Battleships are Magic

by totallynotabrony

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Zecora, Alternate Universe, Human, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other
Length: 15835

Exactly what it sounds like (HiE)

On the eve of the Gulf War, a US Navy ship sails through an intense storm and into a different world.

Equestria and the other members of the United Lands are attempting to remove the dragons from their encroachment into Zebrica, but diplomacy is failing. While nopony wants a war, it appears that there might be no other option.

Captain John Mittal and the rest of the sailors aboard USS Wisconsin have some tough political and ethical choices to make. This isn't their fight, but can they stand by while the rest of the world prepares for war?

Published 2012-02-15 08:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-18 21:38:24 UTC

Chapter 1

August, 1990

Atlantic Ocean

USS Wisconsin

The storm had blown up seemingly from nowhere. It had only been a few hours since departing from Norfolk, but the waves had risen and the wind howled around the ship.

Captain John Mittal watched the rain moodily from behind the bridge windows. His ship had been late leaving port, and was running behind schedule. The storm would only make things worse.

Wisconsin was the centerpiece of a powerful battle group sailing from the east coast of the United States towards the Middle East. Less than a week before, Iraq had invaded Kuwait, prompting the President to order the military to higher state of alert. They were calling it Operation Desert Shield.

The waves were getting rougher, some of them able to shake Wisconsin’s 45,000 ton bulk, albeit slightly. Mittal wanted to catch up to the rest of the battle group, but with the visibility near zero it seemed prudent to just ride out the storm. Sadam Hussein could wait.

The Officer of the deck came over to where Mittal was standing.

“The navigation’s gone screwy,” he said. “I think something must have come loose in the storm. The battle group’s dropped off radar, too.”

“Keep an eye on it,” said Mittal. “How’s the helicopter?”

Wisconsin did not normally carry a helicopter of her own. The pilots had been heading for one of the frigates in the battle group when the storm hit, and had wisely decided to wait it out tied down to the battleship’s rear deck.

“We’ll have to check it out before it’s ready to fly again, but I haven’t heard any reports of damage.”

Mittal nodded and the OOD went back to his post.

The storm continued at full strength for another hour. Worryingly, more and more navigation equipment went offline. Apprehension was written on the faces of the bridge crew.

As the wind began to die, the tension appeared to die with it. Mittal ordered a work crew to inspect the communications mast for signs of damage. The sun began to break through the clouds and the rain dried up.

There was a clear reflection of a coastline returned by the radar. Unless they had somehow gotten turned around in the storm, there was no way the ship should have been that close to land. Raising his binoculars, Mittal spotted the shoreline low on the horizon. It was miles away, but it shouldn’t have been there at all.

When asked for answers, the OOD gave a helpless shrug. All the navigation aids appeared to be functioning normally, but none gave the sailors results that made sense.

The inspection crew reported that all the antennas and radar dishes were intact. Despite the assurance that everything should work, radio calls went unanswered and there was nothing to see but the open ocean and the distant coastline.

Ponyville

Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself. Storms were supposed to stick to a tight schedule. Weather Ponies like herself put a lot of effort into making sure the climate was predictable. Occasionally, though, a difficult summer thunderstorm would come along that seemed to almost have a mind of its own.

“I was hoping for a nap this afternoon!” said the sky-blue pegasus as she kicked at the storm clouds. They weren’t moving fast enough for her.

“At least Ponyville won’t need rain for a while.” Dash looked briefly over her shoulder before pushing on the clouds again. The town below had gotten a good soaking from the storm.

With a little more effort, the storm cloud began to move off towards the Everfree Forest. It joined a line of thunderstorms that had swept down over Equestria.

Rainbow Dash had not spent much time flying over Everfree Forest. She’d ventured there with her friends a few times before, but had never explored the area.

She gave the storm from Ponyville one last push and flew a little higher, making sure the line of clouds kept moving and wouldn’t threaten to turn back.

Many miles away, the other side of the forest ended at the shores of the ocean. Dash had never been interested in water, and so had never gone to the seashore. As she looked down from where she hovered, a slice of blue sea between clouds glittered in the sun. Her sharp eyes caught a strange grey shape slip out of the storm. It seemed to be some kind of ship.

