Chapter 76 The Old and the New

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.” ― Robert Frost

Top deck, Baltimare Colt; Ginger Snaps

I watch as the Hot Shot 2 takes to the air and circles around all the ships in the flotilla as another transport Vertibuck approaches to land in its place. I can see the pilot hesitate as it approaches. On the deck, I can see one of the flight deck crew giving body signals to the pilot to help them land. Once the aircraft is on the deck, I see the rear ramp lower and two teams of rangers trot off quickly.

Once they are all off, the flight deck pony signals them they are authorized to take off. Shortly after it is clear and moving back towards the southeast from where it came the Hot Shot 2 returns to land as I lead the two teams back below.

I cannot help but smile when I see Mort and Smiley and I tell them, “It is good to see you guys again.”

Through the noise, I hear Mort yell back, “It is good to be back. Where is Choo?”

“She is in the Pilothouse with the captain and will be down to the berthing to meet you all shortly.”

“Sounds good, I will lead my team down if you want to let Mudwing and her people know what is going on.”

I nod and tell him, “Sounds good Mort, talk to you more later.”

As he and his team move past me, I smile as I go to meet the Griffon hen Mudwing and her team the Fixers. As I approach, she nods to me, “Been a while since we last worked together.”

“It has been, good to see all of you again. I know the others are excited to have you with us again too.”

As I lead them towards the berthing she tells me, “Well, it should be interesting. My team transported on her a while back when the Baltimare Brigade was using the southern route to get to Coltlumbia, do you think they will have enough bunks for all of us?”

“They should, if not, well, we should have hammocks available too.”

She looks back at her people, “Yeah, that should work.”

Once we are at the berthing area, I notice all the flyers with us that had bunks are moving their bedding from the beds and I hear Sunny telling the others, “Eh, it just makes sense that we use the hammocks as we can fly up to them easier. Besides, it is almost like sleeping on a cloud.”

He looks our way and I see a smile develop on his face, “Hay Eni, Hay Meanie, great to see you guys again. You two up for a game of cards later?”

I turn to see them both look at each other and smile and then one of them says, “Yes, that would be wonderful.”

The other one then asks, “How have you been doing?

About this time the ship Purser shows up and asks, “Okay, how are we set for hammocks in here?”

I then answer, “Hi Purse String, I do believe we are going to need six more of them.”

She nods, “Sounds good,” she answers then tells all of us, “I will need a couple of you to come with me to carry them back.”

Mudwing and I both assign a couple of members of our teams to go with her. While they are gone, the rest of us begin to settle in the best we can. It is going to be a bit cramped in here now, but I do believe we have been more cramped before, so it will do.

Before the others return, I see a surprised expression on Mudwings face as she looks at Katie, who is lying on my husband’s bunk, and asks, “So when did you guys get a dog.?”

“We got her after that Discordian cluster buck they called Reino. We found her during our escape.”

As I say this, I see a couple of Mort’s people nod and Fall Moss goes over to pet her. I overhear her talking to Katie as she does so, “It is so good to see you again girl.”

Katie leans into her hoof and seems to just bask in the attention.

Soon the hammock runners return and the additional bedding is hung. I smile as everyone works together to get things ready and then I hear Sunny say, “Okay, time for some cards.”

This is followed by us hearing the Water clan’s steam whistle signal to let those around us know that we are getting underway again.

As Sunny and several others flock around the table to play cards, we can feel the deck begin to shake as we first move in reverse, then we drift for a bit as the stern wheel slows and once stopped begins to move us forward again. I look out the porthole of the berthing and I can see the ships of the flotilla fall behind us as we begin to move on to our next mission.

Before too much longer, I can see we are clear of the other ships and making our way back downriver toward Oil Town.

Before too much longer I see one of the ship's crew members appear at the door and we are told, “Captain Water requests all three team leaders and their second in command to the pilot house for a meeting about our upcoming mission.”

I turn to Twinks and tell her, “You have the team, Danger.”

He nods, tells me, “Got it Cookie,” and continues with what she was working on.

Mort and Mudwings do similarly with their third in commands and as a group, we make our way to the Pilot House.

Once we arrive there Rust leads us over to the chart table. She points to a large map of old Equestria that has several areas marked on it. She looks at all of us and begins, “Those marks are all reported positions of rivercraft that have been attacked by the Dragon’s Horde and her captain Calico Jack. We have received orders from Ranger Headquarters to hunt down the Dragon’s Horde and to put an end to her raids on shipping and settlements along the rivers.”

I find myself nodding along with the others as she continues, “That means not only hitting them hard, but we need to keep pressing them as much as we can.”

She pauses and Mort asks, “That is all well and good, but how are going to keep them down once we hit them hard enough?”

She turns to look at him as does Choo who answers, “Captain Water and I have just finished discussing that. With the amount of damage both the Colt and the Dragon’s Horde have inflicted on each other, they must have a settlement somewhere that they can fall back on for repairs. Our job will be to find it and put paid to it if possible. That means calling in any assets we can from Ranger HQ if we need it.”

“That is good and all Choo, but what about replacing ammo? This is not going to be easy or cheap.”

Choo grins and adds, “Well, that depends on where we are at. If we head up toward Whinnyapolis I have a rather dependable contact with a cache of supplies and equipment for us.”

I see Mudwing look at Choo and ask, “How dependable and how much?”

Choo shifts and says, “Direct family, and a ministry hub.”

I see Mudwings eyes go wide and her wings start to pop up. “A ministry hub?”

Both Choo and I nod at this as does Mort.

She looks at Mort, “You knew about this and said nothing?”

He shrugs, “Just hearsay in the berthing, we stayed aboard while they went ashore there.”

She nods and returns her eyes to Rust and Choo, “Okay, so how many days until we are expected to be in their area of operations?”

“Three days tops, I would suggest we expect them within the next couple of days as we get closer to the big river.”

We all nod in understanding as we look at the map. Then Choo adds, “Mudwing, we may need Eni and Meanie to use their particular skills to infiltrate their settlement if we can find it.”

She nodded, “I kinda figured that. Now what about until then?”

