Chapter 77 Survivors

“When you’re placed in a world where survival is the main focus, a lot of that other stuff, like wrongdoings in the past, become obsolete. You have to focus on the here and now.” – Alycia Debnam-Carey

Baltimare Colt, East of Oil Town, Wastelands; Ginger Snaps

The last two days as we traveled east and closer to the big river, we have continued to conduct training and the occasional air ops as Flight Plan and his crew go high to recon ahead of us. I am with most of our team in our berthing compartment as we have a messenger knock on the door frame and I hear the crew pony say, “Flight Plan, the captain says we have smoke in the distance, she wants you to go aloft and check it out.”

I hear the older pegasus stallion groan as he stands up, shakes his muscles loose, and replies, “Gotcha, let her know we are on our way.”

Right after the crew pony leaves, he tells his flight crew, “Let’s go people.”

As they get ready to leave I hear Morning Mist ask, “Can I go with them?”

Beside him, Double Back nods his head as well. Choo looks at them and asks, “Flight Plan would you like a team to be with you to check things out if you find something?”

He shrugs his wings, “Sure, why not? Have them meet me on the flight deck in ten.”

She then tells me, “Ginger, let us mix things up a bit, I want you to go with them and take Ember Rose with you.”

I raise an eyebrow but simply reply, “Yes boss.” I then tell the others, “You heard the mare, grab your gear. We have a bird to ride.”

Tater issues us out our ammo and long arms and tells me, “Your SIR felt a bit sloppy when I checked the breach. When you get back, I want to do a deep check on it.”

“Sounds good Tater, do you think it is still safe?”

He nods his head, “It should be, I just want to check for excessive wear is all.”

“Okay, I will talk to you when we get back.”

“Sounds good,” he tells me then calls out, “Next.”

As I step aside, Ember Rose steps up and takes my place.

Once the four of us are ready, as a group we make our way to the flight deck.

I can see Flight Plan and Cloud Bank in the cockpit, strapped in, and going through the preflight checks. We stop and wait for Load Shift to come and tell us to load, and when he does, we move at the trot behind him as the rotors begin to slowly spin.

He directs us all where to sit and once we do, he plugs his helmet headset back in and I can see him say something to the others over his mic.

A short wait later I hear the engines speed up and we begin to take flight again. Before too much longer we are circling what looks like the still smoldering remains of a riverside village through the side window.

I stand up and yell to Load Shift, “Have him drop us off in that clearing over there,” As I point towards a clearing a bit further inland.

He says something into his mic, and we move in that direction. Once over it, Flight Plan brings us into a low hover and once the ramp is lowered, we leap the last six feet to the ground. We Form a square as we face out. The Hot Shot 2 then gains altitude again and we begin to move towards the village.

As we near it we can smell cooked meat and burned fur. “Hot Pepper, you are on point.”

“Roger Cookie,” she tells me as she slowly moves out in front of us.

Before too much longer she reaches the first of the smoldering ruins. As she moves towards the still standing remains of another one, we move up to join her. We look for any survivors or clues as to what has happened. Near the riverbank I can see several small fishing boats that have had the bottoms damaged, and their nets cut up.

I signal the others with my ears to fall back to the clearing and as we do I call over the radio for a pickup.

While we are waiting, I see some movement to the side and two yellow dots in my EFS. I turn on my SATS and I am targeting a villager.

We all freeze, and I call out, “If you need help, come on out, if not we are leaving.”

I hear a young filly call out, “Help me, my ma is hurt bad.”

I signal to the others, and we trot over to brush, and I find a barely school-age filly with a wound mare, that is unconscious.”

I look over the mare’s wounds and I use a healing spell right away so hopefully she will survive until Choo or the ship's doc can work on her. I tell the filly, “We are leaving but we will take you and your mom with us to get you help.”

She seems almost in shock and simply nods her head. As I am talking with the young one and packing one of the wounds that the healing spell did not completely heal, Double Back pulls a folding canvas stretcher out of Morning Mist saddlebags and we move the mare onto it. We then lift the mare with our mouths on each corner strap of it as we move her to the LZ.

I pop a smoke grenade to the side of the LZ to let them know we are ready. Once they come in for the pick-up, we carry her and the filly inside and make our way back to the Colt.

Once onboard the mother is rushed to medical, and the filly is joined by some of the other young ones from on board.

I hear one filly ask her, “What happened to your ma?”

The filly, crying, answers, “Pa said river raiders were attacking. One of them shot Ma while we were hiding.”

I stop what I am doing and listen as the crew filly asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”

The other one nods and starts to tell her about how the river raiders or pirates had sailed up the river and had attacked without warning. However, I do hear her also say, “They didn’t kill everyone, some they took with them. I don’t know why.”

Several other of the youngsters come over to hear and I hear her name is Spinner and the village we found her at was called Cattail Springs. I then see one of the senior crewmembers approach and I tell him what is going on. He nods his head and tells me, “Go take care of your kit, I will watch her.”

“Thanks, Monkey Fist,” I tell him before I head below.

Once there, we are back to our standard routine. At dinner that night I hear the ship's doctor was able to save the mother, but that she was still unconscious. Rust hears this and tells her doctor, “Let the little one sleep in the room with her mother if you can. During the daytime we can have her run with the other youngsters. Besides, with her name, I am pretty sure she knows the ropes for sailing by now.”

“Yes ma’am. I heard a couple of the other youngsters talking about it.”

She sighs and shakes her head slowly with her eyes closed. “If only the end of the war would have made things safe for everyone.” She opens her eyes, “But that is why we are out here still instead of on our way back to Manesville.”

Later that evening we reach the fork of the western river and the big river, and we drop anchor off of the north shore. On the south side we can see several wrecked boats on the shoreline. As I look to the north shore Morning Glen tells me, “That was the furthest I made it. Maybe we should let the captain know that there is a lot of dead fall wood there. Also, when I was here last time those boats were not there yet.”

“I will have Choo let the captain know. Thanks for telling me,” I tell him.

Once I tell her, Choo tells me, “I will let her know. I think we may have to provide a bit of security for the work party, so let Tater and Twinks know to begin the preps for it.”

Tater and Twinks are both hard at work when she returns to tell us, “Mort, the captain wants your team to provide security for the work party. Repair Ponies, we are going upriver a bit in the Hot Shot 2.” She pauses, Mudwing she asks that your people stand by as a reserve in case either of the other teams need the help.” She pauses again and then says, Okay Repair Ponies let’s move it.”

