Chapter 70 The Paths to Coltlumbia

“Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it.” — Hunter S. Thompson.

The High Range Gap into Coltlumbia: Edge of Grand Pegasus Enclave Territory: Ginger Snaps

The trip back to the gap from Morvarc’h has been quicker than the other way was, partly because we are now familiar with the territory. In the lead are Morning Glen and my husband along with their set.

I am in the third setback, with Choo and the Two-Bits behind me. What really surprised me was that the aircrew from the Hot Shot remained with us, though they traded Love Tap’s minigun for a lever action and some other supplies to lighten her load. Besides we should not need three mini guns on this mission.

I look back below us at the foothills and plains and wonder how long it will be so peaceful. I know Ma is bringing her regiment this way, but I wonder if the rest of the Manesville Brigade will be coming too, and if so, will they have to fight like we have heard the Baltimare Brigade has?

My attention is drawn back to where I am as I hear someone slip and start to slide on the trail ahead of me. I look and I see an embarrassed Jelly Bean get up, knock the dirt off, and shrug as she begins to catch up with her set.

This gets me to stop looking at the scenery and pay attention to where I am placing my hooves as I continue to climb the mountain. Granted this is less rugged than the others, but it is still not easy.

Once we reach the summit it is getting close to dark. Again, it is a dry camp and we keep our watches posted to make sure no one sneaks up on us. It is a couple of hours after dark when I hear a couple of voices coming from the west side of the gap and some hooves sliding occasionally. Once I even swear, I hear it swear in the tongue of the cattle.

Cowlick then calls out in the cattle language, “Cousin Molasses, is that you?”

I hear the reply, “Hey Cowlick, is that you?”

“Yeah, what are you doing out here?”

“Just running a few contraband supplies home from Coltlumbia, how about you?”

I hear Cowlick laugh lightly, and then he tells him, “Remember that business deal I was telling you about? My team is with me.”

I then hear the bull say in ponish, “It’s okay everyone, it is my cousin Cowlick and his people from back home.”

I then hear Choo ask, “Is he family to you Salt?”

“Yes ma’am. He is my mother’s sister’s son. He would not lie to us.”

Choo then tells them, “Come on over this way so we can exchange information. Besides, it will be good to see a few faces from home.”

Soon they have come into our camp and we begin to exchange information with them. The lead stallion of the group is an older stallion I recognize from visiting the farm and selling Mama Sumac cane sugar and some other hard-to-get supplies.

Cow asks his cousin, “So how is the trail ahead?”

“Not too bad, but there are still some enclave patrols out and about. Nothing we could not dodge. We tried to go through the next pass south of here, but the place was as thick with Enclave troops as ticks on an enfield. Dark Trails over there decided it was best to try here. But I would not be surprised if they close this gap as well soon. I noticed that they had beefed up their security at a couple of their smaller outpost dirtside, as well as at the market outside the stable on Mount Persius. Last time we went there we only saw a couple of guards there. This time we saw several more inside the tunnel entrances.”

Off to the side, I notice Choo is talking to their leader. After this Cowlick and I begin to give them information about the trail behind us as well as which towns now act neutral rather than openly hostile to strangers.

Before too much time has passed, I hear the one called Dark Trails tell the rest of his team, “Take a load off and rest. Big Blue and her team will provide security for us until morning. Once the sun is up, we are going to be high-tailing it back east as fast as we can, it sounds like a real storm is coming this way.”

The next day both groups are up and moving as the false dawn crest the far horizon. We say our goodbyes and I hear Cowlick tell his cousin, “Next time I see you in White Cloud, I owe you a drink. Be careful Cous.”

“You be careful too Cous. Keep your head down and do not act the hero.” He pauses then adds, “Oh, and I will tell your Ma and Pa, I saw you out here and you are doing good.”

“Sounds good, see you again soon.”

Soon both teams are on their way back down the mountains continuing their journeys. When we break for lunch I ask, “Did your cousin happen to say what he was transporting into Coltlumbia?”

He grins and tells us, “Yeah, part of their load was a case of Old Overmare, that and a case of Three Sisters. I guess they have some ponies there that have gotten a taste for our brew.”

I laugh lightly and smile as I tell him, “I wonder if it is anyone we know.”

“Who knows? Though it does make me wonder.”

Beside me, my husband adds, “I wonder if Ball Lighting is there. After all last time Choo talked to him on the radio, he was not at the RDS and he did not know if his family was safe.”

It is two days later when we make a stop at Apple Crisp's farm. There we talk to her about what our plan is and what we need. She laughs as she tells us, “Sure thing, we can help you with that. We even have a batch of shine bottled and ready to ship.”