Choo looks at Mort then Mudwing and tells her, “When we find the Horde I want to put Mort in charge of the ground teams, and you and I will lead our flyers against them. It worked rather well when we had the batpony scouts from the 3rd Manesville as well as the Flying Foursome.”

I see a bit of confusion cross Mudwing’s face as she asks, “Who are the Flying Foursome?”

This time I smirk and answer, “That would be my little sister Moon Lily and her three friends that ran away from home and joined Moon while we were hunting for Hallowed Dreams.”

I hear her laugh, “I thought that was you guys I heard on the radio that night. That was pretty entertaining to hear.” She pauses and asks, “So, uh, what did you do with him?”

Choo laughs lightly and answers, “We left him locked in a cell at the village we just left. He was to be hooved over to the NCR troops to deal with.”

“Makes sense, I guess. I would have just put paid to him, but it was your mission.”

Choo then answers, “Honestly, we did consider it, however, he surrendered himself and begged us to take him with us. So, we did and he now must pay for what has done.

We are then joined by Flight Plan, whom we discuss some more of the mission details and how we can search for the Dragon’s Horde. After we are done Rust then tells us, “I will catch you all at dinner, now I need to get back to driving this old mare for a bit.”

Choo then looks at the rest of us and says, “I guess we should go let the others know what our plans are.”

*****

Baltimare Colt. River Highway: Xochitl

I have just dealt out a new hoof of cards to all those playing when Ginger and the rest return from meeting with the captain. They all look at each other and we place the cards face down on the table as we turn to see what they have to say.

Mort starts with, “We have our new orders people. For those of the Repair Ponies and the Fixers, you have faced them before, for you Troubleshooters, well, this may be a new experience for you.”

Choo nods behind him and Mudwing steps forward slightly and continues, “It seems there is a group of river pirates that have been attacking ships and settlements along the rivers. Their leader is reported to be named Calico Jack, and his flagship is named the Dragon’s Horde.”

Choo steps forward and has an almost feral grin on her face as she adds, “Repair Ponies, Fixers, I know you understand what that means, for you Troubleshooters, they have hurt the Colt and her crew several times already, however, each time we hurt them as well. With our additional team, we have been given the task of hunting them down and breaking them.”

I, along with several others, find myself grinning. However, some of the others seem somewhat nervous or reserved.

Twinks raises her hoof and asks, “So what are our battle stations since we have more troops now?”

Choo nods and moves an ear in acknowledgment of a good question.

Mort answers, “Danger, our two teams will have the same ones as last time. The Troubleshooters will be kept as a reserve. We discussed this with Captain Water and it was her idea. Something about surprising them with the extra firepower when needed.”

They continue to brief us for a bit more before the meeting ends. Once it is done, I continue to play cards until dinner.

After dinner, instead of returning to the berthing with most of the others, I head up to the upper deck near the flight deck. In the darkness, I see a familiar silhouette that I recognized from the ears as being Double Back. I approach him and quietly say, “Hay Rough Trail. How you doing?”

I hear him say in a strained voice, “I don’t know Flower, I just don’t know right now.”

I sit next to him and look up at the star-filled sky with him and wait for him to speak more. I hear him sniffle a bit and he asks, “Flower, why am I still alive and Finale and Counter Weight are not? Why was it them that caught that blast and I, I tripped, of all the dumb things that could have occurred, I tripped running for a doorway.” He shakes his head as he looks up, “Flower, I never trip like that. I should have been there with them when it happened. Why do I deserve to live and they didn’t?”

I find myself letting out a sigh and I shake my head slowly and answer, “I do now know Rough Trail, I have asked myself that many nights over the years.” I take a deep breath and continue, “For me the first time was Targhee, back during the expedition. We lost a lot of good people there, including Ginger’s birth mother Nugget.” I stop talking briefly as I remember being trapped in the basement of a building that was being burned and how we found a tunnel that a group of us who were trapped there by Silver Spite and his troops used to escape. I then remember how Days End was there at that time and how he shared the horrors of that day with us. I then begin to tell him about that day.

When I finish, I put a hoof on his shoulder and tell him, “We will miss him, but it just was not our time yet. It was his. Not yours. You are meant to still be alive. Maybe it is to be a good father to that foal that Love Tap is carrying.”

I hear him sniffle, “Do you really think so Flower?”

“Yeah, I do, and I think you two will be great fathers to that little one.”

“Thanks Flower. I really appreciate it.”

“You are Welcome. How about we both head back down to rejoin the others? I have a feeling we both have a mare waiting for us.”

I hear him sniffle one more time and he nods his head. “Yeah, you are right. Just so you know, Days End talked to me about Targhee and the Valley several times. He never understood why he lived and they did not. I never understood why he felt that way back then. I guess now I do. Thanks for talking with me Flower.”

As we arrive back in the compartment, I notice both Morning Mist and Love Tap are waiting for him on his bunk. I smile as he walks over to them and them and they take him into their wings.

As they do that, I make my way to my bunk where I find Ginger sitting and reading while gently stroking Katie who is lying next to her.

I then notice that some of the ship’s crew have joined us and are either playing cards or exchanging stories with our teams about what they have experienced since we were gone. Among them is Rough Seas, who is telling Morning Glen, Cowlick, and Tater about the trip past the Everfree and how they had to use their guns on a hydra. He is just saying, “You should have seen it, the 20mm, were hardly doing anything and our twin 40mm gun mount on deck was doing its best to protect that barge and its troops. That is when three of the other ships with us opened fire on it with their big guns too. One of them even had a 76mm gun.”

I nod my head in amazement. Then he says to us, “Those quick firing 40mms’ well they fired quick enough that when another head started to pop up it was gone, the 76mm though broke through it’s armor and got to the heart of the matter if you know what I mean.”

We all laugh a bit at his understatement. He then continues, “After that, we lead the way upriver until we dropped off the scouts for the Baltimare Brigade.”

