“Admiral, urgent message coming over secure military channel. We are to report to Nellie Air Force Base immediately.”

“Nellie?” Admiral Solar Shield asked.

“Yes Sir. Task Force 6 is directed to land specifically on Flight Deck One in front of Building 2, the Sky Walker Building.”

“Thank you. Relay that message to all ships in the task force. Navigation, lay in the fastest course for all ships in Alpha Formation. Once all ships confirm, we will start a 234 second countdown and punch it at highest sustainable speed for the whole task force.”

“Sir, my calculations are 2 days with optimal conditions.”

“We are quite a ways out,” Admiral Solar Shield replied. “There is nothing we can do about our location. Make it as soon as possible.”

Task Force 6 was a mixed unit assault force. It was two Raptors and 4 Sky-tanks. Plus the small, first generation transport they had picked up two weeks ago. All they knew was it was a Fairy Class Cloudship and its number was 731. Their directive was to find and eliminate any and all outposts and forward bases for the Zebra Empire.

They carried two battalions, each with two companies in it, which meant nine platoons per battalion. Plus that Auxiliary unit on the Fairy Class Ship. They were modern units, meaning each had a mix of types of soldiers fielded.

Each company had 3 infantry platoons. There also was a heavy platoon packing miniguns, rocket launchers and mortars. Each Battalion had an H&S platoon, which covered headquarters, communications, logistics, tactics, medical, and the rest of the cogs and wheels that kept a battalion working smoothly. All in all, a battalion had about 1,600 soldiers.

The Sky-tanks had crews of around 200, officers and crew. The Raptors numbered 600, officers and crew. The Fairy Class was half the size of a Sky-tank and couldn’t take more than 150 between crew and transported soldiers.

3,200 soldiers. 2,100 sailors. And then 50 specialized troops. About 5,300 lives were under his command, counting on him. With casualties from the assaults, that number was down to just under 5,000.

They were south of the San Palamino Desert. Over the two months on tour, they had four engagements with the enemy. Each was successful with limited injuries and casualties. They had two more weeks before they were supposed to head back and resupply, give short leave and figure out their next set of orders. This recall was interesting. Something big had happened.

There was nothing for him to do, except sit and wait for them to arrive. As they came up on Equestria there was a heavy cloud cover. The pegasi rarely blanketed such a large area with clouds. And they still had several hours to go, even at their speed.

Admiral Solar Shield had to give some semblance of orders. “Helm, continue under the clouds.”

“Yes Sir. Adjusting height.”

“Sir, all ships have confirmed height adjustment to stay under the clouds.”

Admiral Solar Shield just nodded.

The Admiral watched out the the bridge. It was dark. No, it was wrong. Everything below was muted. Storm clouds couldn’t mute the sun like these were. And the sands of San Palomino Desert stopped like normal, but the ground turned to dust and ash. There was no signs of trees. The once beautiful land was wrong.

Then the groundside city of Las Pegasus came into view. It’s skyline was broken. Torn. Admiral Solar Shield knew the skyline. He grew up in the cloud city side of Las Pegasus.

“Sir, I am getting odd weather reports. Not related to the cloud cover.”

“Ensign, explain.”

“Sir, the air, its… toxic?”

A loud siren began warning from the systems command center. It monitored all of the workings of the ships.

“Sir!” The Unicorn said panicking. “The system has locked all exterior access points. The ramp, each door and down to each maintenance hatch. Every single one. It will take your passcode to unlock them. They are detecting major radiation and more outside of our ship. Its throwing environmental hazard warnings, but it can’t identify what the hazards are.”

“That’s what I was getting at Sir, the air is, weird.”

“Helm! Take us above the clouds now! Commu-”

“Sending emergency orders.”

They hit more than just some clouds in the sky. The clouds were tight. Tighter than they ever should be.

As the forced their way up and through, the sunlight blinded the bridge. It surprised Admiral Solar Shield, even though it shouldn’t have. It was clouds as far as the Admiral could see. Nellie Air Force Base, the hub for the Equestrian Military’s Cloudships, was a ways off.

Nellie also trained several Pegasus Units. Only a few select units were all pegasi, like the Sky Force, known as the Blue Berets. They were Equestria’s legendary special forces units. When they teamed up with the Steel Rangers, the Zebras always lost. Fast. Admiral Solar Shield had transported an operation once. It was over faster than he was able to get his ships into a position to give close air support.

Something else was wrong. Las Pegasus should be closer. “Nav, where is Nellie and Las Pegasus?”

“Uh, by systems information, two miles out.”

“That’s not two miles,” Admiral Solar Shield stated. “Changing plans.”

“Communication, Delta Formation. I want us in a single file line with the Raptors on the ends and that Fairy trailing at the rear. Navigation, plot a course to Flight Deck One as best as possible as we figure out the adjusted location. I want the Nimbostratus to park right in front of the Building Two, Sky Walker building. Helm, slow us to approach cruising speed. We are not going to be knocking anypony out of the sky because we came in too fast.”

“Sir, the warnings have died down. The atmospheric conditions have changed and all exit points have unlocked. The ship is still on yellow alert, but they unlocked.”

“Thank you. Good to hear. I don’t know what the fuck happened, but I see why the clouds were in place.”

Admiral Solar Shield knew exactly what happened. There was only one explanation, but he wasn’t going there until he had confirmation. Fleet Admiral Rising Moon would know and explain it.

Task Force 6 came in on final approach, connecting up with the Traffic Control Tower who confirmed their orders. They were directed to swing around and space themselves 200 meters apart and park. Park right there on Flight Deck One and shut off the engines for safety reasons.

