Chapter 33 By My Own Hooves

"The soldiers that didn't come back were the heroes. It's a roll of the dice. If a bullet has your name on it, you're a hero. If you hear a bullet go by, you're a survivor." -Bob Feller

As I watch the shadowy form come closer, I recognize the silhouette and the way her body moves. I am stunned, there is no way, she, she, she’s, HERE! My Goddess, I cannot believe it as I see her beautiful face. Those freckles I always thought were so sweet. The body whose curves I had only too late learned all too well. It’s Ivy! HOW?

As she steps through the doorway and out of the mist, I see the same shock on her face and at the same time we both say it, “But you're dead!”

We both have tears in our eyes. We rush to each other and are hugging when I get my next surprise, Epona, comes running up to us screaming at the top of her lungs, “Mommy!”

I hug both of them, we all have tears in our eyes. Ivy breaks the silent tears “Mollygirl, is it, is it really you?”

I nod my head, and as I turn my head to say something, she sees the burn across my cheek. “How did that happen love?”

I look at the ground “Silver Spite, the same buck who killed you and Pona. He captured me a few days ago and did this to me.”

I see her step back at that, “Mollygirl, it was you and Millie who were killed. Pona escaped and brought help.”

I am a bit confused at first. Then I ask her “Ivy, how long ago did I have Mille?”, I see another silhouette form in the doorway.

Ivy then tells me. “Mollygirl, don’t be silly you were pregnant with her when we got married nine years ago, don’t tell me you don’t remember your own daughter.”

As Sutures steps forward, she tells Ivy, “Ivy, Mollygirl, here, is just pregnant with her first foal. In fact, you both had just gotten engaged right before the, uhm, incident.”

Just as she says this, I see Sutures come out of the Doorway, I see the surprised look on her face as she looks from me to Ivy, to herself. However, this one is not carrying a shotgun. She smirks a bit and then says, “Huh, well this is awkward.”

My Sutures looks back at everypony there, “I do not want one of you making a smart-mouthed comment about me talking to myself.”

From behind me I hear Xochitl, “Ok Sutures, but you do seem to be beside yourself.”

I see both Sutures cringe at that. Then I see Ginger, slowly walk forward, “Pona, is that really you?”

I see Epona, turn and smile, “Yes, it is Ginger, but what are you doing here? I thought you were back with Granny Sumac.” She says as she approaches her sister.

Ginger almost leaps and gives her a huge hug and breaks down in tears. Epona looks confused then Ivy looks at me, “You were serious, weren’t you? She and I, we, I mean, we died on this side of the Doorway didn’t we.”

With tears in my eyes I reply, “Yes, I was serious. I was there, I almost died trying to save you. You do not know how much I have missed you.”

She smiles and kisses me lightly on the forelock. Goddesses how I missed this with her. Then she tells me, “I missed you too, my beloved Moll.”

“Ivy, how did you and I get together so much earlier in your world?” I ask.

“Mollygirl, after Epona was born you were there so much I realized how I felt about you. Finally, I took a chance and told you one day. We started dating, then you hooked up with that no-good buck, who you made me promise not to name again, after that we decided that we should make it official, just the two of us.”

Behind me, I hear Sunset, “Well, that is definitely different. Mollygirl with only one spouse, wow.”

Ivy looks at me funny, “Ok, so what does old birdie there mean by that?”

“Ivy, I started dating a mare named Magpie a while back, somehow within two weeks after that Badger got involved. Then you got involved. Eventually, your mother kind of got Badger to make honest mares of all three of us. The funny thing is, you were working behind the scenes to make it happen. We were all going to get married and then, well Silver Spite happened, and we lost both you and our daughter Epona. Eventually, Badger did marry me and Mags, and we even did it at the family farm, on the porch.”

I see her look at me funny, “Are you pulling my leg, because that is not funny. Badger and us? And some mare named Magpie?” she asks.

I nod my head, “In fact, he has fathered a foal for both Magpie and me. I just found out I was carrying; I am supposed to be sterile now…”

I am about to continue when from the side I hear Sutures, well one of the Sutures exclaim, “Me and Lieutenant Archer, engaged? Are you kidding me? Him of all the bucks in the Co-op?”

I can’t help it I start to laugh out loud. Ivy laughs some too, “I guess a lot of things are different on this side of the Doorway. Seems like an interesting place here too. A bit more exciting from the sounds of your love life and the fact that Sutures actually is carrying a shotgun instead of her revolver. I have been trying to get her to upgrade for months.”

