The members of the Co-op Expeditionary Force all assemble in the lights around the drill field. We all finally see its true size. It is made up of the Door Kickers, the Equestrian Rangers, and Hell’s Belles as the main forces we have one platoon of Combat engineers attached as well as a short battery of artillery made up of Celestia, Nightmare Moon and two tubes of 81mm mortars. We are also taking a short staff for the battalion including a battalion aid station, communications, and logistics. This is in addition to my scouts. Nearly 500 ponies and cows. The largest force we have ever dispatched on a mission since the stable opened.

The Colonel, the XO, and both the Overmare and Overcow are there to see us off. As we stand in ranks awaiting the order to go, they do a brief inspection walkthrough. Stopping to shake hooves with the officers and senior NCO’s. They tell us all good luck and thank us for being willing to serve the Co-op.

At 5 am the order comes to move. I hear the order go out for the artillery to move first. After they pass D-troop gets the command. “By fours, forward March.” As we step forward in fours, we shift from a line abreast formation to a column formation. Once we are all on the move E-troop does the same, Followed by H-troop. We are marching on the road toward Emerald Grove.

As the day begins to break, we are passing our jump-off point. We start to hear artillery shells land in the town of Hereford, which we are to bypass entirely. The route chosen puts us between Hereford and Capon. In the distance we begin to hear the CDF forces engage around Hereford, knocking them away from our route of march. Then I hear it begin; some of the ponies start to sing an old song from the war called The Mare I Left Behind Me.

I am lonesome since I crossed the hills over the moor and valley. Such heavy thoughts my heart doth fill since parting with my filly.
I seek no more the fine nor gay for each doth but remind me, how swift the hours did pass away with the mare I left behind me.

I look over at my scouts and see Xavier is there singing along with the rest of them. I see a few of the Door kickers point at him and grin. Yep, he has become one of the now too.

Nor shall I forget the night, the stars were shining above me. And gently lent their silvery light
When first she vowed to love me.
But now I'm bound to Canterlot - Kind Goddess I pray to guide me,
And bring me safely back again, To the mare I left behind me.

I hear the call from the Battalion Commander, “Skirmishers out”. I watch as each company puts out a squad of troopers in extended formation along the front and both sides of the column. I am next to Sunset when the next call comes. “Two Scouts Out!”

I nod to Sunset; He choose Chip and Blackberry Pie to be our first set they take off at the canter then slow to a trot ahead of us. We continue on the march. To the side and later behind us we can see thick smoke rising from the area of Hereford.

Her golden hair in ringlets fair, her eyes like diamonds shining,
Her slender waist, her heavenly face, that leaves my heart still pining.
Luna above oh hear my prayer, to my beauteous fair to find me,
And send me safely back again, to the mare I left behind me.

After a couple of hours, all singing has ceased. The column raises a tall column of dust above us. After a while, I see many of the troopers taking out scarves and such and covering their muzzles with them to keep the dust out. The troops are trying to go easy on their water but the heat and exertions still take a toll on them.

Twice during these first few hours, we have skirmishes with small groups of Red Eyes army that have routed out of Hereford and are surprised to find us cutting them off from escape. We are lucky in these minor frays in only talking a couple of light wounds ourselves.

The command staff had earlier decided on a rate of march that includes marching at the walk for an hour then taking a ten-minute break. Then continue on. We are limiting our speed on the march to that of the wagons and the artillery. Every break I have Sunset rotate the scouts that are out ahead. We march like this for 8 hours and are about 24 kilometers from home when we stop for an hour's rest.

I first check on my scouts they seem to be doing well so far. I follow this up by checking on the rest of the Door Kickers, all the squads seem in good spirits overall. I see Dusty and join her and the rest of the 1st squad.

“Hey LT, how you doing?” Dusty asks.

“So far so good, how are you Dusty?”

“Not going to lie, I am making it, but really miss those smaller excursions with less dust.” She tells me.

“Don’t say that too loud, we could get rain again instead. Would you rather march in mud instead?” I ask her.

