“Don’t discount that part of who he was just because you didn’t know it. None of us are all of who we are to any one person.” ― John Scalzi

The next two days go rather fast. Magpie came and spent that night and the next with me. Thank the Goddesses that she has been so strong and supportive of me. The next morning is spent with Emerado and Soundwaves, again reviewing the reports and rewatching a previous memory orb. I am really getting the hang of evaluating what I see in the orbs compared to what is written down. There is so much to learn. I mean, I now have not only seen how to perform a raid effectively and escape, but also how to counter those raids.

Finally, Dr. Embolism releases me. Emerado and Soundwaves come and pick up the recollector equipment and take it back to the stable. Magpie meets me before I can even leave my room. On the way, we stop for a couple of hay burgers and Sparkle Colas. Then she walks me to the entrance gate of the stable. This is the first time I have ever had anypony with me who was not authorized to go in with me. It feels very strange. She smiles at me.

“I know love, I can’t go any further with you. Sorry.”

“Thank you for coming this far, dearest, I just wish I could spend some more time with you today. If I can I will come and visit you again either tonight or tomorrow.”

“You promise, Moll? I really do want to spend time with you, I mean just you and I, no guards, no nurses or doctors peaking in. It was bad enough that one time when your heart monitor went up and they came running into the room thinking you were getting ready to code.”

I have to laugh at that one, “Well, it was one heck of a kiss. I told you, you knock my socks off young mare.”

We share a mutual laugh and then she moves closer, she puts her hooves around me and kisses me, and I return them to her. Once we break the kisses, I pull back a little, “I love you Mags, thank you so much for everything. I owe you so much.”

“It’s nothing Moll, I wanted to be there for you. Now you best get in there so you do not get in trouble.” With that she turns and starts to walk off, I see her lift and swish her tail as she stops and looks over her shoulder at me. She smiles at me when she sees me watching, then she heads off back to town. I then turn and enter the stable once again, duty awaits.

I head straight to the headquarters area of the stable to check in. On my way, I pass the security office and catch a glimpse of the pegasus poster. Boy, they sure have that right. It was really easy to die, the living part and duty, now that seems to be the tough part. One of these days I need to check out who made or printed that poster, I would love a copy for my own room.

Finally, I enter the command wing. I see Broadcast walking quickly from the communications room to the colonel’s office. I give a quick wave, and he waves back but has a nervous look on his face. Now, what is that all about I ask myself. Then I look over and see Emerado looking over a map next to Horns, one of the bulls on the HQ staff.

“Hey Em, Hey Horns, how is it going?”

"Hey Mollygirl,” Horns replies as he keeps looking at the map. I start to examine it myself then.

“Mollygirl, you better go report to the Colonel. I know you just got out of the hospital, but for now on, please wear your uniform to the HQ area, unless it is an emergency.”

“Thanks for the reminder Em, I just got back and wanted to check in as soon as I could. I had not thought about it.” If she was going to be that way, the least she could have done was bring me a spare one from my locker. I then head over to the Colonel’s office just as I see Broadcast exit it. I knock on the door and wait to be told to enter. Upon being told to do so I perform the traditional entrance and salute. “Colonel Sir, Cadet Mollygirl reporting for duty Sir,” I tell him.

He returns my salute. “Very Well Cadet. Now that you are on my staff; if my door is open, a quick knock and then enter is all I require. Also, for now on, please wear your full uniform unless it is an emergency when you are in the HQ area. I understand you wanted to report in as soon as you could.”

“Yes sir, My apologies about my appearance sir.”

“Cadet, please go to your stall, change into your uniform, and report back. I will discuss with Emerado and Horns what I want them to bring you up to speed on. By the way, later I want to discuss the now-infamous memory orb that has the cattle in the co-op excited as well as Cadet Emerado and Lt. Archer.”

“Yes sir,” I reply and then about-face and leave his office and head back to my stall to get properly dressed.

I enter my stall; overall it looks pretty much the same. Except the bedding has been stripped off of Ivy’s bunk. I smile at first when I see the drawing from Epona to Ivy. I take them down and carefully look at them. I remember each time Ivy received one of them and how excited and happy she was. I will see if Sumac wants some of them. The others, I will keep. Reminders of good times and innocence. I feel tears start to form in my eyes. I open Ivy’s locker and find her old uniforms. I take one out and inhale her scent from it. I miss her so much. As I go to put it back into her locker, I find a letter addressed to me in it. I open it and begin to read.

My Dearest Mollygirl,

If you are reading this letter then we both know that I am no longer on this side of the grass. I ask that you take care of Ma and Epona for me. I know both will be devastated. Please take care of yourself too. While I have never told you this, Mollygirl, not only are you my best friend, but I have loved you as a sister and so much more. I wish I had the guts to tell you how I feel in person, but I am just too afraid of losing you. If I told you how I feel, I am afraid you will reject me and end our friendship. I could not handle either. I love you Mollygirl. I wish I could be there right now with you holding you. Please know you are loved and that I will be waiting for you when it is your time.

Yes, I did love Timberjack and I do still miss him. However, you are my special mare and have always held a part of my heart. Please forgive me for not being brave enough to tell you.
With all my love

Yours, Ivy

It is the first time I have been truly alone since the incident; I feel the tears building as I realize how much I have truly lost. The dam breaks and I can not hold them back, even though I know I need to get back to the HQ. I do not know how long I lay there on the floor curled into a ball crying. Eventually, I feel Emerado helping me up. She takes the letter from my hooves and puts it on my bed and lets me cry into her shoulder. I should be mortified, but it just hurts too damn much. After a while, I finally run out of tears.

She looks at me. “You ok now Molly?” I nod my head yes. “Good, The Colonel figured something like this would happen. He sent me down here to help you if you needed it. Now that you have stopped crying, go ahead, wipe your eyes, and straighten your mane. Then get your uniform on. We have a lot to talk about. Besides the boys should be getting back tomorrow and you will want to be ready to see them with me.”

“Thanks, Em. I needed that. Please do not tell anyone, ok?”

“No problem Molly. As I said, the Colonel was kind of expecting it. I think he would have been more worried if you didn’t let it out, to tell the truth.”

That gets a smile out of me. I had always thought of Colonel Chappy as a tough old bird who would not let emotions get in the way at all. Perhaps I do have some lessons to learn. I then use a towel to wipe my face. I run a curry comb through my mane quickly and then get ready to put my uniform on. Em stops me then.

“Uh, Mollygirl, you need to remove the sergeant stripes from your uniform. After that, here are your cadet pips. They were Archers, and he wanted you to have them. He would have given them to you himself, but he is busy today with his guns.”

I had not even thought about that. “Thanks, Em, I appreciate it. Give me a few minutes.” I then remove the sergeant insignia that I was so proud of and replace them with the single hollow pip on each shoulder tab. What a stark contrast. Once finished I put my uniform back on and we head back to the HQ section.

Once we arrive Emerado takes me over and to the map. “Ok, Mollygirl, you can see by the map that Red Eye and his forces have really extended themselves. Thanks to the prisoner we have taken we now know that they have been probing us to determine how best to attack us. They also now have troops going all the way from Fillydelphia to the Hoof, many of these are on slave hunts, while some are just supply units that are supporting the other forces. They recently had troops around Tenpony Tower, from what I understand, those have been withdrawn. Currently, we have started to make tentative plans for an expeditionary force to cut the supply lines of those forces. I think your studies of the raids during the war will really help us with this.”

I am stunned. I am brand new to the staff, and I am to help plan the raids. Now to implement what Rainbow Dash and her staff were trying to teach me.

After discussing with the colonel what was on the orbs, especially the one meant for me, we also talk to him about George and our belief that she may be in the area still. He then informs us about two major operations that are coming up soon. The first is to plan for a defense of the Co-op, especially the stable from a major assault. The next is that he wants us to develop operational plans for a series of raids against the slavers and their supply lines between Manehatten, the Co-op, and the Hoof.

