It is not necessary to read this chapter for the story of Borderlands. However, it does allow us to understand Ginger's motivations for running off to join the CEF. It also allows us to see how Ginger, Xochitl, and Choo Choo did it from her perspective. I hope you, the readers, enjoy it.

X.21: Ginger’s Tale

“Ginger, Ginger Snaps, are you paying attention young filly?” Miss Blackboard asks me.

I quickly lookup, and around the one-room schoolhouse and notice the colts and fillies of my age group are studying Equestrian history now, “Yes, ma’am. Sorry ma’am,” I stammer quickly, “Could you please repeat the question?”

Of course, I get it wrong. “Young mare, during lunch I want you to write 50 times on the blackboard I will pay attention in class.”

Not again, I hate the taste of chalk. Besides, every time I have to do this I end up with chalk in my muzzle hair and smell it for a couple of more days.

It is my fault though as I was paying attention to the new colt in my class, Xochitl. He has recently moved to Granny Sumac’s farm; he also tends to gets picked on by some of the other calves and foals in the school because he is a zony, and he has a funny name. Yesterday I got in trouble because one of the young bulls knocked him down and kept calling him a dirty stripe, so I bucked him with both hind hooves in the nose. The smile on Xochitl’s face, as well as hearing him say thank you made it worth it.

My sissy Epona lives at the farm too, as do I when my mom is busy as a soldier. I get to go to school with Epona all the time though. She is my best friend as well as my sister. For the last week, she has been staying with her mom and her mom’s unit while they are working farm duty. I can not wait for her to get back at the end of the week and hear all about it.

The class has ended for the day and I am just getting ready to leave when I see Granny Sumac and my big sissy Dusty at the schoolhouse door. Both seem to be crying as they come up to me. Xochitl is standing by the door waiting for me and listens as they tell me that my sissy and his friend Epona has been murdered by a raider. The raider has also killed her mother and seriously injured Mollygirl her mother’s fiancé, and who I have known since I was a weanling.

“No, Not Sissy! Why? I never even got to tell her goodbye.” I cry.

Granny takes me in her hooves, “Shhh, its ok to cry my little mare, I know it hurts.”
As I cry, I see Xochitl sitting by the door crying too. He does not have a lot of friends, and he just lost one of them. When Granny puts me down, I walk over to him, tears in my eyes and hug him as we cry together. I silently vow to myself that I will get whoever did this to my sister and hurt all of us this bad.

The last month has been very busy. Xochitl and I have become best friends. We are always together now. Since that horrible day, we have experienced so much together. My family has grown quite a bit too. After mom left for her latest adventure, she calls it a mission, whatever, I have pretty much moved in with Granny Sumac. She reminds me of my Grandpa Bear, but a bit more affectionate and a much better cook.

I have since gotten to know Mollygirl a lot better. I also got to know Uncle Badger and Auntie Magpie as Xochitl and I both call them. In fact, we got to be in their wedding the day after Mollygirl introduced us to her friend George, who just happens to be a dragon. George is fun and all of us foals and calves love playing with and on her. But she is not near as fun as our friend Choo Choo.

It is a couple of days later and we are in school when the Enclave strikes. First the sirens sound and then you can hear the fighting all around us. I sneak out of the school’s storm cellar to watch it.

“Ginger, what are you doing out here? Come back inside.” Xochitl tells me.

I point towards Manesville, in the sky I can see a skyship firing at the town and the Stable. “Look Xochitl, have you ever seen something like that?”

As we watch I see more sky wagons leave the side of the skyship and fly off towards Emerald Grove and Manesville. Then I see a dragon and some smaller shapes next to it flying toward the skyship. “I think that is George, Xochitl. That means auntie Mollygirl and Emerado should be with her along with her pegasi friends.”

As we watch the smaller shapes, pegasi I think fly toward another group of them. We watch them twist and turn. We see bursts of light and sometimes we see what we think are pegasi fall from the sky. After about a half-hour or so we watch as George goes under the skyship and we can see a bright burst of blue flame come out of her toward the ship as she rolls away from it. Then we see the explosions.

The skyship staggers. It keeps fighting but it starts to lean to one side. We see flaming objects falling off of it as it keeps exploding and burning. Finally, it turns away and goes back the way it came. From behind us, we hear another noise and we turn.

“Look, there is another one Ginger,” He tells me as he points with one hoof toward another skyship and several flying pegasi coming toward Manesville. I notice he has put himself between me and it.

I look back toward Manesville and see George and some of the Pegasi flying towards us slowly. When they get nearer I notice both sides stop, then the skyship turns and heads in the same direction as the others. By this time the other students and Miss Blackboard have come out of the shelter and are watching as well.