I let Epona dicker on a price for the shine. While she is doing this the tag-a-longs see a couple more of the other dashites who are stunned to see them dressed and armed. It is while they are talking, that I overhear Wing Tip telling one of them, “Wait a while more before you leave here. Talk to them about how things are out in the wastelands. We almost got killed a couple of times already and we found we had some things to unlearn. If you wait until we come back we will even help you as much as we can.”

“Is it really that dangerous out there?”

Wing Tip and the other two all nod and I hear Box-end Wrench tell them, “Yes it really is, but it is not all bad either. But you need to be armed and go in a group to stay safe.”

“So, what happens if you go by yourself?”

I find myself speaking this time, “Yes, and these three have not encountered raiders yet.”

One of them asks, “What is a raider?”

I look over at my sister, then back to them before I answer, “Raiders are ponies and sometimes griffons that have gone wild. They no longer have a moral compass that the rest of us would recognize. If they want it, they believe it should be theirs and they will take it. If they capture you, they will kill you, but hopefully, it is quick, because if not, you will wish it was. I have seen raiders decorate their camps with the body parts of their victims.”

A couple of others from our team all nod their heads in agreement. Then I tell them, “If you can get ahold of a copy of the Book of Little Pip read it. It talks about her run-ins with raiders as well as slavers and other monsters. It is not a complete list of them, but it can give you a good idea about them.”

I let Wingtip and the others continue to chat with them as I figure they will listen to them more than me. I remember hearing from one of the drill instructors by the base onetime talking in the White Cloud pub about how he had found that if he teaches something to a couple of recruits that the other recruits seem to learn from them better and more quickly than him just trying to teach them all at once.

I smile at the memory and Xochitl asks me, “What has you smiling dear?”

I shake my head and answer, “Nothing really just remembering home.”

He nods and adds, “Yeah, I can understand that. I cannot wait to get home again.”

Shortly after this, we load up Cowlick to look like a pack brahmin and begin to make our way back to the route we will need to check for the NCR troops that we are supposed to be pathfinders for.

It is five days later and only another day from Mount Persius when we spot an outpost guarding a river crossing, we need to use. We are still trying to decide what to do when we see several transport Vertibucks land there and I am stunned to see them start loading cargo and troops on them. Just before they depart, I watch as they lower the flag of the GPE.

Once they take off again, we watch them fly towards the high mountain gap. Not much we can do, but it only looked like a company worth of troops. Once they are out of sight, we approach the crossing and the outpost.

I raise an eyebrow as I look at the now abandoned camp and I ask Choo, “Big Blue, should we check that place out?”

“Negative for now Cookie, we have to make time to our destination.”

I find myself feeling irritated that we cannot, but I do understand and we keep moving further into the enemy’s territory.

The next day we can see Coltlumbia in the distance. The size of it by itself is intimidating. It looks to be slightly larger than Thunderhead even. That is bad enough, but what is worse is the number of skyships we see moored around it or just hoovering in place.

That night as we make camp in the ruins of an old sawmill Flight Plan tells us, “Boss, you will want to report in the number and types of skyships we saw. Here is a list of them for you to notify Junction Town of.”

Choo takes the written list in her TK and tells him, “Thank you Flight Plan, I will do that after dinner and when it gets dark.”

Once dinner is done, we put the fire out and have one guard per set on watch. I watch as Choo flies away to call into Junction Town and I wonder what they will have for us.

When she returns, she tells me, “Make sure the guards are alert tonight, I thought I saw something moving in the woods on my way back.”

“Will do Boss. Anything else?”

“Nothing new. Just for us to stay on mission.”

It is in the middle of the night and there is no moonlight, when I am on watch, I hear voices whispering as well as a branch break. From by Xochitl, I can hear Katie begin to growl lowly, which wakes up the others.

They quickly grab their gear, and I watch as Sunny and a couple of other fliers take to the air through a hole in the roof. I activate my Eyes Forward Sparkle and I see about a dozen red dots approaching us.

I about laugh when I hear a voice say, “Boss, where is there brahmin? I thought it would still be outside in the corral.”

“Shh, keep quiet will ya. We don’t want to wake them and have them ready for us.”

I smile to myself and I activate my SATS on the closest one.

They are only twenty or thirty meters from the building we are in when one of them trips and their gun goes off. At that point Choo gives the word, “Independent fire,” and all Tartarus breaks loose as we exchange fire with them. From above Sunny and the other pegasi with him begin to take aimed shots, shifting every couple of rounds and firing again.

It seems to take forever before the guns are quiet again, but when I check my Pipbuck it has only been a few minutes. I can hear those still alive out there screaming in pain from wounds. Inside the building, we got off pretty light, but I hear one of the Two Bits yelling that they are hit. Twinks runs over to them and I see her evaluate their wound then tell them, “Really, you are going to howl over that? You got grazed and will be ok. Let me put some salve and a magical bandage on it.”