“Emerado, Mollygirl. I can not tell you how important both portions of this plan are. We are working with our assets at Tenpony Tower and Watcher to combine our operations with theirs. While I am not privy to their portions of the operations, I have been convinced that our participation is necessary. In two weeks, we should have received enough weapons delivered from the Hoofington area to arm and equip a battalion of militia troops to reinforce the CDF.”

“Colonel. Are we going to authorize a full mobilization of the CDF? I mean are we going to stop all agriculture projects and support by CDF personnel during these operations?” Emerado asks.

“Emerado, the civilian support of the ag details will remain the same right now. However, Those of the CDF who are on them will have full kits ready as well as PipBucks or radios.”

“Sir, can we conscript civilian forces to assist in building defensive works if necessary?” I ask.

“Mollygirl, that is an excellent question, I would say yes, but we need to confer with the local mayors first. Also, I would like to find alternative housing for those few families that are still housed in the Stable itself. I am sure it will be a priority for whoever may attack us.” He replies to me.

"After you have the defense plans begun, I will need you both to start collecting all the intelligence we have on the villages, towns, and land between here, the Hoof, and Manehatten. I then want a roughed-out plan of operations to raid the slaver's lines. Ah ta hell with it, let's call them what they are. Red Eyes forces. I want the first set of plans roughed out in two days. Is that understood? Feel free to have the rest of the staff assist as necessary. However, I want horns to focus on the defensive works and to see if we can locate any more artillery pieces. Is that understood Cadets?”

“Yes, Sir,” we both chorus. It looks like we have a lot of work to do. Damn it, I was hoping to spend some time with Mags and Badger, but we dare not drop the ball on this.

“Finally, all troops are also to be reminded of the emergency code phrases to be used over our PipBucks and radios. Those of special note being Watcher level warning- Watcher has warned the command of danger. Broken Saber -A CDF Unit being overrun needs overwhelming support. Canterlot is falling- the Stable is under attack, Rally to assist, and finally, Mollygirl, I wish we had this before but I am sure you understand its importance, Black Flag- Raiders inside the Co-op borders. Ponies down.” He tells us. “I think that should be enough for a good start. Dismissed you two.”

We leave the office and start to examine maps of the entire Co-op, particularly around the stable. We begin to make our plans from there, making notes on the maps as we go. We work late into the night having Broadcast bring us dinner from the mess hall and we eat at our desks. About Midnight Em looks up at the clock.

“Mollygirl, it is already late, let's call it a night. We need to make sure we keep somewhat mentally alert while we can.”

“Sounds good Em.” I tell her, “Em, is it always like this, I mean this heavy of a workload? I thought it was more of a 6-4 job or even a 6-6 one. I had not expected this.”

She looks at me with a serious expression, "Mollygirl we have just had several weeks of work thrown at us at once. Relax, it should die down after this crisis period is over. It is not the first we have had, and it will not be the last.”

We continue to chat as we walk back to our stall. Once there, I remove my uniform blouse and sit momentarily on my bunk still talking to Em, however, I am starting to feel a little tired. When I wake up It is after three in the morning. Em is sleeping like a rock and the lights in the stall are out. I finish taking off the rest of my uniform and set my alarm for a half-hour before revile, I will clean up then. I am just too tired to care otherwise. I just hope today goes smoothly so I can get off in time to spend the evening with Badger and Magpie.

I awake in the morning still tired, but really looking forward to the end of the day so I can spend time with Badger and Mags. I grab a quick shower before Em and I head to breakfast and then Muster. We have to get to the formation a half-hour early just to make sure we do not have to make any emergency briefings to the troops. Today nothing of note. We fall into formation with the Colonel and the rest of the headquarters staff. I scan the ranks of the formation to see if the Door Kickers are back yet, then I remember, they will not be back for a couple more hours after they are relieved. I am slightly embarrassed by this small guffaw on my part. After all these years I should have remembered something so simple. But I just want to see him and my friends.

As I stand there idly thinking in the ranks being bored, my mind starts to wander and I can not help but hope that Badger still wants me. After our last meeting's utter failure, I am so nervous. I mean, what if he does not want me anymore, but still wants Mags? Will she leave me too? I keep up my façade in the ranks and try to shift my thoughts back to work, but it is hard. Finally I hear the Colonel’s voice, “Very Well. Company Commanders, take over your troops, dismissed.”

I hear the Regimental Sergeant Major call out, “Headquarters Troop Attention, Fallout?” I then realize that I have just stood my first formation as a staff pony, I am no longer a Door Kicker. A new chapter in my life has begun. I take two steps back and fall out of formation and walk next to Em and Horns back to the HQ.

“Ok Em, how many lines of defense do you two have in mind so far? I would like to see about getting the assignments started for the engineers and the project troops.” Horns tells her. I look at his ear and notice his ear tag. It is a silver one of a sword with two roses that form a heart behind it. Now I am curious as to what that means. I will have to ask him later, perhaps at lunch or on a tea break.

I miss the first part of Emerado’s reply, “Well we were thinking of at least two lines of trenches in front of the Stable entrance, along with barbed wire tangles if we can find enough. The trenches will have to zig and zag at random distances, but never too long. We do not want clear lines of fire down a large flank. What ideas do you have horns?”

“I was thinking of putting in a couple of lines around a few other areas to give additional defensive positions, but also to prevent them from pinpointing the stable itself. We may want to encircle the full stable with non-continuous trenches also this would have us ready no matter where they approach from. Also, having talked to some of the gun crews, maybe we will want to build either multiple gun positions or a firebase that is well defended and dug in. I just wish we had more guns for that option.” He tells her.

“You know, Trooper Badger mentioned to me that he thought we might be able to use the archives to find out where some shipments of weapons that never made it to the carriage factory may have been located,” I tell both of them.

They both look shocked and surprised at this. “No, really, I mean it. Perhaps we can have him work with another staff member to try and find them during his next service rotation?”

“Mollygirl, do you really think he may be correct about this? I mean we could use every weapon we can find. Especially if we can find some more heavy artillery. That would be very beneficial to us.” Horns replies.

With that, we begin to dive back into the planning. Come lunchtime Em and I head to the cafeteria, I hope we can catch Badger and Bullet before they head out to town. When we get there, we see Shadowbuck and Bullet eating. Bullet waves us over. As we get close, he stands up and gives both of us a brief hug. “It's great to see you two again, Molly I am sorry I was not able to make it to the hospital, but Em kept us all informed of how you were doing.”

“No problem Bull, I understand. I was just happy Badger got to come to visit.” I then notice the rank on his shoulder. “Congratulations Dad, I am so glad to see you finally made sergeant.”

“Thanks, Moll, I just wish I could have gotten them another way. These should have been Ivy’s. besides I was happy as a corporal.”

“Oh I understand Bullet, but you really should have had them years ago, you earned them. By the way, have you seen Badger?”

He looks a bit uncomfortable at this then tells me “He said he wanted to head to the house and check on Memory and Whiskey, then he was going to head into town to see Magpie.”

“Oh, ok, I guess I can understand that,” I tell him trying not to let my disappointment show. The longer I am with him I start to have a feeling there is something I was supposed to tell Bullet, but I just cannot remember what it is. Then I remember. I will tell him when I can get him alone.

Shadowbuck finishes his meal and looks at Bullet, “I will catch you back at the squad bay he tells Bullet. Mollygirl, it is really great to see you dear; I was so afraid we had lost you.” He gets up and before he walks away, he puts a hoof on one of my shoulders and gives me a peck on the cheek. Now, what was that all about? A little while later Emerado gets up and goes to get some more salad and I have my chance.

“Bullet, I know this is going to sound really strange, but during the incident, I, I, Uh.” I begin.

“Come on Molly, spit it out,” he tells me.

“Bullet, I thought I saw Bluebelle,” I see his jaw drop. “She told me to give you a message, in answer to your prayers from the night before. She said to tell you the answers were Yes, Yes, and even if I were alive, I would want her with us too. I do not know what she meant though, she never told me.”

I see him relax a bit. “I do know though. Molly, I think you saw her and thank you very much. It has taken a lot off my mind. But now I think me and Em should get married a bit sooner than we had planned.” Then he smiles more brightly than I have seen in many years as Emerado comes back.

