Chapter 82 Finding Common Ground

It takes two more weeks for the negotiations to reach a point where the two parties are almost in agreement. Then it happens. I am in my office and I hear a knock on my door. I look up and I see Purple Haze standing there. Her glasses hanging on the end of her nose. She seems very frustrated and she asks me, “Colonel, could I have a message sent to Junction Town please?”

I twist my head slightly as I ask her, “Who is the message going to and why?”

She sighs, “Colonel, it is going to those in charge of my delegation. Milo and those Coal brothers now are refusing to take my word on how things are in the NCR. They are requesting to visit the capital and Manesville.”

I almost smirk, but override my sense of humor as I tell her, “That should be fine, write it up and I will have Specs send it for you.”

I see her sigh as she looks at me and tells me, “Things seemed to be going so well yesterday, I was certain we would have a signed agreement today. I just don’t get it.”

I smile at her and reply, “I think they want to make sure we are telling the truth. If you were buying a potion, wouldn’t you want to make sure it was good first?”

She snorts, “Of course, but I would not have to test them out. I could do so by observing them, why do you ask… Oh, yes, that does make sense. Thank you for letting us send the message Colonel.”

“Your welcome Miss Haze. I hope it is helpful to you,” I tell her, then I return to my paperwork without thinking anything more of it.

We receive a reply back two days later. Specs knocks on my door and when I look up, he tells me, “Ma’am, we have a message from Junction Town for Miss Haze and Mister Fire.”

I nod my head, “Ok, anything I should know about?”

He smiles and tells me, “Not really Ma’am, just it looks like they will get to see our home long before we do. Those two are to accompany a delegation from Harness to both Junction Town and Manesville,” he pauses and then says, “Ma’am, I understand there is something special about this town of Harness, but why all the fuss like this to get them to join the NCR. It’s not like they are the Co-op or anything.”

I sigh at this and I tell him, “Actually, they are.”

I see his eyes go wide and I explain to him, “They are somewhat different than the Co-op was, but they are bigger than most of the local communities and they can truly contribute to the NCR.”

I see him look suspiciously at me and he asks, “But what about a military? I have only heard of them having a security force.”

I laugh lightly and I tell him, “Actually, Milo, as their Chief of security is on par with either me or Colonel Chappy. I am not sure how big his forces really are, but I am leaning more on the lower side. However, here in the wastelands, that is still quite a sizable force. So, he is something special.”

I see Specs smirk and though he says nothing I can guess what he is thinking, “And no Specialist, I do not mean he is special in that way.”

I watch as he first blushes and then his face goes pale and he sputters, “Ma’am, that is not what I was thinking.”

I look at him and smile as I tell him, “Huh, back in my days at your rank I would have thought that right away. Ok, Dismissed and please deliver the message to them with my compliments.”

I watch as he goes and I smile to myself and shake my head. Then I look at the clock and note the time.

Only 45 minutes later I hear Purple Haze coming towards my office, “Sergeant Major, I need to see the Colonel.”

When she comes to my door I am already looking up and I tell her, “Come in and have a seat. What can I do for you?”

She smiles politely as she takes a seat, but I can tell something is bothering her. Once seated she tells me, “Colonel, I am sure you know I have received a message from Junction Town. It requires that I accompany these, these envoys from Harness to not only Junction Town, but to Manesville. Honestly Colonel, while I know it is your home, and I mean no offense, I truly do not want to go there. I have been too long amiss in my duties in Tenpony Tower, and to the society, as well. I also miss the creature comforts I can obtain there.”

I nod my head in understanding then I tell her, “Ma’am, I truly can understand you missing your home at Tenpony Tower. However, like me, you too have a duty you must perform. Do you really think myself or my troops want to be here? Goddesses ma’am, I gave birth only two months before I left to come here. I should still be teaching my daughter how to talk properly and playing with her.” I shake my head, “If it were not for my marriage, that you find so distasteful, I really do not know how I could have left her behind. Thank the Goddesses my spouses are supporting me and each other on this.”

I see her look at the ground and then back up. She then says, “I am sorry Colonel, I did not mean to complain to you. I, I can see your point. Perhaps I have forgotten where my duties lie.”

I smile kindly at her, “Miss Haze, I do understand though, and if you need to vent to someone, sometime, please do vent to me. Now perhaps you could try and get special transport that would make travel faster to your destinations. Why don’t you request something such as a sky wagon, or a train from New Appleloosa. I know you can make it on hoof. You made it here that way and your Ranger guides are very good. I should know.”

She seems surprised at this and asks, “How do you know how good those Rangers are?”

I then tell her, “Well I have worked with Chip and Blackberry Pie on and off for several years, as well as being their commander on the Expedition a while back. Now Tail Spin, I have it on the word of the Sergeant Major that he was doing this type of work for the Enclave before he joined us.”

I see her take a deep breath and she looks towards the door frame and she quietly says to me, “That is something I wanted to ask you about. How come your community has so many pegasi, and how come you trust them so easily?”