“You are not going to use a healing spell on me for a gunshot?”

She shakes her head, “No, we save those for when we really need them. This will help you well enough, it will just take a bit longer.”

“You are sure I am, ok?”

She shakes her head before looking them in the eye and telling them, “I am sure. Everyone on our team has been hit before, including myself and the boss. You will be fine, just sore.”

“Oh, okay then. Sorry for bothering you.”

Twinks smiles in the darkness and tells them, “It was not a bother. I want to check out wounds like that to make sure they are not worse. Just, next time, do not yell so much. Call out your hit and I will be there as soon as possible.”

After this Choo tells us, “Grab your gear folks, we need to get moving. That much noise may draw unwanted attention. Besides, I do not want to listen to wounded raiders scream all night and I am sure you do not either.”

With that we roll up our bedrolls, grab our kits and in the dark, we use our NODs to find our way. Those who do not have them are put with those of us who do so they do not get lost or hurt.

*****

Enroute to Mount Persius, Grand Pegasus Enclave Territory: Xochitl

I find myself yawning as we continue our trek. I guess three hours of sleep was not enough, but at least we got out of the skirmish relatively easy. A few grazes and splinters that had to be dug out that came from the log sides of the mill. Nothing Twinks and Choo could not take care of.

Right now, Double Back and Days End are on point giving me and Morning Glen a bit of a break as our set is now in the middle of our column.

Choo has let us know though that after our next break we will need to split our column to be able to keep up our façade of a caravan with only one pack brahmin. True a couple of others are also carrying extra but still.

I will have to admit that I laughed when Choo told us her plan to allow us to get a couple of our people past the guards. But honestly, I think it will be a bit of fun. Besides, we have not done something like this since Hoofington.

When we stop Choo tells us, ok, Cookie, I want yours and Flower’s set to go together. The rest of us, I want to keep with Salt. When we get close, I will use my invisibility spell. Danger, I want you to climb on my back when we get close.”

“Boss, are you sure about this? I mean with how we have only done this once before.”

“Danger, I will need your skills, so we have no choice.”

I then hear Twinks resignedly say, “Ok, you are the boss.”

“OK, Flower, Cookie, I want your team to wait an hour before you follow us. The rest of you, come with me. Oh, and Blackbird, I want you and Fog to play the part of Enclave troopers fully.” She pauses and tells Cowlick with a smile, “And remember what your cousin told us about how they think cattle and brahmin are stupid animals. Play the part and only speak there in the cattle tongue.”

He grins and then asks, “You mean I can have fun with this boss?”

“Oh, of course. The bigger the distraction the better.”

Cowlick starts to laugh and replies, “You got it, boss, this will be fun.”

Soon after this I watch as Cowlick, Choo and the others start to lead away from us. I find myself checking the time on my PipBuck ever so often just waiting for an hour to pass before we go. Once the time comes Ginger tells us with a smile, “Ok, it is go time. On your hooves we have to see a buck about a brahmin.”

We all get up and begin to follow her. As we get closer, I am stunned by the enormity of the cloud city. When we are about a kilometer away from the area where the market is supposed to be Ginger tells us, “At the trot, march.”

We are trotting as a group when we emerge from a path in the woods into a large clearing where we can see the market and at the center, I can see the Two-Bits, all wearing their clothing to cover their brands, offloading some of the shine from Cowlick.

As we continue running in that direction Katie is right beside me barking and she lets out a howl as if she is chasing a rabbit or other small game.

I can tell when they see me as I see Tater pointing at me. I then see him put on his game face and I do to as I yell out, “There is our brahmin boss!”

Most of the jugs of shine are on the ground and I see several of their customers starting to grab their purchases and move back as Tater and several of them move to block us from Cowlick.

I am right beside Ginger as we get close enough, she steps up to Epona who is near Tater and Cowlick and she starts to yell as she pushes Epona hard with her forehoof in the chest, “That is our brahmin, you stole it, and our load. I want it back and the caps you got from selling our stuff.”

I watch as Epona pushes her back and yells, “You’re a filthy no-good liar! He is ours and you tried to steal him from us.”

This is followed by Ginger drawing a hoof back and taking a swing at Epona, which she barely dodges. As this occurs Tater takes a MOAMAP fighting stance and begins to engage my wife. I then join Ginger as we begin to spare with Tater and Epona, from the side I see the others of our team all join in the fray, yelling and fighting, I am distracted by seeing Jellybean being thrown onto the ground and almost hitting me. This allows Tater to sneak in a hoof shot right to my jaw and I taste blood from a split lip.

