"Wake up, say good morning to
That sleepy person lying next to you
If there's no one there then there's no one there
But at least the war is over."

After the founding of Crusader Town, everything seemed to settle down for us. Whatever Winter had worked out actually seemed to work out, as new farms started popping up around Equestria in the sky.

I never thought that I’d be able to live anything resembling a normal life after everything that had happened to me. But here I was, building a town that was going to give Equestria more of a future.

I have to admit I’m nervous, I’ve never built or run a town before. It’s not really the same as running a company like I’ve done in the past, but me and my friends are going to do our best to make sure that it survives.

Crusader Town was still under construction at this point. There was a few buildings here and there that were about done, the first priority had been to build a medical center and houses, so for the most part we were in the tents still.

So, it’s been about two months since we broke ground on Crusader Town. The Hellhounds and Fluttershy from Ponyville had started coming over and helping build the town at this point, working with Hellhounds was kind of weird for some of us, but they have been a lot of help.

Today though, well today was a day that I’ve both been looking forward to and worried about ever since I first met Cherry and we became close.

That was the day that Cherry went into labor.

“Hey Scootaloo, are you okay?” A stallion’s voice asked and I looked up to see Pimento standing there.

“Yeah… I’m just…” I said and sighed a little as I looked back towards the medical center before I looked back at him. “I’m nervous, you know? Last time I was in a situation like this, I was the one in there.”

"Yeah, I know," Pimento said and took a seat next to me. "Is that what's really bothering you though? Morning Glory said that the foal is healthy and doubts there is going to be much of a problem."

"I'm, not really sure to be honest," I admitted with a sigh. "Really, I'm more nervous about how I'm going to do as a mom. I mean, I did okay before, but I wound up leaving my daughter in a Stable before I wound up being exiled from above the clouds. I'm not exactly mother of the year material, you know?"

"At least you have experience, which is what Cherry is going to need," Pimento said and I looked at him confused for a moment.

"Oh, right because of how things were done in Stable 48," I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, Cherry's not really experienced with raising foals, nopony from the Stable is," Pimento said with a shake of his head. "I was surprised when Cherry asked me to be a part of our daughter's life, you know? She made it pretty clear that she didn't want anything to do with me before. I assume you had something to do with that."

"Me and a crazy Alicorn named Gambit," I said with a chuckle and shook my head. "Yeah, I thought that you shouldn't be left out of your daughter's life completely. I guess that's why we invited you here to Crusader Town."

"Thank you," Pimento said with a soft sigh. "I never actually thought of myself as much of a father, I just did it because it was my job in the Stable. I knew that Cherry wasn't even into Stallions but when the computer picked us, well... I didn't exactly have much choice."

"Still, as strange as it is, I should be thanking you," I said with a chuckle as he looked at me confused. "Well, I mean it was why Cherry left the Stable to begin with and met me. If it wasn't for that I may have never met her and we wouldn't have fallen in love and gotten married. I mean, I was supposed to go to Stable 48 anyway, but you never know how that might've gone."

"You really love her huh?" Pimento asked and I nodded. "Well that's good, I'm just glad that she found somepony that cares about her more than I ever really could. And that you helped me leave the Stable."

"What's the latest from 48 anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Well, with the end of the Enclave War everything has changed more than you might think," he said with a shrug. "My mom's deal with the Enclave still holds up, but ponies have started to leave the Stable for good. Like you saw, some are even living here in town, others have gone to Reino and New Pegasus. Everything that happened gave Stable 48 a second chance to be able to be a better place, you gave us that, same with Winter Breeze."

I looked at him for a long moment and smiled. He was right of course, Stable 48 had been one of the bigger mistakes I had made because I hadn't considered all the possibilities of it. But still, it had survived, it had even thrived and become more than what I had envisioned.

Stable 97 was faring better too from what Winter told me. The ponies there were getting the education they needed, and it was already starting to show. I didn't like what had happened to Stable 97, but we were going to do everything in our power to make it better.

I thought about all the places we had visited, all the ponies we had met. I had built the Stables to save lives, and they had done just that. More than that, Equestria had survived and we had met our goal of making it a better place after the end, even if it had taken 200 years.

"Do, you really think I'll be a good mother?" I asked as I looked over at Pimento.

"I think you'll do fine, Cherry loves you and trusts you, and that's enough to convince me," he said with a nod.

I smiled and nodded a little as I looked out towards the town that was under construction. It was hard to believe that this was actually so successful, but this was our future, our bright future.

Winter was right, all we really had to do was work together and we would make a better world.

After awhile the door opened and Morning Glory walked out in her doctor's scrubs. She smiled a little as she gave us a nod. "Congratulations, its a filly, do you want to see her?"

I smiled as I got to my hooves and looked back at Pimento. "Do you want to come in too?"

"No, go ahead, I'll see her later," he said and waved me off.

I nodded and headed into the medical center and smiled at the sight of Cherry laying on the bed that had been set up in there. She was holding a small bundle in her hooves as I walked forward and looked down at the filly.

She had a pure white coat with a tuft of pink hair, she yawned a little as she looked up at me with purple eyes that reminded me so much of her mother's. She was a Unicorn, just like that strange Zony had said she was going to be and I gave Cherry a smile.

"Hey there kiddo, I'm your step-mom Scootaloo," I said with a smile as I looked at the filly and then back at Cherry. "She's beautiful.

"Yeah, she really is," Cherry said as she looked at me and smiled. "Its hard to believe that after everything we've been through, we finally have this little one here with us."

"Yeah," I said and smiled down at my step-daughter. "We've been through a lot the three of us, but we've now got a home to live in and a future to build. I just hope that, for her sake, we're going to make it a really good one, you know?"

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," Cherry said with a soft sigh as she held her daughter close. “So, there’s one thing we never really figured out.”

“What’s that?”

“We still have to name her,” Cherry said with a chuckle as she offered her to me as I took a seat in a chair next to her and took the small Unicorn carefully.

I looked down at the filly for a long moment as I thought about it. I smiled a little as I looked at the filly and smiled. “Well, do you have any ideas?”

“Hmm,” Cherry said as she laid back on the bed and looked thoughtful for a moment. “How about, Silk Rose?”

“Silk Rose,” I said as I looked down at the filly for a long moment and smiled a little. There was something about it that just felt like it worked for her, kind of like how I felt when I first saw Cloudy. “I like it, welcome to the world Silk Rose.”

I smiled as I looked down at the filly and then back at Cherry. We were a family the three of of us, and I couldn’t be happier. I nuzzled the filly gently as she drifted off to sleep in my forelegs and I gently gave her back to Cherry.

“Cherry, you’re going to do just fine,” I said with a smile as I leaned in and kissed my wife gently on the lips. “We’re both going to do fine.”

Cherry smiled and nodded as she nuzzled me. “Thanks Scoots, I love you so very much.”

“I love you too,” I said.

We just sat there for the longest time together. I smiled down at Silk Rose as she slept peacefully. I could imagine everything that was ahead of us and her, her first steps, words, her cutie mark… everything that the world had in store for her and for us.

We were going to face it, as a family.

“It's us, yes, we're back again
Here to see you through 'til the day's end
And if the night comes and the night will come
Well at least the war is over.”

So, you remember that agricultural project that was mentioned? Well, as it turned out Winter as one of her last acts as the President of the Enclave had worked something out with the most unlikely of ponies.

I didn’t actually learn about most of this until after the fact when a pony came by Crusader Town to meet with Winter. I didn’t really understand what was going on until both Winter and the pony in question explained it.

So, yeah here’s the thing, the pony who had come was LittlePip. I was surprised too, but apparently she had left the SPP Hub and was there to apologize to Winter for something that had happened when she was at the Hub.

Given this book is to show the events of the war and the immediate aftermath, I asked LittlePip to tell her story and explain what happened in the Hub. She was happy enough to oblige, and, well I think you should read it for yourself.

Don’t worry, none of its bad, its just a bit, unexpected is all. I guess I can’t blame LittlePip for not liking it, but Equestria was changing, and we were all just then realizing what that meant.

Today was going to be my last day in the SPP Hub.

Yeah, I know I’ve been in here for over a decade controlling the weather and keeping Celestia company. I had seen Equestria change, go through wars, and get better. Now Celestia had told me that I should rejoin it.

Rejoining Equestria was not as easy as we had hoped of course, we still needed to control the weather which Celestia couldn’t do. So we hit upon an idea, the Lightbringers, a new faction in Equestria dedicated to working in the SPP Hub.

I wasn’t really sure about it at first, I mean I had promised Celestia that I’d stay with her, but she insisted that I should go back to my friends. So, we set up everything with the help of Homage and other ponies until finally everything was all set up.

So when the portal opened up, I was expecting the ponies we had picked to run the Hub, what I wasn’t expecting was who came with them.

