Chapter 61 Hits and Misses

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

Baltimare Colt, The Great Plains water highway: Ginger Snaps

It has been a week since we left Whinnyapolis. Yesterday, we were picked up by the Hot Shot from a little hamlet known as Maredora. The place is run down with only a few settlers there. The radio station we checked out there was north of the town on one of the larger bluffs. However, when we went to hit the place, it seemed we were just a bit too late, as we saw the Enclave vertibuck finish loading, including what looked like a unicorn tech, and then it took off. So again, it was another no-joy mission for us.

I must say, it was interesting for Cowlick as most of the locals we ran into were buffalo. This gave us a bit of an in with them, however they were very suspicious of our pegasi.

During our initial meeting, one of the bulls asked Cowlick, “How come you are hairy like us and only have one head? I thought all you brahmin had two heads and were bald.”

Cowlick smiles at the question and tells them, “That is because I am of the old cattle line. The brahmin are our cousins who did not make it into stables.”

The bull looks at him with a side eye and then asks, “Is that why you are a servant for these ponies?”

Cowlick shakes his head and answers, “I am not their servant. I am their co-worker. I went to school with several of them and we are friends.”

The bull then asks, “We have not seen any others like you before, are there more like you?”

“Oh, yes, there are quite a few bulls and cows. many serve in the Manesville Brigade for the NCR army, but most work in shops and farms there.”

The bull looks at us, then back at Cowlick and he asks, “They really treat you as an equal?”

Cowlick gives that fun-loving smile of his, then he tells him, “Yeah, they really do. I am as much a friend and member of this team as anyone else. I could be back home on my family’s farm, but I chose this life, to stand by my friends.” He pauses, and then I must smile as he tells the buffalo, “That little zony over there. He is my best friend and I would die for him, or him for me. We have had our tussles, but we worked our way through them, and he even forgave me for when they were my fault.”

The buffalo asks, “How would they treat me and my people?”

Cowlick shrugs, “I cannot answer for everyone, but most of the Manesville region would treat you like anyone else. Perhaps even help you if you asked for it.”

“Humph, that sounds like something to think about someday, but I am sure with your war it will be a while to come.”

Cowlick nods his, “True, but who knows what the future can bring.”

As we continue to talk with the buffalo, we find out that the reason they distrust the pegasi was that many years ago some Dashites brought the Enclave down on both them as well as the ponies in some of the nearby settlements, especially Maredora.

Cowlick asks, “What can you tell us about the Enclave around here?”

The bull solemnly nods, “Not too much, most of them stay up at the old radio station on the bluff north of town. When they came in they drove any of the rest of us away from there. We lost a young bull who decided to try and sneak in to see what they were doing that way.”

Choo then tells him, “We are all very sorry to hear that. Perhaps we should part ways with you so that we do not lead them to blame you or any of the other locals for what we are going to do.”

He tilts his head, “Just what are you going to do?”

This time I chime in, “It is best you do not know, that way you have plausible deniability.”

The bull thinks briefly, then tells us, “By my having met you, I have lost that. You seem very interested in the radio station and I would like to get some payback for my nephew, so I will lead you there.”

Choo then tells him, “We would appreciate that. However, once we get close enough, you should head back to your people. Once we leave there, we will not be coming back this way.”

The buffalo bull looks at Cowlick as if for confirmation, to which Cowlick nods his head and tells him, “She is right. Unless you want to leave here and join us.”

I watch as Choo’s eyes go wide at the thought. “While I would not be adverse most times to hiring you, I would hesitate right now as we only have a limited amount of lift capacity .” She pauses then tells him, “However, if you are ever interested, you can contact us through our contacts at Mall, or even at our office in Manesville. Just tell the local constables there you looking for Big Blue.”

He then tells the other members of his tribe, “I will be back shortly, I have some work to do.”

Morning Star then trots over to where the Flying Foursome are talking to a couple of older calves and young bulls and cows. I smile as I see them seem to say goodbye and quickly rejoin us.

Once we depart their camp, he leads us across a large, shallow river, then through what is now a recovering forest, to the base of the bluffs. We thank the bull, and Choo pays him with a few caps and a couple of ration packs, which he takes with only some hesitation. Seeing his hesitation, Choo tells him, “Thank you again. These are a gift to show our appreciation.”

He nods his head and thanks her, then he turns and before much longer we can no longer see him as he heads back to his people. By now it is starting to get dark and I watch as the thestrals walk into some shadows and disappear. As we wait, I turn on the radio so I can tell if our target is broadcasting still. I use my earpiece to listen and tell Choo, “The broadcast is loud and clear, I think we got them this time.”

Arrats soon reappears and leads us up the rugged trails along the ridge side. I can only hope that the Enclavers do not see us coming. We are three-quarters of the way to the top when the broadcast ends and we can hear them calling out as they seem to be evacuating.

We begin to hurry more and have just come over the crest when I see a group of enclave soldiers and some civilians carrying equipment run quickly into a vertibuck that already has its rotors spinning. We are still using cover as we watch the last of them jump onto the aircraft and it takes off. Once it is gone, Snow Song and Frost Glitter sneak up to the building in their recon suits with Sunny and Morning Mist in their captured power armor.

Once inside we find the place is empty overall, but we can see where some of the old radio equipment had been removed and Twinks identifies one piece as a radio repeater. She shakes her head and tells us, “Well boss, if he was here, he probably will not be back. This makes it where they can receive a broadcast from somewhere else and resend it as if its own. Kinda a scaled-down version of the old Emergency Broadcast Systems that DJ Pon3 uses out of Manehatten.”

When we left there, we did our best to leave the place undisturbed, again to not give away what we were up to. Even though Twinks and Cowlick really wanted to set some charges on the equipment there. I had to agree though with Choo when she told them, “This is to protect the locals as much as to hide what we are doing.”

