Chapter 69 Broken Promises

I hear a foal crying and realize this time it is Millie; I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. As I go to get up Badger tells me, “Stay here Hun, I will go get her.” As I lay there getting ready to fall back to sleep, I feel him place her next to me and I fall asleep as she suckles. Just before I drift off, all I can think of is, Thank the Goddesses he is helping.

When I wake up next, Millie is back in her crib next to Woody’s. It has only been a couple of hours since the last time I woke up. Badger is dead asleep next to me this time. I have to laugh though when I notice a little mare has climbed into bed with us again. Between us, Ginger is laying there with her stuffed pony and her mouth hanging wide open.

From the kitchen, I can hear the rustling of plates and cooking pans and I smell eggs cooking along with the scent of hot tea. This in itself is enough to get me to get up out of bed. As I enter the kitchen Sutures tells me, “Kicker had her calf last night.”

As I sit down next to her and put a hoof on hers, I ask, “So, what is it, and how did it go?”

Doula answers for her, “Mollygirl, she had a little heifer. She is a cute little thing, only one head, but not a lick of hair on her body.”

This surprises me and I tell her, “No hair at all? I was not expecting that. But I guess only one head is a good thing, right?”

Sutures smiles and nods, “Yes dear, that’s a good thing. Now how were our foals last night?”

“They were both up every couple of hours. Goddesses, I do not know how much longer I can go on such little sleep. I am just thankful that Badger is helping too.”

Doula looks at me funny and asks, “How is he helping?”

So, I tell her, “Doula, would you believe he went and got Millie and set her so she could suck and then put her back to bed when she was done?”

She shakes her head, “Not many bucks who are that considerate Mollygirl. I could never see Cross doing that. You mares are very lucky.”

All three of us nod our heads and Sutures tells her, “Mom, I think he got the idea from Archer. Archer said his mother used to brag to the other mares that his father would help like that with their foals.”

She nods her head and tells her, “Dear I can believe it. I was not their midwife, so I really did not know them well.”

About this time, I hear some hoofsteps coming down the stairs. A few minutes later Archer enters the room. While he looks tired, he seems better rested than the rest of us. As he enters the room Sutures asks him, “Would you like some coffee dearest?”

He nods his head and she uses her TK to bring a cup over to the table and she fast boils him a pot of coffee using her magic. As it brews, I cannot help but enjoy the smell. A couple of minutes later I see Ginger come into the room. She pushes a chair over to the counter and grabs a coffee cup and then moves to the table and waits for the coffee to be ready. During this whole process, she says nothing.

When it is finally done Sutures pours a cup for both Archer and Ginger. Finally Ginger speaks, “Thanks mama Sutures. Papa Badger should be up soon.”

I nod my head and am just saying, “I will go make sure he gets up for work,” and I hear one of the foals crying again, So I tell them, “Ok, I will do that on my way through.”

When I stop at our room he is already up and getting dressed. He smiles tiredly at me and tells me, “I’m up, thanks.” Then he comes over and gives me a kiss and tells me, “If I don’t see you before I leave, I will tonight, ok love?”

I nod my head and give him a quick kiss on the nose and as I get ready to leave, I tell him, “Thanks for helping with Millie last night. I really appreciate it.”

He smiles and tells me, “No problem. Ginger woke up and came down to keep me company, now you best go see to her and I need to get ready to head out. Take care, love.”

As I head down the hall to the nursery, I see Magpie coming up behind me. We both smile at each other; she stops briefly to talk to Badger and I continue on. As I suspected Millie is hungry again and as I am feeding her, Woodrow wakes up. I am still feeding Millie as Mags starts to feed Woody. As we sit back nursing she and I look into each other’s eyes and we both just smile at each other.

