Needless to say, I am really surprised that Fancy wanted to know who told Sunny. On the other hoof, at least it was not me. I have to put my hoof in front of my muzzle to keep from laughing out loud. She looks at me and starts to pin her ears back and asks, “Was it you Mollygirl?”

Archer sheepishly lifts his hoof and tells her, “No Fancy it was me and George. He saw us coming into land after the big game.”

Her jaw drops and she points a hoof at me, “Mollygirl, you got him to do it now too?”

I simply nod my head and tell her, "It was not planned. We were just flying home from the stable when the 2^nd battalion of the 2^nd regiment jumped us for a large game of pegasus tag.”

I see her shake her head, “Ok, how big a game?” she asks. Again, her jaw drops when I tell her. Then she tells me, “No wonder they are all interested. Biggest bunch of foals I ever did see,” she says with a smile on her face.

I smile and before I can answer Sutures tells her, “Fancy, I have a feeling they aren’t the only ones that way. These two, as well as Choo Choo and her sisters, are all excited about it too.”

She drops a hoof on to the bar, “No way, the sisters are all involved too?”

I nod my head and am surprised as she starts to laugh. Then she gets an evil grin on her face and says, “I wonder if we can get them for the Militia’s team?”

Then Archer looks at her with a sidelong glance, “Oh no you don’t Choo Choo has already said she is becoming a regular.”

I see her cringe some, then she brightens up, "But her sisters haven’t!”

Archer puts a hoof under his chin, “True, but they did say that next week they would play for us.”

I see her sitting there considering it. I have known Fancy long enough to know she is plotting now too. All this energy, planning and excitement over a game. Part of me is stunned, part of me amused, and part of me is just glad things are slow enough right now, that we can do it.

We each have a couple of drinks there when we see Badger come in. I had not realized it was that late in the day. Whoops, Ginger should be getting home from school soon. I know the boys had said that they wanted to have a few after Badger got done with work so I give both him and Archer a kiss and a hug goodbye and excuse myself.

Sutures comes with me and we are just about home when we are skimmed over by Sunny as he giggles and tells us, “Hi guys, Xochitl and Ginger just got home, I got to go see ma and pa and get permission to go visit the Gypsy ponies.”

We both wave to him and I tell him, “Ok Sunny, I will see you later,” but before I can get it all out, he is a black dot receding into the distance.

Once we get back home, we find Ginger sitting on the front porch with Sumac. Xochitl has already gone into his home for the night.

“How was school today Ginger?” I ask.

She smiles, “Not too bad. But several of the foals and calves are now afraid of him.”

I sigh when I hear this and tell her, “I was afraid of that. How about the one who picked the fight with him?”

“See ma, that is what is weird, he apologized to Xochitl and now wants to be friends with him. I don’t get it,” she says with a confused expression on her face.

I nod my head and Sutures sits on her other side, puts a hoof on her back and tells her, “Perhaps he had to find out for himself that Xochitl was worthy of respect before he accepted him.”

Then she looks from one to the other of us, “Ma’s can we all go to the Gypsy show tonight?” she asks.

I chuckle to myself when she asks it this way. It is amazing the weird situations that become routine. Then Sumac answers for us, “Yes dear, but I want you to do your homework first.”

I see her get that pouting look on her face as she says, “Oh, ok, but I ain’t a-gonna like it.”

Sutures then tells her, “Young mare, speak correct Ponish, you don’t want some pony mistaking you for a simple raider now do you?”

Ginger huffs out a breath and then answers grudgingly, “I guess not, but Sunset and the other Thunderheaders talk like that.”

“No Ginger, they do not all talk that way, yes they have an accent, but it is an accented proper speech,” I add for emphasis. Then I tell her, “Now go do your homework and we will start supper so we can eat before we go.”

I watch her get up and trot into the house, and thinking quick I add, “And wipe your hooves.”

A couple of hours later we have a late supper when the bucks get back from White Cloud along with Xavier. It is funny to hear them all singing as they walk up the road. But I am glad to see them all in such a good mood.