“No Ma’am, I would not. Do you have any idea how much further before we camp for the night?”

“Probably four or five more hours. We want to get a good jump while we are still fresh. After that, we may slow down a bit.”

Sutures comes up to us, “How is every pony doing? Any saddle sores or blisters yet? If you start to get a bare spot let me know so we can prevent them from getting worse.” She asks and then tells everyone.

As I am sitting there, I notice that the scouts are starting to move closer to D-troop and watch as Sunset introduces himself to the sergeant of the third squad. That is a good sign to me.

As Sutures moves on to the next squad, I follow along with her. “Hey Sutures. Don’t forget to take a break too now.” I tell her.

She notices that no one is close, “Don’t worry Mollygirl, I will. I just want to make sure every pony is ok first. How are you doing? I heard from Archer that Badger was pretty upset about losing Xavier from his command. I hope he did not get on you too bad.”

I put my head down as we walk, “Actually he came home in a real temper last night. Luckily Ma was there to defuse it for me. Things settled down after that. Thanks for asking though.”

“Mollygirl, that is what friends are for. Honestly, I worry about you because I am your friend, not just one of my troopers.” She says with a bright smile.

“I am so glad you feel that way to Sutures. Especially after that kiss to my husband and wife,” I tell her with a light nudge of my shoulder to hers.

“She laughs back to me. Ok, I am sorry about that, but you are all so sweet, and alcohol was involved.” She jokes back. Then she becomes serious again. “Speaking of alcohol, let me see your saddlebags.” She tells me as she looks into them. After a brief search, I hear the relief in her voice, “Sorry Mollygirl, but after the other night, I have really been worrying about you. I know it can run in families and Millie is known to have had a problem with it.”

“I understand, and I appreciate it. It is nice to know that someone out here will worry about me and have my back. You know in a way I envy you having Archer here with you. At least you have someone who loves you and will be there for you no matter what.” I tell her with a smile.

“It has its ups and its downs, but LT, go grab a bit more rest and I will be back when I am done visiting the other squad.” She tells me.

I go back to the scouts’ area and sit with them. Sunset then looks at me. “Ma’am, since we still know a few of the old 1^st squad, would it be ok if we kind of blended into them during these stops and at night.”

“Actually Sergeant, I think that would be a good idea. It would also make it easier for me to keep track of everyone. After all, there are ten squads in each company.”

I keep track of time on my PipBuck at the thirty-minute mark I stand up, stretch and call out, “Ok every pony, back on your hooves, we are wasting daylight.”

We finally call it a day four hours later. We can see the remains of a prewar village in the distance. As we get ready to go into the woods to camp for the night I am approached by Trouble “LT, make sure that the first couple of troopers to go into the woods has full barding on and are using their EFS. We are starting to get near the area where I ran across what I call Chitterers.”

“Ok, Trouble, but what are these chitterers?”

They are a bit smaller, but they are the tick equivalent of a radscorpion. I have seen them easily up to a foot long. I have heard of them being up to three feet though. Those ones can suck a pony dry by themselves. They seem to communicate with each other by making a chitter type of sound with their mouthparts.”

I feel a shiver go through me. “Trouble are you serious?”

“Yes, Ma’am. They should not be this far yet, but give ‘em a couple of years. We will be in their territory for sure in another day or two at this rate.”

After hearing this I call the Captain over and have Trouble explain to him about the Chitterers. His eyes go as wide as mine had when he hears about them. He calls over all the NCO’s next. Within a few minutes, our company is aware of this possible new menace. However, I hear several who dismiss it as a joke.

After this I see the Captain go over to speak to the Major. As the first troopers go into the woods, we take Trouble's advice and are fortunate in not finding any. Once we locate where we want our camps, we set up a rough barricade of fallen lumber. Then pickets are assigned to stand watch.

Once the camp is set, we hold a brief informal formation. Broken Dreams then tells us, “Good Job on the first leg. I want all of you to remove your gear and check your buddies for sores and wear marks. I do not want anypony to fall out due to a preventable injury. We are now in hostile territory so take it seriously. Watches switch on your EFS periodically to make sure we have no hostiles trying to sneak in on us.”

