really, just that, but understand, I hope for the best for both of you and little Xanthippe.”

He sobers up at the mention of her name and tells me, “Choo, I certainly will take her into consideration as well, I never had a child of my own, and perhaps, just perhaps someday she can be the one I never fathered.”

After this, I excuse myself and hurry over to the family farm where I find Moon and her friends all waiting for me as they talk on the back porch with Persimmon and Sunny.

As I arrive, I hear Sunny tell me, “Hay Choo, remember how when we were younger, we would play tag with you when you were invisible, what do you think about playing in game of that again with the youngsters and me.”

I find myself grinning as I reply to him, “I think that would be an excellent idea,” and I cast the spell and disappear. Time to make training fun. Afterward, I can discuss pegasus tag with them, but for now, it is game on.

As I disappear, I watch as the five fliers all yell out and scatter like a flock of crows. I laugh out loud and I jump into the air after them. Below me, I can hear Persimmon laughing as she yells out, “Sumac, you need to come see this!”

*****

RDS Terminal, Hoofington, Enclave Territory: Ball Lightning

“Good morning, XO.” I hear from our battalion sergeant major, Funnel Cloud as I enter the Headquarters.

“Morning, Sergeant Major, how’s the old stallion this morning?”

“Ah, the usual sir. Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffee to your office for you while we discuss a couple of things that happened last night?”

“Sure, I appreciate it.”

Shortly after I am in my office, he brings in my coffee as well as one for him. This has become a daily routine since I was promoted. He takes a seat across from my desk and begins to drink his coffee as well.

“So, Funnel, what delights do we have today?”

“Well sir, we have a couple of junior troops from 2nd platoon, Bravo company who decided to raise a bit of a stink while on a 24-hour pass. It seems they went to the new establishment just off the Skyport called Mud Puppies and had a hoofticuff match with several of the locals.”

I cringe inside when he says the last part as this could mean an incident between the Commonwealth and the Enclave, and right now we do not need that. I then ask, “How bad is it?”

“Well sir, the Brood brought them both back.” I think that in itself is a good sign, as he continues, “They also brought back a bill for the damages incurred both on the property of the establishment’s owner as well as medical bills for three of the five stallions they were fighting.”

“Ok, what is your suggestion Funnel?”

He grins when I ask him this, “Damn sir, this is why I enjoy working with you. Do you know how refreshing it is to not only have you listen, but that you ask my opinion?”

“Alright, what do you recommend?”

“Sir, we have to make an example of them to prevent such further incidents from occurring. However, we can’t be too hard on them. My recommendation sir is to article 15 them both to the Old Stallion, with the recommendation of 45 days restriction to post, 45 days extra duty, and half months pay for two months, sir.”

“No reduction in rank?”

“No sir, not at this time as both of them have had clean records before this.”

“Alright, Bring them to my office this afternoon with their 1st sergeant. I will see what they have to say for themselves and we can go from there, but I think 45 and 45 and pay should be the worst of it.”

“Thank you, sir,” he tells me and then he looks at the clock on the wall. "Fifteen minutes until officers’ call sir.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Major, I will see you later.”

After the morning officer’s call, I do my daily inspection of the company headquarters and facilities. Once done, I am back at my office when one of the junior clerks knocks on my door. “Come in.”

He steps in and tells me, “With the Colonels’ compliments sir, he would like to see you in his office at your soonest convenience.”

I nod my head and get up, “I am on my way, thank you.”

Once I arrive, he has me sit down, “Okay Ball, I have been requested to send you up to Thunderhead for some additional training that you should have had before you were advanced to XO, I am sure your record allowed for it though. You should be back before your foals are born.

“Thank you, sir, I just wish I could be here to help her more.”

He smiles and nods his head, “Ball, while I understand that, you have your older kids to help her. Besides, if something happens it is a quick flight back down here.”

“When am I scheduled to transfer to the school, sir?”

He looks at the paperwork on his desk again, “The school starts in five days, so you need to report in the day before.” He pauses, “Well XO, if you don’t have anything more for me, I have to get back to this paperwork.”