Canterlot

The Royal Guards sensed something troubling their Princess and did not disturb her. Celestia had been sending and receiving letters all day, and her mood seemed to darken with each one.

She looked up from her work at the sound of a light hoofstep.

“How is the situation in Zebrica?” asked her sister, Princess Luna, as she came into the room.

“I am beginning to doubt that there can be a peaceful resolution,” said Celestia. Some of the lighthearted wave seemed to have gone out of her mane in the past few days.

“Don’t give up hope. We have many friends, and surely something can be worked out.”

Celestia shook her head. “Ever since the dragons began pushing into Zebrica, we have tried to get them to leave. Nothing has worked, not even getting the United Lands to threaten them with war.”

“I cannot imagine what they must be thinking,” said Luna. “They’re faced with the combined might of Equestria, the Griffin Kingdom, the Buffalo Nation, and all the rest.”

“It is difficult to imagine the ego of someone who thinks they can fight the whole United Lands,” said Celestia. “However, I think that may be what we have in Terrorvane.”

Luna nodded. “What will happen to him if we are forced to defeat the dragons in war?”

“There is talk about bringing him in front of the U.L. courts to stand trial for crimes against life. More than a few zebra died in unprovoked attacks.”

Another letter arrived in a swirl of magic dust. Luna left her sister alone to read it. As she walked back to her quarters, she thought hard about a way to peacefully get the dragons to withdraw. If they were willing to go to war, Terrorvane obviously thought they could win. Perhaps there was a way to get him to change his opinion without actually resorting to conflict.

USS Wisconsin

Using depth measurements, the navigation department had determined that it was safe for the battleship to approach within half a mile of land.

A team of Marines from the onboard detachment had boarded a small boat and gone to investigate the shore. Mittal watched them through his binoculars.

The men landed on the heavily wooded coastline. They investigated the trees briefly and began searching along the surf. After a few minutes, their findings were radioed back.

“No sign of human presence. Not even any trash washed up on shore.”

Mittal sighed. “Get the Pioneer up.”

Sailors began to prepare the small radio controlled airplane. The RQ-2 Pioneer was state of the art observation technology. It was a safe, efficient way to do reconnaissance. After it was launched, Mittal went down to the Combat Information Center to watch the video feed.

A Second Class Petty Officer named Lemoore sat at the controls of the Pioneer with the video screen in front of him. Currently, there was nothing to see but trees. The forest beyond the coast must have been massive.

Suddenly, a flash of color passed across the screen. Some kind of brightly colored animal, Mittal thought. It looked pretty large.

The creature blurred by the Pioneer’s camera again. “See if you can track that,” said Mittal.

Lemoore rolled the aircraft, attempting to keep up with the fast moving target. It suddenly stopped, hovering beside the Pioneer. It was a blue pegasus with rainbow-colored mane and tail.

There was a collective intake of breath from a crowd of sailors that had gathered around to watch the video. Mittal couldn’t believe his eyes. It didn’t look like a horse should be able to fly with such short wings. Actually, it didn’t look right for a horse to be flying at all.

“Um, orders, sir?” asked Lemoore.

Mittal took a second to calm his voice. He had to remain in control. “Keep heading inland until the fuel gets low. And keep an eye on that…thing.”

Everfree Forest

The ship Rainbow Dash had spotted turned out to be the largest she had ever seen. In fact, it was probably larger than most buildings in Equestria. She had flown closer and noted its unusual design.

A small object separated from the ship and flew towards the forest. Dash circled closer, wondering about the buzzing noise it made. It had flat wings and a spinning propeller.

She flew in a pattern around the machine, giving it a closer look. It suddenly rolled in the air, showing unexpected agility. Dash backed off for a moment and watched.

The machine returned to level flight and spent a while traveling in a straight line. She wasn't able to get another rise out of it. Eventually, it turned around and headed back towards the ship. Dash was tempted to follow it, but knew that she really should tell someone what she had seen. She turned back towards Ponyville.

Author note:
Can you edit? Can you preread? I'm new to FIMFiction, and I can use all the help I can get. Thanks for reading, and criticize like you mean it.

Chapter 2

Ponyville

Twilight Sparkle was deep in a Political Science textbook. There had been talk all over Equestria about a possible war, and it had sparked her curiosity about politics and world affairs.