We all nod and take note. He continues “Ok then, grab some rations and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day. We start by sweeping the village that is a couple of klicks ahead of us. Dismissed.”

We fall out and all start to look for a place to set our ground cloths and bedrolls. I lay mine down in the area of the scouts and the 1^st squad. As I set it up Sutures comes over, “Do you mind if I set mine up here LT?”

“No, not at all, I just thought you would want to be by Archer tonight?” I tell her.

“Oh, I do, but he is busy and besides, I think it's best I am by my company in case of trouble.” She replies.

That makes sense to me. I remove my saddlebags, set up my bedroll with my battle saddle in position to be a pillow. I remove my barding and Sutures and I both check each other for wear marks from our equipment. So far so good.

I still have my holster on my front leg, so I am not defenseless, but I leave my Angle Bunny SMG on my bunk. “I will be back in a bit Sutures; I want to check on the other squads really quick.”

I wander from squad to squad, making sure everything is set for the night. After this, I check in with Both Broken Dreams and Lieutenant Dark Hills. When I find them, they are with specialist Specs, our long-range radio repeater operator.

Specs specialty involves carrying the pack for the repeater which extends the range of our PipBucks broadcast. It also has regular radio capabilities to fall back upon if necessary, or for regular communications with the stable.

They are all three listening to the radio when I approach. Broken Dreams looks at me as I approach. “Just getting in the reports from Hereford. They drove two companies of Red Eyes troops out of there. Unfortunately, they had to level the place pretty much. We took pretty heavy casualties from there also, especially from the militia units.”

At first, I take it as just news, then it dawns upon me that Badger and Pages were both with Militia units. I have no idea if Pages was involved. I am sure Badger’s unit was. Goddesses I hope he is ok. The worst part is I will not know if he is ok unless I receive a letter telling me, or am officially notified as next of kin if he has been killed.

“Thanks for letting me know Captain. I am going to go find the Commander and discuss how we want to use the scout’s tomorrow.”

“Sounds good Lieutenant, after that I suggest you getting some sleep, tomorrow promises to be another long day.”

I walk through the next camp and find the artillery is on its flank, just in the woods. As I am passing through, I see Archer directing his gunners on how he wants his guns placed in temporary positions for the night. He sees me and waves, then starts to bark out more orders.

In the next camp I find the Commander, Major Quick Trot, she is not too hard to find with her purple coat and blue mane and tail. “Good Evening Ma’am. I was just coming to discuss our options for using the scouts.”

“Very well Lieutenant. What are your suggestions?”

“Ma’am I would like to suggest that we send out most of the scouts an hour before dawn. I would prefer to send a two-pony team into the village that we can see over there. I really would like to see what we are getting into. Also, Major, I would like to consider sending out two of our scouts on an independent search to get a lay of the land ahead of us and to see if they can locate any friendly villages.”

“Mollygirl, I agree with sending the scouts out early. I would wait to send out that forward recon team you mentioned. But I am glad you are thinking about it already.”

“Very well Ma’am, thank you,” I tell her as I then depart the area.

I head back to my area. I let the scouts know my plans for the morning. Sunset then asks, “Ma’am, any preference on who goes where?”

“Sergeant, I want you to head along our expected line of march go high if you would. See if you spot anything. Put Xavier and Trouble out together into that village as soon as we can. Chip and Blackberry can both bypass the village and get ahead of us to make sure nothing catches us unaware.”

“Ok, LT. Are you sure that it is wise to put ol’ Stripes with Trouble? I know Trouble doesn’t have problems with me, but I’m not sure how he may be dealing with a zebra. That never came up when we worked together before.”

“Sunset, I understand your concerns, to be honest, I worry a bit myself, but one, I think Trouble should have enough self-control after all these years in the Wastelands to get past these issues. The second is that if there are going to be problems, it is best to find out before we get too far into the expedition, or at a critical moment.” I tell him.

