Fallout Equestria: Shaping Shadow - Book 5

General Firestorm walked down the step to approach the Council. Behind her were the others. The Council was not happy with the interruption. The others with her fanned out into a single line.

"Forgive me Councilors," Firestorm said with cold authority. "A new development has arisen. One of major significance. A new Council has been formed. Several military officials decided that you were taking too long and that it was their duty to continue the war. Only a small fragment remains loyal to you. They took your name and abandoned you."

General Firestorm stepped forward and produced a tape with the exact orders given to the military.

"Is that a ghoul!" The Fourth Councilor declared.

"Quite," The Chief Councilor ordered. "We must listen to this first."

They popped the tape in. "This is General Fighting Spirit, Admiral Tungsten and General Hayworth, and we are contacting you to inform you that the Council is no longer safe. They have been compromised and the three of us will continue with our previous orders as we should have been for the past few weeks. All soldiers will fall under our command as we lead us to victory! For the Pegasus Race! Anypegagus who does not will be labeled as a deserter and is to be killed on sight."

"That is damning evidence," The Fifth Councilor said. "How did you acquire it?"

"Not everypegasus who is loyal to you has been brought to our rally point," Firestorm explained. "Although this was sent out over the general channels, for all to hear. Which brings me to the next part. You need a military to combat them and their decision to circumvent your authority. Just because you have not made a decision does not mean that they can just make it for you. And our Wonderbolts confirmed that the three of them not only have formed a new Council, but they have the gall to take up your seats in New Cloudsdale."

"WHAT!" The second Councilor exclaimed, leaping to his hooves. "They must be punished! NO! Destroyed!"

"We are already on it," Firestorm calmly replied. "Troops are being deployed as we speak. We came to inform you of their decision and our loyalty. They are labeled Renegades and will face the fire of our guns. It won't be easy, but we will defeat them and bring us into a new era."

"A bold declaration," The Chief Councilor stated. "Especially for the ones who were close to becoming renegades yourself."

Firestorm nodded. "Yes, we gathered our like-minded military units together. But we were waiting on you. We respect you and your authority enough to not wait until you made it impossible for us to not act. However, they decided to circumvent you. We never did. We were going to wait and see how things played out. And we were going to wait for your reasoning for your choices."

"You make a valid point," The Third Councilor growled. "So explain why you have assembled this group before us. Without any shit!"

"Of course," Firestorm grinned. She stepped back in line with the others. "Before you is the team we have assembled to lead your loyal military soldiers. Unfortunately, the Renegades stole the name Grand Pegasus Enclave and we were forced to devise a new name for your loyal servants. We are the Equestrian Pegasus Military.

"Admiral Ruby Snow shall be taking command of your entire navy. The number of ships we have is the entire Third Fleet and a few more from the Second Fleet. Mostly it’s Ninth Task Force.

"General Marble Falls is General over Training. That is the role she already plays. Not much has changed there except that we have no place to train at the current moment. She is working to problem solve that minor hiccup.

"General Misty Thunder is in charge of your entire army. They have very few in their ranks. We are trying to gain more traction there.

"General Striker is in charge of the Aerial Combat Battalion. The ACBs are the bulk of your military. As small as they are, they hold multiple advantages over the Renegades' soldiers.

“General Gunmetal is in charge of supply and requisitions. She will be very valuable when it comes to dealing with below. She is planning on how to use everything we have to make the tough transition with our reconnection with below.

“Not present is Shadow Flare. He was Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance, and he is currently deployed and performing his duties. I was hoping to get him a commission, but we need a strong NCO leader. Shadow Flare is now the Command Sergeant Major of the Equestrian Pegasus Military. Second to only to those before you.

“Another member who is not here currently is former retired Major Winters Breath. He will become the new General of Defense. His job is to focus on protecting those Pegasi who will first be going below. Defensive, not offensive.

"Several new positions are here though. General Shielded Vengeance is our Battle Strategy Advisor. General Nova is our Wasteland Military Advisor. And General Soarin is our Wasteland Reunification Advisor."

"General Soarin?" The Chief Councilor asked before the Fourth Councilor could go off.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Soarin said stepping forward. "I am retired Major General Soarin, Equestrian Military. I have come out of retirement to assist my fellow Pegasus Ponies with the situation that has now gripped you.