As she says this, I can hear the Hot Shot warming up on the flight deck. We grab our weapons and kits and follow her as she leads us out to our next job.

*****

Hot Shot 2, northbound along the Big River, Wastelands: Xochitl

The sun was most of the way down when we took off. In the dark, we can see the flames from campfires or candles as those on the ground fight the darkness in their own way.

I look around at the others with us and I can see that Cowlick has already fallen asleep. Next to him,Twinks is leaning against Tater, occasionally shifting as she tries to get comfortable.

I look forward and I see Choo is looking forward through the cockpit. Looking back, I see Sunny and Morning Mist both looking at the rear ramp nervously. Morning Glen I can see has his eyes closed and I see his lips move in what is either a meditative chant, or a prayer. Each of us is dealing with our passage through the night in our own way.

Before too much longer I begin to feel myself drift away. I am brought back to reality as I feel the rotors shift and we slow down as we begin the pattern of a landing. Seconds later I see Load Shift hustle past us, and he opens the rear landing ramp.

It is dark outside, but we have our NODs with us, and we shift them on as we get ready to disembark. When the aircraft stops moving, I next hear Load Shift yelling, “Move! Move! Move!” and we run down the ramp into the gray-green night of our NODs.

As we go I can see are near what looks to be an old airfield next to the river. We fan out and form a perimeter as the Hot Shot 2 leaps skyward and begins to orbit above us. Then over my radio earphone I hear Choo say, “Flower, your set leads us out, Check out those buildings closest to the hangers first.”

“Roger, boss.”

I then lead off with Morning Glen right behind me, followed by Morning Mist, Double Back, and Ember Rose.”

Soon we are walking amongst the wreckage of an old Equestrian military base. Most of the buildings still stand. However, where there is exposed metal we can see where paint had once been pealed off by heat. Most of the wood here has been charred. Over my headset I hear Morning Mist say, “Flower, I think this place was hit by a Balefire Bomb airburst.”

Buck! That means we have to watch out for ferals, I think to myself.

I then hear Choo say, “Keep your eyes open people, I want at least one person in each set using EFS right now.”

I keep mine off, but Morning Mist turns his on and alerts me to turn mine on. When I do I see more red dots than I like. “Big Blue, I see a large number of hostiles over by that large concrete building. The one just this side of the Hangers and control towers.”

“I see them, Flower. Keep advancing,” she answers back.

We still do not see any creatures in the direction of the dots as we get near the building, and I notice some of the dots are now behind us. Buck, this is why the NCRA wanted to do away with EFS. It just gives bearings to hostiles, not range or elevation. I look up and still see nothing. I look down and I see the dots are still there, so I guess we do not go down.

I then hear Choo Choo say, “Okay we are going to canvas these buildings to see if we can use them still. Be alert and let me know if you find hatches or doorways leading down.”

Buck me to Tartarus, I hate going underground and for some reason, she wants to it seems, I think to myself, at least I thought I did until I hear Morning Glen snort in amusement. “I guess I said that out loud?”

He nods his head and quietly says, “You could say that. I am pretty sure the rest of the team heard you say that too.

I feel my face burning as I shake my head and then continue inside the first of the large concrete buildings.

Inside I can see the remains of several ponies that are all long dead. I am just beginning to wonder why the do not have any automated defenses activated when I hear a loud voice call out, “Who is the dirty Zebra loving bastards that want their asses kicked!”

I look behind me, in the direction I heard it come from, and I watch as Twinks and some of the others with her engage a floating ball with several mechanical arms as it flies towards them shooting mew beams and its buzzsaw spinning. Great a militarized Mister Hoovesy. Just what we needed.

I am considering going back when I hear Ember Rose say, “Lookout!” as she brings her carbine around and shoots a wall-mounted turret that had just popped out of its stowed position.

We end up drawing in several more robots including a couple of ponytrons and one Sentry. The last one nearly had us all panicking until we noticed it was already damaged and was having a hard time bringing its weapons to bear on us.

It is finally taken out by a pulse grenade that Twinks had been carrying ever since that part of the team encountered robots in the Foal Mountains.

Once we are sure that no more robots are going to show up, we continue to inspect the building. Eventually, we find a stairway with a sign that reads Fallout Shelter, and an arrow pointing down them. As we make our way down the stairwell, I receive a minor wound from another of those concealed turrets that I treat with a quick bandage.

Over the radio, I hear Choo tell Ginger to take her team to the next level of the building as she and some of the others check out the hangers.

When we get to the bottom of the stairwell, I find a door that is sealed with a keypad lock. Around the door are several skeletons of those who were trying to get in.

We check the bodies for any keys of a possible combination code to enter but find nothing. I then call to Choo, “Big Blue, this is Flower, I am going to need Danger to get this door open.”

I hear her sigh over the radio as I hear a few gunshots in the background. “Roger Flower, I will haver her get there as soon as possible. We are dealing with a few ferals right now.”

“Understood Boss, we will return to the top of the stairwell until then.”

We fall back and wait. As we sit there, I notice the office door not far behind what must have been a receptionist desk. I move closer and then wipe the dust and soot from the name placard on it and find it is the base CO’s office. I try the door, and it is locked. Morning Mist comes over and examines it. He then tries to jimmy the lock with a boobie pin and a screwdriver. After the third pin, he has a look of disgust on his face as he takes out some det cord and sets it against the area of the lock plate as well as where he thinks the hinges are. I then have us all find some cover and he detonates it.

There are three small, almost simultaneous explosions. While the dust clears, I hear Choo over the radio asking, “All section leaders, what was that?”

I immediately report, “Big Blue, Flower, I just had Fog open the base CO’s office with some det cord. Nothing serious.”

“Roger, but request permission next time first. Do you still need Danger to your area?”

“Affirmative Big blue on needing Danger.”

I shrug and I lead the way into the office. The first thing I notice is the bodies of a mare and two foals all huddled together in the corner. I then notice a bottle near them that the label reads, Stable Tec Plan D. I shake my head at this then I hear Morning Glen call my attention towards another part of the room. There is the body of a stallion that is half laying across the desk. By his collar insignia, I can guess he was the base commander.

I notice the computer terminal screen is still active and I begin to read it. It is a message from his superiors warning of the inbound megaspell and balefire bomb attack from the last day and ordered all senior commanders and specialitst to take shelter immediately. All defensive aircraft to also be launched immediately.