“Ok, you’re the boss Ma’am. If we do not have any trouble, I will wake you in the morning. Catch some rest while you can.”

I awake with my scouts in the morning. I observe as Sunset reminds them of what I said the night before. After he is done with his reminder briefing as well as making sure they remember to use the PipBucks to pass on info as needed he looks at me. I nod and he turns back to them, “Scouts out. Let’s go.”

I then watch them disappear in the predawn darkness. As the sun begins to rise, I watch as the rest of the troops finish eating their rations and put their kits back on. When the Major orders it, we begin our advance again. This time the 3^rd and 5^th squad of the Doorkickers are in skirmisher order in front as we close upon the village ahead. Behind them, we have the artillery and the rest of us.

As they get closer, I get a message on my PipBuck from Trouble. Village Clear. No hostiles. I relay that on and we begin to continue the march in earnest again. As we march into the village, we see the worn sign proclaiming it to be Prairie Garden. It is strange though. The village looks like it was lived in recently, however, there is no one there now. As we march past the general store, I notice a piece of paper sticking out from under a window frame so I go over to check it out. I am not sure what I would find but I was not expecting to find what I do when I read it.

Whoever finds this help us, please. Slavers are here and taking prisoner every pony who can work. The rest they are killing, the elderly, and foals included. They say they are shipping us to Fillydelphia. Have to go they are coming. Please help us.

Tilling Soil

Well, that explains that I guess. As I catch up to the 1^st Squad I see Dusty catching back up with the formation.

“Sorry ma’am, had to use a bush.” She tells me.

I notice she looks like she is sick to her stomach, “You OK Dusty?”

“Yes LT. But I found a stack of bodies back there in that fenced-in yard behind the barn. Ma’am they, I do not even know how to begin,” I see tears form in her eyes. “There had to be at least five or six foals and ten old ponies that were murdered there. How could somepony do those kinds of things?” The last question more to herself than to me.

“I do not know Dusty, hopefully, our being out here with help stop things like that,” I tell her.

“I hope so too Ma’am, I pray it does,” she says as she puts her head down.

We continue on, I know I will not be able to forget the name of Prairie Garden now, I fear neither will Dusty. I can only hope we are able to catch up with those who have perpetrated this atrocity.

After noon We can see smoke in the distance. Then I get a message back from Chip. LT we have a group of survivors from a local village, please advise.

I am not sure what we should do, so I call back Sunset and then go to talk to the Major.

Sunset returns and walks with me while I look for her. I find her along with the Equestrian Rangers, talking with their Captain. “Good Afternoon Major. Just got word in that two of my scouts have found survivors from the village ahead. What do you want us to do Ma’am?”

“Survivors? Mollygirl, if they are in the village have them wait for us there, if not, have them fall back and meet us. I want to talk with them, see if we can find out who is responsible for these attacks on the villages.”

“Yes Ma’am, anything else?”

“Make sure your scouts check out that village. I do not want any surprises.”

I send Sunset ahead to catch up with Blackberry Pie and Chip to handle the survivors. I also have him assign Trouble and Xavier to check out the village for us. Again, I get a report back of no contact in the village so we advance upon it. Most of the buildings are already burnt down, or still smoldering as we approach. There is not much left, only a few bodies in the streets and a local pub that while not burned down has been thoroughly pillaged.

The major orders the force to halt at the village and set up a defensive perimeter. We have only made 16 Kilometers so far today. We set up a brief HQ in the pub and have the survivors brought to us there. I see several elderly mares and stallions as well as young foals. I only see a couple of prime-aged ponies though. All of them have at least scratches or burns on them. Most of them are earth ponies or unicorns but I then notice a young pegasus mare who is standing close to an older earth pony mare talking.

As I approach the older mare steps forward, she looks uncomfortable. “Hello, I am Lieutenant Mollygirl, of the Co-op Expeditionary Force.”

The mare looks at me funny, “Hello Mollygirl, I am Windy Wishes, mayor mare, are you here to make us slaves also, if so most of us are too old, you might as well shoot us too.”

“No Ma’am, that was never our intention, but perhaps you can tell us who did this to you and your village,” I tell her.