I decide then that it is best that I give them some time alone and head back to the HQ section. “It was great seeing you again Bullet, Em, I will see you back at the office,” I tell them as I get up to leave. They both acknowledge me and then become much more involved with talking to each other.

As I am heading back, I stop at the railing to look down into the atrium of the stable. I am standing there leaning on the rail looking out when I hear a voice behind me. "Bottle Cap for your thoughts Mollygirl.” It startles me at first as I had been so deep into thought.

“OH, hi Archer, how are you doing?”

“Oh, I am doing well enough. I heard from Horns about the project you and Em are working on and was stopping by to see if I could assist at all.”

“Thanks, Archer, I really appreciate it. Sorry about being out of it when you came up. It's just that the Door Kickers came back today and I had really hoped to at least have lunch with Badger, or even just see him, but Bullet and Shadowbuck told me he had already left the stable.”

“Buck up Molly, I am sure that he figures he will see you this evening. I mean he would be a damn fool to not want to spend time with a mare like you. Especially with you being engaged.”

“I know, but I wonder if that will be enough. He may change his mind about me you know. I have not seen him since the hospital, and I, I just do not know.”

“Mollygirl, please, give him time. It is not easy on him either, he probably feels guilty that he could not protect the mares and foals he loves, no matter how misguided.”

“I had not thought of it that way Archer, thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem Molly, now shall we head up to HQ and get working on these plans?”

We then head back to the HQ and work with Horns and Em for the rest of the day.

At six that night we knock off for the day. Em, and I are heading back to our stall before I can head out to try and catch up with Badger and Magpie. On the way, Em tells me she wants to stop by the Door Kickers squad bay for a minute. As we enter it, I notice that Shadowbuck is laying back on the couch that is next to the door, with Bullet lying next to him with his head on his lap. Shadowbuck running his hoof through Bullet’s mane. I am more than a bit surprised. Em on the other hoof is not bothered at all she goes in and starts to chat.

“Hi Shadowbuck, hi my love, how are you two doing?” she asks with a smile.

“Hi Em, Oh, hi Mollygirl,” Shadowbuck tells us. He looks a bit embarrassed, almost like a foal caught stealing treats.

“Hi sweetheart, how was work?” Bullet asks Em with a large smile on his face.

“It was ok, my hoofs are killing me, do you think I could get a hoof and leg rub Bullet?” She asks.

“Sure Em, anything for you,” Bullet tells her with a smile and starts to get up.

She places a hoof on his shoulder “No, you just stay there, for now, I still need to get cleaned up. Besides, you two boys look too adorable like that. I’ll be back in a bit.” She says, leans over and kisses Bullet, and then smiles at Shadowbuck, placing a hoof on his shoulder. Then we head back to the stall as if nothing happened.

“Em, did I just see what I thought I saw?”

“That depends on what you think you saw. I know I saw the buck I love and his long-term lover, who has been kind enough to share him with me cuddling on the couch. Is that what you saw?”

“Yeah, that is what I saw, but, I, I never knew that about either of them. Why didn’t Bullet ever tell me?”

“Maybe Mollygirl, because it was none of your business, and that was a side of him he did not want to share with anyone. Besides with the lower ratio of bucks to mares, many of the old-timers still look down upon two bucks being together.”

“But, Em, doesn’t it bother you at all?”

“No more than you, Badger, Magpie, and Ivy as a family. In all actuality I fully understand it.” She pauses for a minute then looks at me in the eyes, “I really do not think you know how hard Bullet took it when Blue Belle was killed. He was hurt so much that he could not even look at another mare. Besides dear, it means that when his needs arise and mine do not, then I am not forced to do something I would rather not most of the time, and he can still be happy. Also, I like Shadowbuck, he is really a sweet buck. I bet you did not even realize he considered himself like an uncle to you.”

That makes me smile, “No Em, I had not realized it. But thank you for telling me now. I just always thought of him as Bullet's best friend and one of my troopers.”

“Well, now you know. I better hurry up and get cleaned up so I can go get that massage and some cuddle time in, and you need to go catch up with your sweethearts, ok.”

We get back to our stall, we both hit the showers. I then put on a clean uniform so I can wear it in the morning to formation, just in case things go as good as I hope. Once I leave the stable, I head straight to Magpies. When I get there Magda tells me they have left a bit earlier and headed into town. I then check the Library.

“Hi Pages, are Magpie and Badger here?”

“Oh, Hi Mollygirl, No, they have not been here yet. It sure is good to see you, it has been too long.”

“It is great to see you to Pages. Hopefully, I can start to visit more often again.”

“I understand, by the way, I heard what all happened. My condolences on your loss. If you ever need to talk, I am here for you,” she tells me as she puts a hoof on mine and gives me a sad smile.

“Thank you Pages, I really appreciate it, and I will remember, I promise. I hate to run, but I want to try and catch up with them. "Dang it, how would I ever, ah, I am not always the quickest. I forgot about my PipBuck. One of the first things I got when I got back to HQ yesterday was my PipBuck. All I have to do is look for Badgers PipBuck tag, and… there he is. It seems that the two of them are at the North 40 Supper Club. Good, I could use a drink and a good meal, so I head off to try and catch them there.

As I walk through the door, I see them both at a table on the far side of the room. They look so cute together. I can not wait to get over to them. Magpie sees me first and I see a big smile on her face, Badger on the other hoof, gives me a smile but only after I see his one ear go down to the side and back up. Now, what was that all about.

“Hi Mags, Hi Badger, I hope you do not mind me catching up with you. I tried to get out earlier, and then I looked for you at Magpie’s and then the Library. I would not have found you if I had not thought to use the PipBuck Tags.” I tell them as I lean over and give both a hug and a kiss. I then sit on the side of Magpie that is away from Badger. For some reason, he seems almost relieved. I then notice that they are almost done eating.

“It is so good to see you, sweetheart,” Mags tells me. She feels so loving toward me. I can see that Badger is more interested in her than me. Was it always that way?

“It is to you too Mags. I am sorry I was so late. I see you guys are almost done eating. I guess I should just go get something to eat and head back to the stable.”

“No, Mollygirl, you do not have to do that. Really, I was just telling Badger how much I wished you were here too.”

He nods his head in agreement. “That she was, but it is getting late, so we do need to get going Mags.”

“Oh, I guess, Mollygirl would you like me to make something for you back at my apartment to eat?” she asks me.

I can see that Badger really does not seem to like that idea. I guess he just wanted time with Magpie tonight. He could have told me at least. I would have understood that, and I would not feel like such a fool. “No, no, I will just go back to the stable Mags.”

I am clearly disappointed, Magpie can see it, I can read it in her expression, funny Badger looks confused and torn on his feelings.

“Molly, we were just heading back to Magpie’s do you want to join us?” Badger finally asks me.

“Badger, you do not know how bad I do. I have missed you so much as well as spending time alone with both of you. But I only want to go, if you want me to. You do want me to, don’t you?”

I swear it looks like he has to think about it, but he nods his head and looks at Magpie, “Sound good to you to my dear?” Wait, why is he asking like I was no longer a part of the family. My head goes down when he asks her that. I should have just gone back to the stable.

Magpie looks at him “Badger, I never would have a problem with our fiancé joining us, I hope you would not either.” She tells him coolly.

He goes and pays their bill and we all leave to go back to Magpie’s. Magpie walks closer to me than him on the way there. At least she wants me, I can tell. Why do I feel Badger doesn’t though? What could I have done so bad that he does not want me anymore? I feel my heart is being ripped apart.

Once we get home, we start what was once our normal routine in part. Badger goes and uses the restroom while we get ready to go to bed, but before Mags and I do she pulls me aside into the kitchen. “Sweetheart, let's at least get you something to eat first,” She makes me a quick dandelion green sandwich, which I finish very quickly. After I finish it, she clears the plate from the table and leads me into the bedroom. Badger is already laying there, Magpie climbs in bed next to him on one side and I on the other, it almost seems like old times. I start to nibble on his neck from one side as she does the same. He kisses her first, then after some time kisses me, his kisses while passionate almost seem shy, as if he is afraid of hurting me.

