“Citizenship is an attitude, a state of mind, an emotional conviction that the whole is greater than the part...and that the part should be humbly proud to sacrifice itself that the whole may live.” ― Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers

The General and Laura Lee’s reaction to the information is interesting to say the least. Threat Vector actually looks at Sutures and ask, “So we are planning this mission on the suggestion of a spirit that your daughter can see?”

Sutures shakes her head at him. She then smiles and tilts her head as she looks at him and tells him, “No, not only her. Several of us have seen her. Besides, you have a battalion commander who is a griffon that has fathered a child with a mare. A regimental commander who has not only been dead and come back, but that the local ghouls can tell she has just by looking at her. Oh, and my daughter has ascended to being an alicorn. And you think listening to the suggestion by a spirit, who happens to be the spirit of this region, is surprising?”

I see Laura Lee stifle a laugh as she says, “Don’t forget an artillery captain who has fathered a foal with a Jenny.”

When she says this I am about to lose it. I want to laugh so badly but hold it in check. I watch as the General ruffles his wings a bit, then he shakes his head and laughs slightly, “Well ma’am, when you put it like that I guess not.”

As we head back outside, I see Trouble and Blondie have arrived along with their younger children. I have to smile when I see their reaction to Sunny now seeming to be on the verge of having a real marefriend.

I also notice how the other three bat ponies tend to be talking more to Trouble than Blondie. As I am walking by, I overhear Blondie telling Morning Star, “Dear, anytime you would like to come to visit our farm, please do.”

As I get to Windy, she asks, “Well what was that all about?” Beside her I notice Buttermilk nodding her head as she is wondering too.

I sigh and I tell them that they want the repair ponies to make another run and this time they wanted permission for Moon Lily to join them.

“You guys didn’t say yes, did you?” Windy asks.

I nod my head, “Yeah, we did. Moon told us the Mareigan was involved.”

They both look at each other knowingly at that. Then Windy smirks and asks, “Uh, so how did the General take finding out about the Mareigan?”

I smile and tell her, “Oh, a little bit better than Sutures did when Moon used the paralysis spell on her.”

I see them both look at each other and then I hear Buttermilk say, “Oh, she did not do that?”

I nod my head and tell her, “Yes, she did. Oh, and she also told her mother she would accept her punishment when she gets back.”

They both nod their heads and I hear Windy say, “Well I should expect so."

It is a couple of days later when the repair ponies, minus Choo Choo and Sunny depart. Before they go, my daughters, both give me a big hug and tell me they love me. Epona then says, “We will be back again as soon as possible.

I smile in understanding, but I hate seeing them leave again. As they leave the farm, my son-in-law, boy that seems funny but also right to think, comes and tells me, “Do not worry Colonel, I will make sure they come home again.”

“Thank you, Xochitl,” I tell him, “Just make sure you come home too.

He grins and tells me, “I will do my best, I have a lot to live for. Such as my beautiful wife,” as he says this, he looks at Ginger and smiles in a knowing way. I see her smile back and blush.

While this is going on Epona and Purchase are saying their goodbyes. I hear Epona tell her “I am sorry I could not stay longer this time. Hopefully next time my love.”

Purchase sighs and tells her, “I was hoping so too, but I know how it is. Just remember, I love you and I will be waiting here for you.”

I have to smile as I see them embrace and finally reluctantly let go. I know all too well what they are feeling. I look at the rest of my family and tell them, “I will be back later. I need to go to the stable.”

I then ask the youngsters, “Do you mind me walking with you a ways?”

Before the others can answer I hear Twinkle Hoofs reply, “Not at all Colonel. Besides, we have a few things to discuss with you on the way.”

As we walk towards the Stable and Manesville we talk a bit about what has happened here. I am surprised though when I hear Tater ask, “Colonel, do you think Sunny’s parents like Morning Star?”

I laugh at this and tell him, “Yeah, I got that when his mom told her to visit anytime, that and the way Rain and Well took to her.”

I see Tater raise an eyebrow and I hear Cowlick snicker and then say, “See, I told ya.”

Tater seems to relax a bit and tells me, “That is a relief. We know how much Sunny is hung up on her.”

That is when I notice that Tater and Twinkle are holding tails. I smile as I remember both of them as foals. Once again, I begin to feel my age.

Soon Twinkle asks, “Colonel, how much longer do you think this war will go on?”

