//------------------------------//
// Shallow Water: Chapter 6 
// Story: Conflict in Bloom 
// by aDerangedBrony 
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Chapter 6




A wave of relief flowed over every pony aboard PBR-471. It got hairy, but they pushed through and left the enemy behind them. Starting with the skipper, a relieved laughter spread through four of the ponies on board. The chief cut through the warmth with sharp, icy tone.

“Hey, I’m still wounded here!”

All the non-commissioned ponies abandoned their positions to huddle around their senior. Juvenis grabbed a first aid kit from the wheelhouse on his way and tightly wrapped a bandage around the chief’s injury. As they tended to the wounded mare, the skipper called ahead to the checkpoint with details of the fire fight.

“Gah, what a stupid mistake,” the chief continued, grunting with pain, “First thing they teach you: don’t stick your foreleg out. What a damn stupid thing to do, and when it’s THIS hairy...” she trailed off, looking down at the deck and away from her comrades. “I really let you down. All of you,” she finished with utmost sincerity.

“Bullet went clean though the foreleg,” Juvenis said, “About as lucky as you can get, so far as being shot goes. Hey, every pony makes mistakes, right? Like you said, it got real hairy there. Cut yourself some slack.”

“You’ll probably be getting the full veteran treatment for that, chief,” added the skipper, “Platinum Heart, Distinguished Marine Badge, Golden Lanyard, and an honourable medical discharge are all coming your way.”

“Discharge, sir?” the chief sounded shocked and appalled. 

“C’mon now chief, I know the Marine Force has been your life, but you can’t expect to be operating a MG with your arm hanging off. It’s time for you to find who you are outside the service. It’s a big world out there, plenty of opportunities for a distinguished veteran like yourself. Besides, this is about the best time you could get discharged. I haven’t seen any pony attack that desperately since Nightmare Moon’s insurgents back in 2000. What’s more, this boat ain’t even of any strategic value. This was a statement. Mark my words, soon Celestia will be declaring the Everfree a warzone. I don’t know how far this stuff will go, maybe full blown mobilisation, but at the very least we’ve got an organised uprising on our hooves. It’s been a long time coming.”

“When you put it like that, maybe a discharge isn’t so bad after all,” she smiled weakly, her adrenalin waning. She was breathing heavily, but still going strong. 

“You three,” she continued after catching her breath, “listen, I was hard on you back there. You know, the whole shooting at nothing business. I tried to justify it by telling myself it was for your own good, but that’s crap. I’m-” she hesitated, trying to find the right words, "I’m a very angry pony. For years, I’ve been using my rank and duties as an excuse to vent my frustration. Don’t let yourselves become like me, ok? You’ve got what it takes to be soldiers, you showed that today...” she trailed off and furrowed her brow, as if in deep thought, before addressing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom “Hey, the expeditionary could use some good troops like you two. If the skip’s right, you could be in for a hell of a ride. Just hold on tight and try not to lose yourself. You’re good ponies. Don’t let them change you.”

“You always get this sappy when you’re wounded?” Sweetie Belle smirked.

“Seriously though, cut the wiseass routine. It won’t do you any favours,” The chief said sternly. It was easy to tell that she was suppressing a smile. Leaning back, she laid her head on the deck and tried to get comfortable. She’d said her piece, and it was finally time to rest. 



***



The council’s attention snapped to the white pegasus mare with the blonde mane who clapped her hooves together. “Alright,” said Marshal Plume, commander of the Airborne, “now that the new kid’s been filled in let’s finally get to the business at hand. If I’m understanding the issue correctly, it seems to me we need to wipe out these rebels without making a big deal out of it. Where are these factions stationed? We can fly some of my ponies in, take the buggers out, and piss off before any pony’s the wiser.”

Underhoof shuffled his notes magically and adjusted his glasses with his hoof, “Let’s see here... goes without saying there’s some major players in New Apple Loosa, Old Apple Loosa, Dodge Junction, San Palomino Desert, the Badlands, the deep southern colonies, the Everfree Forest -  ah...” he halted and glanced around at the other council members before continuing, “I knew there was a problem. One of the biggest factions keeps its headquarters in urban Los Pegasus. Don’t think you can fly out of there without drawing any attention.”

A collective groan came from the council members. Los Pegasus was one of Equestria’s most populous cities, and was normally considered part of Equestria proper rather than the colonies. Still, it had the same limited legal privileges as the rest of the colonies, with an appointed governor rather than an elected senator. Under Limitata Monarchia, every population centre given the privileges of an Equestrian constituency needed to be placed under the jurisdiction of one of the lords. Pleasing the large population of the famed centre of art, culture and technology didn’t seem worth the political instability between the noble families as each of them vied for control over the area.

“The only way to keep this discrete,” Luna droned in a defeated tone, “would be to draw the border at the Canterlot River junction, and cut off all travel and communication between the north and the south. It would cripple our economy and cause massive instability, not to mention the moral question of taking such drastic measures.”

“It would be useless,” Marshal Cossack added, “that city has a population of over three million, not to mention the four million who live in its neighbouring colonies. Almost half of those are pegasi. Forget secession, Underhoof. With those numbers, they could invade Equestria. Not to mention their massive economic power and cultural influence. We can’t risk provoking the western colonists.”

“Like I said,” Colonel Underhoof retorted as he stabbed the earth pony with his eyes, “this is a complicated issue. Surging them will make us look like the bad guys. There’s no way to quickly and totally eradicate them without drawing attention. We can’t risk losing the aristocrats’ loyalty until these rebels are gone, or at least as unorganised and weakened as they were a few months ago. Our only option is to use propaganda and subversive tactics to make the rebels look like the bad guys. Put our armies at the ready and wait for them to make a move. They attack a patrol? Make it out to be a cowardly, illegal attack on a group of young soldiers who were transporting medical supplies to a hospital for blind orphans. Say that they’re using slave or child soldiers. That sort of thing. Eventually, the population will be begging us to interfere. THEN we can act. Not only will it allow us to remove this problem, it will help ensure the loyalty of the alicorns’ subjects when the real civil war with the aristocracy breaks out. I don’t think there’s any question, this is really our only option. It’s simply a matter of how we’ll go about it.”

For the final time, the meeting was gripped in silence. None of the councillors could think of a way to challenge the egghead’s logic. Most of the Marshals would prefer to just rush in, guns blazing. They were military professionals, not diplomats. The two alicorns exchanged some hushed words.

“Ok,” said Celestia once she had reached a private agreement with her sister, “put all forces south of the Canterlot River junction on high alert, but go to strict rules of engagement. Do not fire until fired upon. The newspapers and the history books alike WILL say that the rebels fired first and that we were merely acting in self defence. The Marshals and Colonel Spitfire are excused. Colonel Underhoof will stay here so that we can flesh out the finer details of our little subversion. We’ll keep you posted, and remember: this meeting never happened. Dismissed!”