I hear some of Mudwing’s people agreeing and see them nodding in support of his story. I hear another one of the engine room crew members say, “Yeah, but I heard about what you guys did with those guns when those Enclave vertibucks came at us in mass that time.”
I see Rough Seas blush and he tells the other crew member, “Yeah, but we were just lucky they didn’t have any of their skyships with them. That would have been bad. Instead, they fed themselves into our meat grinder.”

Listening to them talk about those events I realize I have a question and ask, “So when did the Colt leave the 2nd Flotilla and come up here?”

Rough turns to me and answers, “Well we took some more damage, so once they landed the first Regiment of the brigade we stayed over at Western Landing. They did a lot of repairs, added some armor around the pilot house inside as well as the engine and boiler room.” He pauses and adds, “Oh, and they replaced our missing 20mm guns and upgraded the rest to dual mounts along with the 40mm. They had to do some more reenforcing of the deck up there as well.”

That makes sense to me, I think to myself. Before I can say anything he then asks, “Flower, me and the crew were wondering, what happened to the Hot Shot? Did you guys get shot down?”

About this time, I see Load Shift move closer and he says, “Hey Rough, if you don’t mind, I will answer that one.”

Rough nods so Load Shift continues, “We were on our way back with everyone when one of our engines suffered a catastrophic failure. The way it came apart I think we had a bearing fail.”

The other crewpony asks, “If it was that bad, how did you guys survive?”

Load Shift takes a deep breath and then sighs, “We shouldn’t have. If not for Big Blue and Moon Lily, we wouldn’t have. They teleported out and used their TK to slow us enough so that the Hot Shot was damaged enough to never fly again, but we only got bumps, bruises, and minor cuts.”

Rough then grins and says, “I bet Pry Bar would enjoy hearing about that.”

Both my wife, and her sister’s ears perk up at this and I ask, “Why is that?”

He laughs, “Because he is smitten with that young mare.” He looks at the two sisters and tells them, “No need to worry. Ol’ Chisel Plow has been teaching those youngsters well.”

The other engineer pipes up, “Well that and he knows that Moon is kin to the captain.”

That gets a laugh out of most of us who are listening to him. This is followed by one of the card players saying, “Draw Two!” Which draws more laughs from the rest of us.

Soon after a few more crewmembers show up. I watch as people come and go for the next couple of hours. Finally, things begin to die down and the crew members head back to their berths. The cards are put away and the lanterns turned down.

My wife and I snuggle together in the dim light. Katie is at our rear hooves. I am the big spoon until Ginger rolls over to face me. Once she does, she asks, “Do you think we should be worried about Moon and Pry? I mean, I know he is a nice young stallion and all, but…”

I rub a hoof gently along her face and gently kiss her on her muzzle. “Dear, they are about the same age we were when we first met.”

“I know dear, that is why I am worried.”
I raise my head slightly to look at her better, “Is there something wrong with you and I?”

“No, that is not what I meant,” she whispers.

“So, what do you mean?”

“It is just that they are both so young. I do not want to see her get hurt.”

Ah, there it is. I then tell her, “I understand your worry love, but just like us, she has to learn.”

She tucks her head against my neck and quietly says, “But I do not want to see her learn the hard way. What if he turns out to be like Sunny was.”

“Dear, she is a member of the Water Clan, that is a line that he would be a fool to cross. If they just do not work out that is one thing, but if he hurts her on purpose, well, I would not want to be in his horseshoes.”

She lightly pats me with a forehoof, “I do not want to see that happen either.”

I kiss her on her forelock and tell her, “Good, now get some sleep love while we still can. I think we are going to be getting busy here again soon.”

She rolls back over and soon I feel her twitch as she falls asleep. I smile and take one more deep breath to smell her scent, after which I relax and join her in Luna’s domain.

*****

Baltimare Colt. River Highway: Choo Choo

I watch as the Hot Shot 2 and her crew take off again so that the Enclave Vertibuck can land and drop off more troops to support us on our next mission.

As I observe the landing, I wonder just who these other troops will be, and why they are being dropped off by the Enclave?

Beside me stands Captain Rust. She too is watching. From the corner of my eye, I can see she is starting to show that she is carrying a foal. Her black sweater accentuates the bulge around her middle. Right now, she has taken off her normal cap, so it does not get blown off.

The down draft from the Vertibuck blows my mane and tail out as if I am flying and causes me to shift my attention back to the aircraft.

I watch as the rear loading hatch drops open, and I begin to see the first team of the troops leading off. I immediately recognize Mort and his second in command, the Kiren, Smiley.

After his team is offloaded, I see the familiar griffon hen Mudwing and her team trot off behind Mort’s.

As the Enclave aircraft departs, I begin to turn and Rust asks, “Did they just drop off the Fixers and the Troubleshooters?”

I nod, “Yeah, but I did not know you knew the Troubleshooters.”

“Yeah, they rode with us when we were leading the flotilla transporting the Baltimare Brigade. But you know about that run already.”

“Yes, but I did not realize they were one of the teams you carried. It will be good to work with them again,” I tell her.

She nods, steps into the Pilothouse, and calls out, “Okay time to get underway again.”

She calls down to the bow with a bullhorn, “Weigh Anchor.”

As the anchor chain begins to move, she calls to the engine order telegraph operator, “1/3 astern power.”

I stand and watch as she begins to move us toward the center of the river and swings our stern upstream. Soon she shifts the engines, and we move downriver towards Oil Town. Satisfied she nods and says, “Able seapony Half Hitch, I need you to go get the team leaders and their second in command to come the pilot house for a meeting with me.”

He salutes loosely, “Yes Ma’am.”

Before much longer he returns with the rest following him. As they enter Rust leads us to the chart table and we discuss what our mission is. Soon we are joined by Flight Plan, and he adds what he and his aircrew can do to scout for the pirates and support the defense of the ship when we engage.

Once the meeting breaks up, we all head back to the berthing to rejoin the others and pass on to them what we are to do next.

The evening seems to go fairly quietly, with us relaxing and receiving a steady stream of visitors, as well as a rotation of players in the card game, which only ends when the lights are turned down and we all turn in for the night.

The next day, our three teams practiced battle drills. As we do this, Azimuth Compass, the ship’s first officer, calls out what we are reacting to, including borders and the need to dispatch the reserve team.

