We are running for Dairyanne at a canter so that we do not arrive at the fight winded. I look to the sky in the east and I see several troopers of the 2^nd regiment’s ready troop flying for all they are worth. Ahead of us, I see some smoke. Then I am passed by a squad of the recon company’s troopers as they pass by in two pony teams.

I notice what appears to be determination on the faces of several of the troopers near me. Several I see have grim smiles on their faces. Kettle Bell is in the lead so we are not moving as fast as we could, but it is a good pace that will get us there ready to fight. Myself, I am here more as an observer so far. I will only take over if needed.

Over the radio frequency on my PipBuck, I hear the scouts report that there are about a hundred raiders attacking some farms ahead on the west side of Dariyanne. Kettle Bell then orders her company to shift from a column to a line abreast formation. I also hear that a platoon from Cyclone Busters of the 2^nd regiment has landed on the opposite side already and set up to prevent any of the raiders from escaping and that the rest of them are approaching the hostile force on hoof, shifting their formation also.

As we advance to contact, I can see the smoke rising from the farm and I start to see some of the individual raiders on my SATS. It seems there are about a hundred of them that have attacked us this time. As is normal for us I decide to use three to one rule and call for the Doorkickers to advance past our flank and to extend and curve around their line until they make contact with the Cyclone busters.

As we encircle them, I see the raiders try and fall back and find their way blocked. At first, their fire begins to increase but then several artillery rounds land amongst their lines. Suddenly I see a white piece of cloth being raised. From the raider’s lines.

This really surprises me and I order a cease-fire, first from the artillery and then a general one from all my troops. As the order is received, I hear the gunfire on both sides slack off. I then order my troops to stand ready for any tricks. I see many of them changing magazines and prepping their weapons for more combat as I step forward along with Kettle Bell and an escort of two pegasi from D troop.

We go forward about fifty yards and wait. I watch the raider with the white flag approaching us. As what I assume is their leader and another come forward, I begin to see them more clearly. The first one is wearing a dirty bandage around his head. He has a bright orange coat with a yellow and red mane. I recognize him immediately and feel myself smile an evil grin. The second one is carrying the flag and I do not recognize the green-coated unicorn with a white mane and tail.

They get about thirty yards away and I tell them, “Stop right there,” which they immediately do.

They are still grinning at this point, So I step a bit closer and call out, “Oh, it is you Razor Wire, I should have known.”

I see his smile slip a little and the pony behind him looks confused. Razor Wire then asks, “Who are you? how do you know my name?”

“Oh, come now Razor Wire, we have met before. Several times before in fact. I also have met your former commander Silver Spite, but he is no longer of any concern now, is he?”

I see the look of confusion begin to slip into fear, as he asks, “You seem to have me at a disadvantage boss mare, as I do not remember you.”

I nod my head and tell him “Ah, but you see I never forget a face. Especially of one who has killed ponies I love. I am sure you remember the mare and foal that you killed and the one that got away.”

I see him gulp and the other pony next to him tells him, “What is she talking about Razor, you said she would simply take our surrender and we would getaway. You said it was safe to hit these farms.”

I smile as Kettle Bell calls out, “Major Mollygirl, we have the dragon on the radio, she wants to know if she can eat them?”

I see both of their expressions change from fear to outright terror as they search the sky.

Next, I tell them, “If you want to survive, you will have all of your troops put down their weapons, every single one of them. Next, if one of my troopers is injured by them, or we find a booby trap, I will assume you have attacked us under a flag of truce, the same goes if I see a single horn start to activate,” as I say this my expression changes as my ears go back along the side of my helmet, my eyes begin to narrow and I start to bare my teeth, and I continue, “And you know how I will react to that, don’t you Razor Wire. And Razor wire, I have the full backing of the CDF behind me. WE WILL hunt every single one of you down if you violate a cease-fire agreement. Do you understand me?” as I ask this, I turn my head just enough so that both of them can fully see my scar.

Razor Wire answers me with a trembling “Yes Ma’am, we understand.” The buck next to him nodding his head with wide-open eyes.

“Good, now go back to your troops and tell them what I have told you. They will come out of cover with the stocks of their weapons held up and stack the weapons. Then they will form in groups of no more than ten.”

They both nod, then the other one asks, “But what about our wounded.?”

