Chapter 63: Injuries and Forgiveness

Chapter 63: Injuries and Forgiveness

On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin.” — Gregory S. Williams

Oil City, Great Plains Wastelands: Ginger Snaps.

I take a sip of cider and I am just setting the wooden tankard down when I hear my husband say, “Well, tomorrow the Colt should catch up with us.”

I nod in agreement, then I reply, “Very true. I just hope Rust lets us take the orphans and Chisel Plow with us, so we can find them a place to set down new roots.”

He nods in agreement and takes another bite of his boiled supper. He swallows then asks me, “How is your little sister handling things?”

I smirk, “Which part?”

“The part of everypony here thinking it is so sweet how she is pretending to be an alicorn? Or perhaps how the flying foursome seems to be recruiting the orphans and those freed slaves to go to Manesville.”

I find myself chuckling a bit before I answer quietly, “Well the first one, she is biting her lip about. The boss had a good talk with her about it.”

“I am glad to hear that dear.”

“As for the latter, she seems to think it is her job to recruit for the whole region back home,” I tell him shaking my head and laughing lightly.

I then look up and see her and Choo coming in, followed by the other flying foursome members. All of whom seem rather excited. Choo and they sit on the benches at our table and I hear One of the two sisters ask, “Really boss, we could scout upriver to see where the Colt is.”

I see Choo let out a sigh and roll her eyes ever so slightly as she answers, “I have already told you four, no. Not even with the Lance and her set.”

“Aww, but Granny we could find them quick and ride back here with them.”

“Moon Lily. Do not make me tell you again. I will not have you acting like your older siblings on me,” Choo tells her with her ears sliding back and a stern expression on her face.

I see my little sister and her friends all look down and Moon answers, “Yes ma’am”

“Good, now let us get something to eat young mares,” she tells them.

Finally, they settle down and Choo signals the waitress to bring out five more meals. While they do not have any selection of what to eat, at least they have some food for us.

As they are waiting, I see the town mayor, or Toolpusher as they call their leader, Blow Out approaching and he tells her, “I am glad to see you can get the young ones to behave. Too many who pass through here let the youngsters do whatever they want.”

Choo smiles and tells him, “Thank you. I do appreciate it. They are just excitable and want to prove they have grown up already.”

He smiles at them and tells them, “Don’t be in a rush to grow up, life is hard and forces you to make rough decisions sometimes. Enjoy it while you can.” He pauses then turns back to Choo and tells her, “That is part of why I came to talk to you. Big Blue, when you leave, I am going to have to ask you to take all those who came with you also. My Driller, Dog House, and I have gone over our stores as well as what our crops look like, and with the damn Enclave demanding us to supply their troops, we just do not have enough to take on any more settlers right now. Especially the young ones who cannot do the hard work we need to do.”

I see a slight sadness come over Choo's face and she quietly tells him as she touches his shoulder with a wingtip, “I do understand. Thank you for your hospitality as it is. Perhaps when this war is done, we can put you in touch with some merchants in the NCR who could trade food for oil or whatever else you can produce.”

He smiles sadly and replies, “That would be something alright, but let’s be honest the war is not looking too good for the NCR right now and if the Enclave wins, well that just means tightening our belts longer and tighter.”

After this, he gets up and begins to walk away. I continue to talk to Choo and the others as they eat their meals and I am pleasantly surprised to see Moon eating her meal without using her magic. She really has taken to the role, I guess.

Early the next morning we come out of the Quonset hut we have been renting for everyone to share to twin trails of smoke wafting into the air from down the river. Sunny leaps skyward briefly and calls back down, “Looks like Cousin Rust is coming” he then lets out a slow whistle before adding, “And wow does it look like she has been in a fight again.”

Both. his whistle and tone of voice set me on edge as I wonder how bad it has been. I then see all of our fliers take to the air and I see them all stop and point. I even see Snow Song put a hoof over her mouth as she looks in that direction.

Those of us on the ground begin to trot our way to the river bank. As we get there, we see the Baltimare Colt rounding a bend in the river, and that is when the rest of us get our first chance to see the damage.

As it rounds the bend, I can see several large holes in the side of the main deck, as well as some fire damage. The pilot house has several panes of glass that have been blown out and I also notice that the canvas cover that covers the flight deck when the Hot Shot is not in use is tattered. On the deck, several crew members are ponying the Mare Duces and 20mm guns. Not all of them mind you. But enough to be noticeable.

As they get closer I see some are wearing bandages as well. As ragged and rugged as the ship and its crew look, I would swear they were pirates themselves if I did not know them. I can tell when they see us as several wave and we return it. From the bow, I can hear Four Twain calling out the depth of the water as they inch closer to us. Finally, they put the bow toward the shore and I see the anchor drop and they begin to use the steam crane on the focsle to bring the loading ramp forward and across to the ground ahead of us.

I then hear the steam whistle blow out the Water’s Clan line signal and know they have finally arrived. At this point, Choo tells me, “Cookie, take the team and begin to get our gear ready to load on the Colt, I want to report into Captain Rust and discuss our extra passengers with her.”