After we are finished, Magpie gets up to use the restroom. I slowly bring my hoof up to his cheek, “Badger, I love you so much. Thank you for making me your mare again.”

He looks at me with a sad smile, “Mollygirl, are you sure you really want to be my mare? I mean do you really want a buck who can not protect you and your foals?” I see tears forming in his eyes, but he refuses to shed them.

I pull him closer to me. “No, no I don’t. I want you; I want the buck who was right on my heels and was properly prepared to protect us, I screwed up by getting too far ahead. For that, I am sorry my love, please forgive me, don’t stop loving me, please.” I tell him as I look into his eyes. Then I break, I put my head to his chest and the walls are down, I cannot stop crying. Magpie comes up and holds me from behind. I hate being this weak, but I am so afraid of losing what I have left. Finally, I stop crying. “I’m sorry, for that," I tell them both. "I just love both of you so much and I am afraid of losing you, we lost Ivy and Pona, and I know we all are hurting from that. Please, let’s not lose each other.”

Badger pulls me closer if that is possible, he starts to kiss me the way he did before the incident, I return it as he mounts me and Magpie moves closer and begins to nibble and tease us both. I need this, I need them. I would do almost anything for them, and I determine that tonight I will show them if they will let me.

I wake up to my alarm earlier than normal and am about ready to reset it for later when I realize I need to get going to make it to muster. I try to get out of bed without waking them as I know Badger is on leave and could use the extra sleep. Magpie gets up with me. She showers with me, then as I am getting dressed in my uniform, she makes me a quick cup of tea and slices up some fruit.

“I know it isn’t much Mollygirl, but I hope it holds you until you can catch some breakfast at the stable.”

“Thanks Mags. And thank you for last night too. I do not know if you realize how much that meant to me.” I tell her.

She smiles, at me too. She stands up, comes over, and kisses me, "Please come back tonight if you can. If not, then as soon as possible. I miss you love, and I know Badger has too. Remember what Momma Sumac said about bucks. I think he wanted that more than you ever realized, but he felt he had failed and that you would not want him. By the way, we still need to look at determining when we will get married love, but we can discuss that later, now get going before you are too late.”

I step toward the door and then realize I have one more thing to do before I go. I go into the bedroom, I gently put my hooves around his sleeping shoulders. My lips touch the back of his neck, and I whisper, “I love you my stallion, my heart is in yours and our Magpies hooves, please be gentle with it.”

He slowly rolls over to face me, “I love you too, thank you for still wanting me Mollygirl.” He kisses me and as our mouths open, I feel loved by him again. We break the kiss and I have to leave. But at least things are moving in a positive direction for now. I give Magpie a final kiss on my way out the door.

As I am leaving the porch Magpie calls out from the doorway behind me, “Oh, I almost forgot, we need to go visit Momma Sumac for dinner tonight. Is that alright love?”

“Sure Mags, I will meet you and Badger there then,” I tell her with a smile and am off for the stable once again.”

I make it in time for the daily muster. I see Em and Horns and fall in beside them in formation. I realize I really should get to know some more of the Headquarters staff members. I almost feel rude not knowing their names, but many I really have not known before. Sure, there are some who are cadets like me, Em, and Horns, but there are several who are standard enlisted ponies whose specialties keep them at the HQ.

The daily muster seems to go normal. Those companies present are given their assignments for the day. After we break ranks and go back to the HQ section, the three of us are assigned to start walking the grounds of the Co-op to try and find George. We are told to use the cover story that we are further looking at the lay of the land so we can better plan the defensive works that are starting to be built in numerous locations.

Horns grabs one of the junior staffers and says he will head out toward the northern areas of the Co-op heading over toward Donovan. He suggests Em and I work our way around Emerald Grove and out to Dairyanne if we have the time. We agree to his plan, and that we will keep in touch via our PipBucks If we find anything. As we walk toward Emerald Grove, Em and I start to talk.

“So Mollygirl, how did it go last night?” Em asks.

“Better than it could have but not as good as I would have liked.”

“Ok, what is that supposed to mean?”

“What that means is, it was a success overall, but not nearly as big as I had dreamed of. We have a ways to go to get things back to where they were, Em.”

“Molly, it seemed like Magpie and you had no problems, what happened?”

“Em, it’s Badger. He. I. Oh Tartarus, he feels guilty about not saving Epona and Ivy and about me almost dying too. To the point that he was ignoring me and treating me like I was interfering at first last night. Em, it was really close. He even asked Mags if she minded me going back to her house with her. That hurt, that hurt more than I could imagine. I almost walked away and would have if not for Mags. She saved the family, at least for now. Before I left this morning though, we had talked and cried together, so I think we are getting better.”

“I am so sorry dear. I really had not thought of him being that way. If you ever need to talk, please know I am here for you.”

“I know Em, I know. The same goes for you if things start to go sideways for you.”

“Thanks, Molly, I will keep that in mind.”

It is about then that I see a side path that looks similar to one in Millie’s memory orb from the first expedition. I remember that it led into Emerald Grove from the south and crossed over a creek with a partially hidden cave on the backside of the hill. I wonder if perhaps we should check it out.

As the day passes, we check out five different caves in the area. We enter the sixth one I begin to notice bones of some animals in a pile to one side in the beam of light from my PipBuck. Suddenly I feel a warm wind of air from behind me coming from a side tunnel we had bypassed.

“Emerado, did you just feel that?”

“Mollygirl, Yes, what is it? I forgot to turn on my EFS, did you?”

“I must be losing my touch, what are two ponies doing in my cave?” we hear a voice say behind us. We turn and without meaning to, I empty my bladder as I look up into a mouth full of teeth. Then Emerado passes out.

“Ewwww, what is wrong with ponies. Are you really just marking territory or what?”

“Please don’t eat us, please,” I say in a panic. As I shift the light beam and see the light reflected off of a lens from the largest pair of glasses I have ever seen.

“One, I am not going to eat you. Two, do you need something to clean that up? Three, is she going to be ok? And four, please get that light out of my eyes.”

I move the light out of her eyes and shift it to Emerado. I move over to her and shake her, “Are you Ok, Em?” She starts to come conscious again. I see her eyes go wide in fear. “It’s ok Em, she says she is not going to eat us, relax.”

I turn back to the dragon “George I presume?”

She looks at me, almost amused. “Yes, you seem to know my name, but I do not know yours. However, you do almost smell like my old friend Millie, and you certainly have some of her mannerisms. I swear I need to get a pile of rags just so you can clean up after the initial introductions.”

Oh, Goddess, I am mortified, I have not done something like that since I was a foal. Well except a time or two when under heavy fire, but we won’t talk about that thank you. “I am so sorry about that George. If you have something to clean it up with, I will do so.”

“That would be most appreciated. While my cave may not be fancy, I like it and I try to keep it neat and clean. Now, how may I help you Two?” She says as she hoofs me some rags.

Then, we begin to talk with her. We find out that she has been asleep for about 70 years. She was injured helping to defend the Co-op and the stable back then and needed the rest to heal. We then tell her about what all things have changed in the Co-op. After a couple of hours, I notice the time and realize we need to get going so I can meet up with Mags and Badger at Sumac’s farm.

“Before we go, George. Millie was my Great Grandmother. I do not know much about her; sometime would you mind sitting and talking to me about her as well as your friendship with her?”

With a slight sigh, she looks at me “Sure Mollygirl, sometime, just not right now, I miss her. She was a good friend.”

“Thanks, George, we best get going, do you mind if we come back tomorrow?”

“Sure, that would be nice. By the way, Millie said this place was called Emerald Grove, I think they lied when they named it, I have yet to see a gemstone here.”

Em, and I made our way back to the stable as quickly as I could. As we are going in, we see Horns on his way out for the night.

“Hey Horns, have a good night,” Em tells him as we are passing. He stops and begins to chat with us.