Kettle Bell laughs, “Your Raiders. At Serenity Valley, we saw how raiders treat prisoners.”

I put up a hoof to her and tell them, “Walking wounded will stay with the others. If they cannot walk on their own, your people will carry them. Please understand, I really do not care a buck about you and your wounded. Violate the agreement one hoof step and the dragon, as well as the crows, get a feast tonight. Am I clear enough?”

They both nod their heads.

“Good, now you have fifteen minutes starting, now, or hostilities recommence.”

I watch as they both gallop back to their troops and yell out the conditions to them. I see them slowly begin to come out and stack weapons and form groups. I am watching the time on my PipBuck and they only have one-minute left when Razor Wire runs back to me and tells me with tears in his eyes. “We are ready ma’am. We are your prisoners.”

I look around and tell him, “Very good, now go back to your troops, you will be in the lead of them and set the pace, do not make it too slow. We will be escorting you back to our base near Manesville. My commander will determine what to do with you from there.”

As he is returning to his troops, I give the orders. For D troop to be in the vanguard, H- troop to cover the sides and I request that the Cyclone Busters cover the rear of them. Once everyone is ready, we begin the march back to the base. On the way, I call in and let them know we have prisoners coming in.

As we march them back, I am talking to Kettle Bell and she tells me, “Thanks for coming with us Mollygirl.”

I smile and tell her, “No problem, it felt so good to be back in the field, even if it is only for a couple of hours.”

Then she looks at me, and asks, “So that was him? One of your attackers?”

I nod my head, “Yeah, he was there alright. I heard his name clearly and remember Silver Spite talking to him as they got ready to attack me. He was giving him lessons,” I tell her as I feel a shudder go through my body.

“Kettle, I am really glad you were the one who went out with me to accept the surrender, I don’t think many others would have understood. By the way, the comment about George really helped, but I will say it almost got me to laugh as I can just imagine her saying that right in front of them.”

She shakes her head, “I figured that the rumor of our having a dragon had to have gotten out among the raiders by now, so they would be more likely to believe it. Besides, it really does sound like something she would say.”

I look at her with one eyebrow raised, “Have you been talking with her too now?” I ask.

She smiles, “Oh, I stop by her stall at the stable and visit with her from time to time. She is quite unique to say the least. The first time I ever talked to her was at your wedding.”

The memory of our wedding does make me smile. I never in my wildest dreams as a filly thought I would have a dragon at my wedding. Then again, I never imagined being married to more than one pony. Still smiling I look at her and tell her, “You know that I really just want to hang him don’t you Kettle.”

She nods her head and tells me, “Yes I imagine so. But Major, that is why we follow you; you do what is right, not what you want. It makes you a better pony and a mare to follow.”

I shake my head slightly, “Captain, thank you for reminding me of that. Sometimes we all need to hear it.”

“My pleasure Major, my pleasure,” She tells me and then I trot off to find the head of D-troop Captain Broken Hills.

As I pass the column, I pass the 1^st squad of the Door Kickers and see Bullet leading them and carrying the Shimmer and Glimmer. I fall in alongside him and ask, “How you doing Sergeant?”

He smiles and tells me, “Doing well Major, but with your permission, I would like to take this rifle to the range and sight her in better. I should have taken that orange bastard's head off, but instead, I only grazed him.”

I nod my head and tell him, “Permission granted. Just let me know if you need a spotter.”

He nods his head, “Will do Major, Ma’am can I ask you something personal though?”

I nod my head and shift my roll of talking to him, “Ok Dad, what is it?”

I hear him sigh a bit and he tells me, “Mollygirl, I am proud you did it, but I am not sure how you could have taken his surrender. If I remember him from that day and I only got a quick glimpse of him, I am sure you did too?”

I look at him and tell him, “Yeah, it was really hard once I realized who it was, but there was more to be considered than just me and what I wanted. Besides, he may still have to face charges for that. I may recommend he be sent to Junction City for trial on crimes against equinity as he was one of Silver Spites, top lieutenants.”

Bullet nods, “Damn I really wish this thing was sighted just a hair better, I would have put paid to him and made it simple.”

“So, are you telling me you really don’t like the S&G Dad, I mean you could always go back to your old rifle.”

As I say this, I notice him shift slightly and he takes on a protective tone, “I did not say that. You are not taking Bluebell away from me.”

