Author's Notes:

BOOK 5: PART 1: REUNIONS

Shadow watched the Lord Clove slowly make its way to the Squad Barracks. It was a slow ship, being a Monitor Class Cloudship. Shadow wasn’t the only one in power armor, waiting for their arrival. Every Wonderbolt currently at the Squad Barracks was there, about 60.

The Lord Clove smoothly came to a stop and lowered her ramp. Out of it came an old, white Pegasus with red tipped feathers. His uniform was spotless, but he was only toting ribbons on his chest.

“Admiral!” an angry pegasus called from the top of the ramp. “What is the meaning of this!”

Ruby Snow looked over his shoulder. “This is the most secure place in the Enclave, Sir. Fort Griffin’s Gate was almost immediately compromised. Here is where the Wonderbolts are gathering. Here is your only safe place.”

“Councilors,” Commander Fuchsia Sky said stepping forward. “I can personally attest to the state of Fort Griffin’s Gate. Commander Bronze Wings also was with me. Unknown enemy soldiers were all over the base. They wore all black, but flew no flag or any form of identification, except that they were Pegasi. We killed them, freeing several of our personnel like the Quartermasters and administration staff. Too many of them died trying to get to the bunkers there as the assault came out of nowhere. And extremely shortly after the clouds were torn away. They had to be waiting for a good moment to strike.”

That explained why the two of them had disappeared. But Shadow wasn’t ready for the idea that Fort Griffins Gate was compromised. The same for a force of black ops Pegasi that we not a part of the Wonderbolts or ACB.

“They probably were the same group that came for me,” Retired General Shielded Vengeance said as he stepped forward. “15 unmarked, masked, black uniformed Pegasi attacked me in my peaceful retirement. I was forced to take my wife here rather than risk my feathers and hers. I am a Wonderbolt, so they were no problem, but they still interrupted us.”

“A little clarity ahead of time would be appreciated,” a mare said as she came down the ramp. “But I think I understand your discretion.”

“Our communications are in disarray,” Ruby Snow replied. “We can’t tell who is friendly, and who isn’t. And the wasteland has tapped into them as well. A pony named DJ-PON3 has been all over our airwaves. We are working to set up secure channels, but I had to work off very little information. And I had to work off of the backup plan. One that I see was also heeded.”

“A few Third Fleet ships are purposefully out on special missions,” Little reported. “Most notably the Firecracker. She is out recovering Recon Team 4’s mission specific parameters, including their cloud terminal.”

“So, Shadow is back,” the mare said, shocked.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Shadow stepped forward, snapping to attention again and throwing up his wing into a salute. “Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare reporting in and ready for duty to protect the Pegasus Race.”

The rest of the Councilors came down the ramp. They didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. The Lord Clove was not capable of handling their extended stay. It was a very cramped ship.

“The Wonderbolt Unit is ready for your stay,” Firestorm said. She was in her full-dress uniform, including her medals. “Follow me and we can get the debrief going.”

Only the three mares on the Council were calm. The others were frustrated and unnerved. Even though only a few Wonderbolts escorted them to the Unit, they were constantly shifting their eyes and glancing at them.

“We have rooms upstairs prepared for you,” General Firestorm said as she let them into the Unit. “Everything is key card enabled and every swipe or manual input is tracked. Nothing can happen without us knowing. We will get you cards momentarily. While we debrief, they will be made.”

They entered the largest meeting room, a lecture hall. At the front of it was a few tables put together with the chairs for the Council. It was as close to the Council Chambers as possible, but a very poor substitute.

Shadow took a seat in the front, along with the other important officers. It was mostly the ones he had met when they landed. Olive Pit and Golden Dawn were present, but they mattered because of the battle. Soarin was cleverly hidden under Mwokozi’s cloak. These seats were designed to handle the weight of power armor.

The mares took the Chief Councilor’s spot, the Fifth Councilor’s spot, and the Sixth Councilor’s spot. There was a clear difference in how they sat than the stallions. Especially the Third Councilor and the Fourth Councilor.

Cardinal Spitfire leaned over to quietly explain everything. “The Second Counselor is economics. The Third is science. The Fourth is army. The Fifth is navy. The Sixth is social. And the seventh is medical. The Chief is almost always held by the former Fourth Council position. Right now, it is held by the former Fifth Councilor, the navy. And they have a heated rivalry. The fact that the Navy is up right now is surprising. I suspect is has something to do with the Third Fleet and piggy backing off Deke’s recent success.”

Shadow just quietly nodded.

The Chief Councilor spoke first. As calm as she looked, she was not happy. “Would somepegasus please explain what happened to our military?”

Shadow immediately stood up. “I have a quick explanation. I wasn’t able to deliver the information until the battle at Fillydelphia had commenced. I had just arrived back from my exile. That is another debrief. In short, the wasteland was stronger than we ever believed. The Steel Rangers are a more formidable force and even the raiders are more problematic, raising their own personal armies, sometimes overnight. Our soldiers have never seen combat, and it probably attributed to a good deal of initial shock.