“I think it might be. I mean between alicons, ghouls, and dragons, as well as taking on the Enclave. Also if you have not had to deal with Silver Spite as much as I have, then you are very lucky. And for the record, I really wish your counterpart here had let me know that long ago too. I know you are her, but you are not MY Ivy, and I know I am not YOUR Mollygirl, but you know it feels good knowing you are going to be out there somewhere.”

Ivy looks at me, “Well what if we just decided to stay?”

My ears go straight forward, a smile crosses my face, then it disappears as my ears got to the side of my head. Mournfully I tell her, “Ivy, I want that more than you know. I really do. But even though I am not the religious sort, I have been to the other side. Technically I did die trying to save you. They brought me back several times. Ivy, the Mollygirl you love is in Elysium, the one for where you are from. I would love to have a future with you, but not at the cost of taking that away from you someday, I know how much you want to be with her.”

I see the tears form in her eyes, “Oh, damn you, you had to say that. I was going to stay, but you are right. I can’t do that, she deserves better of me, and I so badly want to see her again.”

I smile sadly, “Oh, I understand all too well. It is tempting to go and have the life I wanted and still wish I could have, but it would not be fair to you, I mean, her. I do miss her so much.”

Behind me I hear Xochitl, “I have missed you so much Epona. You look so beautiful. I love your cutie mark; see I got my Glyphmark now.” I look over and notice Epona’s flank, there it is. Three roses with a pair of scissors cutting them.

She smiles, “Yeah, I got it when I was working in the yard with Granny. Roses are my favorites, you just have to remember that no matter how pretty they are, the thorns can still hurt you if you’re not careful.”

Then I hear Blondie call out, “OK guys, this thing is really putting out the power, I think we will need to shut it down soon.”

From the doorway, I hear Sidetrack, “Worse news, all that high-pitched humming sound seems to be bringing company. I can hear them coming.”

I turn back to Ivy, “If we have them on this side, I am sure you do on yours; you best get going, love. Maybe we can visit again someday.” I tell her.

She looks at me, Kisses me ever so gently. “Sounds good my beautiful mare, I promise to try,” Then she kisses me again, “I love you Mollygirl, remember that.” She says as she starts toward the Doorway turning her head, “Time to go Pona, You too Sutures, let's move it.” She says as Epona jumps on her back and the two of them go through again.

Their Sutures comes over to me, “It is a pleasure to meet all of you, Be careful with that foal young mare.” She tells me, then she surprises me by taking my face in both hooves and giving me a most personal and intimate kiss, which I can not help but give back. Finally, she breaks it. “Thank you Mollygirl,” then she turns to face our Sutures, “Your right, she is damn good. Maybe I will have to take your advice on the others.” Then she turns and trots through the pink haze.

After she is gone, Blondie begins to power it down. Then I hear her say to Sunset and Trouble, “What is it with her?”

I look at my ponies. “Sunset, you and Duke take half the troops back the way we came in. If the ghouls do not follow you, wait there for the caravan. Make sure Xenophone and Ximena get back home safely and that they get the two cases of those Zebra Assault rifles and ammo to go with them.”

I turn to the others, “Choo Choo, Xavier, and the rest, you are with me. I want to find that tunnel to hit them in the rear. As soon as Blondie shuts this down fully, close up the car, and let’s move.”

In the far distance, I can begin to hear some growling that sounds like Feral ghouls. As Sunset and Duke lead out, I see Tweeter follow Sunset. I look down and see Woofers with the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. “Ok, we best hurry,” I turn to Sidetrack, “Thank you so much Sidetrack for everything, if you are ever in the Manesville area, look me up. I can take you to Choo Choo’s place pretty easily.”

He smiles back at me, “Take care LT. Thanks for bringing her back into my, uh, unlife, I guess. Feel free to come back anytime, and not to rush you, but you all really should get moving. I will be ok; they tend to leave other ghouls alone.”

Before we can get going, I see Choo Choo run over and give a squishy hug to him. She kisses him and tells him, “I promise, I will be back.”

He smiles as she begins to leave. “Love you my little fallen star.”

She smiles back as we trot off blowing him a kiss from her wing and quickly getting in front of the rest of us.

We are in a tunnel that is heading to the southeast of the mountain. I can hear the ferals’ growls echo off the inside of the mountain. Choo Choo stops occasionally to let us all catch up. Eventually, we can begin to see daylight and we begin to canter. Behind us, the growling is getting louder as they are getting closer. We begin to run at a gallop for the end of the tunnel. We make it to the entrance and skid to a stop as we are less than one hundred meters behind Bursting Star and Silver Spite’s forces lines.