“Princess Celestia, LittlePip,” the nicely dressed blue Pegasus said as she brushed her mane back and gave us a smile.

For the first time in over 200 years, an Enclave leader had set hoof in the SPP Hub. What was going on? While I didn’t doubt that Winter could be trusted given everything that I had seen, why would she come here all of a sudden?

“President Winter Breeze,” Celestia said as her image bowed its head slightly. “Your message said that you had a proposal for me?”

“Wait, proposal?” I asked as my ears perked up. “What are you talking about Celestia? What kind of proposal?”

“Well, you see there’s been a growing food problem in Equestria,” Winter said as she gave Celestia a nod. “Even after the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows and the use of Gardens of Equestria, there are still areas that have nearly gone to war just over food sources. The Enclave has the answer to that, but we need your help.”

“Our help?” I asked and blinked a little as I looked at Winter. “What kind of help are you wanting?”

“If we can have some access to the SPP…” Winter started to say when I interrupted.

“Wait, you want us to give over control of the SPP System to the Enclave?” I protested. “Are you insane? This place has been kept out of the Enclave’s hooves for over 200 years, and you’re expecting us to just give it over to you?”

“LittlePip, calm down,” Celestia said as she tried to calm me. “She is not here to take over the SPP system, are you Winter?”

“No, I’m not,” Winter said with a shake of her head. “I’m not asking for full control of the Hub to be given to the Enclave. You see, with the Enclave’s cloud farming techniques we can help with the food situation across Equestria. We’re not going to take control of the Hub, but if you can use the SPP towers to create areas for the cloud farms then we’ll be able to do it more effectively.”

“You can’t really be buying this right?” I asked as I looked over at Celestia. “Even if Winter Breeze can be trusted, what about her successors? We don’t actually know that all of the Enclave has changed that much!”

“LittlePip, I understand your concerns,” Celestia said with a frown as she looked at me and then over at Winter again. “President Breeze, what assurances can you give us that the Enclave will not return to their own ways?”

“I can’t confirm it 100%,” Winter said with a sigh. “The Enclave has changed though, and my successor has agreed to it along with the rest of the Alliance. There will be checks and balances to ensure that the Enclave doesn’t return to the old ways, and our allies are going to be there to help as well. We will agree to send representatives unarmed and they will not be among those who access the system itself, would that be satisfactory?”

“Very well, if you keep these terms then I will agree to them,” Celestia said with a nod. “If you have any ideas on where we should…”

“This is insane!” I said, interrupting Celestia and making her look at me surprised. “They’re still the Enclave, they’ve been responsible for so much death and destruction in Equestria, why do you really think they’re going to change forever?”

Both Winter and Celestia looked at me and sighed a little. Winter looked at Celestia and she gave her a nod. “LittlePip, I won’t lie there are still some ponies in the Enclave who aren’t completely convinced. They are however a minority that have shrunk even more with the end of the Enclave War. Most Pegasi believe in what I’ve done, and I doubt the risk is that great. I understand your concerns, but please, give us a chance to prove that we really have changed.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I said with a shake of my head and levitated my bags onto my back and looked at Celestia. “Open the portal please, I’m ready to go home.”

“I am sorry that you had to leave on these terms,” Celestia said as the portal started to form again. “Take care of yourself LittlePip, I enjoyed the past 10 years with you.”

I smiled and looked back at her and gave her a nod. “I enjoyed them too Celestia, thank you for everything.”

“You are very welcome,” Celestia said.

I took one last look back at the place that had been my home for the last decade. But now it was time to rejoin the real world, as I stepped back through the portal and back to Equestria.

When I reformed on the other side I was greeted by a hug from an excited pony. “Littlepip, it’s so good to see you again!”

I smiled as I hugged Homage back and closed my eyes as I enjoyed the embrace. While she had visited a few times over the years, it was good to finally get to see her outside of the Hub once more.

“Hey Homage,” I said as I held the mare close. “Did you know about the Enclave thing?”

“Yeah, well, it kind of surprised us too,” Homage admitted as she rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry, it was kind of a last minute thing after she sent a message to Celestia. And, well after what happened the other day… we needed to get things together before somepony else decided to try something.”

I sighed a little, a few days ago the Hub had come under attack by a crazy pony that had somehow managed to make it past the shield. We had pushed him back, but it certainly didn’t help given everything that was going on.

“I’m, just glad to be with you again,” I said and nuzzled Homage gently.

“Yeah, I’ve already got our place set up,” she said and whispered in my ear. “And I’m gonna see if we can beat our old record tonight.”

I felt my face turn hot as I blushed deeply at that. I couldn’t help but smile though, it really was good to have Homage’s antics back.

“So, are yah gonna say hello ta tha rest of us?” A familiar accented voice asked and I turned to see Calamity, Velvet, and Blackjack standing there.

“Oh, sorry, I was just…” I said and blushed deeply before I smiled. “Hey, sorry, I’m just, you know, really happy to see her again.”

I was a bit surprised when I saw Blackjack, she wasn’t armed or even wearing armor like I had been used to see her in. Heck, she wasn’t even carrying whiskey.

“So, is that Blackjack or did you pick up a Changeling?”

BlackJack Smirked. “Oh how about I tell them about the time that I kissed you hmm? Would they love that? I am sure they would and the look on your very face Pip. I am sure it would have made Homage jealous.” Blackjack laughed loudly

I blushed even deeper at that as Homage shot me a confused look. “Don’t ask, it was a moment of weakness.”

“Eh It was me being drunk and all that weirdness I moved on from drinking, I got married. I am no longer the crazy insane mare I was. I enjoy not having to carry a gun all the time. So I am happy to see you Pip.” She gave me a calm gentle smile.

“Yeah, you’re definitely a Changeling,” I said and chuckled a little. “I’m glad to see you too Blackjack. I’m just, sorry its been kind of a long few days with the whole attack and then the Enclave showing up at the Hub. Welcome back to Equestria Littlepip, huh?”

Blackjack sighed. “Pip if I went through what you did. For ten years I wouldn’t well be happy to see them either. Heck I tried to fix myself by going to a crazy place to hook myself and try to fix it. But… I couldn’t. But Pip I feel even though.. I may not fully trust them.. But I feel it’s better than you being there longer then that.”

“Yeah, Ah’m not so sure about it either,” Calamity admitted and rubbed the back of his head. “Winter Breeze is makin’ a lot of promises, and while we trust her, Ah ain’t so sure about anypony else in tha Enclave.”

“But time will tell,” Velvet added and placed her hoof on Calamity’s.

“Besides, Winter is at least better than General Cloud Chaser,” Homage pointed out with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, if they become a problem again, we’ll deal with them when the time comes.”

“I wonder..Homage. When will Pip ask you for your hoof in marriage hmm?” Blackjack asked smirking.

“Yeah, when are you?” Homage asked and gave me a smirk. “Seriously, Blackjack got married before we did.”

“Hey give me a break, I’ve been gone for 11… wait, Blackjack got married?” I asked and blinked in surprise. “Are we sure this is the real Blackjack?”

Blackjack seems to be unsure about something. But she smirked. “Oh damn it you …. I know You ... “ She kept cussing like a sailor.

“Okay, okay, I believe you!” I said with a laugh as I gave them a nod. “Alright, well, if that’s all, maybe we should get going. Unless you have any more secrets… like, secret pregnancies, alien invasions, you know anything new.”

“Well…” Calamity said and squeezed Velvet’s hoof lightly. “Yah see…”

“I was kidding about that,” I said and blinked a little. “Wait, you’re really…”

“Took them long enough,” Homage said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m about a month along now,” Velvet said and rubbed heer foreleg a little before she gave me a smile. “We wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, congratulations to you both,” I said with a smile as we headed off towards where our ride away from the cave was.

I glanced behind me and saw Spike waving, I smiled and waved back. It was good to be back in Equestria, even if I had to leave Celestia behind, but I knew she was in good hooves.

I just hoped so was Equestria.

“Lift your head and look out the window
Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go
Listen, the birds sing, listen, the bells ring
All the living are dead and the dead are all living
The war is over and we are beginning.”

As the days following the end of the Battle of Coltlumbia passed, the tension between the members of the Alliance started to go away. There’s something to be said for fighting alongside each other I suppose, there would always be some tension but it wasn’t as bad as it used to be.

But they wanted to do their best to make things easier, so one thing that was put together was called Project Starlight.

Project Starlight was the brainchild of Midnight and General Whiteout, one of the new Enclave military commanders after I had resigned my commission. The idea was that the members of the Alliance would work together to rebuild cities and settlements that were damaged by the Enclave.

I got a letter from Garnet a couple of weeks after Silk Rose was born. He told me about everything that was happening, and given that he knew about the book, he enclosed what was going on.

It seems that he had been assigned to be part of Project Starlight in his old home in Whinnyapolis, he asked me to include it in this book so, here you go.