“Yes sir, I might have a couple of article 15s for you later, but I will set that up if needed after I talk to them personally.”

“OK, I will talk to you later then.” And with that, I know I have been dismissed, so I head back to my office and continue with my day.

When I get home that night, I kiss my wife on the cheek and then I ask her how her day went.

She smiles and tells me, “It went well today, I had lunch with Savannah and Alizée after my doctor’s appointment today.”

“So, what did the Doc have to say?”

She smiles, “He gave me a clean bill of health so far. Only another couple of months until my due date.”

I find myself smiling at her and getting excited, then I have to break the news to her. “Dear, speaking about due dates, I just got word that in four days I have to be at a command school up in Thunderhead, However, I should be done with it before you are due.”

I see the disappointment on her face as she tells me, “But Ball, I was hoping you could stay here until they are born.”

“I was hoping to as well my love. But I just got the orders today. But if anything happens it is only a short flight for me to get here, and I will be as soon as possible.”

She nods her head sadly, “I know Ball, it is not your fault. It is just hard sometimes.”

I put my hoof around her and squeeze her slightly, “I know dear, I know. But, let’s make the most of the time we have until I leave.”

With tears held in her eyes, she nods her head and she buries her face against my neck. I hold her like this until our kids begin to get home for the night.

As Scout comes in he asks, “What’s wrong Mom?”

She sniffles slightly and tells him, “Nothing really, your father just has to go away again for a couple of more months.”

He steps up next to her, lays a hoof on her shoulder, and looks up into her eyes as he tells her, “Don’t worry Mom, we will be here for you when Dad can’t.”

She sniffles slightly and hugs him as she tells him, “I know you will Scout, and I really do appreciate it.”

I see him smile as he hugs her back. I then realize how much he has changed since that cold wet night so long ago. Part of that change was that he was not used to getting hugs, but now, I can tell he not only is used to them but enjoys them.

After they break the hug he tells her, “Here Mom, let me help with dinner tonight.”

“Thank you, Scout,” she tells him.

The next couple of days go too quickly for me. My last night at home I am happy to just spend it with my family. After dinner, Scout asks, “Dad, do you want me to turn on the radio?”

I think briefly, “No, not tonight, how about I read a story to all of you?”

After I say that I hear Bent Plate ask, “Could you read to us about Daring Do again?”

I look at my wife and smile then I tell him, “Sure Bent, go get the book for me.”

After reading my family another story of Daring Do, I carry a sleeping Lil’ Bit up to bed and tuck the rest in as well.

Once they are all down and falling asleep, I join my wife in bed for one last night together until I return.

As we lay there waiting to fall asleep, she tucks her head into my neck and nuzzles me. I feel myself smiling and I begin to return the favor.

A short time later, I am holding her in my hooves and wings when she whispers to me, “Ball if things go bad here, I am going to try and make a run for Manesville. I do not want to risk our children if I can help it.”

I nod my head and I tiredly whisper back, “I understand, but if you do have to make a run for it, just, just be careful love, you know as well as I do how dangerous it is out there.”

Come morning I say my goodbyes to my family as I grab my uniforms and kit that I will need for the schooling. I make my way first to our battalion HQ one more time and I see Funnel Cloud. He tells me, “Do not worry Major, myself and some of the others will be checking up on your wife and family for you while you are away.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Major, I do appreciate that. Now I best be going so I can catch the next transport.”

Once onboard the transport vertibuck I take my seat, close my eyes, and relax as we prepare to taxi, then take off for the cloud city above us.

When we arrive in Thunderhead, I make my way to the military base and as I am checking into the school there, I see a familiar officer I have not seen in a long while, As I approach him, I see he now wears the rank of captain on his collar. Once I am close enough to him, I call out, “Hey Down Draft, good to see you again.”

I see him look at me twice and shake his head as if he cannot believe his eyes. He then grins broadly before he stops, salutes me, and tells me, “It is great to see you again sir.”

I quickly return his salute and tell him, “It is great to see you too. Congrats on making captain.”