The purple unicorn knew that war was a terrible thing, and most of her interest in the looming conflict was vested in trying to prevent it.

Her young dragon assistant, Spike, rolled his eyes as he watched her read. It was her third book of the day.

Twilight’s friend Rainbow Dash flew in through the open window. “Hey Twilight, I saw something strange beyond the Everfree Forest.”

“You mean the Equestrian Sea? What was it, Rainbow?”

“It was a giant ship!” Dash gestured with her hooves. “It sailed out of a storm. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Whose ship was it?” asked Twilight.

Dash shrugged. “I didn’t see anypony on board. I was going to get closer, but it sent out this flying machine.”

“A flying machine?”

“Right. It made this buzzing noise and flew over the forest for a while. It wasn’t very fast, at least not compared to me.” She gave a self-satisfied nod.

“So it just flew over the forest?” asked Twilight. “It didn’t do anything else?”

“Yeah,” said Dash, scratching her head. “It flew for a while and then went back to the ship. Maybe it was scouting the land?”

“Scouting?” said Spike. His eyes went wide. “Are we being invaded?”

That possibility hadn’t occurred to Twilight until then. Although Rainbow didn’t seem too concerned, she decided that Princess Celestia should know about this.

“Take a letter, Spike.”

USS Wisconsin

There had been whispers going around the ship since the storm had ended. Captain Mittal knew that it was only a matter of time before word got around to the whole crew that they were lost. He also knew that too long without information would begin to create false rumors.

He picked up the microphone for the 1MC, the main address system for the ship. “This is your Commanding Officer speaking. As many of you have already heard, we’re having navigation difficulties.” There was a low murmur heard throughout the ship. Mittal thought he heard someone say, That’s putting it mildly.

“As many of you are also aware, we’ve encountered unusual wildlife.” There was another hum of voices, somewhat louder this time.

“We’re going to keep working to make contact with society and figure out what happened. In the meantime, remember that you men are professionals, and together we’ll get through this.”

That wasn’t as strong a finish to his speech as Mittal had wanted, but it would do for now. He hung up the microphone. The sun was beginning to set, so he went to his cabin to get some rest. He left orders with the Officer of the deck to wake him for any reason.

Canterlot

Princess Luna had finally convinced her sister to go to sleep. Celestia had lowered the sun earlier, but had been still fretting out the situation in Zebrica. The dragons had ignored another peace offering, and the United Lands were one step closer to war.

Luna stood taking in the moonlight. It was a rather quiet night, and the stars were clear. A letter suddenly arrived in a swirl of magic. It was addressed to Celestia. Luna briefly debated whether to open it or give it to her in the morning. Deciding that it might be urgent, she unrolled the scroll.

It was from Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s student. A friend of hers had spotted an enormous ship sailing in the Equestrian Sea. As Luna read further, her brows knit in concern. She didn’t think Equestria was about to come under attack, but they couldn’t afford to make that assumption.

Luna asked herself what Celestia would do. She would want to know more. Deciding to let her sister sleep, she wrote back to Twilight, asking her to investigate.

Sweet Apple Acres

An orange pony awoke to a tapping on her window.

“Hey Applejack!” called Rainbow Dash.

“What in tarnation…” muttered Applejack, slipping out of bed. She opened the window.

“Twilight wants us all to meet at the library. Princess Luna wants us to go check out this ship that’s sailing just off the coast.”

“It’s the middle of tha’ night, Rainbow!”

Dash got in her friend’s face. “Well excuse me! I just don’t want to have to tell the Princess that we didn’t go because somepony wouldn’t get out of bed!”

“All right,” grumbled Applejack, “I’m comin’.”

As quick as she could, Applejack got ready to go, leaving a note for her family. She ran to Ponyville, arriving ahead of everyone except Twilight and Rainbow.

The two of them filled her in on the situation. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie arrived, followed by Rarity, who complained about missed beauty sleep.

“It’ll be just like a sleepover!” said Pinky. “Except we’ll be walking instead of sleeping, which I guess would make it a walkover. This is going to be so exciting, I’ve never been to a walkover before! I brought cupcakes.” She punctuated her last sentence by flourishing a tray of baked goods.