Once done with dinner we all head across the road to the show together. I find it amusing that Badger is between both Mags and Sumac while right behind them, I am next to Archer with Sutures on the other side. On my back, Ginger is all smiles as we enter the camp. Xavier and Persimmon have already said they may join us later.

We have had a wonderful time and are just heading back when Tinner runs up to us and asks, “Do you know a doctor, we have a mare in labor, but the baby it, not coming like it should.”

I see the look on Sutures's face. She is in full combat medic role now as she asks, “Where is she, I am a midwife as well as a medic.”

She looks at Archer and Badger, “You two, take Ginger back to the house, one of you bring back my kit.” She then looks at Mags, Sumac and I, and tells us, “You three need to see this, Sumac, I will need your experience to help,” as we follow Tinner to one of the caravan's Vardos as he calls it.

Inside we see a mare who is about my age in heavy labor, we see one hoof sticking out, but nothing else. She is screaming in pain. Beside her is a mare about Sumac’s age holding her hoof and wiping her brow.

I see a look of worry on Sutures's face. She looks at the tight room of the Vardo, and asks “Bandolier, can we move her to our home so we have more room to work with her. I need to maneuver the foal around.”

“Do whatever you need to do, she is my daughter,” he tells her.

We take a large blanket and set it down outside so she can lay on it for us to carry her. As we move her out, I hear the bandolier call out several names and he tells them, “Get over here now, we need you to carry your simensa across the road into the house.”

Once she is on the blanket, they each grab a corner in their mouth and lift her. As they are carrying her across the street I run ahead. I make sure the door is fully open and I clear the chairs away from the table. I see Sumac right behind me going into the kitchen to heat water and get soap for Sutures.

Once she is inside, we have her set-on top of our dining room table, Sutures tells Sumac, “Never mind the water now, bring me some alcohol, I need to do this quick!”

The mare’s parents are holding her as Sutures first pours alcohol over her hooves and I watch as she sticks a forehoof inside as well as uses her TK to help move the foal into position. I watch as Magpie turns green and I feel a bit sick myself watching it. Then we see both forehooves sticking out. I bit more of a buildup of light from Sutures magic and we see a small muzzle then the rest of the head as well as the forelegs start to appear. Sutures is there helping to guide it and catches it as it finally is born. As she clears the mucus from its mouth it starts to try sucking on her hooves. She smiles widely and tells the mother, “Congratulations, it’s a little filly.”

Sutures then takes the unicorn foal to its mother to hold. As she is holding it, she finishes the birthing process. I see the proud grandparents, and mother lavishing attention on the foal. After a bit we help the mother to clean up and have her lay down on the couch in the parlor. I am amazed watching the little one suckle as hard as it does.

As I stand there smiling and leaning against a wall Sutures comes up to me and puts a hoof on me, “See what you have to look forward to now.”

I nod my head, “Yeah, but hopefully it will not be as difficult as hers was.”

Then we look over at Magpie who is sitting at the table, and I swear I hear her quietly repeating over and over again, “Oh my goddesses, Oh, my goddesses.”

Sutures goes over to her, puts a hoof around her and kisses her on the cheek, then tells her, “Don’t worry dear, I will be here for you, you can do it.”

Magpie only nods her head.

Tinner then comes over and asks Sutures, “How much do I owe you for this?”

Sutures sighs, then tells him, “Normally I would charge you 20 caps, especially due to the difficulty of the birth, but how about we call it even, and you just make sure my name gets out there as the midwife that helped your band.”

I see him consider this and then he asks, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah I am sure. But thank you for making sure. So, does she have a name picked out for her yet?”

Tinner nods his head, “Yes, yes she does, her name is Martiya, in Ponish it means Night Spirit.”

I see Sutures smile at that as I nod my head and tell him, “That is a good name. I like it.”

He nods his head and tells us, “Now if you will excuse me, I have to let my son in law know he has become a father.”

After he leaves, I go and begin to clean up around the table along with Magpie. Sutures on the other hoof goes out to the front porch and sits down for a bit.

I am just finishing up my cleanup work when Sutures walks in smiling, she comes up behind me and puts a hoof around me and whispers into my ear, “She was here. She visited me and told me she was proud of me for what I did with the foal.”

