Chapter 65 The Paths of Fate

“Fate is never fair. You are caught in a current much stronger than you are; struggle against it and you'll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you. Swim with it. and you'll survive”

― Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes

Forest Outside of VanHoover, Gentle Tread Tribe Territory: Ginger Snaps

My set is the second one in line as Morning Glen leads us effortlessly through the new growth alongside my husband and his set. Choo is in the middle with the Flying foursome and Epona’s set has drag.

I smile to myself as I realize how large our team has become. Almost half a platoon. However, with the war on we could still use more, but it is, what it is.

We have walked a couple of miles when I see Morning Glen stop us. I then hear him snort loudly three times. Shortly after this, I see several does and a buck appear from out of the brush. All are armed with various types of weapons. The buck leading them slowly approaches Morning Glen. While I cannot hear them from where I am I can see an expression of distrust on this buck’s face as he first talks to our friend, then looks at the rest of us.

While they are talking, I hear Xochitl call over the radio, “Big Blue, this is Flower, I think we need you up here.”

Choo then walks forward to them. Again, I see them talking and finally, I hear Choo order over the radio, “Alright my little ponies, we sling arms. We will be having an escort.”

Finally, the buck signals to one of the does and he talks to her. After which she begins to lead us along the trail. It is not much longer after this that I begin to see their village as it slowly reveals itself to us.

I am stunned to see lodges and buildings that blend into the trees, with ramps and stairs that lead up to the higher levels of the trees. I almost sit down in shock as I see bridges going from one tree up high to another and I realize more of the village is up high than on the ground. I shake my head and I think to myself that I thought deer were more ground-bound than this.

I am impressed with the quality of the carved wood that is used in their buildings. To tell the truth, I have never seen such intricate work on such a large scale before.

I am broken out of my musings when we arrive outside one of the larger buildings and from it emerges a very large, white colored stag. As he steps out, he looks down at us all, then he looks directly at Morning Glen and asks, “Where is my daughter and your other doe?”

I watch as in shame he looks down, then he looks back up at the stag and tells him, “Lord Briar Patch, it is my sorrow to have to tell you that they have both taken the road of the elders. Raiders killed Stands in Trees. But she did not die alone, she killed the one who took her life. I was able to get the other three. But it was too late. That was near the big river. Your daughter, Runs Through Flowers was able to see the big river before she became sick. I did what I could for her and both have been returned to Eques by our traditions.”

I see an expression of sorrow come over the stag’s face and he sadly shakes his head. “I am truly sorry to hear this.” He pauses then asks, “My next questions are who are these outsiders you have brought here, and why have you done so?”

Morning Glen waves a hoof at us and tells the stag, “I bring with me the Repair Ponies. They have befriended me and assisted me in making it home safely and with care. While at a place called Oil City, I was but a stranger, they welcomed my companionship and shared their quarters, food, and water with me. They have not requested aid but only myself as a guide to VanHoover.”

Lord Briar Patch looks at us again and then he asks, “Which of you is in charge and can speak for your group?”

Choo bows slightly then raises a wing and answers, “That would be me. My name is Choo Choo and I am the leader of the Repair Ponies.”

He looks at her flank and asks, “I know of your kind. You pony-made alicorns cannot have the marks that all of the other ponies share. Have you taken it upon yourself to mark yourself as Equestria's one-time leader? Do you think so highly of yourself?”

Choo shakes her head slowly, then answers, “No, it is a real cutie mark and I received it in the presence of the princesses. Just not the ones from our world.”

This seems to surprise him and he looks at her as if reappraising her. Then he asks, “How could you have met the princesses of another world?”

Besides her friends, I can see Moon Lily wants to say something but is fighting the urge to blurt out. Choo on the other hoof simply tells him, “It was a portal. In that world, the war with the zebras never occurred.”

The stag looks at her with his eyes half closed. “Interesting. I do wonder what it would have been like for my kind if your damnable war had never occurred.”

This time from the back, I hear Cowlick speak up, while out of turn his voice is firm as he steps forward and tells him, “My kind have often wondered the same thing. But perhaps we should consider the war as a catalyst. Before the war, my people did not have our own cities and farms like so many others. While we are sentient, it seems my people were content to work on the farms of others. Indentured servitude I do believe is the term for it. However, we became much more than that. We are equals to the ponies now, at least back home. All peoples lost so much on that day. But those who survived and their descendants were given a clean slate to rebuild and become worse, or better. It is up to us.” He looks around and then tells him, “To me, you have chosen the path to be better. Let us walk on that path together.”

I feel myself nodding my head, as I recognize part of what he has said from the Book of Daisy Jo, Paths, verse 11:2. I smile at my friend and he smiles back. Then we both turn back to Briar Patch, who has a thoughtful expression on his face.

Briar Patch nods his head then tells Morning Glen, “An interesting group. Tomorrow, I will allow you to lead them to VanHoover. Tonight, we shall break bread and share our forage. Also, young warrior, after all you have been through, we will perform the purification ritual. I feel the trouble in your soul.”

I notice our friend nod his head with his eyes closed. “Thank you, Lord Briar Patch.”

Dinner that night is a small feast that we share with the Gentle Tread Tribe. After dinner, we share a fire with them as well. It is as we share this fire that They begin the purification ritual. My team sits back to watch as several members of the tribe as well as one I believe is the shaman begin to dance. I watch their intricate hoofwork as they jump and swirl. And make their way along an open area. As they do so, I see them make their way to Morning Glen and extend a forehoof which he takes and joins them. I notice that he is not as graceful as the others but they accept him into the dance. They repeat this with several others, and finally, I am surprised when they stop in front of Days End who then joins them. I see a tear in his eye as he dances with them. Beside me I see my little sister watching intently like she always does when she is learning a new spell or feels magic that she never has before.