“All right girls,” said Twilight. “We’ve got to track down that ship and see who it belongs to. Rainbow, didn’t you say it was headed north?”

Dash nodded. “If it kept the same speed, I bet I know where it is now. It shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

“Are they friendly?” asked Fluttershy quietly.

“We don’t know,” said Twilight. “That’s something else we have to find out. The Princess is counting on us. Let’s go!”

USS Wisconsin

Apparently, nothing interesting happened all night. Mittal was almost disappointed. The battleship had sailed slowly on, hugging the coast and watching for signs of life.

“How’s the weather?” Mittal asked the current Officer of the deck, a different man than it had been the day before.

“Clear as a bell,” answered the OOD. In a different tone, he added, “I didn’t recognize any star constellations last night.”

Even the night sky was different. Mittal didn’t want to admit it, but it appeared that Wisconsin and her crew were no longer in the Atlantic, and maybe not even on planet Earth.

With that somewhat terrifying thought, he went to get some breakfast. Several minutes later, he was almost finished when a young officer came to find him with news from the bridge.

“Sir, we’ve spotted some more wildlife.”

Mittal dropped his fork and followed the messenger. Upon his arrival on the bridge, he grabbed a pair of high-powered binoculars and gazed out at the distant coast. His eyes found six small multicolored spots. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be vaguely horselike. The sky-blue one may even be the same animal that teased the Pioneer the day before.

“Make us stationary and drop anchor,” Mittal ordered. “Get a landing party ready to go.”

Canterlot

After Celestia had finished raising the sun, Luna told her sister about the letter from Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia nodded. “You did the right thing, sister.” She smiled. “I appreciate you letting me sleep. I have a full day ahead. First, I’m meeting with Chief Thunderhooves, and later I have to compose a letter to Queen Beak.”

Luna nodded, knowing communication with the various countries in the United Lands was important. Chief Thunderhooves, leader of the Buffalo Nation, and Queen Beak, the ruler of the Griffon Kingdom, were important supporters of the UL’s quest to get the dragons out of Zebrica.

“If Twilight writes again, I trust you to answer if I’m not here,” said Celestia. “I should be going now.” She made ready to leave.

With the moon down, Luna’s duties for the day were over. She decided to stay awake a while longer in case Twilight and her friends found what they were looking for.

Shores of the Equestrian Sea

Based on Rainbow Dash’s description of the ship’s course, Twilight gathered her magic and teleported the six of them to a spot Rainbow suggested. There was nothing to be seen but Luna’s moon setting over empty water.

“Maybe I overestimated,” said Dash, sheepishly.

Nopony had a good idea of how to find the ship, so they decided to walk south and keep their eyes open. The moon slowly disappeared and the sun took its place. Twilight realized that she’d spent so much time in the library in the past few days, that it had been a while since she’d been able to appreciate a sunrise.

It was Pinky that spotted it first, a low grey shape on the horizon. Rainbow flew ahead and confirmed that it was the same ship that she’d encountered before. It was coming closer.

As the ship drew near, Twilight realized just how big it was. Perhaps Rainbow hadn’t exaggerated enough. The bow was sharp and trim, with the number 64 painted in white. Above the hull, the bridge and other structure was blocky and utilitarian. The decks were crowded with long tubes. Cannons? Twilight wondered. Was it a warship?

The ship seemed to be slowing down, and soon stopped near where the ponies watched. An anchor on a chain slipped from its chock and dropped into the sea.

A few more minutes passed. Twilight thought she could see some kind of creatures moving along the decks of the ship, but it was too far away to be sure. She noticed a small boat being lowered over the side.

While the ship lay at anchor, the boat sliced through the small waves and headed for shore. As it came closer, Twilight made out several figures inside. All of them seemed to be wearing the same blotchy, earth-toned clothing.

The boat pulled up on the beach a short distance away. Fluttershy made a small noise.

USS Wisconsin

Mittal put the binoculars back to his eyes. They were heavy, and he was getting tired of holding them. The boat with a small group of Marines aboard seemed to have made it to shore.

Shortly, the radio crackled to life.

“Wisconsin?” The speaker sounded a little shaken, and had forgotten proper radio procedure.