I shake my head and notice a note partially hidden under the body. I slowly roll him from it and read the stallion's last words,

We have received word that I have feared for some time was coming. The damned fools have gone and done it. They have killed us all. I am supposed to join some others in our shelter below to be placed in cryosleep and to wait out the storm.

I, I just cannot do that. They want me to leave my family behind to die while I go hide and hope that someday, somepony will come along to release me from a frozen tomb, or to wait until it fails, and I die trapped and alone. I cannot do that. Instead, I will join my family, and we will pass through the gates of Elysium together. We have all taken Stable-Tec's Plan D. May Celestia Forgive me, and I pray she and Luna welcome me to the afterlife. If anypony finds this, there should be several survivors below in the shelter in cryosleep. Please help them if you can. The passcode to the shelter door is 472311. Goddess bles

I look up and shake my head. I then tell the others, “I have the pass code, let us get moving.”

Soon we are back at the shelter door, and I have Ember Rose enter the code. Once she is done, I hear the clacking as the locking bolts shift and unlock the door. Once it is unlocked and the door open I call Choo, “Big Blue, we have the shelter door open and are preparing to enter. I found the pass code.”

“Roger, Flower, keep me informed,” she tells me.

As I get ready to move forward, Katie slides past me and walks slowly sniffing as we go.

I cannot help but notice several light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, occasionally throwing sparks. As we go we begin to hear a low moaning sound and I see Katie crouch down with the hair on her back standing up as she growls lowly.

I flick on my SATS briefly and I am targeting a feral ghoul who is coming our way down the hallway. As I bring my weapon up it begins to gallop at us. I then accept the shots and while I miss one of the two chest shots, I also hit it in the skull causing it to drop and slide towards us. I then call on the radio, “Big Blue, this is Flower, we have multiple ferals down here. We need backup.”

“I understand Flower. All team elements drop what you are doing and coverage on set one.”

We can hear the moans of the walking undead as they make their way towards where we are. We back up just behind the first intersection we had passed when my Eyes Forward Sparkle shows several red blips moving towards us from down it. If we had not fallen back, we would have been cut off. I release a breath I had been holding when I realize how lucky we have been.

From ahead of use we can see several ghouls running at us, and we begin to fire. Suddenly I hear Ember Rose call out, “Frag outbound,” and I see one being pushed down the hallway into the large group of ferals that are galloping at us.

While we are not injured by the blast, the concussion rings my ears and I feel like I have been slapped by the force of the explosion. However, all the ghouls that were charging at us are down. I feel a bit of relief at first, then I hear more moaning coming our way from in the distance.

I am still shaking away the effects of the concussion when I feel my wife tap me on my shoulder and she tells me, “We are here, what do you have for us?”

I give her a brief rundown and she tells me, “We will cover this intersection until Big Blue gets here.”

“Got it. Let me know when she and her set get up here. I will advance to the next intersection and wait there.”

She nods her head, and I give the order to my set, and we begin to advance to what I figure will be the next intersection, but instead I find it is a large control room.

On the clear glass main screen, I see a map of old Equestria. I can see markings on it that show other airbases and missile defense sites, most of which are crossed out. I am just coming around a set of control desks when I hear the growl of a feral and am knocked down by Katie as she throws herself into me, preventing it from getting a surprise bite into me. As Katie and I begin to fight to get up again, I hear Hot Pepper’s weapon open up on it.

I hear a couple more ferals growling as well as weapons fire from my other team members. By the time I am back on my hooves and ready to retake control. The fighting seems to have ended once again. I look at the wall by the hallway we entered through, and I can see several arrows pointing in different directions and labeled with destinations such as Mess Hall, Security, Latrines, Barracks, and the one that I only expected due to the note in the CO’s office of Cryogenics.

About this time my wife calls over the radio, “Flower this is Cookie, the rest have arrived, and they will be advancing to you.”

“Roger, holding until they arrive Cookie.”

Once they arrive Choo has my set take the lead again as we slowly make our way deeper inside and closer to the cryogenics section.

*****

Fallout Shelter, Tinkers Air Guard Base HQ, Wastelands: Choo Choo

Goddesses, how I am getting tired of going underground and having to deal with ferals. I mean, I do not mind talking with a cognizant ghoul, but ferals, I feel sorry in a way for them, but I will not risk myself of my people for them.

As I enter the old control center, I notice how many of the old cities I had known were already knocked out before those here were hit. I shake my head when I notice that Maripony was already gone as well. I sigh as I remember the events of that day, of my train pulling into the station there and then being directed to run into the local building where we were told to jump into vats of chemicals if we wanted to live, and how I hesitated and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air and landed in one of the tanks.

I then gather my wits again and ask Xochitl, “Flower, do you know anything about the cryogenics here?”

He shakes his head, “Not much boss, just what I gleaned from a computer terminal upstairs that said all of the senior officers and special techs were to report to them during the attack.”

“Okay, we should go check for survivors I guess.”

He nods his head, “That is what I was thinking Boss. Who knows, the way things have been the last couple of years, maybe it will be someone you knew.”

“I really hope not, it is hard enough having to explain to someone that the world was destroyed, much less explain who I am now too.”

I see him lift an eyebrow at my last and then he tells me, “I understand boss.” He then turns to the rest of his team and tells them, “You heard the mare, let us see if we can find any survivors, and keep an eye out for ferals.”

I wait for his set to lead off and then tell those with me, “Let them get ahead a bit and then we follow them.

Twice more as we advance do we run into ferals. Both times we dispatch them. However, one does manage to catch Double Back unaware and when it runs into him, throws him several feet, upon which the others of that set assist the feral with finding his final rest.

Finally, we reach the cryogenics area and Xochitl tells me, “Boss, I will go in first along with a few others. No need to have others see what may have occurred in there if there are no survivors.”

I think briefly on this and tell him, “Perhaps that is best. Go head and call us if you find any survivors.”

It is ten minutes after he leads his team over the radio that I hear him call again, “Big Blue, this is Flower, we are going to need you and Danger in here. We have one, I repeat one survivor, but they are still frozen.”

I take my team in and all around I can see bodies lying on the ground or half in the cryopods. It seems most of them were not able to get into them in time. There are over thirty cryopods in the room. I see a half dozen of them are closed, but only one still has a frosted-over window.

I follow Twinks to the control panel of it and I can see her look at it closely. She turns to me, “Boss, unlike those in Whinnyapolis, these ones do not have locks on them.”