I lean towards her and tell her, “Miss Haze, before the day of Rainbows and Sunshine our Co-op put out a message that welcomed any pegasi whose loyalties were not to the Enclave. At first, we only had a trickle. But after the destruction of Thunderhead, we had a large influx of refugees from there. As for loyalty, most of them seem to feel that while not branded as Dashites, they were expelled pretty explicitly. One of my best friends led such a group to Manesville. She still is very bitter towards the Grand Pegasus Enclave.”

I see her think about that for a bit. Then she says, “Ok. When we go to Manesville, are there any areas I should show them?”

I smile and I tell her. “I would recommend the base that is centered around our old stable. Manesville itself is fairly nice. However, to let them see a community that is still growing and is very diversified, I would suggest our settlement of White Cloud.”

I see her nod her head in consideration of this before she says, “Thank you Colonel. I do appreciate this,” Then she gets up and closes the door, next she approaches my desk. Once she is close, I see her close her eyes and steel herself before she asks, “Colonel, the part of your family that you said was a result of your great grandmare’s unfortunate visit to Tenpony Tower, will I be likely to run into any of them?”

I nod my head and I tell her, “Honestly, you might. You will most likely run into my Cousin Trouble and his boy Sunny if you go to White Cloud. However, they are good ponies. Most of the Water clan is a rough bunch, but understand one thing. They believe in family and will die to protect or avenge its members.”

I see her consider what I have just said and she tells me, “Colonel, thank you very much. I do appreciate your advice. Now, if you do not mind, I will see about requesting that sky wagon, at least to get us to Junction Town,” then she turns and I hear her hoofsteps moving across the headquarters area and her beginning to speak to Specs as I return to my paperwork.

Later that night I am visited by Milo. He knocks on my door. When I look up, he asks, “Can I come in Ma’am?”

I smile and motion him in and tell him, “Sure Milo, have a seat, what can I do for you?”

He tells me, “Colonel, I just wanted to let you know that my team and I will be heading back to Harness until they are ready to either leave for the requested visits into the NCR, or to continue negotiations. Which, to be frank, I do not see going anywhere until we visit the NCR.”

I nod my head and I tell him, “While I thank you for letting me know, you really did not have to.”

He nods his head, I see his ears are relaxed as he tells me, “I know that, I am doing this as a courtesy and as a friend I wanted to say goodbye before I leave.”

My smile widens and I tell him, “I really do appreciate that too. Goodbye and I hope to see you again soon.”

With that, he gets up and as he gets ready to leave, he tells me, “If you get the message and want to contact us faster, go ahead and use your scouts. My security officers have been told to be on the lookout for them and not to fire on them automatically.”

“I really do appreciate that Milo. Take care and I hope your spouses are not too upset with you being gone this long.”

He nods his head, “Well if I make this trip with my brothers in law, we will be gone longer, so I guess they need to get used to it. Take care Mollygirl, see you soon,” he says and I watch as he leaves and heads out of the command bunker to return to his home.

Four days later Purple Haze receives notification that they are to proceed to Junction town by sky wagon and then will travel on hoof or riverboat to Manesville. While I feel slightly jealous of them getting to fly that far, neither Purple Haze, nor Brush Fire seems overly excited about it.

I am notified of the message first from Specs, which causes me to have Summer Solstice send out a courier to Harness. Shortly afterward Purple Haze comes to my office. I am expecting her and have tea waiting already. As she gets to my door, I tell her, “Please come in and have a seat. I have had Paper Work make us both some tea. I do have some canned milk for it, as well as a bit of honey. That tends to be the way we drink it back home. I hope that is good enough for you.”

She seems actually surprised and tells me, “Thank you, Colonel, I do appreciate it. While we sometimes can get sugar at Tenpony Tower, it is not common, nor do we ever have milk, so this will be fine.”

She watches me add the milk to my tea with some curiosity and tries to emulate it. Then she also adds about the same amount of honey. When she tastes it, I see her eyes go a bit wider and she licks her lips afterward. She then tells me, “Well perhaps we will have to get some milk at Tenpony also. This does not taste like Brahmin milk, what type is it?”

I smile at her, “It is cows’ milk. It is a holdover from the old days when our stable was still shut. We were very fortunate to have the cattle with us,” I tell her.

I see her nod slightly, “There does seem to be some advantages of the rustic lifestyle, your range in food for one. I noticed the difference in the taste of the leftover cake last week from the young buck’s party. I found it was left in the common area so I hope no one minds if Brush Fire and I had a piece.”

I smile at her when she says this and I tell her, “Another hold over to our days in the stable. Leftover foods such as the cake are made readily available so that it is not wasted. So no, nopony would mind. I am glad you enjoyed it though.”

I see her relax when I tell her this. She then says to me, “I had come to tell you we will be departing in the next day or two. However, I have a feeling you already know.”

I smile when she says this and I tell her, “Don’t worry, I do not read your mail, however, If something is important, my people will let me know.”

She nods her head, “I can see that, they are very loyal aren’t they.”