Right after that, she called the Colt with a no-joy message. The Hot Shot was not too far away, waiting for this message, and within minutes they landed and picked us up. As we fly away, I see the buffalo herd below us, and one of them waves to us and I smile as I watch Cowlick, who has shifted up next to Love Tap and her gun, hang partially out the gunner’s window and wave at them below. Right after this, he took his seat across from me and I watched as he fell right to sleep, next to a slightly airsick Days End.

This time when we returned to the Colt, we found her near a small fishing village. I noticed several small boats along the river bank, but what really caught my eye was several old Quonset huts that seemed to be near an abandoned airfield. Well, at least it looks abandoned. I do wonder though why the locals were not living in them.

As we passed the village, we triangulated another RDF location that was about seventy klicks north of the river. This got Choo to give the orders for our next move.

I take a deep breath and think about how tonight our team is going to be dropped near there and once again we will investigate it. I guess I would be more excited but we only had one day on the Colt this time and to be honest, I had looked forward to sleeping in a comfortable bed in a semi-secure setting, but I guess it comes with the job.

I have just finished repacking my saddlebags when I look up and see my little sister still talking to her friends. “Moon, have you finished packing your saddlebags yet?”

She looks surprised and tells me, “Well mostly, I still need to get a couple of packets of rations I guess.”

Beside her Snow Song, Frost Glitter, and Slip Stream all nod their heads slowly and I hear one of them say, “We all need some.”

I find myself sighing, and then I ask them, “Why did you not say something earlier?”

I watch as they blush, then am surprised when Snow Song says, “Because we were kicking tail in a hot game of Uno, and I thought you would tell us when to grab some.”

I shake my head, partly in amusement, but also in a bit of disappointment at their wanting to be treated like adults, but not performing like them. I then wonder if Xochitl and I were ever like that. Then I tell them, “I expect you four to be just as responsible as the rest of us on getting ready for missions. I am glad you were having fun and all, but duty first mares.”

I have just said this when Mort walks by and tells them, “I will get you your ten caps in a bit. I should have known when you suggested that we each put in ten caps and winner takes all you four had something up your sleeves.”

I am stunned. The little twerps have been gambling. Their mothers are going to kill me, I think. Then I tell them, “Ok, follow me and we will get you your rations.” Once we are far enough away, I then tell them, “For the Goddesses' sakes, do not let your parents know you were gambling. In fact, you shouldn’t be anyway.”

Then all four of them look at each other and smile then at the same time, “We won’t!”

“Good, now let us get you those rations,” I tell them and we head to a section of the cargo deck where we have our extras stored.

As we reenter the berthing I smile as I see my husband has his gear packed and is finishing loading Katie’s up and putting her harness on her. Once he is finished, he tells Choo, “Once the fillies finish loading their saddlebags, we should be ready. Tater already issued everyone our ammo.”

“Excellent,” she responds, then she looks at Mort and asks, “Are you people about ready?”

Mort grins before he responds, “Yeah, we are. I just hope things stay quiet for a while more, I mean it has been a couple of days since we last saw the Dragon’s Horde, and honestly, I just hope they are licking their wounds still.”

Choo nods her head, “Yes, quite. I know the captain is worried a bit as well.”

Choo looks at her PipBuck one more time, then tells us, “Ok, head to the upper deck everyone, once Flight Plan and his crew are ready, we board and take off again.”

Each of us responds to Choo in our way. Then we begin to grab our gear and go. As the second in command of our team, I am the last to leave the berthing. Right next to Smiley as he follows the last of his team. He nods to me as he leads me out and tells me, “It is good to be working with all of you again. The last time you left, was interesting for us only because of those vermin that keep harassing us.”

“Yeah, I get you Smily. I know our whole team is looking forward to working with all of you again.”

Once topside, the two teams form up opposite of each other, then we sit down waiting to load. As we sit there, Azimuth Compass, the 1st officer of the Colt comes over and tells us, “Good luck everyone. Be careful out there and let us know when to pick you up.”

We all smile and nod our heads. Then as the rotors on the Hot Shot begin to spin up, he runs forward to the pilot house. As he does that, Balanced Load, the crew chief, and most recent addition to the Hot Shots crew before we left Manesville trots over to us and begins to give us orders on how to load the aircraft.

Once he is done by teams, we follow him into the aircraft and begin to load. When we are all seated and ready I see him plug in his crew helmet to a jack and he says something to the pilots as the rear ramp begins to close. Soon we are airborne again and as we twist to change our course I look over and see that Cowlick is already asleep. I smile and shake my head then decide, that perhaps he has a good idea, and take a nap myself.

*****

Wastelands, Disputed Territory: Xochitl

As the vertibuck comes into land, we are ten Klicks out from the location of the broadcast sight. Midway between us and there are the remains of a small village. I am in the lead with Katie as we approach the town. As we begin to sneak among the damaged buildings, I must admit that I am getting a creepy feeling. This is enhanced when I hear Katie begin to emit a low growl and I see she has barred her teeth and is beginning to stiffen in her movements.

I quickly check my Eyes Forward Sparkle and I see at least a dozen red dots ahead of me in the direction of an old general store. I also see some slowly moving to our right. I stop and hoof signal to those behind me that we have hostiles and in which directions.

The ones to the side I can hear slowly dragging their feet or hooves. The ones ahead of us, stay steady and do not seem to be moving. However, I am concerned about the flankers. Before I can say anything Choo calls quietly over the radio, “Scouts out. Lance, find out what those targets are to our flank.”

In reply, I hear a double click of a whisper mic and the bat ponies as a unit begin to sneak and peak in that direction.

We wait quietly while the scouts do their work. Suddenly we hear a couple of quick shots, then I hear Morning Star call out, “Cease fire. Their foals!”

A few more shots ring out and I hear Arrats yell, “Medic up!”

I hear Twinks yell, “On the way,” and I watch as she runs in the direction the shooting came from, followed closely by Moon Lily.

Soon after this I hear Twinks call out, “Big Blue, we need you over at my PipBuck tag right away.”