This time I sigh and think before I tell her, “Honestly, I don’t know. But I do look forward to when it ends.”

We continue to talk as we walk and soon, I find myself walking past the stable and going to Manesville. Ahead on the waterfront, I see the Baltimare Colt. However, she has been changed quite a bit. The after third of her upper superstructure that had burned has not been rebuilt, instead, I see a flight deck with a vertibuck on it. I then notice that on the forward upper deck is a twin 40mm gun mount. They also have mounted several fully automatic antimachine rifles and a pair of twin 20mm anti-air guns. I then notice that they have smoke coming slowly from the stacks and they are taking on supplies.

As I look at it Ginger grins and tells me, “Well Ma, there is our ride.”

Epona next to her looks forward and waves. I also hear her call out, “Hey Rust.”

I squint so I can see the deck better and I see Rust Water standing along the railing on the upper deck and she waves back, “Good to see you guys again. Get on board so we can get moving.”

Once at the gangway I once again hug my family members and wish the other members of the repair ponies luck. They turn and go up the brow, as they get on board, I see Rust has come down and she gives me a quick wave, and from the distance, I hear Rust say, “Welcome aboard again. It is good to see you all. Your gear has already been loaded,” as she says this she turns and leads them inside her riverboat.

As I begin to walk back to the stable, I begin to look at the waterfront and the rest of the town. I notice that JC Dobbins is now gone as are several other shops and restaurants. I do see that while Sewing Bobbin’s shop is damaged, she is still open. This helps me to make up my mind and I go to see how she is doing.

As I enter her shop, I notice that the lights are mostly out. I find her behind her counter working the foot treadle on her sewing machine. I watch her for a while when she finally notices me and looks up. I see her smile and she asks, “What can I do for you?”

I smile back and I tell her, “Not much today Sewing, I just was in the area and I wanted to see how you are doing.”

“Thank you for checking on me. I really do appreciate it. I am doing ok, how are you?”

“Ok, I guess, Honestly, I am feeling tired today.”

I see her tilt her head a bit and she asks me cautiously, “Didn’t you get enough sleep last night?”

I try to figure out how to tell her what I mean and I end up saying, “Not that way Sewing, I feel tired inside. I am so sick and tired of war.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I know what you mean, Mollygirl, that is why so many of us ghouls came to Dead Quiet. Even before the time right after the day of Sunshine and Rainbows, this place provided us a break. We all feel that.” She tells me in a sad tone of voice.

“I’m sorry Sewing. I don’t mean to be whining.”

“Mollygirl, it is natural to feel that way. After such a long time of building up, sometimes that emotional damn needs to be relieved or it will burst open. And believe me, it will happen.”

I sadly laugh at that, “Sewing, that has already happened to me a couple of times.”

I see her nod her head, “AH, so you know what I mean. And I did not consider it whining by the way. Honestly, I feel that way too. That is part of why I appreciate your checking on me. By the way, when you can, please have your family’s daughter Moon Lily come to my shop. I have something for her.”

I finally smile in a positive way and I tell her, Sure Sewing, “I will do that. But it may be a while.”

She grins at me, “I can only imagine. By the way, tell her I said congratulations on her ascension, she has caused quite the stir in Dead Quiet. They are even talking about how she risked her life to give the blessing to the ghouls who had passed.” She pauses and I see her choke up a bit. “Mollygirl, we never expected someone to be willing to do that for any of us. Especially a filly. We are in her debt and will never forget her and Tek doing that. In fact, that went a long way toward helping some of the old soldiers begin to forgive the Zebras as a group for the war and even the last day.”

This does surprise me, especially as 200 years seems like a very long time to hate. But then again, after what became of them, I guess I can understand.

After I leave, I go to the stable for an appointment with Moon Pie. However, first I visit Kettle Bell as she is still healing from her wounds. It seems the impact from the explosion has made it hard for her to remember some things consistently. She also has trouble standing now, as she feels dizzy sometimes and usually has a headache.

As I enter her room in medical, she turns her head to me and I see her squint and concentrate. Then she smiles and says, “Hi Mowwygirl. Thanks for coming.”

I have to admit I am rattled by her slurred speech, but only because I am afraid of how bad that means she has been injured. But I keep this hidden from her and I smile back and put a hoof on hers and tell her, “Hi Kettle. It is good to see you again.”

“Tanks, Mowwy. My family visited today too.”

“I am glad to hear that. I am sure they all have missed you.”