We can see them firing at the Co-op lines in the distance, the sky is still cloudy and it is drizzling rain. Then I see that familiar brown mane and tail as well as the dirty white coat. It’s him. He is walking behind the lines along with another buck that is Orange and with bright yellow and red striped mane and tail. I recognize him from the incident. He is one of the ones that killed my Ivy and Epona. As I lead everyone out, I yell to them, “Climb up the hill above the tunnel, and use the rocks for cover, move it, or your ghoul chow.”

We all run up the hill except Ginger. I am about seventy meters above and beyond the entrance when I hear Xochitl yell out to her, “Come on Ginger they are coming, come on.”

As I look down, she looks at the white buck with the brown mane who seems in charge. Over my PipBuck I hear her tell me, “Sorry LT, I have to do this.” She turns, draws her pistol fires several shots at the tunnel entrance, I hear her voice clearly as she has left the broadcast feature activated, as she then yells at the oncoming ghouls, “Come on you buckers, you can’t catch a little snack like me?” She then turns and runs as fast as she can towards Silver Spite.

We can clearly hear the growls and noises of the ghouls as they burst forth from the tunnel. If the gunshots from Ginger did not get their attention, the herd of ferals certainly does. Many of them turn to shoot at the screaming, growling mass of ghouls that have suddenly surprised them.

I yell at the others, “Provide her covering fire, NOW!” As I watch the others begin to unload their weapons downrange. I then notice that both Xavier and Xochitl are using zebra rifles. It is horrifying yet fascinating to see the targets catch fire when they hit them with their bullets. All of us are providing support fire as she runs. I only wish Trouble was here with his sniper rifle to take care of Silver Spite for sure.

Ginger is in a dead mare’s run as fast as she can go toward Silver Spite. Three times she slips and falls in the mud. Each time the ferals getting closer to her. Then I am stunned as she skids to a stop in the mud next to him, fires two more rounds from her pistol at the ghouls, and tells him, “Looks like you have company, this is for my sister Epona,” and she begins to run again. The majority of the ghouls heading at a full run right for Silver Spite. That is when Choo Choo takes to the air again. Firing at Silver Spite’s troops as she flies over to Ginger. Without slowing down she grabs the filly with her magic and puts her on her back, then simply disappears.

The rest of us begin to pour fire into those troops nearest us. This adds to the confusion and panic among them as they fight a mixture of regular and Canterlot feral ghouls. it is complete mayhem below us.

I watch as first Silver Spite, then several of his ponies and eventually larger amounts of his forces begin to run. We have broken their lines. They are being pursued by the ferals as the rest of the CEF begins to advance forward. We hold our position in the rocks until our troops arrive. Just before that Choo Choo lands and places Ginger on the ground. She turns toward her and begins to chew her out, “How dare you young mare! Risking your life like that. What were you thinking? We could have lost you. You might not care, but we do. I do.”

Ginger begins to cry as I come up to her, “She is right Ginger. We were afraid we were going to lose you. If you want to remain one of my scouts, Do. Not. Ever. Risk. Yourself. Like. That. Again.” I tell her.

Then over my PipBuck, I hear the Majors voice, “You are right Lieutenant, so please remember those words. Also, I want to see you as soon as possible, please rejoin the column,” she says, finishing by saying, “Now Ginger, please turn off your all circuits continuous broadcast on your PipBuck, we all heard you and what happened.”

I watch as Ginger turns it off, then she looks at Choo Choo and me, “You might care, but does Xochitl? You saw him with my sissy.”

My heart was breaking for her, but I had to go, as the Major knew I had heard her. I turn to Choo Choo, “Take care of her while I am gone.” Then I look at Ginger, “We will talk more when I get back, I am sorry we cannot do it now.”

As a group, we climb down the side of the mountain that we are on. Once down I put Dusty in charge, “Corporal, get them back to the Troop. I will be back as soon as I can.”

I then use my PipBuck to find the Majors tag and head over to see what she wants. She does not look too pleased, then she lets me know why. “Lieutenant, I really wish I had known you were in position and intended to attack. I would have denied you permission at this time. Damn it, do you realize how spread out we are right now, and with night falling no less. This is a real cluster.”

When she pauses, I interject, “Ma’am, it was not my intention to attack right away, we had that herd of ferals chasing us.”

“Lieutenant, I will remind you that you could have refrained from firing and just let the ghouls do their work. Instead, I had to commit the entire force, not only before we were ready, but this late in the day.”

I say nothing at this point, though I do wonder if that is all she wants from me. Finally, she tells me. “The supply caravan is on its way back. Sunset reported that they had dropped off the two zebra scouts and their payment at their village. With that said, I had a very young pegasus colt, along with a family of Unicorns and an earth pony foal come in riding on a gypsy wagon. I would have dismissed their story, but the pegasus colt kept asking for his mom, which I expected, as well as Trouble, Sunset, you, Ginger, and Xochitl, he said a white mare name Mari, had told him to come here.”