“I understand Choo. I will meet you back there.”

I then call out, “Repair Ponies on me. Let us go get our gear ready to bring aboard the Colt.”

As we go, I hear Cowlick tell Double Back, “It sure will be nice to get back home on board again.”

Double Back moves his ears in the affirmative and tells him, “Yeah, but I am afraid it may be only for a few days. Besides, I just hope our quarters were not destroyed in all that fighting it looks like they had.”

I agree with him, but I am more worried about the crew and tell them, “I just hope we did not lose any of our friends.”

I then hear Twinks say, “Yeah, but Cookie, from what I just saw, I am pretty sure we have.”

I sadly nod and tell her, “Yeah Danger, I think you are right about that. Damn it.”

Soon we are back at the rented shelter and begin packing our bedrolls and kits. Once we are ready, Choo lands outside and as she comes in, she calls out to everyone, “Ok, I need everyone over here to hear this.”

Once almost everyone has gathered around her, she begins, “I have talked to Captain Rust Water. She is willing to let you all transport on the Baltimare Colt until they arrive at Manesville next. However, she has taken heavy losses in her crew recently and needs those jobs filled. So, that means you all will have to work as part of the crew.”

Chisel Plow looks at her and asks, “Are you saying even the young foals will have to work?”

Choo nods her head, “Yes. However, they will not be expected to fight at this time, unless they volunteer. Also, she wants to keep them to the safer tasks.”

One of the freed slaves then asks, “What about us?”

She smiles and tells her, “Even all of you. Perhaps, especially all of you. If once we reach Manesville again you decide you want to stay with the Colt, then talk to the first mate and let them know. By then you should have some experience on her under your harness so I am sure they would consider it.”

One of the other slaves asks cautiously, “Ya’all will take slaves even?”

This time I speak up, “Back home in Manesville we do not tolerate slavery. One of the cooks on the Colt is an escaped slave from Fillydelphia. He is a full member of the crew now.”

Choo looks at me slightly annoyed for answering for her, but she then turns to the rest and tells them, “Cookie here is correct about that. However, I will add, that one of our principal tenants of the Manesville region is that everyone spends some time working in the farm fields each year. This ensures you will get food to eat no matter what. It is not fancy, but you will not starve, and if you want better food, then you can buy it.”

I see them all nod their heads, and then Choo tells them, “In that case, grab your belongings and let us head to the Colt. Once onboard those who are new to her will receive your initial billet and berthing assignments.”

Soon we all have our gear and we begin to make our way back home again. I smile to myself as I hear their excitement as well as Katie barking as she plays with the youngsters. As we arrive, both our team and the Troubleshooters make our way to our berthing.

I notice that there are several holes in the bulkheads and a few of our lockers. I also hear Tater worriedly say, “I hope they did not hit my bottle of Old Overmare.”

Once he opens the locker, I hear his tone turn to one of disappointment, “Dang, they got it, as well as a couple of my spare uniforms.”

Once we have our gear and longarms stored, we begin to trickle out onto the deck to find out who was lost and injured, as well as what other damage has occurred. Once we are back on the main deck, I can see that all the new arrivals are gathered with the First and Second Mates.

I then begin to walk the main deck and talk to the crew to see who was still with us. I say hello to some of them but most are rather quiet as we pass by. Soon I decide to head up to the mess decks to see if they have any coffee available. As I get there, I see one of the tables has been broken off its mounts. Another I can see has dark stains on the top of it. As I look at it, I realize what those stains are from. Epona is next to me and she says, “Goddesses that looks like the stains from Momma Mollygirl in her headquarters in Harness.”

I look at her and ask, “What do you mean?”

I see her sigh, as she thinks about the memories before she answers, “On the deployment, she went on when me and the rest of the Others came through the Doorway. We do not talk much about it, but Mama Mollygirl almost died that day. The stain was still there last I knew. But it was almost that large.”

“Wow, I guess that is why Mama Sutures forgave her so quickly.”

She laughs lightly, “Not really. Sis, I never really talked about it, because Ma’s drinking was really hard on me. But Mama Sutures was not nice to her at first. Once Mama Mollygirl got out of the hospital things got so much better that I tried to forget the bad times.”

This is the most she has talked to me about those times, so I simply put a hoof around her shoulder and tell her, “I am sorry you had to deal with that. But you know what? I am so glad you were there for her and that you came back home to Manesville.”

After this we both grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and begin chatting with some crew members as they come and go.

*****

Baltimare Colt, Oil City, Wastelands River Highway: Xochitl

Once aboard the Colt again, I sit down on my normal bunk. I notice the pressing smell of smoke in the berthing compartment. Beside me, Katie climbs onto the bunk and puts her head against my forehoof. I find myself sitting there for a while just thinking.

From the side, I hear Double Back tell Morning Mist, “I wonder where Love Tap is? I hope she is OK.”

I look up and see the worry on both of their faces. I smile as they remind me of my in-laws in a way, so I tell them, “Perhaps you two should go look for her and make sure she is ok.”

They look back at each other and nod their heads, the Double Back tells me, “You’re right Flower. We will be back in a bit.”