Choo then tells Ginger, “Cookie you have the team.” And she flies away into the darkness.

Before too much longer I hear the call from Choo, “Team form on me. Weapons at the carry. I mean it.”

I am surprised at the force in Choo’s voice when she says this. But simply call back, “Roger Big Blue.” I then turn to the others, “You heard the mare, weapons at the carry. Slip Stream, sling yours across your back.”

As we begin to move, I see Mort’s team following our example and joining us as we move to Choo. As we arrive, I see Choo and Moon Lily working on a very skinny young mare. To the side, Twinks is treating a wound on Ankareeda.

Besides Moon and Choo, I see another young stallion in rags and carrying a rusty old lever-action rifle. I see tears in his eyes that he is fighting. Further back I see four more young ponies, all of them look to be half-starved. Finally, Choo looks up and tells the young stallion, “She will survive. But she is in rough shape.” She stops briefly then asks, “Will you be able to take care of her?”

“I, I don’t know Princess. Can’t you just heal her?” The stallion asks.

Choo shakes her head, “No, I have done all I can do. But I can help you get her to your home.”

He sniffles and tells her, “Thank you. I guess.” He pauses then tells one of the others, “Go to the store and tell the others we are coming in, and bringing a few gr’ups with us.”

The foal simply nods and runs off back into the ruins of the town.

Choo then uses her TK to gently lift the mare onto her back and tells the stallion, “We will follow you.”

I hear the stallion sniffle slightly and then he tells her, “Yes your highness.”

We follow him to the old general store that bears the sign of Fair Dirt General Store and Post Office. When we arrive there, we find over a dozen foals defensively surrounding an old earthpony ghoul.

The ghoul asks in a rough voice, “What happened Pry Bar? Why did you bring these, these ponies here?”

“I’m sorry Chisel Plow, but we got scared when we saw that one over there,” He says as he points towards Morning Star and continues, “We thought she was a banshee like we heard on the radio, so Small Spark shot at them and they shot back.”

The old Ghoul he referred to as Chisel Plow takes his time to look at all of us, and I can tell when he notices the batponies, Moon Lily, and then his eyes go even wider as he looks at Choo in the darkness he tells the children, “You are lucky to be alive after having attacked the Royal Night Guard.” He then begins to bow. “Your Majesty, forgive the young ones for their impertinence, I failed to teach them proper manners as I had no idea you yet lived.”

She quickly tells him, “Please, get back up, I am not she who you think I am. But I have met her. Both I and my great-granddaughter are but citizens of the NCR.”

He seems confused at first then he slowly steps forward and tells her, “But you wear Princess Luna’s darkness as part of your cutie mark, and I know of no pony-made alicorns who both have them and who are willing to talk to such as myself. Not to mention that you have your royal guards. I remember them.”

Choo smiles gently and tells him, “I am but a pony-made one. However, I have also regained both my original one, as well as her darkness and moon.” She answers, then continues, “Where can we take your little one so she can rest comfortably?”

“Inside ma’am, follow me.”

As he turns and goes into the old storefront, the foals move to the side. Choo follows him inside but the rest of us wait outside. As we wait for her, I notice that the youngsters here start to slowly approach Moon Lily and her friends. Finally, one asks them, “Are you all soldiers too?”

Snow Song smiles and tells him, “Not yet, but we will be like our parents someday.”

One of the other foals then asks, “So why are you here?”

Moon then tells them, “We cannot tell you why we are here, just know that we are here to help make things better for everypony.”

This is followed by Slip Stream asking, “Why are all of you living here and where are your parents?”

They all look uncomfortable at this question. Finally, one of them answers, “We are all orphans. We came from further south and were looking for a home and when we found Chisel Plow living here by himself, he was the first gr’up to actually care about us since our parents were killed, and he helps take care of us.”

This time Epona, who until then had been silent says, “Yeah, some of us know how that is, Cookie and Mash there as well as myself all lost our parents when we were about your age. Thank the Goddesses that we found some ponies who took us in and raised us as their own.”

They all look at her, “Really, you’re an orphan too?” one of them asks.

Ginger smiles sadly, “Yeah, I was even there when my birth mother died. My birth father was killed before me or my sister Epona were born.”

One of the young stallions moves closer to her and asks, “How did she die?”

I put a hoof on her shoulder and Katie nuzzles her slightly as we can both tell this is hard for her to talk about. She looks down and I see a tear form as she says, “It was at the battle of Targhee, back when I was about your age. Her unit got cut off and was fighting for their lives. We fought our way into them and pulled the survivors out,” she pauses. Takes a deep breath and then continues, “My older sister Dusty was there with me as well as the mare who first adopted me, as she died of her wounds.” She sniffles a bit. Then adds, “Sorry, I do not like to talk about that day much.”

From the side, I hear Twinks say, “That is why you were so mad when I made that comment about Mollygirl getting your mother killed, wasn’t it?”

She looks up with sadness in her eyes and tells her, “Yes it was Danger, and to be honest, if you were not my best friend back then I would have thrown down on you that day. But thanks for understanding.”

It is interesting to me that the kids seem to be getting closer to us as we continue to talk. Then I begin to see lightning in the distance and I can feel the temperature drop sharply. I notice Katie is acting nervous, but she stays close to me. Then both Sunny and Morning Mist look at each other and I hear Morning Mist say, “The weather here is wild, and that is a big storm coming it.”

I then hear Sunny say, “UH, Morning, that looks like an anvil cloud, we need to get inside soon.”

One of the youngsters then tells us, “I best let Chisel Plow know,” and then they run inside.

A few minutes later he comes out along with Choo Choo, they look at the sky and I can see the fear in his eyes as he looks up we can see a black wall approaching us and it sounds like a train coming at us from the distance. He turns to Choo, “I think that’s a tornado! We need to get underground right now!”

She looks at us and tells us, “I got the wound youngster, the rest of you go! Right now!”