Before she can answer the pegasus mare interrupts us, “Excuse me Lieutenant, but what are you doing here then?”

I look at her, “We are actually passing through. We come from the Co-op north of here. Elements of Red Eyes Army have attacked some of our towns and villages. We are here to repay the favor to them and hopefully drive them far enough back they will not return for a while.” I tell them.

She seems to think about it. “So, who did this to you and your people?” I ask her.

“We have had dealings with Red Eyes troops off and on over the last couple of years. Today was different, instead of stopping for water or demanding a tax of food after the caravan stopped they informed us, we were now the property of Red Eye's commander Bursting Star. Then they started to grab anypony they saw. Those of us here were either in the fields and ran, or hide in the underground tunnels our village had dug for just a situation. We were the lucky ones.” Windy tells me, then she continues. “Please excuse my daughter Sky, she is very protective of our ponies. I guess she was right to be a bit distrustful at times.” She says as she looks down, with her ears at the side of her head.

“It’s ok Mom, don’t blame yourself.” Sky tells her.

“I can’t help it dear, what are we going to do now? What are we going to do?” Windy asks her daughter.

“I don’t know yet ma. We will figure something out.” Sky tells here.

As I listen to them talk, I feel uncomfortable, but then it occurs to me. “Windy, Sky, I know it seems odd, but I may have a couple of options for you and your ponies. For some, I am looking for scouts to assist us in the wastelands. I only need a couple, but they will be paid for their help. Another thought is that you and your people could always go up to the Co-op and ask to settle there. It is over 35 kilometers from here, but you can make it in two or three days easy.” I then explain to them what is expected of those who join the Co-op, I also let them know the benefits of membership. “Or you could try staying here, your choice. I will give you some time to think about it. In the meantime, we may have some other ponies talk with you about what happened here, and what they are equipped with, so if we catch them, we can deal with them easier.”

I then go outside for a bit. While there I see Xavier and Trouble waiting for me. “Hey LT, ol’ Stripes here and I want to head back out again. Sergeant Feathers told us earlier he saw a column of dust in the distance. We want to try to catch up with them to see what is causing it.”

“Ok, sounds good. Be careful and let me know what you find.” I tell them. “I would like you both to make sure you get some rest also. I may need you two for a nighttime mission soon. The Major wants to move to the next village if possible, by tonight.”

As they both wander away and begin to head toward the next village, I hear a pony walking up behind me. I turn and find Sky approaching me. “Mollygirl, we have been talking, and well it seems Ma has decided to try your idea of heading to this Co-op of yours.”

I smile at her, “I am glad to hear the news. I think you will all do well there.” I tell her. She stands there and has a serious look on her face. I can tell she wants to say more but does not know how to bring it up.

“Sky, I can tell you have something on your mind. What are you thinking?” I ask.

She hesitates a bit more than asks, “You said you needed scouts, would you be willing to take on one who is a pegasus that doesn’t know how to fly?”

I look at the pretty, bluish-gray mare with her light brown mane and tail. She looks to be in good physical condition. “Ok, Sky, but before I hire you, I want you to get a quick physical exam. I want to make sure you are in good enough shape for this.” I call Sutures over on my PipBuck. When she gets there, I tell her “Hey Sutures, this is Sky, a new scout volunteer, would you be kind enough to give her a once over before I hire her on.”

“Sounds good LT,” she tells me, she looks around and decides to take her to the upstairs of the pub to have some privacy during the physical exam. As she goes up the stairs with her, I see Sky blush a bit. It then hits me what the upstairs may have once been used for, and I begin to blush a bit also.

After they are finished with the physical both return downstairs. Sutures looks at me, “She is good to go LT.”

“Thanks Suture, I appreciate it. Ok, Sky, welcome to the scouts. You will be on our payroll and we will be feeding you as well as equipping you the best we can, sorry but we do not have a PipBuck ready for you right now. I need to talk with the command staff’s PipBuck technician to see if we have any spares available. If not, as soon as a spare is available, we will issue you one. This just means you are partnered up with somepony who has one until then.”