I hear similar things being said by others of ours and Mort’s team, and once their gear is all put away, they begin to head back out to see who is still left. I sit there just relaxing at being on the Colt again. Being here allows me to relax some and stop being on constant edge. As the tension begins to fall away, I can hear the pounding of hammers and the occasional call out of some pony asking for something as repairs continue.

As I sit there thinking about what we have just gone through the last couple of weeks I hear a knock on the door frame and I look up and I find myself smiling as I see Rough Seas standing there with a half grin on his face.

I get up and We both give each other a bro hug. I cannot help myself and I tell him, “Thank the Goddesses you are alright.”

I hear him give an almost laugh as he says, “Yeah, it is good to have you and the team back. We were worried about you guys too.”

I can tell that something is bothering him so I ask, “What happened?”

He sits down hard on his hindquarters and tells me, He sits down hard on his hindquarters and tells me, “The Dragon’s Horde is what happened. Caught us at anchor."

I, along with some of the others in the room all nod, and he continues, “They hit us hard with several spells first. That is how the fires started.” He pauses and I see his expression go blank as he looks off into the distance before he continues, “Flower,.....you don't understand w-we were all almost killed. I lost the loader, Two Step, for my twin 20mm. I-I didn't have a choice. I had to keep shooting. They tried to board us for goddess sake! We just then got the 40mm’s going upstairs and that helped to drive them back. Now we gave it to ‘em pretty good, but I don't know how bad it really was for them. I saw some steam and smoke coming out of their insides as well, but they broke off. We didn’t drive them off or even win. I guess they figured the cost of taking us was not worth the effort of continuing the fight.”

“Yeah, I know how that is. Reino was kinda like that. We escaped, that was all. I have heard rumors and reports of what happened to those they captured, but that still does not make me feel good.”

He nods his head, then he tells me, “We lost several of the deck hooves as well as some of the pit crew.”

I look at the deck and sigh before I look back up at him and tell him, “I was afraid of that when I saw the condition the Colt is in.”

“Yeah, we are looking kinda rough. But the Captain wanted us to patch the hull and repair the engines before anything else.” He pauses then adds, “Oh, they nailed the Hot Shot pretty well even with her under the tarps.”

“We were wondering why she could not pick us up. But I guess it was a good thing overall. Especially with all the tagalongs we ended up with.”

This time he smiles and says, “I was going to ask you about them. Who are they and where did you pick them up?”

This time I smile as I begin to tell him about the orphans and how we came across them. I see the surprise on his face when I tell him about the tornado and how we all sheltered in a basement. Then he asks, “I saw the wounded filly as they helped her onboard, what happened?”

I hear a slight sob from behind the sheets that curtain off the bat ponies’ sections bunks and I quietly tell him, “One of us shot her after she wounded them first. We were able to save her, but it has been rough on the both of them.”

He nods his head, “I bet.” He then asks, “Do you think those foals will be able to help?”

I turn and look out the port hole as I think briefly then I answer, “Yes, I think so. Those kids made it on their own to the village where Chisel Plow was. He took them under his care, but they were tough enough to make it there first.”

He tilts his head and shifts his ears as he thinks about it. Then the tells me, “Yeah, I guess they are tough enough. I just hope they can pick up the slack for those we lost.”

After this, he gets up. Both Katie and I follow him back out onto the deck. As we go, I hear one of the former slaves telling another, “Can you believe it? That there first mate said they are really going to pay us.”

The other replies, “While I hope he was telling the truth, I am just glad we are away from the masters.”

Rough looks at them, then me, and asks quietly, “So they really were slaves?”

“Yeah, they were. It will take them a bit of time to get used to being free.” I pause then add, “It took a while for my family to get over it. At times I feel I still am not.”

He seems surprised to hear me say this and he asks, “Flower, were you and your family once slaves?”

I close my eyes and nod my head. Then I answer with my head down and my tail tucked in, “Yes, we were. We escaped when I was just a foal. That was when I got the scars on my back.”

I see the surprise on his face as he tells me, “Flower, I thought you got those in combat. I never even thought of you having been a slave.”

I then look up at him and ask with my ears flat and out to the sides of my head and ask, “Does that make any difference to you now?”

He shakes his head, “No, not really, it just tells me more about your past, and I appreciate your being willing to share it with me, my friend.”

As he and I walk around the ship talking we are greeted by others. Soon I run into Choo Choo and she tells me, “Flower, I will be sending you and Sunny with the Second Mate so he can negotiate a trade for some oil and any other supplies we can find.”

“Will do boss, when is he leaving?”

She shifts an ear in acknowledging that I understand then she tells me, “In a bit, Rust is talking to him up in the Pilot House right now.”

“Ok, I will go grab Sunny and my kit and meet him at the brow.”

“Thank you, Xochitl.” She then turns to Rough Seas and tells him, “A pleasure to see you again and I am happy to see you are in one piece.”

Rough nods to her and I see him almost bow, but he catches himself. Then he tells her, “It is good to see you too Ma’am. I am glad you are back with us.”

“We are back for a bit young stallion, but we still have another operation to go on before we can stay for a while again.”