This culminates shortly after dinner when we hear the steam whistle let out five rapid screams which is a call to quarters. I look at my team and tell them, “This was not planned.”

A look of surprise comes over their faces and we grab our gear as we race to our emergency stations. Before I leave, I call out, “Last one out, blow out the lanterns.”

And then I leap over the side of the main deck and fly quickly up to the top deck where all of us flyers will assemble.

As I look around, I do not see any ships or dangers nearby. I look up at the pilothouse and I see Rust standing there with a watch in her forehoof. After about ten minutes she nods, puts the watch away, and goes back into the pilothouse.

I then see her return with a bullhorn and call out, “Secure from quarters.”

After she says this, I notice the flight deck crew all look at each other and they begin to return the canvas panels over the flight deck again. Mudwing and I look at each other and shrug our wings, and I tell the other flyers, “Go ahead and return your weapons to the racks. We will be back down again soon.”

As they go, Mudwing and I go to see Rust and find out what was going on.

As we enter, she tells us, “The crew did a good job overall for an unplanned drill.

I raise an eyebrow and smirk, “You know that is the kind of thing I would expect from your brother Rough.”

She laughs, “He gave me the idea at dinner the other night. He figured we might need to hone our edge a bit. However, he also made me promise not to over-do it either.”

“I am glad to hear that, Rust.”

Mudwing next to me, then notices the familiarity between me and the captain. Thinks for a second and asks, “So who is this Rough you are talking about?”

Rust grins, “Oh, sorry. Rough is my older brother as well as captain of the S. Glimmer and the Commodore of the 1st NCRN River Squadron”

I hear a light chuckle come from my peer before she says, “I should have known.”

All I can do in reply is shrug.

Rust on the other hoof tells her, “Choo has known the clan since shortly after the day of Sunshine and Rainbows. In fact, Choo, Rough was hoping to see you before we left the other day.”

I feel my face heat up slightly before I tell her, “I would have enjoyed visiting with him, but I figured he would be too busy.”

“Well, perhaps next time you see the Glimmer you should try to visit. I do believe he may be interested in hearing about some of those groups you told me about in Hoofington that you and the repair ponies had talked with about becoming friends of the clan.”

I think briefly then tell her, “I will have to do that. I do believe that you and I have talked about them already.”

“I figured as much. Especially after I talked to Cousin Frozen Water. She let me know that she had taken onboard the Butternut several ghouls just before the war started that were heading to Manesville. When requesting passage they gave her your business card.”

I see Mudwing twist her head slightly and look at me with a curious expression. I then tell her, “If they are who I think they were, it should have been a few who had been trapped in a bunker we dug into down in No Mares’ Land outside of Hoofington.”

Rust nods her head, “Yep, that sounds like them. They were polite and all, but the crew of the Butternut is not as used to ghouls as we are here on the Colt.”

“That is understandable I guess.” I tell her, then I chuckle a bit and add, “I am sure they would not be too used to my kind either.”

Mudwing shakes her head, “Choo, until I met you, I was afraid of your kind, now, not so much. Especially after seeing those who were with us in Coltlumbia.”

She pauses then adds, “I am curious though about the story of the little black one that was with them. I saw them from a distance as we were passing Hurricane Bay.”

I smile and tell her, “The little black one was my great-granddaughter Moon Lily. She is a member of the clan as well.”

“Choo where did the clan get a black alicorn?” she asks.

This time Rust laughs before she answers, “Well, she was born a unicorn and somehow she got transformed into an alicorn.”

I nod and begin to tell her what Moon has explained to me.

I watch Mudwing’s face as she hears the tale of Moon’s ascension. She is speechless when I am done. Then she asks, “She really brought down a Raptor class airship on her own?”

I shift my wings and tell her, “Yes, she did.”

“Choo, could you do that?”

I laugh lightly, “Mudwing, I could only wish.”

She shakes her head. Soon we are discussing more mundane topics with Rust again. Once we are done and we begin to head back towards our berthing, she stops me and tells me, “Choo, I have been meaning to discuss this with you for some time.”

I stop and flick my ear in curiosity. I then ask, “What do you want to talk about Mudwing?”

She seems to think briefly, then she says, “Choo, after we are released from service, I was thinking perhaps The Troubleshooters could make our home in Manesville.”

I nod and tell her, “I would not mind seeing you all do so.”

I see her take a deep breath before she says, “Well, I was thinking we could form a joint business. My team would still stay the Troubleshooters, but we would be there to train and work together. “

I hold up a hoof, “Mudwing, while I would not mind that, I do not want to become like the Talons.”

She nods and shifts her wings, “Neither do I. That is not what I had in mind. Each of our teams has our specialties. I want to capitalize on that.”

I think briefly then ask, “So just what is it that you have in mind?”

She and I spend another hour discussing this. Once we are done, we shake on it. Then I ask, “Do you think we should bring this up with Mort?”

She smiles and tells me, “I do believe so Choo.”

I think again about it as I look towards the setting sun behind us. I then smile and tell her, “Yes, let’s do that.”

*****

Manesville General Hospital, Manesville, Manesville Region, NCR: Ball Lightning

Beep… Beep… Beep…

I wake to the sound of the high-pitched sound of medical equipment and all I can think of is, Not again?

I fight to open my eyes. The light around me is very bright. Once open I look over and I see Mid Rats, my battalions mess steward sitting in a chair reading an old magazine.

I try to shake my head as I know that cannot be right. After all, I was branded and dropped off. Maybe it was a dream or something, I think to myself.

I then see him look up from the magazine and he sees I am awake “Just relax sir, I will go get a nurse.”

As I lay there, I notice the sounds of two other ponies breathing nearby. I wonder who they are. I then began to wonder if they might be Funnel Cloud and Storm Rider.

Soon I hear the clop of hooves on a tile floor approaching. I want to sit up, but I still feel too groggy.

Soon I see Mid Rats leading an earth pony mare who is wearing a white coat and a nurse’s hat over to me.

She looks me in the eyes and asks, “How are you feeling?”