Admiral Solar Shield waited until the Nimbostratus was fully landed and shut down to leave the bridge. He stood up and straightened his dress uniform before heading to the bay below to depart. He wasn’t alone in the bay.

The 6^th Battalion’s Easy Company was formed up in the froward bay and at easy, ready for departure if the orders were given. The flight deck and surrounding area were suspended ground, metal and concrete. All held up by the clouds. They could walk on it without falling through. They could at least stretch their legs and bodies on the deck after being cooped up for so long on deployment. The only times they had been off ship was for engagements. And as soon as those were over, they were back on the ship as if nothing happened.

Admiral Solar Shield was met at the bottom of the ramp by a sergeant. He saluted with his wing and Admiral Solar Shield saluted back with his hoof. Hoof was universal, but pegasi were allowed to do either.

“Sir, the Fleet Admiral Rising Moon is waiting for you. Follow me.”

Admiral Solar Shield followed after him into Building 2, Sky Walker building. Sky Walker was a legendary Pegasus. He was the first pegasi to die in the war. The first building was the Traffic Control Building, so he was honored by the real heart of the area, building two.

There was plenty of twists and turns for them to finally get to the meeting room.

“Fleet Admiral!” Admiral Solar Shield saluted as he stepped through the door.

The door was closed behind him by the sergeant. There were five other pegasi in the room. Another Admiral and one two star general. The General was somepony Admiral Solar Shield had never even seen before. The other Admiral was now the same rank as Solar Shield. Admiral Cloud Kicker had been recently promoted to second rank Admiral.

“Sit down,” Fleet Admiral Rising Moon smiled. “A lot has happened recently. It took us a few weeks to find Task Force 6. We thought you had been lost.”

“No Ma’am. We are at near full force, even after 4 engagements.”

“That is good to hear,” The general said.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name. “I only know the Fleet Admiral and I have only met Admiral Cloud Kicker once or twice. And last time we met, she was just a Captain. So congratulations on the promotions.”

“We got burned, hard,” Admiral Cloud Kicker said. There was no pain, only cold hate. “A lot of good Cloudships and pegasi went down in that battle. I was left as the only Raptor left, and took charge of what survived.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Admiral Solar Shield said. “But back to the other introductions.”

“I am General Spearhead. Like you, I am a former Royal Guard Pegasus. Except I was ordered to be on the ground. The other two are Red Stitch and Silver Lining.”

“Silver Lining, he is an expert in cloud farming and also war technology. Red Stitch is a top notch doctor, from Cloudsdale.”

“Pleasure,” Admiral Solar Shield said with a nod. “Now, care to catch me up? We were not scheduled to be back for another two weeks.”

Rising Moon took a deep breath in. “Solar Shield, let’s drop the titles. You, Spearhead served in the Royal Guard. I was in Luna’s guard. I was in the sky with the Pegasi from the beginning, doing nighttime recon and raiding. You and Spearhead switch about the same time, right after Celestia abducted the throne.”

“Right,” Solar Shield nodded. “My grandfather served in Celestia’s guard. I was named after him and that’s why my Cutie Mark is a yellow, radiating shield. I was destined to be a Royal Guard Pony.

“I was switched by her Majesty Princess Celestia to the airships, and then the Cloudships. Back when it was just pegasi crews because they were afraid the soldiers would fall out if they went anywhere outside the bay that was designed for their transport. But serving together, that was ages ago. I’ve been leading Task Force 6 since it was created, from 5 ships, to ten. Damn, that was forever ago. What is your point?”

“Well,” Fleet Admiral Rising Moon said, hesitating. “The Zebras, they launched megaspells.”

Solar Shield let out a big sigh. He knew it. Everything pointed to it as they came back into Equestria, but it still kicked him in the gut harder than he expected. His head was in his hooves, leaning on the table, gasping for air.

The Fleet Admiral continued when he had calmed down. “We retaliated and then were forced to seal the sky up. Its bad below. They hit Cloudsdale first. Our involvement in the war, it put the Pegasus Race as the first target. They lost because of us.”

“With Cloudsdale taken care of, Canterlot was struck with a gas spell. They were then free to hit us with more. Fillydelphia was confirmed hit almost dead center of the city. Manehattan took one close by. Splendid Valley was struck third. They hit the cities and the major military bases.”

“Its gone. Most of it was the necromantic Balefire spells. If its left, it’s going to die.”

“To avoid letting them hit Las Pegasus’s sky half, we moved it and put up a cloud cover to make it impossible to see that we did take that precaution. And yes, Equestria fired back.”

“How did you miss this?” Spearhead asked.

“I was south of the San Palomino Desert,” Solar Shield replied, thinking. “Nothing major was down there. We had our engagements. We stopped them advancing along that front again, but nothing major.”

Solar Shield sat there thinking. More was going on, that was evident. And cloud cover was a great screen, but it was massive from what he saw. Everywhere. Perhaps over the whole of Equestria.

Tactically that would make sense. But it also abandoned any survivors. Others had to survive. Task Force 6 wasn’t the only one operating along the front lines. But maybe they had been hit in separate incidences.

And then there were the stables. How they worked, Solar Shield didn’t know. He never looked into them. Most pegasi believe the sky was safer. Solar Screen just knew they were protection against this exact scenario.

Solar Shield’s head snapped to look straight at the Fleet Admiral. “How big is the cloud cover?”

Rising Moon took in a deep breath. “Its as large as we could make it. It encompass all of Equestria and more. The Zebras spared nothing. We had to make the edges wide enough that nothing blew up over the edges.”

“And survivors?”

“None. We checked.”

“Stables?”

“We don’t even know where they are or how many there are. We can’t even confirm that any were made.”