“Oh boy, thanks, Major. I think I do know the colt as well as the family. If the colts name is Sunny, then it is my scout Blondies son. We stayed at that family’s home last night. Ma’am, are you sure he said a white mare named Mari?”

She nods her head and replies, “Yes, Lieutenant I am sure. Why do you know her?”

I cringe as I tell her, “Ma’am, I think I do.”

“Ok, then what’s so special about her that has you cringing?” she asks.

“Major, this is going to sound crazy, but she is a spirit. Her name is the Mareigan. Several of us have not only seen her but interacted with her, ever since the day of the battle at the bridge. She usually seems to warn us of a big fight or protect us, but she is a spirit, so I do not fully trust her.”

I see her look incredulously at me. “Lieutenant, both of us are a bit old for ghost stories, now seriously.”

“Major, I am serious. If you want, I can call over Xavier, Ginger, and Xochitl, you can question each of them.”

I see her sigh, “Lieutenant, I will pretend we did not just have this conversation. Do not propose such a notion to me again. It is an insult to both of our intelligence”

“Yes, Ma’am. With your permission, I would like to send out Choo Choo to let my scouts know that Sunny is here. Also, I would like to go see him.”

“Permission granted Lieutenant, and have your medic check you for head injuries please.” She tells me as a way of dismissal.

I make my way to the civilians’ area first and find the gypsy wagon. There I find the family we had boarded with the night before. Next to them, I see Sunny. He is smiling broadly, “Hi LT, is my mom with you?”

I smile at him and kneel down to his level, “Hi Sunny, good to see you again. Your mom is not here yet but will be soon. I will be sending Choo Choo to go get her, ok.”

He nods his head, “I remember miss Choo Choo. She is nice. Ok. Oh, Mari says that danger is coming and we need to move.”

At this my ears go straight forward; he has my undivided attention. “Um, Sunny did she say what the danger was?”

He smiles, “Yeah, she says it is Silly Spits ponies.”

“Thank you very much Sunny, I better have Choo Choo go get your mom.” Then I look at the family, do you want me to take him with me, or can you watch him a bit longer?”

The father looks at me, “We can watch him a might bit longer. But we could use a couple of more caps to buy dinner for him tonight,” he tells me and I give him five more.

“Ok, I will be back as soon as possible with his mom,” I tell them. My next stop is at the company headquarters for D-troop. There I find the troopers who were with me. I go over to Choo Choo and tell her what I need her to do. Then I go over and find Broken Dreams.

As I approach, I see an unhappy expression on his face. “Ok, lieutenant, what’s got a bee in your bonnet this time.”

“Hey Captain. I just got word from one of my scouts that we may have some company coming on a couple of hours from the direction of Ponyville. I was thinking maybe we could set up a bit of a picket line for now. Also, we still have a supply caravan coming from that direction.”

“Ok, lieutenant, you take your combined squad plus Second and Third, I want you on the rail tracks next to the tunnel, Use the rail embankment as protection. I will see if I can get either Luna or Nightmare Moon for support. I’ll have the others fall in next you.”

The darkness falls and the moon is full. The world looks rather surreal in it. I realize how long a day it has been and I am having a hard time staying awake when Ginger comes over to me. “Hi Ginger.”

“Hi, can we talk?” she asks.

“Sure kiddo, what’s bothering you?” I ask, though I strongly suspect already what it is.

“It’s Xochitl. I, it really hurt today. He was so excited to see Epona and then he called her beautiful. He has never done that to me.” She tells me with tears in her eyes.

I put a hoof around her and drag her in for a hug. “I understand dear. I really do. But he may have thought it was his only chance to tell her how he feels and was taking it. After all, he sees you every day and probably does not think to say it as he probably just thinks you know already.”

I hear her sniffle, “But he is supposed to only tell me that.” She says.

I smile gently, “Dear if it were only that simple. I know how you feel, believe it or not, I feel that way sometimes with both Badger and Magpie. Granny Sumac pointed out to me that it only natural. But I love them both and really, they may not say it, but it comes out in the way they do things for me and with me.”

Suddenly I feel her move to look at me and hear her say “EWWW, I already had the talk, I do not need it again.”

Well, that surprises me and I laugh a bit. “Ginger, that was not what I meant at all. I meant through their actions. You know like Magpie making me breakfast before I had to head to the stable to go to work, or Badger taking me out to dinner. Or me taking Magpie to the library.”