I laugh to myself as I realize he has already named it after the mare he loved so much. I shake my head and tell him, “Don’t worry Dad, I was not going to even try,” Then I ask him, “Have you seen Broken Hills?”

He smiles as we shift back to business, “Yes Major he should be just ahead on the other side of the column with the 2^nd squad.”

“Alright, I will talk to you later, Sergeant,” I tell him as I trot off to find Broken Hills.

I find Broken Hills as he is leaving the second squad, He sees me and calls out, “Good evening Major, what can I do for you?”

I call back, “Good evening Captain, just a moment of your time is all,” as I head on over to him.

Once we are together, I notice the bare patch on his neck and he smiles and tells me, “No Major it is not what you think. One of them got lucky and grazed me. Nothing a quick healing spell could not take care of.”

I nod and tell him, “Good to hear. How are you and your troops otherwise?”

He looks around and tells me, “Overall, very good. Some were nervous about going back into action, but once we started moving it all went away.”

“Ok, glad to hear that. Have you noticed anything I should know about and I may have missed today?”

He shakes his head and replies, “No, not that I can think of, I am just really surprised at how easily they decided to surrender once the artillery began. But then again, they have tasted our artillery quite a bit. So, it may have left a bad taste in their mouths.”

“Makes sense. I know their second in command was telling their commander that he thought it would be easy for them to surrender and then get out of it.”

I see him nod his head and hear, “Ah, now that I needed to hear. Sounds like they thought they would be able to escape easily. Don’t worry ma’am, we will keep an eye on ‘em. They are really lucky that we even accepted their surrender.”

I sigh, “I know, but what else could we do. If we had just gunned them down instead of accepting a surrender that would have impacted the talks with the coalition government. I know I don’t want to be responsible for that. However, they were warned that if they tried anything, I would consider it breaking a ceasefire and respond in kind.”

“Makes sense to me Major,” He tells me.

“Ok, Broken, I will talk to you later,” I tell him as I drop back along the column.

I am almost back to Kettle Bell again when I notice a couple of 2^nd regiment’s pegasi flying over toward two groups that are getting too close. I hear the one wearing corporal insignia call out, “Ok, all of you, that is close enough, back away from each other.”

One of the raiders calls back in a snarky tone, “Yeah and what ya gonna do if we don’t?”

I see the flying guard smile at those below him, “Anything the LT. I mean Major orders us to do, she already said it would be a breach of the cease-fire, and after Two Step, she doesn’t have much patients for that anymore.”

I hear a murmur go through the ranks of the prisoners at this. Then the snarky one yells back up at him, “Ya mean to tells us that that little torn up mare over there is the LT?”

I hear the corporal laugh some, then he tells them, “Understand there are only two things keeping us from just killing you all right now. The first is discipline, we are not raging killers. WE kill when ordered to. The second is that the Major has not ordered us to; yet.”

As he says this, I hear several objects fall to the ground quietly as the prisoners continue to walk and begin to distance themselves from each other. I make a mental note that I want that Corporal's name for later. He deserves a letter of commendation for preventing things from getting worse. I also send a message on my Pipbuck to the ordies to let them know to get here and pick up the additional weapons and other items.

It is almost nightfall when we get them back to the base. As we approach, we see several MP’s approaching, among them, is Taser.

I go over to Taser and ask, ‘How’s it going Taser?”

He smiles and tells me, “It is going better now that the Chief is back in charge of stable security, but I have now been advanced to sergeant and am inline to be a cadet for the MP company at the next opening.”

I smile at him and tell him, “Taser I am glad to hear that for you. You have earned it. Now, what can I do for you?

He smiles and says, “Well now that you ask Major, I need your troops to escort these prisoners to the warehouse we used last time we had a large group of prisoners. But I also need to know if they have been searched for weapons yet?”’

I let out a deep breath when I answer, “No sergeant, they have not been searched. However, they were warned to stack all weapons and if any booby traps were found or any of our troops attacked, they would be treated as violating a cease-fire.”

He nods his head, “Ok, that means we will need to search them as we process them. Being they are raiders; they can be ingenious in where they hide weapons. Looks like it will be another long night.”

I nod my head and tell him, “Sorry about that.”

He shrugs, “It happens Major, Sweets, and Cookie are getting used to it.”