She smiles sadly, “Yes, and I miss them. Mowwy, we decided to make it official, all three of us. No more hiding, they both said this made ‘em realize they lose me could, and me them.”

I nod my head, and tell her, “Well I am glad to hear that, and I will be there for all three of you.”

She smiles tiredly and tells me, “I knows. Tanks.”

We talk for a little bit more then she begins to fall asleep. Charity comes by and sees me there with her and motions for me to come on out. Once I have caught up with him, he tells me, “Thanks Mollygirl for coming to see her. She has been having a hard time and this has taken a lot out of her. By the way, you should have seen her with her husband and their nanny,” he pauses and smiles, “Well at least that is what they want everypony to think, but honestly, they are like you and your spouses. And to tell the truth, she needs both of them right now as well as you and your friendship. This kind of injury could be a career-ender for her.”

I nod my head in understanding. “Charity, do you think she may stay this way?”

He shakes his head no and replies, “No, but it may take a while for her to be back to normal, and even then, she may have some after-effects. Mollygirl she took one Tartarus of a blow.”

I nod my head. “Thanks for letting me know Charity. She and I have been through a lot together.”

My next stop is with Moon Pie. Today is a really rough one for me. My worries about Kettle Bell only making it worse.

“Ok, Mollygirl, it has been a long time since we had a chance to talk. What would you like to talk about today?”

I am hesitant at first to answer, then I tell her, “Moon Pie, the nightmares have come back again. They are making it hard for me to sleep and honestly, I have been very tempted to drink again just so I can get some solid sleep.”

She nods her head and asks me, “You have been through a lot lately so that is understandable. But you say you have been tempted to resort to drinking, but have overcome that temptation. That is a good thing.”

I look at her and sigh before I tell her, “Moon Pie, the one thing that keeps me from the bottle is I know what I will lose and if I lose my family, then I might as well charge a raptor by myself because I will be just as dead if I do. I know I can’t live that way again.”

She nods her head in understanding and then we begin to talk about the nightmares and what I have been going through lately. Before I leave, she walks me through a breathing exercise to help me ground myself. As I am getting ready to go out the door she quickly says, “Oh, if you would tell Moon Lily I said congratulations on her wings. Also, let Ginger and her husband know that if they need to talk to me sometime that they are still able to.”

My next stop is the Brigade HQ to see the General. Once I am sitting down, he asks, “So how are things going out there at your post?”

I sigh and tell him, “Honestly it is taking longer than I had expected. But we have had to tear most of the wreckage away down to the foundation. I am not sure why my Headquarters building didn’t burn though, as it shows they tried to light it on fire too.”

He shakes his head, “Honestly Colonel when it comes to you, and those around you, I have learned not to question such things.”

Then he surprises me by telling me, "Part of why I wanted to talk to you is that next week we have about a company and a half of troopers coming from the Manehatten area. It seems that between your scouts, the repair ponies and troopers of the 2^nd and 3^rd regiment treating the locals decently they have demanded to not only serve with the Manesville brigade but the 3^rd Regiment.”

“Thank you for letting me know General, I do appreciate it. Anything about them I should know in particular?”

He looks up at the ceiling first, then back at me, “Yes, about a platoons worth are ghouls. Most were either infantry or support staff during the war.”

“Interesting. Well, I will be glad to have them.”

He smiles as well as he can at me and tells me, “I am glad to hear that. It seems you are beginning to have quite the ragtag bunch there. By the way, I heard about how your troops were howling while charging during that last battle. I don’t know if you are aware, but the other regiments have nicknamed you all the Timber Wolves.”

When he says this, I begin to laugh which causes him to ask, “Why is that so funny?”

When I stop laughing, I look at him and explain, “During my first deployment to Hackamore, well, one of my companies had to keep fighting Timber Wolves from the Everfree. One of their First Sergeants was my father. I can only imagine how he is going to react to this.”

At first, he only says, “Oh,” then he pauses and begins to laugh, “OHHH, now that is funny.”

Then he tells me, “Just so you know, to confuse the Enclave, for now on your regiment’s call sign is the Wolf Pack. You are Pack Leader. All others you can determine yourselves, but keep them on the wolf pack theme.”

I grin at him and tell him, “Yes sir. I will begin to work on the new call signs when I get back to the Wolf’s den.”

He motions his talon to let me know I have been dismissed as he begins to laugh in mild amusement.