Soon I watch as they stop by Choo and she too joins them. Before long, most of us have been invited and join in the dancing. I do not know the steps, but I make them without thinking. It almost feels like it did when we were working in the fields and singing with Moon Lily before we left.

I am not sure how long we continue to do so, but when we stop the moon has come up fully and made a large part of its way through the sky. Soon we are led back to the lodge that we have been given to use for the night. That night I slept better than I have for years. I know it is strange, but I feel like part of me has healed and most importantly, I feel like I have been forgiven for what I have had to do to protect those I love and care about.

I finally get up when I feel movement in the lodge and I see it is Morning Glen. He smiles at me silently and continues his way outside. I slip out from my husband’s hooves and am followed by Katie as I do so. When I catch up to him, he tells me, “You should feel honored about last night. I have never heard of outsiders being allowed to watch, much less participate in the purification ceremony.”

I nod slowly and tell him, “I do not know about the others, but I feel so much better now.”

He smiles and nods his head. Then he tells me, “The purification ceremony is a welcome home of sorts for our warriors. It tells us we are forgiven for the lives we have had to take and brings us back into the tribe.” He smells the air briefly then continues, “Much like how your family has its friends of the Clan, you have been welcomed into our tribe. I think Salt may have had something to do with you having been allowed to be there for it. As for you being asked to participate. The shaman and the dancers were drawn by the magic to those who needed it.”

I nod my head in understanding, and then he asks me, “Cookie, how old were you when you first took a life?”

I close my eyes and feel a slight bit of shame and I answer, “About the same age as my little sister Moon Lily. I can still see their faces.”

He nods his head and then tells me, “For me, it was only the week before I met you. I was fortunate until then.”

I nod and I tell him, “If you are not a friend of the Clan, I will say, you are mine and the team’s friend. In fact, if you ever wanted to join us, I am sure Choo would hire you.”

He chuckles briefly before he answers, “While that does have some appeal, for now, I will stay with my people. Perhaps, just perhaps I may even find another doe to take as mine and raise some fawns with. But we shall see which path we follow. Now, perhaps we should wake the others so you can begin the next part of your path. I have already talked with the elders and we shall go over the best route to take you into VanHoover.”

*****

Brambleton Settlement, Gentle Tread Tribe Territory: Xochitl

After breakfast Lord Briar Patch meets with us and tells us, “As agreed to with your leader, I will have Morning Glen lead you to the ruins of VanHoover along with another buck and his does. Once you reach the outskirts of town there, they will return to us and let your aircrew know you have reached the city. After that, your path is up to you and fate. I wish you all well and I hope to see you all again someday.”

Shortly after this, I am in the lead with Morning Glen, the buck, and his does, each escorting one of the other sets, in case we get split up for some reason.

The sun is high in the sky before we finally begin to see the ruins of what was once a great city. Below us, I can see a river running through the middle of town as well as an ocean inlet to the west. On the southwestern side, on an island where I can see the crater from the Balefire Bomb that hit here. I find myself becoming somewhat melancholy as I always do when I see what was lost in the past. But at least I have my friends with me, I guess.

As we take a break and look down at it, Morning Glen tells me, “We will continue a bit further with you. After that, you should be able to find your way yourselves.”

I nod and tell him, “Yeah, I guess you are right. Besides we do have our Radio direction finder with us. This close, even our PipBuck ones could pick it up.”

It is late afternoon when we reach the outskirts of VanHoover on the north side of the river. At this point our deer escorts stop us and Morning Glen tells us all, “This is as far as we go. Please be careful all of you and I wish you luck on your mission. I hope that our paths may cross once again someday.”

The deer then all tell us farewell as they one by one turn and begin to head back to their tribe’s territory and home. I notice it is starting to get close enough to dark that I pull out my NODs and mount them on my helmet. When Choo sees me doing this, she tells the others, “Those who need them, mount your NODs, but do not turn them on yet.”

As the rest of us are doing so, I hear Morning Star telling Choo, “Let us know when you want us to go high.”

We make our way through the ruins toward the river as quickly and quietly as we can. Finally, we make it to one of the main bridges, this one is called the Manticores Gate Bridge. The first thing I notice is that the bridge is a long suspension bridge. Longer than the ones we saw in Manehatten. But here we do not have the connections to cross the river by boat. The bridge is illuminated with a combination of lanterns and some remaining lights on the cable. The river it crosses looks to be about a mile wide. I look at the bank on the far side and upriver slightly and I can see the silhouettes of several wrecked ships. Directly after the bridge, it looks like an area that was once heavily forested but now has a lot of new growth in it.

It is dark enough now that the batponies will have an advantage so Choo tells them, “Please scout the bridge for us.”

Morning Star smiles at her as she answers, “Will do.” She then turns to the other three and tells them, “You heard the mare, this is what we get paid for.” Then she steps into a shadow and disappears followed by the others.

I swear I see them twice more in the shadows of the bridge, but I am not sure. We wait for another twenty minutes before they reappear and I hear her tell Choo, “Big Blue, there is an enclave checkpoint in the middle, two in standard barding and two in power armor. They are not paying a lot of attention except for the span itself.”

Choo looks at the rest of us and then asks, “Black Bird, do you think you can bluff you and the rest through the checkpoint?”

“Yeah, I can do that Big Blue, I have gotten kinda used to doing that anymore.”