At first, I am a bit confused, “Who was here Sutures?”

She smiles again, “The Mareigan, Mollygirl, she visited me this time and told me I choose my proper path.”

I lean into her and whisper back, “I am glad she told you that, but I already knew you had. Remember I saw you when Good Doer was born.”

She nods her head, “True, but that could have been a one-time thing. But this, this removed all doubt.”

Still smiling I kiss her again and tell her, “My dearest, I never had my doubts about you.”

Morning comes and Archer and I put our uniforms on right away. When we get to the kitchen, Badger is already eating his breakfast as Sumac prepares more for all of us. Magpie smiles at us when she sees us enter the room and tells us, “Don’t worry, I will make sure Ginger gets to school on time today.”

“Thanks Mags. I appreciate it. Sutures should be here to help you too.”

“True, but I wanted to give her a bit of a break, after all, she did have a late-night,” Mags replies.

As we are eating Ginger burst into the kitchen, followed by a weary but happy Sutures. Ginger then asks us, “Is it always that hard for a pony to have a foal?”

Magpie and I look at each other with a worried expression, Sumac, on the other hoof, turns to her, “No, not always. When I had Ivy, I was in a heavy labor for less than two hours. But Ginger how do you know how rough it was last night for that foal.”

Ginger guiltily looks up at her with her face down, “When I heard all the excitement, I snuck down the steps. I wanted to see Mama Sutures's work, and I was curious as I had never seen a foal born.”

Sutures grins at her and ask, “So what did you think?”

Ginger looks kind of uncomfortable, “Well at one point she looked like a hoof puppet. That is disgusting so was what the foal was covered with. Do you have to do that every time a foal is born?”

Sutures shakes her head, “No Ginger, that was a special case. Her hoof got caught and so did her horn. If we did not help her both of them could have died.”

Ginger gets a worried look as she looks at the mares in the kitchen with her, “Mama Sutures, could we lose one of you all?”

She has a sad expression on her face as she answers, “Yes Ginger, we could, they say that before the war the rates of mothers dying while giving birth were almost non-existent, but now, well now things are not so good. But that is part of what makes our family special, I am here to help all of them.”

“I understand, I know I heard Sirocco say his wife died giving birth to a third foal in Thunderhead. That is why I am worried. I don’t want to lose my family Mama Sutures.”

“Ginger, I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you from losing any of them. They are my family too,” Sutures says.

As she sniffles back a tear, Ginger asks, “But what about you Mama Sutures, when you have a foal, who is going to help you?”

She smiles a sad half-smile back to Ginger, “Dear, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, at least I am not pregnant. Besides, no matter how mad or disappointed in me my parents may be, I am sure my mother would help me.”

Ginger looks confused for a second and asks, “Mama Sutures, how could your parents be disappointed in you?”

I see her sigh, “Sweetheart, two big reasons. The first is that I am marrying a non-unicorn.”

I see Ginger shrew up her face, “Your parents really think that? I mean that is like what cousin Tar said Red Eye used to preach about us earth ponies supposed to be only with earth ponies.”

I really need to get going, but I want to hear where this conversation leads.

Sutures nods her head, “Sadly Ginger, yes they really do feel that way.”

“So, what is the second reason Mama Sutures?” she asks.

She tells her with a sad expression on her face, “Because I am marrying more than one pony at a time. It is unusual and many ponies do not think it is right.”

Ginger thinks about it for a bit, “Mama Sutures, would you be disappointed in me if I only married one pony.”

She smiles at her and puts a hoof on her shoulder, “Dear, I don’t care if you marry one, many, or none, all of your parents here only want you to be happy.”

This answer seems to satisfy her as she starts to eat her meal. Archer, Badger and I then all put our dishes in the sink and head out to work at the stable. As we head out, we see Xochilt coming over to meet Ginger, I wave to him and tell him Ginger should be ready in a couple of minutes, but go ahead and go inside if he wants to.

Once we are back to the stable, we use the rear entrance. The three of us each split up to go our own ways. Badger to his company. Archer to his artillery, and myself I head up to the 1^st regiment’s HQ to find out what I need to know before formation.