“Pull!” I said as we pulled on a rope to pick up the wall frame and set it into place. We were putting the finishing touches on another building in the old settlement at the Skyport in Whinnyapolis. “Alright, lower it down.”

I watched as the Pegasi finished lowering the roof and flew in to get it all secured. I smiled a little as Sunrise flew down and landed next to me.

“What do you think?” I asked as I looked over at the Pegasus mare.

“Looks good,” she said with a nod. “How’s your family settling in?”

“Well, this was our home once, so Amethyst and Emerald are pretty used to it,” I said with a shrug as we headed back towards the collection of buildings we called home. “Pearly is a little confused, but she’s getting used to it.”

“Look I…” Sunrise said and sighed a little. “I really am sorry about what happened with your home. If I had been here, I would’ve tried to stop it, Cloud Chaser never truly represented everypony in the Enclave.”

“Yeah, I understand that now,” I said and gave the Pegasus a smile. “Besides, I think my wife and your marefriend…”

“Fiance now actually,” Sunrise said interrupting me.

“Really?” I asked and she nodded and I smiled a little. “Anyway, they’ve become pretty good friends since we moved here. I’m just, well, it’s not been easy being back here after everything that happened before. Still, I’m just glad that I got a chance to meet you.”

“I’m glad I got to meet you too,” Sunrise said as they approached a building where Amethyst, Cure All, Garnet, Emerald, Pearl, and Dusk were eating lunch and waved to them.

“How’d it go?” Cure asked as the two ponies took a seat by their loved ones.

“Well, we got another building up, at least the frame,” Sunrise said with a nod. “That’ll make most of the settlement rebuilt here, so we’ll be moving on after that.”

“Where are we going next?” Emerald asked curiously as he looked up at his Dad.

“Well, we were thinking about going to the old Mall next,” Garnet said as he ruffled Emerald’s mane a little. “The Mall of Equestria used to be one of the major trading posts in the city for years until, well…”

“You don’t have to hold back,” Sunrise said with a shake of her head. “This city is in bad shape and the Enclave didn’t help. It’s why we’re here, to make things better for Equestria here just like everywhere else.”

I nodded and gave her a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re doing fine,” I said and turned back to look at my family. “The biggest problem in the Mall of Equestria is going to be how big it is, but most of the structure is still intact according to our scouts.”

“The problem however is that it looks like there’s a bit of a Raider problem,” Sunrise added as she shook her head. “Which isn’t unexpected, since Cloud Chaser had to pull most his forces out of the city for the war, most of the city is in a state of anarchy.”

“But, let’s not worry about that right now,” I said with a smile. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but with Rangers and Thunderbolts working together, we can make this city thrive again, I just know it.”

"Indeed, at least something good came out of the war," Amethyst said and gave me a smile. "Well, several good things really. We wouldn't all be here if it wasn't for Winter and Scootaloo."

"Yeah," I said and chuckled a little as I popped the cap on an Opal Grape. "All things considered, we're doing a lot to make sure that Equestria does have a future. I just wish that my sister could be here to see it."

Amethyst placed her hoof on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile. "She'd just be happy to know that everything turned out okay."

"Yeah, same with my husband," Sunrise said as she looked down at Dusk who gave her a reassuring smile. "We all have loved ones that we wish could've been here."

"Indeed," I said and raised my bottle. "To absent friends and family."

"To absent friends and family," the others said as we clinked our drinks and took a long drink.

We were going to make sure that this city was rebuilt, together, in the memory of everypony we had lost. But also for everything we had gained.

“Gridlock on the parkway now
The television man is here to show you how
The channel fades to snow, it's off to work you go
But at least the war is over.”

All things considered, Equestria has been slowly recovering over the past 10 years. Sure we've had our wars, the Enclave War was just the most recent, but we were getting stronger again.

While me and Winter may have been the catalyst for the major changes that came out of the Enclave War, we weren't the only forces for good that had dared to change things in Equestria. There have been heroes sure, but there have always been just your ordinary ponies that want to live their lives.

I guess it’s why when Winter made the choice for her successor, and eventually when the Enclave held its first free election, they voted in somepony that I didn't expect. But still, given everything that happened, I have to admit, when I met her back in Neigh Orleans I never would have imagined that she was going to be this important.

But still, the people of the Enclave had spoken. While Winter would never hold office again, her voice still held a lot of power in the Enclave. So it was little surprise to everypony that a candidate was chosen that reflected her ideals.

What did surprise me however was who it was, I guess that's irony for you. I wasn't the only pony who was keeping secrets in the old days.

"One of the major turning points in the Great War was the advent of the Megaspell," Winter said as she spoke in a large tent that was the temporary school in Crusader Town while everything was set up. "Like everything else, it was developed with the best of intentions, to try and bring a swift end to the war without causing too much collateral damage. However, as we've seen..."

I smiled a little as I leaned against the tent wall and watched her speaking to the foals. Winter had wanted to get back to teaching as soon as she could, and she was going to make sure that everypony in the town had an equal chance of getting an education.

This was her history lesson, she was talking about the Megaspells and the War because she knew that while ponies knew about the effects of it, they needed a better understanding of the context. I was about to turn and head out of the tent when the flap opened and a pony came in.

I blinked in surprise when I saw a familiar golden colored Pegasus mare, only instead of being dressed in the uniform or power armor she had been in before, she was dressed in a suit and tie. She looked at me and gave me a smile.

"Hey Scootaloo, its been awhile," she said quietly and offered me a hoof.

"Shimmering Skies, I didn't expect to see you here," I said and shook her hoof. "What brings you to Crusader Town?"

"I, wanted to talk with Winter Breeze," she said as we headed out of the tent together. "I had heard you were working hard on this place and I wanted to see it for myself. It’s quite the setup you have here."

"Yeah, so, uh, what's with the get-up?" I asked and looked her over curiously. "I thought you preferred the military look."

"I do, but..." she said and brushed her mane back for a moment before Winter came out.

"Madam President, its good to see you," Winter said with a smile as she offered her a hoof. "Scootaloo, you of course know the Enclave's new President, Shimmering Skies."

"Acting President actually," Shimmering said sheepishly. "I'm not officially elected yet."

"Wait, really? You're Winter's Successor?" I asked and blinked in surprise. I hadn't really been following Enclave politics that closely because I was more focused on getting Crusader Town up and running. "Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Shimmering Skies said with a chuckle. "But I have to say its something I have to get used to still. I'm not much of a politician, I was surprised when..."

She paused as if she was trying to figure out what to say. I looked confused for a moment and then something clicked in my mind as I figured out just what was going on.

"Scootaloo, Shimmering Skies is, or was a Wonderbolt General," Winter said and gave Shimmering a nod. "She was the one who went south to Neigh Orleans, and went AWOL."

"Technically, I went Dashite," Shimmering said with a shake of her head. "The fact of the matter is that I wanted to just live in peace, the other Generals didn't like that so they unilaterally decided to brand me and my troops. I wasn't expecting to get the offer to run the Enclave from Winter after the Battle of Coltlumbia, and I was certainly not expecting to be selected as the next President."

"Well, I think you've done a fine job," Winter said and offered her a hoof. "Just make sure you don't mess up too badly, okay? I'm just glad one of the old guard decided to follow me, well other than Reticle, but she wasn't interested in the job."

"Hopefully I really can do good things for Equestria and the Enclave, but I've got big shoes to fill," Shimmering said and gave her a smile. "Scootaloo, I'm sorry for not being completely truthful back when we first met in Neigh Orleans, but you understand my position. The Wonderbolt Generals are, not very popular in Equestria given everything that's happened, or at least we weren't before."

"I totally understand," I said with a nod as I looked between her and Winter. "I'm sure that you're going to make a great President."

“Thank you, I’ll try my best,” Shimmering said with a smile.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” Winter said and gestured for Shimmering and her entourage to come back into the tent.

I smiled and walked back down the impromptu main street to the house that had been built for me, Cherry, and Silk Rose. I was about to open the door when I swore I saw a familiar face coming up towards me.

Peach Blossom stood in front of me and saluted. “Former guardian of the Junk Reapers reporting for duty sir!!”

“Uh, hi Peach,” I said and blinked a little. “I thought you went back with Silver and Crow, what brings you here?”

“I got a letter from Silver Gunner for you.” She lifted the letter up and offered it to me.

Curiously I took it and opened it up as I started to read.

“Scootaloo I write to you not fully happy. The one that was missing returned. She got her cutie mark shooting a enclave soldier when she was just eight. But before what happened with you she went missing. She just returned… Brain dead. She’s been stuck in a memory for forty years. From the story I learned that Equestria is not the only place of war. There is more out there, but there is something else. On a happier note, Peach Blossom and her wife Rose Petal have taken leave from us. They will be living with you to keep you close. But not just that, peace is needed in this land. I trust you to bring it again. Now I must get back to Star Shooter to watch her heal even if I can do nothing. Forever your friend, Silver Gunner.