Once back at my post I have my battalion commanders and my XO come meet me. While Laura Lee and Gray Tempest respond they will be there as soon as possible, Dull Beak messages back, I will be there in a bit. Having to finish planting this row first.

I am rather surprised at him being in the fields right now. But then I remember that I had assigned two of his companies to assist in the replanting of the fields that were burned. I have to smile as I realize this means he is leading by example.

Windy joins me first and then the next two arrive and are just sitting down when I get a message from Dull Beak, I am on my way.

While we are waiting, I have Paper Work bring in some tea for us and I have them report the status of their units.

Laura Lee goes first, “Mollygirl, we have a full company of volunteers on their way to replace our losses. I got the message this morning.” I nod my head, ok.

Next Gray tells me, “So far, we are beginning to replace our losses. We also have finished clearing away the remains of the old barracks.”

I nod my head and then he continues. “I am having my companies rotate through a training cycle and taking turns at rebuilding. Ma’am, I want to keep their skills sharp.”

I nod my head again, “Good thinking Gray. Laura Lee, we may need to do the same. I would l also like to add to the rotations assisting on the farms if we can. We need to get the next crop in or we are in trouble.”

Dull Beak walks in as I say this and I hear him reply, “You're right, but Ma’am, I am seeing teamwork in those fields like I have not seen before.”

I nod my head, “It has been a while, but even I still remember the hungry times from back in the old Co-op. I think everyone else must too.”

He laughs lightly, “It was kind of funny, I watched your daughter Moon Lily out there leading the others in planting the crops, Mollygirl, they were all singing, the pegasi from White Cloud were moving clouds in as I left to water the plants. It was like what the old stories said it used to be like.”

I have to smile at this, and I tell him, “I would have loved to have seen it.”

“Seen it, ma’am, I was part of it. The ponies, ma’am it was like they were under some kinda spell as they all did it together. They all seemed to know the words and moved together as if to music only they could hear. It was amazing to see. Once I figured it out, I started to sing with them.”

I see the other two raise an eyebrow at this. “Well, that is certainly different than what I called you all for, but I wish I could have seen it.”

“Sorry ma’am, I did not mean to keep you from what you wanted to talk to us about.”

“That is ok Dull Beak, I really appreciate it, it is good to hear some good things lately.”

I pause after I say this and Windy takes the time to ask, “Ok Colonel, so what is it you wanted to talk to us about?”

I grin at her and tell her and them, “Well we need to come up with some new call signs it seems. The General has informed me that due to our troops howling like timber wolves during our charges that the rest of the brigade has started to call us that. My new call sign officially is Pack Leader,” I look at Windy, “Sorry Windy, but you are Bravo Wolf, If I am not called the Alpha, neither are you while I am in charge. Now, how about you three?”

I see Dull Beak look at the others and he speaks up first, “I guess maybe our battalions could go by the designations of Howlers with mine being Howler one, and Gray Tempest as Howler two and so on. But what about our auxiliary units?”

I nod my head, “You have a good point we need to get them in here too. Windy, have them brought to me.”

I see the other two battalion commanders look at each other and finally Gray says, “Ma’am, if we are going this far, let's make it easier to tell our equipment and our troopers by making up a patch with a Timber Wolf on it.”

Beside him I see Laura Lee grinning like an enfield that just ate a mouse as she nods her head.

“I like it, Gray, let me run that one past the General to get his approval. But it makes sense to me. But we need a design for it too.” I tell him.

As Windy returns, I tell her about the idea of a patch for our regiment and I see her grin, then she tells me, “Mollygirl, how about we use that patch design as a regimental insignia for camps sign.” She pauses then says, “By the way, we really do need to come up with a name for our camp here. No one seems to know what to call it.”

Finally, I ask them, “What do you think of the name Rice Paddy-Tenderhoof?”

I see Dull Beak close his eyes momentarily and then he says, “That seems about right ma’am.”

The others look at me and Laura Lee asks, “Why would you want to name a camp that?”

About this time Bailey Bridge arrives and asks, “Name a camp what?”

As he enters Captain Grapeshot and my supply officer Captain Widget follow him in. I tell him what I had said and I see him close his eyes briefly and smile as he nods his head. “Yes ma’am, I think that would be appropriate.” He then looks at the others and tells them, "Both were NCOs in the old CEF at Serenity Valley. They both bought their farms there, but they also went down swinging.”