I spit the blood out and I move in to engage him using my father’s fighting style, I swing around on one forehoof and kick back at him with both hind legs, just not at full force, but enough that he flies against Cowlick’s side, which gives him the chance he seems to be waiting for as he bellows out in the cattle tongue, “Yes!” and he bolts forward with his head down right into a group of stable security guards throwing two of them to the sides, right before he goes into a stand selling brahmin meat, knocking it over.

By this time Tater is back on his hooves and I laugh as he yells out, “You know what, keep the damn brahmin,” and he begins to run off, down the mountainside and into the woods, I watch as Epona grabs the bag of caps that are on the ground and follows him, yelling to us, “If he is yours, then you pay for the damages.”

Shortly after this the other of their sets stop fighting and run off as well. Leaving our sets to deal with a rampaging Cowlick and the security forces.

Both I and Ember Rose run over and block him as he runs at us. I reach out and grab the lead line on him and start to slow him down as Ember Rose uses her TK to lift him into the air so he cannot keep running.

At this point, I start to talk to him to calm him down like I would any animal. I see an expression of amusement on his face as he tells me in the cattle tongue, “That was fun, thanks.” He then says, in the same language, “You can let me down now.”

To those of us who know his language, he is crystal clear in his speech, but to all those around who do not know, well it sounds like he was just mooing in surprise, then resignation.

Once he is set back down, I lead him back to where we had started the fight. There I find Ginger talking with two of the security ponies from the stable as well as two more MPs who were guarding the door.

As I get close enough, I hear her saying, “Yes, I am willing to pay damages for what my brahmin did. Just tell me how much of a fine it is.”

As she says this, I notice one of them eyeing a couple of the remaining jugs of shine and I tell him quietly, “You know, perhaps we could pay part of our restitution in the product we recovered.”

As the security pony is contemplating it, I look up and see two enclave soldiers in power armor that are behind the caves barricade wave a wing to us then head inside. I know that Sunny and Morning Mist have made it inside.

Soon we have things sorted out with security. We sell what whisky and shine we have left, then we fall back the way we came to our rally point that Choo gave us before we all separated.

As we get there, I see the others that we had all been sparring with laughing, and I hear Epona tell Ginger, “That was fun, we need to do that more often.”

Tater comes up to me and shakes my hoof as he tells me, “Sorry about the shiner I laid on you Flower.”

“No problem, Mash, how are your ribs?”

“A bit of bruising, but nothing worse than what we have done to each other before.”

“Yeah, but this time we got to have fun with it. Besides, I think that made it a bit more convincing.”

I then hear my wife tell her sister, “Serendipity, you owe me some caps, the only reason we got out of there as we did was we had to gift several jugs of shine and a few bottles of whisky to the MPs and stable security that came to break up the fight. They were going to arrest us.”

I hear her laugh as she says, “Well, maybe Salt there should chip in some too. He is the one who was rampaging like he was in a china shop”

Soon we all settle down, treat what wounds we got, and put our gear back together as we wait for Choo and the others to return. Hopefully, they will be back soon. If not, we send in the aircrew if we must. But I know Ginger does not really want to do that, and neither do I.

It is late afternoon when we see one of the raptors departing the cloud city in the distance and we watch as it passes over us and heads back towards the High Mountain Gap. I hope that it does not cause any trouble for those who are following behind us.

It is much later in the middle of the night when we are alerted that someone is coming by the sound of breaking branches and Katie's low growl.

Finally using my NODs, I see it is Choo and the others. We lower our weapons and I tell her, “Welcome back boss, so what is the news?”

By the light of the moon, I see her grinning as she answers, “You really would not believe me if I told you.”

*****

Enroute to Mount Persius, Enclave Territory: Choo Choo

The infiltrators with me all stop and break away from Cowlick and the others as they continue into the clearing around the marketplace. We watch them until we can no longer see them, then we move further through the woods so we are not close to the trail, and we approach the clearing enough that we cannot be seen in the brush, but we can see out. I can barely see when they stop in the middle of the market and they begin to unload the alcohol from Cowlick. Once done Epona begins to commence trading with some of those already there. I smile as several of those with her begin to peruse the closest vendors.

We wait as patiently as possible for the rest of the team to arrive. I can easily tell when they do as I hear Xochitl yell out, “There is our brahmin boss!”

I turn to those with me and tell them, “Get ready.” At which point I crouch down and have Twinks climb onto my back.

Then I start to hear the noise of a fight beginning. After a few minutes, we see the guards start to leave their posts as they move to break up the fight. “This is our chance,” I tell them and I cast my invisibility spell as we make our way towards the edge of the woods.

Once there I take to the air and quickly fly to the cave entrance. Behind us I see both Sunny and Morning Mist walking toward the cave with a sense of purpose as if they own the place, which draws no attention to them.