I still hear her sniffling some, but she has leaned back into me. “Is it wrong that I am glad she went back through? I mean Epona. I love my sissy, but I am so afraid she could take him away from me.”

As I hold her, I rock back and forth slowly, “Ginger dear, I think that is natural too. But if she could take him away, then was he ever really yours. The other thing is I have heard you say you are spirit bound to him. Well in the world she came from, you did not come on the expedition, and I am pretty sure neither did their Xochitl. So, she was reacting to him as she would hers, not your Xochitl.”

“You know Ma, this is all so confusing,” she says, then I can tell she realizes what she just said as she pulls back from me, her eyes wide and one of her forehooves covering her mouth. "I, I, I am so sorry, I did not mean to call you that. Please, don’t tell my mom or Dusty.” She begs me.

“It’s ok my dear, I understand. It will be our secret. Besides, no pony has ever called me that before. Now I know how Sumac feels. Thank you, Ginger,” I tell her and then give her a gentle kiss on her forelock. She then leans in and gives me a hug.

“Auntie Mollygirl, Is it alright if I sleep with you tonight? I am really tired and I just want to cuddle.”

I smile at her, “Sure Ginger, I would be glad to. You know, if I have a daughter, I would be proud if she were just like you.”

I hear her sniff again, “Do you really mean that? I mean I don’t even have my cutie mark yet.”

“Ginger, it will come in its own time. Remember, I was already an adult and in service when I got mine. Same with Bullet. Some of us are just late bloomers dear. It does not mean that there is anything wrong with you.”

A bit later Sutures comes over to us. She sees Ginger laying against me sleeping. I see her smile, “Mind if I join you two. We have half the troops awake on watch so it should be safe. Besides, Dusty knows where you are and will wake you if anything happens.”

“Sure Sutures, the more the merrier,” I tell her. “Sutures, thanks for everything dear. I am sorry I have not gotten to talk to you more. I am sure you are just as confused by the events of today as I am.”

I see her sleepily nod her head, “Yeah Mollygirl, I am, I am also exhausted. Before you go to sleep though I need to check your head,” she tells me.

I laugh lightly, “Let me guess, Quick Trot’s orders?”

She smiles back, “Right on the first try. Although I am concerned about you seeing spirits. Mollygirl, why did you not tell me you were hallucinating?”

I am taken aback, “Sutures, I am not hallucinating. Ask Xavier, ask Ginger, ask Xochitl and Trouble, they have all seen the spirit. Even little Sunny has, he just does not realize she is a spirit and not a real mare.”

“Mollygirl, listen to yourself. That is crazy talk. Next thing you know you will tell me it is standing beside me.”

I cannot help myself; I look over her shoulder and start to stare, “Well to tell the truth…”

She quickly looks over her shoulder, I see a slight panic on her face.

“Sorry Sutures, I could not resist. No, she is not around right now.”

I see relief come over her face, “That was not funny. Keep that up and I will not rub your hoofs when they hurt later in your pregnancy.”

My ears perk up, “Sutures, you really would do that for me. I never even thought to ask, they have been bothering more than normal.”

She smiles knowingly, “Of course I would, that is common for pregnant mares. But just not tonight ok. I need to grab a bit of sleep.”

“Ok, dear, come on over and cuddle up to. Our little mare had a very emotional day and it took a toll on her. Sutures, she slipped and called me Ma tonight. Funny thing is if felt about right. I know she is Nuggets daughter, but part of me feels like she is mine too now.”

“I understand Mollygirl, I really do,” she says as she adjusts herself closer to me on the ground. Then I feel her muzzle against the fur on my shoulder as she nuzzles me, smells my scent, and drifts off to sleep. Soon after, I join her and Ginger in the world of dreams.

I wish I could say my dreams were peaceful, but I cannot. I had a new dream at least this time I dreamed of saying goodbye to my Ivy as she walked away into the Doorway. That at least seemed peaceful. But then I also dreamed of the incident again and losing her that way.

I awake to a very agitated Xochitl, “LT, the caravan is coming in, they are at a run!” In the distance, I can hear gunfire. I am fully awake now. I wake Sutures and Ginger right then too.

Xochitl waits till Ginger is on her hoofs, “Come on Ginger, let’s go.”

Ginger looks at him, “Are you sure you want me with you?”

He looks at her funny, “Ginger, I always want you with me. In a fight, I trust nopony else to have my back like you. Now let’s get moving.”

I see the surprise on her face, she looks at me, “I will see you later M, I mean LT.” and then she and he race off into the dark.