As we sit there feeding, we hear both Badger and Archer leaving for the day. Shortly afterward Ginger comes trotting in to see us. She first goes to Woody and gives him a light kiss and tells him goodbye as well as Magpie, then she comes over to me and Millie. She gives a light kiss on Millie's forelock and tells her, “Be good for Ma Mills, I will see you after school. Then she gives me a quick hug and tells me bye as he trots out the room and I hear her on the front porch telling Xochitl, “I hope Sunny hurries up, I don’t want to be late.”

Then I hear Xochitl tell her, “Nope here he comes now, let’s go, Ginger,” and I hear their hoofs skitter down the steps and across the gravel of the farmyard.

Then I hear a knock on the door and the voice of a bull tells someone, “We need the midwife, Kettle Belle is in labor.”

From the next room, I hear Sutures groan, and as she gets up from the bed she calls out, “Ok, I am on my way.” Then she calls out, “Tweeters, here girl, I got a job for you again.” And I hear the enfield whine slightly. Then I hear Sutures tell Sumac, “I will be back as soon as I can dear. Thanks for breakfast,” and I hear her leave again.

Once I am done feeding little Millie, I rock her for a while until she goes back to sleep. Then I put her back to bed. As I do this, I notice poor Magpie is asleep in her chair also. Woody is done feeding so I rock him to sleep and as I did with Millie, I put him to bed also. I feel so sorry for her and I do not want to wake her that I leave Magpie to sleep in the chair as I reenter the kitchen so I can start another cup of tea.

As I sit there drinking it Sumac tells me “Mollygirl, I am going to go walk the fields with Xavier, we need to see if the lower 20 acres are ready to harvest yet. The hay there should be about ready,” Then she asks, “Mollygirl, do you think it's wrong if I ask some of the pegasuses in White Cloud to keep the rain away for the next couple of days so we can harvest and dry the crop?”

I think about it and tell her, “No, probably not, but I can always go into the stable and ask them if we have any word from the SPP system on when we are due for our next rain.”

I see her blush a bit at that and she tells me, “You know, after all these years, I am still trying to get used to scheduled weather again,” then she looks at me and tells me, “Dear, while the foals are sleeping, why don’t you go take a nap?”

I nod my head and tell her, “Yeah, that is a good idea. After all, yesterday I stayed up too late and missed my midmorning nap and did not realize it until my early afternoon nap time. You know that just throws a mare off…”

Laughing she tells me, “You know Mollygirl, with that type of attitude I really do need to check to make sure you don’t have wings.”

We both enjoy a mild laugh at that as we often hear Fancy tease Sirocco about that. “Ok, Sumac, tell Xavier I said hi will you.”

“I will dear, now go get some rest.” She tells me and then heads out the door.

I feel like I have just gotten to sleep when I hear a knocking on the front door. The house is quiet and I don’t want the foals woken up again, so I go and answer it to find Dull Beak at the door. By his expression, he does not seem overly happy and he tells me, “Major, I hate to bother you on your maternity leave, but the Colonel needs to see you today.”

I am surprised by this and tell him, “Ok, let me go tell Magpie so she knows, and I will be right with you.”

I wake her up and I tell her what is going on. Her eyes open wide and she asks, “Dear, they are not going to deploy you, early are they?”

I shrug my shoulders and tell her, “Honestly love, I don’t know, but please feed Millie for me while I am gone. I will be back as soon as possible.”

She agrees and I shuffle off to our room to put on my uniform for the first time since we came home from the Opening Day ball. It feels awkward after the last couple of weeks of not putting it on, to once again have to don it and all it represents. Once I am ready, I come back out. I leave a brief note for Sumac in case Magpie is asleep, and then Dull Beak walks with me on my way back to the stable.

As we get close to the stable, I notice some big changes. First is a new section of buildings that have been erected and I watch as I see several senior enlisted troopers run alongside a company size formation of junior troopers who do not look like they come from the Co-op.

Dull Beak sees where I am looking and tells me. “Oh, that’s Camp Quick Trot, and those are the first batch of recruits we have been sent to train.”