She keeps looking over the screens and I ask, “So will you be able to get this survivor out?”

She snorts slightly, “Getting them out will not be a problem. Getting them out alive, well that could be. Why the buck did they not standardize these things?”

I find myself sighing before I tell her, “Do the best you can Danger.” I then turn and begin to examine the bodies in the room. I find two that are half in cryopods that appear to have been thestrals. Most of those who are lying around the room though are standard ponies.

As Twinks keeps working on what may be a survivor’s pod, I have the others begin to search for anything we or the Colt can use.

The team members sort out weapons, ammo, web gear, and medical supplies. Then it occurs to me, “Flower, take your team to the barracks area and grab some blankets. Then see if the mess hall has anything we can warm up. If that person survives, we are going to need to get some hot food and drink into them.”

He nods and tells me, “On it boss.”

Shortly after this, I hear a mechanical voice from the pod state, Cryo-Stasis process ending, reanimation process has been initiated. Expected termination of reanimation process is 3 hours.

Twinks looks up at me with a smile and tells me, “I guess we have a bit of a wait. I wonder what else they have here that we could use.”

As we wait, several members of our team begin to take the extra equipment we want to take with us upstairs to the HQ building. Others find the mess hall and begin to try and heat some rations that they found for us all to eat as well as the survivor, whomever they are.

By the time we are down to a few minutes left of the reanimation process, I am back at the cryostasis pod along with Twinks. Sunny has just come over to me to let me know that the Hot Shot 2 has taken a load of goods back to the Colt, which they let me know is still loading wood.

He has just finished his report when the pod releases a his of air and begins to open. Sunny jumps back slightly and pops is wings open in surprise. Twinks and I have done this before, so we are not surprised.

Inside is a well-built, middle-aged stallion. His coat is a dark navyblue. His mane and tail match his coat, but with a medium blue swatch through it. As his limbs begin to twitch, I can catch a glimpse of his cutie mark on one hip, which is a heart with flames on it.

I am looking at it when I hear Sunny say in a stunned voice, “Boss, look at his neck.”

I adjust my eyes, and I see it. Around his neck is a dark blue scarf with a large broch of silver with a blue opal gem in the center, which also has a black flaw that makes it look like a batponies pupil. I recognize it instantly. He was a member of the Nightguard.

Before I can say anything the stallion’s eyes pop open, and he screams loudly as he looks around in a panic.

Finally, his eyes land upon me and he stops screaming and I hear him say, “Your majesty, thank you for coming for me.”

I feel myself closing my eyes and taking a deep breath before I answer him, “I am not she, but one who looks much like her. You may call me Choo Choo.”

He seems slightly confused, a side effect of the cyrosleep I suppose, and asks, “Where is she? I must report to her.”

Before I can say anything, Sunny asks me, “Boss, you want me to tell him, or do you?”

While he continues to shift himself, Twinks uses her TK to assist him in sitting up some and then passes him a blanket to help warm him. I then tell Sunny, “I do believe it would be best if I do so.” I pause then asks the stallion, “First, you know my name, what is yours?”

He hesitates as he shivers, “My name is Harts Fire. I have been a member of the Lunar Guard since before the war.”

I nod my head as that makes sense, as during the war, the Lunar Guard was expanded and became the Nightguard. I then ask him, “What do you remember?”

He sits quietly shivering as he thinks. While he does so, I get on my radio and tell some of the others to bring him some soup or tea.

Finally, he answers, “The last thing I remember is getting into this thing. The sirens were blaring outside, and we had reports of a full megaspell and balefire exchange.”

I nod my head, “A lot has happened since that day. Let us get you out of there and get something warm in you to help thaw you out more.”

He looks around the room and I can see him staring at the deterioration and the dead bodies. He then looks at our clothing closely and asks, “How long was I asleep?”

Twinks who until this time was silent quietly answers, “Two hundred and thirteen years.”

He then asks, “Where are the others, have they already been woken up?”

Twinks looks at him sadly and tells him, “Sorry sir, but you are the only survivor of this base. A couple of others were able to get into their pods, but the pods failed before we got here.”

He seems almost stunned. He then asks in a voice I can barely hear, “Who won?”

I feel fire come into my eyes briefly as I answer more sharply than I had meant to, “No one won that damn war. Both sides almost wiped out the entire planet of Eques.”

He reacts as if I had slapped him, “But what of the Princesses? Didn’t they save Equestria?”

This time I answer gently, “No,” I choke up slightly and I tell him, “They could not even save themselves.”

“Damn it.” He says and I can see tears in his eyes.

“Hear, let me help you out of there. Once we get you warmed up, we can catch you up on the world.”

He nods. “Thanks,” he tells me as Sunny, and I assist him out and onto his hooves.

Once he is out of it, we slowly walk with him to the mess hall. Sunny on one side and I on the other. We take him to a table and Box-End brings out a bowl of soup to him.

As he looks around the room, I can see he is morose. “It certainly looks different than the last time I was here.”

I nod and tell him, “I do understand how that it. I went through it myself many times as I traveled the wastelands.”

He lets out a sigh, “So that is what you call it now.”

By now Ginger has arrived, “Some of it, but we have some new nations now. We are aligned with the New Canterlot Republic. Then down in Hoofington we have the Lunar Commonwealth.” As she says this, I see his eyes turn to her and his ears show he is paying attention. She then adds, “Of course, there is also the Grand Pegasus Enclave, but they are trying to reorganize after the recent war with the NCR and its allies as well as their own little civil war.”

He has a look of concern on his face as he asks, “So what do I do now?”

“That is up to you. But I would suggest you leave with us and get some more information about what you want to do. We are heading to the steamship Baltimare Colt and are conducting antipirate operations right now.”

He nods and asks, “So why did you come here then?”

“To make sure it was not being used by the pirates. Being on the bluff over the river it would have been an excellent control point.”

He smiles and nods his head, “That is good to hear. At least you were not here for the portal.”

Half of my team who are with me turn to him with ears forward and Twinks asks, “What portal?”

“It doesn’t really matter, I guess. The reason myself and my team were here was that we were waiting for a portable portal that would have allowed the princess to have evacuated the planet and then returned through it once everything was clear. Last I heard it was still under Canterlot Mountain. I am pretty much sure that it was destroyed in the attacks if both princesses are gone.”