She smiles and then tells us, “Batponies, the Flying foursome, you are with me. We will fly across underneath the bridge and will cover you from the other side.”

Sunny is smiling widely now and tells her, “Whenever you are ready boss.”

Choo looks at the others and tells them, “Those who can, follow me,” and she takes off into the darkness where I can no longer see her.

Sunny then tells me, “OK Flower, Cookie, shall we?”

Ginger nods and tells us, “Ok, let’s get moving.”

As we make our way up the roadway to it Sunny is right next to me. I noticed then just how high this bridge is. If we can’t bluff our way through, we will not be able to jump over the side and survive. Goddesses I hope Sunny can pull this off.

We are about halfway across when I see the checkpoint. The concrete barricades are set up so that only one brahmin can pass through at a time. We are about a hundred yards from it when I barely hear Sunny say, “Well, I will be damned.” Then he trots ahead of me and I hear one of the guards tell him to halt. Which he does, as do the rest of us. He removes his power armor helmet and then calls out, “That you Wind Bank. It's me Sunny. You have any more of that hooch with you that we shared in Hoofington?”

This gets me to raise an eyebrow, and I must fight to keep a smile off my face when I hear, “Damn Sunset Waters, what are you doing here.” The stallion turns to the others on the barricades and tells them, “He is alright. I know him from back home.”

The stallion then advances with the others still watching. His weapon is at the ready, just in case. Once he is close, he asks Sunny, “You, okay? Who are these ponies with you?”

Sunny Grins and answers, “I really shouldn’t tell you this, but I trust you. These are members of my team. I know the last time we met I was wearing my VC uniform, but that is part of our cover. The non-pegasuses with me are all intelligence assets. We have a mission inside of VanHoover that we are on our way to.”

“Is that why you and Morning Mist are not flying?”

“Exactly, we can’t waste allies because of simple misunderstandings.”

“Yeah, I understand.” He pauses and then tells me, “Just be careful in there. It is still a hotbed; we have been having to deal with what remains of the NCR troops to the south of this part of town as well as the damned Steel Rangers. I swear they keep hitting us because they are getting bored.” He pauses then adds”, I know they probably gave you a full rundown about the tribes and gangs, but stay on the main road as you head into town it is a bit dangerous out here. The road goes right through Tender territory and they are still a bit upset about something that happened awhile back where some of our troops raided their territory.”

I simply nod and wonder just what all did he do while up there when he says this. Sunny on the other hoof shakes his head and then tells him, “I had not been told about that. That could make the natives a bit hostile. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Yeah, no problem. Just buy me a drink next time we see each other and I will call it square.”

They talk for a few more minutes and then Sunny gives a hoofbump to him and we are waved through.

We are about a quarter of a mile beyond the bridge when we are joined by Choo and the others once again. Choo smiles at us and asks, “Any problems?”

Sunny waves a wing and tells her, “Nah, one of the guards was a pony I drank with the last time I was in Thunderhead.”

She shakes her head and laughs, “Sunny, you are one of the luckiest bucks I have ever met.”

“Oh, and boss, he gave us a quick rundown of what is going on here and told us we need to stay on the main road as we are going into some tribe called the Tenders territory. They are highly miffed at the Enclave right now for some incursion they made. But they are not happy with the NCR either. I would not worry too much, but he also let us know they are one of the toughest factions in this area.”

She nods her head, then I hear her ask more to herself than anyone else, “I wonder then why they call them Tenders?”

I laugh lightly then jokingly answer, “Maybe they kill you with love and caring.”

She smiles briefly then tells me, “I really do not think that is it Flower, but keep them in mind and get back on point.” She turns to the rest of us, “Normal marching order. Morning Star, I want your scout set ahead of us if you can. But keep it subtle.” With that, we are back on the move again.

This part of Vanhoover is highly forested and as directed we stick to the roads for most of it. Before dawn, Choo tells us, “I need for us to find a place to lay up for the day. Morning Star can you do that?”

Morning Star nods and tells the others, “By pairs, we will look for shelter, use your radios if you find trouble or a place to sleep for the day.”

Before much longer they have disappeared into the night as we slowly make our way forward. It is only twenty minutes later that I hear Arrats call back, Big Blue, this is Night Guard 2, I think we have found a place to hole up for the day. It is off the main road.”

Choo then calls the other scouts back in and we use Arrat’s PipBuck tag to find her location. As we get closer, I see it is a rundown abandoned firehouse. This gets my attention as I realize we may be able to find a map of the city there. As we get ready to enter, I overhear Tater telling Twinks, “You know I almost half expected to see some of the Burner Boys here.”

To which Twinks tells him, “Yeah, I know what you mean, I guess nopony here thought to use the place like that. I wonder why?”

Once inside Morning Mist and I check out the upper levels to see if they are safe so that we do not have to stay in the garage portion of the building. Once he gives it the ok, the rest of the team joins us. I smile as I watch Twinks and my wife trot over to the old Lieutenants office and begin to look for a city map. Myself, I go closer to where the old ready room is, on the wall there, I find a slightly water-damaged map hanging behind some glass. I call Choo over and she removes it with her TK. She takes it to an area where the blinds are closed and uses her horn to examine it.

She nods, “Cookie, Flower, Serendipity, Star, Come over here. I need you all to look at this with me.”

As they examine it, I overhear Epona saying, “Hey Boss, looks like there was a stable just a few blocks ahead and to the north on that hill.”

“True, but that is not our concern right now, we need to hit the radio station which should be right about there,” she tells them pointing at the map with a wingtip.