“Fuck,” Solar Shield sighed. “I knew if this happened, it would be bad… but this… this is worse than I believed was possible.”

Solar Shield sat up and straightened his uniform. “We can still strike at them. Task Force 6 can head to the heart of the Zebra Empire and assault everything we come across.”

“Solar Shield,” Rising Moon smiled. It was a smile of pity. “Equestria did the exact same thing to them. They are just as gone as we are.”

“We have to turn to defending what we can. We had a lot of Cloud farmers, centered around 48 Homesteads. They were the first to be farmers, and they have been teaching others to farm the skies. They are the future. We won’t starve if we don’t take the right precautions.”

“Silver Lining knows how to keep our industry running. We were starting to do more above because they had been landing blows against factories and other key places. We even have had a recycling plant above the clouds for several years. It was too much to move those unprocessed materials from Cloudsdale so far to be processed.”

“If we don’t have it, we can make it. Not to the same quality, and certainly not to the same speed as the unicorns did, but all they really did was speed things up. We can make the circuit boards and mechanical pieces. It's called reverse engineering.”

“We have to fight for us. We have to protect the ones we can. We have a lot of scared pegasi here who need us. And I know your family is here.”

“Yes, they are,” Solar Shield replied cautiously.

It wasn’t hidden information. But he was unsure of where the conversation was going. And if it was going where he was afraid it was, it wasn’t good. But they would have to spell it out.

The Fleet Admiral shifted her position and learned forward onto the table. It was time to get to business again.

“Admiral. You are highly skilled. We need that skill for our defense. The defense of your family, my family, and countless others. You have experience that few have. If we are going to protect them, we need strong leaders. Stalwart soldiers who can get things done and teach others to do the same thing. A lot is gone, but we have soldiers and sailors like you who can teach all of the eager pegasi who are lining up to join and protect their families.”

Solar Shield took a deep breath in and scanned the five of them. “But below. What about them?”

“Admiral,” Red Stitch said with a soft smile. “I spent my life with the Ministry of Peace. I am a healer. Sadly, sometimes, you have to choose who you can save. These pegasi are guarantees. The stable, dwellers, are not. We can’t even confirm any made it to their protection. For now, we need to focus our efforts on our safety.”

Solar Shield rested his forehead on the table. After a minute, he spoke. “I am an Admiral of Equestria. I fly Cloudships with the ID tags for Equestria, for Princess Luna. And I didn’t start after this war came, I had served years before then. I made an oath to protect all ponies.”

Admiral Cloud Kicker’s hoof slammed onto the table. “Damn it Solar Shield-”

Solar Shield’s head snapped up and he looked her in the eyes, glaring at her and cut her off. “Its Admiral Solar Shield to you! I knew Fleet Admiral Rising Moon and General Spearhead long before it all went to shit. If we keep things informal, fine. But you came in after. I out rank you by seniority.”

Admiral Cloud Kicker broke eye contact. His hate and pain was unnerving her. She couldn’t match it. He was right too.

“Fine,” Solar Shield said. “My oath to Princess Celestia shall hold. I will protect the ponies of Equestria with my life. With her gone, and I assume Luna was killed in the strike against Canterlot, I will protect and serve the ponies I can.”

“Admiral,” Silver Lining said, a bit uncomfortable after he shut down Admiral Cloud Kicker and put her in her place. “Admiral, the sad fact is that Equestria is gone. Its pegasi left. And we will have to make a harder stance to secure our future. I assume you never heard about us?”

Solar Shield shook his head once. “I was focused on the mission and Task Force 6.”

“Admiral, we here believe that the Pegasus Race never should have been involved in this war to start. And as you see, two of them served in the guard, with the Princesses, like you did. A lot of lives were lost for a fake unity. Cloudsdale was hit first for a reason. The unity caused this war. The Unity of the Zebra Empire drove them to war. The Unity of the Equestrian Races brought a sense of security that was never there.”

Solar Shield narrowed his eyes at Silver Lining. “Are you saying we should have never gotten involved?”

“Yes,” Silver Lining said calmly. “It was a while before the Pegasus Race got involved. We are not the same as the others. We were safe. We were free. Until we entered the war. And then we lost a lot of blood.”

“And an Admiral of your caliber knows how much blood was lost for our winged brothers. And how little they were ready for war. The old harmony legends were just that. Legends.”

Solar Shield’s heart had stopped beating. He scanned the room. Admiral Cloud Kicker wasn’t looking at him, but the others believed it. They believed they should not have gotten involved.

Spearhead had a question. “Solar Shield. We were on rotations with each other at times. We lived in Canterlot. Both of us had families. Mine died there. Yours are here, Las Pegasus. Why?”

“I…” Solar Shield sighed. “I figured they would be safer with family. My parents and brother lived in Las Pegasus and my wife’s family lives here as well. I thought they would be safer, and with family around, my absence, they would get the support they needed.”

Solar Shield steeled himself. “But I will not recant on my vow. I made it to the Princesses. To be held for life. Who shall lead without them?”

“We will,” Rising Moon said. “Me, Red Stitch, Spearhead, and Silver Lining. A Pegasus Hoops is out leading a team to rebuild the Weather Factory. He is working alongside us, but can’t be here right now.

“With the military making sure we maintain order and therefor survival, the Pegasus Race will stand grand and proud like it did before the failed unity. We learned, and we got burned. Instead of one, we will lead with experienced individuals in their field. A council so that we don’t make the same mistakes.

“And, maybe you? You have seniority over Admiral Cloud Kicker, and she is here because at the moment, she has seniority over the whole air base. With you, that changes.”

“I,” Solar Shield still had his doubts. “Everypony has just accepted it?”

