My two sisters and I awake to the voice of our mother in our head. ({CHILDREN! FLEE!!!})
My eyes pop open and beside me I see the familiar blue and green alicorns I have worked alongside of for decades. Their eyes have just opened also. We feel the fear and dread in our mothers’ thoughts and the wash of panic that comes through Unity.
({FLY MY CHILDREN!! SAVE YOURSELVES!!})
We look at each other, and I hear Blues Star ({What is happening to our Mother?” What is going on?})
I shake my head and tell her, ({I don’t know, I think something is happening at home.”
Choo Choo is on her hooves first and looking around at the cave we are in, and heads towards its entrance. Blue Star is up behind her and I gather what few supplies we have taken with us for this mission and then run to meet them.
Through Unity I can hear so many of the ponies I have been with, screaming in fear. I keep hearing random thoughts,
({Zebra? Here?})
({BOMB})
({Must run, Mother Orders it!})
But what gets me most is the burst I feel of ({ENCLAVE SCUM IN HOME})
The two I find waiting for me at the cave entrance. I hoof Choo her medic saddlebags and her weapon as well as Blue Star hers.
We place our equipment on quickly and then take off in our normal formation with Choo in her normal center forward position of our inverted V. We are flying as fast as we can when suddenly We see a bright flash of light, and are temporarily blinded. I feel the emotional burst of fear and then nothing come over me.
Unity has been broken.
Our Mother, the Goddess is, is, is dead. I feel my pain, but I notice I no longer feal anymore emotion from the others. For the first time in two centuries, I am alone with my own thoughts. I sense my own self.
I tell the other two, ({Stop and Hover! Let your eyes adjust}) Which they do immediately and once our eyes readjust, we can see it in the far distance. The slowly rising column of smoke and debris.
I now begin to remember who I once was fully again. I know I was once known as Quick Frost. I remember my home, how I used to call Emerald Grove, my Old Stomping Grounds to my friends in the army. Then it fully hits me, I, I used to be a stallion. I have not thought about that in over a century.
I look at Blue Star and find my voice and begin to speak, “Are, are you ok?”
She shakes her head and replies, “I, I am not sure.”
Then I hear Choo Choo begin to giggle like a little filly. She looks at us and says, “I have wings? Cool!”
Blue Star then asks me the most important question, “What now?”
I shake my head in uncertainty and then respond by shrugging my shoulders and telling her, “I don’t know, maybe we should go home.”
Both Choo Choo and Blue Star look at each other and then me. Finally Blue Star asks, “Where is home?”
I grin at her and tell her, “Well for me my Old Stomping grounds are Emerald Grove.”
They look at each other and then Choo Choo Asks, “Where is Emerald Grove?”
I wave a hoof dismissively and tell them, “It is by the city of Manesville, and not far from Dairyanne.”
They both look at me and ask, “Where?”
I laugh lightly and tell them, “I am used to that. Everypony in the army asked me that.”
Choo then shyly says, “I don’t know where my home is?”
Then I ask Blue Star and she tells me, “Sorry Quick, but I can’t remember mine either.”
“So shall we all go to mine then?”
Blue Star then says something I had not thought of, “How much do you think it has changed?”
I hesitate as I think about all the differences in the world now from the one back then and I am stunned by how much must have changed. I begin to wonder about my family. My parents, my little sister. I even wonder about the one mare I used to date. I suddenly feel a twinge of pain as I remember her breaking things off with me after I had joined up. I remember her looking at me and saying, “I am sorry Quick, but I am already worrying about my brother in the engineers. I do not want to have to worry about a future husband that way.”
I simply nodded in reply and without realizing it I do the same thing and even say aloud, “Oh, ok, I guess I understand.”
Then I feel a hoof on my shoulder and Blue Star tells me, “We need to get moving again, we do not want to be just hanging in the sky when the sun comes up.”
I nod my head and ask them, “Should we go to Emerald Grove?”
I hear Choo Choo giggle again and she says, “Yeah, it sounds like a real jewel.”
I see Blue Star smile slightly at the childish joke and we both realize that Choo is not quite the mare we had been used to for all these years. She has lost a lot of her memory it seems with the breaking of Unity.
Blue Star then puts a hoof along my cheek and smiles at me as she says, “I think we should. At least it would be a start.”
With that, the decision was made and we begin to fly in the direction of Manesville and Emerald Grove.
__0O0__
As we fly toward the Manesville area I began to remember more and more of who I really was. It is rather unsettling to come to the realization that who you thought you were, is not exactly who you are. Having once been a stallion and now a mare was no real news to me as even in Unity, I still felt a bit off and it took me almost a century before I fully felt comfortable with this adjustment.