I see the worry and disappointment on his face. Then he tells us, “I can understand that, I just prefer to have all of you with us, especially if we run into the Dragon’s Horde again.”

Choo nods her head. “We do understand, that is why next time we go out we are leaving the Troubleshooters with you.”
He has a bit of relief on his face and tells her, “Thank you, Ma’am. That helps a bit. Even with all the new arrivals.”

This time I tell him, “Understandable Rough.”

He moves his ears some and then tells me, “Thanks for understanding. I guess I should let you get going and I will see you later tonight.”

I shake hooves with him as I tell him, “Sure thing rough. I will talk to you later.”

I then tell Choo, “On it boss,” and I head down below. As I arrive, I see Sunny and tell him, “Put down the cards and grab your kit. The boss has a job for us to do real quick.”

He looks at the cards in his hooves and I hear him curse slightly as he sets them down and says, “Finally get a straight flush and now I can’t even finish the hoof.”

Across the table, I hear Days End laugh lightly and tell him, “Sure you had one. Now better hurry so you can get back and finish fleecing us.”

Sunny stands up and as he turns tells him, “Deal, Days, I will see you when I get back.”

Soon we are at the brow and I see Compass Azimuth approaching with two of the deckhooves.

“You two ready, I have the list of what the Captain wants. Since you have been here a few days, do you think you can lead us to the right vendors?”

In reply, I tell him, “Well, if we can’t I know a buck who can.”

He grins, “I figured you guys would get to know the ponies here too.”

Sunny grins at him and adds, “While that is true, he literally means a buck. We ran into him on our way in here and he has helped us a bit.”

I see the surprise on his face as he asks, “You guys have been hanging out with deer too now?”

I laugh, “Yeah, you could say that sir, but he is a good buck and helped us get what we needed too, and at a fair rate.”

He nods his head, “I will trust your judgment on that. I have not dealt with any of the deer before myself.”

I chuckle lightly, “They do not seem too different than pony folk if you ask me. Be even we can be a bit strange sometimes.”

Soon we are at the market and I see Morning Glen and wave him down. Once he is close enough, I tell him, “Same deal as before if you are willing to help us find more items for the Colt.”

He looks longingly towards the western horizon and then back at us. Finally, he asks, “Before we make a deal, are you heading further west?”

Compass tells him, “I really should not say. Especially with the recent run-ins we have had with river pirates.”

I watch as Morning Glen closes his eyes in frustration and then tells him, “Look, if you are heading further west, I would like to make a deal for passage.”

Compass looks around and when he has confirmed no one is listening he tells him, “We can do that I believe.”

Then he shows the list to Morning Glen, who Looks at it, smiles, and tells him, I think we can find most of this. A few items are a bit scarce but we should be ok.”

With that, he leads us into the market and I grin as I realize another friend I have made will be with us for a bit longer, and perhaps we can help him find his way home.

*****

Riverside, Oil Town: Choo Choo

After Sunny calls out that the Colt looks like she has been in a fight, all the fliers, myself included leap skyward to see her.

As I watch the Colt round the riverbend and clear a grove of old trees, I feel horror wash over me as I see the amount of damage she has taken. The top three feet are missing from the starboard chimney and both chimneys have taken rents and damage to them.

From there I spy the pilot house. All the starboard windows on it are missing as are the front ones. I can see scorched marks where spells have hit the pilot house as well. As I look further down, I see the damage all along the side, as well as more scoring from both spells and flames. But what really surprises me is that she is listing to starboard by at least five to ten degrees.

The canvas cover along the flight deck and above it is tattered and there are large tears and rents in it. Under which I can catch fleeting glimpses of the Hot Shot.

Along the decks, I can see several of the large guns are ponied, but I also see at least two of the gun mounts are now missing. Among the crew on deck, I see several of them are sporting fresh bandages. Many of them have their uniforms torn or disheveled at the least.

On the bow I see one of the crewponies is taking soundings and calling out the depth as they slowly come our way. I see several of them point at us and some wave, which we return. Once close enough Rust Water has her steer bow first to the river bank below us. They drop anchor and use a steam-powered crane to bring that brow across and onto the river bank. Then they sound the steam whistle letting those nearby know that they have arrived.

I know I need to report in, but I also know I need to talk to Rust, alone, with nopony else there. I turn to Ginger and tell her, “Cookie, take the team and begin to get our gear ready to load on the Colt, I want to report into Captain Rust and discuss our extra passengers with her.”

As she gathers the others, I find myself walking up the brow where I am met by the Boatswain who tells me, “Good to have you back with us again Miss Choo. The captain is up in the Pilot House. I am sure will want to talk to you.”

“Thank you, Crossed Anchors, I do appreciate it,” I tell him as I nod my head, shift my wings, and then make my way to the upper deck and Rust Water.

As I reach the Pilot House, she sees me alone and tells the rest of the Pilot House crew, “Please step out and wait below. I am not planning on leaving right away.”

Once they are gone, she tells me, “Choo, we need to return to Manesville, or Two Step Transfer at least for repairs, supplies and to be honest more crew members.”