I nod back and in reply I say to her, “Yes, but we have been through a lot together. Spec’s, Paper Work, and Dull Beak were all on my staff at Serenity Valley during the Siege. Most of the old-timers left in my battalion are the survivors, but the replacements were with us during the last battle of Hereford where some remnants of Red Eye’s army had turned raider and gotten ahold of some balefire eggs and a launcher. I was with them in the lines.”

She shakes her head, “It is funny, in Tenpony Tower, most of us never heard of those battles. But you talk of them as large fights.”

I half-smile as I tell her, “Miss Haze, civilians often never hear of the battles unless they are truly enormous or directly affect them. At those points, the threats were to us and Manesville, not your home or the NCR. However, I am sure you have heard of the Battle of Fillydelphia.”

She nods her head and tells me, “Of course, so much of our effort has been put into trying to reclaim that city and its factories.”

I nod my head and I then say, “My artillery battery’s commander, Lieutenant Slide Rule, well she is a veteran of Fillydelphia. From what she was telling me the fighting has caused immense damage to the factories as well as most of the infrastructure there. So next we have to ask ourselves, why are we still putting so much effort into fighting for a destroyed city. Would it not be better to simply encircle it and let it wither on the vine?”

I see her thinking about this, she takes another sip of tea, and then she tells me, “Interesting. I had not heard nor thought about that. But then I am only trying to help communities to join the NCR through peaceful means.”

I smile at her when she says this and I tell her, “Actually, so am I. The one community that was hesitant besides Harness I told its leaders that if they did not want us, fine, we would go to another community that did want our help. I camped outside their town overnight and well, you know how ponies are. Come nightfall my people were singing around the fires and next thing you know the town's ponies were joining them. The next day, we were told to build our outpost. I prefer it that way.”

I see her thinking again when I say this and she tells me, “You know Colonel, you are not what I thought a military commander would be.”

I smile and tell her, “Thank you. I am glad I could disappoint you then.”

She shakes her head and then says, “Are you sure that is a good thing?”

In reply, I tell her, “Ma’am, I prefer to do things peacefully when I can, but understand when needed I will bring Tartarus on Equus to those that need it. I try to avoid the fight, but I will not shy away from it if it needs to be.”

She takes another sip of her tea, then she asks, “See, that is what I mean. I have met too many who think that because they are military types, that they should be out to conquer the world.”

I shake my head when she says this, “Unfortunately I have met them too. They tend to get a lot of good ponies killed, both their opponents and their own, all too often for no good reason.”

She then asks me, “How did you become an officer?”

I smile and I tell her my story. Of how I started and how I ended up taking over for Quick Trot when she and the other officers were killed.

I almost want to laugh when she puts a hoof in front of her mouth and she says, “And the whole time you were pregnant?”

I nod my head, “Yep, with my miracle foal. The one I had just before we left to come here. I know I can’t have anymore, no matter how badly I want to. But that is the hoof that life has dealt me," I tell her with some pain in my voice.

She then becomes very self-reflective. I see her close her eyes and she quietly asks, “Mollygirl, what is it like to become a mother?”

I am surprised when she asks this, but I tell her, “Honestly most of my pregnancy I did not even know I was. I almost miscarried once and by the fates was lucky I kept her. But other than the physical pain and discomfort, I love my adopted daughters and my spouse’s foals just as much as her. I will say though I do miss feeding them. Since they were all born so close together, we just took turns feeding them when the others were not readily available.”

She then asks, “How did it feel to you when you thought you could not have a foal? Did it feel like it would crush you?”

I sigh and I look her right in the eyes and I tell her, “Yes. I wanted it more than anything in the world and I hated, and still hate the buck who did it to me, who took it away from me, even though he is long dead.”

I see her almost smile as she looks at me with sad eyes and tells me, “I know exactly how you feel. If I could, I would punish him for what he did to me as a filly,” I see her close her eyes and she then says, “I am sorry Colonel, I do not mean to bare my soul like this to you and ruin a fine tea.”

I stand up and walk over to her. I put a hoof on her shoulder and I tell her quietly, “I think only those of us who have gone through it can truly understand, and sometimes we need to share that with each other so that we can let a little of that pain slip away with being understood.”

She reaches up with a forehoof and lightly pats mine. I see a smile develop on her face, even with the tears and she tells me, “I think you are right. I just wish now I had thought of adopting before. I wasted so many years I could have been a mother.”

I smile at her and tell her, “Hey it is never too late, speaking of that, now let me tell you about my husband Badger and wife Sumac…”

At this point, I finally get to hear Purple Haze really laugh.

When Milo and the Coal brothers finally arrive, I am just returning to my command post and I am told the envoys are at the gate. I nod my head to the messenger of the watch and tell him, “Have them brought to my office please."

I am surprised as they do not come alone. Milo is accompanied by the rest of his family. I immediately notice the other jack and jenny with him, they must be Gus and Laura Lee. Laura Lee, I recognize as being the mare behind the desk when I met the board. Then I see the two mares. One of the mares is slightly older by a few years. I notice she is a unicorn with a beautiful light purple coat and green mane and tail, the second mare is an earth pony, and she has a dark grey, almost black, coat with a yellow mane and tail. I also notice she is wearing glasses. The dress she is wearing looks to have been made out of old flour sacks that have been dyed to a light green that goes well with her eyes.