P.S. There is nothing on the back of this. So don’t worry about random chips.”

I checked the back of the note just to be sure, and sure enough there was nothing there. I folded it up and gave Peach a smile. “I’m glad to have you here, we’re still getting everything built and we don’t have much of a guard or militia yet. But, if you wouldn’t mind helping with that, that would be great.”

Peach’s features softened and the hard cold eyed pegasus mare gave a nod. “I shall do what I can for you Scootaloo. My wife will be here in a few days. She is forcing Crow to be a beast of burden to bring our stuff. So yeah you can say hi to him.”

“I look forward to seeing him and meeting your wife,” I said with a nod.

“Permission to hug you sir.”

I laughed a little and nodded. “Granted, and you can call me Scootaloo, or at least ma’am, do I look like a sir? Don’t answer that, I know my mane is short.”

“Of course ma’am I mean no offense.” The large mare pulled me into a tight hug and after awhile she set me back down.

I hugged back as best as I could and gave her a nod. “I should go to see my own wife, but we’ll get you settled in. At the moment we mostly have tents since the built buildings are all claimed, so head over to the tent area and something will be arranged.”

She gave me a nod and walked off towards the area of the tents.

I smiled and opened the door to my house and looked inside where Cherry was nursing Silk. She smiled when I entered and walked over and gave her a light kiss on the lips.

“Who was that you were talking to outside?”

“A pony I met in Thunderhead,” I said and chuckled lightly. “We seem to be getting a lot of ponies here, hopefully we’ve got enough land and materials.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” she said and nuzzled me gently. “You’ve done a lot of great things here. I’m just glad that everything has worked out for us.”

“Me too,” I said and nuzzled her and looked down at the filly. “We’ve still got a long way to go before Equestria is completely healed. I’m sure that it will only be a matter of time though.”

Cherry nodded and we just snuggled for awhile after that. Right now I wanted to just spend time with my wife and not worry about the outside world.

“She's gone, she left before you woke
As you ate last night, neither of you spoke
Dishes, TV, bed, the dark was filled with dread
But at least the war is over.”

You know, I shouldn’t be surprised when the Wasteland throws a curveball at me.

I know it’s kind of hard to believe that after everything I’ve been through, the Equestrian Wasteland threw me for another loop. It’s a bit hard to explain everything, so I’ll tell the story as best I can.

Those who have been reading my book may remember something that happened a while back. It’s now about 3 months after the end of the Battle of Coltlumbia, and I had just gotten back from a trip to Junction Town to secure more supplies.

When I got back to Crusader Town however, I was surprised at what I found waiting for me.

I walked down the main street when I spotted a familiar face waving to me from the medical center. I blinked a little in surprise to see Fluttershy standing there, she had been here every so often but I hadn’t expected her to be here today.

“Hey Fluttershy, what’s going on?” I asked as I trotted over to the yellow Pegasus mare who looked a little nervous. “Is everything okay?”

“Well, umm…” Fluttershy said nervously as she looked at me. “See, a group of us were on the edge of the Everfree Forest the other day…”

She paused a moment and I waited for her to finish. Fluttershy had gotten a little better recently, so why was she suddenly so nervous?

“What happened?” I asked and she shivered a little and took a deep breath.

“We found a filly on the edge of the forest, we’re not really sure how she got there,” she said with a shake of her head. “I was thinking Morning Glory might be able to help with her, so we brought her here. You, should probably see who it is for yourself.”

I was a bit confused but I followed her into the medical center. Morning Glory looked up when we entered as she was examining a filly that looked like she was about 8 years old. She had a light blue coat with a short rainbow mane and I stopped in mid-step.

“But, how?” I asked as I looked at Morning Glory confused as she looked at me and then sighed a little.

“Do you remember the name Prism Light?” She asked and then I realized who it was, but it still didn’t make sense.

“Yeah, that was the name we gave to the Rainbow Dash clone who I freed from the experiments in Whitehome,” I said and looked at the filly confused. “But, how? She was fully grown when I saw her back in Whitehome, what’s going on here?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Morning Glory said as she shook her head. “Based on the fact that she was found near the Everfree Forest, my guess is that she wandered into some Killer Joke. We’ve applied the cure, but for some reason she hasn’t returned to her normal age.”

“Scootaloo?” Prism asked as she looked up at me curiously.

“Hey Prism,” I said and moved in close to look at the filly curiously. She looked so much like Rainbow Dash, which made sense given she was a clone I suppose. “Do you remember me from Whitehome?”

“Yep,” she said and nodded a little. “You were the nice pony that got us out of the museum. You said you were my… umm…”
I sighed a little, I wondered if maybe the Killer Joke had done something to mess with her memory as well. She blinked a little as if she was trying to think of what it was that I had said, it was painful for me given who she was.

“Mommy,” she finally said. “Yeah, that’s what you said.”

I sighed a little and shook my head, but there wasn’t much point in telling her the truth. Given the effects of the Killing Joke it would probably just confuse her even more. I reached forward and gently hugged the filly and stroked her mane gently.

“That’s right Prism,” I said softly as I held her close, though I was still a little worried. “What happened to your friends?”

“They left, we got into a fight and they ran off,” Prism said with a shake of her head. “I went into the forest and there was these blue flowers and vines. I don’t really remember much else.”

The best I could guess was that Prism and the other clones had to have been in the area before getting into a fight of some sort. I was still a bit confused as to what was going on, but I had an idea of what to do.

“Can you stay here with Dr. Glory and Ms. Fluttershy?” I asked as I looked up at Morning and whispered to her. “I need to talk with Cherry about this.”

“Okay, will you be back?” She asked.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long,” I said and gave her another hug. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

She nodded and I released the hug before I went out of the medical center and went to my house to talk to Cherry.

“You’re kidding, right?” Cherry asked as she looked at me confused after I explained what happened to her. “Prism Light is back, and she was, de-aged by Killing Joke?”

“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head a little. “She thinks I’m her mother, I think it’s a distorted version of what we told her back in Whitehome.”

Cherry placed the sleeping Silk Rose into her crib before she looked back at me and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do, you want to adopt her or something?”

“I know it sounds a bit crazy, especially with everything that’s been going on,” I said with a sigh. “She’s confused, and even the cure for Killing Joke couldn’t un-do it for some reason, might be because of the cloning. I know it’s sudden, but I feel like she needs us more than anything else. If you don’t want to though, we can figure something else out.”

Cherry looked at me and then down at Silk as she thought it over for a long moment. “Scoots, you wouldn’t even be suggesting it if you didn’t think its the right thing to do. Prism is going to need a lot of help already given that she’s a clone, so we’ll need to talk to Winter too. If you think we should do this, then I’ll give it a try.”

“Really?”

“Of course, I love you so much that I’d be willing to do anything for you, or with you,” Cherry said and gave me a light kiss on the lips. “If this little filly needs a family, then we can be her family. Why don’t you go get her if you can?”

I smiled and nuzzled her before I headed back to the medical center and talked with Morning Glory and Fluttershy. Apparently Prism was an otherwise healthy 8 year old filly, so they said she could leave the medical center.

As I was about to leave Fluttershy placed her hoof on my shoulder. “Scootaloo, are you going to be okay? I mean she’s… Rainbow was…”

“I’ll be fine,” I said softly and gave Fluttershy a hug. “I know this isn’t going to be easy for us, Rainbow was a good friend to you and a mom to me.”

“Yeah… maybe, I can help out with her a little?” Fluttershy offered. “I mean, if you ever need help with her or Silk Rose. I’d be happy to help as best I can, if you want.”

I smiled and released the hug after a moment. “Okay Fluttershy, I’d be glad to have your help. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy said with a smile as me and Prism headed out of the medical center and off towards the house.

When we entered Cherry smiled as she got to her hooves and walked over and looked at Prism. “Hey Prism, do you remember me?”

“Yeah, you’re Cherry Blossom,” Prism said with a curious tilt of her head. “Do you live with mommy?”

“Well, you might say that,” Cherry said with a chuckle as I put my wing over her. “We’re married, so I’m your mommy too.”

“I have two mommies?” She asked and tilted her head curiously. “Cool!”

I smiled as Prism hugged the two of us. I wrapped my wings around the two of them as I looked down at the filly and then at Cherry.

Our family had grown by one, even if neither of us had expected it. I guess it was fitting in a strange way, Rainbow Dash had always been there for me and adopted me when I needed her, now we were doing the same for her clone.

I couldn’t be happier.

“Lift your head and look out the window
Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go
Listen, the birds sing, listen, the bells ring
All the living are dead and the dead are all living
The war is over and we are beginning.”