As I arrive, I see Paper Work and Specs have already arrived. I have only barely sat down at my desk when Paper Work comes over with a cup of hot tea for me. “Good Morning Ma’am, I trust you had a decent leave?”

Smiling I tell him, “Thank you for asking Paper Work. Yes, I did, I hope your leave was pleasant as well?”

He looks around to see if anyone is close before he answers me, “Ma’am overall it was pleasant, but did you know that Choo Choo is my ancestor? She told me that while I was on leave.”

I nod my head, “I found out a couple of days ago, Magpie found it out in the Archives, turns out Sutures and a couple of others are also.”

I see a look of surprise on his face, “Major, one of your spouses is related to me too? I had no idea.”

I smile and reply to him, “Neither did we, it took a bit of research in the archives to even find it out. Why is there something I should know?”

He shakes his head, “I guess not, it’s just we were becoming really close and well what would ponies think?”

“Paper Work, I am going to tell you the same thing I told her when she asked me. Does it really matter? Even if she had her original form, which she does not, the genetic divergence would have been great enough to make you about as related to her as about half of the Co-op.”

I see a funny look come over his face, “Major, you mean that is not her original body?”

I shake my head, “No, sorry to tell you that. From what I could glean from talking to her and her sisters, they were submerged into a vat of chemicals and it changed them all. By the way, it was not voluntary.”

“I feel sorry for her on that. Is that why she has so many gaps in her memory?” he asks me.

I nod my head, “A large part of it. One of the things that happened under Canterlot mountain is I met the stallion who paid for Choo Choo’s daughters’ family to be in the stable. He had almost a shrine set up to her in her old locker.”

I see some concern come over his face, “Major, is she still interested in him?”

I sigh as I tell him, “A part of her will always love him, but he is a ghoul now and, well that makes things really awkward.”

He nods his head, “That certainly would. I can only imagine,” then he pauses and asks, “Did you get to see any pictures of how she looked before?”

I smile at him and tell him, “Yes several, including one of her, her family and Sidetrack. He really did care for your family too. If you ever meet him, make sure you thank him for what he did.”

He nods his head and asks, “So what did she look like?”

I laugh lightly at his interest, “Well, she was almost old enough to retire in the photos. But she had a beautiful light blue coat and dark blue mane and tail, that was starting to be streaked with gray. She had soft, caring aquamarine eyes and a smile that would have melted your heart. Now if you are still interested in her, I would say go for it.”

I see him smile, “You really would not think it wrong of me?”

I shake my head, “Of course not, but then again, look at my family,” I tell him with a mild chuckle.

“Thanks, Major, I appreciate the talk, now I best get things ready for formation.” He tells me.

“Your welcome Sergeant, anytime. I need to get ready too now.”

At the morning Formation, the 2^nd Battalion is welcomed back into the fold again by Colonel Chappy. My companies fall back into their rotation schedules with the rest of them. It feels strange for me though, as I am now a field officer and not a company-grade officer, I am no longer in the standard rotation. However, once every three days I am required to stay at the stable overnight as the duty officer. But my time working on the farms just got cut down to only two weeks per year. The same as my headquarters staff. Yep, I have staff full time now. Who would have thunk it? Although I am still waiting to find out who my new 1^st Sergeant for the Battalion will be.

Starting today, D and E troop will be going out to the field post duties. I smile ruefully as I remember those days only a few months ago when I was out by Dairyanne with Bullet, Badger and Shadowbuck, with Ivy, Ghost, Saber, Dusty, and Pearl on the other, just days before we got Buddy and Woodrow. Goddesses how innocent we all seemed back then compared to now.

H-troop will be remaining at the Stable as a ready reserve for now. There has been talk though of building some fortifications around the co-op and permanently ponying them with a unit instead. I still have not heard how the artillery sections will be done, but I cannot imagine them being run much differently than the engineers with a portion of them on standby at a time.

During formation, I see Clockwork is back in front of his troops. While he is a bit paler than normal, he holds his head high the entire time. I also notice that two of his lieutenants are Trip Hammer, his old sergeant and a formal corporal from the old Rangers whose names I do not remember. This makes up my mind for me and after formation breaks, I trot over to visit with them. Unlike the other companies, they are still in formation. As I approach Clock Work looks over his shoulder and calls “Troop, Attention!”