When they come into my office I stand up and come over to greet them. As I approach, I see Laura Lee grin and then I hear the unicorn mare say, “So this is the one that has had you away from home so much? Really, I thought she would be more of something to look at, at least.”

Milo gives her a dirty look, and I notice the other jack mule nudge her. She still has that smug look on her face then Laura Lee tells her, “Relax Cedar, Milo has already told us her family is closed. So, he is not going to try and add her.”

Milo then clears his throat while looking at them, then he turns to me, “Colonel, I wanted to introduce my family to you. After all, I have a feeling, I may end up meeting yours when we get up to the Manesville area, so fairs fair.”

I smile and nod when he says this, then he points to the other jack and tells me, “This is my brother-husband, Gus. He works in the sulfur mines as a face supervisor,” Next he points to the one they called Cedar and tells me, “This is Cedar Box, she is our lead mare in the family. She also works at the supply section of Harness. He then points to the jenny and tells me, “I am sure you recognize her. But this is Laura Lee, she is a shift commander for the headquarters security force,” when he says this Laura Lee smiles and nods at me, then he finally points to their last mare and I see her looking shyly up at me. She smiles and looks at the ground as Milo says, “And this is Cannel Coal, she is the youngest of us and while she seems quiet, she is one of our resident mineral experts,” when he says this I see her straighten up and show some pride in her attitude.

I step forward and shake each of their hooves and tell them, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Finally, Laura Lee asks me, “So is it true that you really have a family like ours and that one of your foals is named after a mule?”

I smile and I tell her, “Yes, my wife Magpie and husband Badger’s son. He is named after Trooper Woodrow. I do not know if any of you other than Milo have met Woodrow yet.”

Milo nods his head, “yeah, I introduced him to Gus, and he ran into Laura Lee at the town headquarters,” he says.

I smile and nod, “Yeah he and I served in the 1^st squad together for several years. During the battle of Manesville he saved two of my wives' lives, as well as my adopted father Bullet’s in the trenches there.”

When she hears this, I hear Cedar say in a slightly haughty tone of voice, “If you are such a great soldier, why were you not able to save them yourselves? Or one of your husbands as they are both soldiers too?”

I sigh and I look her right in the eyes after she says this and I tell her, “It was a big battlefield and I was a bit busy leading a flight of pegasi against a Raptor while on the back of a dragon, so there is that. Archer was busy with his guns, and Badger was assigned about 20 kilometers away in Donovan in charge of the militia company there.”

I see her head move back some, but her attitude still seems to be there and she then says, “Really an earth pony that rides a dragon, I cannot imagine such a thing.”

I shake my head at her, “You sound just like my wife Sutures’s father.” I huff a bit of air through my nose in frustration and then ask her, “Why are so many unicorns so damn arrogant sounding?”

I see her ears start to go back and a light glow comes to her horn. Suddenly I have three unicorns appear behind my desk, all are in a fighting stance and one has a shield over myself as well as them, and asks, “Is everything alright Colonel? We felt a burst of magic building up.”

I tell the lead unicorn of my security detachment, “It is fine, but thank you. I appreciate your attention, but you can go.”

I see Milo’s entire family’s jaws have dropped. I then look at Cedar box and tell her, “Please understand, I not only have a Unicorn for a wife, but I also have studied how their magic can be used in combat roles and have had the unicorns in my command trained to work together in combat. While not as powerful as the Battlemages of old, they are still very effective.”

I see her horn has gone out and I see a slight fear in her eyes, while ready to fight, she was not ready for this one. I nod my head, “Please understand, when on our Expedition last year, we truly used every bit of skill and abilities to survive.”

Milo on the other hoof is looking very thoughtful and asks with a smile, “Colonel, if we join the NCR could you work with some of our unicorn forces to teach them to work together like that. I had no idea they could do that.”

I smile at him warmly and tell him, “Of course Milo, but you have to join the NCR first.”

Cedar Box on the other hoof has taken a seat on the floor and is shaking slightly, staring at me with wide eyes. Beside her, I see Cannel looking thoughtful and with a still shy smile on her face. Finally, Cedar Box asks, “You do not think like most do you?”

I shake my head, “I like to believe no. I am sorry if they upset you, but you do have to understand we have had a few attempts on our officer’s lives by some of the nearby unicorn raiders lately.”

Laura Lee and Milo both smile widely at that, and then look at each other. I can guess what they are thinking and it pertains to improving their security as soon as Laura Lee gets back home.

Instead, I ask them, “I was about to go to dinner, would you care to join us?”

I see Milo smile again, then Cannel asks, “Would it be ok for my brothers to join us also?”

I automatically move my hoof and tell her, “Of course, please have them join us. Perhaps we could consider this a farewell meal.”