Mittal picked up the microphone. “Captain Mittal here. Go ahead.”

“You’re not going to believe this sir, but…they speak English.”

Author note:
Thanks for the kind words. FIM Fiction sure knows how to make a person feel welcome.

I'm still looking for editors/prereaders

For all you fighters instead of lovers, fret not. Wisconsin will get a chance to deliver some ordnance before the end of the story.

Chapter 3

USS Wisconsin

“What are we dealing with?” asked Captain Mittal.

“They call themselves ponies, sir,” answered the voice on the radio.

“Can they fly?” Mittal remembered the multicolored animal that had been observed with the ship’s remote control airplane.

“Some can, sir. They’re called pegasus ponies.”

“What about the rest?” The reply took a few seconds.

“It seems like the population is split roughly into thirds. Some are pegasi, some are unicorns, and some are earth ponies.”

“Earth ponies?”

“Non-pegasus, non-unicorn ponies.”

“Are ponies the dominant species?”

“Yes sir, at least in their country.”

“They have a country?”

“Yes sir. It’s called Equestria. The ship is currently in the Equestrian Sea.”

“Can we get a meeting with their leaders?”

The reply didn’t come immediately. Mittal glanced around the bridge. Sailors that weren’t even on duty had stopped to listen to the conversation.

“Sir, Equestria is governed by two leaders, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. One of the ponies we’re talking to here is a student of Celestia. It shouldn’t be hard to get an audience.”

That was lucky, thought Mittal. They had somehow managed to run into someone important.

“One last thing, are there any people in this world?”

“No sir, we’re alone.”

The Marines stayed on the beach for a while longer and then got in the boat to come back. The ponies, all six of them, disappeared in a flash of purple light.

The boat was quickly hauled up, and Mittal walked down to the deck to talk with the shore party.

“What was that?” he asked, indicating the vanishing ponies.

One of the men shrugged. “They teleported, sir. Unicorns can do magic.” It seemed strange how casually he said it.

They presented Mittal with a crudely drawn map. It indicated the coastline and a wide swath of forest. Further inland, there was a small drawing of a castle and the word “Canterlot.”

“This is where the two princesses live?” Mittal asked.

“Yes, sir. They said it was a big place, and you can’t miss it.”

“Go find the helicopter crew,” Mittal ordered.

Canterlot

Princess Celestia returned from her talks with the Buffalo. Chief Thunderhooves was willing to offer a volunteer force to travel to Zebrica if it became necessary. Celestia had been hoping he would commit his entire army. It would help the United Lands put pressure on the dragons to surrender.

She put the finishing touches on her letter to Queen Beak of the Griffon Kingdom and sent it off. Another letter popped in almost immediately afterwards. More scheduled UL talks, and soon.

The UL was only a loose collection of countries with no single leader. Celestia had probably done more diplomatically to rally the other nations to the Zebrica cause than any other national leader. She was still unsure if it would be enough.

She knew that Twilight was acquainted with a Zebra living nearby. Perhaps Celestia could ask her to talk to the UL assembly.

Speaking of Twilight, the unicorn and her friends suddenly teleported into the room.

“Princess! Did your sister tell you about my letter? We found the ship!”

“Please tell me about it.”

“They like my cupcakes!” exclaimed Pinky.

“They know how to fly without feathers,” said Rainbow.

“They were nice,” said Fluttershy.

“I reckon they’re a friendly enough bunch,” added Applejack.

“Their fashion is something I’ve never seen before,” said Rarity, thoughtfully.

“Who?” asked Celestia.

“They’re called humans,” explained Twilight. “They’re tall and walk on two legs, and don’t have very much hair. Their ship got caught in a storm and they ended up here.”

“Is that Twilight and her friends?” asked Luna sleepily. She walked into the room. Celestia quickly explained to her that the ship had been found.

“Where did these humans come from?” asked Celestia.

“They said it was a country called the United States of America on a planet called Earth,” said Twilight. “Everypony on Earth is human.”

“It sounds like they got more than lost,” said Rainbow, breaking in. “How do you even get to a different planet?”