We were all there together when it happens, I see the rings of rainbows growing. They move through the clouds. The clouds then become rain. soon as the rain falls on us below, we all get to see something we never saw before. We see a big ball of light in the sky. It is so warm too. Even as the rain falls to the ground, all of us, including Miss Blackboard, grab each other and start jumping around. It is so exciting.

We met Choo Choo and her sisters a couple of days after the Enclave attacked the Co-op. That was a scary time let me tell you. Xochitl and I were bored so we decided to follow Auntie Mollygirl to see what she was up to.

We see her stop at the mouth of a cave and then go inside. After a little bit, we follow her inside. We hear her talking to somepony, as we quietly approach her. She has no idea we are there.

I am concentrating on Mollygirl and it looks like she is. No Way, Alicorns! I run up behind her and asks “Whoa, Auntie Mollygirl, are these really alicorns, really?”

She is surprised to see us, but not nearly as surprised when Xochitl and I both feel something touch us on our backs and yell “Boo!”

We both jump and at least I was not the only one, Xochitl peed too. How embarrassing. Behind us is a big blue alicorn rolling on the floor laughing at us. And that is how we meet Choo Choo. It is not nearly as funny to her when Auntie Mollygirl and Quick Frost make her help us clean up the mess.

After we clean up the mess, Xochitl, Choo Choo and I go outside while the others are talking. She offers to take me and Xochitl flying but just as we are taking off, we get caught. Boy is Quick Frost upset with us.

Choo Choo turns and looks at her sister, “Ah, come on Quick Frost we were just playing.”

“Yeah, we were just playing,” I tell her.

“Ginger, Do I need to talk to Granny about your behavior?” Mollygirl asks me.

“I am sorry Quick Frost,” I say as an apology.

As Mollygirl and the others continue to talk I look over at Xochitl and we smile at each other and be both tackle Choo Choo. She falls to the ground on her back and we are on top of her. We play like this for a while with her.

Finally, Mollygirl and the others come back out of the cave. Choo Choo gets up and trots over to them and tells them. “They remind me of my foals so much.”

That is when she remembers she was once a mother. At first, she is so excited. Then she realizes she doesn’t know what happened to them. She is so sad and I feel so sorry for her.

Xochitl and I both go and give her a hug. “I am sure you were a good momma,” Xochitl tells her, “You would never have left them behind on purpose.”

She sniffles some and thanks us. A bit later, Mollygirl asks Quick Frost if they could take us back to the farm as she has to go to work at the Stable yet.

Before she goes Mollygirl makes us promise to keep the Alicorns secret. That seems silly to me, but if she feels that way, I will. We get a real treat after that. I get to ride Choo Choo and Xochitl rides Blue Star as they fly us back to the farm. I feel like a real-life Daring Do now. I never thought I would get to actually fly.

They drop us off out of sight of the farmhouse. We give both of them a hug and tell them thank you. After they fly away, I cannot help myself. I grab Xochitl and hug him, “Can you believe we actually got to fly, really fly?”

He looks at me with a smile and his ears up, “I know Ginger, never have I thought I would get the chance,” he replies in that sweetly accented equestrian of his. As we walk back to the house, I feel so close to him I have to just take my tail and hold his, at first, he is surprised and then I see him smile and just enjoy it as I do.

A few days later the bad news starts to roll in. The raider who killed Epona and her mother is actually a leader of part of somepony named Red Eye's army. He has attacked Donovan where Uncle Badger and Xochitl’s dad Xavier are stationed with the militia. It seems the Co-op army has decided to get him and the rest of them and are sending out a force to attack and punish them. We hear this as we listen to the adults talking. Finally, there is a big fight among all the adults when Mollygirl tells them that they are leaving in two days and that she is taking Xochitl’s dad with her.

Choo Choo keeps coming over to play with us and we begin to tell her about this. It is the night of the big fight and I am sitting by the barn holding Xochitl as he cries about his dad leaving when Choo Choo shows up and we let her know when they are leaving.

Finally, I look at both of them. “If they are going to punish those who killed Epona I want to be there,” I tell them.

As he starts to fight back his tears Xochitl asks, “How can you do that Ginger, when they will be far away.”

I smile at both of them, “What would Daring Do, do? She would sneak in there with them. So that is what I will do.”

Choo Choo looks at me, “How can we do that Ginger? I mean I can become invisible, but not for that long.”

“Well, we can sneak into a wagon and hide. Once we are far enough away, they will not be able to send us back.” I tell her.

With a slight sniffle, I hear Xochitl, “Yes, and I will be able to help my father. But we best leave a note so the others will not worry.”