He laughs lightly and tells me, “Well, I was just trying to keep up in rank with you. But looks like I will have to work harder now, Major.”

“I am surprised to see you, what are you doing here?”

“Ball, they are sending me to a command and leadership school. After that, I will be getting a new company with one of the scouts’ battalions.” He pauses briefly then asks, “How about you?”

“Same here, but after I am done, I will be returning to my MP battalion. Ever since that time you and your people pulled my bacon out of the fire, I have not been in good enough condition to return to the scouts.” This time I pause, then I add, “To be honest, I am just glad they did not medically retire me.”

“So, have you checked in yet with the schoolhouse?”

“No, not yet, I just got off the transport a little bit ago and was heading that way, then I was going to check into the BOQ.”

He nods his head and moves his ears in understanding before he tells me, “Sounds good, I was just heading that way myself. After which maybe I can take you over to the BOQ.”

As we walk, he asks me, “So, how is Sundancer doing?”

I smile as I tell him, “Not too bad. She is due with twins in another couple of months.” Then I ask him, “How have things been going between you and Alto?”

He shrugs his wings as he tells me, “OK, but I am still worried about him. He was hurt badly enough that he is still recovering. “

After I check in at the schoolhouse, he and I walk back to the main office of the BOQ where I show them a copy of my orders as well as my class assignment from the school. A bored-looking corporal at the desk then asks, “Since you two officers seem to know each other, and we are short on rooms at this time, would you mind being billeted in the same room?”

We both look at each other and I answer first, “That would be fine Corporal. Thank you.”

He assigns us our room and issues us each a key to it. Then he returns to his paperwork, and we head to our room. As we go, I cannot help but think that perhaps it will not be all that bad. Besides it will be nice to talk to Down Draft again after such a long time.

*****

Welcome to tonight’s show to all of you out in the wastelands. I am DJ Pon3 bringing to you music, tips for surviving in the wastelands, and the news, no matter how much it hurts.

Tonight’s first tip is a reminder that when you are traveling in the waste make sure you have at least a good canteen. Even better would be two. But if you do not have a canteen handy, then an old Sparkle Cola bottle with a cork, or piece of wood carved to work as a stopper will work in a pinch.

After all, you may be able to go a week without food before you become too weak, but you can only go a couple of days without water. Also, try to get your water from a pure source, if possible, if not filter and boil it before you drink it. Well, that is unless you are a ghoul, then try to get some Aqua Pura instead.

In recent news, there has been an increase in raids along the southwestern border of the NCR by the Enclave. This seems to be in retaliation of the NCR drive on Reino. Where in tonight’s news we are hearing reports of more gains having been made as they advance through the foothills leading up to the mountains of the Mohoovie.

We also have news that there was another attempt by several members of the NCR Parliament to call for a vote of no confidence in President Grimfeathers. As of this afternoon, they did not have the required votes to call for such a vote.

We also have news that the NCR forces on Ponytraz have withstood another assault on their positions there yet again.

With all these calls for votes of no confidence as well as raids on NCR forces and territory I feel our first song for tonight should be Wool, so here it is.

Author's Note

Today I would like to thank Kkat, for creating this amazing universe of Fallout Equestria. I would also like to thank Somber, Fuzzy Vee Vee, Volrathxp and so many others who have shown me how much more can be created in the universe of FoE.
As we can see, most of the team is returning to the wastelands for another op along with the Fixers and the crew of the Baltimare Colt. I would also like to thank Rough Seas, who I met at Ponyville Ciderfest this year, for allowing me to use his personal OC Rough Seas as a crew member for the Colt. While he may not be a main character, he will be becoming a regular on the Colt.

The piece of artwork for the Flying Foursome was commissioned over a year ago by me from Laura Sikes, (AKA Piper.) It has been hard for me not to share it more, but I have wanted to save it for the right time to post it, which meant this chapter. Yes, I have had this chapter partially planned for that long. I have several others the same way, so except for death or an EMP this story will be finished eventually. Again Piper, thank you for all the wonderful artwork you have been doing for me and my stories. I hope you, my readers enjoy it as much as I do.

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