Next to me, I see Sutures smile, “Well I think that helped her a bit. Help me get these saddlebags on, will you?”

I help her get her kit together quickly and finish with mine. Then I trot over to where Dusty is. Beside her is the sergeant for 2^nd squad. “Ok Corporal, Sergeant, what have we got?”

Broken Hills answers for them, “We just had a messenger fly in from the caravan, it seems they have at least a company of troops chasing them. They are at the run right now and will be here in another couple of minutes.” He tells me as I hear the gunshots come closer and begin to hear the sizzle of magical energy weapons being fired.

“Ok, get everyone to the ready. Let the caravan pass, then we open fire. I want them to be close enough that we can smell them.”

I hear one of Broken Hills troopers start to laugh in the dark, and then says “Ma’am, they are slavers as well as soldiers in the field, we should be able to smell ‘em a good half a klick away.”

I snicker a bit myself. “OK, good one. Now get everypony ready,” I tell them, “Make sure to use your E.F.S. and S.A.T.S.”

Suddenly I see the lead ponies of the caravan hauling the wagons crest some hill before us, they are running full out and are lathered in sweat. Above them I see Sunset and the others swooping behind them firing at targets on the ground. I call out on my PipBuck to them, “Cross the tracks at the roadway, Scouts and 1^st set, once you cross the railroad tracks reform.”

I watch as the lead wagon’s team leans even further into their harnesses and as tired as they are they run faster. The wagons behind them bouncing as the hit ruts and rocks in the road. I watch as one of the wagons starts to tip and somehow is saved from tipping over.

As the wagons cross the tracks, I see each of them bounce in the air and I hear the sound of whatever is in the back slamming as it lands back into their beds and the strain of the wood and metal from the force. When the last wagon is across the tracks I watch as it bounces and rolls over, several ponies in the back are thrown clear, and the first of their pursuers cross the top of that hill.

I see Sutures get up and run towards the rolled wagon to help those that are there. I get up and am running behind her when I see her get shot in the shoulder and drop like a rock. She skids as she lands. Without thinking I stand between her and the gunfire. I turn and ask her, “You ok?”

Behind me I hear her whimper a bit and then she answers, “I will be, it got through my barding though. Give me a minute to get the bullet out. “I then hear her groan as she uses her magic to remove it. After that, she asks me. “Can you help me and get a healing potion out for me. I really need one, before I go into shock.”

I open her saddlebag with my nose and root around until I find one of the vials with a healing potion. I use my mouth to pull it out and bring it to her. Holding the vial in both forehooves I pull the stopper and then slowly pour it into her mouth. She coughs a little, “Thanks, sorry about that. Give me another minute and I will be back on my hooves.”

“Take it easy and keep low, they are getting close. We cannot afford to lose you Sutures. I do not want to lose you either.” I give her a pat on the side of her face, “Now I need to get moving too.”

I head back to the front lines as I see some of the others and Sutures helping those who were injured in the wagon rollover. I arrive just in time to see them trying to charge our positions. Without thinking I activate my battle saddle and bring Duty up to my shoulder. The first target I see is a large buck wearing full battle armor, but he is not wearing a helmet. I shoot him in the chest once this time to stun him and then fire for his head. The results are what I expected and as his body drops and skids, I shift to the mare next to him. She is carrying an automatic anti-machine rifle on her battle saddle and is swinging it into my direction when she receives three forty-five caliber rounds. They hit us and we are going at it hoof to hoof when from our left I hear a rise in gunfire as Broken Dreams leads the rest of the company in a sweeping formation into the enemy’s flank.

I am fighting two bucks. One tries to hit me across the face with his forehoof which I block with my left forehoof and as I push it to my right at his left fore knee, I bring my right hoof across and push the hoof on that leg to my left, I hear the joint snap and he screams as he pulls away drops to the ground clutching it with his other forehoof, the other buck at the same time has dropped to all fours and spun around. He kicks out with both back hooves at my right leg, but as I twist my body to put all my weight into the blow against the first buck, he hits my flank instead. I feel the burst of pain as blood vessels break in the leg, but I am still in the fight. I guess the training workouts with Xavier are paying off.

I then twist myself at him, I land on his back. Without thinking I grab the back of his neck in my teeth and yank. The more he tries to buck me off. The more pressure I apply and soon I am tasting blood as I twist my head and take a chunk of flesh with it. I spit it out and he drops to the ground, trying to roll to get me off.

He then almost kicks me in the stomach and I lose it. How dare he try and hurt my foal I think to myself. I rear up and bring both forehooves down on his face as hard as I can, one misses his head and instead hits his throat. I hear him begin to gasp for breath that cannot reach his lung through his ruined trachea.

