//------------------------------//
// The Secret's Out 
// Story: Rogers' Return 
// by Enfield 
//------------------------------//


Maria stared at Enfield with her mouth open. 
“How long have you been a Brony?” she asked.
“About several months now,” Enfield replied.
“But…what? What do you mean you’re living there?” Maria asked.
“Where?” asked Enfield.
“In Ponyville?” Maria whispered. 
“Yes it exists,” Enfield said, “Really, though? You’re more bothered about me being a Brony than seeing me after I was meant to be dead?” 
“It’s unreal is what it is,” Maria said. Enfield was about to reply when he noticed  a severe lack of people in the lunchroom.
“Maria, where is everyone?” Enfield asked.
“Most of the students here got drafted for the Civil War,” Maria said, “Others skipped school permanently and were never seen again, but very few graduated.” 
“Sounds intense,” Enfield said. 
“Carl got drafted,” said Maria, “Me and Molly never heard from him again.”
“So where’s Molly?” Enfield asked.
“She graduated last year,” said Maria. 
“And we both know what happened to Bob,” Enfield said. He and Maria both chuckled. Bob was one of the worst people who Enfield had the misfortune of meeting, one day when Enfield was still living on Earth Bob snapped and had planted IEDs inside of soda cans around Enfield’s house. Once Enfield got back home he found most of the bombs and got rid of them, one exploded and knocked him out. Bob was soon discovered in his home dead, he had drink several high caffeinated energy drinks and had suffered a fatal heart attack. Enfield loved the irony in his death. 

“So what’s life like now that you’re a father?” asked Maria. 
“Me and Scoot have been living our lives very well,” Enfield said, “She really is a great kid, you’d like her.” 
“So you adopted her after you found out that she was living in a box and having to work to get food?” Maria asked.
“It was really sad,” Enfield said, “I honestly couldn’t let her live like that, she was the only orphan in Ponyville. She really needed a father.” 
“And a mother,” Maria added.
“One day maybe,” Enfield said, “Who knows what might happen.” 

The buzzer rang again and everyone got up and left, Maria said a final goodbye to Enfield as she left. Enfield sighed, he wished that he didn’t have to cut his friends loose and never see them again but he had a new life now and he has a family to take care of. Enfield ended up going to each and every last class he had last year. From his Spanish to his chemistry classes, almost everyone was shocked to see him, a few students cowered as he walked thought the door or passed him in the hallway, some applauded him but Enfield favorite reaction was when people would do a triple-take as he passed them. Soon, after what felt like an hour to Enfield, the school day ended and people were leaving and boarding the last twelve buses the garage had. Enfield went into the bathroom first to wash off the trace amounts of chemicals on his hands from chemistry. As he finished and went to the door, Tadd stepped in and blocked the doorway.
“What is it now?” Enfield asked. 
“You are a terrorist,” Tadd said, “It doesn’t matter if you have a family now, you killed this country.”	
“Which is recovering, please Tadd, I’m trying to forget that ever happened,” Enfield said, slightly annoyed with Tadd. 
“Your were a waste of the Governments time and resources,” Tadd said. Enfield walked up to him, now getting really annoyed with Tadd accusing him of terrorism.
“Well this is a waste of my time and resources but I’m going to do it anyway,” he said.
“What’s that then?” Tadd asked. 
Enfield head butted him in the middle of his face and shoved him out of the way, leaving Tadd motionless on the floor. He left without another word and headed back home. 

On the way home he was stopped by the sight of a few US military vehicles, not wanting to find out if he was still a wanted man, Enfield hid himself in a few bushes until the jeeps passed. Getting back to the house was much harder than Enfield had wanted, a mix of US army patrols and radiation hindered his every step. Eventually, Enfield managed to get back to the house, he entered it, retrieved his pack and clambered back out of the window before shutting it for good, he had done his duty of seeing his friends one last time, now he had to find his traitorous parents. Enfield walked down his front lawn he stopped and turned around to look at his old home one more time, he had the feeling that he was forgetting something, Enfield then remembered that he hadn’t shut the power off. Opening the garage door he found the fuse box, shut the garage door and then deactivated the power to the house. Enfield went back through the house and a golden glint caught his eye. He turned to the source of the glint and in a faint sliver of sunlight was a small brass box, a box that contained his grandfather’s medals from the first and second world wars. Enfield went over to the box and took it out of the glass cabinet it sat in. The box was very dusty but when Enfield opened it, the medals still shone in the light. Enfield put the box in his pack and went upstairs to climb out of the window once more. After Enfield sealed the window and left his old home he turned to face it again, so many good memories were being left behind, but Enfield didn’t care, they were all lies.   

“Never again,” he muttered, “This will never happen again.” 
“Oh James!” a shrill voice said.
Enfield span around, but had little time to react as a two-by-four hit him in the head.