They immediately shift their postures to one of attention from parade rest. I smile at this. I was so right; my volunteers have become regulars. As I get close, I am saluted by Clock Work and return it. “Good Morning Captain. I am very pleased to see you and your Enfields looking so sharp. They stand us all proud.”

I see a smile on his face, as well as those close enough to hear. “Good morning Major. It is a pleasure to see you again. All troops are present or accounted for this morning. I thought you might want to inspect them or say a word or two to them.”

I smile as I know how important this will be to them, so I nod my head and tell him, “ I would like that Captain, whenever you are ready.”

He leads me to the side then gives the command, “Troop, Open Ranks, March!” At this point, all his troops with the exception of the rear rank, take the necessary steps needed to open the ranks enough for us to pass between them.”

As I walk between the rows looking over my troopers, I can tell which ones were on the expedition and the new recruits. I stop in front of one new recruit whose uniform looks almost perfect and ask him, “Trooper, your new, aren’t you?”

He looks very nervous, I see his ears start to go back slightly and down, but he keeps his voice level, “Yes ma’am.”

“So, trooper, I presume you have heard of the record of the old Rangers and Volunteers, do you think you can uphold their standards?”

I watch as his eyes shift briefly to my cheek then straight ahead again as he answers, “Yes Ma’am, my father was Sergeant Rice Paddy ma’am.”

“Really? What is your name, Trooper?” I ask him.

Looking straight ahead he answers, “Terraced Paddy Ma’am.”

“Very well Trooper, I remember your father, I hope you are as brave a stallion as he was,” I tell him.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he says with a brief sniffle as I walk to the next trooper.

I have a few other interactions with troopers I recognize after the last rank is inspected, we return to the front of the formation. Clock Work Gives the command “About face.” Then once they have all reversed their direction he orders, “Close Formation, March.” His troops respond instantly and return to their original positions. With one more reverse face, they are all looking at me again.

Once they are in position, I look at all of them and nod, speaking loud enough so most can hear I tell Clock Work, “Captain, your troops look very good. Carry on.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he replies and we exchange salutes and I return to the stable. Once there I make a brief side trip to first see Tar.

As I enter, I see Taser behind the desk. He looks up and smiles at me, “Good Morning Major, how is it going today?”

“Morning Taser, so far so good. Can I visit with Tar for a bit?” I ask.

He nods his head and tells me, “Sure, her attorney just left a bit ago.”

“How is she doing Taser?”

“About as well as can be expected. She knows she did wrong and expects to be punished. She, and to tell the truth, I am also, is concerned about the severity of it,” he says with a sigh.

I put a hoof on his desk and tell him, “Same here Taser, same here. Now on a related note, any idea about how much longer you will be in charge of the security department here?”

I see him sigh again, “Probably for a while longer, at least until Tar’s case has been resolved. The Chief will return eventually; however, I am sure he is still very unhappy with the whole situation as well.”

I nod as I tell him, “I can see that, but with what happened with those two guards and how the others tried to hide it, it does not look good for him.”

He has a sad expression on his face as he slowly shakes his head, “No Major, it does not, but that is what happens when you trust your subordinates too much. You have to trust them, but still should check things once in a while to make sure things aren’t getting too out of hoof.”

“That is true, but a leader still has to walk that fine line, of checking up, without seeming to be watching over their subordinate’s shoulders. I remember reading somewhere that a leader may transfer their authority, but never their responsibility.”

“Major, this egg is on his muzzle, because he did not check up on things. Your right Major, you usually seem to maintain that balance fairly well. I noticed that when you would check up on Tar during the expedition. It always seemed friendly, but I also knew that if she were mistreated, or not kept as a prisoner properly, you would know and hold us accountable. By the way, ma’am, go ahead and go on in.”

I smile at him, “Thanks again Taser, I look forward to having you back at the HQ again.”

I see him laugh and shake his head again as he tells me, “Funny thing is, so do I. I used to dream of being head of security for the stable. Now, not so much.”