As they are talking, I notice several of the others are either setting up a watch or grabbing a patch of floor to sleep on. As I lay down, I feel Katie slide up next to me and put her head over my back. I am tired enough that I take the shemagh that Ginger bought for me and use it to cover my eyes so I can go to sleep.

When I wake up, I find Ginger has laid next to me and her head is on my forehoof. It is Twinks who has woken me and she tells me, “Your turn for watch Flower. I need to catch a nap before we get moving.”

I slowly disengage myself from Ginger and Katie. Once on my hooves I quietly ask her, “Anything going on?”

“Not much, just a few caravans passing on the main road. I also saw an Enclave patrol on the route as well. I noticed that they stayed in the middle of the road. They seem to be very cautious in this area.”

I rub the sleep from my eyes and tell her, “Well we are supposed to be near the territory of the most powerful faction in VanHoover.”

She shakes her head, “Not near it. In it. Flower, when we got off the main road, we began to encroach. I think we need to pay a bit more attention here.”

Not what I wanted to hear when I woke up, but she is right. “Thanks for pointing that out to me Danger.”

“No big deal, I would have wanted you to have done the same, now if you got the watch I need to lay down.”

It is a couple of hours later when the rest start to wake up. It is late afternoon, but not dark yet. Choo has us get our gear on and tells us, “We know he is close, hopefully, we can catch him tonight. If so, we can get back to the Colt and home again.”

While I hope she is right, I am just afraid with how things have been going that even capturing our target won’t mean heading home. Once we have our gear on, I lead the way. I move near the garage entrance, staying in the dark but looking into the light to adjust my eyes before I slide out along the building onto the street. I use my EFS quickly and then look at the surrounding areas, just in case. Once done I tell the rest over the radio, “Looks like the coast is clear.”

Soon we are all moving back toward the main road and its overpass. We are only a block from the ramp when I suddenly see two ponies with guns aiming at me and I drop to the ground and yell out, “Contact Front!”

I hear two rounds zip over my head and I return fire with Orcus and I hear one of them yell in pain. From further back I hear somepony yell out, “Grab the brahmin, it has to have their cargo.”

I turn on my Eyes Forward Sparkle and see red dots surrounding us. From further back I hear gunfire and shouting from the hostiles as well as members of our team. Through my scope, I can see that they are tribals and not raiders. Well, one good thing about the Enclave here, I guess. Shortly as I am taking shots at several more of the tribals that are trying to close, I am nudged by Ember Rose as she tells me, “The rest of the set is up with us now Flower.”

From further back I hear Tater yell out, “I am hit.”

I hear yells and cries of pain from both sides as they rush us and try to close to hoof to hoof range. Before I know it, they have jumped up and are so close I cannot reload, I draw my family’s knife and am soon going at it hoof to hoof. Katie trying to help by leaping forward and nipping at their legs as I fight them. I am surprised when the one I am fighting is suddenly struck alongside the head by Ember Roses’s rifle butt and drops to the ground like a ton of bricks. It is then that I notice most of them are either dead or running away.

I quickly tie up the one I was fighting and I see Twinks is treating Jelly Bean and Tater for wounds, while Choo does so for Cowlick. While this is going on I notice Moon Lily going to the few corpses from the fight and performing the Blessing of the Dead.

It is as she performs the final blessing that I first see a mare appear out of almost nowhere. She slowly approaches and while armed she is relaxed and asks, “Who is in charge here?”

Choo steps forward and answers, “I am. I am Choo Choo and this is my team, the Repair Ponies. Whom may I ask, are you?”

She stands proudly and replies, “I am the Matriarch of the Shroud family of the Tenders Tribe, you may call me Torn Shroud.”

It is then that I notice that this black-coated mare with an indigo mane and tail has white stripes showing around her neck and on her legs that are not covered by her clothing. I am stunned as I realize she is a zony as well and I find myself nodding at her as I begin to see several others of her tribe slowly appear.

*****

Tender Territory, VanHoover: Choo Choo

I am partially surprised at this turn of events. The fact that she or her people are not already shooting at us gives me some hope. She then asks me, “You and your people look to be mercenaries. Who are you working for?”

The word mercenaries irritates us all a bit, but I keep calm and tell her, “We were military contractors, however, we have been drafted by the NCR into the Rangers as axillaries.”

In her unusual accent, she tells us, “The NCR has been told to stay away from our territory and our people. They have caused enough harm to us and it recently.”

I hold up a hoof and tell her, “We are not here to bother you or your territory. We are only passing through. We stopped briefly to rest and were continuing our way.”

She looks at the dead bodies and then at Moon Lily before she asks, “What was the little black pegasus doing?”

Before Choo could answer, Moon Lily approaches her and nods in deference to her before answering, “I was giving them the blessing of the dead, I learned it at a funeral my family attended at the cattle church.” She pauses and then adds, “It helps to guide those who have passed from this world to the next.”

I watch as the mare nods her head slightly with her eyes half closed as she looks at Moon. Then she asks, “And what are these cattle you speak of?”

Moon points to Cowlick and tells her, “Cowlick is a member of the cattle, they are the origin species of the brahmin and consider them cousins.”

“Interesting. I had not known they too were sentient. I will have to take that into consideration with them.” She then looks at first Xochitl, then the flying foursome. I see her wrinkle her eyebrows slightly. She looks at Twinks who is still working on Tater. Then she tells us, “Your wounded will make it difficult for you and your people to successfully complete a mission. As you are not here to represent the NCR to us, but are only travelers through, I offer you a safe place to rest for the night, so that you may be better prepared.”