We let the young ones go first as Chisel Plow leads us back into the shop and down a stairway that leads to the basement. I am near the back and I can hear the roar of the wind outside. Choo comes down carrying the young mare in her TK but using her wings to shield her. Once in the basement, we all hunker down in the corner nearest the direction the storm is coming from. The winds are screaming and we can see flashes of lightning through the basement window, as we hear things being thrown around and crashing. I also notice that my PipBuck’s radiation meter is clicking faster and I realize it means that the tornado must have dislodged a large amount of magical radiation-contaminated dust and dirt.

I can hear the children and some of the others howling in fear and I only hope I am not doing so also. After what feels like forever, but is only a few minutes the pitch of the winds seems to change and we can tell it is moving away. The unicorns and alicorns in our group keep us from the darkness by using their horns to cast light so we can see.

Finally, we can tell the storm has passed by. Chisel Plow shakes his head and tells us, “That may not have been the only one. I think it is best we stay down here until morning.”

Choo nods her head and tells us, “Ok, everyone take a radaway, Twinks give some of our extra packs to the kids here.”

“Thank you, ma’am, for looking out for the young ones like that.”

When morning comes and we can start to see sunlight through the now broken basement window, Choo tells me and Morning Mist, “You two go up first and make sure it is safe for the rest of us.”

I nod my head and together Morning Mist and I make our way up the stairs, shifting debris to the side. Once clear we can see that the building is heavily damaged. I shake my head, there is no way those kids can live in this I think to myself. I then slowly make my way outside and I can see that the sky is clear now, and about a block away from the old store I can see the damage path of the tornado as there is nothing left standing in it, and I can see about an inch of dirt has been stripped away. The worst part is that the path is leading towards our target.

I shake my head as I never imagined such a thing before. Then I turn to Morning Mist and tell him, “Fog. go back and give them the all-clear will you? I get a feeling our mission is scrubbed after last night.”

“Will do, Flower, but I think you are right on that. My Goddesses what a mess.”

Soon they are all above ground and looking at what remains of their small settlement. I see one of the young mares has tears in her eyes as she says, “Chisel Plow, it took out our garden, how are we going to eat?”

He looks uncomfortable as he thinks about his answer, “I am not sure Corn Silk, I am not sure.” Then I see he looks at Choo and Mort with a hopeful look.

Choo then tells Sunny and the scouts, “I want you five to check out our target to see if it is even still there. Morning Mist, I need you to check over this building and the others nearby for structural integrity.” She pauses then tells Chisel Plow, “If things are too bad, maybe we can escort all of you to a new home, but first we have to check out the radio station.”

As I watch them fly away, Choo tells the rest of us, “Ok, back to business ponies.”

*****

Hamlet of Fair Dirt, the Great Plains Wastelands: Choo Choo

Most of the team has gone to the ground and taken a defensive stance as I send the thestrals to find out what is coming at us from our right flank.

It is while we are waiting to hear their report that I hear a quick exchange of gunfire and screaming followed by a call out from the batponies of, “Medic Up!”

I know one of our team members has been hit. Twinks instinctively jumps up and races in the direction of the skirmish with Moon Lily right on her heels. I want to tell my granddaughter to stay put, but I know that she too is an experienced field medic now, at least her friends stay put.

It is several minutes later I hear the call from Twinks on the radio that gets my heart to speed up and I fear what I may find as she calls me on the radio, “Big Blue, we need you over at my PipBuck tag right away.”

I quickly turn control of the team over to Ginger and nod to Mort as I make my way to her. Once I arrive, I find both Twinks and Moon Lily working over a young mare who is screaming in pain. Nearby I see Ankareeda sitting there with a bandage held over a wound on her shoulder and tears in her eyes as she says, “I killed her, I want to be a mother someday and I killed a kid. What kind of mare does that to a kid.” I see Arrats next to her trying to comfort her.

Nearby are several armed colts and fillies. None of them are older than Ginger or Xochitl were on the expedition. One of the young stallions looks at me with wide eyes as I land and asks, “Can you save my sister?”
I continue my way to the wounded filly as I tell him, “I will do my best.”

As I get to her, I can see both Moon and Twinks are struggling to save her. As Twinks continues to work, Moon gives me a quick rundown of what they have done so far. I turn to Twinks and tell her, “You have done good, I got her. Now I need you to go treat Ankareeda.”

She gets up and moves out of my way so I can take over the treatment. Moon continues to assist me with the light of her horn as I dig out several fragments of bone and heal a ruptured artery. Soon I have her stabilized and can give her a healing potion.

At this point, I call Ginger over the radio and have her bring the rest of the team up. However, I am very adamant about her making sure that they have their weapons at the carry so that we do not have any more mishaps.

I am just finishing up with what I can do as the rest of the team arrives and I am telling the young stallion who seems to be their leader, “She will survive. But she is in rough shape.” I stop briefly then asks, “Will you be able to take care of her?”

“I, I don’t know Princess. Can’t you just heal her?” The stallion asks.

I ignore him calling me princess as this seems to calm him to think I am her. Instead, I shake my head and tell him, “No, I have done all I can do. But I can help you get her to your home.”

He sniffles and replies, “Thank you. I guess.” Then tells one of the youths, “Go to the store and tell the others we are coming in, and bringing a few gr’ups with us.”

The foal simply nods and runs off back into the town's ruins.

His use of the term gr’ups makes me wonder if he means grownups and if so, where are their parents or other adults. I then use my TK to place the wound filly on my back and I follow him back to what I believe is his home. I would like to do more for them, but honestly, we cannot do so. We have a mission to accomplish first.

I follow him to what was once an old general store that bears a very faded sign that has the name of the village on it. On its porch, I see a dozen more foals, young stallions, and mares, who are surrounding an earth pony ghoul as if protecting him from us.

The ghoul asks the young stallion who led us, “What happened Pry Bar? Why did you bring these ponies here.”