My mouth is dry, and I try to answer but I have a hard time saying anything. I know this familiar feeling and force myself to tell her, “Water.”

She nods, “Just a second and I will get you some Mister Lightning.”

As she walks away, Mid Rats, seeing my confusion explains, “I told her yours, the XO’s, and the Sergeant Major's names when we arrived here, Sir.”

I move my ears in acknowledgement of what he has said, just as she returns with a bowl of water and a straw. She puts the straw between my lips and at first, I accidentally blow a few bubbles, then I start to draw some of the cool liquid into my mouth.

I must have drunk half the bowl before I stop. With my mouth moistened again, I croak out, “Where am I?”

The nurse smiles gently and tells me, “You are in the Hospital at Manesville. Do you remember how you got here?”

I move my ears negatively and tell her, “Not really. Last, I remember was hitting the ground after being pushed out of a Vertibuck and asking a ghoul for help.”

She nods, “That sounds about right from what I have been told.”

As we are talking, she takes my vitals and makes some notes. Once she is finished, she tells me, “I will let the doctor know you are awake.”

I move my ears affirmatively and keep my head on my pillow. I look at Mid Rats and ask, “How did you end up here?”

He shrugs, “No big deal, sir, I was with the group that they had beat you three, and then escort you to be abandoned. Well, after they kicked you out, I saw a group of those things they call ghouls approaching all of you and I jumped out of the Vertibuck to try to protect you. By the time I got there, I heard them talking and you ask them for help.” He pauses before he continues, “Sir, I thought they were going to attack you. I could not allow that. But when I saw they were there to help you, it changed things.”

I really appreciate him doing so, but I have to ask, “What about your family?”

I see sadness wash over his face, “Sir, what family I had, died when the megaspell hit Thunderhead. I have nothing left back there.”

“Where are the others?” I ask.

He has a sober expression on his face, “They are in the other two beds of this room. They took a harder beating than you did.”

Right after he says this, I see another new mare enter the room. She is wearing a white coat and has a stethoscope hanging from her neck. She goes straight to the chart hanging at the end of my bed and quickly reviews it. Once she is done, she approaches me and asks, “How are you doing Mister Lighting?”

“Surviving doctor.”

“That you are. Looking at your charts here, I can tell this is not your first time surviving either. Is there anything special about you we should know?”

I think briefly and give her a brief rundown of my medical history. Once done she tells me, “Thank you, that should help with your treatment. I know you have been out for a while but perhaps you should try to get some more rest.”

I am feeling tired still, so I tell her, “That sounds good Doctor. Thank you.”

After she leaves, I ask Mid Rats, “So where are we? I mean other and a non-Enclave hospital.”

“Sir, we are in that place Manesville that they talked about on the radio. They dropped you three off at an old pegasus port that is now part of what they call Dead Quiet.”

I nod in understanding. He then tells me, “Sir, I have that letter you left on your desk, with me. If I may ask, who is Sunset Water?”

I try not to smile but fail before I answer, “Mid, he is a wild pegasus who makes his home near here. I first ran into him down in Hoofington. While I would like to consider him a friend, he is at least a professional acquaintance.”

I see the question in his expression and as tired as I am, I force myself to focus and tell him, “I was working on special missions for the Enclave groundside, and we ran into each other. Over the last couple of years, we ran into each other as well as the rest of the group he runs with. They call themselves repair ponies.”

I have just said that when I hear another voice from the doorway, “So you know the Repair Ponies do you?”

He has a bit of a Thunderhead accent so I look as best as I can for the owner of the voice, and I see a pegasus stallion in a military uniform. My eye follows him, and I notice he has a medical emblem on his collar. I also notice that he too wears the brand of a Dashite.

He nods, “I am Doctor Charity, and I am with the NCRA here in Manesville. I know you are tired right now, but we have a few questions for you.”

I sigh slightly as I have just woken up, but I understand. “Okay doctor, I will answer them the best I can.”

He then asks me the typical questions. After I answer them, he asks me about the other two who were dropped off with me. I give him what information I can. Then he tells me, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate your candidness.”

He then tells me, “By the way, I have known most of the Repair Ponies since they were young.” He chuckles briefly, “Well, Choo is an exception. I have been her doctor since she was with the 1st Manesville. An interesting mare to say the least.”

I nod, “That she is. Sunny, though, is the one I have gotten to know the best. To be honest, this is the first time in a while that I have regained consciousness in a hospital that I have not either visited by him or been told he had.”

He looks at me over the top of a pair of spectacles he had put on while looking at my chart. “Really, and where were you that when he visited you?”

Groggily I tell him, “Thunderhead at the Nightengale Military Hospital.”

He shakes his head, “So that rumor was true.”

From the chair next to me I hear Mid Rats say, “Sir, he snuck into Thunderhead too?”

I try to nod then answer, “Yes he did.”

I can barely see his eyes are wide, his ears forward and he has to fight his wings down as he says, “And he snuck into the Brigade HQ to send you that message? By Celestia.”

I notice the doctor's head almost spins to look at Mid Rats as he asks, “Are you serious?”

Mid Rats quietly answers, “Yes sir, we are. I have a note from him to the Colonel, I hid it to keep the state police directorate from getting ahold of it. I figured if they found it, he would have been executed instead of just branded.”

Charity looks at him and then asks, “I see you are not branded, but you are here. How come?”

“Sir, he was one of the best and most loyal officers I have ever worked for. What they did was just not right.”

“Perhaps, but still,” the doctor tells him.

He notices I am almost ready to fall asleep and tells me, “I best let you get some more rest. I will be back to follow up with you later and to give you someone else who wears the brand to talk to if you need it.”

“Thanks, Doctor, I appreciate it.”

As he leaves, I tell Mid Rats, “You should go get something to eat and some sleep.” I feel my eyes getting heavy and I force myself to talk a bit more as I tell him, “Thanks Mid Rats for being willing to fight for me.”

“No problem, sir, get some rest and I will be here when you wake up.”

I then fall back into a fitful sleep.

When I wake up again, I can see sunlight coming in through my window and I hear Mid Rats talking quietly with someone else in the room.