I look at the wound still being treated by Twinks and then at the other two who are now wearing bandages and nod my head as I tell her, “I thank you for your offer of shelter and we will accept it.”

She nods her head and I follow her along with the rest of my people, with her people escorting us. As we walk, I ask her, “Who were those ponies that attacked us?”

She smiles, “Those were the Warf Rats. Their tribe has raided us several times for a variety of reasons. We knew they were there, but were surprised to find you and your people as well.”

By now Moon has begun to fly next to me and Torn Shroud asks her, “Do you always perform this blessing?”

Moon then answers, “I usually perform it when I have to take a life, or if I feel a spirit is hesitant to go on. It is part of how I earned my wings.”

She looks again at Moon Lily and tells her, “My child you do not need to make up such an outrageous claim. I can see that you are a pegasus and you are too old to be born to alicorn parents.”

Moon nods her head and tells her in a serious tone of voice, “I am not making up a story. I was born a unicorn and I ascended after I gave the blessing and brought down a raptor by myself.”

She laughs aloud and tells her, “If you continue to tell such tails, I will have to rescind my offer to your party.”

This time I speak up and tell the matriarch, “She is not lying, however Moon, how many times have I told you to not bring attention to your having ascended.”

“You as well.” Torn shakes her head, “I would have thought better of you. But then again, I should have known with your painted-on cutie mark.”

This time I laugh. “At one time I did paint it on. However, it is real now. Unfortunately, I can not tell you the story of how I got it back.”

Moon then tells her, “If you have any unicorns in your settlement, I can perform a memory-sharing spell and let them see that I am not telling tales.”

“Very well young one, but if you are lying, your party will suffer for your false boast.”

We continue to pass through both wooded areas as well as rundown portions of the former city. When we are near the village, I first see a gate in a wall that is ponied with armed guards. The walls connect to the buildings next to them, integrating them into it as well.

Once we are at the gate, we sling our weapons and Torn Shroud signals the guards to open the gate. As we enter, I find myself being surprised as I see even more zonies, many of them having horns or wings. My jaw almost drops when I see a mare that I swear must be half dragon with a beautiful dark blue coat and red mane and tail.

Inside the compound I see several smaller huts or shacks have been built. Above us, I notice there are also many bridges going between the upper levels of the buildings. Near the center of the settlement, we walk past their market. It is while we are there, I hear Slip Stream squeal in joy as she runs over to an adult hippogriff mare.

Everyone is staring at her and I hear the Hippogriff mare ask, “You are new here. Where did you come from?”

As I begin to approach Slip Stream, still bouncing tells her, “I am from Manesville. I have never seen another Hippogriff other than my little brother. Are there a lot of us here?”

The older hippogriff raises an eyebrow and tells her, “Yes there are several of us here.” She pauses then says, “So we were not the only stable to have a hybrid experiment,” as she looks at our team.

Still excited Slip Stream tells her, “Oh no. My Ma lived in Thunderhead until she left and came to Manesville and my Pa was with the talons. Me and Jet were a bit of a surprise for them.”

I see amusement come over the hippogriff's face when she hears this before she replies, “I am certain they were. I have never met a wild-born hippogriff before.” She pauses then tells her, “Welcome to our settlement young one.”

Beside me, I hear Torn Shourd say to me, “Is she telling the truth about her parents?”

I nod and answer, “Yes, she is. My friend George has even told me how surprised her mother was when she found out she was pregnant.”

She thinks for a minute then asks, “Are there many hybrids where you come from?”

“There are some. Mostly zonies. We had several zebras move into our area about ten years ago. Just so you know, the experiment in the Manesville stable was a co-government with an Overmare and Overcow. I was not in there of course, but I have seen the history of the stable and of the old Co-op.”

She then asks, “Are there many of your kind there?”

I shake my head and tell her, “Other than me, only my two sisters. They had a farm there until the Enclave attacked us recently.”

She shakes her head and asks, “So you come from the place that I have heard about on the radio from Hallowed Dreams?”

I nod and answer, “Yes.”

She looks at Moon Lily and asks, “And she is the one that he says that your people claim really brought down an airship?”

Again, I nod, “Yes.” I hesitate and add, “That is part of why we are here. To visit him and let the world know she is real.”

“But she is so young and small.”

I move my ears in an affirmative gesture, and then I tell her, “But she is already more powerful than I am.”

Her eyes go wide at my statement then her brow furrows again, “I would like to have her see one of our unicorns then.”

“Of course. Moon has already told you she wanted to do so.”

Soon we are led further into the village and we wait outside what I believe is the building that houses their leadership counsel. Once there Torn Shourd goes inside for a short time. When she returns, she tells us, “They have agreed to see your Moon Lily. One of our shamans has been sent for. Once he arrives, he will be the one that sees your Moon Lily’s memories.”

As we wait, we each break out a ration pack for our evening meal. I am slightly amused by how all the team members, without thinking, in front of the locals begin to trade parts of their meals for ones that they like more.

As I begin to eat an alfalfa sandwich from mine, I look over and see some of the locals are curious. I then notice some of the local youngsters starting to approach the flying foursome and talk with them.

I have to raise an eyebrow when I see a young hippogriff stallion approach and start to talk to Slip Stream. But I also notice that the two sisters stay close to her.

This comfort is short-lived when I hear Ginger saying loudly, “Keep your hooves off my husband.”

Uh oh. I think and begin to rise so I can help calm the situation when I hear the offending pegasus zony mare tell her, “I am sorry, I had no idea he was married, much less to a pony mare.”