“Sadly, no. Some have held on to the old ways. Rainbow Dash left in a fit. Fluttershy never survived. And others have refused to believe this is the only way for survival. We explain it, and you get one shot. Either you accept our offer, or go try and live below. And you saw below.”

Solar Shield was running out of time. He had seen the state Las Pegasus was on the ground. It might have been from a ways off, but it was still enough to know the truth about below. He didn’t like the sound of it. Not at all.

But he did a family to protect. Two colts and a filly. Was he just going to abandon them? Or bring them below to the toxic wasteland below. He knew they wouldn’t last long. They had no future there.

But here, they had built one. They were in school. They were chasing their first loves. Jobs available. They had futures. Good futures available. And he could guarantee them that.

“Fine,” Solar Shield decreed. “Fine. I will fight for the Pegasus Race. I will defend the skies for my pegasi brothers. I will make sure my family, and all of the fillies and colts, have a future. A safe future where they can thrive.”

“By the sun and the stars I swear it. I swear my loyalty to the Pegasus Race and their survival. May my blood be drained from my body before I fail at my task of protecting them.”

“Good,” Fleet Admiral Rising Moon smiled. “I was really hoping you would join. I know, it's a transition. The ones who were born on the ground have been having trouble with the change, but the traditional pegasi like you and I have not had too much trouble. We understand what is at stake.”

“Yes,” Solar Shield said quietly. “Yes. I grew up flying free, not walking. I had my Cutie Mark before I ever touched the earth. I…”

Solar Shield froze. He hadn’t thought things through. Or had he? His family, their survival was key. But he didn’t come here on his own.

Solar Shield ripped out of the chair and tore the door open, dashing down the hallway to get outside.

“Fuck he-”

“I got it,” Rising Moon said. “He was going to figure it out at some point. But he won’t break the oath.”

“I should probably join you,” Spearhead said.

“No, stay. “I’m softer than you. And like him, I was born in the sky. Cloudsdale, but still sky.”

Solar Shield knocked several pegasi out of the way as he scrambled to get outside. It was worse than he fear. There was blood on the flight deck, but not from bullets. They had the units march out and form up, presumably for an address.

They were sitting ducks. Jumped and surrounding by heavily armed pegasi. They very comrades, the ones the trusted, turned against them.

In fear. In hate. Whatever it was, it was betrayal.

The blood was when they physically beat resisters. And there still were holdouts. Survival meant that they needed the weapons, armor, ammo, and supplies the soldiers had on them. Fully intact. Which meant no bullet holes.

Solar Shield stumbled forward, lost in pain and misery. It all was falling apart.

About 1,500 pegasi served him, mostly on the Cloudships. They were off to the side, under heavy guard. Many had resisted and were beat up. Their fate was undecided.

The rest, once stripped, were not being treated with any honor. They were forced off the side of the flight deck, to the unsafe clouds. If they couldn’t walk, they were picked up and just dropped.

3,500 Earth Ponies and Unicorns served under him.

Solar Shield had lost sight of where he was. He saw nothing but blood and his vision was red. Everything was blending together, nothing made sense.

“Admiral! Admiral Solar Shield!”

Solar Shield knew the voice. He took a deep breath in. It wasn’t one of the five in the room. It was the voice of one of his soldiers.

Admiral Solar Shield took a deep breath in to focus. He tried to locate his soldier. He found him. It was Captain Stone River. And behind him was his company, Company E. Easy Company. Easy Company was stationed on the Nimbostratus. They were always with Solar Shield.

Captain Stone River was the toughest bastard Solar Shield had ever know. His name was well deserved. There was no soldier that matched his skill and his spine. His soldiers stood the proudest. And his company was standing at ease behind him. They hadn’t resisted, but they hadn’t removed any of their gear.

“Admiral,” Captain Stone River called again.

The soldiers that had them surrounded were very weary. They were not following the orders, but they were not hostile.

One turned to him. “Sir, they requested to speak to you first. They wouldn’t do anything without speaking to you first, but…”

“Stand down,” Solar Shield said. “I will speak with my soldiers.”

Solar Shield stood in front of Easy Company. They were also nicknamed Jodie.

“Captain Stone River,” Admiral Solar Shield greeted him with a nod. “Jodie.”

“Admiral, what is happening?”

A scream from a panicking mare cut across the flight deck. Solar Shield wanted to drop his head, defeated. But Easy Company was not defeated yet. They were standing proud, focused forward like good soldiers. They were waiting on their Admiral, the one who was in command of Task Force 6. Who at the end of their day, was their XO. The officer they went into battle for.

“I, I,” Solar Shield stuttered. “Its gone. Equestria. The Zebras unleashed megaspells that blanketed all across the land. Every major city. Every military base they knew of. It's all broken apart, burning. And we did the same thing to them.”

“Oh sweet Celestia,” Captain Stone River gasped. He looked like he was going to fall to his knees. But he was a stronger soldier than that.

“We did it back?” Captain Stone River asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Yeah,” Solar Shield said standing stronger. “Right or wrong, we fucking did it back. We destroyed all below.”

“The clouds?” Captain Stone River asked.

“Cloudsdale was hit first and destroyed. The pegasi protected Las Pegasus with clouds and moving it’s location. And with the toxins below, they laid down more and more so they can’t roll up the sides and enter this air. Until it covered all of Equestria.”

“Its…” Solar Shield hesitated. “Become every pony for themselves. The Pegasus Race…”

“Blames the rest of us,” Captain Stone Rive stoically finished.

“Yes,” Solar Shield replied, trying to match the Captain’s strength.

Lieutenant Patchwork Quilt stepped forward from her platoon, Second Platoon.