Choo Choo then smiles, “I will see if Mollygirl will use me as a scout, so I can be there and help you. If she says no, I too will sneak into a wagon with you.”

We all put our hooves together and smile. “Let’s do this.”

That night I write a letter. I am going to leave in on my pillow. I figure Granny will not find it until later as I am going to tell her I am staying at Xochitl’s for that night. He has told me he will be telling his parents that he will be staying at Sumacs too. We are to meet in the barn and will head out as soon as Choo Choo gets there.

Dear Granny Sumac and Family.
I am very sorry, but I have left to join the expedition. Please understand that I have to do this. They hurt us. I want to punish them. We will be ok as we are taking Woofers and Tweeters with us.

I will take whatever punishment you demand when I get back. I will miss all of you. Uncle Badger, This is not about my Cutie Mark, I did listen to you and thank you for telling me how you got yours.

I love you all
Ginger Snaps.


I take the letter with me to the barn and show Xochotil. He then shows me his.

Dear Mother,

Please forgive me, but I could not let my father or Ginger do this on their own. I am sorry to have lied to you and said I was at Granny’s for the night, but it was necessary. I will be back as soon as I can. I love you mother and will think of you every day I am gone. Please do not cry. I will take care of father for you.

Love, your son
Xochitl.

We both go back to our houses to leave the notes. As I go in I see Granny. She stops me.

“What are you up to Ginger?” she asks.

“Nothing much Granny, just grabbing my things for tonight,” I tell her.

She notices I have my saddlebags and how full they are.

“What all do you have in there Ginger? that is a lot for one night.”

“Just some books, a couple of toys and a blanket in case I get too cold. You know they do not have too many blankets. I would just cuddle up to Xochitl to keep warm, but I do not want to be teased again like Aunt Mollygirl did the last time.”

She smiles at me. “Yeah, I understand young mare. Have fun dear.” She says as she gives me a hug and a kiss. I will miss this so much. I hardly get any attention like that anywhere else.

I go out the door and take my saddlebags to the barn and am met by Xochitl. We check to make sure we have what we will need. We have a couple of jars of preserved apples and vegetables. I also found a spare package of Fancy Buck Cakes that Granny had hidden. To keep from getting bored while on the trip I have packed one of my Daring Do books. I also have a length of rope in there and I really do have a blanket.

Xochitl shows me his bags. He has a blanket also as well as several cans of food and a knife. When he shows it to me, I raise an eyebrow, “My father says any buck should have a good knife with them when they are in the field.”

“Ok, that makes sense. I wish I had thought of it. Then I look over and see an old hatchet on a bench, so I add that to my bags too. You never know.

We both lay down then in the mow of the barn and take a nap together. I hear later Mollygirl and Xochitl’s mother having a fight over something. As she passes the barn, I hear Mollygirl crying to herself. “I wonder what has her crying?” I tell Xochitl.

“Probably my mother. She is blaming Mollygirl for my father having to leave. She is very worried about him.” He tells me.

After it gets dark Choo Choo arrives. The three of us leave the barn and start to head toward the Stable. As we come around the corner of the barn I freeze when I see one of the curtains of the house open and a light shines out. I see somepony lookout for a bit. Then they close the curtain again. At which point I trot to catch up with the other two.

As we get close to the Stable, I see the barbed wire and trenches surrounding it. I can also see the lights at the drill field and the collection of wagons there. Every so often we see a cow or pony on guard walking through there on patrol. We get as close as we can to the wagons and then Choo Choo has us climb on her back so she can make us all invisible. It is a bit confusing when suddenly I can not see her, Xochitl or myself. I feel her under me and I swish my tail and feel it hit Xochitl. I then feel him lightly bite my tail and hold it. We are halfway to a wagon when a guard pops out from between the rows. Suddenly my nose tickles and I can not help myself and I sneeze. Choo Choo stops and we all freeze.

The guard pony brings his gun out in front of him and begins to look around. I see him sniff the air. He sees Woofers and Tweeters trotting past him, and after a while, he shrugs his shoulders and continues on. We go up to the wagons and start to look for one that has enough room in it for us to fit and hide.

It is on the fifth try we find one. Xochitl and I climb up first, Then Choo Choo climbs in and finally the enfields.

A little while later we start to hear voices. We feel the wagon being hooked up. We then hear some ponies and a cow give a speech to those outside. Finally, as it is starting to get light out, we hear the soldiers start to move and then our wagon.

In the distance, we can hear explosions. I see Choo Choo and Xochitl both looking worried. Then we begin to hear the soldiers in the force begin to sing as they march. As the day continues the heat inside the covered wagon continued to build. We were all sweating. Luckily, we found a case of water and some rations. The wagon train continues on after the rest of the soldiers as we listen to the squeak of the wheels and fell the bumps jar us to our bones.