With everything that’s been going on, you’ve probably been wondering whatever happened to Cloud Chaser.

Not surprisingly he was tried and found guilty by an Alliance Tribunal. He wasn’t the only one either, a lot of the high ranking Hardliners wound up tried for war crimes and were put in the prison at Arbu.

The Enclave Loyalists fared a bit better, but like Winter some of them still had to own up for what they did during the war. General Aries was one example, though she was at least given a chance for parole.

Not that our side was any better, the Twilight Society was tried for the attack on Thunderhead. I wasn’t surprised given everything that had happened, the attack had been brutal and we never figured out just how many ponies had died in the attack.

We probably never would.

Some of us took this harder than others, especially Star and Jade. Star’s father was in jail and Jade still had some issues with Aries. I wondered what might be going through her mind with everything that was going on.

When I saw them for the first time after the war crimes trials ended, I asked Star how they were holding up. Things were actually going pretty well for them, even if it took a little getting used to, and she offered to write a piece for this epilogue.

So, here’s her story.

I took a seat at the visiting area for Arbu Prison. I shifted a little in my chair, I was kind of nervous about this given that it was my first time visiting the prison, it was kind of a weird place to be given all the history that was here.

Still, I had a reason to be here, I just had to hope that this wasn’t going to be a big mistake. I was here to visit my father and I wasn’t sure if he’d even be willing to talk. I thought about just getting up and leaving for a moment before the door opened and he walked in escorted by the guards.

“Hello Star,” he said as he sat down at the table across from me.

“Father,” I said and looked at him for a moment.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Cloud Chaser said as he looked at me. “Why are you here?”

“I, wanted to see you one more time at least, try and bury the hatchet,” I said and sighed a little as I looked at him. “After everything that happened, I’m just trying to figure everything out.”

Cloud Chaser leaned back in his chair and looked at me for a long moment as he thought about what to say. He sighed a little and closed his eyes before he looked down at his bound hooves.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” Cloud Chaser admitted as he finally looked up at me. “Your mother, she was the light of my life before she died. I always blamed myself for what happened to them, I was supposed to be in Neighvarro, but I was busy working at my shipyards. I let that get to me and I’m sorry, I should have thought about how it affected you and been a better father.”

I blinked in surprise. Out of all the things he could’ve said that was not what I had expected, he was actually apologizing and it sounded genuine.

“What brought this on?” I asked after a long moment.

“When you’re in prison you have a lot of time to think,” he said and shook his head. “But in truth it’s what happened aboard the Nimbus. You were right, I just wish that I had seen it before, and for that I’m sorry.”

“I…” I said and paused for a moment as I tried to figure out what to say next. “I’m still not sure what to think right now. You did a lot in the past 10 years. I’m not sure I can completely forget what you did, or forgive you for it. But…”

I paused a moment as I tried to put what I felt into words. My father looked at me and then looked away as he sighed a little. “But what?”

“But I’m willing to at least try,” I said with a soft smile. “If you’re willing to try and do better, then I’m willing to try and learn to forgive you.”

Cloud Chaser smiled and gave me a nod. “So, what’s this about me having a daughter-in-law a and granddaughter?”

I chuckled a little and leaned forward as we talked a little longer. It was strange, but it was nice to be able to talk with him on friendly terms again.

Maybe things weren’t going to be so bad after all.

“We won or we think we did
When you went away you were just a kid
And if you lost it all and you lost it
Well, we'll still be there when your war is over.”

Crusader Town was always growing with more ponies coming to live there. We started building businesses in addition to homes, I guess in a weird way its appropriate what Blackjack wound up building, in her own way.

I guess that’s her own sense of humor showing given that she built the town’s bar. With everything that had happened in her life, she just wanted to retire and be happy with her family, something I could certainly relate to.

Morning Glory and Go Fish were her family, and her motivation to do better. I had been a little surprised that they came to live in Crusader Town, but I wasn’t going to complain, it was always good to have my friends here.

Blackjack asked if she could include a story in this epilogue, so I’ll turn it over to her.

Well It won’t be just me writing this. Glory wants to write something too. My mind is still slowly healing. I feel that I have made a long way. To the point I made the bar even if Glory didn’t care for the idea at first. Feeling that it was something I needed to do to move on. I named the bar after Stable 99. Ironic a stable I killed that now I am naming a bar after it..

Well that’s not it. I will explain my story to those that wish to listen to it. To the point I even placed all my weapons in glass cases with stories of how I found them I told the truth every truth about how badly I failed.

Oh Glory wants to take this from me. She is looking over my shoulder at how bad I am writing this.

Hey there, Glory here, sorry Blackjack needs to work on her grammar. Things have been, interesting here since we moved into town, or more specifically the old Stable 2 since Scootaloo decided to make it part of the town’s boundaries.

Yeah, some ponies decided to move in here, it took some cleaning out but it’s actually not that bad here. We set up the bar in the old saloon in Stable 2, its pretty nice all things considered.

Blackjack is doing a great job as Go Fish’s mom, I figured she would so I’m not that surprised. Still, I’m pretty sure that she’s going to start showing those weapons as warnings to colts when Fishy is old enough.
BlackJack here again. I felt since well Glory is willing to deal with me owning a bar. But that’s not the only thing. I have been searching for Freedoms Heart. I need to fix many things but I doubt I would ever find him. I just feel so guilty for how I treated him. But running this bar is helping me by telling my story. Also I don’t leave out about Glory becoming a Mini Rainbow Dash.

Glory here, I’ve been meaning to talk to her about that… I swear, she just does that to drive me crazy. It got even stranger after an actual mini Rainbow Dash showed up in town.

Still, less crazy than some of the stuff we ran into in Hoofington. Still, I am happy that after a decade I found Blackjack and we’re back together. And Go Fish still has Winter’s daughter Calypso as a friend and she visits practically every day.

It’s, nice actually to know that friendships can survive the harshest of conditions. I’m glad she’s here, really.

BlackJack here one last time, before going to work. I look back on my life I see everything I did would I have changed everything I did? If I could yes I would have changed how I treated Glory and Freedoms Heart. I feel maybe that I was tested maybe by fate or by someone that wanted to play with my life.

Now that I have my very life back I am happy to have Glory and my little Go Fish…

Go Fish here, I think my mommies are a little distracted right now with kissing each other so I thought I’d wrap things up.

Ever since Miss. Scootaloo and Mommy Blackjack saved us from the bad ponies in Stable 102, I’ve been learning a lot. I wasn’t really expecting to learn so much about what happened to my mommies before I was born.

Callie is really cool, she’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I actually found out just the other day she’s going to have a little brother or sister in a few months, so, that’s pretty cool.

Don’t tell my moms, but, I think Callie is kinda cute… uh-oh, they’re coming back, I need to get to school anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this!

“Lift your head and look out the window
Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go
Listen, the birds sing, listen, the bells ring
All the living are dead and the dead are all living
The war is over, we are beginning.”

Crusader Town wasn’t done growing yet, while most of the buildings were done a year later we still had more ponies interested in coming and living there.

Then a little over a year to the day from when we started building the town, a familiar face showed up in town. Arc Light had finally finished her sentence and had come to stay in the town with us, just as we had hoped.

Getting a friend back, especially a friend as good as Arc was certainly something worth celebrating. She’s moved into her new home with Caramel and started to work on building their new life together.

I couldn’t be happier for them, and Arc offered to write a part for the end of my book. I’m happy to turn things over to my first friend, and best friend other than Cherry I have here in the Wasteland.

I’m glad to have you here Arc, it feels like the gang is almost back together.

I sighed a little as I set down the project I was working on. Ever since I had arrived at Crusader Town I had been experimenting with a new upgrade to the PipBuck I had been envisioning and working on in my mind while I was away.

Given how much we had been walking around Equestria, I had started to think about how maybe if Unicorns and Alicorns could teleport, what if you could do the same with just a PipBuck? I was still figuring out a lot of the details, but if I could make it work then the possibilities for what we could do with it were endless.

Of course I had to actually get it to work first, which was another matter entirely. I was mostly having a problem getting the spell matrix to work with the PipBuck. I frowned a little as I looked down at my PipBuck, I was making some progress but I had a long way to go until I got it working.

“Hey Arc,” A familiar sweet voice said from behind me as a pair of light orange legs wrapped around my neck. “Still working on your little project huh?”

“Yeah,” I said and smiled up at Caramel as she nuzzled me gently. “Caramel, listen, I’m sorry that I had to leave you like that. You’ve put up with a lot over the last year and you’ve made us a nice place here… I don’t really know if I deserve you after everything I did.”

I lowered my head and sighed a little as I looked back at my hooves. I still felt terrible about everything that had happened during the war and me sending information to Winter Breeze and the Enclave.

It was hard to not feel guilty about everything, even if I had been forgiven for what I did, it didn’t help. Even if I had done it to protect the ponies from Stable 66, I was still in a tough position because of all of it.