I see them all nodding and then I hear Gus say, “Besides, this would save us all a few caps from having to buy a meal. Thank you, Colonel.”

As we come out of my office, I see Epona over with Tater reading some. When Chain Lighting sees us, all come out he asks, “Dinner time ma’am.”

I nod my head and tell him, “Yes, feel free to have Tail Spin and the Rangers joins us too.”

I see Milo’s family raise an eyebrow as Epona comes trotting over to me and says, “Hi ma, that time already?”

I smile at her and tell her, “Yes dear, we are going to have Milo’s family join us.”

“Cool, I bet they are all fun like him,” She says.

I look over and see Cedar Box looking at Milo with her head tilted and one eyebrow raised and her ears half back. He just smiles and shrugs.

As a group, my staff and I all head to lunch along with Milo’s family. On our way, I see Tail Spin and the other Ranger’s all heading toward the mess tent too.

I see Cedar Box’s face change expression to one of incredulous when I get into line with the others. She is almost directly behind me and asks me, “With your rank why do you not just go sit down and have them serve you?”

I am taken aback as the idea of doing that in the field has never occurred to me. My reply to her question is, “I could, I guess. Back home on the base I would go to the officers’ mess and be served like any restaurant. This is only the second time Manesville has deployed a unit like this, Major Quick Trot always jumped into the line like everypony else and I guess to me it just seems the way things should be done. When I think about it, it also makes it where I get the same food as my troops at varying times, so I can make sure that everyone is getting properly prepared food.”

Then she really surprises me and asks, “Milo was telling me that you and most of your family are omnivores is that true?”

I nod my head, “Yes, it is. I never touched meat until the expedition,” I pause and then qualify the statement.

“Ok, with the exception of pan-fried crawdads a couple of times before. But on the Expedition, we needed to supplement our rations.” I tell them.

After we have our trays of food and sit down to eat, she continues to ask me questions. Particularly concerning my family.

“So, Colonel, Milo was telling me you have three other mares and two stallions, is that common for where you are from?” Cedar then asks me.

I smile and I tell her, “No, it is not. But there are a few others. Back home we tend to mind our own knitting so to say.” She looks at me rather strangely when I say this like she is trying to find insult, so I continue, “Our friend and hired hoof is a zebra, his wife a pony. Their son and our daughter Ginger are very close, and I would not be surprised to see them as a couple someday.”

She still has a peculiar expression on her face and she asks, “How would you feel if she were to marry him someday?”

I smile at her and tell her, “Honestly, I like him, he is a fine buck and will be a good stallion.”

Beside me I hear Epona ask, “Ma, do you really think they might get married someday?”

I smile at her and tell her, “Honestly, yes I do. But honey we can talk about this more later.”

I see her sigh some and then she says, “Ma, do you think I will ever find someone special?”

In reply, I put a hoof around her and tell her, “I am sure of it, just do not rush it. I am not ready to be a grandmother yet.”

I hear her giggle at that and she lightly pushes me as she says, “Maaa, I was not even thinking of that.”

I then hear Cedar ask me, “And what would you say if one of your children were to want to marry a mule?”

I look at her in the eyes and I tell her, “As long as they are happy, that is what matters. Honestly, I can see why a mare might be attracted to a mule, just like any other stallion, If my family were not in a closed relationship I might even consider it myself,” I see a bit of jealousy starting to appear in her eyes again and I tell her, “However, I am happy with my family and am not looking to jump the fence into a what looks like a greener pasture.”

She then asks me, “Could you tell us about your family a bit more, especially if Milo may end up meeting them, I would like to know more about them.”

So, I begin to tell them about my family. I see Cedar Box’s jaw drop and Cannel Coal's eyes go wide when I tell them about Sumac and how she got added to your marriage. However, both Gus and Laura Lee find it almost hysterically funny. Milo says nothing but looks to the side. While I know he has heard the story before, his reaction is like I have struck a nerve.

So, I continue and talk about the foals. I notice Cedar Box’s ears perk up when I talk about Sutures and Archer’s foal and how she is a unicorn, while most of ours are earth ponies. From down the table, I notice Cannel coal paying attention too. Then she asks, “So your wife Sutures is all black and she had a little mare with your husband Archer that has her black coat and his green mane and tail, she sounds beautiful.”

I smile at her and assume she is talking about the filly as I can tell by her interest in the foals how much she wants one herself. I then tell her, “I assume she is, but unfortunately she was only born about a month ago. I have not had the chance to see her yet. It really is too bad my family can not meet all of you.”

I see them nod their heads in agreement, then Cedar Box asks, “Do you think any of the others in your family could be stationed down here?”

I nod my head and put my ears down along the side of my head in consternation before I tell her, “Archer is most likely as he has an artillery battery he is in command of. Badger’s assigned to a company in the Second Regiment and they are not being deployed like we are. I guess they are a reserve to throw at whatever fires might come up and need put out.”

I see her nod her head at this as she says, “That makes sense, well I hope to meet them if they do come this way. I am sure Milo will tell us all about them if he meets them.”