Once inside I fly past the barricade and wait until they catch up with us. Before we go deeper, I see both turn and wave a wing at the others to let them know we are in.

After that, they take the lead as we head deeper inside of the tunnel. I am just about ready to drop my invisibility spell when from out of the dark I see two enclave soldiers who are patrolling with just regular barding on and from the markings on them I can tell they are a corporal and a private.

They see Sunny and Morning Mist and challenge them. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

I am surprised when right after he is asked this Sunny without missing a beat answer, Couriers from the 353rd out of Thunderhead, we are trying to make contact with the command here due to the jammed communications.”

“Radios are jammed down there?” the one asks.

The other one then tells him, “That makes sense then how we cannot contact them. I know the Colonel will want to see you both then.”

I can almost hear the smile in his voice as Sunny asks, “Really? Why do you say that?”

“Well, the Lieutenant Colonel has family down there, just like our other two companies. Our company is lucky I guess as most of our families are here.”

“So, what is your colonel’s name?”

“You probably know him as the 353rd was his previous unit. Our commander is Lieutenant Colonel Ball Lighting.”

Sunny nods his head and replies, “Yes, I am familiar with him. A good stallion to have your back and even better in a fight.” As the two troopers nod their heads Sunny then asks, “Can you give me directions on how to get to his headquarters?”

“Sure, you just need to head past the next set of tunnel entrances, you will know when you get to them, about half a mile past them you will see a ramp going up. That one will come out into Flankton. From there it is just a hop, skip and a glide to the Battalion HQ.”

I am enjoying the show of seeing Sunny in action. Now I can understand how he made his way into Thunderhead so easily.

I then hear the one stallion tell him, “Let me see the PipBuck on your armor and I will mark it for you on your map. That will make it a lot easier for you to find them.”

“Thank you, I really do appreciate it, Corporal.”

“No problem, Sarge,” they tell him and I realize then that Sunny’s power armor has sergeant markings on it. I had not thought about that before, but I guess it is handy. Too bad he did not capture an officer’s one I think to myself.

Soon we are all on our way again and I smile when I see the large door in the side of the tunnel that leads to the outside, as well as the rows of supplies and the setup that almost looks like a hanger bay from some of the airships, I have ridden in.

From my back, I hear Twinks tell me quietly, “Boss, I need to look at that as well as find the control panel for it.”

“Ok, Danger, let me move to the shadows before I drop the spell.”

Once I do, she climbs down and we quickly inspect the doors. Then we do a quick search for the control panel for it, which we find in a small, spell-proof booth on the next level up. I notice Twinks smiling as she hums to herself as she inspects the controls. Finally, she tells me, “I think I can open this; I just need to figure out the password.”

“Anything more here that you need to see?”

“No, but I am really surprised that we have not seen any gun turrets activated.”

I simply shrug, but then Morning Mist tells her, “I guess they do not feel there is enough of a threat to have them activated, that or they do not want to risk one of them accidentally firing at their people.”

Twinks then asks, “If they have a version of SATS why would it shoot at their people?”

Morning Mist then says, “Perhaps they are afraid it would react to one of theirs who has an angry moment or something.”

Twinks then asks, “Boss, can you fly me closer so I can get a better look at one of them?”

I have her climb on my back again and I fly close enough for her to get a good look at them. I then hear her say, “Oh, that is why.” She then tells me, “That is good enough boss. These are some early models of turrets, they are less reliable and must be manually activated for them to become operational. I guess that would explain the extra counsel in the control booth earlier.”

Once we land, we continue until we come to the described ramp leading up into what I presume is Flankton. Sunny then asks, “Boss, do you want me and Fog to go up and recon a bit while you two examine the tunnels further?”

“Yes Blackbird, I think that would be a good idea. We will meet back at the first control booth and head out together. Please do not take more than a few hours we do not want to be too late in getting back to the rally point.”

He grins at me and tells me, “You got it, boss. Besides, I would bet they have a curfew in place right now.”

I watch as those two continue up the ramp. I verify my position on my PipBuck as Twinks and I continue to explore the tunnel system further.

As we walk down the tunnel to see how far it goes, I notice several small pony doors that seem to have stairwells leading up as well. I note them all down as I get the chance.

Finally, we reach the next tunnel entrance to the outside. It is then that Twinks realizes just how far we have walked and that we must be high above the ground now. She grimaces slightly and tells me, “Just in case I have not said it yet, thanks for casting the cloud-walking spell on me.”

I smile back, “No problem Twinks. If I had thought we would need it before, I would have taught you it as well.”

“Do you think it would allow me to use cloud technology? I noticed that all the control computers are pegasi manufacture and you know that means that you usually have to be able to walk on clouds to use them.”