With that, he opens the door for the holding area and I proceed on to Tar’s cell to see her.

As I go in, I see Tar is sitting on her bunk with her back against the wall. She has her head down. As I get closer, she looks up and smiles when she sees me. Although she is smiling, I can see the tracks from tears that have gone down her face. With a choked-up voice, she asks, “How are you doing Mollygirl?”

“Hi Tar, I was just going to ask you the same thing.”

She wipes her eyes and puts on a brave face for me. “The usual. He wants me to plead innocent, but I think I should be honest and plead guilty with extenuating circumstances. Needless to say, he is not happy with me. He says it makes it much harder to defend me.”

I nod my head as I put a hoof on the bars, “I can understand that Tar, but I understand your point also. Tar, do what you feel is right is all I can tell you.”

She laughs grimly and nods too, “I will do that cous, I will. This whole mess would not have happened if I had only done that, but enough about me, what about your leave, how has that been.”

So, I tell her about the pegasi game of tag, which the guards had already told her about. Then I tell her about the Gypsy caravan has finally arrived.

She smiles at that and says, “I am glad they made it too. Are they planning on settling here also?”

I shake my head and tell her what they told me, “No, they are only here to rest and put on the show for a while. The refugees who were with them have gone over to White Cloud and are working on some of the farms there.”

“White Cloud? Where is that Mollygirl?” she asks with a puzzled look on her face.

“I forgot you would not have heard yet. White Cloud is the new settlement being built by the refugees that came back with the CEF. They have four large farms they are helping to reclaim and built the village to house and feed them as well as to become their home when it is done.”

She smiles ruefully, “Sounds good, where is it at though?”

Sheepishly I tell her, “Sorry, its about a quarter to half a mile east of Sumac’s place. Right next to Trouble and Blondie’s farm. Thiers is the first farm to begin being recovered there.”

I see her beam with pride at hearing that, “Mollygirl, I am so happy to hear that for them. Trouble deserves a good break. I remember you told me about the new settlement, just not where it was at.”

Nodding and with a smile on my face, I tell her about their farm and how Blondie and he are making a go of building a life together. Then I bring up Sunny, “Truth be told they are doing well, but that colt of theirs, I tell you he is a real fireball. He has become a third to Ginger and Xochitl and those three are almost always into something.”

I see her grin widen as she hears about her nephew, “I am so glad he has fit in so well. I was worried.”

“Tar, you don’t need to worry. He has plenty of friends. He has a lot of adults he talks to also. I recently found out he keeps talking about flying techniques and how to improve with Sirocco, George and even Choo Choo. It’s like once he found out how to use his wings, he just is not going to let anything stop him.”

She is still smiling when she asks, “So how was your last couple days of leave?”

I get a slightly sadder expression on my face as I tell her, “They were pretty good and all. I only wish they were longer. Well except last night. Last night we went to the Gypsy Pony show and ended up having one of their mares giving birth on our dining room table.”

I see her start to laugh as I tell her about it. So, I continue on with the story. “It seems the foal was stuck and Sutures had to use both her magic and a hoof to reposition it so it could be born.”

I see her eyes get wide at this, as I continue, “Unfortunately it seems Ginger got to see these proceedings also.”

She is trying to stop laughing when I add, “We found out this morning and when we asked her what she thought, she said the mare looked like a hoof puppet.”

It is at that point she can no longer contain herself. She lets out a very loud, “AHHHHHAHAHAHAH!” I do start to worry though when she starts gasping for breath.

Finally, she stops laughing, still smiling she tells me, “Only you Mollygirl. Thank you so much for sharing that, I needed a good laugh.”

I reach through the bars and put a hoof on her shoulder, “Your welcome Tar. I am just glad I can be here for you.”

“Me too Mollygirl, Me too.” She says.

We visit for a bit longer then I need to get back to the HQ. On the way, I do stop at Moon Pie’s office to make an appointment for next week. Then back on track again for the HQ. I am just about there when I hear a voice call over the stable PA system, “Major Mollygirl, your presence is requested at the back entrance. Major Mollygirl, your presence is requested at the back entrance.”