“I am really glad you agree Bailey,” I pause and look at the others and ask, “Do any of you disagree?” None of them disagree so I tell them, “Ok, I will run that up to the General too.”

We then continue to discuss call signs, Widget asks, “How about you have mine just be Pack Forager?”

Windy nods her head and I tell him, “Ok, next?”

Then I see Long Bow take a hoof from under his chin and he suggests, “Ma’am, I am thinking Pack Guardian, especially as how often we are on overwatch and on-call for the rest of the regiment.”

After this, I look over at Bailey and he has an evil grin on his face, so I tell him, “OK Bailey, let's hear it.”

He still has that grin on his face as he says, “How about Big Bad Wolf, or just BBW?”

I can’t help myself; I begin to laugh out loud. Somehow it figures, and after what I have seen him do in a fight. Finally, still laughing I tell him, “Yeah Bailey, that seems about right.”

Once myself and the others stop laughing. I tell them, “Ok, so that is decided. I will be taking these suggestions and our new call signs back to the Brigade HQ.” I pause and look at all of them, “Do any of you have anything more for me?”

They all answer in the negative so I tell them, “Ok, dismissed.” As they leave, I put on my softcover and grab my kit as I begin to head on over to the stable for the second time today. I briefly think about using the vertibuck, but I do not want its crew to have to deal with all the extra maintenance just to save me a few steps.

Once I am back at the stable, I am just entering the Brigade HQ when I see Archer coming out of its door. I begin to smile and flirt with my husband but then I notice his collar and I see he is now a major.

I can not help but be excited for him and I immediately give him a hug and a kiss, then I tell him, “Congratulation’s love. I am so proud of you.”

He grins back and tells me, “Thank you dear, but they took away my battery to do it. They are forming an artillery battalion and I am now its commander.”

I can not help but grin at him, “Well dear, you have earned it, besides, now you will get to see how much a pain in the ass all the paperwork that goes with the rank is.”

He laughs lightly, “Yeah, I guess that is just one of the benefits of the job. Well, I better not keep you. I will see you at home tonight, right?”

I kiss him lightly on the check and tell him, “But of course dear. Is there going to be a wetting down party?”

I see him sigh a bit as he tells me, “Honestly I don’t think so, not this time. Sort of like when you got your regiment, too much is going on right now.”

“I understand dear, well, maybe our family can help you celebrate it then. You deserve to and you really have earned it.”

He grins back at me and smiles, “Thank you, I appreciate it, now I best let you get in there so hopefully we can spend time together tonight.”

We kiss one more time and then I head inside as he heads back out.

Once inside I see Major Pin Point talking to one of the more junior members of his staff. I see his ears go back slightly as he notices me. “Yes Colonel, can I help you?” he asks in an exasperated voice.

I ignore his tone of voice and I tell him, “Actually perhaps you may, I stopped by to not only give your staff the call signs for my regiment as prescribed by the General but also to ask his permission in both having a regimental wide insignia as well as proposing a name for my camp.”

I see his attitude change, “Ah, yes, I can assist you with part of that and I will let the General know what you want to discuss with him.”

So, I give him the list of call signs that I had Paper Work write up for us. He smiles and tells me, “Please wait here, Colonel.”

As I am waiting, I notice the normal hustle and bustle of his HQ. I also notice the map on the wall and see it has Van Hoover and Seaddle marked prominently on it. This makes me wonder a bit about future operations.

Soon afterward the Major returns and tells me, “Yes Ma’am, the General will see you now.”

As I am heading into his office, I see the commander for the 2^nd regiment coming into the HQ. I nod to her and close the door behind me. Once inside the General has me sit down again and I tell him about the recommendation from my battalion commanders for a regimental insignia that can be used on our uniforms, equipment, and even our camp sign.

He nods his head, “I like it Colonel, go ahead, but nothing lewd for your insignia please.” He pauses, “as for your suggestion of your camp's name, I like it as it does highlight two of our troopers who gave their all. As for the call signs, I saw the list, I agree, though Captain Bridge’s did get me to laugh.” He pauses again then continues, “Speaking of Captain Bridge, I may be taking him away from you. Colonel, we are forming an Engineer Battalion, and I want him to command it. However, until I get the number of troops needed to form it he will stay with you.”

I am disappointed to hear I will be losing him, but I am happy to hear he will get a chance to advance also. I will have to get to know his XO better now.