I hear him apologize to the ghoul and then explain what happened. When I hear that they thought Morning Star was a banshee I understand now why they did what they did. I find myself realizing what I thought was a fun story and possibly a psyop against the Enclave has instead bit us in the flank.

Chisel Plow then notices us and I have to stop him from bowing down to me and calling me your majesty. I then have to explain how I now have Luna’s cutie mark mixed with my original one.

Finally, I ask him, “Where can we take your little one so she can rest comfortably?”

He nods and tells me, “Inside ma’am, follow me.”

As he turns and goes into the old storefront, the foals move to the side and I follow him inside as the rest wait outside. Once inside he takes me to a back room where there are several sets of bunk beds set up. I gently transfer her to the bed and smile as he carefully pulls the blanket up on her and then gently kisses her on her forelock. “Sleep well little one.”

He then turns back to me and asks, “What are you doing here?”

“I cannot really tell you that Chisel, but know we are only passing through.”

“Only passing through and you almost killed one of my foals. Why, why did you have to come here?”

I feel my head going down and my eyes close, “I am sorry sir. We had no idea anyone was even living here.”

I hear him let out a sigh, and then he tells me, “I am sorry, I am just really worried about Small Spark. She has come so far since she arrived and like the rest of them, they mean so much to me. I never got a chance to have foals of my own because of the damn war, and these kids have become mine. I came out here a few years back because I was afraid I was starting to go feral. When they showed up, they gave me a purpose again. The funny thing is that they came here looking for a safe place. I do not even know how they made it this far.”

“I do understand Chisel, I do. Most of the members of my team I have known since they were the age of your young ones. They are like family to me. Well, that and some of them are by marriage, and the young alicorn is my great, great granddaughter.”

He seems surprised and tells me, “I did not think your kind could have foals?”

I chuckle dryly and tell him, “We can’t. She is descended from me in my original form. I looked nothing like this before.”

He shakes his head and tells me, “I never thought about what it was like for your kind.” He pauses and then asks, “Have you ever met anypony from back then that you knew who ended up like me?”

I smile sadly and tell him, “Yes, he was my former fiancé.” I sniffle a bit, then tell him, “He is now a good friend and my coltfriend Paper Work helped him to get together with another old friend of mine who also became a ghoul.”

We talk a bit more during which I find out he had been drafted into the army and may have even traveled on one of the trains I was an engineer on. In the distance, I begin to hear thunder.

Shortly after this a young filly runs into the shop to us and tells us, “The two pegasuses both say we got a bad storm coming.”

He looks at me and I at him and we both go back outside and look at the sky. I have seen this kind of sky before. I remember having part of my train thrown off the tracks by a similar one. My fears are confirmed when I hear Chisel Plow say “I think that’s a tornado! We need to get underground right now!”

I feel my heart speed up as I realize what is coming and I yell out into the din of the wind, “I got the wound youngster, the rest of you go! Right now!”

Chisel Plow leads his young ones and us back into the shop and down the basement stairs. As the howl of the wind grows, I use my tk again to grab her and wrap her in her blanket, I carry her down the stairs using my wings to protect her. We then join the rest as we huddle together in the basement. There I use my horn to light the basement for the others. As the winds scream and objects crash outside, I can begin to hear the PipBucks start to click as the magical radiation in the air increases. I do not even need to look to know this is happening as I begin to feel healthier and stronger again. I know this means the rest are all getting a good dose of radiation from the storm.

I look over and see Chisel has his foals as close to him as he can and he is trying to calm them. Suddenly the pitch of the wind changes and we can tell it is moving away. The storm has passed on and we have survived I think to myself. Thank the Goddesses.

I am looking at Chisel Plow as he shakes his head and tells us, “That may not have been the only one. I think it is best we stay down here until morning.”

I find I must agree with him and then I add, “Ok, everyone takes a Radaway, Twinks give some of our extra packs to the kids here.”

“Thank you, ma’am, for looking out for the young ones like that.”

Come morning we can start to see sunlight through the now broken basement window. I know we need to get moving so I tell Xochitl and Morning Mist, “You two go up first and make sure it is safe for the rest of us.”

We can hear them clearing debris as they make their way up the stairs. Before too much longer Morning Mist returns and tells us, “Flower says it is clear to come back up, but boss it is a real mess. Most of what was left here is gone and the damage path is heading straight towards our target.”

Once we are back above ground, we can see the damage. I know they cannot survive here now. But I do not know what to do yet. I hear one of the fillies asking the old ghoul about what they are going to do. He says he is not sure. But he looks at me hopefully. I will have to see if I can figure something out.

I then decide to check to see if our target is still there by sending Sunny and the scouts to find out. I follow this by having Morning Mist inspect the remaining parts of the town to see if they are still safe because of his engineering background. I then make the offer to Chisel Plow, “If things are too bad, maybe we can escort all of you to a new home, but first we have to check out the radio station.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate it.”

I then tell the other members of my team “OK, back to business ponies.”

After I say this Mort approaches me, “Big Blue, are you sure we can do that?”

“Yes Mort, as long as it does not affect our mission, we need to try and help them.”

“Ok Choo, I got your back on this. Besides, I do not know if I could live with myself leaving them here on their own like that.”

As we begin to help clean up the wreckage and prepare for the next part of our mission, I get the call from Sunny, “Big Blue this is Black Bird, scrub the mission, the tower is gone and there are no survivors inside the broadcast site.”

“Roger Black Bird, return to the team,” I call back. Then I get on the radio and call for our ride.

What I hear back is not good. “Big Blue, this is Bravo Charlie. We cannot perform a pickup at this time. Your ride is OOC at this time, we need you to meet us at the river, near the old oil fields.”

I am surprised by this and wonder just why the Hot Shot is out of commission right now. But I check out the map on my PipBuck and nod my head before responding, “Roger Bravo Charlie, we will meet you there. Big Blue out.”