Celestia appeared to be considering something. “Some of our scientists have investigated possible shortcuts in time and space. Up until now, it was mostly theoretical work, but I suppose it’s possible that these humans may have accidentally stumbled upon the method to get the system to function.”

Twilight was perhaps the only one who understood what the Princess was saying. “Oh! So we really should get to know the humans and learn how they got here. They want to go home, and maybe we can help them.”

Celestia nodded. “I think that would be wise.”

“That’s good,” said Twilight. She smiled. “I already invited them here to meet you.”

The two princesses traded looks. “They know where Canterlot is?”

“That’s right. We helped them make a map.”

“How are they getting here?”

Twilight’s face fell. “I don’t know. They didn’t say.”

All the ponies suddenly became aware of a strange low-pitched noise. It seemed to be getting louder.

The skies over Canterlot

The helicopter crew had spent most of their career at sea, making utility flights around ships. A nice forest landscape was an interesting change.

Mittal sat in the rear of the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk. The helicopter was large enough to accommodate himself, a cadre of Marines, and a junior officer Mittal had picked to go along, Lieutenant Wilson.

Wilson was a paperwork jockey, and clutched a briefcase filled with stationery and pens. He looked nervous, although Mittal couldn’t tell whether it was because of the helicopter flight or the ponies.

One man from the shore party was on the helicopter with them. The others had stayed with the ship to give the sailors a crash course on dealing with ponies. Navy ships pulled into ports all over the world, and briefings on how to treat the locals were not uncommon.

From what the Marines on the beach had learned, the language and mannerisms of the ponies were not much different from the people of the United States. Topics of conversation to avoid included eating meat, and politics. Mittal shook his head. No way did a pony need to be subjected to the American political system.

The castle was easy enough to spot. The pilot circled once, looking for a suitable place to land. Ponies in the streets below looked up in wonder at the strange machine, most of them not seeming afraid. Perhaps this world was more peaceful than Earth. Talks with the ponies on the beach seemed to indicate that their military was tiny and very rarely used.

It was a tight fit to land the helicopter in the castle courtyard, but there were few other suitable places available. The pilot gently set it down.

As the engines began to coast to a stop, Mittal and company exited. Ponies stood at the castle door waiting for them. Most wore armor and appeared to be some kind of royal guards. A few were colorful and resembled the tiny specks Mittal had seen through his binoculars.

The humans entered the castle. Mittal didn’t feel threatened by the ponies, although being backed by six Marines didn’t hurt his confidence. A pink pony with a frizzy mane stood nearby, getting a better look at the visitors.

“Hey Corporal Boyle,” she said.

Boyle, one of the Marines who had also made first contact on the beach, nodded to her. “Pinkie Pie.”

“Welcome,” said a regal-sounding voice. Mittal took his eyes from Pinkie and spotted a pair of ponies waiting for them. Both were taller than any other pony he had seen, and sported both wings and a horn. Mittal made a note to ask about that later.

The white one spoke first. “Greetings, I am Princess Celestia.” She sounded friendly, and was tall enough to look Mittal right in the eye.

“This is my sister, Princess Luna,” said Celestia, indicating the slightly smaller blue pony next to her. “We would like to welcome you to Equestria.”

All eyes turned to Mittal. He’d expected to be put on the spot, and had made sure to prepare himself. It was a little unnerving talking to ponies, but he was determined to make a good first impression. Before leaving the ship, he’d made sure the creases in his khaki uniform were sharp and the silver eagles on his collar were polished. It seemed to have some effect, as a nearby white unicorn with a purple mane appeared to be looking at his clothing appreciatively.

“Princesses,” he said. “Thank you for your hospitality. I am Captain John Mittal, Commanding Officer of USS Wisconsin, a ship of the United States of America Navy. It’s been a little unnerving coming to a strange place where there are no other humans. It seems that we have a lot in common, though, and I hope we can establish a friendship between our nations.”

Celestia seemed impressed by his words. “We would like that very much. You are welcome to stay as our guests for as long as necessary.”

“Thank you. We were hoping, however, to return home. Everyone must be worried about us.”

Celestia nodded. “We have some theories about why you came here. Our scientists will be happy to help you find a solution.”

Mittal gestured to Lieutenant Wilson, who produced several typed pages from his briefcase. “Here is all the information we have about our situation. Unfortunately, it isn’t much.”