I step back and look around the enemy troops are falling back. We continue to fire at them until they are out of sight. In the air above I see my fliers, or at least most of them, still shooting. Eventually, I recall them. Enough is enough for now. We have held for the time being.

I look at the buck whose knee I just shattered, he is still on the ground, I call over some of the others, “Take him prisoner and get him some medical help.” After they take him away, I sit down to rest. I can feel myself shake from the adrenalin rush, at least that is what I tell myself what is causing it.

I look up and see Broken Dreams approach, He has a bandage on his neck and I see his ear has been torn now too. “You ok Mollygirl?” he asks.

I nod my head, “Yeah, how about you?”

He sits down beside me. “I will make it. Sorry about not getting here sooner, but I wanted to get as many of them trapped as I could.

I look at the ground in the darkness and can see the still forms laying there. “Celestia, what a mess,” I tell him.

He nods to this, “Well now that we are all together, hopefully in a few hours we can shoot the gap again and begin our way home.” He says back.

“Captain, I am so ready to get home again. I would say the Wastelands have left a bad taste in my mouth, but right now, it's just blood.”

He looks down and sees the body next to us, and the chunk of flesh missing from it. “Mollygirl, remind me never to really anger you,” he tells me as he pats me on the shoulder then gets up and begins to reorganize the company.

From the dark I hear several different voices calling out, “Medic, we need help over here.” I also hear several pleas for help, the most heart-rending one's calling for their mothers as they gradually lose volume and strength as they pass from this world to the next.

In the reply to the calls for medic or doc, I hear both Sutures and Triage call back letting them know they will be on their way as soon as possible. Finally, I go back to the spot I was in when it all began a little while ago. I curl back up and let the exhaustion take me and fall back to sleep.

I am woken up a couple of hours later as the sun is rising by Broken Dreams. “OK, lieutenant, time to get up for officers’ call. We are having it early today, and I think we will be moving within the hour.”

As I try and rub the sleep from my eyes I sit up and ask, “How are my scouts and troops doing Sir?” I ask before continuing “I am sorry about falling asleep again, I just could not push myself any further.” I tell him.

“That’s ok Lieutenant, I kind of expected it with your condition. All the injured have been tended to already by our medics. Sadly, we lost a couple more of the quartermaster’s as well as Angel Wing from 1^st squad and Cheese Biscuit in 3^rd squad. We also lost a couple of others from the other squads too, but I know you would want to know the names of those in the squads you normally command.”

I sigh, “Thank you, sir, you are right, I did want to know. I am sorry to hear we lost any though.”

As I am getting up Trouble, Sunset, and Blondie all come over to me. Blondie speaks for them, “LT, where is my foal? Train Wreck said he was here with you. Where is he?”

I slowly get up and stretch, “Morning, well I left him in the civilian camp last night with the family whose care you left him with before. They rode in on a gypsy wagon yesterday. He was a very happy colt, and I made sure to give them a couple of caps so they could buy him dinner.”

She looks relieved yet upset at the same time. “Thank you for that, but you left him with Gypsies too? Are you sure that was wise?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Seems to have been wiser than having him here with us. By the way Trouble, he said he was warned by a white mare named Mari.”

I see his eyes go wide, “You don’t say LT? Very interesting.” He replies.

“Well, I will be back in a bit, I have a few things to take care of before officers call. Sunset, take charge of the scouts till I get back, Blondie, feel free to take Trouble with you to go get your son. You can leave him in their care, or bring him back to the scouts, your choice, but we are going to be seeing action again soon, I have a feeling.” I tell them and then I walk off.

I grab a quick pack of rations for breakfast and eat them on my way to the HQ for Officers’ Call. As I approach, I see several of them staring at me. It is then that I realize I still have the dried blood on me from last night. I shrug and off hoofedly respond “Don’t worry, it’s not mine.” At which point several of them back away.

I also notice at this point that Dull Beak is back and he has Guerre Faucon with him. Both of them look at me. Dull Beak simply smirks and chuckles to himself. Guerre just looks and then turns back to the Major. There seems to be a brittleness behind her eyes now.

During the morning briefing, we are informed that today we will be moving north of the gap and back onto the plains. We will have D-troop leapfrog the rest of the troops and take the lead. I am to have two of my fliers in the air at all times during the march today. Once we bypass them, then H-troop will fall in along with the service of supply troops and artillery. They will be followed by the Volunteers and the civilian caravan. Finally bringing up the rear will be E-troop.