When I return to the old store, I tell Chisel Plow and Mort, “Looks like our ride is not available. Once the scouts return, we begin to hoof it south to the old oil fields.”

I see a bit of sadness come over Chisel's face as he nods his head in understanding and then he calls out, “OK Children, I need to talk to all of you.”

Once they arrive, he tells them, “We are going to be leaving here shortly. I need you to grab what you can and get ready. If it is something really important to you, make sure you take it as we will not be coming back, at least not for a very long time.”

As the kids begin to go get their stuff, I tell him, “We will help you as much as possible.”

Not long after this Morning Mist comes up to me and tells me, “Boss, I found an old two-wheel cart under the remains of a shed. Do you want us to dig it out for these guys before we leave?”

I nod my head, “Yes, please do, they will be going with us as we are walking out of here.”

I see him smirk a bit then he tells me, “You know boss, this is starting to become routine for the rest of the team. Just like what happened outside of Reino.”

I laugh lightly as I tell him, “Yeah, I hope it does not, but it is what it is, I guess.”

Once the scouts return, we load up what few possessions that Chisel Plow and the youngsters have, as well as Small Spark, whose condition is improved from last night, but she is still in rough shape. Tater harnesses himself up into the cart, then I look at Mort and Chisel and they both nod to me and I give the order, “OK my little ponies, we are burning daylight, on your hooves, forward, march.”

*****

Rainbow Dash Skyport, Hoofington, Enclave Territory: Ball Lightning

“Ball, it has been a pleasure having you under my command,” Full Bright tells me.

“Thank you, sir, it has been one for me. And thank you for understanding about all the detached duty time.”

He smirks and tells me, “Ball, you are welcome, but also, what choice did I have? Just try to be that understanding with your subordinates now that you are going to be the Old Stallion.”

I nod my head, “I will. I should be back with my battalion in a couple more days. Thank you for allowing me to use a few troopers to set up my new HQ.”

“Again, no problem, now you best get going, I know the vertibuck is waiting for you on the tarmac.”

“Right, you are. See you then Full Bright.” I tell him, then I turn and make my way out the door and on the path for my new command.

Once the vertibuck lands I am met by Funnel Cloud and my leading company commander Cloud Seeder, as my new XO has not arrived yet.

They both go to attention and salute me, which I return. “Good afternoon Gentlestallions, are we ready?”

While the Sergeant Major stays stoic, Captain Seeder grins slightly as he tells me, “I do believe so sir. Ready when you are.”

“Right. Let us go then,” I tell them and we begin to make our way to where the battalion is formed up for the official activation ceremony.

As we make our way across the base, I think back to two days ago when I came up and met our MP Brigade Commander, Colonel Traffic Control.

Once I arrived at his office he had me sit down. Then he tells me, “I have talked to the higher up and I am going to be blunt with you Lieutenant Colonel, your days of detached duties and leading from the front are at an end. I have looked over what of your record I could and I am impressed by it. But I need a commander for the 753rd who will be here for it full time, and who will not put themselves in jeopardy at the drop of a pinfeather.”

“Yes sir, I fully understand, please also understand that I did not request the detached duties, and to be honest, I would rather have stayed with my commands. As for leading from the front, I only did so the last time because we had a temporary breakdown in the chain of command due to casualties at the company and platoon leader levels. Once I had the situation stabilized, I turned command of the company back over to the senior platoon leader who was still available at the time.”

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow, “Interesting, I had thought you would have been more upset about having been reminded of responsibilities in your new position.”

I shake my head slightly and smile as I tell him, “I can understand your concern, sir. But I assure you, I do realize what my new responsibilities are.”

He then asks, “I know you have a clean bill of health, but I need to know, with the severity of your wounds, do you think you are up to taking on such duties?”

“Yes, I am. I believe my record speaks for itself on this.”

“What if your unit is taken off of garrison duty and sent to the field?”

“Sir, I can handle that as well. As the CO I should be back at my HQ and controlling things from there. My subordinates should be the ones to handle the front-line activities that my health would hinder me on.”

He nods his head, “OK, that is what I wanted to hear from one of my battalion commanders. Now that those concerns have been taken care of, do you have any concerns for me?”

“My biggest concern sir is who my XO is going to be.”

He moves his head back slightly and asks, “Do you have a problem with your prospective XO already?”

“It is not that sir. I just want to know if one has been assigned yet.”

He seems surprised, then he tells me, “I thought you already had the information. Here, let me look that up.”

He has a clerk bring in a record for him then he tells me, “Ah, here it is. Your XO is coming to you from the 216th MP battalion, they were a Company Commander and are currently attending the Command School in Emporia. She should be ready to graduate in another week and a half.”

I nod then ask, “Can you tell me their name, sir?”

He grins, “Her name is Storm Rider. She has a pretty good history from what I can see, including her recent service outside of Reino.”

I nod my head, “I am glad she has time in the field with the MPs, that could be helpful, depending on our next steps for the war.”

“So, you do not have a problem with a mare being your XO?”

“Not at all, sir. I am a married stallion and happily married at that.”

“Good, I am glad to hear that. Now let’s go get lunch.”

As I arrive at the camp my new troops are just forming up. I go through the ceremony accepting command of the new unit and I give a brief speech to my new troops, during which I give them the news of our first official posting at the RDS. After the ceremony, I meet with my new staff, and we begin our preps to transfer down to the RDS tomorrow morning.

During the preps, Funnel Cloud approaches me and asks, “You ready for this sir?”

I grin at him, “Yeah, I think so Sergeant Major, I think so. How about you? I mean being the first Sergeant Major for the battalion and all.”

This time he grins back and tells me, “I think I am. It is an interesting experience though laying the foundation for it. That is for sure.”

The move down to the RDS goes without any major hick-ups. Once we arrive things begin to become a bit more interesting as my companies relieve the 353rd outpost on the back side of the Skyport. First is the issue of most of my troopers’ inexperience in dealing with the locals here. Another part, it seems is because there is a bit of competition between the two security battalions.