I nod, “Yeah, I understand, my spouses are too, I am not sure that is a good thing,” I tell him with a mild chuckle.

Nearby I see Razor Wire with his head down, He sees me looking at him and asks, “What’s up with all the new buildings?”

I smile at him and tell him, “Razor Wire, those are the new quarters we are building so we can move one regiment of troops out of the stable.”

I see his jaw drop as he asks, “One regiment?”

Seeing his expression Taser looks him in the eyes and tells him, “Yes. What, you thought we only had what was at Serenity Valley? What captured you tonight was only our ready reserve. Think about that Razor, you lead these damn fools against us and you only hit our ready reserve, now think about how many more of us we have to have to build all these facilities as well as pony artillery, let’s not forget our combat engineers that you and Silver Spite have to be oh all too familiar with. If I was you, I would worry, cause they just found out you didn’t just lead them into a hornet's nest, you entered the dragon's den.”

We are very close to the stable and turning towards the old warehouse when suddenly George takes off and flies overhead. I could not have timed that better and only wished I had thought of it. The only thing that makes it better is that Choo Choo is right behind her and they pass in front of the still-rising moon.

From inside one of the groups of prisoners I hear one of them scream, “See! I told you I really saw her in the Valley,” he points towards the two fliers in front of the moon and continues, “Behold there is Luna in her glory.”

At this I have to fight down the laughter, to make matters worse, I feel my foal putting pressure on my bladder. I force myself to continue to stay with the escort until we reach the warehouse. Then I look at Kettle Bell. “Captain. I turn the troops over to your capable hooves. I will see you back at the stable in the morning.”

“Yes Ma’am,” she replies.

I nod my head and tell her, “Remember, one attempt on any of our guards or troopers and they all suffer.”

She nods her head and Salutes me, “Yes Ma’am, of course. Have a good night.”

I hear one of the prisoners ask, “Where is she going? Home for the night?”

Then I hear Kettle Bell tell them, “If it is any of your business, which it is not, she probably is. She has two Stallions and three mares waiting for her. Oh, and one of her stallions was in charge of the artillery that hit you today, the other one, is in charge of one of the remaining ready reserve troops back in the stable.”

From the raiders, I hear hushed awe. Then one says, “You're full of it, she really does not have that many spouses. That would make her a warlord, a zebra Cesar or something.”

Then I hear several of the troopers laugh at them, and as I get further away, I hear one of them say, “The topper is she is pregnant, so you just got beat by a pregnant mare. That means she was taking it easy.”

After that, I can not hear anymore and I just trot back to the armory to clean my weapons and turn them in before I head home for the night.

I am still laughing when I reach the Armory. Buckshot is still there with a bored look on his face. He looks up and sees me laughing and asks me, “Let me guess, those raiders just had it rubbed in their face about you going home to your spouses and being pregnant?”

I am stunned and stop laughing. With a tone of awe in my voice, I ask, “How did you know?”

He smiles and answers,” two ways. One, you only laugh that way when you know you have really surprised somepony. The other, well I cheated, one of the troopers over there had left their PipBuck on continuous broadcast.”

I shake my head, and laugh again, “Ok, you got me.”

From the back I hear Flechettes call out, “Ok, sarge, I will get you your caps in a minute, you were right. She didn’t know.”

I arrive late at home that night along with Archer. On the way we hold tails and I tell him about what had happened. He smiles and listens then he tells me, “You know Mollygirl, that they were not kidding, they really would consider you to have to be a warlord with that large of an entourage. Especially with two warrior husbands.”

I laugh lightly, and then I tell him, “Can you believe the one had the nerve to call me little and wartorn?”

He smiles a lopsided grin and answers, “Is this like asking me if the dress makes you look fat?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” I demand.

Still smiling he answers, “My love, look at you, me, Badger and Sutures. I hate to say it, but we are war-torn. Each of us has multiple scars. Speaking of which, we need to talk about a rumor going for your battalion.”

Oh no, what now I ask myself, then I do ask him, “What rumor is that dear?”

He takes a deep breath and tells me, “Rumor has it that several of your Enfields are talking about getting a brand on their upper foreleg of an enfield silhouette as well as the initials EE or EE/ER, depending on how long they were with E-troop.”