Then the Major surprises most of us when she says, “We will also be having a squad of Griffons supporting us for now. They will be under command of Guerre, as Dull Beak is now a part of my staff as a liaison officer. Gawd had intended to give us three full squads, however, the other two squads are now occupied by trying to eliminate the escaped ferals that were led out from under Canterlot yesterday.”

As she says this, she looks directly at me, as do all of the others. I simply stare back at her. What can I say? It was not deliberate, and not my fault, so why am I getting the blame? She finally breaks eye contact with me and turns back to everyone. “Now go get back to your troops, we move in the hour. Also, Lieutenant Mollygirl, go get cleaned up, you are a mess.”

On my way back to the troop, I stop by the SOS troops and find a water wagon. I get enough water to wash the blood off of me, and some off my uniform. Then I refill my canteens. I stop by Flechettes when I see the armory wagon. “Hey Corporal, got a request for you.”

“Oh, hey LT, whatcha got for me?” He asks.

“Corporal, I need a good blade. I know the Angel Bunny’s do not take bayonets, but maybe a good spare one, or a good knife. We got too close again last night and I really want something for when things get that close.”

He stops and thinks a bit. “Let me see what we can do. I tell you what, if you can wait till this evening and come back then, I might have something special for you.”

“Ok, Sounds good. I will catch you later Flechettes,” and I turn to walk away.

Before I get too far he calls out, “Oh, LT, stop. I heard you were in the thick of it again. I figure you will need some more ammo.” He tells me as he carries out three more boxes of .45 ammo and places them in my saddlebags. “There you go. I could not let my favorite officer get low on ammo now can I?” he says with a smile.

I smile back, “Thanks Flechettes. I really appreciate it.” I tell him then I am back on my way to my people.

Once I get there, I catch Sunset, “Sergeant, we need to talk about today’s travels and scout assignments.”

“Ok, LT, what have you got for me?”

I tell him what the Major has ordered. Then he looks at me. “Do we want the ground scouts out too? I mean if we only use the fliers, we may have some serious resentment ma’am.”

“Thanks for pointing that out Sergeant, you are right, let's put a team on the ground out front as well. I want those not active to be trying to get some rest if possible.”

“Ma’am, unless you got some wagons, that just ain’t gonna happen.” He replies.

“Well let's just try as much as we can,” I tell him.

After he goes to give the orders out to the scouts I am approached by Blondie, “Mollygirl, I really appreciate what you have done for Sunny, but I have seen what you are like. I have seen what you have done to Xochitl and Ginger, please, stay away from my son. I want a colt, not a child warrior.”

I am stunned. I feel like she has just kicked me in the teeth. “Blondie, I, I, I am so sorry you feel that way, but I will stay away from him as much as possible then,” I tell her as I put my head down and look at the ground. “He is family and I do not want to hurt him. I don’t have much family left, but I will respect your request.”

As I turn to go, I see Sunny sitting on Trouble’s back. Both seem very happy with it. It reminds me of what I am missing and I cannot wait to get home now.

As I walk around making sure my troops are all ready, I see Xavier, along with Ginger, and Xochitl. Ginger is now carrying the little .22 rifle that Xochitl used, and Xavier and Xochitl are both carrying those zebra rifles that we found. As I watch I see Xochitl swing his tail over to Gingers and wrap around it gently, just holding it. For the first time in days, I see her really smile.

Then it is time. I look up just as Broken Dreams calls out for D-troop to begin to move. As we start the advance through the gap I call out, “Scouts out as ordered.” And we begin the trek back toward home.

Dear DJ Pony,

The events as of late have begun to wear me down. I have seen people I have cared about die, others I have said goodbye to, and I do not expect to see them again. I have taken lives with my bare hooves. I have even found lost love and had to turn my back on the love of my life, no matter how much I wanted her back. With this in mind, could you play for me, Far From Home?

Thank you very much.
Sincerely

The LT
D-troop CEF

Well, the end of an era has occurred, season 9 has finished and we will no longer get new animated adventures of MLP: FIM. However, that does not mean the stories of those characters has to end or the other characters of that world that we have come to love so much.

Kkat, I would love to thank you for creating the universe of FoE as an offshoot of MLP: FIM. I am sure it has drawn many to this fandom that otherwise would have missed out. To the other authors out there. Thank you for adding to this universe as well and please continue to build upon it.

To my readers, I hope you are enjoying the story and that you continue the ride with us. I promise the next chapter will have something rather different and will give Mollygirl and the others in the CEF a much-needed breather. With that said, soon are winding down this arc and ramping up the next one.

This chapter's dedication song is one that I have often listened too and thought how well it describes Mollygirl and so many others both in the story and in real life. The youtube link for it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQBG95EegU0