“I had to do it Sergeant Major, I could not stand what they did to you all, much less the thought of those monsters possibly attacking you. Well, at least I thought they were monsters.”

“So, you jumped out with no weapon?”

He laughs lightly, “No, I had my carbine with me. We all had to have side arms as part of the punishment escort detail.

“And you got assigned to this detail?”

“No Sergeant Major, I volunteered for it. The rest were forced, but I figured I would try to help you all anyway I could through it.”

“I appreciate it, but I hope you won’t regret having hopped out of that Vertibuck.”

“I do not think so. Why you all have been asleep the locals have begun talking to me about a job, housing and even becoming a full-time resident. I got a couple of ideas right now.”

“I am glad to hear that. Last time we were through here it seemed like a decent place.”

“Sergeant Major, how could you have been here before?”

I hear him sigh and he answers, “I was with Ball on a special mission to recon the area and we were captured.”

“How did they treat you?” he asks.

“Pretty well actually.” He stops and then adds, “They gave us a tour of a small village they called White Cloud. The place is a bit rustic still, but honestly, it is one of the nicest communities I have seen dirtside.”

I then begin to move on my bed so I can see them both. “Morning you two.”

“Good afternoon,” they both reply.

I look towards Storm Rider and ask them, “How is she doing?”

I see worry on both of their faces and Funnel tells me, “I am not sure. She still has not woken up.”

“Mid, can you bring me her charts?”

He looks at me and shrugs, “Sure sir.”

He hooves me her chart and I begin to read. I notice that both of her wings had been broken as well as one of her legs. She also had broken ribs which gave her a punctured lung. I continue to read what her treatment has been and nod my head in agreement with them, including their keeping her in a spell-induced sleep while she heals.

As I am looking at them, I hear somepony clearing their throat from the doorway. I look up and I see Doctor Charity looking at me while leaning against the frame. “Does our treatment of her meet your approval?” he asks in a slightly irritated tone of voice.

I nod, “Yes, but I am concerned about how bad her internal injuries might be.”

“Interesting, what are your concerns and why?” He asks.

He and I then have a long discussion about all of our injuries and treatments. Once we are finished, he asks, “Why did you start to study medicine seeing you seemed to have what should have been a promising military career?”

I tell him, “I have been studying medicine for almost two years now in my spare time. Originally, I wanted to know more about what had happened to me. Then I realized that I enjoyed learning about it. I was thinking about becoming a doctor after I got out of the service. But I guess I can forget about that now.”

I hear him laugh lightly, “Don’t be too hasty about that. Once you are done healing up, I think we need to talk if you are serious about entering the field. During the big fight here, we lost a few of our doctors, and to be honest, down here there is no real medical school, and all too often we got some pony who was taught by somepony else a bit of basic first aid and they try to hang out a shingle. Some continue to learn and succeed, others, well, they can cost ponies their health and lives through their ignorance and ineptitude.”

I think about this briefly and then I ask him, “How did you become a doctor here?”

He smiles as he remembers some unknown memory. Then he tells me, “After my sisters and I arrived here, my sister Faith was badly injured in the fight with the Spring Monsoon. We dragged her to the stable medical department. The medic who was with us held her gun on the doctor who was refusing to treat her right way because she was a pegasus. I told the doctor I was trained as a nurse and would help him treat her along with the medic.”

I hear him sigh before he then continues, “We saved my sister, and they found out how much I knew. They then offered me a commission as an army doctor with the old Co-op Defense Force, which I took. I have been doing that every sense.”

“How is your sister doing now?”

He closes his eyes. Shakes his head and tells me, “She has been in a wheelchair since then. However, she has also had three foals with her husband Captain Cloud Dodger.”

I think about what he has said, and then I ask, “How are they set for doctors over in White Cloud?”

He tilts his head and asks, “You thinking of hanging out a shingle then?”

“Perhaps. My wife, if she knows I am alive and if she can make it here, is a trained combat medic as well. We had talked about once I got out, setting up an office at the RDS in Hoofington.”

“Do you think she could handle living ground side like this?”

I smile and answer, “Yeah, I do.”

I hear Funnel stifle a laugh as he adds, “Last time we were here, those two got married over in the POW camp here in Manesville.”

“Tell you what, if you are serious about becoming a doctor here in the Manesville region, I will see if we can set you up with an apprenticeship to hone your skills before you hang that shingle.” He pauses then adds, “I would suggest you become an army doctor like me, but having seen your medical condition, I would not recommend that.”

“Thanks, Doc, I really appreciate it.”

He grins, “Hey, we dashites have to try and help each other.” He then turns to Funnel and tells him, “It might be a while until we can get a replacement leg for you. I am sorry, but our best source right now is from Harness, down by Hackamore. Just to warn you though, you will have to figure out how to purchase it.”

“I figured as much. It is a shame, but I do understand, those things do not grow on trees.”

We talk with him for a bit more. Then before he departs for the day, he tells us, “You two are doing pretty well and I am happy with your progress. Tomorrow we are going to drop the spell on your companion there. So the civilian doctors and I will most likely be spending more time treating and talking with her for the next couple of days.”

“Thanks for letting us know Doc,” Funnel Cloud tells him.

I nod my head in agreement and tell him, “Have a good night, sir, and thanks again.” After we say this, he heads out the door as someone brings in a cart with our dinner meals on it.

Mid Rats looks at the meals and smiles as he shakes his head, “Enjoy you two, I will see if I can scrounge up some apples for you two while I go and get some dinner.” And I find myself smiling as he scampers out the door and I hear a mare ask, “So you ready to go out to the Milkweed for dinner?”

I find myself thinking, no matter what, life does go on. I just hope my family can find me as we planned so long ago.

*****

Mega Mart, Hoofington, Lunar Commonwealth: Air Burst.

As we arrive at the main gate in the junk fence that surrounds what was the front parking lot for Mega Mart, I notice that the guard there is one I was familiar with from before.

“Good to see you again Fireworks,” he says to me.

“Good to see you again too Cash Box. Anything new since the last time I was here?” I ask.