I see Xochitl has a hoof on Ginger’s withers as he tells her, “Relax Cookie, she meant no harm.”

I notice a brief flash of hurt cross her face then I hear her say, “I am sorry. I did not mean to overreact.”

“That is fine, I do understand. As I said, I had not expected him to have a pony wife. It is not common outside of our community to mix races from what we have seen.”

Epona steps up next to her sister and tells the mare, “We do understand, it is not common in many places, but back home it is accepted more readily than most.” Epona then pauses and asks, “I noticed that some of the zony mares seem to have foals. How is that possible?”

“Part of our stables experiment Included genetic manipulation to allow such bearings to produce fertile offspring. As you can see, it has worked rather well for our tribe.”

I find myself raising my eyebrow at this bit of news, and I see hope flash over Ginger and Xochitl’s faces. Then the mare adds, “But we have not done so for a very long time,” and I see both of their hopes seem to fall.

Epona then asks her, “Do you think that perhaps your people may at least have a few leads on this technology?”

She shrugs her wings and tells answers, “I really do not know. I am just a lowly guard for my people.”

All three of them nod when she says this, Then Ginger extends a hoof and tells her, “Thank you for telling us that and not giving us false hope.”

The mare shakes her hoof and tells her, “I would not want to hurt someone like that. Life is hard enough.”

I then hear their conversation begin to shift and I sit back down. I have just finished my dinner when I see Moon Lily coming out of the building with Torn Shourd and the unicorn zony shaman. The shaman has a half smile on his face and is shaking his head. When they reach me, he tells me, “A very interesting granddaughter you have there. Very interesting.” He turns to Moon and tells her somberly, “Thank you again for sharing your memories with me. I shall never forget those experiences.”

She nods her head and smiles at him. “You are welcome, my elder. And thank you for your gift to me as well.”

As he is walking away, I ask Torn Shroud, “Would it be allowed for me to send out a couple of my scouts to recon our target area?”

She thinks briefly before answering, “That depends. Do you plan on attacking them tonight or leaving a trail that could lead to here?”

I shift my ears in understanding and tell her, “Only to get a lay of the land so that we are not walking in blind.”

“In that case, yes, but only a couple of your people and I will send two of our warriors with them.”

“Thank you,” I tell her and I call out, “Flower, Fog, I want you two to go scout our target location. You will be escorted by a couple of the Tenders. Just sneak and peek. Do not engage unless you have no choice.”

Xochitl nods his head and I hear Morning Mist answer, “Understood boss.”

Beside me Torn Shroud nods and with a serious expression on her face she says, “Good, I will go get my two best trackers.”

*****

Rainbow Dash Skyport, Enclave Territory, Hoofington: Ball Lightning

Well, another day done I say to myself as I begin to put away my paperwork for the night. I have just closed my office door when I see a courier arrive. He stops at the main desk and I overhear, “This is for Lieutenant Colonel Ball Lighting from the General Staff. I was told to get it to him as soon as possible.”

Buck, I think to myself. Well so much for leaving on time tonight, I guess. As I reopen my office door, I look back and see the Sergeant Major take the message packet and tell the messenger, “I will take it right to him.”

I have just sat back down at my desk when Funnel Cloud comes in and passes the packet to me with his wing tips. I can see who it is from and nod my head and it is stamped Eyes Only. I wonder what this is about.

As I take the envelope I tell him, “Thank you. Could you wait a few minutes outside so I can read this and I will let you know if we need to act on this right away.”

“Yes, Sir.” He tells me and steps outside, closing the door behind him.

I open the packet, break the wax seals, and pull out the paperwork. I am only slightly surprised as it contains new orders for my battalion as well as transportation orders. What really surprises me is that the date to move out is in twenty-four hours. My eyes go wide. I then call out, “Sergeant Major, I need all officers and staff to meet at the HQ within thirty minutes.”

He opens the door and tells me, “Yes sir. Is there a problem I need to know about Colonel?”

“Yes, new orders. I guess they were serious about the rapid deployment concept. I will fill you in with the others.”

I see his eyes go wide and he tells me, “Yes sir,” as he salutes with a wingtip, spins around, and calls out, “All Staff, meeting with the old Stallion in thirty minutes.” He pauses, “Corporal Phone Line, I need all officers here for that meeting. Make it happen.”

After this, my headquarters becomes active as phone calls to the company HQs are made and my staff begins to gather and question whether this is a practice run again or if this time we are actually deploying.

I pick up the phone in my office and call my home. Wind Dancer picks up, “Hello?”

“Hey Wind, it’s Ball, let Sundancer know I am going to be late. New orders just arrived.”

I hear the surprise in her voice as she asks, “What? Do we need to start packing up the family?”

“No Wind, the family is staying put. I will let you know what I can when I get home. Give the family my love Mom.”

We say a quick goodbye and I get back to what I need to do before the meeting. It is only a few minutes later that Storm Rider arrives at my office, “Just the mare I need to see. Close the door and take a seat.”

Once she has done so, I pass her the orders so she can read them as well. I watch as her ears go forward and her eyes wide, then her ears slide back alongside her head. “Ball, are they serious with these orders?”

I nod my head, “Yes, they are. After the meeting, I suggest you try to find some time for Kind Heart. Let her know we are leaving and that you will be back as soon as you can. Also, let her know that if she needs anything my family is here for her as well.”

I see a weak smile come across her face as she tells me, “Thank you, sir. I just had hoped I could have spent more time with her. Especially with her having been willing to make the journey here.”