“Thanks for letting me know you found George via message. That saved a lot of what would have been wasted effort otherwise. In the morning I want to talk to you two about some of the defenses. I found a couple of things on the walkabout that might be beneficial to us.”

“Sure, thing Horns. I look forward to it.” I tell him as I pace nervously wanting to get going again.

He just smiles and then looks at me. “Just tell Badger and Magpie you are running late via your PipBuck messenger, but that you are on your way. I am sure he will understand. I know we all tend to forget about that feature now and again. Especially since it has been so long since we all last wore them all the time.”

“Thanks, Horns, I really appreciate the reminder. Talk to you in the morning, ok?”

I am off like a shot after that. While I am not running, I am not walking either. I am just shy of a trot. I do not want to be late. After a quick shower and change of uniform. I make my way back out of the stable and head for Sumac’,s as I am in the exit tunnel I run into Stitches.

“Hey Stitches, good to see you tonight. How’s it going?”

“Oh, Hi Mollygirl. Not too bad. Just on my way for a date with my favorite buck.”

This gets my ears to go forward. I had not known she was dating anyone.

“Really Stitches, who would that be?”

“Mollygirl, I can not tell you right now, he and I are keeping it on the down-low as he is an officer and well, you know how some of them get. I mean it's not like you and Badger who have known each other forever.”

I smile at her. “Ok, I can understand that. But I want to be one of the first to know when you guys come out as a couple, ok. Hey, after all, you are my favorite medic.”

She smiles back, “Oh is that all I am good for, to save your sorry life, and I thought we were friends,” she says as she gives me a gentle nudge.

“That we are Stitches. However, I literally owe you my life now too. By the way how far does your teleportation spell go for.”

“Mollygirl only a couple of hundred yards. I am much better at healing spells than that one. Why, are you running late again?”

“Sorry, just cutting it really close is all. I am heading to Sumacs for dinner with everyone.”

“Sounds like a good time, tell everyone I said hi. Let Sumac know that if I can help her at all I will. Ok? Now you better get moving, talk to you later Mollygirl.”

I turn off at the Stable cave entrance and follow the footpath over the top of the hill. I smile as I see the old worn-out windmill there. It sure does make a good way to hide a radio aerial though. As the old Stalliongrad ponies would have said, just a part of the maskarova for Stable 48.

Even at a trot, it takes me most of an hour to make it to Sumac’s farm. When I get there, everyone is already inside getting dinner ready. Looking through the windows on the porch I can see Magpie is with Persimmon Tree and Sumac in the Kitchen. Badger is sitting in the Dining room talking with Xavier, they have set the table already. As I get ready to knock on the door it opens.

“Hello, Mollygirl, it is so good to see you,” I hear a little filly say.

I look down and there I see Nugget's daughter Ginger. Epona’s sister. She has much the same build but has her mother’s darker coloring. She has a nice light brown coat with a black mane. Her eyes are medium brown, and unlike her sissy, she does not have freckles. I guess that came from Ivy’s side of the family only.

“Hi Ginger, it is very nice to see you again too. May I come in?”

“Of course, Mollygirl. Please do.” She tells me as she steps aside and indicates with one hoof. She seems so formal, I know it has been a while since I saw her last, but she never seemed this serious before.

As I step in the door. I hear Xochitl tell her, “Wow, you really can do a good butler. Next time is my turn to try.”

“Thanks, Xochitl, next time is your turn.” She agrees as she bounces away to go play with him in the sitting room. Ok, I should have known.

As I enter Badger gets up and comes over to me and hugs me like the old times then we kiss. I have so missed this.

“It is so good to see you again love. Sorry I was cutting it close.”

“No problem, sweetheart, thanks for letting me know you were running behind and on the way through,” He tells me with a smile.

As I get ready to go into the next room Xavier stops me and gives me a hug. “It is so good to see you again Molly. Much better than when you were in the hospital.”

“It is good to see you too Xavier. Remember the deal we made, I train you, you train me ok?”

“Yes, I remember, let me know when. Ok.”

As we finish this exchange, I see Badger not only has both ears forward, but his eyebrow raised. I can tell he wants to ask but is trying to not be nosy.

I smile and tell him, “Badger, I am going to teach him how to shoot, and he is going to teach me how to fight hoof to hoof zebra style. Or at least as close as I can manage.”

"Oh, that makes sense. It is always good to learn more ways to protect yourself.”

I go into the kitchen and again it is hugs all around. I save Magpie for the last. I not only hug her, but I give her the same kind of kiss that I gave our Badger. When we break it, I sheepishly turn to see Sumac smiling at us.

“Well girls, it is good to have you all back here with me again. I missed it. If you are ready, we can all get dinner on the table and begin to eat. We have a good bit of extra to eat tonight as Ginger seems to be better in the garden than little Pona was.” She says with a sad, wistful smile.

Once dinner is on the table, we all sit down and begin to eat. It feels so good to be with everyone again. Our conversation is light and pleasant throughout the meal. After we finish and the table is clear we all retire to the sitting room and begin to chat. Finally Ginger looks up at all of the adults. “We were talking in school the other day about getting our cutie marks. Two of the fillies got theirs last week.”

Sumac smiles and looks at her “Now don’t be in too big a rush for your cutie mark dear. While they are important, they will come in their own good time.”

Oh, goodness, I really would love to avoid this conversation, especially as I was one of the older ponies to get mine. I can understand how she feels though. I remember those days well.

"Granny Sumac, how did you get yours?” Ginger asks.

She smiles and begins to tell us how she was always good at identifying plants and that one day she was out with some classmates and when one of them decided to they were hungry and went to eat some sweet clover, she noticed it was moldy and stopped them from eating. She remembered that moldy sweet clover was deadly to ponies as it would cause them to bleed badly internally. It was right after that her cutie mark appeared, a sweet clover plant partially covered by a sumac leaf and berries.

Ginger and Xochitl then looked at Magpie. So, she begins, “I was only a little bit older than you two. One day some of the adults were trying to look for some old records that discussed how best to prepare the ground for planting certain crops. They looked all day. Then I went up and asked if I could help.” They both sat there and shook their heads eyes wide. “Once I started to look, I was determined not to give up until I found them. Then I found it, it was an old scroll that had come from 750 years into Princess Celestia’s reign. It had been stored in a section of the library on Earth pony magic, rather than in the science section they expected it to be in. It was hard to read at first, but I was gentle with it and wiped it carefully, and then showed it to the adults. It was then that my golden, open scroll appeared.”

Ginger and Xochitl next look at me. So, I tell them “Well, I was pretty old when I got mine. I was running in the Opening Day competitions and had not only to beat everyone's score but had set a record that year for how quick I had done the sword and lance course.”

Then they look at Badger. He looks uncomfortable and seems hesitant to discuss it. “Come on Uncle Badger, tell us how you got your crossed sword and wrench, Please?” Xochitl asks.

“Oh, ok, but first. It is not a sword; it is a cutlass. Most ponies around here would not even know what that is.” He pauses, I think to myself, and I am one of them. Then he continues, “When I was a young buck, just a bit older than you two, I was raised on a farm southwest of Hoofington. I decided I hated farming and ran away from home. By the way, I would not recommend that, ok foals.” He tells them. They nod their heads and he has their rapt attention. “I decided I wanted a life of adventure and went to Flotsam, a floating community. I was there for a couple of weeks and was starting to get hungry enough I thought about heading home. Then I ran into the captain of a coastal steamer, the Steam Ship Coelacanth. She was originally built to burn coal, which we did when we could find it. However, most of the time we just used wood, or whatever else we could find that burned. I was hired on as a stoker in the black gang. We were always feeding the boiler to keep her hot. One day I started to work with some of the guys from the engine room and they started to teach me about pumps, valves, desalinization talisman, and even the boilers and piston drives for the screws. After a while, I stopped being a stoker and was promoted to oiler. That meant I had to make sure all of the bearings had enough grease or oil as well as any gearboxes.”

“What is the black gang, uncle Badger?” Ginger asks.