“Good point, I need to note that down as well for my report.” I pause then add, “Perhaps, that is why they did not feel the need to have the turrets activated all the time as well.”

I notice the time and I have her climb on my back so we can fly down the tunnels. I see several tunnels that branch off from the main one that look like they lead to the other side of the cloud city. Twice during this time, I see security patrols ahead of us and I need to cast my invisibility spell. The second time I hear one of them say, “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

That brief flash of light ahead.”

“Probably just a stray firefly again. Nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but it just caught me off guard.”

After they have passed by us and a bit of time has passed, I drop the spell and we continue.

We finally come to another entrance and notice that the tunnel beyond it goes into another ramp leading upward.

Twinks then asks me, “Choo, why do you think they have all these entrances?”

I shrug slightly and tell her, “If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was to bring in supplies when they built Coltlumbia back during the war.” I smile briefly and add, “I bet the MoM had a field day removing memories of any of the workers of them.”

She grins, “You really think they did that?”

I nod as I ask her, “Would not you?”

She shrugs, “I guess, but why?”

I smile again as I add, “To keep infiltrators from knowing that they can do just what we are doing now.”

We continue to explore the tunnels for another couple of hours. Then we return to the first cargo station as I have begun to think of them. There we settle down in the shadows and wait for Sunny and Morning Mist to return.

I feel a great relief when I finally see them appear on my EFS. Once close enough Sunny tells us, “Sorry for taking so long boss, but we ended up having a few pints at one of the local NCO clubs to get more information on who is here as well as what is going on, in addition to the basic defense outline here.”

Did you see anypony we know?”

He looks at me with his power armor helmet, “Yeah, we ran across Ball Lightning and Funnel Cloud at their HQ, but seeing we were still in our power armor, they did not recognize us.”

“What were you doing there?” I ask.

He shrugs his wings, “Oh, I just dropped him off a letter disguised as an official report.”

“Do you think that was a good idea?”

“Yeah, why not? Besides I bet he is now wondering how it got there,” with a grin in his modulated voice.

I shake my head, “OK, well what is done is done, we best get moving before he has his troops begin to look for us.”

We quickly make our way to the tunnel's end and I can see two guards on duty there. I use the invisibility spell again and as I make my way out, I hear Sunny call to them, “How’s it going?”

“The usual. They said that on one of the earlier watches some of the mudpuppies got in a big fight. No pony was hurt, but the weird brahmin they had with them tore up a couple of booths and tossed some of the stable security guards around.”

I do not hear any more of the conversation, but shortly after we reach the woods, I see Sunny and Morning Mist take flight as if heading on a courier run. I then drop the spell and have Twinks get off of me and we begin to make our way back to the rally point. We are about halfway there when the other two rejoin us. When we are almost there Sunny accidently trips on a branch and makes a lot of noise. I find myself facehoofing at this.

We walk another fifty feet and I hear a low growl and I use my EFS to verify they are our team. Then I hear Xochitl tell me, “Welcome back boss, so what is the news?”

I think about what we found out today and I grin as I tell him, “You really would not believe me if I told you.”

*****

Coltlumbia, Enclave Capital City: Ball Lightning

The morning starts better than I had expected. For the first time in a week, I have not had any nightmares. When I get up, I feel refreshed and after the first cup of coffee, I feel equine again.

During my weekly meeting with my company commanders, Captain Cloud Seeder proposes, “Sir, I would like for my troops to remain on the tunnel security detail.”

“While I have no problem with that, I thought your people would want to get out of the tunnels.”

With a somber face he tells me, “Sir, my toon leaders and their first sergeants have let me know that their troops all seem more relaxed being stationed there. I guess it is because they are less likely to have to confront anypony they know, and they are not being exposed as much to the hostility from them. Besides they have gotten to know the tunnel system pretty well now.”

Normally I would make this decision on my own, but because of how it may affect morale I decide to get all of their feedback first. “That makes sense Captain.” I turn to the other company commanders and my XO and ask, “Do any of you have any problems with this.”

I look from face to face and each shakes their head no. Finally, Storm Rider looks at all of them and tells me, “Those are all valid arguments sir. If none of the company commanders have an issue with it, I would suggest we do it.”

I think briefly after this and then nod to them, “OK, we go with that for now. XO make sure we continue with these assignments. But remember, we do not want to get too complacent either. I expect each of you to make sure that does not happen.”

“Yes Sir,” they each reply. Then we continue with our meeting.

During lunch, I run into the brigade commander at the Officers’ Mess and he asks me, “How are you and your people doing Ball?”

“So far so good Sir.”

“Glad to hear that. I know it can be hard for some of them. Especially those from here.”