Did I really deserve to be happy? Was I even going to be able to redeem myself for what I had done? While I was glad that Scootaloo was willing to give me a chance, that didn’t mean that I really felt like I deserved it.

“Arc, you did everything because you wanted to keep me and the others safe,” Caramel said with a smile as she turned the chair around and lifted my chin so I could look into her orange eyes and she kissed me lightly on the lips.

“Arc, I know what you did was the hardest thing you had to do,” Caramel said with a soft smile as she nuzzled me gently. “I don’t blame you, in fact I probably would’ve done the same thing if I was in your position. Winter regrets that she ever put you in that position, you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it.”

“Do you really think so?” I asked as I looked at her.

“Arc, I love you for the pony you are,” Caramel said with a smile. “You’re going to be just fine, I don’t hate you for anything you did.”

“I know… but maybe I should have left Stable 66 with you,” I said with a shake of my head. “I mean, if I had then maybe everything would’ve been different. I love you Caramel, I’ve always loved you and I hate that I messed up so badly.”

“Yeah, but if you had left with me, you wouldn’t have such great friends,” Caramel said with a smile. “Scootaloo and the others are great ponies, and they’re more than willing to forgive you for your mistakes. If you had come with me or stayed in Stable 66, then you wouldn’t have had any of the opportunities you did have. And, that’s good enough for me, so let’s not dwell on the what-ifs, okay?”

She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the lips. She pulled away and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. “Are you expecting somepony?”

“No, are you?” I asked as we got up and walked over to the front door. I answered it and blinked a little in surprise when I saw Cure All standing there. “Oh hey Cure, what brings you here?”

“Well, me and Sunrise were in town, and I thought I’d come by since I heard you came back,” she said and rubbed the back of her head a little. “We, never really got to talk after what happened to your mother… even during the Battle of Coltlumbia.”

“Yeah,” I said and sighed a little. Seeing Cure All wasn’t easy given that she reminded me of my mother so much, I hadn’t taken the chems in over a year now, even if it had tempted me a little.

“Hey Caramel,” Cure said and looked at Caramel with a smile. “Still hanging out with Arc I see, did she finally tell you how she feels about you?”

I blushed deeply as Caramel chuckled a little and kissed me lightly. “Did everypony know about it but me?”

“Of course, she wasn’t exactly subtle about it,” Cure said with a chuckle before she levitated something out of her bags and over to me. “Uh, Caramel asked me to give this to you. She said you might be interested in it at some point.”

I looked at it curiously for a moment, it looked like information on how to cast a spell that I didn’t recognize. Caramel gave me a wink and I was already getting an idea of just what it was as I folded it up and put it away.

“Is this… do you really want to do that?” I asked as I looked at Caramel.

“Yeah, of course,” Caramel said and gave me a smile. “But only when we’re ready. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so I asked Cure to look into it.”

I smiled and kissed Caramel gently before I looked back at Cure and gave her a smile. “Cure… my mom would be proud of everything you’ve done. Keep up the good work, okay?”

“You too,” Cure said with a smile. “I’ll leave you two crazy kids alone.”

She headed back out of the house as Caramel took my hoof and lead me to our bedroom.

“Here it comes, here comes the first step
Here it comes, here comes the first step
It starts up in our bedroom after the war
It starts up in our bedroom after the war, after the war.”

As has been mentioned before, Gambit set out to rebuild Canterlot with the help of the NCR and the Enclave. Securing the Enclave’s help was one of the last things Winter did before she stepped down as President, so it was an important project.

I understand why Gambit wanted to do it and why the others wanted to help. Canterlot being rebuilt had a lot of symbolic value, that was something I could appreciate given everything that had happened.

The Enclave may have destroyed Canterlot, but we were going to make sure that we built it up better than before. More than that, this is a project that we’ve been working on together across Equestria and beyond.

It’s no surprise that we were part of that project, as best we could at least.

“Steady, steady, we don’t want it to fall,” I said as the Raptor’s tow line was secured onto the section of city that we had been asked to build.

I smiled as I looked it over, given that we had our own settlement to build we couldn’t contribute as much as we’d have liked at least not yet. However we had built a decent sized building that would serve as a medical center and orphanage for the rebuilt Canterlot.

I smiled a little as I stepped back and looked up at the completed building as the Raptor was starting to take off and carry it away towards the Mountain. I smiled as I looked up at the mountain where the city was being built, it was amazing how much we had gotten done in such a short time.

“The Equestrian spirit indeed,” I said with a chuckle as I watched the Raptor fly off.

“Seems you’ve learned well” A familiar voice from behind said “It’s been a while, Haven’t run into any alicorns or ferals have you?”

“Just the occasional Alicorn that shows up unexpectedly,” I said with a chuckle as I turned around slowly. “Yeah, if I learned one thing it’s how powerful the Equestrian Spirit really is, thanks for helping me learn that, Gambit.”

I turned and was surprised to see that the Alicorn was taller than I remembered. She was about the same height now as Princess Luna had been during the war. That, was certainly not something I had expected, even with everything that had happened.

“You look different, have you done something new with your mane?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Seems an Alicorn’s body grows with their knowledge and magical prowess, a year of studying and practice made me like this.” Gambit said with a chuckle. “You have no idea how annoying it is having royal guards now, they follow me everywhere - never let me have any fun.”

“Could’ve just done what Ruby did and not become a Princess, wouldn’t have had to worry about royal guards,” I said with a chuckle. “Still, it’s good to see you again Gambit. Sorry we could only contribute so much right now, but we’ve got our own settlement to build here.”

“Well, you could of just said you do not have the resources to spare to contribute” Gambit said with a chuckle, walking over and wrapping a wing around me. “Tell me, how is married life treating you, and parenting not one, but two I hear.”

“Yeah, that was something I didn’t really expect either,” I admitted and rubbed the back of my head a little. “But it’s actually been going really well. Cherry’s been a great help and we’ve been working together to raise Silk and Prism. Being a mom again though is a bit, complicated, but I’m doing my best.”

“I can say, I dread parenting, I mean - as a Princess it’s hard to have time alone, How could I ever dedicate enough of my time to actually raise a foal.” Gambit said with a sigh. “Guess that’s why they say don’t do the deed if you can’t pay the price.”

Plain and simple a large robot pony sits down with a thump. I looked over to see Silver standing there and gave him a smile before I looked back at Gambit. “If something is important enough, you’ll find the time somehow. In my experience, family is one of those things.”

“Family is everything. Family makes me happy.” The robotic pony said.

“Well lookie there, a robot with emotions, guess they really can have everything” Gambit said with a chuckle “So, what’s your name little robopony?”

Silver looked up to Gambit lowering himself to bow in respect. “Silver Gunner.”

I looked at Silver curiously, he had said before that family made him happy. Was it possible that he had emotions? I admit I wasn’t a robotics expert but I didn’t know if Silver had emotions before.

“Silver helped us out a few times during the war,” I said with a smile and gave him a nod. “Sorry about you getting shot in the head back in Coltlumbia Silver, that was kind of my fault…”

Silver gave a soft laugh. “Don’t worry about it. I felt logicly I’m just a creation of your former teacher. I feel she would have smiled for what I have done. I look at the castle… I see the past. But we have along way to go. But I am hopeful that it will become like the old world again.”

“I hope it never is like the old world again, I’d lose my mind having to look over more than just Canterlot.” Gambit said with a laugh. “That, and look where the old world brought us, to the brink of total destruction, it was only the hearts and minds of the ponies who stand here today that brought us back.”

“Yes that is sadly true.. But how will we teach the future to not fall into the trap of the past?” Silver simply asked.

“Learn from the past, or be doomed to repeat it,” I said with a nod. “We should be careful to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes. We can’t just remove the past, it’s why Winter talks about the war in her history class, we have to learn from it, but not repeat it.”

“It seems three speaking near an old castle is like the past. With the sun shining and well...” He simply turns to look at the castle. “Maybe all we need to do is say, do you want to lose this?’

“Lose what? The Castle? The past?” Gambit said with a headtilt. “I’m just glad no pony caught what I said before.”

I thought back to what she said before and nodded with a smile. “You’re right Gambit, sorry, I spaced out for a second there. Wait… are you going to have a foal?”

“Yeah, Not my idea, but have you ever tried to tell your partner no? Good luck.” Gambit said with a chuckle, before she tilted her head as she looked at something behind me and I turned my head to see a familiar prismatic maned filly behind me.

“Hey Mommy!”Prism said as she came up behind me and gave me a tight hug.

“Hey Prism,” I said with a smile as I hugged the filly gently as she looked over at Gambit and Silver curiously.

Silver tilted his head to stare at the little filly. He kindly bowed his head. “Greetings little one.”