This time Epona starts laughing and he takes offense and tells her curtly, “It is not funny. Perhaps I should consider striking out on my own if this is the way you look at things.”

This time I answer. “It is not that we think it is funny in the way you do. It is just that the Doorway as we call that portal was found over ten years ago. It was still functional once power was resupplied. Most of us have been through it, and Two of my team members originally came from the other side of the doorway.”

He seems intrigued and asks, “So what was it like?”

“Which time? Serendipity has been through that one five times. Mash three. Several others and I, twice. Then there was the one at the MWT hub in Baltimare. Oh, and the one in the MoP hub in the Foal Mountains. Those ones were much more interesting.” I pause then add, “Also it seems that the Zebras had gotten ahold of one as well as we found one in the basement of the Four Stars headquarters in Manehatten.”

His jaw drops. “There was more than one.” He then has a shocked expression on his face as he realizes what I said about Manehatten, and asks, “Four Stars was associated with the Cesar?”

I nod, “Yes, but we have disabled most of them at this time, as for Four Stars, the first I heard of it was while reading the Book of Little Pip. It explains a lot of what the world has become and how. Unfortunately, if you decide to go on your own, we do not have an extra copy of the Wastelands Survival guide. If you survive to make it to a settlement you could always ask them if they have one available.”

He thinks briefly and then asks, “How much would they charge? I do not have a lot of bits.”

I shake my head, “We no longer use bits.”

“So, what do you use for currency, Barter?”

Again, I shake my head, then I tell him, “Would you believe bottle caps?”

“No, really, what do you use?” he asks as he laughs.

*****

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

I look up from the medical journal I am reading as Doctor Charity comes into the room. He nods to me and continues over first to Funnel Cloud, checks his chart, talks briefly with him, and then moves on to Storm Rider. Once there he asks her, “How are you doing?”

At first, she merely grunts, then she looks up at him and asks, “Does it really matter Doctor?”

He tilts his head as he looks at her before he answers, “I would like to think so. After your injuries heal, you should still have a long and healthy life.”

She huffs out some air, “But what will I do with myself now? My entire life was devoted to serving the Enclave in the military, and now that was taken away from me entirely.”

He shifts a bit, then tells her, “I know it seems bad right now, but if you still want to serve and perform military service, perhaps you could join the local NCRA units.”

“Like they would have me,” she all but spits.

“Why, because you are a dashite? Plenty of those here. Infact my old friend Sunset was a former Enclave officer and is the CO for the 1st regiments Scout company. Perhaps I could ask him to come talk to you if you would like.”

She seems to consider it, but still seems irritable as she answers, “Maybe. I do not know.”

He sighs, then tells her, “I will take that as yes, besides, maybe he can help all of you decide if you want to stay in Manesville or not.”

He talks with her a bit more about her treatments and then he comes to me, as he looks over my charts he nods and says to me, “You are looking much better. Soon we will have you out of here.” He pauses and asks, “How are the studies coming?”

“Still interesting. I had not seen this magazine before. It has some very interesting articles in it.”

We then discuss the articles and how the treatments discussed would be applicable now with the reduction in technology available. He then asks, “So, are you considering becoming a doctor with me?”

I think briefly before I answer. Then I tell him, “Perhaps, but I am also thinking of checking out White Cloud and seeing how they are set for a doctor there.”

“Interesting choice. It is a nice small town if you are into that, and honestly, I am not sure how they are set for doctors right now. I know the one midwife who lives over that way and her apprentice both are gone right now. They should be back when the rest of the Manesville Brigade returns.”

“What about their regular doctor?”

“Well, they have had an old sawbones who was working there, but I think they went with the 4th regiment. So, who knows.”

He then tells me, “As you requested, I have sent a message over to the Repair Ponies shop here in Manesville. We should be getting a reply back from them today or tomorrow.”

“Thank you Doctor, I really appreciate it.”

The next day I am surprised when, besides our normal civilian doctor, and Doctor Charity we receive a guest. He is a teale coated, has a black mane and tail, and several scars and is missing half his right ear. He is in uniform, and I can see by his rank insignia he is a captain. I then notice his ribbonbar. While I cannot read all of it, I can read enough to know he is a fighter. After this, I notice he too wears the brand of a Dashite.

Doctor Charity then tells us, “Good morning, everyone. I would like to introduce you to Captain Sunset. He is a long-standing family friend of mine, and he has served the military in Manesville since before the day of Sunshine and Rainbows.”

I raise an eyebrow at this, and I see a surprised look on the face of Storm Rider. The new officer smiles at us and says, “I am glad to get the chance to meet you three. You have all caused a bit of a ruckus with the Colonel and her staff when they heard about your ranks and how you were dropped off here. I am here to just talk with you and to welcome you to Manesville, but I also will answer any questions that you may have as well.”

Storm then, looking down says, “I am sure you would not want us, me in particular serving in your military.”

“Maybe, maybe not. We would need to talk to you and find out more about you. But honestly, if you want a home here, you are already welcome. And yes Storm, I have heard about the accusations from Reino, and we know you were there. We also have it on good authority you gave those orders to save your troops lives. Perhaps someday over a pint over at the White Cloud Pub, or one of our more local establishments I can explain how I earned my brand and why our leadership might still be willing to work with you.”

I watch her as she looks up at him with hope in his eyes and asks, “Do you really mean that?”

“Yes, Storm, I do. Remember we have a lot of dashites here as well as refugees from the unpleasantness between Neighvarro and Thunderhead. We are under no illusion about the Enclave.” He pauses then asks, “I have read the reports about the battle of Coltlumbia, how about you tell me about your parts in it and what you know?”

This begins a several hours-long discussion with him. After we have told him about our roles in it, he then asks, “What can you tell me about the air assault there?”

“Honestly Sunset, we really did not have a chance to even see it. We were solidly in Flankton when it occurred, but from what I was told it was both a brave and bloody affair. I still do not know why your side ordered them to do so,” I tell him.

He tilts his head and seems to be about to say something when Funnel Cloud tells him, “Sir, from my understanding, that assault distracted our skyships and our ready reserves enough that it allowed the NCR and alliance troops to gain a hoofhold there and keep it. Without their sacrifice the Enclave would have probably won.”

I watch as this stallion closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. Then he tells Funnel, “Thank you for telling me that. It means they did not die in vain.” As he gets up to head out, he then tells us, “If you do not mind, I would like to stop by and visit again, and Funnel, thank you, one of those who died in that assault was my wife. At least I know she died for a reason now.” After he says this, he makes his way quickly out of the room, and we are left in stunned silence.