“Yes sir, that is true. My A Company commander has requested to have his troops stay on the tunnel detail just for that reason.”

He nods his head, “That makes sense. Plus, it limits the number of ponies who are familiar with those areas. We have kept them secret for over two hundred years for a reason.”

I nod my head in understanding. “Thank you for supporting my decision, sir.”

We continue to chat for a bit longer, and then he tells me, “I best get going, I have a meeting I need to attend in another couple of hours.” He pauses and quietly adds, “Just a heads up, we are getting reports of two different NCR groups heading in our direction.”

“Thanks, sir, do you know how large they are?”

“That is what I am going to find out about, but know that we are not talking strike teams. These are large forces that may be able to give us a run for our money.”

“Roger sir, I appreciate the heads up.”

With that, he gets up from the table and heads out of the Mess. I find myself watching him go and I wonder just what is coming at us. I realize at that point I really do not have an appetite anymore and I head back to my HQ. There I catch Storms attention and flag her to come to my office.

Once there I tell her, “XO we may be having a fight coming. The Colonel just gave me the heads up that he has heard rumors from the higher-ups that there are large formations of enemy troops heading this way. But he does not have any definitive proof yet.”

She shifts her wings and asks, “So what are we going to do sir?”

I take a deep breath and lean back in my chair as I look up at the ceiling and I think. “Honestly, we do our duty. But if some of those other rumors are true, than where does our duty lie?”

“Good question sir. I only wish I could give you the answer myself. But sir, know I have your back.”

“Thanks, Storm. That really means a lot.”

Soon she leaves to take care of some more of her duties and I return to the paperwork on mine.

It is nearly dinner time when I hear a knock on my door and I look up and see Captain Cloud Seeder waiting outside it.

“Come on in. Close the door and have a seat.”

He follows my orders and tells me, “I just got back from the market a bit ago sir and as you said you wanted to know if something out of the ordinary occurred, I should bring it to your attention. Well, this morning it seems another one of those one-headed brahmin arrived there. The ponies that were leading it began trading bottles of whisky and jugs of homebrew. After a bit, another group of them arrived and accused them of stealing their brahmin and a fight ensued.”

“Was anyone shot or killed?”

He grins, “No sir, just a good old-fashioned hoof fight. The first group ran off. The second paid for the damage they and their brahmin caused. But part of the reason I am here is to give you part of that restitution.”

I grin as I see him pull out a whisky bottle and I about laugh when I see the artwork of three alicorns, with the one in the middle wearing a uniform. Then I look closer and I see it is Choo Choo on the bottle and I see the name, Three Sisters Whiskey. I nod my head, and I take it from him, “Cloud I appreciate this as it is a really good brand and I will even let you try a shot of it before you go, but tell me, Was one of those with this brahmin an all-black pegasus?”

He grins, “No sir, none of them was black. But there were several pegasi with them as well as a couple of unicorns.”

When I hear the description of the groups I relax. That certainly does not sound like the Repair Ponies. I then tell him, “Thanks for letting me know, now how about we both share a single shot.”

He grins, “I really appreciate that sir.” He pauses then asks, “Is it as good as Wild Pegasus?”

I nod my head, “Actually as it is a blended whiskey, one of the three used in it is Wild Pegasus. But with the war going on it is really hard to get ahold of.”

“Why is that Sir?”

I smile as I remember tasting it the first time the day mine and Air Burst's old team were taken prisoner there and I tell him, “Because it came from a little town called White Cloud in the NCRs Manesville district.”

I then pour both myself and him a shot of it, then I raise my glass and I toast, “To lost loves and fallen comrades.”

He uses his wing tip to raise his glass to mine and then we both take a sip of it and I just enjoy the taste of it.”

When we are done, he tells me, “Thank you sir. I appreciate it.”

I smile and tell him, “No problem, Captain, we just will not make a habit of drinking while on duty.”

He then leaves and heads back to his troops. I decide to head out into town and eat at one of the local establishments that are close to our compound. While the service is not friendly, at least the food is hot, tastes decent, and is cheap. It also allows me to get a feel for the area.

As I sit there eating my dinner and looking out the window I notice across the street, an all-black pegasus and a blue one with a black mane and tail walk by talking to several others. I swear the one almost likes like Sunset Waters, but I cannot see his cutie mark to make sure as they are with several others and I see them enter a shop across the way.

I briefly think of going to find out if it is him, but decide, that I am just too paranoid about Sunny showing up again. After all, what are the chances that he and his group would really be able to infiltrate Coltlumbia of all places? Especially Flankton. After all, this is the forelegpit of the Enclave from what I can tell. I shake my head and finish the rest of my boiled turnip soup. Once done I return to my HQ for a final time before calling it a night.