This surprises me and I ask, “Dull Beak, why here?”

Smiling in the way that griffons do, he tells me, “Major, Manesville has the closest military setup to the old Equestrian military. This means the powers that be felt we were best suited to this. Besides, not all of those who Join the NCR Army are going to come here. Most will receive their training when they get to their first units. These ones, well they are kind of a test program. Worst comes to worst they can be accelerated to be corporals and sergeants for any newly formed units or replacements.”

“I guess that makes sense. Now my question is why did they name it Camp Quick Trot?”

He laughs as he tells me, “Mollygirl, the Major led an expedition fairly successfully, and she even made an impact upon Gawd herself. Besides, it goes a long way toward placating the old Co-op hold outs.”

This gets me to smile and I tell him, “You know Dull Beak, I am glad they named it after her. She was not a bad commander overall. Besides, maybe it will help her family heal some.”

As I say this, he turns his head to me and asks, “What do you mean Major?”

With a crooked smile I tell him, “Dull Beak, she left behind a husband as well as a couple of siblings and her parents. The sad thing to me is that Fancy told me once that she had been considering starting to have foals of her own when we got back. I guess now all of these troopers will in a way take her name. Each of them having come from Camp Quick Trot.”

He looks at me funny and then tells me, “Major, even for a pony you look at things a bit different than most.”

I shrug my shoulders and return the salute of the gate guards as we go back on post and head to the stable rear entrance. As I get ready to go inside, I see that there is a new sign posted beside the rear entrance. The sign has both of the regimental designs that are painted in the main tunnel. Above both of the insignia is written, New Canterlot Republic Army Base, Manesville.

As I enter the stable atrium, I notice a few more griffons are assigned there than previously as well as a few more unicorns that I had not seen before. Both of which get me to put my ears forward. Dull Beak and I then head up to the Headquarters for the First Regiment. On our way, I notice a sign pointing down a corridor that states, NCRA Regional Commander HQ. Another change, and to think, it has only been two weeks I think to myself.

Finally, we reach Colonel Chappy’s HQ. The regimental Sergeant Major greats us both and then asks, “How’s it going with the new filly Major?”

I really appreciate him asking and tell him, “So far, so good, I just wish she would sleep through the nights already.”

He gives me one of his rare smiles that seems to make his mustache quiver and tells me, “Ah, I remember those days, they were rough at the time, but ma’am, you will forget about them soon enough once they do start to sleep all night. Now I best let the Colonel know you are here.”

Shortly afterward he comes back out of the Colonel’s office and tells us, “Go right in.”

As we enter Chappy indicates a couple of chairs and motions for us to sit down. Once we are seated, he begins, “Major, Captain, thank you for coming so soon. The reason I wanted to talk to you is that we are still looking at deploying part of the old CDF on a rotational basis. We have talked them out of sending our people into Fillydelphia, but to make up for that we are going to be deploying at various outposts to set up defenses and maintain a military presence in some of the remote and border areas.”

As he says this my stomach feels like it is dropping. Then he continues, “This means we may need to deploy your battalion sooner than I had wanted to.”

I am stunned and without thinking I ask, “Why my battalion first sir?”

He does not look happy but answers, “Because Major, yours has the most experience out there. I will be sending out a platoon of scouts and engineers to assist you as well as a battery of artillery and mortars.”

I nod my head, no need to argue, so instead, I ask, “Colonel, how soon?”

He grimaces and tells me, “Major, there is no certain date yet, but within the next four months. That is why I need you to return to duty in two weeks.”

I feel crushed. I had hoped to have at least the first two months of her life with my daughter. Now, this. All I can say is, “Yes sir, I understand.”

As I get up to leave, he tells me, “For what it is worth Mollygirl, I really am sorry about this.”

As we are leaving, I head to my office and check in on my staff. Paper Work asks, “Major, have you heard anything about Captain Kettle Belle, she has not shown up for muster this morning.”