Doctor Charity then tells us, “Thank you for talking with him. That is the most I have seen him talk since he got the news about his wife 1st Sergeant Pages. He lost a lot of friends too, but she was special.”

I am still feeling shell shocked by this revelation as I wonder how I would have felt if it had been Sundancer. I then ask, “Doc, did you lose anyone there?”

He nods his head, “A few friends, which is hard enough, but I am still a single buck so nothing like the loss Sunset took.”

“I am sorry for your losses as well. I almost lost my wife several months back during the first big attack against the Rainbow Dash Skyport. I know how hard that was.”

He then asks, “I know a lot of dashites try to contact their families. Have you thought of how you may try to do so?”

This time I let out a mild laugh as I answer, “Would you believe we had already discussed that if things went really bad for us and something like this were to happen, we were to try and meet in White Cloud.”

He shakes his head, “Amazing. And here the Enclave went and dropped you off pretty much there.” He pauses and hesitates before he asks, “Do you think she will try to come here then?”

I nod my head, “Yes, I do, along with our kids too. At least I hope so, I have missed all of them for a long time.”

Charity then asks, “How many foals do you have?”

I grin as I tell him, then I add, “We also have a young griffon hen we adopted.”

He shakes his head, “Ball, you are not the kind of pony I would have expected. But I am glad I have gotten to meet you and the others.” He pauses then adds, “I almost forgot to tell you, Mid Rats will be by later. He started a new job today working at one of the local restaurants near the stable called Wanderers. They finally got the place put back together from the fighting here and reopened a month ago.”

“I am glad to hear he seems to be getting back on his hooves. Thank you for letting me know.”

He grins, “My pleasure. Oh, and Ball, I do mean it about setting you up for a medical apprenticeship if you are interested. It may not be in White Cloud, but hopefully Manesville will satisfy you enough.”

Later in the evening, after supper, but still within visiting hour I hear an odd pattern of hooves moving down the hallway coming closer.

One of the regular nurses comes to the door and tells us, “I have some visitors for you. They say Captain Charity forwarded them a message from all of you.”

I think it must be the repair ponies, so I tell her, “Please bring them in.”

Once she does so, I notice first a middle-aged unicorn stallion who is wearing a pair of coveralls and eyeglasses. As he walks, I can see a noticeable limp.

Right behind him I see a zebra mare ghoul with a ghoul filly on her back. Once she enters, she announces, “I am sorry Choo Choo or the rest of the team cannot be here to meet you. They are currently occupied. My name is Zhea and this is my daughter Xanthippe. The stallion with us is one of my fellow shop crew members for the Repair Ponies, Diode. We came as soon as we could.”

I notice both funnel and Storm are a bit thrown off, but I simply sit up straighter and lift a forehoof for a shake as I tell her, “Nice to meet you. I am Ball Lightning, the other two with me are Storm Rider, my old XO, and Funnel Cloud, my former Sergeant Major.”

“A pleasure to meet all of you. Now how can I help you?”

I think briefly and then I hear Funnel Cloud say, “Ma’am, we really are not sure. We just had one of Choo Choo’s cards and figured we try to get ahold of them and see if they could give us a hoof getting back on our hooves.”

“I have heard both your and Balls Lightning's names mentioned in chatter around the shop, so I do not think the boss would mind if I assisted you. However, in exchange for room and board, will need you to assist me around the shop and with some of the building in our compound.” She takes a glimpse at the Funnel's missing leg and tells him, “I also have some work you can do while we try to get you another leg.”

“Much obliged ma’am,” Funnel tells him.

She then asks, “Do you know when you might get out of here yet?”

I answer first, “The doctors have suggested perhaps in a week for myself and another week or two after for Funnel and Storm.”

She smiles as best she can and then tells us, “Well perhaps we should get to know each other a bit more before we leave tonight.”

This begins an interesting conversation of how we ended up here in Manesville as well as how she and her daughter became ghouls and just woke from the long sleep a few years ago. After this Diode talks to us about his life in the old Co-op, then their military, and how he was discharged after being wounded on the expedition. I find that interesting as I remember Sunny talking about it slightly with us on the other side of the doorway.

Finally, they are ready to depart as visitor hours are ending. As she stands, she tells us, “I will try to contact the field team to let them know you are here, and we are helping you.” She then turns to Diode, “We best hurry back to the shop, I do believe Xerxes should be there soon.”

The unicorn smiles and tells her, “Of course Zhea, after we get you two back there, I will head home for the night.”

After they leave, I find myself pondering our discussions and actually looking forward to getting out of the hospital. As I am thinking Funnel tells me, “Sir, for a group of youngsters, they sure sound like they are more organized than I would have imagined.”

I laugh lightly at first then I ask him, “Funnel, with the way they handled themselves are you really surprised?”

He grins, “No, and honestly it makes me feel a bit better. Though I have never seen a ghoul that was a foal before. She is cute in a way, but my heart breaks for her and her mother.”

I nod my head, “Yeah, I understand how you feel. But at least they have each other.”

Right after this I hear a knock on the door frame, and I look up and see Mid Rats standing there with a box on his back. He smiles and tells us, “I figured you were getting tired of hospital food, so I brought something for each of you from Wanderers.”

He brings the box in and sets it down on a table before bringing out a hayburger and fries for each of us. He then gives each of us a Sparkle Cola to go with them.

After I have taken the first bite I ask, “How did you get this in here?”

He grins, “Well, I had another box that I brought with me and gave to the nurses. That one had something they called fried cheese curds in it as well as fried vegetables. Ball, can you believe it, they have real fresh produce here, and it is all so more favorable than what we got back home.”

My mouth is full so I just nod, but Funnel tells him, “I noticed that last time we were here.”

He smiles and then tells us, “You know it is funny, when I first saw the ghouls the day you were dropped off, I was terrified of them, but on my way in, I saw a mare and a filly ghoul walking with a stallion, and you know, it almost seems normal.”

This time Storm answers, “I do not know if I will ever get fully used to them, but those two did not seem too bad. I just feel sorry for the future they both lost.”

I smile, “They are not all bad. The first time I ever really got to talk to a ghoul was back in Meat Locker a couple of years back. I was with Air Burst, and I ran into one that thought I was my Great Great Grandfather. They flew together in the Zebra War, and he lost track of him on the Last Day. He told me a bit about my ancestor and even showed me some pictures of them together. That got me to thinking, perhaps they are a bit like us. Rejected, taken away from their families and loved ones and left to survive as best as they can.”