No, it is the memories of my colthood and my coming of age. I remember tilling the fields and harvesting crops. Sitting on our front porch in the evening watching the sun set on our fields across the road. Exploring the old cave just down the creek from home. I laugh at the memory of me and some of the other colts skipping school to go watch them build the new General Carriages factory in Manesville.
I also remember my high school marefriend, it hurt to have her turn her back on me when I told her I was entering the army. I was too embarrassed to tell her I was drafted and it was not my choice. I remember receiving my draft notice and being sent to the front, once wounded too badly to be a front-line soldier, I was assigned to work light duty jobs, such as escorting military trains.
I remember the sirens going off and helping to shuttle the others inside the buildings at Maripony. Then I remember being told we had to jump into the vats full of chemicals or die. I was terrified and saw those who did not jump in, being thrown in, so I jumped.
I remember my last thoughts before becoming part of Unity was what will happen to my family?
I now know they must be dead, but I have to make sure that their bodies were taken care of. If they are still in our old farmhouse, I will bury them in the family cemetery. As I remember all this, I do not realize I am thinking out loud and my sister Blue Star asks, ({What if they are now ghouls?})
I shake my head and I tell her, ({NO! I will not even think of them that way. If they have become one of those feral monsters, I will put them to peace. But I will not think of them that way unless I have to.})
From my other side I feel Choo Choo put a hoof on my shoulder as she says verbally, “I understand, but at least you remember your family. I don’t even know if I had one. Much less where they may have ended up.”
I sigh out loud and I think to myself, “What have we become?”
Soon Choo Choo sees a fire burning in the center of what looks like a campsite. I tell the others, “Perhaps we should be careful approaching it.”
Choo Choo nods her head and tells me, “Ok, I will go in first.”
I watch as she disappears and enters the camp.
I do not see her so much as I notice things in the area she is in moving. Soon I notice one of them pointing in her vicinity. I feel myself begin to tense up. Then I hear one yell, “Hays, thays something over there.”
I hear one of them call back, “Yous just drunk again. Go back to sleep.”
“Nos, really I saw something Black Rose.”
“Just like last time, right?” the other replies.
Suddenly Choo Choo appears right next to him and while I cannot hear her thoughts from this far since Unity ended, I hear her say, “Hi!”
Both of them plus several others turn towards her and I hear one of them scream, “ALICORN!” as they open fire with a shotgun. Others either shoot at her also, or they begin to try and run away.
Choo Choo is shot once, but she quickly throws up her shield and begins to fall back on her old training. Within minutes it is all done. We let those who ran away do so. Then I notice something cooking that smells really good. While we don’t really need to eat, I decide to try some as I want to just enjoy the flavor. As I get ready to levitate a ladle of the chunky soup to my mouth, I feel Blue Star put a hoof on me and she says, ({Sister, stop!})
({But Blue Star, it smells so good and I bet it will taste so good.})
She shakes her head and points towards a pile of bones nearby and I now know I do not want to eat it. ({Thank you, sister.}) I quickly tell her.
She smiles at me and tells me, ({No Thanks necessary, I would have wanted you to stop me also.})
Then we hear Choo say out loud, “Could one of you help me. I, I can’t remember how to wrap a bandage on this wound.”
Blue Star and I both look at her, then each other. I see the worry on Blue Star’s face as I feel it too. Choo Choo was our combat medic as well as our team leader. What all has she lost?
I go over to help her and as I look down at the ponies that we killed I notice that they are not dressed like most. Some have spikes mounted on leather armor. Some carry guns, while others only spears or clubs. I also notice that they all have knives though. As I look at them in fascination, I remember one of Red Eye’s minions had called ponies such as these, Raiders. I decide to try and say the word out loud and cautiously and slowly I pronounce it out loud.
Choo Choo looks at me and asks, “What’s a raider Quick Frost?”
I point at the bodies and tell her, “These are. Look at how rough they are dressed and all the weapons are not really well cared for or they are homemade. I heard that ponies like these are prone to violence. Mother always had us kill the ones like these we met.”
Blue Star nods her head, “Yes, I remember that. But she only had us do that if they got in our way. She did not want us wasting time hunting them down.”
I nod my head and I use my TK to take the soup kettle from over the fire and I gently set it next to the pile of bones. Then we begin to search to see if they had anything we could use.
As we search, I notice Choo Choo has found a stuffed pony. I smile as I watch her briefly hug it and put it in her saddle bag.
Soon after this I tell the others, “It is not safe here, we need to find a place to rest for an hour or two.”
We walk away from the now empty campsite and once far enough away we take flight. As we fly, I keep an eye on the ground for a good place to rest. Finally, I see an old barn and we decide to chance it. I go inside first and when I find it is safe, I wave the others in.
We go up into the now empty hay mow. The roof is still fairly intact over this area and it is heavily shadowed so others will not notice us if they chance by. Eventually we all lay in a group. I put my wings up and over both of them and once they are asleep. I too do so, taking comfort in the close proximity of my sisters and knowing I am on my way home. Whatever it may be like there now.
__0O0__
We rest for a couple of more hours than we truly normally need to. However, I notice that myself as well as my two sisters both feel lethargic and have lost interest in most things. What keeps us going is our goal of reaching my old home.
As we fly later that day Blue Star asks me, “Quick Frost, I can no longer feel or hear our other sisters, do you think we are the only survivors?”
“No, I am sure we are not. Like us there were other teams out on missions. But I think what ever happened to Mother and Home made it where we cannot feel them, or even hear them normally. Blue, I noticed I have to be fairly close to hear your thoughts now, and I bet you two are going through the same thing.”
I watch as both of them nod their heads in agreement. Choo Choo then asks, “How much further?”
I shrug my shoulders as I tell her, “Honestly Choo, I am not sure. The next major set of ruins we see we should stop and maybe I can figure it out.
Later that day we begin to see the ruins of a medium-sized city in the distance. I notice the river flowing by and how that while there are some boats traveling this portion of the river it is strange that most of them have no ponies visible on deck. Once we get close enough, I know why. I can feel the magical radiation as it washes over me and my two sisters.
I feel its effect upon all three of us and I cannot help but enjoy the feeling of strength and healing I feel from it. Finally, we see what looks like the remains of a sign near the edge of the ruins. Once we land, we walk up to it. I knock some of the dust off of the sign and I read, The Forest City.
I turn to the others and tell them, “I know where we are, we have gone too far. Now we need to head that way,” I point with my hoof and continue, “Only a day or two and we should be there.”
Blue Star looks around and says, “Quick, can we rest here? I mean it feels so nice and I don’t think we will have to worry about anypony bothering us.”
I shrug my shoulders and then tell her, “While I would like to, I bet we run into some ghouls here.”
She looks around disgustedly and tells me, “I had forgotten about those things. Why could not the Goddess have destroyed them all.”
Choo Choo laughs lightly and replies to her question, “Maybe she really wasn’t a goddess.”
I watch Blue put a hoof over her muzzle in horror as she says, “Choo, how could you say such a thing.”
I do not mean to, but I answer, ({Well, she has a point. Otherwise, the destroyer would not have been able to do what she did.})
I see Blue Star look down sadly, “You too? I guess I have really been an outsider ever since I replaced your old green.”
While I cannot really feel her emotions, I see her display them enough that I can swear I do. I go forward and tell her, “Blue, we have been working as a team for over sixty years. Sometimes isolated from unity. You are a part of this team. I never even knew you ever felt like you were not. YOU ARE ONE OF MY SISTERS. And I love you.”
I see her brighten up and though she seems to have a tear in her eye, she smiles at me and tells me, “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
What really surprises me is that when she smiles at me, my heart begins to beat faster. I shake my head to clear it and I tell them, “Ok, we will find a place to hole up and rest. Maybe we can even find someplace interesting.”
I see Choo Choo get excited at this. Her smile widens like a young foal’s and she asks, “Candy store or library?”
I smile back at her innocence and tell her, “Maybe Choo. Let’s see what we can find.”
As we enter the town, we all three look back and forth at the ruins. As we go closer towards the center, I hear Blue Star ask, “I wonder why they used a balefire bomb on this place?”
I nod my head and tell her, “Blue, if I remember right this place made lots of bolts and screws.”
Choo Choo then asks, “Why would they care about them?”
I sigh as I realize how much Choo has lost. Then I ask her, “Choo, do you remember what held your train together?”
I see her think and I see her eyes fly open as she says, “Quick Frost, I remembered. We used bolts and screws to hold them together.”
I nod my head, and then I tell her, “Most of the advanced machines, including those for the war used them. They killed this town to make sure that equipment could never be used again.”
I see her think a bit, then she says, “Quick I thought Fillydelphia made all that stuff.”
I shake my head sadly at this and I tell her, “No, they made more parts and machines than any other city, but this town, made more bolts and screws than they did even.” I think briefly and I have a flash of a memory return to me and I tell her, “In fact that is why they built the carriage plant in Manesville. They could ship the screws and bolts right up the river.”
I see Blue smile as she then says, “So we are not far at all from your old stomping grounds, are we?”
I smile back, “No, not at all, Oh, look, an abandoned Sparkle Cola Plant. Maybe they have some left still.”
I hear Choo Choo giggle and watch as she happily trots off to the old plant.
As we enter, my eyes quickly adapt to the darkness. I smell the decaying scent of ghouls inside. I call out, “Sister, be careful I smell danger.”
She skids to a stop and I see her horn begin to glow and suddenly she disappears. Right after this I hear a growling sound behind me. I look and I see a ghoul wearing a Sparkle Cola shirt and hat behind me. It’s eyes wide and wild looking.
As it begins to charge me, I quickly jump into the air and I blast it using a magic projectile spell. I watch as they tear through it and it still keeps trying to bite at us.
There are only a hooffull of them in here and we make quick work. Finally, we come upon one who is not only cowering in a corner, but I hear him begging us not to destroy him.
I step between Choo Choo and the ghoul. I am not sure why, but I feel…pity for him? I turn to Choo, “Let him go.”
“But Quick Frost, if we do that, he may attack us.” She whines back to me.
I shake my head, “Choo, look at him. He, he is still a pony in there. If he does not attack us, we should let him be.”
I see her think about this and she seems like she is about to argue when I tell her quietly, “Choo, what if he was someone you once knew, or loved. Would you, could you destroy them?”
I see her stop and sit down hard, “I, I don’t know Quick Frost, I had not thought of that.”
Finally, I tell him, “Get up, as long as you do not attack us, you are safe.”
I see the stunned surprise on his face as he asks, “Really, do you really mean it?”
I nod my head and tell him, “Yes, I really mean it. We mean no harm, but only will protect ourselves.”
He nods his head, “Thank you. I have seen little mercy and compassion over the last two hundred years. I never expected it from your sort.”
“Nor had I realized that your sort was sometimes still cognizant. Do you still remember your past?” I ask in curiosity.
I hear a harsh dry laugh and he says under his breath, “Breathers.” Then he looks up at me and tells me, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I if I have not turned feral.”
“I am sorry, but you must understand, my sisters and I, we have all lost some of our memories since Home was destroyed.”
“Home, you mean you three all came from that place that had the big explosion a while back?”
I nod my head, “Yes, we did. We not only lost our homes, but our connection with Unity to the others.”
I see him nod his head. Then he asks, “So where are ya heading to now?”
I sigh and I tell him, “Manesville and Emerald Grove. Those used to be my old stomping grounds when I was a colt.”
I see his jaw drop open and he cautiously asks, “You were once a stallion? Ma’am, how did you change?”
I realize I am becoming much more comfortable talking with him then I ever expected. For once a pony that no longer fears us. It is refreshing so I tell him, “First sir, if I am going to explain this to you, please call me Quick Frost. My two sisters are Choo Choo and Blues Star.”
He looks at them then me and nods his head, “Well ma’am, just call me Soda Bottle. I used to be a mechanic here when it ran.”
I smile slightly, “Do you live here now?”
He laughs that dry laugh, “No, not really. I tend to stay in a place called Dead Quiet. We ghouls trade some with a few of the ponies in the Co-op. Most of them and all of the cattle want nothing to do with me and my kind. But it helps to fill the time.”
“What is the Co-op?” I ask.
He grins and tells me, “Yeah they really did keep it under wraps didn’t they.” Then he explains how it was a series of communities that worked together to reclaim old farms and to survive. Then he tells me, “I bet the Co-op defense force would love to have you join them.”
I shake my head and tell him, “Maybe, but to be honest, I had my share of fighting back in No Mare’s Land as well as under the Goddess. I just want to go home, maybe pick up a plow and begin to grow things again. Bring life back into the world.”
I see him smile, “Well Quick Frost, I am glad to have met you then. I really hope you can find that farm too, just,” he pauses, “Just be careful who you introduce yourselves too. I mean you all seem decent now that I have talked to ya a bit, but many folks just will not take the chance.”
I smile at him, “Now that we have gotten to know each other and understand each other a bit, let me tell you my story.” Then I begin to tell him about my life, both before and after I joined Unity.
When I finish, I hear him laugh again mildly. Then he looks at me and tells me, “I am sorry, I just cannot imagine becoming a mare after being a stallion.”
I nod my head in understanding as I tell him, “Believe me during the times I was isolated by myself from Unity, I felt awkward at first. It took me almost a century to feel comfortable this way. I am sure my old buddies from the army would never have understood this.”
He laughs and tells me, “Yeah, I can understand that, I don’t think my old comrades from the factory would have understood the way I am either. At least you are something nice to look at.”
I feel myself blush as I have never had anyone say such a thing to me. Part of me is offended that he would say such a thing, but part of me actually likes the idea that someone thinks I am pretty. I look at my sisters, and for the first time I realize that they too are both pretty. I find myself particularly attracted to Blue Star and her dark green coat, which goes so well with her emerald green eyes. But I know I could never say such a thing to her.
Eventually he tells me, “Look, I keep a small stockpile of already bottled Sparkle Cola here. I come back and pick some up every so often as I am the only one who knows the combination for the storage room door. But if you mares would be willing to let an old ghoul, get you a drink. I would be pleased to have one with you.”
I see Choo Choo quickly nodding her head and I can see the desire for some in Blue Star’s face. So, I tell him, “Sir, we would be honored. Besides, maybe you can tell us more about the trip to this Co-op and other things we need to know.”
He grins and tells us, “That would be my pleasure.” After a brief pause, he grins and asks, “Hay, would you three be willing to help me carry some extra bottles back to Dead Quiet? I mean I would pay you some and I would really appreciate the company. Especially with some of Red Eye’s slavers and the local raiders between there and here.”
I hear Choo Choo answer, “Sure, can I take my payment in Sparkle Colas?”
He smiles at her as one would a young child and tells her, “I think we can work that out.”
We spend the rest of the night in the old bottling plant and come morning, we begin to escort Soda Bottle back to his home in what he calls the Co-op. As we leave, I feel excitement, but I am also very nervous. What will we find when I return to our old farm? What happened to ma, pa and my little sis? What will I do if the farm has been what Soda calls reclaimed?
We help him fill up two carts as well as his saddlebags. Both Blue Star and I harness ourselves in so we can pull the carts. As I finish helping Blue put on her harness, she looks at me surprised and says, “You did that like you have done it before.”
I smile at her and tell her, “Blue, growing up I wore a harness many times. Most often for pulling a cart into town, but several times a year I would be hitched up to the family plow during planting season and to the harvester when the crops were ready to harvest.”
I pause as I think about these old memories and I guess I begin to smile then look sad because Blue asks me, “Quick, what are you thinking about?”
I try to smile again as I tell her, “How much I miss those days. I miss working with my hoofs. I miss the bite of the plow into the soil.”
I see her laugh lightly and she says, “You know, you sound like an earthpony.”
I grin and tell her, “Yeah, I guess so, but you have to understand, Pa was an earth pony and Ma was a unicorn. In fact, my little sister was born an earthpony like Pa.”
I see her smile sadly at me. Then she says, “I would have liked to have met them.”
I nod my head, “I wish you could have. I think they would have liked you,” I pause and I look at Choo Choo, and continue, “I think they would have liked Choo also.”
She laughs lightly, then turns briefly serious as she says, “I can barely remember my parents. I really do not remember any siblings though.”
Right after she says this, I hear Soda Bottle ask, “You two about ready?”
We both answer simultaneously “Yes sir.”
This gets his eyes to go wide briefly and then he laughs lightly, “Ok, let’s get going then.”
He has Choo start to lead us out and once we are on the streets, he closes the door and locks it behind us. Then he trots up in front of Choo and tells her, “Ok, I will lead you from here.”
That night we rest for an hour alongside the road just short of a place called Capon. Soda Bottle tells us, “We better keep our distance and set a watch. That town ahead is full of ferals and while they won’t bother me, they will come after you ladies. I heard one of the Co-op patrols even lost a pony or two in there recently.”
I am surprised by this as it means that they may have patrols this far out that could find us when we are not expecting them. “Soda, what happens if the Co-op army finds us?” I ask.
He looks surprised at the thought and tells me, “Well, I had not thought of that. If that happens let me do the talking. Same thing goes when we get to Dead Quiet.”
This makes me rather nervous but instead I simply nod my head and tell him, “Ok, I trust you.”
As we rest, I take the watch as I really don’t need much sleep. As I sit there in the dark, I am still trying to figure out why we have all been so tired and blasé feeling since Unity was broken. I wonder who all survived. There were so many of my sisters that I was always in contact with. Now, I am lucky to have my two sisters. At least they are calmer and less militant than so many of the others.
After a bit of thinking, I catch myself wanting to cry as I think about all that has been lost. I remember having visited Capon a few times as I was growing up. Ma had a brother who worked in the foundry there. I look over at Soda Bottle and think about what he told Choo. I wonder if my uncle and his family became like Soda? Are some of those ferals related to me? If so, what would I do?
So many questions and thoughts pass through my mind. Soon I notice that it is becoming lighter and while I can not see the sun due to the cloud cover, I notice it is not as dark.
Once the others wake up, we continue on. Most of the trip is in silence. One of the few times any of us say anything is when Soda Bottle tells us, “I am taking you in the long way, that way we can avoid checkpoints. Some of them Breathers really hate us ghouls, and I am not sure how they would react to you three.”
We nod our heads and continue on. I notice as it becomes later in the day when we are getting closer to Manesville as I see the old Pegasus port on the southwest side of the town. Then I can see and lightly feel patches of radiation from the crater that is where the old railroad switch yard was.
Eventually, we begin to reach some built up buildings and Soda stops us and tells us, “We wait here until dark. Then I will have you finish pulling to Dead Quiet across the river. We have to cross that bridge over yonder and I don’t think we want to do it in broad daylight.” We all agree and we settle down to wait for dusk.