I smile as I answer, “Well she went into labor this morning. I heard a bull come and get the midwife before I left.”

I see the surprise on Paper Work's face, “Oh wow, thanks for letting me know ma’am. By the way, how is your little one doing?”

I am grateful for his change of subject and begin to tell him about my little Millie. Dull Beak stands beside me while I do so patiently. After we are done at the HQ he asks, “Major, do you mind if I accompany you back home. Maybe we can catch lunch in White Cloud even.”

Smiling I tell him, “You know what, I would like that DB, let’s go.”

As we enter the pub in White Cloud, I see Stir Fry is in the back, and Hard Tack is at the bar. I see his eyebrows raise when he sees me along with Dull Beak at this time of day. We take a seat near the front window and he comes over to take our orders.

When he gets to the table, he greets us, “Afternoon, so what brings you two in today Major? I thought you would be home with yours and Magpies foals,”

“Hi Hardtack, I would have been, but the Colonel needed to see me. So, we decided to stop and have lunch while I was out and about.” I tell him.

He nods his head, and replies, “Ma’am, I know how militaries work. That does not sound good.”

I let out a sigh and nod my head, “Your right Hardtack, the son of mule just told me my battalion is going to be the first to deploy again.”

I see his eyes go wide, “Major, did they tell you how long.”

I shake my head, “Not for sure, no more than four months. The topper is they are ending my Maternity leave a month early. I don’t even get that little bit with my filly,” I catch a few tears starting to fall as I continue, “Damn it, It’s just not fair.”

He places a hoof on my shoulder and tells me, “No it isn’t Major, but when has duty ever cared about what was right or fair. Remember, that is why Blueberry and I are here. We could not take it anymore.”

I nod my head, “Yeah, I know. It was just a kick in the gut I was not expecting. Sorry Hardtack.”

He smiles sadly, “I understand, now can I get you anything? We have some pulled radhog sandwiches on special today.”

His mention of the radhogs reminds me of Ginger, Goddesses, how is she going to take this? I ask myself. Out loud I tell him, “That sounds good, with a salad if you have any.”

“Ok, Major, how about you Captain?” he asks.

Dull Beak orders two sandwiches and then a fateful question is asked by Hardtack, “What would you like to drink?”

Without thinking I tell him, “A hard cider and a shot of Old Overmare for a chaser.”

I see him raise an eyebrow but the only thing he says is, “OK, but we are out of Old Overmare, would a shot of Three Sisters be ok?”

I nod my head, “Yeah, Sure, whatever.”

As I say this, I see a look of concern come over Dull Beak’s face. Then he looks at Hardtack and asks, “Do you have any Sparkle Cola, if not, I guess just water for me.”

Hardtack looks from him to me and back and nods his head, “I will check in the back to see if we have any. Ok,” and I watch him trot off to the back.

He returns a short time later with my hard cider and shot as well as a bottle of Sparkle Cola for Dull Beak. As I take the first sip, I notice how good it tastes again. The next thing I know I have finished both of my drinks and I am still waiting for my meal, so I order another round.

Once we get our meal I continue to drink while I eat. After I finish, I begin to drink my fourth set of drinks. Then I start to talk to Dull Beak about the expedition. I can’t help it; I start to cry. I feel Dull Beak put a wing around me and he tells me, “It's ok Mollygirl, we all have been there.”

I know I am drunk and I really should not have done this, but I can’t help myself. Then I tell him, “But it was all my fault. I got them all killed. I could not bring them home.”

As I am crying into the fur on his shoulder, I hear him quietly tell somepony, “Go get one of her spouses, let them know what is going on.”

I am not sure how long I am like that and I feel a hoof on my shoulder and I see Sumac and Xavier next to our table.

Sumac asks, “Are you ok Dear?”

I shake my head, “No, no I am not, those buckers are sending us back out early.”