Mid Rats takes another bite of his burger and thinks briefly before he tells me, “Perhaps sir, but at least we are still breathing, and we can all make a new future for ourselves.” He pauses and then tells us, “By the way, rumor has it the troops from the 3rd Manesville Regiment should be coming home soon. I wonder if we will see the troopers from the old A company.”

I feel stunned by this realization. Then I try to think of how I will explain why we were branded. I shake my head. “Perhaps, but if we do, we need to make sure that they know this was not their fault. The Enclave leadership need scapegoats, and we were the chosen sacrifice.”

*****

Wastelands, Equestrian Route 3: Air Burst

As I begin my flight down from a cloud overlook position, I can see a bright bastion of light from over the horizon ahead of us. Behind us, I can see the sun beginning to rise. While I have been on watch for the last couple of hours, I also find myself feeling at peace. I never realized how much being on the move, with a purpose and away from large groups of others was now a part of me.

During this brief flight, I circle the perimeter of the stopped caravan. While doing this I see a few campfires several miles away, and I also see a small pack of wild dogs. Over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed that the caravan’s brahmin keep watch at night too. After talking with Ball about the intelligence of the one-headed brahmin that was with the Repair Ponys this makes me decide to try and talk with them.

I smile as I see most of the camp is already up and moving. Before I land, I notice that Sundancer is at the back of our cart feeding her youngest two foals. When I realize what she is doing, I turn my head immediately to give her a bit more privacy.

I then glide a short distance and land near the brahmin herd. As I approach, I see several of their heads rise. One of them lets out a moo in what seems to be a questioning tone.

Once I am close enough fairly quietly I ask, “Do any of you speak equestrian?”

I then hear one of the cows answer, “Since you ask, I do. Why?”

I smile, and approach them and tell her, “I have noticed you all keep a watch at night, and I wanted to tell all of you I appreciate it.” I pause then add, “Call me Fire Works.”

“Well Fire Works, it is nice to meet you I guess, but why the interest all of a sudden, most of you ponies really do not talk to us much.”

I shift my wings slightly and answer, “To be honest, I figured if you did not talk to us, you did so for a reason. I remember a one-headed brahmin bull I met named Cowlick and how quiet he was around others he did not know well, and how intelligent he is.”

I notice several others of the brahmin are now paying attention to me and the cow I am talking to asks, “When was that, and who was he with?”

I grin and tell her, “You would not believe the where, but he was with a bunch of repair ponies if you know what I mean.”

She nods her heads, “Yes, we do. And you can call us Rosie and Nellie. Just so you know most of us understand your ponies language; we just don't know how to speak it. A holdover to a long time ago.”

I nod my head in understanding. Cowlick had told us a bit about the cattle from before the Final Day, so I was not completely surprised. They then introduce me to the other brahmin, and we chat for a bit. I am starting to feel comfortable talking with them when I hear Jambalaya, the caravan cook, call out, “Breakfast is ready.”

I then tell them, “I hope you do not mind my occasionally stopping by to say hello and chat a bit more.”

She smiles, “No, we do not mind, we just ask that you treat us with respect like you would anyone else.” She pauses then adds, “And by your having come up to talk with us, you have shown some of that and we thank you. Now you best go get your breakfast and we get ours.”

After breakfast, while everyone is getting the wagons and carts harnessed up, I hear Kind Heart ask, “Where did the twins go?”

My head pops up and I see both Lightning Burst and Air Burst over by Rosie and Nellie. I then tell them, “They are over by Rosie and Nellie.”

Wind Dancer then tells us, “I will go get them. Thanks for letting us know where they were Fire Works.”

Soon she has flown over to them, and I see her using her wings to guide them back to their mother and the cart where I have just finished harnessing up Alto. She then tells them, “Now get up on the cart with your mother.”

“Yes grandma,” Air Burst says.

However, a slightly defiant Lightning Burst tells her, “We’s just talkin to Rose an Nel. They nice.”

I find myself grinning as Wind says, “Just mooing to them is not talking.”

This time Air Burst says, “Was too talking. They tea, teach, teaching us.”

I see her roll her eyes in exasperation and I interrupt by telling her, “They are probably telling the truth Wind. Rosie and Nellie can speak equestrian and most of them can understand it. They have their own language.”

She looks at me slightly crossed. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I talked to them just a bit ago, and I have had some interesting talks with a one-headed bull a long time ago. And before you ask, I was not drinking or doing chems.”

She snorts in amusement and shakes her head, “Glad to hear that.”

“But honestly, they are much more intelligent than I used to give them credit for. Also, they rotate one of their own on watch at night as well.”

She shakes her head, “Did they tell you that?”

“No, I noticed it the last couple of days.”

Just about then I hear Trader Jewel call for me. Before I go to talk to him, I tell the others, “Normal travel formation. Scout, you will be in the lead with me. Savanna you and Kind Heart have the flanks. The rest of you know where to go.” I then stop and tell Air and Lightning, “And you two stick with your mother in the cart this time. I know you are getting to be big colts, but I need you to keep an eye on her for me.”

“Okay Unca Air,” Lightning tells me, followed by his brother. I smile and make my way to the head of the caravan where Trader Jewel is waiting for me.”

As I approach, he asks, “Everyone about ready?”

“Yes sir, anything special I should know for today?”

“No, nothing I have not given you a heads up about already. I figure by midday we should reach the E-3 Oasis. We will rest there for two days. As I said when you hired on, showers for everyone on me.”

“Thank you, sir. I will make sure they all take one.”

He nods then he asks quietly, “So you began to talk to the brahmin did you?”

I nod my head, “Yes sir, they seem an interesting bunch.”

“I guess. It has been a while since any of our caravan guards have bothered to talk to them. Just so you know, I respect it. One of the group of guards we had even started to teach some of them how to read. Until then I had no idea of my brahmins capabilities. If they say they heard something, give a listen, they do not just blow smoke if you know what I mean.”

“Will do Boss,” I tell him. I then add, “I will be leading out with Scout, radio me if you need anything.”

“Don’t worry, I will. But we have been lucky so far on this route.” He takes a look ahead and adds, “Keep alert, something just does not feel right this morning.”

“I understand sir,” I tell him, then add “But this is not mine or most of our team members' first rodeo.”