He nods his head, “Yeah. In case you haven’t heard; Salvage Value was gunned down by a team of assassins right in the middle of the store.”

I act surprised at this news and ask, “Did Gun kill all of them?”

He shakes his head, “No, that is the weird part, it did not even begin to move until some of Salvage’s people started to shoot back.”

I shake my head and ask, “Any idea of why it didn’t?”

He scrunches his muzzle as if he had tasted something bad, before he tells me, “Nothing beyond guesses.”

“Do you know who they were?”

“I was told that it was that group from a while back that had a blue alicorn with them. The one that was escorting a caravan out of the NCR. You know.”

I act like I am thinking back to those days and tell him, “Not sure. I remember a group a while back that had a blue with them. Some of my old team members and I had a few drinks around their campfire with one group like that, but I am not sure if that was them. Besides I cannot even remember their names.”

“Yeah, none of us can either. Somepony said that one of our old team members, ran off with some of them a while back. But you know how rumors are.”

I nod my head, “Yes, I do. Well, we best get moving; we have some supplies to trade and pick up before it gets dark.”

The guard then asks, “Do you plan on camping here tonight?"

I nod my head, “Yes, we do.”

“Okay, so throw an extra ten caps on top of the cost for the rest of you.”

I am a bit surprised, and tell him, “I thought camping here was free.”

He shrugs, “It was, but we had to hire more guards since that little incident we just talked about.”

I hoof him the required caps and he tells all of us, “Welcome to Mega Mart. I hope you enjoy your shopping experience.”

Once we are all through the gate, we begin to look for a place to park our new cart that we just happened to find left unguarded by a Volunteer Corps office. Perhaps it was wrong, but we had some of the young ones go inside to distract the staff there as Alto and I grabbed it.

Of course, it did not help that the night before I had to tell everyone, except Alto and Sundancer, “Okay everyone, if you hear any of the locals call me Fireworks, I need you to roll with it. Act like you call me that all the time.”

After I say this, Wind Dancer, Sundancer’s mother asks, “Why would they call you something other than your name?”

Before I can answer, her daughter tells her, “Because that was the name he used when we ran missions dirtside with our team.”

Her mother seemed confused and asked, “What do you mean ran missions? Don’t you mean assignments with the VC?”

I see Kind Heart’s eyes go wide as she realizes what we are trying to say. Alto seems amused for his part, and the youngsters all begin to get excited as they realize there is more to their parents than they expected. Sundancer lets out an exasperated breath and tells her, “Mom, we were intelligence agents for the Enclave. The VC was our cover, and we were rather good at it.”

“How good?” she asks.

“Mom, let’s just say we helped the Enclave a lot and that time I was missing was because our team was captured when we infiltrated the Manesville region.”

Normally I would not have said anything or allowed Sundancer to say anything about those times. But let us be honest, there is no going back now.

I nod and tell her, “Wind, your daughter was the medic for our team. If not for her, several others would not have survived. Including your son-in-law. She is good.”

Her mother’s jaw drops at this. From the side I see Kind Heart smiling and shaking her head. Then she says, “No wonder you guys did not hesitate to run for it.”

“Exactly. That is also why I have a cache we can use, set up near each VC office. Just in case of emergencies like this,” I tell her.

When I say this, I see both Savanna and Scout smile broadly, “Can we help you get them?”

I pause and look at their mother, before answering, “I could use a couple of you to help me recover the nearest cache and watch over it, while we borrow a cart from the VC. I even have a plan on how to have some of you distract the staff at that outpost while Alto and I grab the wagon.”

The adults all solemnly nod while the older of the youngsters smile broadly at this chance to be useful and if I do not miss my guess, to prove to their mother that they can follow in her hoofprints. So, I begin to lay out a plan, which with a few minor adjustments we then begin.

We wait until it is dark. Both Sundancer and Wind Dancer carry the youngest two in their foal carriers. Kind Heart, takes Scraps, Lil’ Bit, Bent Plate, and Patch Work with her, to beg for some food and a blanket.

Once they are inside for a bit, the rest of us sneak outside and harness Alto into the cart. We slowly move it away so as not to make too much noise and stop when we reach Scout and Savanna with the cache.

We loaded the cache of a few better-conditioned weapons and some changes of ID for me. Also a couple of sets of clothing and web gear as well as a flour sack of bottle caps I had collected every chance I could and would add to when I passed by it.

We wait for another couple of hours when the rest return. Each has a blanket with them as well as a pack of rations. That will help I think to myself. Once they arrive, we all move out until we are past Dead Quite, where we stop for the night in another abandoned building.

After we have moved the cart inside of it and set up a basic camp, I notice Wind Dancer seems uncomfortable, and I hear Scout tell her, “Don’t worry Granny, we used to stay in buildings like this all the time before Mom and Dad adopted us.”

I am brought out of my reminiscing by shaking my head and then I notice a nice open area with a fire ring that is next to a caravan that I think I remember from before. I lead the others to it and once we are set up, I tell Sundancer, “I will be back, I want to scope out the inside for a few vendors.”

She then says to me, “Savanna and I will go with you.” She then tells the others, “Ma, Kind, please watch the rest of the kids for me while we go inside.”

The three of us make our way inside. In the middle of the main aisleway leading to the back, I can see blood stains on the floor that were not there the last time I was here. I look back to where Salvage Value had his shop and I shake my head as it has been replaced by a new merchant who sells armor and clothing, but not weapons.

As we walk through, I look more for provisions and ammo rather than weapons or armor. We have just come around the back end of the market when I see an older griffon who has a stall that specializes in armor. As we approach Savanna notices a set of griffon light armor. I see her eyes light up as she examines it.

As she looks at it, I can tell how much she wants it, but her mother tells her, “I am sorry dear we do not have the caps for it right now.”

“I understand Mom.”

I see the trader look at them with disdain mixed with curiosity. He then asks, “Mom?”

Savanna nods her head and tells him, “Yes sir, she adopted me and most of my siblings.”

He scratches under his beak with a talon, “Interesting. Now young hen, why would one such as yourself be looking for armor?”