“Sir! Question Sir.”

Solar Shield took a deep breath in. If Lieutenant Patchwork Quilt was speaking up, it wasn’t lightly.

“You are free to speak,” Solar Shield declared.

“Thank you Sir. I want to ask you where the morality line is? Where right and wrong is?”

A bullet to the heart was easier to take that that question. You can patch a bullet, but this metaphorical bullet wasn’t something you could patch up.

“Lieutenant… fuck. Easy Company. I admit, I don’t know. I can’t see it. I… I…”

If Solar Shield said it, he didn’t feel like he was their admiral. Wasn’t it a mark against them? But they deserved to know.

“I chose my side. I admit, I forgot about those under my command. I, I thought about my family. Who is here. Who I can protect. Or at least try to protect.”

Lieutenant Patchwork Quilt was ready. “Was it an easy decision?”

Solar Shield closed his eyes for a second. He reopened them and scanned the company. “No. I was inside the whole time, discussing it with the new leaders. We… have no Princesses to lead any race anymore. And not because Princess Celestia stepped down either. The strike against Canterlot, it… No. No, I didn’t make the choice lightly.”

“You have a family here?” Lieutenant Patchwork Quilt pressed.

“A wife, two colts, and a little filly. My parents and my wife’s parents. I was born in the the Las Pegasus Sky. That’s… that’s what I am trying to protect.”

Another bloodcurdling scream cut across the flight deck. Another was fighting the inevitable.

Lieutenant Patchwork Quilt stepped back into her spot at the head of her platoon. A Corporal popped out of her position in First Platoon.

“Permission to speak Sir!”

It was Aura. She was brand new to the Company. New when they first set out. She had proven to be more than adequate. She was a tough fighter and natural leader. She wasn’t afraid to be first in and last out. And her skill only backed it.

“Clear to speak,” Solar Shield said.

Solar Shield was becoming more accustomed to the screams. To the horrors happening around him. He was standing there, without a problem anymore. Like it was just another day. Just another briefing.

“Sir. I wanted to say, it's been a honor and pleasure. I know we all feel that same way. But I’m not, I’m not going down without that same honor. You have given us your all. You gave Equestria your all. I gave Equestria my all.”

Solar Shield saw pegasi begin to charge but halt as the battle saddle dropped from her body. The saddle bags were neatly set to the side and then her armor. She put everything neatly there in front of her. Aura stood there in her protective under layer the military made them wear to stop chafing. White to allow them to bleach it clean.

Aura confidently walked forward, saluted, and then continued on her way. She stopped right at the end, one step away. She didn’t look back, only forward.

“Admiral, one last thing. Protect your family. Make sure they survive. Do everything you can for their survival. Morally so. And know this, our fate was sealed as soon as we got the return summons. You didn’t doom us. You didn’t betray us. You didn’t choose this in any way. That’s why you are, and always will be, an amazing Admiral.”

“However, when that time comes, when Equestria calls forth its next set of heroes, make sure that the Pegasus Race stands with with them. Not behind, not in front of, and certainly not against. United, fighting together. One of those heroes is going to be a Pegasus. At least one.”

“Do everything you can, to never forget the other Races and why we have always needed each other. Alicorns are part Pegasus for a reason.”

“I won’t,” Solar Shield replied. “I won’t. I have a shield Cutie Mark for a reason. To protect Equestria. This-”

“Go with the best you can,” Aura stated. “You know who you can confidently protect. Equestrian Pegasus Ponies. That’s what matters.”

With a that step she walked off the edge. Her head was held high. Her honor was intact. And everypony who witnessed it couldn’t say anything different.

Solar Shield was trying to keep a strong heard. But he had no idea how he looked anymore. He was watching the destruction of his Task Force, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Aura was right. Protect who he could. His resistance would only cost more lives.

Solar Shield turned back around to Easy Company.

"Company... Atten-hut!"

Solar Shield’s heart stopped. All of the company snapped together in perfect military crispness. Each and every one was only in their snow white undergarments. They had stepped back, leaving every piece of gear neatly in place. Ready to be turned it.

"Platoon Leaders, sound off!"

"First Platoon disarmed and ready Sir!"

"Second Platoon is ready for departure, Sir!"

"Third Company is as ordered Sir!"

"Captain, Heavy Weapons Section has stood down and has turned in all gear."

"Company! Right – Face! Forward – March!”

They would march together in one line, filing out after First Platoon. They were going to march past the Nimbostratus, all the way to the end of Building 2 and then turn.

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

It was Captain Stone River’s Marching Cadence. The one he developed to keep them all in step as they marched. It was fun and went well beyond just saying left step and right step, or staying on a 1, 2, 3, 4, count. Other cadences were created by different units.

The Company loved it. And they were perfect at their show marching. Even without equipment, armor, and just in their white undergarments, their high step was perfect. Heads were held up high. Everything was perfect.

The cadence was why the Company was named Jodie. Donut Joe, or Joe D, had earned a reputation of stealing a soldier’s special somepony while she was lonely and they were deployed. There was plenty of stories about him, often myth, and their Cadence had immortalized him in it.

The Captain said the first line, they replied, he said the next, they replied. It was fairly simple.

Yer had a good home when you left

You're right

Yer had a good home when you left

You're right

Jodie was there when you left

You're right

Jodie was there when you left

You're right

SOUND OFF

1 - 2

SOUND OFF

3 - 4

CADENCE COUNT

1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 --- 3 - 4

The Captain had stopped moving forward, giving the Cadence count from the corner of their turn. He would follow up the rear. This was a moment where there was no honor in leading the troops first. He would follow them, the last one. Making sure no pony fell behind.