I nod my head, “Soon, Tenderhoof has given us one more shot. If you need to, drop us off and head back. Fine, do so. I understand entirely.”

She shakes her head, “Damn it, Choo. Open your bucking eyes. My ship is a wreck. My crew is heavily injured. I lost a dozen crewmembers in that last fight alone.”

I can see something in her eyes I have not seen before. Resignation, perhaps mixed with fear. I quietly tell her, “We may be able to get some supplies here. We can also probably do a few repairs as well and they do have some competent mechanics here from what I have seen.”

She sighs and I see the look in her eyes change back to the determination I am used to seeing in them. She then tells me, “Choo, that does not replace my ponies. I cannot have my crew standing port and starboard watch every day from here until the Goddesses know when.”

I smile at this and I see her tilt her head, “What? Did I say something funny?”

“No, Captain. You did not. However, I may have a bit of a solution to your problem as well as one of my own. I have a large party of freed slaves plus almost twenty foals and their ghoul caretaker who are interested in going to the Manesville region. Perhaps they can work as part of the crew until then.”

She shakes her head. Hesitantly she tells me, “I don’t know Choo. It takes years to make an experienced sailor.”

“I know that Rust, but some of those youngsters may get their cutie marks while learning their skills, that could be a way of farming future crew ponies. As for the former slaves, well we still need ponies to handle lines and cargo, as well as to feed fuel into the boilers. We even have a couple of them that are cooks, so they should at least be able to help,” I tell her with a slight bit of pleading in my voice.

She looks out the forward opening of the pilothouse and down at the main deck and then towards the settlement above. Then she turns to me, with the strength in her voice I am used to, and she answers, “Okay Choo. One more drop-off. But after that, I need to get my crew and ship taken care of.” Under her breath, I hear her also say, “We should never have signed a contract with the NCR for this.” She then asks me, “Where do you need us to drop you off?”

I tell her, “My sister told me they have tracked the broadcast signals to a station in Van Hoover. I just need you to get us as close as possible so that the Hot Shot can drop us off and pick us up.”

“I think we can do that. But it is going to be interesting.” She pauses, looks towards the shore and tells me, “Choo, I do not know if we can take another fight like that, but I will do what I can for you.”

I stick out a hoof and shake hers as I tell her, “Thank you, Captain. I really do appreciate it. Now how do you want to handle it with the new arrivals?”

She smiles, then tells me, “While you go to get them, I will talk to Azimuth Compass and let him know what I want. He will greet the newcomers and give them their assignments.”

“Thank you again so much Rust.”

She waves a forehoof. “Do not thank me too much Choo. We are not home yet. Now go get them and send the Second Mate up to see me on your way down.”

Once I return with everyone, I lead them onboard and am met by the Second Mate. I quickly introduce him to all the newcomers and explain who he is. After this, as he and some of the other crew members talk with them, I head back to my team’s quarters to meet them and just rest with them.

That night our berthing compartment seems fairly busy with all those who come and go to visit with us. I do notice though that Both Morning Mist and Double Back are cuddled up to Love Tap, both of them preening her feathers. The three of them seem to have formed a couple.

At least they are happy, but it also reminds me of how lonely I am and how much I miss Paper Work. I only hope he is ok. Sometimes I think the worst part of this job is that I cannot even write him a letter and have it arrive before I get back.

I chuckle mirthlessly to myself and think, but the rest of the crew and both teams are literally in the same boat.

The next morning, I wake to the sound of repairs being continued on the Colt. As I step out on deck, I see several of the crafts ponies from Oil Town are already on board and assisting the crew with them. I watch as they cut away the top section of the shorter chimney, followed by our pegasi lifting a new section of steel tubing into place, that is welded by magic from a unicorn on the deck.

As I watch Rust Water approaches and says to me, “It is a sight to see, isn’t it? I never imagined being able to repair that out here in the wilds like that.”

I smile back at her, “I have to agree. I knew they were skilled here, but I did not know they could repair our chimneys like that.”

She laughs lightly, “Some of their crafts ponies approached us yesterday after Azimuth Compass and the rest came back from the market. It seems they had been talking and figured they could earn some extra caps, but more importantly some food stocks. We traded them a couple of flour bags of seeds we keep on board for just such an occurrence for these repairs. They also have refilled our barrels for oiling the machinery.” She pauses then asks, “Did you know that oil is their main bartering item?”

I nod and reply, “I had assumed it, especially with them being named Oil Town.”

She grins, and shakes her head, “Choo, I was talking to their Driller, Dog House, and he told me that Oil Town is what outsiders call them. Their ancestors pulled a Harness here but were just not as lucky as Harness and Manesville were. The real name for the place is Hippocampus Oil Field One.” She looks out toward the brow and adds, “He also suggested that they could help us with repairs as long as they could keep the scrap metal. Part of the trade is I added the one Mare Duce and the 20mm gun that was damaged in our last fight. We can’t fix them easily, but they may be able to, and they could use the extra firepower.”