We continue to talk, but soon I begin to see my company and platoon commanders arrive. I look at the clock and realize, it is time.

Once I make it to the briefing room I head to the podium and tell them, “Sit down.”

Once they are seated, I begin, “As you know, for the last couple of weeks we have been practicing for a rapid deployment. We are the third unit to be placed on this status so we have been lucky to have gotten some lessons from the other units. I have just received our new orders and we are to depart in 23 hours on the Thunderhead Class ship Macroburst. While I cannot yet reveal our destination, I have been authorized to inform you we are being called upon to provide security and crowd control in another major Enclave city. Once we embark, I will give you all the destination. I know this is short notice, but we have trained for this and I know we can make this transition smoothly. Thank you, now return to your troops, and let’s get ready. Dismissed”

I wait until the others have all left then I head back to my office. While there, Funnel Cloud stops by and asks, “Sir, any idea why such a short notice?”

I shake my head, “I have my suspicions, but I cannot say yet.”

“Yes sir. Sir, if I may suggest, make sure you take some time to see your family before tomorrow. With the war on it may be a long time until you see them again.”

“I agree, and Funnel, if you can, try to sneak some time to visit Bullseye Squall for that same reason.”

I see him grin when I say this and he tells me, “I will do what I can, but we both know I will need to ride herd on the staff. But if the battalion needs you, sir, I will let you know.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Major. I will be back after the youngsters turn in.”

As I arrive home, I find the family has already eaten. Sundancer brings me my dinner and keeps me company as I eat. The first thing she asks me is, “Ball, what is going on?”

I notice that the others are not paying attention to us so I tell her, “My battalion is being deployed indefinitely starting tomorrow. All I can say is that one of the other major cloud cities is experiencing civil unrest and we are being sent in to quell it.”

“But if it isn’t Thunderhead, why would they send you?”

I take a bite of my meal to give me time to think. Finally, I answer, “Because so many of us are from here, we may not have a problem with enforcing the leadership rules there.”

After dinner, we tuck the kids in for the night and I take her upstairs to our room. As I am leaving, I kiss her one more time and I tell her, “Remember if things go really bad for you and the family or me, our rally point is in Manesville.”

She smiled gently and asked with a worried tone in her voice, “Do you think that things will get that bad?”

“No, not really, but it is best to plan for the worst. Now get some sleep and if I can I will try to slip home one more time before I board the transport.”

When I leave, I take the rest of my gear and extra uniforms. I look at the photo of my ancestor and I know what I should do. I place the photo into my journal to keep it safe. Then as I turn out the lights, I hear Wind Dancer tell me, “Be careful out there, son. We will miss you.”

“I will miss all of you too Mom. Now you best get some rest too.”

With that, I close the door and make my way back to my headquarters. When I arrive, I see a surprised Storm Rider who tells me, “Sir, I did not expect you back until morning.”

“I know Storm. I got it for now, go get some time with Kind as well as some sleep. It is going to be a long day tomorrow.”

She smiles, “Thank you Ball. I will see you in the morning.”

As she heads out, she tells the staff that are still packing up our HQ, “The old stallion is in his office if you need him. I will be back in a few hours.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I will see you then,” one of them tells her.

I sit in the chair behind my desk and put my head on it and I take a nap. I do know how long it will be.

I wake up a couple of hours later to hear Lieutenant Colonel Full Bright’s voice asking, “Is your CO available?”

I look up at the clock on my office wall and see that it is 0600 hours. I wipe the sleep out of my eyes and I call out, “I am in my office Full Bright, come on in.” I then call out, “And could someone get me a pot of coffee?”

He enters, takes a seat, and tells me, “You look like you just woke up.”

I run a hoof through my mane and tell him, “I did. I sent Storm home late last night so she could spend time with Kind Heart. Before we ship out.”

He looks a bit surprised, “So your battalion really is shipping out? When are you supposed to depart?”

“We ship out this evening, we begin to load up as soon as the Macroburst arrives.”

“Damn, that is short notice Ball. Are you going to be ready in time?”

I nod my head, “Yes, I am sure of it. We practiced for this short-notice of a deployment several times already. My staff has most of the unnecessary gear already packed.

As we are talking my staff steward slides in the door with a pot of coffee and some sweet rolls on a cart. He smiles and tells me, “I heard you had not had breakfast yet sir, so I thought this might hold you until I can get you some.”

“Thank you, Mid Rats. I really appreciate it.” I pause then ask, “Have you had a chance to say goodbye to your family yet?”

He grins, “Sir, my family is all back home in Thunderhead, nice and safe. I said my goodbyes to them before we came down to the RDS, but thank you for asking sir.”

I nod my head and I turn my attention back to Full Bright as Mid Rats quietly departs.

Full Bright looks at me funny and asks, “You really care if your enlisted get to say goodbye to their families?”

I take a bite of a sweet roll and nod. “Yes, I care about all my troops. Now that does not mean I coddle them mind you. But I find that if you care they are willing to put out an even better effort.”

He cocks his head and looks at me, “I can see how that would work.” He then changes the subject and asks, “Do you know if your people are going to be replaced on security here?”

I shake my head and shrug my wings, “No idea. They only gave me the information on where we are going and when. But I hope you do get some backup to replace us.”

I see him take a sip of coffee and shake his head, “I hope so too, but you know Ball with the way this war is going, I am not sure if we have the pony power for that.”

We continue to talk for a bit longer, and then he tells me, “Well, I need to get going, I need to talk with my XO about the changes to the perimeter guards and how we are going to handle it.” He then holds out a hoof and tells me, “Take care of yourself and I will see you when you return.”