"You can't ignore the wasteland. So I will help you navigate and connect with it in safe ways. Too many will try and make fools of you. Or enslave you. They will do terrible things if they are given the chance. It is my job to make sure that doesn't happen to the Pegasus Race. We will not only survive, but thrive!"

"You're a ghoul!" The Fourth Councilor exclaimed.

"Yes, I am," Soarin shrugged. "I was near the hit in Baltimare. I survived and built a little city. We still don't have much, life is hard, but life is always hard. With the clouds gone, my sworn duty to Equestria once again became a reality. I swore to protect her. I will make sure that you don't get torn apart as you reunite with the ponies below."

"That is a bold statement," The Chief Councilor said. "We could decide to turn our votes back to war."

Soarin was on point and didn’t shy away from the truth. "You don't have the army to do it right now, which is why you are stalled on the vote. And you certainly won't have one after this civil war. We will certainly try and save every Pegasus we can, but it's not going to be easy from what I understand."

"How long have you been planning this?" The Sixth Councilor asked Firestorm. "You obviously didn't just toss this together. You have a name. How close were you to becoming the rebels? Please, shoot straight."

Firestorm wasn't ready for the question. She thought for a moment to compose her argument. At the last moment she ditched it and went a new way.

"If you voted war, we were going to rebel. That is how close or far we were. But until then, we had to protect you from any outside forces. We were going to just keep doing our duty."

"A convenient situation to kidnap us," The Seventh Councilor quipped.

The Fourth Councilor sighed. "Actually, they did exactly what they were supposed to do. What I don't get is, why you are so in favor of peace?"

The answer Firestorm gave surprised the Fourth Councilor. "Because I get to see and juggle the very evil the Enclave is and make sure it doesn't tear itself apart. I know every dirty little secret, keep track of the troublemakers and cover up all their mistakes. I am forced to do a balancing act while stitching up holes you keep making. If you think saving Lieutenant Honey Bee was difficult all those years ago, I have to balance twenty times more on a daily basis so that the upper echelon doesn’t tear us all apart without firing a shot.

"It has nothing to do with any of you or any of the other military personnel. It was not a choice made off of personal opinions. But I see our sustainability from a very different position. And so does every one of the Wonderbolts who help keep this society alive. And that is all I am trying to do, keep us alive.

“We have been barely holding together the last few decades. It wasn’t a question of if we would collapse, but when. I am trying to guide that collapse into a new era where we don’t have to worry about the same issues that have plagued us for decades.A society that is sustainable. With the clouds gone, that was a drastic change and a new chance to flip things from stitching the Enclave together and praying they held, to rebuilding a new Enclave that wasn’t full of the old holes, rips, tears, and patches. It won’t be perfect, but it won’t be as broken.”

General Shielded Vengeance stepped forward. “I can affirm everything she speaks about. I did a lot of patching up and balancing the Enclave so we did fall apart. A simple example is the military families. We had to pay attention to their foals, and keep them from being in the same Basic Training classes as other rival family’s foals. We had to delay entry to various individuals in order to keep them from fighting each other during Basic Training. We also had to make sure some of them were not not in the same color units as others, for the less heated rivalries. Still others were put together to build them up as friends. It was a lot to do, just to keep us supplied with decent officers.”

“I see,” The Chief Councilor said. “I can think of a few individuals that would have sparked a problem if I had gone through Basic Training with them. We had no idea you were keeping that tight of a grip on things.”

“We have whole file cabinet drawers on each of you,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “And we will routinely send the best Wonderbolt units in to correct orders to keep you from destroying each other. Pony Patrol was the best at it. Marble Falls was deployed a year back to correct one of those mistakes. Her forgery skills are exceptional.”

“Is that why Captain Dill’s paperwork had him moved to the 1 Division, 8th Company?” The Fourth Councilor asked.

Firestorm nodded. “He would have clashed horribly with Major Sky Chariot. We did what we had to. And he excelled well in the 8th Company.”

“I hate you for your meddling,” The Fourth Council stated. “But, oddly, I understand why you do it.”