She adds, “While you were sleeping, we were visited by a couple of Enclave troopers from their outpost here. Sunny and Morning Mist convinced them we are an undercover asset for the Enclave’s intelligence service. It seems their sergeant comes from Thunderhead and both Sunny and Morning Mist talked to him about their last visit there and about visiting several locations there.”

I laugh lightly to myself then I tell her, “I never thought him sneaking into Thunderhead would help us so much in the long run.”

She looks at me out the side of her eye and asks, “So they really have been there?”

I laugh, “Yes they have Rust, and we even have a few friendly acquaintances from there now who are in a similar line of work that we are.” I pause as I see a questioning look on her face, and then I add, “We have shot at and been shot at by them a couple of times. The last time we were in direct contact with some of them was up in Whinnyapolis. Those are the ones I told you I gave the business cards to.”

“Yeah, I remember you saying something about that Choo.” Soon afterward I see the chief Engineer approaching us and he tells Rust, “Captain, all the repairs we needed are complete. Those ponies here really know their way around a wrench.”

This gets Rust to smile as she tells her, “Thank you Piston Drive. Begin preparations to get underway.”

I see the yellow mare with the black and blue mane and tail smile as she wipes her dirty hooves on her coveralls and replies, “Yes, Ma’am, with pleasure.”

Rust then turns to me and tells me with a smile, “I best head up to the pilot house. I will talk to you later Choo.”

I then watch as she trots briskly as she makes her way to the pilot house. Shortly after this, I hear the Boatswain calling out, “OK Deck Department, we need to get ready to get underway. Time to man your sea and anchor details.” This is followed by a combination of old hooves and new ones heading to where they belong.

In twenty minutes, I have made my way to the upper deck and watch as the brow is raised and stowed way first, then the anchor is raised as we slowly back away from the shore and twist so that we are in the middle of the river. As we begin to move forward again and head upriver, I smile and think to myself, Next stop, Van Hoover.

*****

Rainbow Dash Skyport, Enclave Territory, Hoofington: Ball Lightning

Savannah greets me as I enter my home. “Hi Dad. Grandma says dinner should be done in a couple of minutes. I am just getting ready to set the table,” she tells me.

“Do you want me to help you?” I ask her.

Before she can answer I hear my mother-in-law say from the kitchen doorway, “Young Hen, if you need help, your mother, myself, or your younger sisters can help. Do not let a stallion do mares’ work.” She pauses and then adds, “Ball, I do not know where you got such ideas from but you should know your proper role in this family.”

“Sorry Mom, I just figured I would help is all.”

“See Mom, I keep telling you, it is not me not doing my wifely duties. He likes to help with the family,” My wife tells her mother.

This is not the first time we have had this discussion, and I really hate that her mother thinks that way. But then again, maybe my thinking is colored by being raised by a single father after my mother was killed.

Shortly after this, I hear the oven open and I smell baked chicken and some boiled vegetables from the other room. As they prepare dinner I sit in my living room chair and read a bit from one of the medical books I have borrowed from the small library that is here at the RDS.

Once it is ready I call out for the other youngsters to let them know dinner is ready. I almost laugh as they come cantering and flying as fast as they can, laughing, and joking as they wave to the other neighbor foals on their way home.

Once inside we all sit down for dinner. As we finish it, I ask Sundancer and her mother, “I was thinking about having my XO and her marefriend come over and join us for dinner sometime, what do the two of you think?”

Sundancer smiles and answers, “I think that would be nice. I would finally be able to meet them.”

My mother-in-law pauses before she answers then tells me, “Perhaps, but are we going to have enough room and food for everypony?”

Sundancer answers for me, “Mom, it should not be a problem, we have had other officers over for dinner with us before.

Right after this Lil’ Bit adds, “Yeah, we even have had the Sergeant Major over for dinner a few times, as well as Uncle Air Burst.”

Wind Dancer then asks, “Who is this Uncle Air Burst? I did not think you had any siblings Ball.”

I smile and tell her, “Air Burst is one of my best friends. Sundancer worked with him while with the Volunteer Corps. He still works for them and is out trying to establish some more stations.”

Sundancer’s mother huffs out some air and pins her ears back momentarily before she says, “Interesting, you would think with a war going on he would be serving in the military, not galivanting around trying to help those who do not want our help.”

I see a pained expression cross several of my children’s faces before Scout quietly tells her, “But Grandma, not everyone down here hates the Enclave. Some do not even know who to ask for help. The Volunteer Corps helps them.”

I watch as Wind suddenly shifts her hears down to the side of her head and blushes as she looks at her plate and then back up again before she tells him, “Oh, I understand that, but if he is a healthy stallion he should be like your father and serving our country.”

This time I quietly tell her, “Mom, Air was discharged from the Navy after he lost an eye during the unpleasantness between Neighvarro and us.”

Again, I see her blush, “Oh, I am sorry, I did not know. I had just assumed he was healthy.”

After this, I shift the conversation and ask Wind Dancer, “Any word yet on when you may be heading back home?”

“No, not yet. Maybe another couple of weeks. It seems that they have severely curtailed civilian transporting back up there, and I do not want to think of what would happen if I just tried to fly up there. But I am sure my husband is doing fine.”