Yer had a good home when you left

You're right

Jodie was there when you left

You're right

Yer mamma was there when you left

You're right

Yer papa was there when you left

You're right

SOUND OFF

1 - 2

SOUND OFF

3 - 4

CADENCE COUNT

1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 --- 3 - 4

Yer sister was there when you left

You're right

Yer brother was there when you left

You're right

Yer home was there when you left

You're right

Equestria looked nice when you left

You're right

SOUND OFF

1 - 2

SOUND OFF

3 - 4

CADENCE COUNT

1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 --- 3 - 4

Yer had a good home when you left

You're right

Your baby was there when you left

You're right

The Guard was there when you left

You're right

And that's why you left

You're right

SOUND OFF

1 - 2

SOUND OFF

3 - 4

CADENCE COUNT

1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 --- 3 - 4

The Captain pilots a ship,

You're right

The sergeant rides on your back,

You're right

The Admiral stays a raptor

You're right

But your just out a luck.

You're right

SOUND OFF

1 - 2

SOUND OFF

3 - 4

CADENCE COUNT

1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 --- 3 - 4

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Huri! - Ho!

Hut! - Ho! - Hu!

And that was it. Easy Company was gone. Solar Shield had never seen such brave souls sacrifice themselves in such an honorable way. They died serving Equestria with dignity.

Solar Shield pulled his uniform down, straightening it. It also helped him straighten himself. He had seen Fleet Admiral Rising Moon off to the side, watching as they proudly marched in front of her.

“Admiral,” A Lieutenant said approaching and saluting. “All Cloudships have stood down and are offline. All crew have been reassigned or are in holding for reassignment. All except for the weird one, small one at the end.”

“Their ramp is down a foot or two, we can’t see into the bridge because of the glass, and by our scans, the entire thing is empty. We also can’t even find it on our communication lines. Its a ghost ship. However, when we tried to board, we got rammed out by brooms. And then they popped smoke grenades. Our second attempt, they dropped tear gas, forcing us back.”

“We can’t contact them and they won’t respond to any forms of contact we have tried. How should we proceed?”

Solar Shield took a deep breath in and sighed. This was it. His time to be an Admiral again.

“Admiral,” Fleet Admiral Rising Moon called out, walking over to his side. “Who is that? I don’t have any records for you having a 11 ships. Task Force 6 was sent out with 10, and was not scheduled for a meet up with any ships. Especially a First Generation, Fairy Class Transport. I didn’t know any were around.”

Solar Shield shrugged. “She hooked up with us about two weeks ago. A single vessel I’ve had communication with her though. I do not know what is up now.”

“And her name is?”

“We just kept to her designation, 7-3-1. It's actually 7 31. Two numbers.”

“What records do you have of her?”

“None.”

“You were over Zebra Lands and you let a foreign, first generation Cloudship join you? That could be Zebras!”

“He he,” Solar Shield chuckled. “She gave us the proper codes. And speaking to the Captain, its not. Things may have been withheld, but it's 100% Equestrian.”

“What about it being controlled, hijack!”

“Calm down,” Solar Shield said. “Its not. The proper codes, they were not something we had until five hours after we set off. Sealed in paper envelopes. Only a few of us had them. Not even you. They knew of our mission ahead of time.”

“I’m the fleet admiral for fuck’s sake! How did they know before me? And we only planned it a month in advance!”

“Mind readers?” Solar Shield said walking down the flight deck towards the ship. “I’ll go talk with them. That’s what they want.”

Solar Shield stopped halfway down the flight deck. To his left were the pegasi under his command. They were crammed together under guard. Too many had fought. Solar Shield was sure none had been killed, yet.

He turned to the. “Fall in! Just like you would normally.”

The guards didn’t know what to do, but since the Fleet Admiral was besides him and didn’t protest, they let them organize.

Solar Shield was about to speak when a grenade went off in front of 731. They dropped two more out of the slight opening, forcing the pegasi surrounding it back. They had tried to breach it once again.

“Hey!” Solar Shield barked. “Back away! That’s an order!”

“But Sir,” The Lieutenant protested. “If there are-”

“Shut up! They know whats happening. It's all Pegasi on that vessel. Otherwise they would have taken off. Use your common sense. If they were enemies, they would have done something about it. We are prime targets for their guns.”

“Fuck it,” Solar Shield spat. It was directed at his troops in front of him. “Most of you are wearing crew member uniforms. Which means by now you know the rumors of what was below. The toxins, the chemicals, the warnings, you know it. You are not stupid, and sitting together, the rumors flew.”

“Yeah, the Zebras fucked us. And we fucked them back. Life below is questionable. Neither side threw any punched. Each one was a kill blow. First was Cloudsdale, its gone and so is every resident. Canterlot is gone and so are the Princesses. Clouds were used to cover and move Las Pegasus.

“The Fleet Admiral is one member on a small board that is serving as the current system in place to make sure we survive. If you thought things were broken before…”

Solar Shield let out a troubled sigh before taking a deep breath in and composing himself.

“If you thought the world was broken before, it really is now. You just witnessed how broken it is right now. The Pegasus Race has struck out on its own, and wants to reclaim the grandness that it was before the unification of Equestria.

“Unfortunately that means they are no room for prisoners. And if we are going to survive against the hell unleashed against us, we are going to need every spare thing we can get. I’m not thrilled with it.

“You get a choice, stay or go. If you go, you can never come back. I have family here. They have a future here. I’m staying to protect them during this unsure time.

“If you watched Easy Company’s final march, you may have heard what Corporal Aura said. And unfortunately she is right. I didn’t doom anypony. I didn’t choose this in any way. I didn’t make a choice. As soon as we got that recall notice, their fate was sealed. They went out honorably, as soldiers of Equestria.