We discuss a few other things briefly then I hear a knock on the door and Major Pin Point sticks his head in and says, “General, Colonel Storm Cloud is here to meet with you as you requested.”

The General nods his head and tells him, “Ok, send him in,” he turns to me, “Well if you have nothing else Colonel, I need to talk to Colonel Storm. I will be getting his new call signs to you as soon as he has them.”

“Thank you General,” I tell him as I get up and leave.

Once outside the stable again I begin the trek home for the night. I send a quick message to Windy and have her let my duty staff officers know where I will be tonight. Then I smile and hum to myself as I trot back to the farm.

That evening seems to go really well. As I get in the door, I can smell a cake baking. From the porch, I look down the road and I see Sutures and Doula both heading in my direction. As I am looking that way suddenly, I see two black objects flying quickly towards me. As they get closer, I recognize them both as Sunny and Moon Lily. I notice that they are weaving their paths and it looks like combat maneuvers that they are using.

Soon they come in to land. Sunny lands at a skid, but Moon Lily comes in quickly, dumps her speed and lands gently, and says, “Hello Mama Mollygirl.”

I smile brightly back at her, “Afternoon Moon, how are you two doing?”

She grins and as Sunny gets ready to answer she excitedly tells me, “Ma, Sunny has been teaching me all he knows about flying. He even said I am getting good enough so I can play Pegasus Tag the next season.”

I watch as Sunny blushes some and he tells me, “Well Colonel, she is getting really good. She has come a long way quickly, and if she is going on this mission, we need her too.”

“Any idea where you are heading to yet?”

He grins at me and tells me without hesitation, “No, and if we did, you know we could not tell you. Sorry, Cousin but you are the one who taught me and the others that rule.”

I cringe some at this, but I have to admit, he is right. I nod my head, “You're right, sorry I asked.”

I see some confusion on my daughter's face at our exchange, so Sunny explains it to her. Finally, she nods her head, “Oh, that makes sense. Thank you, Sunny.”

After dinner, I hear a knock on the door and Moon trots over to answer it. Before she gets there, I hear Millie call out, “Moon, Slip Stream is here.”

Soon I hear all three of them talking away in the other room. Bucky looks at me and the other parents and tells us, “Since Moon got her wings, Slip and her have been hanging around a lot more.”

I nod my head in understanding. “That makes sense to me I guess; I am just glad she is still including Millie.”

Bucky smirks and tells me, “Ma, it is more like she is including Moon more now. Mills has always hung around the fliers more than us ground pounders.”

For some reason, this surprises me. Then I think back to how she has been with Rain Dancer all these years and how the other fliers just followed his lead.”

Soon Moon and the others join us in the living room and she asks, “Can we listen to the Enclave broadcast for a bit? I wanna see how bad they are lying about us now.”

To tell the truth I want to hear it too. Not that I think the NCR would hide things, but sometimes the Enclave does tell us about things we have been kept in the dark about. Such as the attacks out in the southwest by the Enclave this week. I see Badger nod his head and he gets up and changes the station. Then he returns to his seat between Magpie and Sumac.

Soon the music ceases and we hear the now familiar voice of Hollowed Dreams, Good evening to my fellow equestrians. Tonight, I would like to talk to you once more about the filthy enfield's den of corruption and contempt that goes beyond that of the rest of the NCR, the Manesville region. My friends recently when we tried to liberate this area, we were confronted by what I would call feral ponies. Those living there gladly sacrificed their mares and foals in the fight against us. When they felt they could not win, they burned their homes, villages, and fields so that we and no one else could use them.

Does this sound like normal rational behavior to you? I know it sure doesn’t to me. To top it off, to drive us out of this area, they used a mega spell to destroy our airships and their brave crews. Rumor has it that they even killed what survivors there were from them.

If that were not bad enough, they now claim to have a new alicorn princess in this area. Personally, I think they have used one of those monstrosities that were created through chemical means and who only became individuals again after our forces destroyed the Goddess at Maripony. Again, this was done only through the brave sacrifice of our loyal Pegasus warriors. In fact, I think we should all take a moment, bow our heads and say a brief prayer to Celestia and Luna thanking them for their assistance in those efforts and to guide us and defend us in our current fight against the corrupt NCR so that one day we may once again be a united Equestria..