I smile as I remember having dinner with him the one night I was up there before I brought my battalion down here. She sees me smiling and I tell her, “I am sure he is. But just like when I am away, I am sure he misses his wife too.”

I see her blush slightly and she replies, “Thank you son. I really miss him as well.”

After dinner, most of us return to the living room. Lil’ Bil and Wind Dancer however join us after they have finished doing the dishes. We talk for a bit, and then Scout looks up at the clock and tells us, “Looks like it is time for Hallowed Dream’s show.” I nod my head and he gets up and turns on the radio. After a few minutes more of music we begin to hear his opening.

Good evening to my fellow equestrians. Tonight, I would like to talk to you about some things that have been bothering me in the back of my mind. The first of which is how the NCR, a group of corrupt thugs who style themselves a government, and one that is lead not by a pony, but by all things a Griffon, and the second one in a row to do so, has continued to fight a war when a reasonable pony would see that it is hopeless and they should surrender and save lives. But perhaps because the so-called President Grimfeathers is not a pony, she does not care about the lives of ponies she is throwing away. Perhaps she is still behaving like the mercenary she, and her family once were. Oh, do not think we forgot you and your ilk were once the leaders of a band of the Talons. We remember well.

Or perhaps you refuse to surrender as you are afraid you and those around you will be held accountable for your actions and crimes against Equinity… Hmm, perhaps that is more of it, you will sacrifice their lives to save yours for as long as possible. But have no doubt Miss Grimfeathers we will be coming for you eventually.

Now that brings me to the next item that is tickling my mind. The question of why won’t President Winter Breeze let us wage war to the fullest as needed? We have the troops. We have the equipment. Does she think we should go soft on those who oppose us and our Grand Pegasus Enclave? It seems to me, that at times Might does make Right, and we should use the might to obtain our aim of a reunited Equestria, run by the Enclave and our leadership.

By my mother’s feathers ponies, I beseech you, President Winter Breeze, let us fight this war to win and not wait for the filth in the NCR and their so-called allies to find a megaspell and use it on us. I remind you all that if such a thing were to happen, Madam President, there will be a reckoning both ways.

Enough of that for now. I need to calm down from thinking about such atrocities. I will be back with the news after this next bit of music by the Coltlumbia Garrison Brass Band.

We listen to his program for another hour, and then I tell the youngsters, “It is about time for bed. Let’s go, everyone.”

With that, the night with my family ends as Sundancer and I tuck them into bed. Once they are down for the night Sundancer and I head back downstairs to talk with her mother a bit more as she prepares the couch for her to sleep on again. After she finishes, she turns to us and asks me a question that really surprises me, “Sunny, Ball, seeing with all the foals you have now you cannot move back above the clouds, are you planning on having any more foals?”

While I am surprised, I notice Sundancer blush and she tells her, “Not right now Mom, but maybe after our youngest are a bit older.”

She smiles and tells us, “Good. Your family reminds me of some of the stories about how large some families were back before the Great War, and I really think you two could handle that.”

I feel myself blush slightly and I tell her, “Thank you. I never thought of having more, but maybe we should think about it.”

Satisfied with our answers she changes the subject and suggest, “See if you XO, and her marefriend are interested in dinner, possibly before the end of the week. Just let us know Ball, that way we can have everything ready the way it should be.”

I nod and smile as I tell her gently, “Alright Mom, now you need to get some sleep too. Sleep well and I will see you in the morning.”

“Good night you two. See you in the morning,” she replies and me and my wife head back upstairs to our room.

Once in bed, Sundancer has her head against my neck and she asks, “Ball, what do you think about my mom’s idea of us having more foals?”

I smile in the dark and tell her, “Dearest, I would not mind at all, but we just have to make sure we can take care of all of them.”
She snuggles closer and whispers, “Same here, love. Same here.”

The next day while enjoying a cup of coffee before Storm Rider holds the officers’ call I tell her, “Storm, the wife and I were talking and we would like to have you and Kind Heart come over for dinner in the next couple of days.”

I watch as she thinks briefly and then tells me, “Would the day after tomorrow be good?”

I nod my head, “I think that would work well Storm. I know my wife and her mother are both looking forward to meeting you both.”

She smiles at this and asks, “Sir, are you sure about that? I mean, will they accept Kind with her being a unicorn and from the wastelands and all.”

I look at her over my cup of coffee and smile, “Yes Storm, I am sure. Besides, most of my children were born here on the ground.”

I see her raise an eyebrow and smile before she replies, “I keep forgetting that sir.”

“So, is the answer, yes?”

“I think so Ball. I just want to verify with Kind during lunch.”

Two nights later I have been at home for about an hour and I hear a knock on the front door.

As I get up to open the door, I hear Scout call out, “I got it.”

Once the door is open, I hear my XO asks, “Is this the Colonel’s residence?”

I have just put down my book when I hear my wife say, “Good evening, I am Sundancer, Ball Lightning’s wife. I presume you are Storm Rider and Kind Heart.”

By now I have gotten up and am approaching and hear them both say yes, followed by Sundancer saying, “Welcome, dinner will be ready in a bit. Please take a seat in our living room.”