She smiles at me “Thank you LT. I appreciate your giving me a chance.”

“My pleasure Sky, now follow me over to D-troop. The scouts and D-troop tend to camp together. So, you might as well get to know some of them.”

It is shortly after this I hear the call out from the Major “On your hooves, five minutes we march.”

And we continue on with the march. As we go Sunset reports that the column of dust in front of us is getting closer and that he is going to get closer to investigate. Later on, he reports back that it is a fairly large caravan with what looks like a line of prisoners behind it. He continues to shadow it at a distance and lets us know when it goes into a box formation for the night.

We advance to a farm about five kilometers away from the caravan then the Major orders us to halt for the night. She has the guns dug in near the command post, which is in a farmhouse, its previous occupants having been gone for a while.

As it gets dark the major has us make sure the windows are covered so no light can escape. Then we hang a map on the wall marked with all the information we have. We have another map on the table as well we are looking at that has our first objective of the raid on it. All the officers are there and we are discussing our moves both for the next morning and the next couple of days afterward.

Quick Trot lets us know right away that before dawn we will assault the caravan. “I want our troops fresh for this. The important thing is to take the prisoners alive. If we can capture a few of the slavers to get some more information out of them the better. “She pauses then she continues, “After that I want the scouts to…”

She stops as she is interrupted by the squealing of a wooden chair across the floor between me and Broken Dreams. I look down and am stunned and upset. Standing on the chair is Ginger with both hooves on the table looking at the map, standing next to her is an embarrassed looking Xochitl. “Hiya Auntie Mollygirl, where are those bastards that hurt us and killed Auntie Ivy and my Sissy?”

My jaw drops and my face turns even redder as the Major coolly looks at me “Yes Auntie Mollygirl, where are they?”

I first look at the Major, then back at Ginger and Xochitl, “What are you doing here?”

“Auntie Mollygirl, we came to help. We knew you needed every pony who could.” Ginger tells me.

I am still shaking my head, “Did the guard just let you in?” I ask her.

Xochitl looks down at the floor, I notice him moving his one hind hoof back and forth, I know he is hiding something, and it hits me. With a stern voice, I call her name, “Choo Choo.”

From the corner of the room, I hear back “Yes Ma’am.”

I should have known, “Choo Choo, Show yourself right now young mare.” I tell her.

Suddenly she appears in the corner of the room, her ears are down and she is looking at the floor, moving her hoof in a nervous manner. Everypony else in the room stands there stunned. Then Quick Trot looks at me, then at Choo Choo, “Good to see you again Choo Choo although it is a bit of a surprise.” She looks back at me, “I guess she is now your newest scout? After all, that was a pretty effective demonstration for us.”

“I, uh, Yes Ma’am. I guess she is. I need to contact both of these two’s parents, they are both here on the expedition if you will excuse me, Ma’am.”

I escort all three of them out of the room. Then I send a Message to both Xavier and Nugget for them to come to the HQ area. Then I look at all three of them, “What were you three thinking? Better yet, how did you get here?”

Ginger looks up at me with a big smile, “We snuck into the back of a wagon before you guys left the stable. Choo Choo helped us stay invisible for it.”

Again, I look back at Choo Choo, she meekly smiles back at me. “And you, young mare, you are the adult here. Memory issues or not, you should have known better.” I tell her. “Choo Choo, does Quick Frost or Blue Star know you are here?”

With her head down, “No Ma’am. Mollygirl, I only wanted to help, and these two would have come with or without me. This way I could protect them.” She replies.

Oh, that takes some of the wind out of my sails. “Ok, I guess I can see that. Now you two, we will have to see what your parents have to say.”

Nugget arrives first. When she sees Ginger her jaw drops. Then I see a tear form, “Ginger Snap, dang it, I left you with Granny Sumac to keep you safe. What are you doing here?”

“Being like you and Sissy Dusty, I am here to help.” She says as she approaches her mother and hugs her.

“Oh, my child I love you and am glad to see you, but now I have to worry about you too,” Nugget tells her.