“It hurts. Cause damn it all, I was their Admiral. I was some of their Admiral for years. But Aura was right. My oath to protect Equestria, right now, this is Equestria. We have countless pegasi who are afraid. Many of them had never even been to Cloudsdale or Las Pegasus, and now they have to live above, without the ground they love.

“I have to live with my choice. I don’t know if it was right or not. I can’t tell you what choice to make. I can tell you this. In the end, Easy Company didn’t blame me for something out of my control. I didn’t know and I couldn’t stop it. So I’m going to live my life doing what I did before, protecting the ponies I can. It just means it's all Pegasus Ponies right now.

“Maybe they were right, maybe they were wrong. Your choice with how you chose to life your life, and who you chose to live it for. But I’m a fucking soldier. I have personally escorted Princess Celestia.

“Protecting and serving is what I love. It's my job. Even as fucked up as it just got. If you want to still serve under me, well I haven’t been told I don’t have at least one ship under me. I’ll take any I can with me and we can continue doing what we were.

“As you were. Good luck. And if you find it best to leave, may the Princesses somehow find favor on your and more importantly, thank you. Thank you for serving me with honor. I couldn’t have asked for better soldiers and sailors. You were damn fucking amazing crew members.”

Solar Shield turned and continued down the flight deck to the Fairy Class Cloudship. Two pegasi were being treated on the flight deck for shrapnel wounds.

Solar Shield rolled his eyes at their screams of pain and muttered ‘fuckers’ under his breath. It was their fault for trying to breach it when the Admiral was coming.

Solar Shield looked at the bridge. It had it’s solar tint turned on. It was an amazing technology that blocked anypony from seeing inside. It was special Unicorn magic.

“Admiral,” Fleet Admiral Rising Moon said getting frustrated. “Who is inside there? And why do they only want to talk with you?”

“I don’t actually know.” A smirk crested Solar Shield’s right cheek. “Maybe they have stayed around just to get me inside and shoot me. The only way to find out is to go in.”

“What!” The Fleet Admiral raged. “Go in! They just dropped grenades out of it.”

“It’s fine,” Solar Shield said, waving it off with his wing. It was directly in her face, and he was aware of it, but did it anyway.

Solar Shield stepped forward three paces to separate himself from the other two. He looked at the yellow, orange, and blue shifting glass of the bridge for 15 seconds, gave a nod and proceeded forward to the ramp.

The ramp was cracked enough his him to squeeze in. But it was too high for him to jump. The last thing he wanted to do right now was use his wings. He wanted to forget he was a Pegasus.

Solar Shield opened his wings and flapped several times until he could hook his front hooves over the edge and hang there. He pulled himself up until the ramp us under his arms and he was peaking it.

“You have me,” Solar Shield said quietly into the darkness. “It's me, Admiral, Forward Admiral Solar Shield. I’m coming in. Alone.”

Solar Shield pulled himself up and over the edge. He slid down and in on his clothed flank. It kept him from scraping and rubbing, but it got hot. It got very hot. He was happy when he was on all four hooves.

It was dark, nothing was visible. Solar Shield took five sure steps into the bay. The ramp snapped close, but he expected that. The bay lights slowly glowed to life. He was facing forty pegasi standing strong, and they had him surrounded with only the ramp behind him clear.

Each was in sky blue uniforms and wearing a blue beret. Each was geared out, ready to fight. But they didn’t have any real armor. Just heavy padding at most. Some of their guns were unlike any even the Steel Rangers totted. Heavy magic rifles, three barreled miniguns, large caliber machine guns, and full auto multi-barreled laser rifles were some of the ones Solar Shield could figure out. Nothing was normal. Most carried three guns, plus a side arm.

Solar Shield took at solid breath in, and he fussed with his uniform. “Hello 731. It is good to finally see you face to face. I figured it was Blue Berets in here. I have met every soldier who ever served under me. You never did a jump, never needed to, but it is good to finally meet you all.”

No responses were made immediately. They just stared at him. Finally they parted and two stepped forward from behind. Both were in dress uniforms.

One was the Captain by his cover. Or better put, Rear Admiral. He had an Admiral Star on each of his collars. The other was a Blue Beret, obvious by their unique beret. Only they wore berets. His beret’s patch was standard, but the numbers were 7 on top, 31 on the bottom. And, he was a full Colonel by his insignia’s wings. A full Colonel for only 40 troops was an extremely high rank.

Both of them had amazing ribbon racks on their left breast. Beyond basic service ribbons, the Admiral had a silver star on his Equestrian Flying Cross, That meant he was awarded it at least five times. And the Colonel, he had the Silver Star with two bronze stars, the Bronze Star with Valor had been awarded at least three time, and he had other combat awards.

But they both shared a unique award. The Sun Citation, with three silver stars. It had been replaced by the Full Moon Citation when Celestia stepped down. And they each had the Full Moon Citation with two bronze stars. They obviously had been a pair for a long time, and earned them together.

Solar Shield had protected dignitaries and princesses, protected and met all the Element of Harmony bearers, and stood side by side with the greatest of the greats from this war. But these two were beyond any of that.

“Things got messy,” The Admiral said. “Very messy.”

Solar Shield gave a slow nod. “They did. Were you aware Equestria and The Zebra Empire exchanged Megaspells?”

“No,” The Colonel said. “We were just as unaware as you. And then we saw how they responded to the, others. It took everything in our bodies to hold and not strike.”

“You could have wiped them out,” Solar Shield stated.