He smiles, he knows that they are paying attention now, “That is just what they called those of us who worked in the main propulsion spaces, on account of how dirty we would always get. There were times that I would come out as dark as Colonel Chappy or Shadowbuck.”

I see their jaws hang open at the thought. He continues, "It was while an oiler that they decided to make me part of the security team. If we ran across pirates, I would help to repel them. I was taught to shoot, and how to use a cutlass. They also taught me about the anti-boarder steam pipes on the sides of the ships. If we were getting boarded, we would open valves and that would vent steam off through those pipes to get them off of us. Not very nice let me tell you.”

Xochitl then asks, “Where did you all go, did you ever encounter any pirates?”

“Well, we usually stayed along the coast of Equestria, often sailing between Hoofington, Fillydelphia, and Manehatten, even to the ruins of Baltimare. However, we did go to some more exotic places a time or two. I remember one time we left Vanhoover and took a load of cargo to YakYakistan, A couple of times we ventured into Zebra territory, that was scary. Many of them still hate us ponies. Not all of them mind you, but enough. It was on a run back from Saddle Arabia we had just gotten out of sight of land and we had two smaller ships intercept us so they could board us. The Captain, well he called away the security team and told us to prepare to repel boarders. We grabbed our bolt action rifles and cutlasses and stallioned the rails. We hid behind whatever cover we could find.”

At this point, I notice even Xavier is leaning in and listening to the story. I know I had never heard it before; I do not know if anypony in the Co-op had.

“They started shooting first, the Captain had laid on the steam and we were going as fast we could. The first ship decided to cut across our bow as they shot at us. The Captain turned into them and we drove our bow halfway through them. Unfortunately, it also caused us to slow down enough that the other ship we had almost lost could close with us. Part of the security team was busy on the bow repelling borders there. Often using their cutlasses to slice the ropes off of the grappling hooks. Below decks, a repair team had gone forward to check for damage. We had some leakage, but the Captain had had the bow specially reinforced just for this type of situation before. Slowly we felt the ship stop and back up. As we did, we could hear the pirates below screaming as their ship flooded and began to sink. We backed away turning so we could clear it and pointing our bow away from the approaching pirates. Once clear so we could bypass the first one the Captain ordered us to move forward again. It seemed to take forever before we began moving forward again. Just as we thought we might make it we saw the one that was still chasing us start to billow out black smoke. They must have had some coal and were using it, they started to close the distance even faster, finally, they started to slow as they came alongside of us and matched our speed. They were not as tall as us, so we were lucky that they had to use grappling hooks and climb up the ropes. Most of them were earth ponies and some were zebras, so they had their cutlasses, swords, and knives in their teeth as they climbed. A few were unicorns and they teleported onto our decks. I was supposed to open one of the steam valves to help repel boarders but I was busy defending myself with my cutlass. It was thrust, parry, dodge, roll, and thrust again, trying to work my way to that valve. I finally got to it and when I tried to turn it I could not. I reached for a wrench to try and use as a lever by jamming it between the spokes of the hoof wheel on the valve. But just as I got it in place another unicorn came running at me. I turned to meet him. I double-bucked the wrench on the hoofwheel and engaged the unicorn as the steam started to flow through the pipes. One of the other security team members came to my aid and I turned back and fully opened the valve. It was like a banshee scream, first from the steam as it came out of the pipes and then from those hanging on the side of the ship as they received steam burns. Then I turned back and charged at the distracted unicorn.” Badger looks down at the floor and is quiet for a little bit. “It was the first time I ever killed a pony. I can still see the look in his eyes, I still can hear his last breath. That is when my cutie mark appeared. And that is why I do not normally talk about it. Like Momma Sumac said, do not be in too big a hurry to get it, youngsters.”

We are all ears toward him. Then momma Sumac asks “What happened then, son?”

He gives her a sad smile, "Well mom, the steam coming out of that pipe caused us to slow our ship down and they kept moving forward. The Captain took advantage of it. Slowing our movement some more and just as they got in front of us, he turned us into them, ramming that ship also. Once again, we backed out, the security team on the bow defending us there. Myself, I had seen what I had done. First, I closed the steam valve then I threw up over the side, then I sat back against the bulwark and cried some. “

“Uncle Badger, why did you cry?” Xochitl asked innocently.

“Because my nephew, when you take a pony’s life, you not only take that and everything he has and was, you also take any future they would have had also. Yes, I have done it since, but I do not do it lightly, and only when I have no other choice. I am sorry it was not a happier story.”

I can see he is choked up a bit and before I can get up to comfort him Ginger and Xochitl have already run over and given him a hug. “Thank you for sharing your story with us, even though it hurt Uncle Badger,” Ginger tells him.

“Right, we will not forget, and I will remember your words of wisdom, my elder,” Xochitl tells him. Then he looks at his mother and father “Mom, Dad, will I get a cutie mark or glyph mark?” he asks.

Xaver looks at his son and smiles. “We shall see when the time comes my son, we shall see.”

Shortly after that, I tell everyone I need to head back to the stable as it is starting to get dark. As we are heading to the door, we see the brightest flash of light I have ever seen from over the horizon and in the direction of Maripony and Splendid Valley “What was that?” I ask.

Badger looks back at me “Whatever it was it can’t be good. Maybe I better head back to the stable tonight too. Mags, Momma Sumac. Sorry. If this all blows over, I will be back in the morning. If not, I will be back as soon as possible.”

As we step out on the porch, we hear the loudest explosion we have ever heard. “My Goddesses, you don’t think someone could have, no, no, I refuse to believe someone found a Balefire bomb and set it off.”

Badger’s face goes as pale as it can. “My Goddesses, I hope you are wrong, but I am so afraid we are right.” He turns back to the house. Momma Sumac if things get bad for some reason, get everyone into the cellar.” We both give hugs to everyone. Badger, Magpie, and I share a group hug and we both give her a quick kiss, then we are off to the stable like the world has just ended. Goddess forbid, It just might have, again.

We run all the way back to the stable. It seems almost the entire regiment that is not in the field is all running there at once. Badger and I hit the main entrance we move to the side of the tunnel entrance and we stop.

“Badger, I have to head to the HQ section, I will meet you down in the Squad bay as soon as I can to let you know what happened.”

“Gotcha, Mollygirl, I will meet you there. If this blows over, let me know. I will see you there.”

As I get ready to turn and head in, he stops me, he takes me in his hooves, kisses me, and then looking me in my eyes tells me, “I love you Mollygirl, I do not want to lose you. I'm sorry for the last couple of weeks, I hope you understand a bit better now.”

“I do Badger, thank you for sharing tonight. I love you too, now let’s get going, love.”

Once we enter, I see one of the Stable Security officers directing ponies and cows as we run back and forth. He is yelling, “All of you returning that are not on duty assemble at your Squad ready rooms.”

Badger turns off and heads to the Doorkickers 1st squad bay. I head right for the HQ, right behind me is Horn’s, Emerado is already in with the Colonel. It is complete pandemonium.

I see Soundwaves running out of the communications area across the atrium for the Colonel’s office. I grab Horn’s sleeve and point him out. We both head towards the Colonel's office.

As I turn, I look across the way and see the ready reserve troops at the armory. Some are running in to get gear, others running out toward the tunnel entrance for the already prepared defensive works outside.

As we enter the Colonel looks up from the map on his desk and over towards us. “Ok, do either of you two know what the Tartarus that was? There is nothing on the radio, Soundwaves here reports that there is currently static on all radio frequencies.”

I look at the Colonel, “Sir, I counted after the flash, like we do with lightning. I lost track but as long as it was, with the direction and the distance I think it was from the Splendid Valley region.”

“Ok, that is the first estimate I have heard yet. Very good Cadet, Thank You.”

After the first couple of hours, Broadcast comes over and tells us that radio communications have begun to return to normal. I can see the Colonel visibly relax. Then he begins to speak.