I see the look of shock on her face as she tells me, “Oh no, I was so afraid of that when I saw your note. Mollygirl, let’s get you home and talk about it.”

Next to me, Xavier tells me, “Come on Major, it is time to go home. You do not want the foals to see you like this.”

I try to stand up and almost fall over. Xavier gets on one side of me and Dull Beak on the other so they can guide me on my way home. Behind me, I hear Sumac say, “I am sorry about this Hardtack. Thanks for getting us.”

“No problem Sumac, I have never seen her like this before. She is right though, it is just not fair,” he tells her.

Then I hear her say, “Ok, how much do I owe you for her bill,” as the two lead me outside.

I am starting to sober up when we get home. Sumac tells them, “Ok, let’s get her inside to the bedroom. I really do not want Sutures to see her like this.”

As if it is a magical curse, suddenly I see Sutures come out of the bedroom sleepily and say, “Don’t want me to see who like what?”

I can tell when she does see me. I hear her start to cry and under her breath, she says, “Damn it, I knew it was too good to last, why?” and she turns and walks away to the kitchen and I hear the back door slam.

The others put me in bed. Sumac has Magpie help me take my uniform off and then they close the curtains and I pass out on the bed.

When I wake up, I hear arguing in the other room. Then I hear Magpie almost begging, asking, “Please Sutures, don’t do this, we all love you.”

Then I hear something that breaks my heart, she replies, “Magpie, I can’t do this again, I saw what an alcoholic did to my mother and me growing up. She promised she would not drink, and look at her, just look at her, she is in there like a lush. What do you want me to do?”

I hear my family begging one of the others not to leave, because of me. My head is killing me, but I force myself to get up. I slowly walk into the dining room where the others are and I tell her. “Sutures, please don’t leave. I am going to be gone soon enough. This is your home even more than mine.”

I see the shock on her face and she asks, “What do you mean you will be gone soon enough?”

So, I tell her what the Colonel said and I hear her cuss. Then I hear Millie begin to cry and I begin to head to the nursery to feed her, but Sutures stops me and tells me, “No, you can’t feed her like this, don’t you realize what happens when you drink and breastfeed. You are not going to hurt that little mare if I can help it; I will get some cow’s milk first before I let you feed her like this.”

I am stunned and then I hear Magpie tell us, “I have extra milk, I got her,” and she heads down the hall to take care of my daughter. I have failed even to be able to take care of my own foal. It just overwhelms me and I sit down on the floor and begin to cry. I am not even sure who it is that comes over and puts a hoof around me to comfort me. I eventually fall asleep there and when I awake the house is quiet and most of them are sitting in the parlor.

As I sit up, my mouth tastes horrible and is very dry. I look up and see a very displeased Sutures looking at me. She brings a glass of water for me to drink then sits down next to me and tells me, “Mollygirl, I love you, but we need to talk.”

I nod my head and tell her, “I understand. I am so sorry Sutures, I never meant to get that way.”

She nods her head, looks at me, and tells me, “Mollygirl, you may not have meant to, but you did. This, this is why I am so hard on you about having even a single drink. I talked to Sumac. It seems Dull Beak told her all about what happened and why. I understand, but love, I will not live like this. Please don’t do this again.”

I nod my head, “I won’t. I am so sorry.”

I hear her sigh and she tells me, “Sorry doesn’t always fix things. Just don’t do it.”

I nod my head and carefully get up. Then I hug her and when I try to kiss her, she turns her head and tells me, “No, not while you smell like that. This is not the Mollygirl I love. Not like this.”

Feeling ashamed I look down at the floor and tell her, “I am sorry my love, please forgive me.”

She sighs, “Mollygirl, I do love you and I am trying, let’s just leave it at that for now.”

The next morning, I am allowed to feed Millie again. I quietly go into the nursery and take her out and just rock in the chair with her. I am so going to miss this and her. It hurts so much I feel the craving for a drink just to try and numb my pain. But I know I can’t do that. I saw what happens if I do, yesterday.