Once there I notice Funnel Cloud is still in the office as well. I walk over to his desk and I ask, “How is it going, Sergeant Major?”

“Not bad sir, we had a courier from the brigade drop off a packet for you earlier. It is on your desk.”

“Anything urgent about it?”

“No sir not at all. The courier even said that it was not urgent.”

This gets me to raise an eyebrow. I guess it must just be more routine paperwork. I then tell him, “It is getting late Sergeant Major, about time for us to call it a night. But before you go, I would like to talk to you about something in my office.”

“Of course, sir. I will be right there after I lock up these papers.”

I then head to my office and I see a new packet on my desk that has a wax seal on it. As it is not marked anything special, I break out the bottle of Three Sisters and two tumblers for them. So that they are ready when Funnel Cloud gets here.

I then decide that I might as well open it to see what it is, I can always take care of it in the morning. I break the seal and I notice it is the command's official stationery. Then I begin to read.

The first two pages of the packet are just normal forms from headquarters confirming my request for supplies and equipment. The third page I noticed is a transcript of a speech from President Winter Breeze that I never have heard or seen before. Then I take a quick look at it and I see that it is not an official Enclave news service.

The fourth page is the one that gets my attention most,

Howdy Ball,

I know you will not be able to keep this letter, but I wanted to tell you we are still trying to find out about your family. Myself and the others have vowed that when this war is over there will be retribution on those who used the Mega Spell on Thunderhead. To our whole team this is an act against equinity and cannot be let stand. We will even extend the hoof to you to allow you and some others to join us on this mission as it will be a freebee as far as we are concerned.

I also want to let you know that though our two sides may clash in only a few days, and we both must do our duty, myself and the others consider you if not a friend, then someone we are on friendly terms with.

I best cut this short as I am typing it in your brigade's HQ and I do not want them getting too suspicious. Keep your wings up and your head down my friend and I will see you again when I can. If not on this side, then on the other side.

PS tell Funnel Cloud and any of the others we spent time with during Queen Haven’s coronation we all said hello and we wish them well.

Sincerely

Your Friend, Sunset Waters

As I finish reading this letter, I find my jaw has dropped. I look up and I see Funnel Cloud is standing there. I point to a chair and pour us both a healthy drink.

He closes the door, takes a seat near my desk and looks at the papers and envelope on my desk before he asks, “Something special about that packet sir?

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“What is in it sir that has you so stunned?”

I look at him and I slide the paper toward him then I tell him, “You really would not believe me if I told you.”

*****

Hello to all of you out in the wastelands. I am DJ Pon3 coming to you live from Ten Pony Tower in Manehatten with music, news and tips you can use.

But first a word from our sponsors, for those in Manehatten looking to spend a relaxing night out in a secure area while being entertained, I remind you that Ponies and Ghouls over at Broadway are still putting on their shows.

Those looking to trade items or perhaps to enjoy a bit of the upscale life, if you have the goods or caps come on over to Ten Pony Tower. All of our shops and restaurants are once again open for business, and I have heard that they have recently received a new shipment of food from Manesville.

In recent news from the Alliance and NCR forces advance into Rebellious Enclave Territory there are reports of heavy fighting as our forces force thier way through the mountain gaps and into the Coltlumbia Territory. Casualties for both sides are reported to be moderate.

From the Lunar Commonwealth and Thunderhead, President Winter Breeze has been reported as saying that the loyal Enclave forces with her shall join the alliance in freeing those cities that are under the control of the Wonderbolt Generals who have attempted a coup and failing that fully have isolated themselves.

From the air war, we have reports of clashes between Rebel Enclave and Alliance airships in the vicinity of Neighvarro as Alliance forces were repelled during their raid there.

In related news, it has been leaked that part of the success of the recent attacks on Thunderhead, the Rainbow Dash Skyport, and Maripony are in part due to the maps drawn by a certain all-black wild pegasus who, while born in the wastelands was able to sneak into areas and spend enough time to gather the information needed for them.

Whoever this unnamed pegasus is, wherever you may be, as well as others who have done similar work, I am dedicating this next song to you, here is Why Should I Worry

Author's Note

A special thanks again to KKat and the others who laid the foundations of the FoE universe that I have been able to build upon for my stories. I have tried to keep my version as consistent with the others as possible. For any variations that you find, just consider it as if we are on the other side of a Doorway of theirs.

We are now much closer to a showdown in the war between the NCR/Alliance and the Enclave. By now we can see that there is much confusion in the ranks of the Coltlumbia. With neither side being completely sure of what is going on in the higher echelons of the Enclave's leadership. This is often how it really goes for the average rank and file.

For those who would like to listen to this chapter's song the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efcXonnA2zI&list=RDefcXonnA2zI&start_radio=1