After they sit down, Sundancer tells them, “I will be right back.”

From the other room, I hear my mother-in-law tell her, “I have dinner, go visit with our guest. Savannah, Patchwork, and Lil’ Bit will help me.”

“Thanks Mom,” Sundancer calls back. Then she takes a seat with us as we begin to talk and she begins to finally get to know my XO as well as Kind Heart.

I am amused by how surprised Kind Heart is by all of our kids. This is emphasized by her asking, “How do you raise all these youngsters?”

Sundancer smiles and tells her, “It is not as hard as you think, the older children help with our younger ones and we all chip in on taking care of our home.”

After we the youngsters are put to bed, Wind Dancer asks, “Do you mares enjoy wine?”

After they both say yes, Sundancer gets the glasses, while her mother opens a bottle. Before too long, and after a second bottle, we begin to talk more loosely than we should. It is amusing to me to see their faces when Wind Dancer and the others find out that both Sundancer and I have saw combat together.

After another bottle, Wind Dancer asks, Kind Heart, “So dear, what did you do for work before you came here?”

Kind Heart blushes slightly before she answers, “I used to be a working mare in the best bordello in Reino.” She pauses then adds, “That is where I met Stormy.”

I am expecting the worst from my mother-in-law, but instead, I hear her ask, “What was that like? I bet it was exciting.”

Kind answers her, “It could be, but sometimes it was just lousy, you know how some stallions can be.” I find myself raising an eyebrow in amusement as they all share a knowing look with each other.

We open another bottle and Storm and I begin to talk shop more, and soon I see tears in her eyes. “Are you ok?”

She looks down at her half-empty glass and answers, “I am not sure Ball. I, I just. I am now afraid of what happens when I die. The things I was forced to do outside of Reino to those prisoners. Ball, I do not know if the goddesses will ever forgive me. I had to order them killed. The higher-ups did not give me a choice. I cannot stop thinking of one of them, he looked at me right before I gave the order to fire. He told me, you have no choice, I forgive you.”

I put a wing around her shoulder and let her begin to cry into my shoulder. Soon the others notice and Kind Heart comes over and replaces me. I then look at my mother-in-law and wife and we all nod our heads. We lead them up to our bedroom and we lie Storm on our bed. I turn to Kind Heart and tell her, “You both can stay here tonight.”

“But what about you two?”

I smile, “Kind we have both slept on the ground before, we will be in the living room.”

Sundancer adds, “Besides, I will be up a couple of times tonight to feed the foals anyway .”

The next morning, I wake up to the smell of coffee brewing and breakfast cooking. From the kitchen I can hear the voices of Kind Heart and Wind Dancer talking as they cook. After it is ready, Kind Heart goes up to wake up Storm. As she heads up, our youngsters are coming down.

As we eat breakfast, I find myself smiling sadly as Storm tells me, “Sir, I am sorry about last night.”

I answer her by telling her, “XO, welcome to the club. Duty can be a harsh mistress sometimes, and often times we despise what we have to do in the line of it. I do wonder if any of us who have served as long as we have, are ever untouched by it?”

With her face pointing down and her eyes looking up at me she asks, “So you do not think less of me?”

I smile again as I answer, “No Storm, I don’t. Perhaps sometimes when in my cups I can let go to you as well.”

I see an expression of relief come over her face and she tells me, “Thank you Ball. I really appreciate it.” Then she smirks changes the subject and asks, “So, what do we need to pass down today at Officers’ Call Sir.”

*****

Good evening fellow Wastelanders, welcome to tonight’s show, I am Loose Change and I am broadcasting to you from old downtown Van Hoover. Just ignore the gunfire in the background. It seems some of our local citizens are having another disagreement with the Enclave authorities here, or perhaps the local Steel Ranger chapter.

Taken from radio reports out of the NCR we hear they are still dealing with efforts to remove President Regina Grimfeathers from office. The latest vote of no confidence has failed to gain a two-thirds majority by only three votes.

From Hoofington and the Lunar Commonwealth, we have gotten reports that recent attacks on both the Rainbow Dash Skyport and Miriamare Air Station resulted in heavy casualties for both sides involved. However, the Council for the Commonwealth has denied any involvement in these operations; of course.

Whoa, what the? That was close. Damn, how am I going to replace that? Sorry about that, later in the hour I will be interviewing a member of Enclave Volunteer Corps who has opened an office just across the street from the station here.

Well, enough of that for now. Up next is five songs in a row, starting with To Be Better.

Author's Note

I would like to thank Rough Seas for allowing me to continue to use his OC Rough Seas, and for assisting me by editing his character's speech and behavior to keep the character true to himself.

The Repair Ponies are back with the Colt again and it looks like our next destination of VanHoover. As we have seen that time of separation was not quiet for the crew of the Colt either. Both teams have had an adventure, and both are glad to be back together again.

In this chapter, we also get to see Ball Lightning's family and its interactions. We also find a bit more out about his XO and her past. Sometimes a past is hard to move on from. Especially when part of that past is a wound of conscious.

For those who would like to listen to this chapter's song the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA5p3RAxGPU