I laugh lightly and I tell her, “Cedar, I can not see your husband not telling you all about them if they meet. I am just afraid of what plans they might hatch up together.”

I see her smile at that and I notice a bit of humor in her eyes and I finally relax. The rest of the meal goes enjoyably well with some of the others on my staff joining in the conversation

I almost laugh out loud though when I see the expression on all of Milo’s family's faces when Kettle Bell walks up to me during the conversation and says, “Colonel there is a skywagon inbound, A couple of the scouts saw it while I was visiting with Summer Solstice,” she smiles then and tells Milo, "Hi Milo, Buttermilk and Corn Bread said to tell you hello the next time I saw you and to let you know they have a bottle of Wild Pegasus set aside for you and your brother in-laws.”

Cedar Box asks, “Who are Buttermilk and Corn Bread?”

Kettle Bell catches on quickly and says, “Oh, they are the owners of one of the local pubs that many of us like to frequent.”

From beside me, I hear Epona say, “I did not think it was a pub, I thought it was a whore house.”

From the other side of her I see Tater lightly push her to get her attention and knowingly say, “Epona, it’s not a whore house it is a bordello.”

I immediately facehoof. I see Milo look slightly uncomfortable, Cannel smiles a devilish grin as she blushes, and I watch as Laura Lee and Gus both break out laughing as we see Cedar shaking her head and saying, “Milo is there anything else you need to tell us?”

I see him blush a bit as he says, “Well, you said it was ok while I was away from home.”

I hear her sigh and see her close her eyes while shaking her head as she tells him, “Milo, I love you dear, but sometimes.”

I see him relax as she says this and he puts on the heart-melting smile for her. I see him get up and walk over to her and kiss her on the cheek as he tells her, “I love you too dear, and thank you for understanding.”

After this, the meal begins to break up and my staff heads back to work as do I. I have to smile as I watch Milo and his family slowly walk out, Milo than stops and tells me, “Mollygirl, if you need me, I am taking my family to meet the crew of the Flying Cow.”

I smile and shake his hoof, “Sounds good Milo, I will want to give the crew of the skywagon a night’s rest before sending you all out. Just so you know.”

As they begin to walk away Cannel stops me and quietly tells me, “Thank you for being only friends with Milo, he needs somepony like that.”

I respond in kind telling her, “Cannel, it is nice to meet all of you, and I am glad to be his friend. In my family we are all friends first, then we move beyond that. It seems that way for all of you too and I would like to become friends with all of you if given the chance.”

I see her blush a bit more and then she says, “I would like that too, now I best hurry to catch up. I hope to see you again soon Colonel.” As she trots away, I see her lift her tail to the side and at one point I swear she looks over her shoulder just to see if I am watching. She may be shy, but she seems about perfect for Milo, I think as I smile, shake my head and head back to my headquarters with Epona by my side.

An hour after they depart for town, the skywagon from Junction Town arrives. Summer Solstice meets the crew and lets them know they can rest for the night. She then comes to my office to let me know that they have arrived.

I hear her knock on the door, when I look up she tells me, “Ma’am, they have arrived. I have already told them to rest until morning. I figure it will be easier on them that way.”

I nod my head, “Good call lieutenant, thank you. Have you notified Miss Haze or Mister Fire yet?” I ask.

She shakes her head, “No ma’am, I came straight to you, should I have?”

“No, I will do it myself. Besides, I have something to ask her.”

I see her nod her head, then she asks, “Ma’am, what happened with the unicorn security team earlier? I heard they were activated. Is everything ok?”

I nod my head, and tell her, “Yeah, it worked its way out. One of Milo’s wives got upset and was trying to intimidate me using her magic. It did not turn out in her favor.”

I see her smirk, “I suppose not. I mean after what happened with the attempt on Clockwork and then Cloudy Day, we cannot be too careful. I am just glad it was not worse for either of them, especially Clock Work.”

I nod, “It is bad enough we have been seeing an escalation in raider activity while on patrols, but to attack him while he was on base is something I had not expected.”

“Ma’am, rumor has it the attacker in both cases were posing as locals and working on base. What if you are attacked by an earth pony?”

I smile at her and tell her, "If that happens, I get to have fun. Lieutenant, there is a reason I am still sparing at least once a day with either the Sergeant Major or Tater and Epona. Not only have I taught the youngsters, but it helps to keep my skill level up.”

She then looks behind her and asks, “Ma’am, I heard that during the expedition you went hoof to hoof while pregnant, is that true?”

I smile and tell her, “Yes, it is, but by the time I found out I was pregnant, it was too late. Now I hate to say it, but I need to get over to let the negotiators know about their transport arriving, catch me later if you want to talk some more ok.”

She smiles and salutes me, “Yes ma’am, I will talk to you later.” Then she turns and heads back out while I grab my softcover and head out the door too.

Once I arrive at the barracks, where they are staying at I quickly find Purple Haze and Brush Fire. They are sitting in his room, her in the chair at his desk, him on the edge of his bunk. I am very surprised to see they have a bottle of Old Overmare that they are drinking.