I sigh and shake my head, “No, I had not heard about that one, but I will say it shows a certain esprit de corps. “

He laughs lightly and tells me, “Yeah, I guess that is one way of looking at it. I never thought I would hear of ponies or cattle deliberately branding themselves though.”

I look at him and shake my head, “I guess it could be worse, they could want to be branded with CEF to let everypony know they were there.”

I see his jaw drop open and finally, he says, “You know, I never even thought of that. That would be a bigger problem.”

Once home Magpie meets us at the door and greets us. Then she says, “I heard the guns, so I figured you would be running late, what happened?”

Before I can say anything, Archer tells her, “Not much, just about a hundred raiders hit by Dairyanne. Mollygirl and the ready reserve captured most of them. Those not captured are dead.”

I see the look of worry on her face, “Mollygirl, are you ok? It was not too bad was it?”

I smile at her and tell her, “No, nothing to really worry about. But I am sorry about being so late,” Then I ask, “Where are Sutures, Ginger and Sumac?”

Magpie tells us “Sutures and Doula had to make a run out between Donovan and White Cloud. It seems a mare was delivering earlier than expected and she was not going to make it to Manesville before having it.” I nod my head and she then says, “Sumac is upstairs tucking Ginger in and reading her a story. She should be down soon.” Then she seems to remember, “I almost forgot to ask, have either of you had dinner yet?”

Both Archer and I shake our heads no.

“Ok, let’s go to the kitchen then and get you something to eat, ok?” She says to us, then she leads us to the kitchen.

On the stove is a pot of left-over vegetable stew, with a half a loaf of bread on the counter next to it. Mags gets two bowls down from the cupboard and gets our dinner ready for us.

While we are eating, she talks to us about her day and asks us about ours. I give her the details about the march back and have to smirk at how indignant she gets when I tell her the one raider called me little and war-torn.

From across the table, I can see the amusement in Archer's eyes at this. Finally, he puts up a hoof and tells her, “Mags dear, I am sorry, but how else would you describe Badger, Sutures, me and our Mollygirl? We all have the physical scars to show for it.”

She sighs and then looks at us sheepishly, “I guess you are right. I just don’t like others insulting my loved ones.”

Archer puts a hoof on hers, lets out a slight laugh, and tells her, “Dear, if it helps consider it being descriptive, not insulting.”

I see a bit of mirth in her expression then, as she kisses him on the cheek and tells him, “Ok, I can go with that.”

After we finish dinner, Mags and Archer head into the parlor and I wash the bowls quickly. Once finished I go to join them but see Sumac coming down the stairs. She sees me and smiles, then tells me, “Dear, you need to go see a little mare, she has been worried about you tonight.”

I nod my head and reply, “Ok Sumac, I will, Mags, and Archer are in the parlor if you care to join them, I will be back down in a bit.”

I see her heading off to the parlor as I head on up to the stairs to see my daughter.

Once I get to her room, I knock on her door lightly. I hear her voice sadly say, “come in.”

As I enter, I see she has been crying some, and as I sit on the side of her bed I ask, “are you ok Ginger?”

She sniffles a bit and tells me, “Yeah, a lot better now that you are home. I was so worried about you ma.”

“I am sorry I worried you, dear. If it helps, we captured the last of those who attacked Pona and Ivy. Not only that, but we also let all of the raiders we captured with him know that he led them into a trap.”

She nods some and then tells me, “Ma, I am glad we got him, but I learned something at Targhee. Sometimes revenge is not worth the cost. Ma, I can’t replace you.”

When she says this, I feel another stone slide into my saddlebag and a part of my heart breaks for her. I reach over and wrap my forehooves around her and just hold her. After a while, I tell her, “I am so sorry for worrying you, dear. I really am.”

Her hooves still wrapped around me and her head against my side I hear her say, “I know ma, but I heard the guns in the distance and I know what artillery means Ma. I knew you would have to be out there leading them. Ma, I can’t lose another parent, I can’t please.”

I pat her on her back and tell her, “Dear, I am being careful. I have your little sister as well as you to worry about.”

After a bit, she lays down and I lay down next to her, planning on just laying there until she falls asleep. Instead, I fall asleep too and I awake in the morning to my alarm. Ginger wakes then also and tells me, “Thanks Ma for sleeping with me last night.”

I kiss her on her forelock and tell her, “Your welcome Ginger.” Then I get up and go to begin my day again. As I get downstairs I find a very tired Sutures sitting in the kitchen drinking tea along with Doula.