As I make my way there at first, I wonder why I am being called there, then I remember. Choo Choo. How could I have forgotten? I begin to trot so I can meet her there. As I get there, I see her standing there as if at formation. Standing straight at attention and looking straight ahead. Next to her is a very nervous looking Earth Pony mare. With her weapons at the carry.

As I approach the Guard notices me, turns towards me and salutes. “Good Morning Ma’am. It seems we have a new recruit. She said you were expecting her.”

“Thank you, Trooper. Yes, I am expecting her.” I then turn to Choo Choo, “Good to see you this morning, please follow me.”

I take her first to the headquarters area for the scouts. They have their own lounge area as well as stalls nearby. As we approach Sunset gets up and greets us. “Major, Choo Choo, good to see you both again. How can I help you?”

“Captain, Choo Choo has volunteered to enlist as a scout for the 1^st regiment. I would like you to assist her in her recruit intake processing. When she is ready to take her initial oath of enlistment let me know, I would like to be the one to perform the ceremony for her.”

As I see his smile beam, behind him I see Serenity and Firefly both spin their heads with their eyes open wide. Sunset than tells me, “Major, it would be my pleasure. Serenity, get over here.”

I smile at Choo Choo and shake her hoof, “I will see you later Trooper, I need to get back to my battalion for a bit.”

I see her smile and relax as she knows she is amongst friends. She salutes me and replies, “Thank you, Major, I really appreciate it.”

As I leave, I hear Sunset tell Serenity, “Trooper, take our newest member on up to medical for processing in. Stay with her and after they are done with her, take her to the Quartermasters to get kitted out,” I hear him pause then he says, “And yes Choo Choo, this means you have to wear a uniform now.”

From there I actually do proceed to the HQ. As I enter Paper Work approaches me. “Ma’am, I need your signature to authorize these transfers of formally wounded troopers back into the battalion.”

I raise an eyebrow at this and before I can say anything, He tells me, “Wounded from before the expedition ma’am. They are to refill our ranks.”

“Really? I thought they would have been reassigned already.” I tell him.

He shrugs his shoulders, “Most of them were, but some are finally being found fit for duty,” As he pulls out a file from the stack and hooves it to me, he tells me, “I think this one should be of interest to you.”

I look down and see it is for Sergeant Bullet to be returned to the 1^st Squad of D troop. I have to smirk at that one. I bet dad thought he got away from me finally. “Ok, thanks Paper Work, any others I should know about. I see him think for a bit, and he says, “Let me see,” as he looks back through the stack of files, “Nope, sorry, none that seem to stand out. I was looking to see if Shadowbuck would be returning, but Ma’am, from what I can garner, they are considering medically retiring him because of his wounds, and the extended recovery time.”

“Thanks, Paper work, I will take care of these in a bit. I appreciate it. Anything else?”

“No, that is about it for now ma’am. Would you like some coffee or tea while you work on these?”

I smile with a slight tilt of my head, “Actually, tea would be wonderful, you always do such a good job of getting it just how I like it.”

“I am glad to hear that ma’am, Oh, I almost forgot, Major Wind Rider has left a message saying she wants to meet for lunch today.”

“Ok, thanks, please let her know that would be fine.” I tell him, “Also remind me 15 minutes before hoof.”

“Yes ma’am, of course.”

After he departs, I first finish my final report for the expedition. I had most of it done already, but I needed to edit it before I run it up the chain. I am about a quarter of the way done with reviewing and authorizing the transfers when Paper Work returns with my tea. He notices my final report and asks, “Ma’am, would you like me to type that up for you?”

“Sure Paper Work, I really would appreciate it.”

As he takes it away, I return to my endeavors, until I hear hoof steps approaching. I look up and see Windy, looking down at me with a smile on her face.

“Good to see you again Mollygirl. Are you ready for lunch now?” She asks.

I look at all the files I still need to sign off on and realize, I might as well, so I look back up at her as I stand up and tell her “Sure, Windy, let’s go.”