We will have more news and music after these brief messages, “For those in the NCR, The Brahman has jumped over the moon. I repeat the Brahman has jumped over the moon. For those in the Lunar Republic, the window needs a new sash, the window needs a new sash…

Archer gets up this time causing me to have to shift some as he turns the radio to our normal station and DJ Pon3. As he moves, I see him sadly shaking his head. Then I notice Moon Lily has an angry expression on her face and she tells Slip Stream, “This is what I am talking about. They always lie about us. I REALLY want to stop him from lying about us.”

I watch as Slip Stream nods her head in understanding. Then she asks, “But what can we do? Ma and dad say we just have to put up with it until we take over wherever he is broadcasting from.”

The three fillies continue to talk for a bit and right before she is ready to leave, she pauses and looks like she is going to say something, but instead shakes her head and I watch as the young hippogriff takes off for home for the night.

Then I watch our two daughters turn and together come back inside, they both give us a hug and before they go to their room, Millie asks me, “Ma, can Moon and I take Slip radhog hunting tomorrow?”

I am just about ready to ask them what they are going to do with the meat when Sumac smiles and tells them, “I think that would be a good thing, but take your siblings with you, and no using her or Raven for bait this time.”

The two fillies look at each other and then I hear them both say, “We won’t. We promise.”

Then they and Raven go to their room. Soon Bucky and Woody head to theirs and I find myself thinking how good that roast rad hog taste. But part of me still wonders, what are they up to now?

Every day after school, I see Sunny taking Moon Lily out and teaching her more maneuvers, and helping her to practice flying. After the third day, I notice that Slip Stream has joined them also. Soon I notice that both of Windy’s daughters are flying with them too, often as antagonists for them to practice against.

Soon I see almost every one of the young fliers from White Cloud are joining them playing a variation of Pegasus tag. After a couple of days, I see that Sunny has set up an objective that one side has to make, and the other side has to keep them from. At first, I am amused as I figure Sunny is just having fun with the youngsters and that he is helping Moon learn the ropes for their mission more quickly, but I also notice how competitive they are all becoming and how they all have begun to work more effectively in teams.

It is two weeks later when Choo Choo lands on our porch after sunset. Beside her is Sunny and I can see the Batponies land in the yard. Sunny knocks on the door and when Sutures answers it I see the look of fear on her face as Sunny tells her, “Is Moon Lily ready? It is time to go.”

I see the love of my life sadly nod her head as she helps her daughter put on her kit. Then she gives her a hug and a kiss, as do the rest of us. Then she looks up at her ancestor and says only slightly nervously, “Ok granny, let’s do this.”

We sit and watch them take off into the dark night sky and sit out there for some time after we can no longer see them. That night I do not get much sleep, between worrying about my daughters who are out on missions and trying to comfort Sutures and Archer.

The next morning, I notice Dull Beak is late getting to the post and I wonder what is going on. I am sitting in my office and I hear Dull Beak coming into the regimental HQ building. He asks, “Where is she?”

I hear one of my HQ company members ask him, “Where is who, sir?”

He is almost frantic as he says, “The Colonel, she has to know.”

“She is in her office sir,” the staff member says and I soon hear him storming my way.

Once he is at my door, he opens it and I ask him, “What’s up DB?”

He looks like he has not slept since yesterday and he is obviously upset. He looks at me and asks, “My daughter. She said in a note she was going to follow Moon Lily. Where did they go?”

I am stunned and I simply shake my head and I tell him, “Dull Beak, I wish I could tell you, but even I don’t know. All I know is that Moon left last night with Choo Choo, Sunny, and the bat ponies. I do not even have a clue what they are up to.”

I see him shaking his head with his talon alongside his head. He says it barely loud enough for me to hear, “Summer is going to kill me for letting her sneak away like this.”

This is followed shortly later by Windy coming into the HQ cussing up a storm. I step out onto the landing for the upper stairs leading to our offices and I hear her say, “Those damn fillies of mine took their kits and weapons from Hoofington and took off.”

I call down to her, “Do you know where they went?”

She calls back, “Not really, but I know who they are with, you should have let Sutures kill Choo Choo that night.”

Dear DJ Pon3,

Recently the Enclave attacked our homes, our friends, and our families. We have seen our friends and family that have been crippled and killed. We are sick of being told we are too young to do anything, so now we are taking the good fight to ‘em.

Wish us good luck and good hunting. If you could please play, I’m Going Anyways to let our parents and families know this is something we have to do for all of us and why.

Thank you,

The White Cloud Sky Bandits

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