“It’s part of our duty to protect the Pegasus Race,” General Firestorm coldly stated. “And we take it seriously.”

“Well,” The Second Counselor said, taking a deep breath in before continuing, “I don’t think we could ask for a better military staff than what you have assembled, given the circumstances. I do vote for you.”

The Chief Councilor, Third Councilor, Fifth Councilor, Sixth Councilor, and Seventh Councilor immediately gave their supporting vote. The Fourth Councilor sat thinking. He was already outvoted.

“I will go on record not voting,” The Fourth Councilor finally stated. “I will go on record stating I want you to tear them to shreds. I was voting for exactly what they wanted, but they have slapped me in the face and disrespected me.”

“This is the end of the Council, isn’t it?” The Sixth Councilor asked.

“I honestly have no idea,” General Firestorm stated. “I doubt we will have a sharp break, but I doubt we will need you in the same capacity as you currently are over the next few decades. And I hate saying that. My life has been spent serving under you in the military. I will lay down my life to protect you, even now. And gladly because it is my duty.

“But that could be wrong. I don’t know how we will handle the reconnection with below. We have the early advantage thanks to Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare and a few others, but I have no idea how long that will last.”

“I think you should go and focus on destroying the Renegades who stole our name,” The Fourth Councilor stated sharply. “We need to discuss some things.”

“Of course,” General Firestorm said. “Military! Atten-tion!”

All of them snapped to attention in front of the Council. Firestorm brought her wing up slowly, a gesture of respect, in perfect form to salute them. It was a show of strength and skill, as well as extreme respect to slowly salute in such a way. The salute finished with a snape and she fell out of the center of the line. One by one they slowly saluted, left to right, and fell out. It was the best respect they could provide them at the moment.

FIRST BRIEFING

General Firestorm entered the current Council Chambers and walked to the front. She was wearing her flight jacket over her special flight suit. She wasn't wearing a dress uniform. At this moment she was considering herself being in forward command and not in need of a dress uniform.

"Is this important?" The Fourth Councilor asked, very frustrated. "We are trying to sort out a lot."

"I have a military briefing for you from the Grand Pegasus Equestrian Military." Firestorm took a moment to compose herself. "Sorry, that is a change that will take some getting used to. I mean I have a briefing for you, from the Equestrian Pegasus Military.

"Speak," The Chief Councilor said. "I am surprised it is so quick. Do we have battle reports already?"

"No," Firestorm said. "We have units out scouting their lines and drawing maps, but it isn't easy. It will take a little bit to deploy. We are not just dealing with numbers here. We are lacking some supplies. Specifically ammunition.

"General Gunmetal has done an excellent job of providing us with the necessary tools and equipment we need to win this war. I seriously had no idea what she had actually managed to transfer here. I also have no idea why she has some of the things she has, but that is besides the point. She is still figuring out ammunition stores.

"We have sent out one strike force to Twin Clouds."

"Twin Clouds?" The Fourth Councilor asked. "Why? We have no bases there. Or they have no bases there."

"Well Twin Clouds is the key. Before we act on Marland or Nellie we need to strike at Twin Clouds. The Renegades have control of the food distribution centers. And-"

"What!" The Second Councilor exclaimed. "When did that happen!"

"I don't get what the problem is," The Third Councilor said.

Firestorm was surprised this briefing had taken a turn. "They had units at them within days of Operation Cauterize failing."

"That!" The Second Councilor stuttered. "I would have made a motion to punish them and remove them from office if I had known! I withheld my vote as I tried to decide how best to vote in the economic interest of the citizens and I didn't know they had already occupied them! I could hav-"

"No!" Firestorm yelled, cutting him off. She continued normally. "No, you could not have stopped this. Everypegasus here and everypony in the Equestrian Pegasus Military was trying to not go to war. We are trying to keep things peaceful. Maybe some information slipped past you, but it would not have changed the outcome."

The Chief Councilor moved them further away from the original topic. "You said every pony. Every, pony, explain."

Firestorm sighed. "I'll schedule a meeting as soon as I finish this report. But Shadow Flare did not come back to Equestria alone. He had a team of kick ass Zebras with him. They love and admire him for all he did for them. They are returning the favor by making sure he has a home to go to. Plus, he actually built and trained that team.