As I am sitting there rocking, Sumac comes in and sits down across from me. I see she looks uncomfortable. Then she starts to talk to me, “Mollygirl, we need to talk about this. You are so lucky that Magpie was producing extra milk. What were you thinking?”

I look down at the floor and answer, “Sorry Ma, I wasn’t. I just hurt so much and I figured one drink would not hurt anything.”

She shakes her head, “I can understand that to a point. However, by now you should realize you have a problem with stopping after one drink. Ivy told me about what happened last year after Opening Day. How you were so drunk you woke up in the wrong bed. She was worried about you. Dang it, I am worried about you.”

“I am sorry, I really am. I guess I need to be more careful.” I tell her.

She nods her head in agreement, then she tells me, “Dear, your behavior last night almost broke up our family. I don’t know if you realize how bad it hurt Sutures, even more than the rest of us.”

Still looking down I tell her, “I really didn’t mean to hurt anypony.”

“Mollygirl, we have not talked about it, but I think you hurt us all. Ginger spent the night at Xochitl’s last night. She had been planning on asking if she could stay at Twinkle Hoofs this weekend. Sutures and I gave her permission, we figured you would have. But dear, you hurt her too. She almost worships the ground you walk on and she was hurt too. Please don’t do this again.”

I look up finally and I nod. I then tell her, “I won’t,” the worst part is, I don’t know if I can keep this promise. However, I am going to try. I can’t lose my family. I can’t lose Sutures. I can’t let my daughters down again.

Sumac looks at me and Millie and smiles. Then she tells me, “I am glad to hear that, not just for us, but especially for our children. I won’t say anything more about it dear unless I need to.”

I watch her get up and walk out of the room, by now Millie has fallen back asleep and While Woodrow is awake, he is content to just move around in his crib. I go and talk to him for a bit and twist the crank on the mobile above him so he can watch it. As I do this, I notice he is paying close attention to what I am doing. After I am done, I give him a quick nuzzle and I head back out of the room to face the rest of my day.

As I go into the kitchen to find something for breakfast, I see Sutures sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. She still has an unhappy expression on her face. It kills me to see her like this, but I guess I earned it. As I grab a cup and set it on the table, she tells me, “If you care to know, Kettle Belle had a little brahman bull. He is a cute thing, but the first brahman I have ever seen with full heads of hair and body covered in fur.”

This makes me smile for the first time today and I tell her, “Thank you for letting me know. That is some good news at least.”

“I was going to tell you last night, but, well, you had other concerns,” She tells me and she then turns her head and looks out the window.

The next couple of days I spend trying to set things right with my family. I can’t believe I messed things up this badly, but I know I have. I can hardly look Sutures's in the face, and all too often I catch her looking at me and she gets a sad, hurt expression and turns away. I have to make it up to her as well as the others. I just have to figure out how.

The next day Archer comes up to me and asks, “Mollygirl, would you mind going out for dinner with just me and Sutures tonight?”

I almost feel tears of relief form as I tell him, “Yes dear, I would love to. I need to spend some time with both of you and I have not had enough of a chance to lately.”

I feel him put his hoofs around me and he gently kisses me. “Mollygirl, I understand, I think we all feel that way, but please bring Millie with us too.”

I simply nod my head and tell him, “Thank you so much.” I feel so much better knowing he wants my youngest with us too.

As we get ready to go out that night, I put on the flower printed dress. I want to look good for both of them. Then I go and get little Millie and put her in the chest carrier that Persimmon Tree has made for me. She said she always used one for Xochitl before he learned to walk.

When I am ready, I go sit on the front porch and wait for the others. Badger and Ginger sit and talk to me as I wait. To be honest I am still very nervous about Sutures. Ginger seems to have forgiven me and all but sits in my lap. Badger sits next to me and rests a hoof across my shoulders just holding me.