As I enter the room she looks up and smiles at me, “Morning dearest, I hope you slept well.”

I kiss her on the cheek and tell both her and Doula good morning. Then I answer, “Yeah, I slept hard last night. I fell asleep in Ginger’s bed. You two look like you were up all night last night.”

Doula nods her head and answers for both of them, “Yeah we were Mollygirl, it was a close one last night, we almost lost the mother, but Sutures was able to save her and the foal. We were lucky.”

Sutures tiredly nods her head and tells her mother, “Yeah mom, but I could not have done it without your help. You really helped keep her calm and relaxed as much as possible. That helped immensely.”

Doula reaches across the table and pats her hoof, “Dear that is why we are business partners now.”

I have to smile at them as I pour myself some hot water and begin to steep my tea. Part of me wonders what my life would have been like if my mother would not have died. Who knows maybe she and I would have been as close as Doula and Sutures are now?

Then Sutures ask, “So what was going on yesterday, I heard the artillery?”

I take a sip of my tea and begin to tell her what happened. Then I tell her, “We caught him yesterday, Razor Wire, the last of those who killed Ivy and Epona.”

I see the surprise on her face and she asks, “So what happened?”

I give a crooked smile and tell her, “We took him and all the surviving raiders as prisoners. On the way back Taser told him in front of several other raiders that he had led him into a dragon’s den, not a hornets’ nest. Someone also brought up our family and now the damn raiders think of me like I am a warlord or Cesar. That was kind of embarrassing.”

She smiles at me and pats the back of my forehoof as she looks into my eyes and tells me, “Love, you may not realize it, but in their world, you would be. Here, you’re just the major.”

I hear Doula chuckling off to the side and I look at her and ask, “OK, what’s so funny?”

She smiles at me and tells me, “It’s just I never imagined having a conversation like this. My daughter has told me it was a different life. She was not wrong.”

I smile at that and tell her, “Welcome to our world Doula. I hope it is not too weird for you.”

She laughs lightly and tells me, “No, it is not, but it is entertaining.” Then she looks at the clock on the kitchen wall and says, “Well Dear, I need to get home and grab a couple of hours sleep.”

“Ok, mom, are you sure you don’t just want to wait for Archer and Mollygirl to head to the stable, then you can walk with them.”

“I had not thought of that, I think I will dear. By the way, where is Archer?” She asks.

Both Sutures and I look at each other and I tell them, “I will go check.”

As I am leaving a sleepy Ginger comes into the kitchen, I hear her say “Morning Mama Sutures, granny, do we have any coffee ready?”

As I go into the downstairs bedroom I find it empty and am rather surprised. Then I go up to Sumac’s room, I lightly knock on the door and find them all sleeping together with him in the middle. It does bring a smile to my face and I hate to do it, but I wake him up so he can get ready also.

As they disentangle from each other Sumac tells me, “I was having a rough night of it, and when you did not come back down, they decided to sleep in here and comfort me.”

Mag smiles at her, “We have all been there Sumac, we have all been there.”

I smile at all of them and tell them, “We have water already boiled for tea, I best hurry though Ginger mentioned she needed coffee and I really don’t want her going to school that hyped up.”

I smile to hear them all sharing a laugh over that. When I get back to the Kitchen Ginger is already drinking a cup of coffee. I am a bit shocked and I see Doula smiling. I have to ask, “How did you make coffee so fast?”

Doula then replies, “Do you think that all we do with our horns is lift things, they can really come in handy for cooking too.”

I am really stunned at this and ask, “Sutures, why didn’t you do this in the field then?”

She smiles, “Because it eats into our magic reserves and I never knew when I might have to treat a patient.”

I nod my head and have to agree that it makes sense. Then I hear Ginger tell Doula, “Thank you very much. I really need my coffee this morning.”

As she says this, I hear Sumac tell her, “Now Ginger are you ready to eat too?”

I see Ginger nod her head and she asks, “Are we having bacon today?”

Sumac looks at Doula and sees the expression on her face and then tells Ginger “Not today, but maybe tomorrow.”

Ginger sees the expression on Doula’s face then and I notice she realizes not all ponies like meat. I see her blush and she nods, telling us, “Ok, that sounds good Ma’s.” While I don’t show it, I smile inside at how much she is maturing by starting to consider others now too.