“Don’t worry mom, I am a big filly, I can handle it. Besides, I have Xochitl and Choo Choo, Woofers and Tweeters, with me. You always said your buddies helped you through and had your back. So, I have mine with me.” Ginger tells her.

“I guess you are getting big then. It is too late to send you back, but honestly honey, what are we going to do with you?” Nugget asks.

It is about that time Xavier arrives. “Hello LT, what is it you need me fo…” He stops talking when he sees his son. “Xochitl, what are you doing here? Your mother, oh no, your mother will be going insane with worry. What have you done my son? Why?”

Xochitl stands up straight, looks his father in the eyes, “Father, I am here to help. Ginger was coming and I could not let her go alone. She is my friend father.”

Xavier nods his head “LT, I know we do not use foals, but since they are here, I suggest making them scouts.” Then he notices Choo Choo, He jumps back and points, “What is she doing here? Do you know how dangerous her kind are?”

Xochitl then puts himself between his father and Choo Choo, “Father, her name is Choo Choo, mother has met her and had tea with her and her sisters, along with Granny. She has helped us and she too wants to be a scout.”

“So, my son you think you are ready to be a stallion? Very well, you will earn your keep. LT, I would like you to sign my son up as one of your scouts. I will train him for it.”

Ginger then speaks up, ‘Momma, can I be signed up as a scout with Xochitl? I swear I will listen to what I am told to do. Please, Mom.”

Nugget lets out a sad sigh, “Guess so. Dear, I really wish you wouldn’t have done this. But you can’t unscramble an egg. Mollygirl, if you could use her, then do so. Remember Ginger, this means you can not just go where you want, or even play. You have chosen to be a mare now and take on a grown mares responsibilities.”

I can see the sadness in Nuggets eyes, and I hurt for her. “Nugget, I will make sure we look out for her. Also, I will make sure she camps near Dusty whenever we can.” I tell her.

“Thank you Mollygirl, I mean it. Please take care of her, she means the world to me, along with her sister.” Nugget tells me. Then she gives her daughter a hug and a kiss on the forelock.

With that, I tell Xavier to take the new recruits to our camp, get them a bedroll, and introduce them to the sergeant and the other scouts. He agrees and as he takes them to camp, I return inside to the meeting.

As I step inside the Major looks up, “Everything taken care of Lieutenant.”

My stomach turns as I tell her, “Yes, ma’am, the parents have agreed that it is not safe to return them home, so they are hiring on as scouts. We may be able to use all three of them.”

“Very good, I trust your judgment Mollygirl. Now back to what I was saying about the first bridge…”

After the meeting, I return to camp. The first pony I see is Dusty as she comes up to me. “Goddess Damn it Mollygirl, what are you thinking? Using Foals? Are you kidding me, what is wrong with you?”

For the first time ever with Dusty, I pull rank. “Trooper, I will remind you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth, or I will have you on charges. If you must know, we can’t send them back, and this way you and I can keep an eye on Ginger, and Xavier can help us as well with Xochitl. Now if you can be polite and respectful, let’s talk.”

“And what does my mother have to say about this?” She asks me.

“Your mother asked me to do this. So, we could protect her. To be honest Dusty, I am really worried about your mother. She has not been the same since she came back from the mission to Hoofington.” I reply.

I hear her sigh in the darkness, “So mom is a mess too. I wondered when she did not visit more with Ginger or me before we left. Thank you for being honest Mollygirl. I am sorry for my reaction. It is just that she is still a filly, not even her cutie mark yet, and here she is getting ready to go into combat with us. Mollygirl, after the fight at Manesville, I am worried for all of us now.”

“I understand Dusty, believe me, I understand. But we will make it through. We got this.” I tell her, “Now let’s go get some sleep.”

She returns to her part of the camp and I return to mine. As I lay there thinking, I feel a little furry muzzle sniffing my face and then giving me a few licks. I look down and it is Woofers. “Good boy, go ahead and sleep here,” I tell him as I lift my blankets for him to crawl under them.