Mittal felt the papers being lifted from his hands. He let them go and they floated over to Celestia. He noticed her horn glowing. It was his first personal brush with magic, and he didn’t know what to make of it.

Celestia examined the papers briefly. “Twilight?” she asked, looking at a purple unicorn.

“I’ll take them, Princess.” The unicorn’s horn began to glow as she received the stack of paper. She began flipping through them immediately.

“We hate to rush you out,” said Princess Luna, speaking for the first time. “But we have a bit of a prior commitment.”

Celestia nodded. “We received a letter not long ago. The United Lands have requested a meeting.”

“United Lands?” asked Mittal.

“It’s a multinational cooperative dedicated to keeping peace,” explained Luna. “There’s a bit of a crisis going on now, and we need to talk with the other national leaders.”

“We have something like that back home,” said Mittal. “It’s called the United Nations. Our country was a founding member.”

“Were there wars?” asked Twilight, the purple unicorn.

“We’ve fought several wars. In fact, that’s where our ship was headed when we accidentally ended up here.”

The two princesses looked at each other. “That’s very interesting,” said Luna. “Perhaps we can invite you to speak.”

“We have to go now,” said Celestia. “We’ll stay in contact with you. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let us know.” The two princesses left the room.

Mittal took that as their cue to leave. The crowd of ponies followed them out.

“What is that thing, anyway?” said the rainbow pegasus, pointing a hoof at the helicopter. “It doesn’t look like it should fly.”

Her words strangely echoed something a fixed-wing pilot had once said to Mittal about helicopters. He and the rest of the humans boarded the chopper, and the blades began to turn.

Author note
Good gosh, I've written like five thousand words in the last 24 hours. This is where flattery gets you, people! Thanks again for reading.

Chapter 4

USS Wisconsin

Mittal had just gotten off the 1MC after addressing the entire crew. They’d learned exactly where they were and what the situation was. The ship was not in any danger, and the locals were friendly. They were still a long way from home, though.

Next on the agenda was a meeting with the officers to decide the terms of their relations with Equestria. Lieutenant Wilson was still with Mittal as he made his way to the wardroom.

“What should we do, sir? I mean, what can we do? There’s nothing in the regulations about a situation like this.” Wilson looked flustered.

“If there’s no standing rule, we’re going to have to improvise,” said Mittal. He stopped. “Why don’t you go get the JAG lawyer? If we’re talking rule-bending, that’s who we need.”

Wilson went off to find the man from the Judge Advocate General's Corps. There was usually at least one aboard large ships. The primary function of the JAG was legal matters, including interpretation of the laws.

Mittal showed up in the ward room. The officers that could be spared from duty had been called for the meeting. When Wilson and the lawyer were present, Mittal began.

“Gentlemen, we’re in a unique situation here. Equestria and a few other countries are facing a war. We believe that they are the good guys, but have no proof as of yet.”

Mittal paused. Wilson was taking notes. “It seems that we aboard this ship probably have the highest level of technology of anyone in this world. Some of the men aboard have seen combat before. The same cannot be said for a lot of Equestria or other nations.”

There had been a few minor actions through the 1980s that many of the sailors aboard Wisconsin had participated in. Some of the older veterans had even been involved with Vietnam. None of the ponies seemed to be very experienced.

“My point is, whichever side we choose in this conflict will probably win. We have the power to completely change the outcome of the war and this whole world. It is for that reason that we must consider our actions very carefully.”

The gunnery commander indicated that he wished to speak. Mittal nodded to him.

“Sir, who says we have to pick a side?”

“Nobody, nobody at all. We certainly don’t have to. But what if innocents are being killed by tyrants? Can we stand idly by and watch?”

The lawyer spoke. “According to the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country can request aid from the United States if it is being threatened with armed aggression from another country. Nixon said something of the same thing. The United States has a certain reputation to uphold on Earth, and a reputation to create wherever it is we are now.”

He leaned back in his chair a little. “I agree that we must review our options carefully. We can be a friend of many and an enemy of few, or we can be despised by all.” He gestured to the bulkheads. “Right now, we’re a blank slate. What do we want to become? Generally, the most legal choice is also the ethical one.”