After we eat breakfast Doula joins Archer and me for our walk to work. We have a very pleasant conversation between the three of us going when she stops us and though she looks very tired she tells us, “Ok you two, let's stop here for a minute, I have something I want to ask both of you.”

We both stop along with her and Archer asks “OK Doula, what is it?”

I can see the nervous expression on her face as she screws up the courage to ask but then she does, “Archer, Mollygirl, do you both really love my daughter?”

I answer yes right away, Archer pauses for a second and then tells her, “Doula, I love your daughter more than life itself. There is something very special about Sutures and to tell you the truth, I cannot imagine my life without her in it.”

She looks from him to me and then says, “And what if I told you she would be better off without you and she wanted to leave your relationship?”

I feel my heart begin to break and I feel tears start to form, I hear Archer choke up and he looks at her, and tells her, “Doula, if that is what she wants then she can. I love her enough that I will not stop her, no matter how much it hurts. I am sorry it has come to this though; I just wish she would have told me.”

I nod my head next to him and tell her, “Damn it, I wish I knew what I did so wrong, I thought things had gotten better and she forgave me after Targhee.”

She closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath, “I am sorry I did this to you, please forgive me but I had to know if you really do love her. She is my only daughter and I wanted to make sure she was not just being used. She really does love both of you and the others, and no, she is not ready to leave. But I have noticed some major changes in her since she has been back, Mollygirl I need to know, what happened at Targhee?”

I let out a sigh and I begin to tell her about the battle of Targhee and after up to the siege at Serenity Valley. As I talk about it, I feel myself shake at some of the memories. I feel Archer put a hoof on my shoulder to steady me. Then I surprise myself and admit to her, in front of Archer, “Doula, it was during the siege that I realized exactly how strong I felt for your daughter as well as Archer, it was there that I decided no matter what Mags and Badger had decided, I was staying with your daughter and Archer.”

I can see the surprise in his face as well as hers. Doula then asks, “Mollygirl, you mean you never even told Archer this before?”

I shake my head no, “No, I don’t think so, I was so tired back then I do not remember doing so, but Doula, I do remember when Badger saw me kiss your daughter goodbye there and said to me that he guessed I already made my decision, I told him it depended on his. Doula, I really do love her,” I look at the ground with my ears along the side of my head as I then tell her, “My biggest regret is that I allowed her to use her magic the way I did while at Targhee.”

After this, she gives me a hug and a kiss on my forelock then does the same to Archer. She then smiles with a tiredness to her eyes and tells us, “Thank you both for sharing what you have with me. Even though she seems happy overall I needed to know my daughters’ heart is in good hooves. Now, Archer, I want to know, when are you going to give me a grandfoal with Sutures?”

With this I see a huge smile come over his face and feel myself brighten up also as he tells her, “As soon as she is ready Doula, but not before.”

To this I see the weariness leave her eyes and a look of peace replaces it. She then tells us, “We best be going, I do not want to make you both late for work.” With that, we get going again and wave to her when she heads down the road toward her home while Archer and I head to the stable.

Once inside the stable, I head straight for my headquarters. When I see Paper Work he has a worried expression on his face that turns to relief as he sees me and tells me, “Glad to see you, Major, I was worried, you are running later than normal and I was afraid something had happened.”

I smile at this, “Thanks for the concern Paper Work. I just took too long getting in today is all.”

“Ma’am, as it is getting so close to muster, I will make your tea for you after formation if you do not mind. I would have made it already, but I know you like it hot.”

“That will be fine, any new rumors I should know about before I head to the regimental HQ?”

He shakes his head, “No, but the 1^st Sergeant did say he would like to talk to you this morning after formation.”

“Ok, thank you Paper Work. I best get going then, let him know that I will make time for him after formation.” I tell him as I head back out the door.

The daily meeting before formation takes place, as usual, the only thing different is that before I leave the XO tells me, “Major Mollygirl, good job yesterday, after formation the Colonel would like to see you.”

“Thank you, ma’am, will do,” I tell her.

At formation I let the 1^st sergeant know I will meet with him after my meeting with the Colonel. After formation ends, I head over to the Colonel’s office. He has me sit down and then he begins. “Mollygirl, good job on capturing all those raiders yesterday, but now we have a few problems.”