“Ok, Let’s put the word out to stand down most of the forces for tonight. I want a full muster in the morning. If bad weather, I do not care if the Company Commanders muster their troops in their squad bays. We will be adjusting all leave rotations as well as civil project details. As before, I want the ag details to continue, only so we have a distribution of troops throughout the Co-op that we can use as a ready reserve. They will all be equipped for battle, however, they do not have to wear it, unless we come under an attack. Got that. After you put that word out, I want all of you to call it a night. Get some rest, relax a bit, no leaving the stable though. Dismissed.”

We leave his office and start to contact all of the company CO’s. Horns and I contacting three of them, while Emerado contacts the remaining four. We pass on the word to them via our PipBucks, only when they have each acknowledged the orders do we leave the HQ area.

“Hey Em, should we stop and see if the bucks are in the Squad bay before calling it a night?”

“Sure Mollygirl, just make sure we are not up to late. I got a feeling it is not going to be pretty the next few days.”

We stop at the Door Kickers, 1st Squad's, Squad bay. The lights have been dimmed as is normal this time of night. I see most of them are still here As I walk in. Shadowbuck and Bullet are playing cards with Dusty and Chance at one of the tables. Badger is napping on a couch. I walk over and wake him with a nuzzle and a small lick on his cheek. He opens one eye and smiles at me. “Hey, love. Sorry, I fell asleep. I was just so tired.”

“No problem, sweetheart, if you move over a bit, I will climb up next to you, if you do not mind. I will also set my alarm even, so we can get some breakfast.”

He smiles at me, “Sure thing, I take it nothing new has happened?”

I lay down beside him, and he puts his hoofs over me as I put my back up tight to him. “Not that we know of, but the Colonel has canceled all leaves for now. We are on standby status. Badger, I am really worried now.”

He nuzzles my neck and pulls me closer. “Do not let it keep you up dear, I know how you feel, but we may all need the rest we can get.”

As we lay there cuddled together, I feel him start to fall asleep. I hear the others still talking lowly and still playing cards. After a while, I too fall asleep. A couple of hours later I wake up, the lights are off. Someone has placed a blanket over us. I roll over and nuzzle Badger's neck a bit and he starts to wake up. He smiles at me and begins to caress me. I have needed this so much. I am sorry Mags, I know you wanted him to yourself tonight, it is not my fault, I think to myself. Then I begin to caress him back, nibbling on his neck, working my way up to his muzzle. We begin to kiss and I feel him begin to get excited. I move my mouth to his ear, I bite it gently, and tell him “Take me, love, I am all yours.” He does not reply verbally, but he does reply. Afterward, I lay in his hoofs. “Thank you, Badger, I am your mare, and want you to keep me as yours.”

He nuzzles my neck kissing under my mane, “And I am your stallion, Mollygirl, I can not wait to wed both you and Magpie. Thank you for still wanting me too.”

We both kiss again and gently caress each other as best as the couch will allow, I tuck my head under his chin and breath in his scent, and gently fall asleep again. We wake up in this position when my alarm goes off.

We both get up, to go to clean up. We agree to meet for breakfast. When I get back to the stall, I find Emerado is still asleep. I can smell she had been drinking the night before. I had not even noticed any alcohol in the Squad bay. Then I notice a particular smell in our stall. Well, I guess she did have a good time last night. So, I wake her up so she can get cleaned up and have some breakfast.

“Hey Em, time to get up,” I tell her as I shake her with one hoof.

“Oh, it's you. Hi Molly, did Bullet and Shadowbuck already leave,” she asks groggily.

“Yeah, they did Em. Wait did you have both of them in here Em?”

She looks back at me sheepishly, “Sorry Molly, you know normally I would never do such a thing. However, after what happened, we were all a little upset, so we broke out a bottle of whiskey and then came here to drink. We figured if it was our last night possibly, what the hell. I will tell you though that Bullet was one lucky little buck last night.”

“Ok, Em, I know you are my best friend, but he is my dad. I should not even know these things. But I am glad you all had a good night. I really hope you did too.”

“Yeah, yeah I did. I was surprised I was in the mood, but he told me that Bluebelle was like that too when she was pregnant. So, who knows, maybe it was just the fear of dying. Don’t know, don’t care.”

“Em, do you think you are? You know, Pregnant?”

“To tell you the truth, I do not know, but Bullet seems pretty sure. He told me that a couple of days ago. I figure in a couple of more weeks I will go check. But if I am, that means I will not be able to go on the expedition at all.”

“I am very sorry to hear that Em, but if you are pregnant, congratulations, to both of you.”

She holds onto both of my hooves and looks me in the eyes. “Thank you very much Mollygirl. It means so much to me that you feel that way too.”

We both go and hit the shower. I get back, I notice I am running short on uniforms, so I smell the one I had on last night, nope, not wearing that one, not with it smelling like that in front of the Colonel. So, I grab one of the last clean ones I have, get dressed, and Em and I head to breakfast.

When we get there we see our bucks. All three are sitting there together with Captain Abby. I sit next to Badger and Em sits next to Bullet with Shadowbuck on his other side. I see a slight smirk on the Captain's face. “Hey Em, Hey Mollygirl. I knew if I had breakfast with these bucks, I would see you.”

“Hey Captain, it is good to see you again Ma’am,” I tell her.

“Mollygirl, you are Cadet now, when not on official business you can call by my name.”

“Oh, Ok Cap… I mean Abby.” I tell her.

She looks at both Em and me, “Ok, what is the scoop. Seriously what is going on?”

I take a drink of my tea as Em answers her. “Abby, no one really knows what happened. As we said last night though we are modifying leave rotations and duties at this time. But as soon as we know, I am sure Mollygirl or I will get the word to you.”
“Ok, that is good to know. I appreciate it. Ok, now onto personal business, how are you two doing?”

With that, we begin to talk about what has been going on. Badger and I tell her about going to dinner at Sumac’s last night and how Xavier and his family are doing. Emerado and her bucks then join in the conversation talking about what they had been up to yesterday and about the card game last night. I do however notice they omitted the part about getting drunk and heading back to the stall. I have to smile to myself on that one.

I then look at my PipBuck and notice the time. “Hey Em, we need to get moving, I am sure we will have to do some briefings.” As I get up I give Badger a quick kiss on the cheek. I see Em do the same with Bullet.

“It was good to see you, Abby. We will need to catch up again soon.” I tell her. Then Em and I leave the mess hall and head to the HQ area before the morning muster. When we get there, it seems that nothing new has been learned. However, the Colonel is still concerned.

He points at Em and me, “Ok Cadets since there is no new news yet, I want you two to go back and talk to George. If she is willing, have her come to the stable. The back door should be large enough to allow her in. I would like to talk to her personally.”

“Yes sir,” we reply. Then he continues to discuss the current deployment of the troops of the Co-op guard with us, as well as fortification projects as we walk up to the main drill field for muster. The only time I have seen more of the guard assembled here is during the Opening Day ceremonies. Every company is here except those that are on the Pickett duties.

The formation goes quickly. All hooves not on sick call are present or accounted for. The Colonel Receives the reports. Then he has the regimental Sergeant Major Call all of them to attention. At Which Point the Colonel stands up on his hind hooves in front of all of us.

“Mares and Gentlecolts. We are all aware of the flash of light and explosive sound last night from the direction of Splendid Valley. To dispel any rumors, at this time we are still unsure what caused it. Any conjecture or supposition is just that. I will make sure you all know when we find out. However, due to our being unsure as to the cause and its possible impact upon us in the Co-op, I will be canceling all leaves at this point. Those on civil projects will have them modified and I will have my staff inform your company commanders of these changes. Ag duties will continue at this time, however as we have been doing for the past month, you will ensure that you all have your battle kits ready and easy to access. You will be an additional reserve if needed. “He pauses for a minute, then continues. “Finally, I am proud of the rapid response by all of you last night. Thank you. Your training and dedication were shown bright last night. Remember for Friends, For Family, For Herd.”

He goes back down on all fours. Looks at the Sgt Major, “Dismiss the troops, HQ Troop back to the stable we have work to do.”