I get my first taste of this as I am walking to my office and I hear one of the old hooves from the 353rd telling another, “I do not know why they thought they had to bring another battalion in. We were handling it just fine.”

The other replies, “Yeah, I know. But wait until they have ta handle some of the raids we have had to. That will teach them.”

I have to agree with him on that. Later that same day as I am going to get lunch, I see one of the local scavers I know and they come up to me and ask me, “Mister Lightning, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, what is it Resale?”

He looks down at the ground and then tells me, “Sir, I know you are only the XO and all, but those troops of yours on the back gate, well, I don’t know what it is with them, but they are being more rude than normal.” He pauses then adds, “They not only insulted me and my partner, but they made us unload our whole cart, and laughed at us as we reloaded it again. I know you are not like that and you understand how it is for us from down here.”

I nod my head, then I tell him, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will take care of it. I hope it did not damage too much of what you were bringing in to sell.”

“No, sir, it did not, but them behaving like that could make it where us groundsiders want to go somewhere else and do business. I mean Mega Mart is a bit of a hike, but to some, it may be worth it instead.”

“Point taken Resale. I will talk to my company commanders about that after lunch.” I pause then ask, “How are your wife and foals doing?”

I see him smile brightly as he begins to tell me about them and how his youngest took his first steps just yesterday. It is not much, but it helps them to think we care.

After our brief conversation, we both go on our ways. After lunch, I make my way to each of my company commanders and talk with them about what I was told.

The B company commander asks me, “Sir, why does it matter?”

I sigh as I tell him, “Because if you treat them like that, you change those who are friendly to our cause to neutral or even hostile. We could turn friends into enemies. We have even had some of these locals warn us when they felt something might be coming our way.”

“But sir, they are just mudpuppies. What does it really matter?”

I shake my head, “That is just the kind of attitude that got the locals to rise against us in Manehatten. I saw that first hoof. I know they are not all good, but remember, they are not all trash either. Just treat them with a modicum of respect is all I ask, and all I am telling you to do. However, if we have suspicions about one of them, we still can inspect their loads and question them, just do it politely.”

“Yes, sir,” he answers me, but I can tell he does not believe it. As I walk away, I find myself sighing and thinking to myself about how I cannot wait for my XO to arrive so she can deal with this for me.

Three days later she finally arrives. I am at my desk looking over my company commanders’ supply requestions when I hear my clerk, Sergeant Quick Type ask, “Can I help you ma’am?”

“Yes sergeant, you can. Here are my orders assigning me to the 753rd battalion.”

“Everything seems to be in order, ma’am. I will go see if the Colonel is available,” he tells her.

When he knocks on the doorframe of my office, I tell him, “Yes please have her come on in.”

As she enters, she hooves me her paperwork and I tell her, “Please close the door and have a seat, I have been expecting you.”

She closes it with a wingtip and then takes the offered seat. Once seated I tell her, “Welcome aboard, XO. I have been expecting you.”

“Sorry about the delay sir, but I had to wait an extra couple of days for transport to Thunderhead then down here.”

I smile, “I do understand how that is. Having been on detached duty a few times has taken me out of this region. I have seen a copy of your record and it looks good, now how about you tell me a bit about yourself.”

She seems surprised and tells me, “Sir, what do you want to know, and why does it matter?”

“XO, we are going to be working together to run this battalion, so I want to get to know you and have you get to know me. That way we can understand how the other operates better.”

I see her tilt her head and raise an eyebrow as she asks, “Just how do you mean that sir?”

I am surprised at her question and tone. I then tell her, “I mean, our personalities, so we can figure out how to work together professionally. Why? What did you think I meant?”

She seems somewhat relieved when I say this, then she says, “I am sorry sir, I just, I guess I had assumed that you meant something else. I had hoped not, but it does happen sometimes.”

I shake my head and tell her, “Yes, sadly it does. That does not make it right either. But just to let you know, I am a happily married stallion with a home full of kids.”

She seems surprised to hear that, then she tells me, “Sir, I noticed you said kids and not foals, I am a bit surprised by that.”

I find myself shrugging my wings and I smile as I tell her, “That is because one of my adopted children is a griffon hen.”

I see her eyes go wide and hear her mutter under her breath, “He really has gone native.”

I laugh lightly, then I tell her, “Not really, but I have spent enough time down here to get to know that they are people down here too, no matter what their politics.”

She seems hesitant then tells me, “Sir, you know speaking like that could get you considered disloyal to the Enclave by some.”

Again, I shrug, “Perhaps, but understand, even the President herself has met myself and my family. She conducted the ceremony when they became enclave citizens.”

I see her think briefly, and then she asks, “Was that you and your family that were interviewed by Hallowed Dreams?”

I smile and nod, “Yes, that was us.”

“So, it was not just a propaganda stunt?”

“No, XO, it was not. They are all proud and loyal Enclave citizens now. The last major attack we received here, three of my kids had been out scaving and saw them getting ready. They made their way back to one of the gates and called in a warning, so we were ready when they hit us.”

She looks back at me with one eyebrow raised and asks, “Really? That is interesting but they are dependent on you because you adopted them. Why else would they do that?”

“Storm, because the Enclave, not just me, but the Enclave, particularly the Volunteer Corps were the first ones to treat them like their lives mattered. But if you would like, perhaps soon I can have you over for dinner and you can ask them yourself.”

She nods her head, “Perhaps sir, but I do not want to be singled out.”

“It would not be a problem. Now how about you tell me a bit more about yourself? Are you married? Have any foals?”

She smiles and laughs, “No sir, I am not married, I have somepony I am interested in, but she is a long way from here right now. As for foals, I do not feel I am the mother type.”

I smile at that, “I can understand that. I have a few friends of mine who are the same way. Not everypony wants to be, or should be a parent.”

I see a bit of relief on her face as she then tells me, “I am so glad you understand that sir. I have had too many others try to convince me to become a mother.”