“As soon as I got reconnected, I was able to advise on a retreat to regroup. I was not aware that they had the ability to clear the clouds or that they had access to a megaspell. It shows their tenacity that they would fire it upon our forces. Especially since their soldiers were physically close to ours in that battle.”

The fourth Councilor grunted. “And what exactly prevented you from getting this information to us earlier?”

“In short, the Inquisitors were betrayed and banished by our commanding officer, a Lieutenant Honey Bee, after we followed his orders. He ordered us to kill a group of Dashites. After we did, we discovered the Council’s seal and permission for the Pillars of the Community to operate below.

“He had severed communications between us and we were left blind and certain we had just committed treason. When I finally decided to make a run for the top, I cleaned up a few loose ends below, and they retaliated in force. I was pushed south, out of Equestria. I couldn’t get above. The griffons made sure of it.

“I lived the past years in the Zebra Lands, surviving there until I could come back. We were able to pick up the radio station from the wasteland, and I coasted there for a while, building that little village up as I waited for the right time to come back. Obviously, I was a tad late. But I am certain I still have kill orders on my head from the Steel Rangers. I killed a good number of them in a single, personal strike.”

“I like hearing that,” The Fourth Councilor said with a nod.

“I gleaned a lot of information in my travels,” Shadow continued. “But I was unaware that another Inquisitor had survived until the other day. Sergeant Major Apple Slice gave up and committed himself to the wasteland for punishment for our crimes. We did a lot of dark things in the name of our safety.

“It chose to do as it willed for both of us. His suicide attempt ended with him in a small, niche community where he actually settled down. He is on his way here. He is picking up the cloud terminal we had so you can verify our reports. We continued to make reports after our communications was severed.”

“It’s just you two?” The Chief Councilor asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Shadow said. He took in a deep breath. “It would be a very long debrief. Thunder decided to stay pure, an Enclave soldier. He was not going to break and join the wasteland ponies. He decided to commit an honorable suicide instead. He put a grenade in his mouth and pulled the pin.”

“What drove you to this madness?” The Sixth Councilor asked. It was harsher than she meant it to be.

“Rosemary. Our saving grace as we arrived, was a populated stable. It was full of Unicorns of all ages. We slaughtered them, over a place to rest. We didn’t even hesitate about it, ever. It caught up to us in the end. Just out of eyesight was the ghosts of the dead, staring at us, never giving us rest. Right before I left, I too was hearing them whisper back and forth. So, I had to leave before I went insane.

“I am proud to submit that despite my forced departure, I never gave up any Enclave secrets. No one ever knew I was an Enclave soldier and my wings were effectively hidden throughout my time in the Equestrian Wastes. The Zebra Lands was entirely different, they knew about my wings, but no secrets were given up there.

“Alongside that, I cleaned out the wasteland. I slaughtered hundreds of raiders on my own, even against grave personal injury. I continued to glean as much information out of it as I could, to the very end. I always was coming back to give a report, as soon as I could confirm I was not going to be branded and banished. Or outright killed on sight.

“Sergeant Major Slice can give you solid information on life in the wasteland, and what it means to them. He can help us understand how to successfully adapt and how to integrate.”

“What about how to break their fighting spirit!” The Fourth Councilor barked. “Or what their weaknesses are! Things we need to know!”

“Councilor,” Shadow said slowly. “Have you looked outside? The Enclave doesn’t exist as it once did. Its shield is gone. We no longer can live as we once did. I was a Homestead Farmer so I know most of the farms are gone.

“I know what that actually means. No disrespect meant, but do you? We can’t sustain our population for long without those farms. If we lost even just 20% of our farms we couldn’t sustain our population, even calculating in our military losses, for even a year. And we maybe, at best, maintained 20% of the farms.

“We will have to send pegasi below, soon. And the wasteland ponies have proven they can hold us off to at least a draw. Their only weakness is their fragmentation. They lack unity like we have. We have the superior skill and maneuverability, but they can still bleed us dry because they are living a life of death, and often murder. We haven’t tasted that, they live it. That is their advantage, and something we can’t compensate for.

“We have no choice but to integrate, at least in calculated ways. We must take our military and turn it from aggressive actions, to tasks that reclaim the land, and mold it into the guardian force that makes sure that we don’t get bossed around, raided, or enslaved. We have a duty to protect our race. We have no other options. That is what our duty has become, whether any of us like it or not.”

The Chief Councilor stopped the storm of the Fourth Councilor. “You have thought long and hard on this, haven’t you?”

Shadow nodded slowly. “I have experience gleaned from years of existence below. Sergeant Major Apple Slice may have partially abandoned the Enclave after it abandoned us, but he too has drawn the same conclusion. And like me, he never gave up the secrets of the Enclave. He is as loyal as I am when it comes to protecting the Pegasus Race. He doesn’t want us to fall, so he is back to protect his family.”

“It was an unfortunate set of circumstances,” The Fifth Councilor said. “We did what we could to try and recover the Inquisitors, as I am sure you have heard multiple times by now, but we couldn’t act without more proof early on.”

“I have been brought up to speed,” Shadow said. “I blame no one but Lieutenant Honey Bee.”