“Thank you, sir, but what problems?”

He sighs and then continues, “One is what to do with that many raiders. Holding them long-term does not seem practical. The second is what to do with their leader Razor Wire. From what I have been told he was involved in the death of Sergeant Ivy and her daughter beyond simple combat.”

I nod my head and tell him, “Concerning Razor Wire, that is correct sir. Due to the current political situation, maybe we should offer to transfer him to Junction Town for trial, as a change of venue to allow him a fair trial, you know, a show of good faith to the NCR leadership, we could even offer to transfer the raider prisoners to the NCR for the same reason and put the responsibility on them. It would make us look like the good guys and like we were making an effort to them.”

He smiles and nods his head, “I had thought of that, but I was not sure how you would take the idea of doing that with Razor Wire.”

“Sir, if I had my druthers, I would have hung him last night. However, that would not have brought them back, so let’s go with proper justice and turn him over to the courts as a common criminal as well as a raider.”

“That is good to hear Mollygirl, it really is. I guess that means you will be able to keep your composure when I send you back over there to assist in interrogating him this afternoon,” He tells me with a raised eyebrow.

I am very surprised, to say the least then I ask, “Sir, may I ask why me?”

He nods his head and tells me, “Because he is refusing to talk to anypony but you. He is at the prison infirmary since several other prisoners tried to kill him last night.”

I think about it and nod my head, “Colonel, I request that I be allowed to take an escort with me into the prison,” I pause then say, “Make that more than one of them, some are not of my battalion.”

He asks me who I have in mind, so I tell him and I watch as the grin comes over his face, “Yes Major, I like that idea a lot.”

After that, I leave his office and return to mine. I have just sat down and am enjoying my tea when Chain Lighting knocks quickly on the door frame and comes in, taking a seat when I indicate for him to do so.

“Ok, Chain, what have you got for me?” I ask.

Smiling he says, “Well Major, I have a couple of things. The first is that I have talked to the First Sergeant of the Belles and we have come to an agreement on the recommendation for the punishment of the offenders. I have written them down for you and they are already in your inbox.”

I smile at him and reply, “That sounds good, thank you Chain, now what else is there.”

Now his expression becomes serious as he tells me, “Major, you did an excellent job last night with the ready reserves. However, Ma’am, you failed to let your staff know,” he then slaps a hoof down on the desk, “Ma’am, do not endanger yourself like that again, you are not an NCO or Junior officer. If you go into combat, let your staff know. I should have been there to support and protect you, just like the rest of us on your staff.”

When he slams the hoof down, I raise an eyebrow and turn my head slightly. I have to admit, he does have a point, but I am the one in charge so I tell him. “First Sergeant, please remember your station. I make the calls, not you. With that said, you are right. I should have let you know. For now on I will do so, and I will let you assign my escort.”

I see him at first look irritated, then I can tell when he realizes I had said he was right. He nods his head and tells me, “Thank you Ma’am, I do appreciate it.”

Then I continue, “Chain, I had already planned on having you go with me today to visit the prisoner Razor Wire. But before we decide on a full escort, I want to go over what I have in mind.”

He nods his head in agreement and then listens as I outline my plan. As I go on, I see his smile get wider. When I finish, he tells me, “Major that sounds good, I am just glad I am going to be in on it. When do we leave?”

Smiling I tell him, “Just as soon as the others get here. The Colonel has already Ok’d the plan. We will meet most of them at the armory after lunch.”

“Ok Major, that sounds good, please let me know when you are ready to head out.”

That is when I hear a knock on the door, and see Paper Work smiling as he tells me, “Major, you have guests at the back stable door wanting to talk to you.

I smile at Chain Lighting and tell him, “Ok, 1^st Sergeant here we go, please follow me.”

Dear DJ Pon3,

I am writing this as I prepare to lead my raiders against those who thought they could get away from me. They took the life of my mentor and former commander Silver Spite, now I am back again to their homes this time, and I want them to know just who they really are dealing with. The song that suits me and my ponies is Dead Man Walking. If you could please play this song so they know who it is knocking down their doors and burning their farms.

Thanks

Razor Wire

Former Lieutenant, Army of Fillydelphia. Leader of Razor’s Ruins

For those who wish to listen to this chapters's dedication song the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJxCcCEobNs