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// Part Three: Furlough From Harm But Not From Conflict 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: Forget 
// by CivilWarPony 
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Part Three: Furlough From Harm But Not From Conflict

After rescuing Cloudchaser from captivity in Mareston, I and Shadowfeather were given furlough from the military. I returned home in Cloudsdale and was glad to see that Thunderlane was furloughed as well, having a wife as hero has its perks. On the walk towards Rumble’s home in Cloudsdale, I could tell that something was bothering Thunderlane. He must have sensed my worry and began to tell me what was bothering him. His brother Rumble didn’t approve of Thunderlane’s service in the military; he felt that any pony who served in the military was furthering the progression of the war. Instead in Rumble’s opinion we should try and negotiate for peace with the Zebra Empire. At first this might seem like a reasonable sentiment and one I would have agreed to before the war, but after seeing what the Zebras were capable of in Mareston I knew we had no choice but to fight them otherwise the consequences were too ghastly to contemplate. Plus I couldn’t understand why Rumble would be angry at my husband. Didn’t he understand that we put our necks on the line just so he could have an opinion about the war without ever having to step a hoof onto the battlefield? Thunderlane just sighed and remained quiet for the rest of the journey. 

Arriving at Rumble’s home, we were greeted rather coldly by him. He had grown a lot since the last time I saw him. He had gotten a well-paying position at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory supervising the creation of snowflakes. He had his maid, a female Pegasi named Cloudymane handed over our son to us. He didn’t even say a word to either of us but instead slammed the door in our faces. At that moment I wanted to buck down the door and confront Rumble about changing his attitude but when Thunderlane saw that I was readying my hooves for a brawl he said that it wouldn’t change anything and that we should just leave. I sighed and turned away from the door but I swore the next time Rumble pulled something like that I would kick his flank. Having all of us under the same roof again was unusual. I had forgotten what the quiet of home sounded like having become accustomed to the shrieking of artillery shells overhead. While I sat in the living room and watched my son play with his toys, Thunderlane prepared lunch in the kitchen. Closing my eyes all I could do was soak in the peace of being at home finally after being gone for so long then I felt a tugging at my leg and looking down saw my son trying to crawl into my lap. A small smile spread across his tiny muzzle as he stared up at me. Reaching down I lifted him up into my lap and sat him on my knee. 

He tugged at my mane and gurgled trying to say something. Noctilfire looked more like his father then he did me. He had his father’s eye color and his coat was the same charcoal grey. But his mane and tail were the same color as mine. While he played with my mane, I heard a knock at the door. Before I could answer the door Thunderlane had already gotten to the door first. Pulling it open, Blossomforth trotted inside. I was rather surprised to see her in my home. She and Thunderlane before the war were something of an item, but after Thunderlane left to go to the Wonderbolt Academy they had a falling out. She worked for the Ministry of Awesome developing convert technologies for the war effort. She smiled at Thunderlane and pulled him into a hug while glaring at me all the while. I felt like kicking her flank out of my house but I wasn’t going to do anything violent in front of my child, so I simply glared back. Thunderlane asked her how her work was going at the Ministry and while they caught up with each other then discussed the olden days I went upstairs to grab something. 

When I came back down I saw Blossomforth leaning towards Thunderlane looking like she intended to kiss him but instead was actually presenting him with a box. I just about had a heart attack when I saw her what it looked like to me to be putting the moves on my husband but instead I became curious about what was in the box. Thunderlane opened it revealing two plasma pistols. Blossomforth explained that these two pistols were the first of many that were being field tested by the government and they needed experienced soldiers like me and Thunderlane to let them know how these weapons performed under combat conditions. Both of these models were called the Sunsurge PLX1 and were going to become standard issue in the Equestrian military should they perform well. Both of the pistols came with matching shoulder holsters that could be mounted onto our utility barding. I noticed that my name had been engraved on the grip of the pistol while Thunderlane’s had been engraved on the other. Blossomforth explained that not only were these for use to field test but were her wedding gifts to us. I figured it was just a gesture for her to buy her way into my good graces after not attending our wedding before the war. Needless to say I didn’t say anything and just took the gift thanking her for the pistols. After further explaining to us on how to use them and maintain them in the field Blossomforth left. I looked as Thunderlane watched her exit our home. I could tell that he still harbored some residual love for her but he turned to me and said that what was between them was long over and that he already had the love of his life. I hugged him and together we ate lunch with our son in the kitchen. 

After lunch, I put my son down for his afternoon nap while Thunderlane and I spent time together watching some TV on the terminal screen. A lot of new technology like this had become common place in the homes of ponies before the war. Equestria was industrializing but the war had really bumped things up into high gear. You could practically buy anything these days that we didn’t have growing up as foals in Pre-Industrial Equestria. It made life easier for anypony and certainly never failed to amaze me. I flipped through the channels to find our favorite show which was about an Earth pony and his changeling sidekick exploring the outer reaches of Space. I snuggled against Thunderlane as we both munched on some delicious buttery popcorn. 

After the show was over, we both went to take a nap. Thunderlane stayed up awhile reading the manual on the pistol; in particular the section on how to acquire replacement parts should the thing malfunction. He climbed into bed with me about an hour later and I basked in the warmth he gave off. He cuddled against me and together we slept soundly. When I awoke it must have been around five o’clock. Thunderlane was already up feeding our son with a bottle. Trotting downstairs, he was sitting on the couch and didn’t notice me. It was the perfect picture of happiness. He was smiling widely as he cradled our son in his arms. I quickly ran upstairs and grabbed my camera then snapped a photo before he noticed me. Thunderlane’s ears swiveled forward after he heard the click of the camera then looked up after noticing the flash. For a second I thought I saw his eyes narrow into slits but they softened when he saw it was only me taking a picture. I guess the war had made the both of us jumpy. But there wasn’t any threat to us in our home nor did we have to worry about going to the front for a long time at least until the furlough was up. Thunderlane decided he was tired of cooking and wanted to order out. He called our favorite pizza place and had them deliver two large pizzas to our home with all of the fixings. After we ate, we decided to turn in for the night. 

The next day we walked into the city with our son in the stroller. We saw on the news that one of the Ministry mares was going to make an appearance in Cloudsdale. We saw a large crowd gathered in the public square ahead. We were able to push our way through the crowd and get a good look at which Ministry mare had arrived. I was shocked to see that it was Rainbow Dash. She was escorted by a heavily armed group of Pegasi soldiers from the Ministry. She was led to a platform that had been erected in the center of the town. She spoke rather eloquently about how the Pegasi had to do their part in ending the war. She then went on to talk about the latest technological developments that the Ministry had made. I was rather impressed with her speech. I tried to push my way closer to her but I don’t think she saw me. My one and only chance to apologize to her disappeared when her guard escorted her away after she was done talking. Thunderlane saw my disappointment and said that I would have my chance again to talk to Rainbow Dash just not when she was so busy with her governmental responsibilities. I nodded and we both left the crowd heading down the street to a small café where we could grab something to eat and relax with our son. 

The truth was I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to speak with Rainbow Dash again. Even if I could, would she really want to speak to me again? We didn’t exactly part ways on the best of terms. Even though I felt like I had changed, I doubt it would be enough to convince Rainbow Dash of that. I treated her really poorly when I was at the Academy. I tried to loose myself in the swirling inky depths of my tea. Thunderlane smiled and said that I didn’t have to worry about trying to convince Rainbow Dash of my sincerity. He said his approval of me was more than enough to convince anypony that I had changed. I smiled and thanked him for his kind words then smiled at my son. I was determined to see Rainbow Dash the next time I saw her. After finishing our meal we went to the local park and I watched as Thunderlane played with Noctilfire in the sandbox. I trotted over to join them and we made a sand castle with our son.

The furlough lasted another week during which time Shadowfeather arrived at our home to tell me that we had both been nominated for medals for our actions in Mareston. I was rather surprised that they would even nominate me for a medal. I had just done my job as a soldier, so I imagine anypony would have done the same thing if placed into that situation. The next day I was escorted by a guard of Equestria’s elite soldiers to Cloudsdale city hall for the medal presentation. I could barely make out Thunderlane in the crowd with our son. Shadowfeather stood next to me in his brand new dress uniform. I had also been given a new uniform to wear just for the occasion. The pony who was going to present us the medals was none other than Princess Celestia. She had abandoned her rule over Equestria to her sister Luna after the Littlehorn Massacre, but remained an important figure within the inner political circles in Equestria. I was so nervous when she walked out on the stage. I had never seen any of the Princesses in real life besides the numerous photos in the newspaper. But to actually be standing in the presence of one of them was overwhelming. I thought I would faint then and there but Shadowfeather steadied me. I guess he felt the same way too.

Celestia smiled at me warmly and her voice rang almost musically in my ears as she thanked us for our service in the military and for helping to defend Equestria. Her mane caught the sunlight and it seemed to sparkle with what I could only describe as a heavenly glow. I could understand why now some of the ponies in Equestria considered the royal sisters to be goddesses. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes as she presented us with our medals. I got the feeling that she wasn’t happy about the state of affairs in Equestria and that she had to give two of her subjects medals won in the service of Equestria in combat. I almost felt like crying but she said to me that she was fine and that she appreciated my concern for her. I didn’t know if Celestia had mindreading powers but she practically took the words right out of my mouth. After the ceremony was over the Princess left in her royal chariot heading back to Canterlot, after the crowd began to disperse Thunderlane climbed onto the stage and pulled me into a hug saying how proud of me he was. I smiled happily then noticed that Noctilfire had become fascinated with Shadowfeather’s medal and began to play with it. Shadowfeather wasn’t really sure what to do so he just let my son play with his medal. Shadowfeather smiled as he watched my son play with his medal, this was the first time that I had ever seen him smile and it was nice to see that he still had a sense of humor after everything that had happened. This was the last time I saw Shadowfeather, he was killed in combat a few months later when his unit was transferred to the Crystal Empire front. 

Before returning to the military, we left Noctilfire in Rumble’s care again. Despite hating the fact that his brother and I were serving in the military he still felt a familial obligation to our son. Reporting back to my unit was strange after being gone for so long. I checked up on the status of Flitter and Cloudchaser. Cloudchaser had been discharged from the army and then transferred to a hospital in Manehattan, while Flitter had been given a desk job away from the battlefront in Canterlot where she worked for the Ministry of Peace under Fluttershy. I was glad that she was no longer serving on the frontlines, Flitter wasn’t the kind of pony who did well under fire and to be honest I wanted her to be with her sister for her own happiness. My unit was then stationed in the Crystal Empire at their capital city in order to police the streets which were already becoming wild from the lack of a police presence within the city. 

The Zebra’s had been pressing on the Crystal Empire’s borders during the early years of the war. Princess Cadence had attempted to keep the Empire neutral in the conflict but found herself unable to stem the rising tide of war that was on her countries doorstep. I had never been to the Crystal Empire; I thought it was rather pretty with all of these large crystal formations jutting out of the ground.  Even though it snowed for most of the time while we were there we never got cold. The Empire was truly a more magical place than Equestria. But it had been hit hard when the Zebra’s declared war on it. 

A lot of civilians had fled from the outer provinces to the capital city. Food shortages were becoming common and the people grew restless. I couldn’t really blame them for feeling the way they did. It was hard enough losing your home and fleeing to safety only to find out there wasn’t enough food to go around. I began to hear whispers of a revolt around the city among the Crystal pony refugees. I reported my concerns to my superiors and they told me that they were already well aware of this. Eventually Princess Cadence found a way to find enough food for everypony that came to the city. The sentiments of ill will towards the government went away as quickly as they appeared when everypony walked around with a full belly. The war was making ponies do things that they normally wouldn’t have done before the war. A rising crime rate was becoming a common sight all across of Equestria and the Empire wasn’t exempt from it. There were murders, thefts, and drug use throughout the whole of the Empire. One murder I can remember most vividly involved a female Unicorn pony. She barricaded herself into an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. She was in the process of attempting to kill herself when we broke into the building. I was shocked to see she had already gunned down her family before we were able to save them. Her reasoning for her actions was that she felt that the world was coming to an end and it didn’t make sense for her to try to raise a family with her husband in this new and frighteningly chaotic world. 

Seeing the broken and bloodied bodies of her husband and children I wondered whether or not I would have done the same thing if I was placed into her position. The truth was hard to admit but if I was forced into watching my family die at the hooves of the Zebra military or ending their suffering before it they were captured. I would kill my family in order to protect them. This thought made me want to be sick to my stomach and sent a cold chill that rushed up my spine and into my heart. When I next met with Thunderlane we would have to discuss a contingency plan for having our son get to a safe location should the worst happen. But for now I buried myself back into my duties as a soldier trying to protect other ponies from themselves and hopefully save a few lives in the process. My time in the Crystal Empire ended after a few months. Most of those in my unit were tired of the atmosphere in the capital city, trying to police its streets and prevent the worst of pony behavior. I think all of them were ready to get back to seeing some real combat and make the Zebras pay for everything they were responsible for causing across the whole of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. As we left the Crystal Empire, I looked back at the large Crystal palace, home to the royal cousins two the Princesses. I wondered what would become of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence after the war was over?