"And the group Shadow got support from down below the Applejack Rangers, they have a representative here. Star Paladin Yellow Quartz."

"How are they on the clouds?" The Third Council immediately asked. He was very confused.

"Oh, right. Sorry. The Zebra magician that came with Shadow made these special talismans. One allows them to walk on clouds, the other is freaky. It gives them Pegasus wings. From what I understand, she had to use real Pegasus feathers from Shadow Flare to make them. Like, pluck them from him. Not discarded feathers."

All of the Councilors shivered at the idea of being plucked.

"Anyway, the Zebras are more than adequate fliers thanks to Shadow Flare. But, I am off topic pretty far off topic.

"Twin Clouds. Their food distribution center was occupied within 72 hours. From our sources, it's smaller in number than the garrisons at New Cloudsdale or Las Pegasus. The real key is that unlike the facilities in those cities, the one in Twin Clouds is not near residential housing. All around the facility in New Cloudsdale is Citizen Housing that is occupied by weather team workers, recycling plant employees, and the pegasi who run the food distribution center.

"And because it isn't in a residential location, we can more easily take it and finalize the best way to secure them in New Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus without endangering the citizens. Or endangering them as little as possible."

"Who is leading that assault? And you eluded to sources."

"We had teams out from the very beginning that didn't go home,” General Firestorm explained. “They took up posts as scouts and reconnaissance units in the big cities to watch for things like this. We knew the split was happening so we made some maneuvers before we couldn't.

"And the assault is being led by two of our best ACU officers. Colonel Golden Dawn and Colonel Safe. Both flew together for a while, but it is Colonel Golden Dawn who has the lead."

"Is she that power armor free hoofing soldier?" The Fourth Councilor asked.

"Yes," Firestorm nodded. "She is. And she helped create the Shock Troopers. Colonel Safe will be a good balance for her. But they both know how crucial learning from their attack is. They also do not have any cloudship support and they are making the journey along the ground.

“But that actually isn’t what this brief is about.”

“Please, continue,” The Chief Councilor said.

“There is a third faction in this war. But it is a good faction. The Law Enforcement Division has claimed neutrality. They are claiming total neutrality, but they have issued clear warnings that they will be doing their very clear duty to protect the citizens. They will not hesitate to punish any soldier of any rank if they step out of line.”

“That is good to hear,” the Chief Councilor said. “At least there is one Division who knows exactly what their duty is and is performing it. It isn’t backing us entirely, but either way, the citizens will be protected.”

The Fourth Councilor had a question. “Back to earlier, you mentioned strained ammo stocks?”

“Yes Sir,” Firestorm nodded. “That is our most pressing issue. General Gunmetal has taken care of us well. The Naval armament will be sufficient. At least, that is what our Naval officers believe. Commodore Derecho assures me he can tackle the fleet at Nellie with the ships we have allocated to him.

“We have taken a big risk and dispatched the Radiant Sun to Fort Griffin’s Gate to access the ammo storages there. She has non engagement orders. Some staff are still at Fort Griffin’s Gate. We believe the rest have locked everything up and departed to Baltimare where there is a friendly city, Dry Dock City. It is where we recovered Sergeant Major Apple Slice and it is the city General Soarin built. They are of little use to us for multiple reasons we can discuss later. But and ally, an anchor below, even just in name, is always a good thing.”

“Forgive the interruption,” The Sixth Councilor said. “What is happening with Sergeant Major Apple Slice? We have heard from Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare multiple times, but we haven’t even seen the Sergeant Major.”

Firestorm made sure she was straight before she answered. “Sergeant Major Apple Slice attempted suicide by wasteland. He left with nothing but his coat. By details completely unclear, he awoke in Dry Dock City and built a family there. We have gleaned all the information from him we can, but he has foals there. Nothing was here for him. His family hates him, his only friend from above was the deceased Sergeant Major Storm Eye, who died below. He was the best at his mechanical job, but there was not much use for a genius like him in the military. He wasn’t going to go back below after they were betrayed, but he had nothing tying him to above.

“Equestria wanted him alive, so he built a life and made Dry Dock City a stronger, safer city. He never picked up a weapon until he was ordered to come back here by the city. He retrieved materials left below in Rosemary by the Inquisitors, like his armor. And that was the first time he had picked up a weapon since then.