“Maybe,” The Colonel replied. “Then what? We get branded as traitors and they still die when they rally? Maybe. Maybe Not? But we held, waiting for more information. Its, something we will have to live with. But we don’t commit ourselves lightly, and when we do, its final. We would have… the entire Race would have been the target.”

“We heard it all,” The Rear Admiral stated, taking over. “We heard the talk with Easy Company. The full talk and their final march. We heard the address to your winged crew and soldiers. And we heard a lot we wish we could forget. A lot we never should have heard, ever.

“But those very things are the reason we held. We are the peak of Equestria. There is nothing greater than us. And that means we have to be careful. If there is nothing left, well we have to figure out what is worth fighting for.

“My heart aches for one thing. That we couldn’t do something before. I truly wish we could have left them below, somewhere. Yet, that may have caused more trouble and pain. Balefire, its nasty stuff. We, encountered it a few times. I don’t know if they were better off here.”

Solar Shield stood there, looking at them. Highly experienced troops, all from Cloudsdale or Las Pegasus. Nothing looked wrong, and yet. Top secret security clearance. Knowing where Task Force 6 was and what codes they had and needed. Specialized glass that can block viewing the bridge from the outside. And most important, they were flying an obsolete ship that didn’t have any identification outside of a number. The same number their unit patch on their berets.

Solar Shield stood as tall as possible. “I’m Task Force 6’s Admiral. I’ve never done a normal mission. A normal tour. I was there, guarding the Princesses as Princess Celestia stepped down. And I wasn’t just a guard. When she stepped down, she gave me an envelope. Inside, it was final orders, signed before she abducted the throne to Luna.

“They sent me to the be a Captain over an airship. By the time Cloudships came along, I never captained one. I was an Admiral. One of the first five. Five.

“Yet the Fleet Admiral, Rising Moon, wasn’t one of those five. She was a guard for Luna, albeit a stellar one. She wasn’t one of the second line, or third, but she rose up there. The firsts either died when the Dragons came, or functioned like me, in special roles like me with the Task Force teams. The same with the others.

“But you Admiral, I don’t know you.”

“You wouldn’t know me. I am Rear Admiral Obsidian Wing. I didn’t rise up like the others. I was trained for this role. Captain… but the rank came later. They could only toss so many medals at me, so eventually they tossed an admiral star my way. I didn’t chose it.”

Obsidian Wing didn’t fit his coloring. Gold and Green, obsidian wasn’t his real name.

The Colonel nodded. “The same with me. Run out of medals to give and so they decided to promote. There are only so many times they like to give the silver star. Eventually, they just expect it of you. The same goes for all of us here.”

The Admiral nodded, taking back over. “Eventually the idea became that if needed, all of 731 can take leadership roles. The lowest soldier, is a First Sergeant.”

“E-8,” Solar Shield interjected.

“All of my officers are Captains. And the soldier officers, the same goes for them. With most being Majors. Again, the idea is that we can control troops if needed. Our leadership skills are earned.”

Solar Shield sighed and closed his eyes. “I have no doubt they are earned. What concerns me, is how. And I don’t see a lot of stripes either. They are officers. Captains, not sergeants.”

Solar Shield’s eyes snapped open and he looked the Colonel dead in the eyes. “That, is what concerns me. I’ve fielded Steel Rangers and worked with Berets.”

They stood there for a minute. It was clear what Solar Shield meant. He had worked with Blue Berets before, but they had been Blue Berets with the regular structure. Whole units. And none of them were like 731 was. But Blue Berets made a great cover for some other units.

“So, what do we do? The Fleet Admiral is waiting for an answer. They want a ship name at the absolute, very least.”

“Red Dawn,” Rear Admiral Obsidian Wing stated. “731, is the Red Dawn.”

The name was new, that was clear. And it fit. There was no doubt about it.

“The Fleet Admiral, Rising Moon, is in charge?”

“One of five,” Solar Shield answered. “Four are here. One is building a new weather factory. Each has skill that can save the Pegasus Race with what we have. Cloud Kicker is the Admiral in Charge over Nellie Air Force Base.”

“Cloud Kicker made it to Admiral?”

“Bad situation made permanent by a Captain who knew what to do. Dragons are foul creatures. At least she was tested in the flames of combat.”

The stood in silence for a minute.

“Well?” Solar Shield asked. “What’s the next move?”

“Preserve the history,” Admiral Obsidian Wing said.

“Protect what we can,” The Colonel added. “Protect the Pegasus Race until we can reunite with our brother races. What choice do we have?”

The Admiral gave a slow nod. “And we, we will keep it. We will keep that history until we die and pass it on. There is more at stake than just the war. We can not forget the history we came from. That we fought for.”

Solar Shield’s sigh was more than troubled. “History is written by the victor.”

The Colonel’s face flipped into a smirk. “Unless survivors can keep the truth alive. The victors have the ones who experienced things, who know things. Those soldiers can protect it. The truth can live.”

“We should head out,” Admiral Obsidian Wing stated. “Lower the ramp. The three of us will speak to the Fleet Admiral and others in this…”

“Council,” Solar Shield explained. “Five right now, maybe seven. The idea was popped to me about being added to the list. But the important part, not one or even two. That is a flaw, at least that’s what was said to me.”

The Colonel nodded. “Without the power of a goddess, there is no other choice but multiple leaders to balance things. There is a lot Celestia and Luna did-”

“That was never seen or spoken about,” Solar Shield finished.

“Come, let us go,” Admiral Obsidian Wing decreed. “Lower the ramp, but remember, until we have secured ourselves, they are not our allies. If they come, slaughtered them. For Equestria. For the Princesses. For the blood spilled. For all of Pony Kind.”

“For, the Red Dawn, has Risen.”

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