Before dawn, I am awakened to Sunsets voice, “Oh, who the Tartarus brought those things, and LT, I thought you had more class than to sleep with one.” Whoops forgot about how the pegasi feel about enfields.

“Sorry Sergeant if my sleeping companion does not suit you. But he is better company than most it seems.” I reply.

I love the look of shock on his face, “But, But LT, those things are disgusting.” He tells me.

“Some of my contemporaries have said the same thing about the Enclave and Pegasi in general, does that make it true?” I answer him, as I scratch woofers between the wings. “Ok, sergeant let's get the scouts up and rolling.”

I hear him mumbling under his breath as he walks away. Then I hear Xavier waking Ginger and Xochitl. Both start to complain about it being so early, so he tells them, “Ah, but you wanted to be adults. As an adult, we do this all too often. In fact, as scouts, we are up before the others and all too often still awake when they are asleep. Have you changed your minds little ones?”

Both say no and get up rolling their bedrolls and putting on their saddlebags.

“Good, then after you are packed, we will put your bedrolls on the wagons and we will get out in front of the column. We are to make sure that they are not surprised.”

Then I hear Sunset, “Choo Choo, you’re with me today, we’re going high to watch over the others.”

“But sergeant, I want to be with the foals?” she tells him.

“That’s fine, want all you can, but it ain’t happening today, now move it trooper.” He tells her.

I see her start to puff up her chest and get that look in her eyes that I see Quick Frost use, so I intervene. “So, you are heading home then Choo Choo? You are breaking your contract after one night? Because if you refuse his orders that is what is going to happen, I will ship you flank home, this is not a game out here. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes Ma’am,” she replies sadly, “I understand.”

Then I see the two of them take off into the dark sky. Blackberry and Chip go out to the east and Xavier takes the foals to the west. As my scouts go out Trouble is with me.” Well ma’am, what do you want me to do?”

“Trouble, I would love to keep you in reserve, but I have a feeling the troops are going to need you out there. Do you feel comfortable operating independently?”

“Been doing it for years LT. Let me know what you want and I will do it.” He tells me.

“Trouble, I trust Xavier, but two youngsters like that may be too much for him right now, how about going out and keeping an eye out for them on their first mission.”

“Sounds good Ma’am. I will see you later then,” with that he disappears into the dark.

“Sky, I want you with me for this one. We need a local who knows this area, you will be leading the Door kickers and me this morning.”

I can see the surprise on her face, “Me Ma’am?”

Gently I tell her, “Yes Sky, you are a scout now, that is part of the job. Once we become engaged, you may fall back.”

From behind me, I hear E-troop getting their gear on and moving out to the east flank. D-troop and H-troop are just putting their gear on and waiting for the signal. Our goal this morning is to take that caravan and free the slaves.

I get the word back from Sunset that the caravan is still in place. Xavier reports that the prisoners are all gathered together inside the caravan circle. Chip and Blackberry report that there is nothing coming our way from south of the caravan and one of them will fall back and lead E-troop into position. The rest of the units begin to advance. Once we are all in position, I watch as night turns into day as the two mortar tubes launch parachute flares over the caravan. They know we are here for them now. The easy part of the job is now over.

And so, begins the third day of the expedition.

Dear DJ Pon3, my colt has decided that he is ready to be treated as a stallion. While it pains me to allow this, I have no choice. If you could please play Broomstick Cowboy for him.
Thank you
Xavier,
Scout, CEF

Thanks go out again to Kkat and the others who have added to this wonderful world she has created. I again thank those who have assisted me by listening to the chapter as I have written it, and helped me find the errors I may have left behind.

Finally, we have left the co-op and are on campaign. While we have left behind some characters we are meeting others, both for good and bad. As with real-life deployments we there is not always time to write home, or even to hear from home for extended periods of time. Those left behind should still be there when we return.

The Mare I left behind me is based upon the old marching song The Girl I Left Behind Me. The link to it is : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl1PZLqLwZk

If you would like to hear this weeks song dedication the link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYW68YMDRmI