Finally, that night we carefully cross the bridge. All three of us keeping our wings tucked down. As we cross the river all I can think of is how close to home and where I grew up, we are. Soda has us pull up outside one of the old taverns that, while it is missing part of one wall and a section of roof, is still in fairly good shape. One of the patrons inside comes out and sees Choo Choo. I see their eyes go wide in surprise and they step back and I hear the ghoul say as the begin to kneel, “Princess, forgive me, I had no idea you were here.”
I feel the confusion in Choo Choo’s mind and I send her a mental image of Princess Luna. I then hear her say back, ({Thank you, I remember her now. I had forgotten her.}) Then she looks at the surprised ghoul and says, “It is understandable for you to be surprised. Please, rise and keep my presence quiet for now.”
He nods his head and stands again. “Thank you, Princess. I will do as you command.” And I watch as he quickly walks away.
({That was fun!}) Choo Choo says to me.
I slowly shake my head in amusement and tell her, ({Don’t get used to it Choo.})
Then I turn to Soda Bottle and I tell him, “Sir, if you are done, we should get going so I can get to Emerald Grove while it is still dark.”
He smiles and tells me, “I understand, thank you for the help as well as the company. I guess I should get this stuff inside. Oh, and Choo Choo. Take one of the cases of soda for your pay, ok?”
She grins like a school filly and gushes out, “Thank you so much.” Then she surprises him and us as she gives him a hug.
Finally, he tells us, “I hope to see you three again. And Quick Frost, I hope you find what you are looking for.”
I nod my head and tell him, “Thank you Soda, and I really appreciate your giving us a chance as well. I only hope others will too.”
With that we go our separate ways. The three of us fly away into the dark night sky and once across the river I see the old roads I used to follow to and from Manesville to Emerald Grove. Once we are there, we land in a field about a mile from my family’s farm. We then walk slowly toward it
In the light through the windows, I see a cow and a bull. The cow is doing dishes and the bull looks like they are drinking coffee. Off to the side in what was once our machine shed, I can see several ponies are living in what has now been turned into a bunk house. I realize that while I am back on my old stomping grounds, I can never truly go home.
I feel a surge of disappointment as I am sure the cattle and ponies here will not understand. I look just to the north of the house; there I see the graves of my ancestors. I wonder if Ma, Pa and my sister are there. But now I am afraid I may never know.
Blue Frost puts a hoof on my shoulder and asks, “What now Quick?”
I sigh and I tell her, “I am not for sure. I know just a way down the creek is an old cave that me and my friends used to play in. Maybe we can find shelter in there.”
I see Choo Choo grin and I hear her say, “Maybe we can make it a house even.”
I smile and try to cheer up as I tell her, “Maybe Choo, maybe. We will have to see.”
They follow me to the cave and as I enter, I notice that after a short distance it seems someone or something is living there. As we get further in, I smell it before I see it and I tell the others, “We need to leave there is a dragon in here.”
I see Choo Choo’s ears go forward; her eyes are wide open as she trots further into the cave. Both of us have to hurry to catch up with her. Just as we do so, she disappears.
I look up and I see a large blue dragon who is wearing glasses that is fully engulfed in reading a book in bed.
She has not noticed us yet and I am just about to tell the others mentally that we need to leave when I see Choo Choo reappear and I hear her ask the dragon, “Whatcha reading?”
I shout out “Choo Choo, be careful Dragons are dangerous!”
The dragon looks at me and I see a slight bit of fear in her eyes as she says, “Excuse me, but who are you? And why are you in my home?”
I sigh at her question as I see Choo Choo climb further up on her bed and begin to look over her shoulder at the book she is reading. Then I hear Choo Choo say, “Oh, I remember this one, I really liked it.”
With that I decide to introduce myself and my sisters and I tell her why we are here, in particular why we ended up in her home. Finally, she says, “Oh. By the way, my name is George and it is good to meet you.”
“It is good to meet you too George. However, I guess we should get going.”
I see her think with a claw under her chin. Then she says, “Ya’ know, it is kind of lonely here for me. If you want, you can become my roommates.”
I smile at her and I tell her, “Thank you George, I think we may take you up on that offer. At least for now.”
“Oh, one more thing, keep your hoofs off of my scrolls and books.” She tells us with a smile and a tilt to her head.
While I am rather nervous about having a dragon for a roommate, it seems that Choo Choo is fully comfortable with it. I am concerned though as she is very enthusiastic about becoming friends with the dragon. That first night is rather strange for me as I lay next to Blue, but I see Choo Choo sleeping on the dragon’s bed with her mouth hanging open. I also notice that while she reads and Choo Choo is asleep the dragon takes a single claw and gently uses it to give scratches to Choo much like one would a dog or other pet.
Finally, come morning I wake up and find George has gone already and I see Choo Choo wandering around the cave exploring it. When she gets home, George tells us about her day and what all has been going on.