He grins and cocks his head, “Even the young one?”

“Especially them. They were orphans in Hoofington when Sundancer and her husband found them and adopted them. They may not be the most skilled in open country, but they are learning fast and have all been under fire before.”

He nods, looks back one more time, and calls out, “We are burning daylight, let’s move.”

It is about four hours later that I notice a strange glint of light ahead and just off the side of the highway.

Before I can say anything Scout quietly tells me, “You see that Uncle Air?”

“Yeah, maybe it is just a bit of metal or glass reflecting the sun, but we need to check it out.”

I then call to Trader Jewel over my radio; one of several I picked up from Mega Mart before we left, “Boss, this is Cloud 1, I just saw a flash of light ahead and to the right of the main highway, I am going high to check it out before we get too close.”

I hear his gruff voice call back, “Let me know what you find.”

I fly towards the rear of the caravan, climbing all the while, then when a couple of thousand feet up, I slowly make my way to the rear of the area where I saw the flash. I am just about ready to assume it was nothing when I hear a bullet zing past me. I dive for the ground as I call back, “Hostiles ahead, taking fire.”

As I fly in for a strafing run, I zig and zag. With my good eye I can see the caravan in the distance as it leaves the highway and moves away from this portion of the trail at a fast canter. I smile as I clearly see a half dozen raiders trying to move to intercept them. With my M10 Auto battlerifle ready on my battlesaddle I shoot several bursts just to keep their heads down and slow them enough that they cannot catch the others.

I watch as most of them hit the ground, but one of them has enough fortitude to stop, aim, and fire. I feel a burning sensation along my side right after I see the flash of fire from his rifle's muzzle.

I jerk a bit from the initial surprise of being hit and miss him. However, as I fly by as fast as I can I begin to feel the real pain. It is bad, and I can feel some blood running down my side, but I make it to the caravan. As I land, I hear Wind Dancer say, “Get on the wagon with Sundancer, I will join Scout.”

While I do not feel comfortable with her in a lead position right now, I trust Scout and tell her, “Roger, and thanks.”

Then as Sundancer begins to treat my wound, I see her mother take to the air and fly just above the wagon tops with her shotgun ready.

I hear Sundancer say, “At least it is only a grazing wound, could have been worse Air, but it is going to take some stitches and a few magic bandages.”

I nod my head in understanding that we are saving healing potions for when we need them.

I feel the sting as she pours some alcohol on the wound, and then each time she uses her wings to apply another stitch. After the twelfth one, she tells me, “That should be good. But you are going to have to take it easy for a few days.”

“Thanks, Sundancer, I appreciate it.”

She smiles, “I know; besides, it lets Mom feel like she is doing something. I think she feels like she needs to prove herself.”

Shortly after this, I feel the cart slow down to a normal walk and I see the other wagons do so as well. I look behind us and I realize the raiders must have decided it was not worth the effort and that we must have more guards than they expected.

I ride in the cart with Sundancer and her two youngest for another couple of hours. Then I get down and make my way slowly to the front of the caravan. As I do so, Trader Jewel joins me and tells me, “That big group of buildings up ahead, that is the E3 Oasis, remember no one flies over the fence and absolutely no gunfire inside the perimeter unless the Oasis comes under attack, and we are assisting in defending it.”

I nod and move my ears in confirmation as he has explained all that to us the night before. He then tells me, “I know your medic is good, but have the docs here check you out too. I saw you drop down some when you were hit back there. I want you in good shape when we leave the Oasis, in case of more trouble.”

When we reach the gates, he has the rest of the caravan stop and he and I walk up to the guard to get permission to enter. Once given, the caravan moves to the large parking area with several burning barrels. We form our camp and Trader Jewel tells me, “See the doc first, you can shower afterward. Also, I want everyone to stand down, no watches while we are here. This will give everyone time to relax.”

“Understood boss,” I answer but I really want a shower first, but I guess that can wait. However, I am not looking forward to the stench I will have once I pull this old uniform off.

I go back to our cart and tell Sundancer and Alto where I am heading. They both move their ears in acknowledgement. As the pullers for the wagons and carts are unhitched, I make my way to the sign that says Doctor on Staff. As I do, I just hope that they are not the typical wastelands sawbones, and that they know what they are doing.

*****

Welcome to the last hour of tonight’ show. For those of you just tuning in, I am DJ Pon3, and I am bringing to you the best in recovered and new music as well as news, interviews, and tips you can use in the wastelands.

Leading in the news from the NCR are official calls for the NCRN and the NCRA to do something to end the rash of pirate and raider attacks throughout the NCR and the areas adjacent to its borders.

Among these attacks we have reports of two more villages having been razed by pirates as well as three missing steamships, all three are presumed to be missing. Among those reported missing are the NCRN ship the Steam Kettle, as well as the civilian ships the Buttercup and the Sassafras Tea that it was escorting.

Currently, both the NCR and the Lunar Commonwealth have issued warnings to travelers to be extra wary in the expanses between settlements. They also have stated that settlements need to be more alert for raider activity as seen by recent attacks on Fort Hope, Thrown Shoe, and the E3 Oasis.

For those traveling those roads, make sure you are not traveling alone, and make sure your weapons are in good shape. The extra care taken to clean them may be what saves your life. For those further south, as a reminder radscorpion breeding season is coming up soon, during which they will be more aggressive. Speaking of aggressiveness, remember that radhogs are in most areas of the waste and they will not hesitate to attack an adult pony by themselves much less foals. Keep your eyes out for the youngsters while you travel or go outside the boundaries of your normal villages and farms.

While we may have peace between our governments, we still have work to do out there for peace and safety to become the norm again.

That brings us up to our first song for our last hour. Coming up is an old song from the Ministry of Image banned series, My Little Humies. Here is The Sun is Also a Warrior

Author's Note

Once again things are starting to heat up in the waste as our teams make their way through them. This has brought them into contact with others. Some of them will join them at least temporarily.

One such character is Harts Fire, whom is the OC for Harts Fire, one of the readers of this story as well. He has given me some basics of the character as well as a free license of how to use him afterward. I hope all involved will enjoy getting to know him and appreciate his part of the tale as well. I would like to thank him for his permission to use him and I hope you enjoy my portrayal of him.

If you have an OC you think would fit into the story and would like me to include, please feel free to DM me.

For those who would like to listen to this chapter's song the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiEAz1TDm1c