Finally, they come out. Archer is in a civilian shirt, sweater, tie, and hat. Sutures, she looks beautiful in the dress and the cameo I bought her as well as the matching earrings. I nervously get up and I gently kiss Sutures on her cheek. I see her smile weakly and she turns her head and for the first time in several days she not only kisses me on my muzzle, but she fully kisses me, both of our mouths gently opening to the other. YES! She still loves me! I think to myself.

After we break the kiss, I go over and kiss Archer. As we get ready to leave, I give Badger a goodbye kiss and Ginger comes and gives a hug to me and nuzzles her little sister. Then the four of us head to Manesville.

As we get closer to town Archer surprises me by telling me, “I hope you don’t mind, but I want to take you both to the North 40.”

“Of course not Archer,” I tell him, then I continue, “After all that was where I first saw you and Sutures as a couple in public. That was a special night.”

I see him smile and Sutures blush a bit as she asks, “Not just because it was also after we left there that we both kissed you?”

This time I blush a bit and I tell her, “Actually, that is what makes it so special to me. I do love you both so much. I am just thankful you both still love me.”

Sutures turns to look at me, “Mollygirl, we will always love you no matter what, but you can hurt us as much as we can hurt you. I don’t want to lose you love.”

Then Archer tells us both, “I am just glad you both want me as your stallion. You do know I never imagined this, much less such beautiful mares carrying the foals for our family.”

When we get there, he holds the door open for both of us. Once we are all inside, we only wait for a couple of minutes before we are led to a table. As we are sitting down, I notice that the band is a new one since I was last here. Their music is a bit more upbeat and faster-paced than what I was used to, as well as they use brass and woodwind instruments rather than stringed ones and drums.

As we eat our meal Millie begins to fuss a bit. We are in a corner booth so I do not think anything about feeding her right there at the table. She is so well behaved for her first time in public. After our meals and as the night progresses, we see many couples get up to dance. While I am enjoying the show, Millie is enthralled by all the ponies, light, and music.

Eventually, I watch as Archer and Sutures take the floor to dance and I move closer to the end of the booth. Soon I notice one couple that I had not seen earlier. I see Dusty and Firefly. They are dancing near us and get a little close to the table. When this happens, Firefly stops and tells me, “Sorry about that madam. I did not mean to get so close.”

Then I tell him, “It's ok Firefly, It is good to see you again.”

At this, he and Dusty both stop and look at me closely. Dusty asks, “Firefly, how does this mare know you?”

When I turn my head to look at her, he sees my scar and says, “Major? Is that really you?”

I laugh lightly, “Yeah it is trooper, it is good to see both of you.”

Dusty looks at me and tells me, “Mollygirl, I know you had your foal, but I had not expected to see you in regular clothes, much less out here tonight.”

“That’s ok, Sutures and Archer are both here with me. They should be back in a bit.”

“So, this is her? The little mare we all tried to protect for so long.” Dusty says.

I nod my head yes and she takes a seat next to me and asks, “Can I hold her?”

As Dusty takes her, Millie notices Firefly’s wings and I see her bat a hoof at them as she stares at his feathers. She begins to giggle when he takes his wing and tickles her with just a wingtip under her chin. Without thinking I tell him, “I can see you as a father someday Firefly.”

Next to him Dusty blushes and she says, “So can I, but Mollygirl we are not rushing anything.” Beside her I see Firefly nodding his head in agreement.

Soon after Sutures and Archer return and Sutures asks me, “Mollygirl, would you like to dance with me?”

Dusty tells me, “Go ahead, I will hold her while we talk with Archer for a bit.”

Finally, we are on the dance floor. The band begins to play a slow dance and we move closer together. Soon Sutures puts her head on my shoulder and I whisper in her ear, “My dearest, I love you more than you can imagine.”

She nuzzles her face more into my neck and I hear her say, “I love you too Mollygirl, please remember that.”