“Hello,” she said and tilted her head curiously at the robot and then at Gambit. “Are you more of mommy’s friends?”

“Yeah, they are,” I said and smiled. “Silver Gunner, Gambit, this is Prism Light, she’s my adopted daughter.”

“So the adopter becomes the adoptee?” Gambit said with a chuckle. “Strange, though fitting I suppose.”

“Hmm I see something within this little filly. But I don’t know how to place it. Other than that she is very cute.” Silver said offering the little filly a flower from his robotic hoof.

I smiled a little as the filly took the flower, I moved closer to Gambit and said quietly to her. “It’s a long story, somepony made clones of Rainbow Dash and the other Ministry Mares and she wandered into a patch of Killing Joke at some point which de-aged her.”

“Doesn’t killing joke just play a lethal prank on somepony? So - what was the prank it played on her? Age spells are very intensive, I think this would be more a side effect as I can’t think a plant would have the power to actually remove age from a pony.” Gambit said, looking at the filly. “Have you gotten a full work up? Make sure there’s nothing left from the killing joke?”

“Morning Glory and Fluttershy used the cure on her and assured me there’s nothing left of the plant in her system,” I said with a shake of my head. “We don’t know the full extent of what it did to her though given that she was found after the fact. She hasn’t de-aged or whatever since then though.”

“Cloning was always a weird process.” Gambit said with a sigh. “Why did anypony ever try and use it to begin with? Who knows what kind of things might happen when clones interact with normal magical items, or even things like killing joke.”

“I wish I knew,” I said with a shake of my head. “While it was in a Stable-Tec facility, somepony took over things in the Stable without our knowledge. I wish I had an answer as to why somepony did it.”

“Hmm odd I say. Miss Prism I have a simple question for you if you wish to answer.”

I looked over at Silver and Prism and Prism tilted her head curiously. “What’s that?” She asked.

“Most don’t know the answer to this. But What is the core value of friendship?” Silver simply asked.

Prism looked thoughtful for a moment as she looked at Silver and then at me and Gambit. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say, she was still young even if you counted how long she had been out of the Stable, so what could she answer?

“My mommies taught me a lot about friendship,” she finally said. “They said that friendship is built on lots of stuff. Mommy Cherry said that Mommy Scootaloo always inspired her and the others, gave her hope that there’s a better future… so, maybe Hope?”

Silver turned his head to me as his eyes gave a flicker. Then back to Prism. “The core is not only hope little one. It’s forgiveness, Sacrifice, love, happiness, and hope all rolled into one. The can become all one thing. When the value is broken then we lose it.” He looks back to me his eyes flickering again. “Good answer child.”

Prism trotted back over to me and I smiled as I ruffled the filly’s mane. “You did good kiddo,” I said and gave Silver a nod. “Well said Silver.”

Silver stared at me like I said something weird. “What did I say?”

I blinked and repeated what he had said. “You don’t remember saying that?”

“I said nothing but asked a question Scootaloo.”

“Weird,” I said and picked up Prism before I looked back at Gambit. “I should probably get back into town. I hope what we contributed to the city will help.”

“Can we visit Canterlot when it’s done?” Prism asked.

“Absolutely, Princesses honor,” Gambit said with a smile, offering a hoof to Prism. “You’ll be my guests, all of you - robots included.”

Silver’s voice had a sense of wonderment in it. “I would be honored princess.” He bowed his head.

I bowed my head and Prism’s eyes went wide and she bowed too. “Sorry Princess, most Alicorns I know aren’t Princesses.”

“To be fair, I’m the only princess I know of - So, I guess that’d mean all alicorns you know aren’t.” Gambit said with a chuckle “Really though, No need to bow - still not used to that.”

“I look forward to seeing Canterlot when its done,” I said with a smile and we headed off towards town.

I took one last look back towards the city under construction before I left. It still had a ways to go, but I looked forward to seeing it done.

For now, I had my friends and family to take care of.

I was always happy to see Crusader Town when I returned. The town had grown over the past year from a small collection of buildings and tents into a good sized town. It was amazing how much work we had gotten done in such a relatively short time.

It was a testament to what could happen if we worked together to build something. It wasn’t as grand or symbolic as rebuilding Canterlot, but it was certainly not something to be downplayed. I smiled and looked back at Prism as she smiled up at me.

“What were you talking to Miss. Cricket about?” She asked and tilted her head a little.

“That’s, a long story,” I said and shook my head. I actually wasn’t sure exactly how I was supposed to explain this to an 8 year old filly. “I’ll tell you when you’re older, sorry, its just kind of complicated.”

“Okay,” Prism said as we walked into town.

I smiled when I saw Sparky working on one of the buildings that was supposed to become a restaurant. She spotted us and waved to us before she finished what she was working on and hopped down and walked over to us.

“Hey Scootaloo, Prism,” she said with a smile as she looked down at the filly. “How’s it going? Have you had any problems settling in?”

“No, everypony is really nice,” Prism said with a shake of her head. “Scootaloo and Cherry are great!”

“I’ll bet,” Sparky said with a smile as she ruffled the filly’s mane before she looked at me. “I, wanted to thank you. You kept your word and then some with this place, I just wish Aunt Apple Bloom could’ve been here to see it.”

“I wish she could been here too, and your parents,” I said and hugged Sparky gently. “But I’m sure that wherever they are, they’re proud of you. I know I am, I know I’m not really your mom but…”

“Scootaloo, you may not have been the version of you that helped conceive me, but after all of this…” She said and gestured around. “It doesn’t really matter to me, you’re part of my family either way.”

“Does that include me?” Prism asked.

“Yep, I wouldn’t leave you out,” Sparky said with a chuckle and ruffled the filly’s mane. “Come on, we got some new arrivals today while you two were out.”

“Really? Who?” I asked curiously as we made our way down main street towards the treehouse.

I was wondering who it might be, it wasn’t that unusual for us to get new arrivals in Crusader Town, the settlement was growing pretty regularly. Something about this interested me more than usual for some reason as we headed down the path.

When we reached the treehouse I smiled broadly when I spotted who was there talking with Cherry and Arc. I galloped forward and hugged the familiar Zebra who chuckled and hugged me back.

“Hey Riva,” I said with a smile as I looked over to see Zafir watching. “I wasn’t expecting you here so soon. How did things go in Zebrica?”

“Well, the FRA has managed to secure most of it after pushing back the Legion and Enclave forces with some help,” Riva said with a smile. “Not just the Alliance either, I’ve got quite a story to tell all of you.”

We took a seat around the firepit as I sat down next to Cherry. Riva started to speak with Zafir occasionally helping out. I was a bit surprised to hear that one of the major turning points in the war in Zebrica was, of all things, a Zebra from the Starkatteri Tribe. I still remembered the fight I had with Cadith back in Stable 66, so a friendly Starkatteri was a bit of a surprise.

I’m not going to put all the story in here, but it’s worth learning about. Short version is that the mare in question, a hunter raised by the Orah tribe named Azala, had helped drive out the Legion and Stardust’s Enclave. Riva and Zafir had apparently helped her out on occasion, and it sounded like quite the adventure.

“So, when we had a chance to come back here with our contribution to Canterlot, we wanted to come back,” Zafir said. “The FRA wants to set up an embassy here in Equestria and establish friendly ties.”

“And that’s why we’re here,” Riva said with a smile. “The FRA’s diplomatic corps has promoted us to legatus… uh, ambassadors. Since we have the most experience in Equestria, they sent us here and, well, we wanted to see you again.”

“We’re glad to have you here,” Arc said with a smile as she looked over at me and Cherry. “Very happy, right Scoots?”

“Yeah, the original gang’s all here,” I said with a smile. “Though I do wish that Dazzle and the others could be here too.”

“She will not be forgotten, none of them will,” Riva said and gave Zafir a nod. “We told the other Zencori your story, and they’ve spread the word throughout the Alliance. You are a very popular story, and as long as the Zencori exist, then your story will be told.”

I smiled a little and nuzzled Cherry who was holding Silk Rose in her hooves. I put my wing around her gently and gave them all a smile.

“We’ll never forget what happened either,” Cherry finally said. “Scootaloo’s been writing a book, she’s almost done, right Scoots?”

“Yeah, I just need to figure out how to finish it,” I said with a nod as I looked between my friends. “Crusader Town is a success, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m just glad that we’re all here, here’s hoping that we’re going to be okay.”

I smiled a little as I looked them over one more time. I chuckled a little when I noticed that Riva had a slight bump to her stomach, it seemed like everypony was having foals these days.

“Come on, let’s get you two a place to stay,” I said as we got up again. “And I’ll bet Winter would be happy to have a couple of Zencori Storytellers around. If you two wouldn’t mind helping with her school.”

“Of course,” Zafir said as we started into the town again.

I smiled, we were all back together, and even if we had absent friends and family, we were still going to make this place work.