The Fifth Councilor grinned. “Then you will be glad to hear he died in Fillydelphia.”

“Of course he did,” Shadow said coyly. “I put that bullet in him from two miles out. I had a team to avenge, and I didn’t have the time to exact what he really deserved for the horrors he placed on us all those months below.”

“That is an act of treason!” The Fourth Councilor yelled, jumping to his hooves.

“You were not even a part of the council when it happened,” The Chief Councilor spat. “I was. Shadow was going to kill Honey Bee and we knew it. It’s good it happened this way. Less of a mess to clean up. Much less of a mess than what he put us through trying to cover his ass after he betrayed them, which you also didn’t have to deal with because you were not on the Council.

“Besides, he had been clearly warned that Shadow would kill him when he got back. I doubt he believed it, but that was another incident you were not aware of because of your rank. At that point, I believe you were still only a Major.”

The Fourth Councilor was fuming, but he shut up and sat down. It was now clear why the Chief Councilor was chief despite her naval background. She was clearly the senior ranking military member when the previous chief councilor retired.

The Second Councilor spoke up. “Shadow Flare, despite the circumstances that just were discussed, we did unanimously decide to uphold your rank and status. Unfortunately, we do not have the capital to pay you for all your years MIA.”

“That is not even a concern of mine,” Shadow chuckled. “I never once thought I deserved a single bit in compensation. I have been very well taken care of since I got back, as expected. Just like I how left it.”

“Are we just going to sit here and ignore this?” The Seventh Councilor asked. “The Grand Pegasus Enclave cannot, shall not, break just because the clouds are gone.”

Cardinal Spitfire grabbed Shadow to force him to sit down, but he already was doing it. The Council was openly deliberating among themselves. Until they called upon somepony else, they needed to be left on their own, while they all just sat and watched.

Shadow quickly saw the divide. I was a 3 – 3 split, with three insisting they continue the previous course and make the wasteland pay; to physically retake locations for the refugees. The Chief Councilor, Fifth Councilor, and Sixth Councilor were in agreement that a new plan was needed. The Fourth Councilor was adamant that they had the strength to do it. The Fifth Councilor kept reminding them the state of the First Fleet, which was now only a single Sky Tank. The one who hadn’t voted and kept things from happening was the Second Councilor. He wasn’t sure what was best for the Grand Pegasus Enclave, economically speaking.

“Councilors,” General Firestorm finally said, standing up. “We will keep you under constant guard for your safety. We have your key cards with room assignments. But at this moment, we have troops we need to sort out. The destruction that happened below wasn’t just to the First and Second Battalions. It was also to the Aerial Combat Battalion, and I have to make sure they are properly sorted and secured. We will be just a call away.”

There was no discussing it. They had to depart while the Council continued to make their choice. It also was evident as they were given their key cards that they were not going anywhere without the Wonderbolts knowing. They were trapped in the building as General Firestorm did what needed to be done. And a huge part of what she had to do was protect them.

When the door closed behind them and clicked as the lock engaged, Soarin uncloaked and General Firestorm was right next to Shadow.

“Well done Command Sergeant Major. I can see that you truly deserve that new team. You must have done quite a lot to become their leader. More than just training some guards and building a few houses. That was spoken like a master.”

“I agree,” Soarin added. “You had authority, confidence, and experience. You didn’t pull any punches, but you didn’t outright sock them either. You put the pressure on them very well. I couldn’t have done any better.”

“Neither could I,” General Firestorm said. “I was nervous when you stood up. I was expecting a disaster. But you nailed it. With them deadlocked in a 3 – 3 – 1 decision, we may have to take the initiative and remove it from them. We didn’t kidnap them, but we are not going to let them ruin our chance for peace.

“The Fifth Councilor was once the Admiral of the Third Fleet, when it was just 6 ships. Then she moved to the Second Fleet, and on up. She was fully aware of what happened as it happened, and she is the perfect balance to the Fourth Councilor.”

“I could see that,” Shadow chuckled. “The Sixth Councilor though, that is a bit of a surprise.”

“She has refugees to deal with,” General Firestorm stated.

Retired General Shielded Vengeance chuckled. “And she is connected to Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade. I don’t think she will ever forgive herself for that slip up. The time the Council spent watching the jump training put her in alignment with the Fifth Councilor. I knew they had multiple conversations over that short period. I am sure she made it so that Purple Breeze was able to take that Council spot because she could put forth a very solid replacement for the Fifth Councilor.”

“And it all makes me head spin,” Shadow replied with a sigh. “Now what?”

“Now, you get some sleep,” Firestorm said. “It is late. We will make our next choice in the morning. I am waiting for some final word from known allies. The Fifth Councilor has her allies in the Second Fleet. It is not going to be easy. Even with so many cloudships destroyed, we are going to be a small force compared to the Enclave’s Fleet.”

“Has Deke told you his idea for a name?” Shadow asked.

“No,” Firestorm replied.

“Equestrian Pegasus Military.”

“He has grown up. A lot.”

“He has,” Shadow chuckled.