She poofs out her chest feathers and tells him, “So I can better protect my family.”

He shakes his head, “I can tell you have been raised by ponies. I bet you have never worked a sale in your life.”

I can tell Sundancer is insulted and I would be if I were the type, but I notice a change in Savanna’s attitude, as she says, “Perhaps you are correct, but then again, by looking at your stock, I am sure we can find better elsewhere, I mean we only have myself, my older brother and a few others to armor and perhaps get some long coats and hats from, but I am sure you do not need out caps.” She turns to Sundancer and tells her, “Let’s go Mom, I am sure we wouldn’t find anything we want in our price range.”

Suddenly as we begin to turn away to move on, I hear the old bird squawk and he then says, “Perhaps I was too hasty in my words. I am sure I have some things that may be within your budget.”

Sundancer looks at me and I shrug my wings. It is up to her. I should have more than enough caps right now and I can get more just by going to the Collegiate VC station.

“Let’s look around a bit more. We can always come back later,” Sundancer tells her.

We perform a walk-through and then return to our cart and makeshift camp. On our way, we discuss what we saw and what we think we should pick up and we agree to taking Scout, Savanna and some of the others in to pick up the items we will need after supper.

As we arrive Kind Heart greets us and reports, “A bit ago Lil’ Bit overheard the caravan next to us had an injured pony. She went over and offered to assist; she is still there.”

“I better go round her up,” Sundancer tells her.

I sigh and tell her, “I will go with you in case there is any trouble.”

We walk the short distance and from one of the wagons I hear Lil’Bit say, “Ok, I am almost done with these stitches. If you have any healing salve, I will put that on for you as well.”

We are almost to the wagon when an older earthpony stallion who is wearing an eyepatch asks, “You need something?”

Before I can say anything Sundancer tells him, “I was told my daughter was over here helping.”

He shifts his hind leg to rest a bit and asks, “The little pegasus filly who knows how to perform stitches?”

She nods, “Yes, she goes by the name of Lil’ Bit.”

He squints his one eye and asks, “She said her ma was a medic and she learned from her.”

She nods her head, “Yes, she got her cutie mark while helping the wounded with me in Thunderhead.”

“Interesting. I see you have several of you that are old enough to run guard duties, you all wouldn’t be looking for a job would you?”

This gets my interest, and I ask, “Where are you heading?”

“Where do you plan on heading?" he asks instead of answering.

I then hear Lil’ Bit say, “We are heading to Manesville, right Uncle Fireworks.”

From the side, I hear one of the brahmin let out a moo and I see surprise come over the caravanner's face. He then tells us, “Well, we are not heading that far, we are only heading to Hackamore. But that area has a connection with Manesville, so maybe they can help you setup the next leg of your travels there.”

I am not happy at all with Lil’ Bit telling them where we are going. I look at Sundancer and she shrugs before signaling with her ears affirmative. I then ask, “What are you paying?”

He sets out a pay rate that seems a little low, but then he adds, “You will eat out of the caravan wagon and when we arrive at the E-3 Oasis I will be paying for showers for the whole crew.”

I think briefly then tell him, “Sounds fair. When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning. In a bit supper will be ready and I want your entire crew to eat with us. Oh, and I saw a couple of very young ones with you. They will be riding as we travel.”

He then looks at Sundancer and asks, “Are you, their mother?”

“Yes sir, they are still nursing, but I do not think that will be a problem.”

“Okay, but if you need to ride too, do so. I am sure you can still be an escort from the back of your cart.” He then looks at me and says, “I know your name is Fire Works,” he turns to Sundancer and says, “I am sure yours is not really Mom. So what do I call you?”

She smiles, “I am Sundancer. I will introduce you to the rest if you want to come over to our camp. I really do not want to leave our stuff unguarded.”

He nods and grins, “That makes sense. Good call.” He then tells us, “Oh, and you can call me Trader Jewel.”

*****

Good evening to all my listeners out there in the NCR, tonight we have plenty to talk about in the news as well as tips you can use in the waste. I am Broadcast Nights, and I am coming to you from Junction Town.

Leading tonight’s news we have continued reports of pirates making raids against several smaller settlements as well as shipping. The latest report tells us that the NCRN vessel River Bottom was severely damaged in combat with pirates just north of Two Step Transfer and near the mouth of the Hoof Rock River. They report having sunk two steamer launches as well as damaging three more. With a loss of five crew ponies.

Closer to home here in Junction Town, we have received a trade delegation from the Lunar Commonwealth as well as two representatives from Thunderhead. Though the latter have stated they are not official representatives of the Grand Pegasus Enclave.

For the local weather news, we have rain scheduled from the Canterlot-Foal mountains gap to just east of Junction town for one hour tomorrow afternoon thanks to the S.P.P. and the Light Bringer.

For those of you traveling by hoof through that area and need water, it would be a good time to collect it. Remember that water found in deep crevasses or holes may not have been touched by the Gardens of Equestria and could still be contaminated by I.M.P. or Magical radiation. If you have a Pip Buck use it to check water from those sources before you use it.

In other news, Baltimare has recently received a diplomatic team to discuss the possibility of them joining the NCR. They have brought with them their concerns about the equal treatment of all their citizens no matter what species they may be.

In local sports, the Track Layers have defeated the Air Bubbles 3 to 2 in overtime. This is the first time either team has played buckball since before the recent war. Good Job Track Layers.

With that out of the way, I will play our next song. Coming to you now is Hey Brother.

Author's Note

The reset set continues and some of our old characters are meeting again such as the Troubleshooters, the Fixers, and the Repair Ponies. Though they have not yet been released from service yet, so they are having to follow orders from their higher ups. It does make you wonder just what they will find with three teams of auxillary Rangers working together.

We also see two groups of older characters meeting and working together for the first time. Hopefully this bodes well for Air Burst and Ball Lightning's family, as well as Trader Jewel's caravan. I hope you enjoy getting to see things from Air Burst perspective during this time.

For those who would like to listen to this chapters song, the YouTube link is: Hey Brother:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Fb6XozEx8