As the troops are dismissed, we fall out and head back to the stable. I see the Door kickers and nod in their direction. I smile when I see Archer with his artillery section, and I wave to Kicker when I see her. She smiles and waves back. I know it is going to be a long day, But I see many of my friends and it makes me feel a bit stronger.

Once we get back to the HQ, Em and I let Horns know that we will be heading out for the day after we draw our kits from the Arsenal. He asks us when we expect to be back and we tell him by the early afternoon.

Once in the arsenal, we see Buckshot again. We take a little time to banter with him.

“Hey Buckshot, how are you doing.?”

“Hey, Mollygirl. Ok I guess, I am not sure how much trouble I am in with the wife right now though.”

This is the first time he has ever mentioned problems like that, so I am a bit concerned. “Why is that Buckshot? What happened?” I ask.

“Mollygirl, we were putting the foals to bed when that flash occurred. My daughter Sunshine, was looking right at the window and caught the full flash. She was blinded, but I had to report in. I know Sunspot was going to take her to the hospital, but I could not go with them. In fact, I don't even know if my daughter is still blind.”

I am stunned. I had not thought of that; we were lucky to have been looking the other way. “I am so sorry to hear that Buckshot. Let me know, will you? I pray to Celestia and Luna that she will be ok.” I tell him as I lay a hoof on his shoulder.

“Thanks, Mollygirl, I really appreciate it and I will let you know. Now, what can I do for you two?”

“I’ll take my normal kit if you do not mind,” I tell him.

“That should not be two hard as you already have your holster and pistol. Helmet too I suppose?”

“Yeah, that would be good. Thanks. “

“No problem, and for you Emerado, what do you want?”

She thinks for a minute. “How about an IF-64 rifle if you have one. That should give us a good combo if we need it. Otherwise the standard loadout.”

“Alrighty then. We will get you set up as soon as possible. I am just glad you two were not trying to draw weapons last night. It was a madhouse in here. Everyone got what came at them, no special request.”

“Buckshot, is it alright then if we just tag these as ours and keep them preset, or should we just check them out and keep them in our stall?” I ask teasingly.

His eyes nearly bug out, and he starts to stutter. “Mollygirl, you know better than that. I will tag them for you though. Seeing as there are not nearly as many officers, we can set those kits aside for you.”

“Ok, Sounds good,” I tell him, Emerado nodding her head in agreement.

After getting kitted out Em and I begin the trek back to Emerald Grove to visit George again. As we get to her cave, I remove my helmet. I step inside and call out.

“Hello, George, it’s me Mollygirl, and Emerado, are you here?”

“Come on in girls. I am just getting some tea heated for us.” She calls back.

As we walk into the tunnel, I notice how much cleaner it seems today. I do not see any piles of animal bones. We get to the side tunnel and we hear George call out. “In here Mollygirl.”

We enter to find that she has a small table set up with chairs and some teacups.

“Please sit down, go ahead and take off your weapons and relax. The tea is about ready,” she tells us.

Em, and I take off our battle saddles and lay our kits on the floor near the table. We then sit down and have tea with a dragon. Sometimes my life seems a little surreal even to me. The last thing I ever expected was a tea party with a dragon.

After some small talk, George finally asks “Ok, so what was that last night?”

“George, we hoped you might know,” Emerado admits.

“Well, the last time I saw or heard anything like that was about 200 years ago. I swear it reminded me of a mega spell going off.”

“That is what we are afraid of, but we do not know where, why, or by who,” I tell her.

“I wish I knew; I would let you know for sure. But I just do not usually leave my cave. I do not receive visitors too often either. In fact, you two are the only ones since I have woken up.”

"I am sorry to hear that,” Emerado tells her. “Speaking of leaving the cave, Our Colonel has requested us to ask you to talk with him, either at the stable or he could come here.”

She smiles, “Well me going into the stable would be out of the question. After all Those entrances are too small for a dragon my size,” she says.

“Actually, that would have been true even a few months ago, however, we just put in a new rear entrance that is big enough for you to use.”

She looks at me, her mouth hanging open in surprise, “Are you serious? Your Overmare had you compromise the Stable to allow me to enter it.”

“I think that may have been part of it, however, I also know we wanted a rear entrance that was large enough for artillery and to provide an emergency exit.”

She smiles, “I wonder if that would make me the first dragon to enter a Stable? Now that would be so cool. OK, however, I do not want to be gone long, so we have to fly.”

I watch as Emerado nearly gets sick at just the thought. Myself, I am almost dancing. YES! I can fly for real. “George, do you have a harness for us to wear and ride on you, or would you just carry us?” I ask.

“I have this nice little harness. It is in great shape; it was used by the zebras back in the war. I have always wanted to try it out. I mean if you want to.” George excitedly gushes out.

“Oh, I am so game,” I tell George, ‘How about you Em?”

She almost whines “Do I have to?”

“Em, I think so, what would the Colonel say if he found out the only reason George would not come to the stable is, that we would not fly with her?”

“Oh, Goddesses I hate you sometimes Mollygirl. Oh, Ok We will do it, George.”

I do not know who acts more excited at the prospect George or me. George goes and gets the harnesses. She has us help her put hers on. Next, we put ours on, as well as our battle kits. I noticed a couple of minor modifications that we need to make for them to fit better.

After we get it all together, we step outside the cave's entrance. George first looks around then she crouches as low as she can so we can climb onto her back. Once there Em and I hook up our harnesses to Georges. We both check each other to make sure everything is tight and we are ready. After that we let George know we are ready. We balance on her back as she starts to walk faster, then she begins to trot, finally, she throws her wings wide and launches herself into the air.

“WE ARE FLYING, YES!” I scream out loud, pumping my hoof into the air.

From behind me, I hear Emerado screaming like a little filly, “I don’t want to die, Luna, Celestia, save me.”

From below me, I hear George laughing, then she says “I always wanted to try this.” As she gains altitude she turns and starts to head towards Manesville and the Stable. I can not wait to tell Badger and Magpie about this. I call the Colonel to let him know we were on our way with George and that we will use the rear entrance.

Unfortunately, the flight is over all too soon. I point out the rear entrance area to George and she gently lands. I unlatch my harness and turn around to see Emerado, hooves wrapped tight around Georges's back, her eyes squeezed close and muttering to herself, “I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die,” over and over again.

I gently nudge Em with a hoof, Em opens one eye and looks at me. “Em, we have landed back at the stable. It wasn’t that bad now was it?”

She jumps to her hooves and lunges at me screaming “Mollygirl, you crazy bitch!” before the harness catches her again. I step back as she gets back up again.

“Em, do you want me to help you with the harness?”

“Yes, please do,” she says with a bit of anger in her voice.

Once her harness is disconnected, we both climb down, it is then I notice the Colonel standing there with Horns and some of the other staff members all laughing. Finally, the Colonel steps forward and raises a hoof to George. She extends a claw to meet his hoof.

"George, I am Colonel Chappy of the Co-op Defense Force, it is very nice to finally meet you. Please do come in, we have a lot to talk about."

I stand there watching as they turn and go into the rear entrance to the tunnel, and we follow everybody else in.

“You know Em, you and I are now the only fliers in the Co-op.”

“Mollygirl, If the Colonel decides that we have to fly into battle, I am so going to kick your ass."

I laugh, "Ok Em, it’s a deal, it would be so worth it.”

She turns her head and looks at me as we walk, “Mollygirl, I have said it before, you are one sick earth pony, sick I tell you." Then we trot to catch up with everypony else.

Dear DJ Pon3, Last night my little filly was blinded by the bright flash in the sky. My family does not know if she will ever see again. Along with this it feels like the horrors of real war may once again stalk the wastelands, with this in mind could you please play Hard Times Come Again No More, for all of us.

Sincerely

Buckshot
Manesville Co-op

Again, I say thank you to KKat for creating this world of FoE. I also thank Somber and Fuzzy VeeVee as well as many others for showing us how much more can still be described and stories told.

I also take this time to thank those of you who are enjoying reading this story and continue to follow it. For this weeks song dedication, I have included an older one that has touched many generations and still does. The link to this one on YouTube is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68Ej4nnXdoY