When she sees me Purple Haze smiles and tells me, “The Sergeant Major was able to provide us with a bottle so we could get acquainted with the taste. I hear this is the preferred drink in your home area.”

I smile and nod to her. Then I tell her, “It is, the recipe for it was developed back when the stable was still closed. After our community got big enough, we started to make it in larger batches. We recently had a new whisky start to be distilled in the village of White Cloud that is very good also. That one is called Three Sisters.”

Brush Fire tilts his head and says, “That is a funny name for a whiskey.”

So, I tell him about it and the three sisters it is named after. When I am done, I see them both look very surprised at me. Then Purple Haze asks, “Don’t you know how dangerous Alicorns can be?”

I nod my head, “Yes, I have heard, but I am also friends with them. Choo Choo was even one of my scouts during the expedition. I saw her in action.”

I see her shaking her head then she looks up at me, takes another sip of her whiskey, and says, “I truly am glad I was not on the team that negotiated with the Co-op then. I am afraid I would have given in to my fears on that. It is bad enough I have difficulty dealing with mules. I mean no offense Colonel, but they tend to be a bit more; how should I say this? Uncultured than most others. You seem so refined yet you are able to get along so well with others, but by your appearance, I know you have not had a sheltered life. It makes me wonder why they cannot be more like us and not so stubborn.”

I nod my head and I tell her, “Purple, part of the reason they act the way they do, is because so many others look down at them that they figure why bother. Believe it or not, Milo is very intelligent and can be quite the Gentlecolt when he wants.”

She seems surprised by this and asks, “How did you get him to be well behaved?”

I tilt my head when I look at her and answer, “I treat him how I would want to be treated. Not better, not lower, but as my equal. Sometimes that is all a pony wants. To be treated as an equal and fairly.”

I see her start to blush and she says, “But I just treat him as I would any others at Tenpony Tower of his position compared to mine.”

I sigh and calmly I tell her, “Purple, that may be part of the problem. Stop treating him like that. Treat him and the Coals as you would want to be treated. During your journeys get to know them. I know some parts of their culture bothers you, but that is life. If you can not become his friend then learn to at least be friendly.”

I see her sigh, “Colonel, that is so much easier for you to say than for me to do.”

I shake my head, “Ma’am, no harder than it was for me to get used to ghouls. But I have some I am friendly with, if not friends. And they taught me a lot about how to treat others.”

I hear her sigh again and this time she says, “Ok, I will try Colonel, but it is not going to be easy.”

I put a forehoof on her shoulder and tell her, “Nothing in life ever is. By the way, the skywagon to Junction Town has arrived. They will be ready to depart in the morning.”

I see her smile and she says, “Thank you very much, Colonel. Would you care to have tea with me before we leave?”

I smile at the invite and surprising even myself, I tell her, “Yes, I would really like that. Now have a good night and I will see you then.” I tell her and I head back over to my quarters where I find Epona already there with a book out.

She looks up at me and asks, “Ma, would you read to me tonight?”

My heart feels warm and I tell her, “Of course dear, what would you like me to read to you tonight?”

She points out the story in her book and I begin to read it. I am only halfway done when I notice she has fallen asleep. I quietly get up and turn the lights off and then climb back up on the bunk next to her and wrap a hoof around her. As I fall asleep, I think to myself It has been a good day.

In the morning I first have my normal breakfast. Then after looking over my morning muster reports from all the outpost and overnight reports, I feel I can take Purple Haze up on her offer of tea.

As I get to her room, I see she has the tea set that Paper Work normally uses for me and I have to smile. She also has a can of milk and some honey next to it. When I come in, she tells me, “Please have a seat.”

She is smiling and she tells me, “Thank you for everything Colonel. I really do appreciate your support and insight.”

I smile as I take the teacup she has filled for me and add my normal stuff to it. Then I reply, “No problem Miss Haze, I am more than glad I could help.”

I see her bite her lip and she then asks, “May I call you Mollygirl?”

I nod my head and tell her, “Yes, but only if I can call you Purple.”

I see her relax as she says, “I would like that. You have to understand where I come from, friends are not very common. It has been a very long time since I had a friend I could just sit and have tea with and talk to, so thank you.”

We continue to talk and I realize I have begun to consider her somewhat of a friend after these last few weeks. As we finish our tea, I tell her, “Purple, I am going to miss you after you leave. If you are ever in the Manesville area please stop by the farm and visit us. I would love to introduce you to my family.”

I see her smile broaden a bit at this and she tells me, “And remember if you ever are at Tenpony Tower, please visit me. No matter what, ok.”

“Agreed.” Then I look at the time on my PipBuck and I tell her, well I guess we should get ready for all of you to depart for Junction Town.”

As I say this, I hear a knock on the door and I see Paper Work standing there. He is waiting patiently when I ask, “Yes Paper Work, can we help you.?”

He nods his head and tells me, “If you two are done with the tea set, I would like to take it to be cleaned and return it to our HQ ma’am.”