We continue this routine for almost a week when one night George comes home and tells us about flying with a couple of pegasi who have shown up in Manesville. At first, I do not think much of it, but then I realize it means the Enclave is here, or some of those they have driven out. I think the word for those ones is Dashites. But I am not sure if I am remembering it correctly. I ask George about it and she smiles at me and tells me, “I really don’t know. I never thought to asks what they called themselves other than their names.”
Over the next two days we see less and less of George, but what she tells us when we last see her does have me worried.
“Quick Frost, I think you three should stay inside the next couple of days. Things could get a bit rough soon.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“The Cadet’s said something about a gauntlet being thrown down and a challenge to the Enclave. I really don’t know the details, but all the cattle and ponies are nervous and I have been asked to spend the next couple of nights in the stable.”
I nod my head and once she goes to bed for the night I walk outside the cave and find myself wandering down the old dirt roads and what remains of the paths from when I was a colt. Soon I find myself walking along what were the fields and forest of my family’s farm. I have so many questions for those who live there now, but I am afraid of how they may react. As I walk by the cemetery where so many of my kin are buried, I feel a sigh escape me and I long to just sit there and talk to them, but the land is no longer ours. I continue to walk and see several more of the farms I knew as a colt that have been recovered. I also see several that have fallen into severe disrepair. Finally, I make it back to the cave just before daylight.
As I walk into the cave George passes me on the way out and I tell her, “Be careful George. If there is a battle it is nothing like what we used to see in the movies or read about in books.”
I see her stop and she twists her head, “I understand, I have been in a few fights. I even have seen some major battles as a young one. Please keep hidden for a bit longer. I may be able to introduce you to some ponies I know and get it so you are at least safe here.”
I nod my head. “Thank you, I will.”
Then I watch her fly off. As she is flying away, I see Choo Choo come trotting back from the stream and she is just about ready to take off and follow George when I tell her, “Sister, not now. Soon perhaps, but not yet.”
The next day it happens. I am inside the cave with Blue Star when Choo Choo comes running inside and tells us, “Sisters, they have arrived.”
“Who has?” I ask.
Then I begin to hear the sound of an artillery piece being fired and the familiar sound of a raptor’s return fire. I heard it too many times during the war and I had hoped to never hear it again. The three of us go outside of the cave and climb on top of the hill and begin to watch the battle in the distance. I feel Choo begin to get excited and I hear her say ({Oh, time to play!})
Out loud I say, “No Choo, stay here.”
She turns to me and refuses to speak aloud. Instead, she sends to me both her frustration and asks me, ({Why not?})
I sigh and before I can tell her anything, Blue Star tells her, “Sister, both sides fear us right now, if we go into that fight, they will attack us.”
I feel Choo Choo’s building excitement and aggravation at not being allowed to do anything. Then I see a squad of power armored Enclave troopers heading towards my old family farm. From watching them at a distance I know the family there does not have the weapons or skills to fight off these kinds of troops. Then I see one of them point towards us and the squad splits. One section of them is heading towards us.
Beside me I hear Choo Choo yell “YES!” and she disappears as she heads into the fray. Blue Star is beside me as she and I leap into the air to fight them. As she begins to cast spells, I throw up a shield around us.
I watch as one of the pegasi fliers that is heading towards Emerald Grove and my old farm is suddenly stopped and I see his wings fold as he is hit by something hard and he goes limp. Those near the Enclave trooper stop in mid air and begin to look for the attacker of their comrade. As they do this, I see another one simply vaporize as if being hit by a magical energy weapon.
After two more of them go down the remaining members of the squad turn and begin to fly as fast as they can back towards their ship. With that Choo Choo approaches us close enough that I can hear her thinking. I tell her, “We need to get back into the cave before someone sees us.”
We do this and begin to wait for George to return. It is a couple of days before we hear from anyone. When we do, I first hear the three knocks that George has set up a signal that someone other than her is coming and has her permission to be here. Then I hear a mare’s voice call to us, “Hello, George has sent me.”
As she comes in, I see Choo Choo once again disappear. Once the mare sees us, I can see the shock and fear on her face. Then she says, “Hello, I am Mollygirl. George told me to tell you she is ok, but her glasses are broke so she cannot return home until they are fixed.”
I suddenly see the mare jump as if startled and put a hoof to her mane. Then I see Choo Choo reappear next to her and hear her say, “Made you jump.”
I am exasperated when she does this. This is so not how you make a first impression. Then I tell Choo Choo, “Now is not the time to play sister.”
We then make formal introductions and talk briefly. I tell her about my colthood here then I hear Blue Star tell her, “We have come here to try and find peace. We do not want any trouble.”
The red mare with her yellow and black mane and tail smiles sadly and tells us, “Blue Star, I think you will be able to find peace here. Unfortunately, we just had to fight a large battle to protect the Co-op, so some may not be as friendly as others. But If you would like I can see what we can do to quietly introduce you to the local communities.”