I shake his hoof and reply, “You too. And remember to talk to some of our more trustworthy merchants, they sometimes get wind of a storm before it hits.”

Shortly after he leaves, I see Storm Rider come into the HQ. She looks tired but happy and when she sees me, she makes her way to my office.

Once there she tells me, “Thank you very much, sir. We both really appreciated it.”

“Good I am glad to hear that. You both deserve to be happy for a bit more.”

“We all do sir. But thank you for looking out for us all.” She pauses then adds, “On my way here I saw the Macroburst passing Thunderhead on her way here.”

“Good, that means she is on time. Well, I guess we should start to get the troops ready the rest of the way.”

Yes sir, “Oh, Kind Heart appreciates your wife’s offer and she will be moving in for a while with them to help with the youngsters.”

I find myself smiling as I realize how close Kind has gotten to Sundancer and the others of my family and I tell her, “I am really glad to hear that.”

Next, I tell her what I want done for the day and she soon heads off to hold officers call and get the troops ready to load.

It is only a couple of hours later that I receive a messenger telling me that the Macroburst has arrived and is ready to receive my battalion. I make one more check of my office to ensure I am not leaving anything behind.

By now Full Bright’s Troops have relieved mine from their post and we begin to load the equipment and troops for travel. During this entire time my headquarters team has been in contact with the Thunderhead class ships transport personnel as well.

I make my way to the airfield and am joined by the rest of my staff. As I walk, I see my kids off to the side of the road waving goodbye to us along with my wife and her mother. Next to them is Kind Heart. Both my wife and Kind Heart wiping tears from their eyes. I wave back to all of them and then look up at the Macroburst. I know in my mind how large a Thunderhead class ship is, but still, it is hard to fathom something that can carry ten Raptor class cloud ships at a time.

Before much longer the transport vertibuck we are using to board it lands and we are led away from the hanger bay to the ship’s troops transport section. There I am met by the Macroburst XO and she tells me, “Welcome aboard Sir. As soon as the last of your troops have boarded, we will begin preparations to depart for Coltlumbia.

When she says this, I see my staff around me all look surprised. I then tell her, “Thank you. In a bit, I will be holding a meeting with my officers where I will be informing them of our destination and our orders.”

I see her eyes open wide as she realizes she has slipped some. I smile and tell her, “My orders were not to reveal the destination until we were on our way there. So do not worry Commander.”

“Thank you, sir, if you will follow me, I will take you to your battalion's temporary headquarters area.”

An hour later we are underway and I am able to call all of my officers together again, this time in a proper briefing room. My staff members have been allowed to read the orders so we can give a proper briefing.

As I enter the briefing room, I hear one of them call, “Attention on deck!”

“Take your seats,” I tell them and step up to the podium. I look at all of them before I tell them, “Mares and Gentlestallions it is now time to tell you where we are going and why. “

I hear several low mutters and a few laughs. I then tell them, “We are heading to Coltlumbia. Subversive elements there have decided to protest the war by calling for an illegal strike in the industrial area of Flankton. Our job there will be to find these elements and bring them to bear. Once that is accomplished, we will assist with security and law enforcement.” I pause to let them process what they have heard. Especially as Coltlumbia is the actual capital of the Grand Pegasus Enclave. I finish up by telling them, “I will now turn the podium over to my staff to finish up the rest of the briefing.”

Once I take my seat I look around and I see the concern on some of my officers’ faces, particularly Captain Cloud Seeder. I know he is from there originally but I hope his knowledge of the area will give us a hoof up. After all, I have a feeling that we are going to need every advantage we can get there. By the Goddesses what have we become? I ask myself.

*****

Well, it is that time again, I am Loose Change and once more we come to the top of the hour and time for the news here in VanHoover.

In the local news, there are reports of more fighting between the Warf Rats and the Tenders. There are no reports on casualties yet, but there are reported to be several bodies that can be seen lying along the side of the main highway through Tender territory. I am not saying which side I am routing for, but come on Warf Rats, that seems like a big bite to try and chew.

The leader for the Enclave forces here has told me to remind my listeners here that all newcomers are to report in at the checkpoints leading to and from the city. This request has also been made by the leadership of the local Steel Ranger chapter.

Along those lines, I would like to remind everyone that the Enclave’s Volunteer Corps stations are neutral ground and are here to help all of us if we need a hoof,

Look out, get down… Sorry about that, folks, just a few more wild rounds through the window here at our station in downtown VanHoover. As a reminder, when you are shooting at someone or something, look at what is behind it to make sure you are not shooting someone who is an innocent bystander.

From various sources, we have reports of anti-war strikes and uprisings occurring in the Enclave. President Winter Breeze, perhaps you should listen to your people and try to end this war peacefully. Oh, wait, forget I suggested that. For our local Enclave leaders, as I said this is just rumors, no need to make a point with me. He-he.

Well, that is enough for the news and rumors. Now back to the music starting with the old classic Walk with the Devil

Author's Note

I would like to thank RuinQueenofOblivion for allowing me to again use the war setting from her story Survivor's Guilt. The incident between the NCR, the Enclave, and the Tenders that I mentioned is described fully there.

This leads me to thank Natalie for permitting me to use the Tenders and the stable they come from, including their stables experiment.

The cleansing ceremony that the Gentle Stride tribe performed is loosely based upon similar ones performed by some Native American tribes. I use it out of respect for their culture and its effectiveness.

For those would like to hear this chapters song, here is the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRSzBV6QNp8