“He found meaning in Dry Dock City. A meaning we can never give him. We have not settled on a solution for him. We know he never gave up our secrets. We know he never declared himself not an Enclave Soldier. We know he was hurt deeply in the betrayal. General Soarin wants him on the front lines, others are not sure we can trust him. Some others think he is a traitor and actions need to be taken.”

“We will judge him,” the Chief Councilor said. “Tomorrow morning, 8am sharp.”

“Understood,” Firestorm replied. “I will make sure to schedule the meet and greet with our allies for this afternoon instead of tomorrow.”

“Before we move back to the original topic,” The Sixth Councilor said. “I have a question concerning Sergeant Major Apple Slice. What do you think?”

Firestorm sighed. “I want to see him deployed. I want him to fight for his family, for his home in Dry Dock City, and then I want him sent back down there as an envoy. As our point of contact in Dry Dock City. I do not believe he was anymore a traitor than Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare was. I have not submitted any awards or medals for him for a reason, but I do not believe he ever betrayed us and that we can trust him.”

“Thank you,” The Sixth Councilor said. “We will take your assessment into account. And if we clear him, we will issue any awards we find proper.”

“Back to ammunition,” Firestorm said. “Commodore Derecho believes he can take the fleet outside of Nellie. Admiral Lightning is concerned about what she can do. The plan is for Commander Derecho to strike first and move extra ammunition stores to support her. However, we believe the best order of battle between soldiers will happen first at Mareland, and then at Nellie.

“We still are trying to discover the identity of the black ops soldiers who attacked Fort Griffins Gate and General Shielded Vengeance. That puts a big damper on our plans. Someone trained them in clandestine ways, and it wasn’t us. They could screw our operations up if we don’t sort them out soon.

“We are still figuring out how to procure ammunition from either Nellie or Mareland. The best we have right now is focusing on Mareland, and holding off on Nellie. We gain their stockpile, albeit they will burn through quite a bit of it trying to hold the base, and then jump to Nellie.

“We have a few ships docked at each base that are friendly to us. We are trying to figure out how to move supplies to them and how to allow them to safely bolt with ammunition.”

“Are supplies really that strained?” The Fourth Councilor asked.

“The ACUs primarily function off of live ammunition, not magic weapons. We were always starting behind.”

“I can’t believe I am asking this, but can we secure more below?”

“Our advisors believe we can not. And even if we could, they advise against it. It would look like we were preparing to assault them, not our own. We do have a plan for moving below with the Applejack Rangers. But that isn’t a guarantee. And it’s less ammo focused, more like weapon platforms.”

“Could we get unicorns up here to teleport goods? The Second Councilor asked. “I believe you stated talismans that allowed for wings and cloudwalking were involved. What can they do?”

“No idea,” Firestorm replied. “I will have to check in with them. Ukuzwa’s magic is limited by the power she has available to her. And she has done a lot for us already.”

The door opened and Marble Falls marched down the stairs with Wind Whisper in tow.

“General, I have a solution,” Marble Falls declared. “With the situation with the recruits under control, Wind Whisper can handle things.”

“Wait!” The Chief Councilor exclaimed. “Situation with the recruits?”

“Oh,” Marble Falls stuttered. “Well, with the clouds gone, we couldn’t finish the training for our most senior class. But, Red A Barracks said they should be allowed to graduate and they tried to revolt, physically. We put them under lock and guard.

“And then the Zebras set up a ward. A physical barrier so that we didn’t have to guard them so heavily. And they could once again go to the parade field and the obstacle courses. They could once again continue to keep themselves in top physical shape and ready to go once we can finally fix the training regiment.”

“They got physical?” The Seventh Council asked. “How bad were the injuries?”

“50 dead,” Marble Falls said. “But not by our hooves. Not all of the recruits wanted what Red A was forcing them to do. They took care of it themselves. Now things are once again peaceful.”

“That…” The Chief Councilor stalled out.

“Brilliant?” Marble Falls asked. “Wonderful? Stunning?”

“What is wrong with you?” The Sixth Councilor shot.