I have almost fallen asleep again when I suddenly heard several gunshots and see several holes appear in the wagon top. Then I hear mom’s voice yelling out. “4^th Squad, here they come, do not let them get through to the wagons.” Suddenly there was more gunfire and explosions as we feel the wagon speed up as the two ponies pulling it start to run with the other wagons.

I stand up and look through one of the holes in the cover and I see mom and several other of our soldiers running alongside us shooting at what looked like raiders. Then I hear her yell and see her and the rest of them all turn at once drop down and start firing everything at once at the ponies running towards us. I see them go down like summer wheat beneath a sickle. Suddenly I feel a sharp pain along my side. I drop down. Xochitl grabs me. “Choo Choo, she has been shot.”

Choo Choo picks me up with her magic and moves me closer. She examines me. “Ok, just a scratch. I can fix this.” I then began to feel the pain subside and am stunned to see the red gash in my side close up and heal itself.

“Choo Choo, you can do that?” I ask.

She smiles, “Yep. Any good medic pony can. The Goddess let me use my invisibility to sneak in and help my sisters during fights if they were pinned down.”

“WOW, that is cool Choo Choo,” I hear Xochitl say.

Then we are clear and the gunfire goes away. The wagon starts to slow down and we resume back at a walk. Every hour the wagon train takes a ten-minute break. Finally, we hear they are going to take an hour break. I hear Xochitl “About time maybe I can go to the bathroom now.” I watch as he sneaks out and climbs into the tall straw-like grass under the wagon. The wagon haulers having taken off their harnesses to stretch.
After he gets back in, I climb out and am followed by both the enfields. I do my business and see the soldiers all around looking outwards away from the wagons. Toward the front of the column, I see a Pegasus in the air coming back to the column. Once I see him land, I then make my move and climb back into the wagon.

A short time later We listen as the teams are harnessed back up and then we feel the wagons begin to roll again. Eventually, we stop for the night. I hear the medics going around making sure everypony is ok. At one point I hear some ponies at the back of the wagon we are in start to grab some boxes out. The whole time they doing this we are holding our breaths trying to be quiet. The enfields even trying to keep their panting quiet. I look out and see we are just inside a tree line with the rest of the wagons. It seems that the wagon train split in the middle and both halves formed a side of a circle before they stopped. Most of the wagoneers camping inside the wagon train.

We sleep in the wagon for the night. I wake up before dawn when I hear a voice yell “Scouts out.” In the distance. Within the hour we are moving again.

A bit after that I start to see some buildings from the back of the wagon. Then off to the side, I hear a pony throwing up. “For the love of the Goddesses. How could anyone do that to the elderly and foals.” I hear as we pass by. Out the back of the wagon, I see a sign along the road reading Welcome to Prairie Garden.

Several hours later we begin to smell smoke and the wagon train stops. All the buildings I can see are burned down. From outside the wagon, I again hear voices, “I can not wait till we catch up to those who have done this.”

A different voice responds, “Tell me about it. Those damn Red Eye slavers. We catch that wagon train of theirs ahead and we will put paid to them I tell you.”

Once we begin to move again, I hazard a chance to look out the back of the wagon over the boxes I see a small group of ponies, most of them old or very young, but with a couple in between in age, all looking dejected walking in the direction from which we have come. It is then I begin to realize, maybe I made a mistake. But it is too late now.

When we stop for the night it is by an old farm and it is getting dark. All of us climb out of the wagon. I hear one of the ponies telling a cow. “Yeah, the Headquarters is up in that old farmhouse.” So, we all walk up towards it in the dark.

“Choo Choo can you sneak us inside? I want to see what is going on.” I ask her.

“Sure, but let’s leave the enfields outside. Both of you will have to ride me again.” She replies.

I tell both Woofers and Tweeters to stay and then Xochitl and I climb onto her back. She turns invisible and we wait until another pony is going inside and then we sneak through the doorway inside behind them. I am surprised to see a map on the wall as well as Auntie Mollygirl and several others standing around the table pointing at another map and talking about something. I really want to hear what they are saying and without thinking, I jump down from Choo Choo and walk over to a chair, none of them are paying any attention to me. I start to push the chair to the table. I hear it squeak and they still are not saying anything I notice Xochitl is right behind me. He does not look happy. Finally, with the chair where I want it, I climb up next to Mollygirl and say to her, “Hiya Auntie Mollygirl, where are those bastards that hurt us and killed Auntie Ivy and my Sissy?”

And that is how I came to join the Co-op expedition force as a filly.