As I walk along with her, I had assumed we were going to lunch at the officers’ mess. But instead, she heads towards the tunnel entrance. I begin to raise an eyebrow when she raises one wing and points towards Manesville, and tells me, “There is a new place just off post that caters to the lunch and dinner time crowds. I hear they even have meat sometimes.” As she says the last part, I see by her expression she does not care much for a non-vegan diet. “It is in a building that they recently recovered. I had not realized how many unused buildings there were here until then.”

As we get closer, I see the new place, Wanderers. It is a little dirty feedbag, but it is really busy. When we get inside, I notice some of the walls are decorated with old Sparkle Cola and Sunrise Sarsaparilla metal advertisement signs. There are two walls lined with booths. The main lunch counter is along the third wall with a grill behind it. The fourth wall has a counter that you can eat at and still look out the windows toward town as well as the entrance.

Wendy guides me over to one of the tables at the side and a waitress comes over, gets our drink order and gives us a couple of menus. As she gets close, she smiles and says, “Hey Windy, it’s good to see you. Your usual?”

She smiles back at the waitress, “Hi Pillow Mint, I will have my usual drink, but I am in the mood for something different to eat.”

“Gotcha, Windy,” Pillow Mint then asks me “OK, what would you like to drink?”

I glance at the menu and tell her, “How about a non-hard cider for now.”

“Ok, sounds good, I will be back in a couple of minutes for your orders,” then she scoots away to the next table.

As I look at the menu, I notice that there really are some items on it that contain meat. However, they also have a hayburger with cheese on it that sounds really good to me along with some sweet potato fries.

After the waitress returns, we put in our orders. Once she leaves to put them in Windy smiles at me, and tells me, “I hope you like this place, my husband and I put up a lot of caps to help them get started.”

I am surprised at this and tell her, “Windy, I am surprised you had the caps to invest after you came down from Thunderhead. Where did you get them?”

She puts a hoof to her chest and with a cheesy grin replies, “Mollygirl, remember I was a scout back when I was with the Enclave. I decided a long time ago that if I ever needed to make a run for it for some reason, I should be ready. One of the things I always did was keep any bottle cap I came across. Even while still in Thunderhead I did it. So, when we ran for it. One of our Get out of Dodge City bags was half-filled with caps.”

I laugh lightly and shake my head as I tell her, “I have to hoof it to you, I always thought I was thinking ahead, but I would never have considered that.”

“Thanks, Mollygirl, I take that as a compliment.”

“I really mean it Windy. So how is your family doing?”

She holds up a forehoof and moves it back and forth a bit, “So far so good, my husband is enjoying the time on the farm right now. Our kids on the other hoof, well the older two both think dirt is disgusting. The youngest is still needing to be bottle-fed when I am not there.”

“You know Windy, one of these days we should have you over to our farm for dinner.”

She laughs a little, “Mollygirl, I would really enjoy that, but I am worried about the ideas it may give Squall Line.”

I wave a hoof at her, “Ahh, don’t worry, as long as both my husbands are there, with all my wives, he will see it has to go both ways, that tends to cool off most bucks,” I tell her. Right after I say this I look up and see the waitress standing there with our meals. She has a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face, “Ok well here are your meals. Let me know if there is anything else, I can help you two with,” she says as she walks away with a little more pep in the way she swings her tail.

At this point, Windy just looks at me and smirks, “Mollygirl you really do have some timing don’t you.”

“Unfortunately, it seems so,” I say as I suddenly become focused on my meal.

Once we are done and, on our way, back to the stable Windy tells me, “You know Mollygirl, we will have to come out sometime. But please promise me we get to eat at the non-foal birthing section of the table.”

Dear DJ Pon3,

There come points in our lives where we take the time to evaluate what is really important. We all make our mistakes but with those that really matter we can get back on our hooves. With that in mind, I ask that you play Friends and Family to remind us what really matters most.

Thank You

Tar Water

Manesville Co-op

I would like to thank Kkat again for creating the world of Foe. I also would like to thank so many others who have built upon her foundation and continue to show how much more of it there is to explore.
In this chapter, we see Mollygirl and the others as they further adjust to the new way of life in the Co-op. We also get to see Sutures in action in her new profession.

This chapters dedication song link on YouTube is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDDmMX3UdwQ