After the song is complete, she leads me to the table, and Archer and I dance one more time. Dusty and Firefly sit with her and I see all three of them playing with Millie. After we are done, we go back to the table and he tells Sutures, “How about one more dance dear and then we head home?”

She agrees and when they head to the dance floor Dusty and Firefly do also and I sit there just enjoying watching all of them along with playing with my daughter. As the song begins to end, I put the carrier back on and put Millie into it.

Dusty and Firefly stop by one more time to say goodnight and she tells me, “You know Mollygirl, this look really suits you. Your little filly is such a cutie, thanks for letting us see her.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, you two should stop at the farm sometime. Dusty, you know you are welcome and Ginger would love to see you.”

She smiles at me and tells me, “Thank you Mollygirl, I will have to do that. I really do miss her too.”

The way home is fairly quiet. The three of us walk tail in tail with Archer in the middle. I love seeing him like this. The proud stallion with his family.

Once at home, we notice that the house is dark. I take Millie to the Nursery and find Magpie rocking Woodrow to sleep. As I smile at her she asks, “Did you guys have a good time?”

I nod my head as I tell her, “Yes we did. It was a real treat being out again, I even got the chance to dance a couple of times.”

At this, she smiles back at me and tells me, “Good, because tomorrow night is mine and Badger’s night to take you out.”

I am surprised and pleased to hear this and I tell her so.

She smiles at me and tells me “Dear, we are rebonding our family. We realized we have all been so busy, we have not taken the time we need together.”

“So, what about Sumac?” I ask.

She smiles again and tells me, “Well the bucks both will take her out that night after that. Then maybe we can have a mares’ night out the following one.”

“Oh, that would be really nice. I hope so.” I tell her.

After she is done, she tells me, “Goodnight love, I will see you in the morning. Badger and Sumac are expecting me upstairs.”

I tell her goodnight and give her a gentle kiss and sit down to feed and rock Millie to sleep as I watch her head out of the Nursery and upstairs.

Once Millie is down for the count, I lay her in her bed, turn down the lamps and go back to the downstairs bedroom to join Archer and Sutures. As I enter the dark room, I can hear them both in the bed, sharing some pillow talk. I hang my dress back up in the armoire and join them. It turns out that I put Sutures in between us. I see the shadow of her horn and I gently nuzzle it. Soon Archer does the same from the other side. I feel a special delight in the little moans of pleasure she makes as we do this for her. Tonight, as Magpie pointed out is about rebuilding the bonds between us. As we are sharing this special time it hits me that I am in my foal heat, and I am not taking any precautions. I realize then and there that I really do not care. If I take again than it is the will of the Goddesses and Sweet Cream. If not, well I never expected to again anyways. I close my eyes and just enjoy this special time with my special mates. Afterward, I feel very tired and yet satisfied as we share more with each other as we discuss what we are thinking and how we feel.

As bad as it can get, it could have been worse. I only pray I can keep my promise to them and not hurt her or him like I have, again. Overall, I feel very fortunate tonight and today for the first time in several days, I can tell myself it has been a good day.

Dear DJ Pon3,

The mare I love most had slipped and failed me once again by taking refuge in the bottle. Tonight, I lay here in tears as she knows she has a problem, but once again she has broken her promise to me and our family. It is tearing our family up. As I write this to you, I keep thinking of the song Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ with Lovin on your mind. If you could, please play this for me.

Thank you

Sutures, from White Cloud

Thanks again to Kkat for creating the universe of FoE. I also want to thank all of those who have added to it since, you have shown how much more there is that can be added to flush this world out.

I chose the title for this chapter not only because of Mollygirl's fall but also because of some of the other promises that we see that are broken in it. Including the Colonel sending her battalion back out first. For those who are not familiar with military service, it does happen sometimes.

For those who would like to listen to the dedication song, the YouTube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPQEdn8wJY