“Oh,” Marble Falls chuckled. “Sorry. Forgot you don’t know what I know. Black A was the bottom barracks. They were just, not quite there. They revolted against Red A after Red A turned to terrorism and attempted to kill others to try and get what they wanted and what we could not deliver.”

“How screwed up are things over there?” The Third Councilor asked, shocked.

“Less so since Black A took over the recruits and built a leadership forum. Now things are flowing smoothly. We are even helping them stay on their edge with training. Mostly it’s physical fitness, agility, some hoof to hoof combat, and the likes. We have nothing else we can do with them. Even the shooting range is gone.”

“General,” Firestorm said, trying to gain control again. “What is your proposal?”

“I can use my skills to get us ammunition. I deploy to Mareland and divert supplies to where they need to go.”

“You are too high profile,” Firestorm said.

“I only need a few hours,” Marble Falls said. “And I can go to talk with General Lunar Rays.”

“How bad are our supplies?” The Fourth Councilor asked them.

“High enough I don’t want to risk her,” Firestorm said.

“Chance of it working?”

“We would have to figure out where to move the supplies,” Firestorm said. “We still don’t have a solid plan worked out for that.”

“It will work,” Marble Falls pressed.

“We will talk about it,” Firestorm growled. “Later. We have other things to worry about for now. Go.”

“Yes Ma’am,” General Marble Falls said, departing.

“I must go,” Firestorm told the Council. “I gave the report about the neutrality of the Law Enforcement Division. That is what matters. I will look into the ammunition stores with General Gunmetal.”

Firestorm departed. Her first chore was to inform Ukuzwa, Simi, and Yellow Quartz of their meeting right after lunch. And then she had to turn her attention to Gunmetal.

Gunmetal was in the quartermaster cage, as expected.

“I was wondering when you would show up,” Gunmetal said. She picked up a clipboard and slid it under the bars. “This is the ammunition stockpile. Not useful. Flip the page and you will see the useful stuff. Each soldier can be outfitted roughly three times. That’s going to be difficult to win a fight in Mareland. It’s not going to give us much ability to provide cover fire.”

Gunmetal leaned on the counter. “General, I know my position is important. I am now a general. But I need to be leading an assault team into Mareland. With the goal of getting to that storage depot. You don’t have much of a choice in that matter. I am a fully trained ACU officer. My scores are still top notch. I need to deploy. You ne-”

“Done!” Firestorm decreed. “I’ll put you with Striker on the assault. He will have half and you will have half. You will get that. Assuming we can’t get more ammunition somehow else.”

“Don’t let Marble Falls go,” Gunmetal warned. “She is good, but it will fail. And not because of her skill. She is too high profile. What about Lemon Lime?”

“Lemon Lime is indisposed,” Firestorm said.

“Indisposed?” Gunmetal asked.

Firestorm shrugged. “All I know is that Squad 19’s report said ‘indisposed.’ She has something planned. I doubt she is actually working against us...”

“It is still a concern,” Gunmetal finished.

“Sadly it is. We have no beat on her at the current moment.”

“How many Wonderbolts do you not have contact with?”

“Too many,” Firestorm said. “Easily 36 spread out over 13 squads. Some outright defied orders, others broke from their squads. And that isn’t counting the 4 squads that went dark.”

“Wait! So all the Wonderbolts that were here were the ones that you had contact with?”

Firestorm sighed. “Yep. That’s right. I played it off to keep us secure, but it is hard. And right now, there are only 8 Wonderbolts here to guard the Council.”

“We are exposed,” Gunmetal breathed. “We are in trouble.”

“Put your skills to use keeping us secure. If they crack your codes-”

“I know,” Gunmetal said. “I am paying attention to it. Ammo has been on the backburner while I work on our security. I’m still well connected with the other Quartermasters. Nopony knows of the Black Ops team. Actually, they all thought it was us because of the gear I had been assembling with the expansion.”

“You are on good terms with them?”

“All the head honchos,” Gunmetal grinned. “Yeah, it is a bit complicated between a lot of us. We all fall on different sides. But we all agree on one thing: We can’t waste supplies shooting up each other. We are going below, either in peace or in war. And we will need all the supplies we have to bang out of some sort of existence below.”