As she is saying this Choo Choo disappears once again and I soon hear a young mare and colt running toward us and the little filly saying, “Whoa, Auntie Mollygirl, are these really alicorns, really?”
As they are asking this I see Choo Choo reappear behind them and yell out “Boo!”
The results of this, are to say, less then pleasant and as Choo Choo laughs, I hear the mare Mollygirl asks, “Do you have a towel?”
While we are talking this Mollygirl tells us about how we can become members of their so-called Co-op. She quickly tells us, “Things are starting to change here in the Co-op it seems. Normally we have to work in the fields for a year to earn membership than you can make a claim to recover a farm if you are interested.”
I at first only hear her talk about having to work in the fields for others for a year and am angered by it and tell her, “You think I, would be willing to be a slave? How dare you.”
She calms me down after this “Quick Frost, it’s not like that. We do not have surfs or slaves or any of that. We work on the farms to earn what we consider a sweat equity. You can leave anytime you want. It just means you have to leave. The other way is to join the military, but I do not think you are interested in that.”
Once I realize what she has said, I realize that the idea of having my own farm eventually does appeal to me. However, I have no further desire to be a soldier. I then tell her, “No, we are not interested in the military. We have done enough fighting for several lifetimes.”
I see a sad and haunting understanding in her eyes and I watch as her ears slowly droop before she straightens them back up and tells me, “I can understand that. I will talk to some higher ups and see what I can come up with for you.”
Shortly after this they prepare to leave, but not before Choo Choo remembers that she once had foals. But she has no idea what happened to them. This occurs just after I have stopped Choo Choo from taking off for a flight with the foals.
Mollygirl then looks at her right foreleg and notices the time on the PipBuck she is wearing and tells us she needs to go and that the foals need to get home.
I want to talk to her for a few more minutes privately so I tell my sisters, “Blue Star, I want you to help Choo Choo take these two home, please be discrete, and come right back.”
They agree and once they are enroute to their farm I ask her if the foals will keep our secret. I see her think about it and she tells me, ““Yes, for a little while at least.”
That is good enough for me and I have her take a brief message to George for us as well as agree to have her return for a visit with us again sometime.
A couple of days later Choo Choo leaves for a bit and when she returns, she has Mollygirl with her. Mollygirl offers to talk to the cattle at my old family farm for us to see if I can visit the cemetery as well as perhaps find out what happened to my family. Finally, she says, “Ok, let’s do this then. I will approach them and talk to them, if they give permission then I will call you over.”
I nod my head and feel a sense of hope that they will allow me to, but I do fear they may say no. The cattle I used to know always seemed to be a very conservative and cautious lot. So, with the way myself and my sisters are now, I fear the answer.
Once at the farm, my sisters and I hide behind some bushes near the end of the driveway to the farmyard while Mollygirl goes up to the house and knocks on the door. I can not clearly hear what they are saying but I look over to the side and I see Choo Choo is peaking around the bush and waving at them.
I do not know weather to be angry at her or just laugh. Instead, I settle for mild amusement. Then Mollygirl waves us forward and we approach them. I am still nervous about what they might say, but I steel myself and go forward. Once we are close enough, I stop and I say, “Sir, Ma’am, I appreciate your having been willing to at least meet with us, my name is Quick Frost, the blue one is Choo Choo and the green one is Blue Star.”
The bull looks gruffly at us and mumbles something along the lines of “Good to meet you.”
Then he asks, “What can we do for you three?”
I hopefully tell him, “Sir, I would like to visit my family’s cemetery. Also, when you reclaimed the farm, where there any pony remains that you had to clear out, if so, what did you do with them.”
His expression gentles slightly and he tells me “I can understand that, I would feel the same way. Now, when my family started recovering the farm, we found three bodies in the cellar. We figured they were part of the family who owned it before, we buried them up in the little cemetery there,” as he points up the hill.
I let out the breath I had not realized I was holding and I fight back a tear of relief. Then I tell him and his wife, “Thank you, and your family for taking care of mine. If you do not mind, I would like to visit them for a bit.”
I see him relax as he tells me, “No, if they are your kin, then please feel free to visit them any time. Family is very important to us.”
It is then I notice his plow shaped ear tag and I tell him how similar it was to my old cutie mark. We talk a bit more and he offers to me to come help plow some if I want, once I am done visiting my family.
After this my sisters and I follow the once worn path to the cemetery and I find the newest looking graves that only say unknown Stallion, and Mares, from the last day. I know who they are, but this is enough for me. I sit down at their graves and I introduce my sisters. Then I tell them, “I am sorry it took so long to visit, but a lot has happened.” I tell them about how I have changed as well as about my relationship with my sisters and Unity. Finally, I tell them, “Ma, Pa, Sis, I really miss you, but I will visit more often now that I have come back to my Old Stomping Ground.”