After all, that’s the Equestrian Spirit, working together to make a better world. Pony, Zebra, Griffon, and more, and we were going to keep it strong.

So, after two years of traveling around Equestria, fighting wars, and building a town and family, this is where my story ends.

Crusader Town is about done, at least for now, you never know how much more it might expand in the future. Perhaps it’ll become a city that will rival even the old world’s, or maybe it’ll just stay small.

I’m sure that you want some updates on what else has been happening. I’ll tell you what I know, though some of these will be written by their own ponies.

Nomad City still flies around Equestria with Star and her family doing what they can to help where they can. Jade has been elected to the City Council once more and Star was given a promotion to the Chief of Security after her predecessor retired.

Serenity and Vanilla still call Nomad City home, but I’m sad to report that Vanilla’s condition is worsening. I don’t know how Serenity is going to hold up when she dies, but she’s going to have a lot of support from Star and her family and from us when she comes by Crusader Town. I hate that she’s being orphaned again, but she’s always going to have ponies that care for her, I guess that’s what really matters.

Rain Runner and her friends survived the Enclave War and returned to New Pegasus. Rain eventually gave birth to a daughter, a Unicorn filly with a light orange coat with a pink and purple mane… I’m not really sure what to make of that to be honest. Maybe next time I visit New Pegasus I’ll ask her about it.

Still, things are going well in New Pegasus since the defeat of the Enclave and the Project. Last I heard Crystal Belle and Corona were both elected to the city’s leadership council. I’m glad that things there are going so well for Rain and her friends.

Applejack’s Rangers are still going strong under Nova’s leadership. Like Nomad City they’ve been moving around Equestria and helping wherever they can. At the same time they’re helping with Canterlot and defending other settlements around Equestria.

It’s funny, the other day I thought I saw a crow standing on a rooftop watching me. I don’t know if it was Crow, it flew off before I could even get close to it, but maybe it was. Some sort of, silent guardian looking over the town perhaps. If it is, I’m glad to have him here, we can always use the help.

Equestria is on the verge of entering a second golden age. Raiders and Slavers are on the decline and we’ve made peace with most of the world, save for the Dragon Lands at least, but they haven’t really caused any problems.

I set out to try and make up for the mistakes I made during the war. Even if not all of it was entirely my fault like with Solaris, I still made more mistakes than I did any good. But I’ve found the atonement, at least for now, and it’s going to keep going.

I built Crusader Town to make sure that everypony who needed a home had one. That’s never going to change, no matter how large it grows.

So, if you’ve ever made mistakes in your life, if you’ve ever done things you think you can’t be forgiven for, don’t give up hope. You always have a second chance in Equestria, and a home in Crusader Town.

Because everypony, as long as they’re willing to work for it, deserves a second chance. And while war may never change, ponies do, through the roads they walk

An old Pegasus mare with the faded golden coat and graying red mane closed the book she had been reading out loud to the collected foals that were sitting around her and listening intently. She smiled a little as she put the book to the side and looked at the foals.

“And that little ones, is the story of how Crusader Town was founded,” she said as she gave them a smile. “What did you all think?”

“Grandma Scootaloo was so cool!” A Unicorn colt with a red coat and short purple mane said excitedly.

“Indeed she was Crimson,” the old mare said with a smile as she looked down at Scootaloo and Cherry’s grandson. “She was the coolest and bravest mare I ever knew.”

“Did you really run off to help her fight in San Prancisco when you were our age Grandma Serenity?” A Pegasus filly with a golden coat and white mane asked.

“Yeah, I was young back then, I did a lot of crazy things,” Serenity said with a chuckle as she gave the foals a nod. “Don’t you get any crazy ideas, while there are adventures to be had in Equestria, we don’t need more foals going off to war like I did Shimmer, you give your mom enough trouble already.”

“I’m more curious about the story of how you and your friends went to the Dragon Lands,” a Zebra filly with Zencori stripes named Sylia said.

“What about the Alicorn who fought the…” A Unicorn filly with a grey coat and blue and black mane started to say.

“Alright, alright, calm down you two,” Serenity said with a laugh. “Alright, tomorrow Sylia will get to pick the next story, followed by Crazy Eights.”

“Awwww,” Crimson and Shimmer said.

“Come on, your parents are going to be here to pick you up soon,” a white furred unicorn mare with a greying green mane said as she came in and ushered the foals into the living room with Serenity followed close behind.

Serenity smiled a little as the foals left with their parents. A white Pegasus with a golden mane and red wingtips smiled at her and the Unicorn as she waved and walked off with Shimmering. Crazy Eights left with Calypso and Go Fish, Crimson left with Silk Rose, and finally Sylia left with a Zebra mare.

“You know, you just give those foals crazy ideas when you tell them those stories, right?” The Unicorn asked as she nuzzled Serenity gently.

“I know Pure Heart,” she said with a chuckle. “But we need to pass things on to the next generation of troublemakers don’t we?”

Pure Heart just laughed as she kissed her wife gently on the cheek. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you Serenity, you’re either the best thing that’s ever happened to me or the most troublesome.”

“Ah, you know you love me anyway,” Serenity said with a laugh as she nuzzled Pure Heart. “I love you Pure Heart, and you know I just do it because they love hearing the stories.”

“Yeah, I know,” Pure Heart said as she looked out at Crusader Town. “Do you think Scootaloo would be happy with what has been built here?”

Over the past decades Crusader Town had grown from the small group of buildings into a sprawling city that had eventually grown out to include Ponyville and beyond. Serenity smiled a little at the ever present statue that was at the center of the city of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders standing together.

Under the statue was a crypt where the bodies had been interred with their loved ones. Scootaloo and Cherry had been the last ones to be laid to rest there, a painful memory for both Serenity and their families.

She looked up into the sky just as a ship flew overhead. It wasn’t a cloudship, not this one, instead Equestria had been building bigger and moving upwards in the last decades. The Winter Breeze was their first ship built to travel to the stars, and with luck, find out what was really out there.

“I think, she’d be very happy, and proud,” Serenity said as she nuzzled Pure Heart gently. “Come on, lets get back inside.”

They started to walk back into the house and Serenity paused for a moment as she turned back down the street and for a moment she thought she saw a silver robotic pony and an Alicorn watching her.

She looked down the street again and she spotted a mare with two foals who were running along the street. She paused a moment, there was something strangely familiar about the two, she couldn’t place her hoof on it, but the more she watched them the more the feeling stayed. One of them stopped and looked at her and smiled as she waved at her before going back to playing with her friend.

She smiled and waved a little before she followed her wife into the house.

Silver the old robotic pony his body smoothed out. The old rusted parts removed. He has been given a smoother less armored look. He looked more like his creator wished him to be a teacher not a fighter. He looked up to the statues.

“The years have been good.” His voice sounded sad as well as happy.

“Yeah, I guess they have.”

“Moving forward for ones that live like us.. Won’t be easy but I don’t mind living till the end of time.” He said with a nod.

“Yeah, It’s been years since Valen passed, at least our daughter seems to have handled it well.” Gambit said with a soft sigh. “How about you, ever think about maybe making yourself a little robopony to look after?”

Silver chuckled softly. “The future of Tiria’s heart the children that are born there are the ones I look after. I look after them like she would. Because our future is the way these days.”

“I suppose so, I guess I know why none of the princesses before the war took a partner now, doomed to outlive everypony they hold dear.” Gambit said with a sigh, shaking her head. “At least we know the future is bright and that the next generation will always be better than the last.”

SIlver nodded. “Yes I agree, even if our path makes us older then we are. But the old lives do help the new. Someday though I feel we will just watch the world go by. As we just stand there and accept the fact. That everyone we know will turn to the dust.”

“At least we know, the time of strife and war is finally over.” Gambit said, looking to Silver with a soft smile “I really appreciate these talks, you still on for coming up to Canterlot and perhaps going bowling or something?”

Silver laughed looking to a creature that looks like a wolf younger than normal. “Yes I shall also bring Gem with us. Since she hasn’t seen the castle yet.”

“You and any guests you bring are always welcome Silver.” Gambit said “However, I do suppose it is time for me to head home.”

“Take care Gambit I shall come up there soon to say hello.” He gave a nod

“Come now, Shade” Gambit called out “It’s time to go home.”

A young mare coming running over to join at Gambit’s side, giving their robotic friend a wave before they left.

Silver walked up to the little Vulf’ven. “Gem Its time go little one.” The black wolf turned staring at Silver with her little light blue eyes.

“Okay Silver.” She walked along with Silver as he looked back seeing the statue of Crow sitting ever vigilant. With the next one sitting beside him taking up the mantel. Silver felt this was a good time for him. As him and the wolf slowly walked up to the transport.

Author's Notes:

I hope you all enjoyed it, I'll soon be posting a blog post of my final thoughts on this fic.