“Of course, Paper Work, I was going to bring it to you, but thank you for coming to get it,” I hear Purple Haze tell him.

He smiles as he comes in to get it. As he is leaving, he turns slightly and says, “Miss Haze, have a safe trip, and good luck on the negations.”

“Thank you, sir, and good luck with your mare back home, she sounds pretty special,” Purple tells him.

When I hear this, I raise an eyebrow, and slightly tilt my head, then I realize she might have actually listened to me some. Either way, I like her better this way.

Purple Haze then tells me, “If you give me a minute Mollygirl, I will grab my saddlebags and we can talk on the way to the skywagon. Brush Fire will meet us there.”

“Sure, no problem,” I tell her.

Once she has her saddlebags, I walk with her over to the skywagon and we say goodbye to each other. When we arrive at the skywagon park I see Milo and his family as well as the Coal Brothers and Brush Fire already there. I then tell Milo, “Milo, you do realize your family can’t go on the wagon, right?”

He smiles at me and before he can say anything Cedar Box tells me, “Yes we know. We are saying goodbye to him. Didn’t your family do that for you?”

I am embarrassed when she asks this and I tell her, “Well, actually part of them did. The others had their duties to attend to. Sorry if I misunderstood.”

I see her look surprised when I apologize. “Colonel, I would like to talk a bit more with you after they leave if you don’t mind,” Cedar tells me.

“Of course, Cedar, now you best say goodbye quickly as Miss Haze and Mister Fire are already onboard.

I watch as Milo’s family all say goodbye each taking the time to exchange hugs and kisses. I can not help but hear the emotion in each of their voices as they tell Milo they love him and will miss him. Finally, the goodbyes are finished. I walk up to Milo and extend a hoof and tell him, “Take care friend and say hello to my family when you get to Manesville. Have a safe trip.”

I see him smile, but I can tell he is nervous as he says, “Take care Moll. I will do that; I really look forward to meeting them.”

We stand there and watch them take off. Milo’s family waving to him as they climb away. I turn and start to head back to the headquarters and I hear Cedar Box, in a choked-up voice say, “Can we talk to you now Colonel?”

“Sure, where do you want to go to talk at?”

She smiles and tells me, “Anywhere you feel comfortable with. We have heard a lot about you and your family and we just want to get to know you better.”

I feel myself blush slightly at what feels like a compliment. So, I say, “How about we head back to the officer’s quarters. It is quite there and there are not many others who will be bothering us there. “

Once we are there, we all sit down and I start to tell them about myself and my family. They seem particularly interested in Badger and Archer. I find myself running on more than I would normally. I find it so comforting to talk with another family so similar to mine.

Finally, I hear Laura Lee ask, “Buttermilk told us last night that your Sergeant Taser is also in a family like ours, is that true?”

I sigh at the question, but I still answer it by telling her, “Normally I would not say anything about another’s family, but I know Taser is not ashamed of his two mares, nor the foal that is on the way. By the way Laura Lee, you might want to take some time to talk with him if you get the chance. He has had certified Stable-Tec security training.”

I see her ears perk up at that and she asks, “Do you think he would be willing to talk about it?”

I smile and tell her, “I am sure of it, just ask him.”

We are still talking an hour later when I get a call over my PipBuck, “MG this is SS, two of my scouts report a caravan coming in our direction at a run. They are being pursued.”

I call back, “Roger that SS, get your scouts out there to provide them aircover and a team to guide them in on the ground.” I then called the command bunker staff, “This is Colonel Mollygirl, we have hostiles inbound, sound the alert for the base.”

I hear Specs reply immediately, “Will do Colonel,” and right afterward I hear the alert siren begin to wail. I look out the door and the base looks like an ant’s nest that has been kicked over. I look up at my guest and I tell them, “follow me to the command bunker. I want you all to go to my office and stay there.”

I see Cedar Box begin to argue and I stop her with a full mare stare and I tell her, “Your Husband would never forgive me if something happens to any of you. Please, do this for him.”

Then I turn and am in a dead mare’s run for my command bunker. Epona and Tater arrive just before us and I see them skid through the door. As I enter, I see Epona has her SMG at the ready and is facing the door.

As they come inside, I hear Cedar Box say, “Holy Celestia, you have the foals armed too?”

I hear Epona reply, “They did not arm me ma’am. This was my mother’s weapon until she was killed, now it is mine, now if you would, please clear the murder hole.”

I then hear Cannel ask one of the others, “Murder hole?”

Laura Lee answers, “Yeah, the doorway, because if somepony is ready when you try and force it, you are going to be murdered.”

“Oh, OHHH,” replies Cannel as her eyes go wide and she pushes her way toward my office, while I go over to the table with our local map on it and settle down to see how this will all play out.”

Dear DJ Pon3,

Today I had to say goodbye to my dearest love. I watched him leave and I now feel that pain of not knowing when he will return. I have often shared him, even when I have not wanted too and I pain for his return. Today I keep having the song that seems to say what I feel go through my head. If you could please play Morning Angel for me.

Thank you

Cedar Box, from Harness.

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