“By the way Storm, when we are talking privately like this, please call me Ball. It will also help us to differentiate when we are talking personal or professional business.”

“Sir, you are not what I was expecting. But I think I am going to enjoy working for you.”

“I am glad to hear that, now, XO, why don’t you go talk to the Sergeant Major and have him help you find your office. You can store your bags there until later, when we can get you your quarters. Afterwards, we can make a round of the battalion’s facilities and I will introduce you around.”

“Yes sir, that sounds good.”

Once she leaves, I finish up what paperwork I have still. I enjoy a quick cup of coffee and when she returns, she tells me, “The new office is pretty nice for being dirtside sir. A bit larger than I was expecting as well.”

“One of the privileges of being the XO. By the way, did the Sergeant Major show you around the headquarters a bit as well?”

“Yes sir, he also introduced me to several members of our staff. Including the headquarters security detail.”

“Glad to hear that. That means we can begin with showing you around the RDS a bit as well as our companies’ areas.”

She nods her head and puts her cover back on and I do the same. I make sure my pistol is set securely in its holster and I ask her, “Do you have a personal sidearm to carry?”

She hesitates, “I did not think we would normally be armed down here. I thought it was more secure.”

I nod my head, “Normally it is, but we still need to be prepared. We can stop by the armory if you need to before we leave the HQ?”

She smiles, “No need. Let me stop in my office and grab it and my holster. I would feel more comfortable with it on.”

I nod my head and wait while she takes out an IF-21 Caramel 10mm pistol that is Stable Tec marked, and puts in holster on her right hind leg. I smile and nod when I see it. She blushes slightly and tells me, “It was a gift from Kind Heart from before I left Reino.” She pauses then looks at my weapon and I see her eyes widen. “You have an E1911?”

I nod my head, “Yeah, I found it a while back at Mega Mart. I like the history of it as it was a Ministry of Awesome issue piece at one time.”

Once she has everything situated, we begin our tour of the RDS and our areas of responsibility, followed at a slight distance by our security detail.

She looks at me funny and asks, “I thought you liked the locals and trusted them?”

I Laugh lightly and tell her, “I like some of them and I respect them. However, that does not mean I fully trust all of them. Best to be ready for trouble when we don’t need it than not be ready when we do.”

It is while I am introducing her to the B company commander that I overhear the captain ask, “So Ma’am, have you done much garrison duty?”

She looks at him and answers, “Some over in Reino. We also handled some prisoners taken there. She then asks, “Tell me Captain, where has your duty with the MP battalions been previously.”

I see him become hesitant and he answers, “This is my first time Ma’am. My last posting was with the Supply Corp.”

She nods her head, “Well, just remember what those of us who have done it for a while or before suggest to you. That knowledge was often gained through hard experience.”

As we are walking to the next company HQ, I ask her, “I was just wondering XO, what happened over in Reino?”

She abruptly stops and for the first time, I see her face lose all expression. She then turns her head away from me and answers, “Sir, just know I was following orders when we handled the prisoners there. Please do not ask me anymore about it.”

I am not sure what exactly happened there, and I realize I probably do not want to know. Again, what horrors has she had to perform in the name of duty, I ask myself.

I shift my wings and tell her, “I won’t, but if you ever need to talk about it over a cider or something. Let me know.”

“Thank you, sir, for understanding.”

After we return to the battalion HQ, I tell her, “XO, I am going to call it a night. I would suggest you get with the Sergeant Major so you can get your quarters set up.”

She smiles slightly and tells me, “Thank you, Sir, have a good night and I will see you in the morning.

After she says this, I make my way to Alizée’s shop where I meet Savannah who joins me on my way home. As we walk, she tells me, “I saw you with that new officer dad, she seems a bit nervous. Who is she?”

In reply, I tell her, “That is Storm Rider. She is my new XO.”

As we gently fly along, she then asks, “What do you think of her dad?”

“So far she seems decent, but time will tell,” I answer, but I also think to myself that I wonder just what she did outside of Reino.

*****

It’s the top of the hour and you know what that means. Time for the news. In tonight’s news, there has been an outbreak of severe wild weather in the northern plans that bears watching as reports have come in of several settlements suffering damage. These reports have come to us from observers out on the great plans. These storms are reported to be heading in the direction of Whinnysota and the settlements here.

In the news of the Enclave-NCR war, some reports have come out of Reino about the abuse of NCR army prisoners taken there and a supposed massacre of military contractors whom the NCR hired. If so, this could be taking the war to an entirely new level.

From the Manesville region of the NCR, there are reports that the crops there have been replanted, and hopefully they will have enough of a harvest to allow them to export to the other communities who have come to depend on them for food.

In Baltimare it seems the reports of the recent skyship battle there were true and the rescue of 23 survivors of the EAS Down Draft has occurred. The Followers of the Apocalypse has reported the survivors’ names to the Volunteer Corps in Hoofington.

The fighting in Van Hoover has been reported as quieting down as a cease-fire is said to be in effect between the local chapter of the Steel Rangers and Enclave forces there.

That’s it for the news and now with the weather what it is as well as the war news making it seem very appropriate, here is Eye of the Storm.

Author's Note

As we can see in this chapter, for the Repair Ponies, the hunt is still on. We also get a chance to see how some survivors are living out on the great northern plains as well as what the weather can be like.

The settlement of Maredora is the same one mentioned in the final chapters of FoE: Borderlands as well as my short story D is for Duty found in Doomande's anthology Fallout Equestria: Alphabet soup

As we have seen in other FoE stories, there are often bands of orphans who form their own communities. In the case of Fair Dirt, they have found an adult who takes on the role of a parent for them, even though he is a ghoul.

We also get to see in this chapter that the team is not perfect and that they too can make mistakes. Just like in real life.

As for Ball Lightning, we get to see him become the Old Stallion and finally get to meet his new XO. It shall be interesting to see how the two work together to lead the new battalion.

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