The speech was so eloquent that no one else had anything to say. Mittal dismissed the gathered officers, suddenly feeling pressure bearing down on him. He now realized that his decision on whether or not to get Wisconsin involved could make or break entire countries. It was a crushing responsibility.

Ponyville

Spike had not expected Twilight to be gone for so long. He wasn’t her number one assistant for nothing, though. By the time she got back, the library was cleaner than it had been for a while. Spike hadn’t been doing any more work than usual, Twilight just hadn’t been around to pile study books everywhere.

“What took you so long, Twilight?” Spike asked as she came in. Her friends were with her.

“We met some travelers from another world, Spike!”

“And their clothes! Such clean, bold lines!” exclaimed Rarity.

“I need to go plan a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ part for them!” said Pinky. How many humans did they say were aboard that ship? Nineteen hundred? I’ll need a lot of room!” She ran out the door.

“Ah should probably be goin’ too” said Applejack. “See ya’ll.”

“I need to go check on the animals,” said Fluttershy.

“I’m inspired!” said Rarity. “I have to go make something.”

Suddenly, Twilight and Spike were the only ones in the library. “So, travelers from another world, huh?” he said.

“That’s right, Spike. They came here on a giant ship.”

“Are you sure they aren’t pirates?”

Twilight laughed. “Spike, have you been reading comic books again? No, they’re professional sailors, completely the opposite of pirates.” She told him a little more about the humans and how they’d used their flying machine to visit Canterlot.

“That sounds really cool,” he said. “I’d sure like to see that.”

“We’ll take you with us the next time we visit. I’m sure they won’t mind.” Twilight shuffled some papers that she had pulled from her saddlebags. It was the pages of information the humans had given her.

“The thing is, Spike, they got to Equestria by some strange anomaly. It’s almost like they sailed through some kind of trans-dimensional portal.”

Spike nodded slowly, not understanding.

“Have you seen my book on Theoretical Physics?” Twilight asked.

Spike brightened. “Sure. I’ll get it for you.”

Dragon lands

Fireholm

There was no dragon leadership structure per se, there was just Terrorvane. He hadn’t been elected, or even appointed. One day, he had simply declared himself leader of all dragons. It said something about his character that no creature protested. At least not to his scaly face.

Dragons were solitary by nature, and usually preferred to find a nice cave to live in by themselves. The dragon lands were not an organized country, but the local population density of dragons was far higher than normal and they were forced to live and work together.

Fireholm was roughly central to the dragon lands. It was a good place to give orders from. Terrorvane had set up a nice comfortable pile of rocks in the center of the city to lounge his powerful black body on.

A small green dragon named Ember Glow approached. He had become one of Terrorvane’s top advisors.

“Mr. Terrorvane, in a meeting yesterday the UL decided to issue you an ultimatum. They say you have one week to withdraw our dragons from Zebrica.”

Terrorvane snorted. “Zebrica doesn’t exist anymore. The moment we set foot on it, it became our territory.”

Ember Glow nodded meekly. “I understand, but the former government of Zebrica continues to put up resistance. We may have pushed them to the edge of the sea, but they’re all still alive.”

Terrorvane considered that for a moment. He stood up.

“Hey! A couple of you dragons go kill the senior Zebrican leadership.”

A few dragons standing around looked at each other in confusion. Terrorvane gave them a look. Motivated by his glare, four of them took off, heading in the direction of Zebrica.

Terrorvane flopped down. “Not a problem.”

“Mr. Terrorvane, I fear that you may provoke the UL to attack.”

“With what? Only the griffins and some of the ponies can fly here. They don’t have enough boats to get the rest of the UL transported quickly. We’ll just sit back and pick them off one by one.”

The frightening thing, Ember Glow thought, was not that Terrorvane was standing up to the combined force of a generous portion of the world, but the bloodshed he would resort to in order to succeed. It also did not seem to matter to him whether the casualties were UL or dragon.

Ember Glow was a smart, and he knew that it was best to be on the good side of the most powerful dragon in the land. He wasn’t entirely without conscience, though, and had begun to regret the role he played in the invasion of Zebrica.

USS Wisconsin

Mittal was catching an nap. His sleep schedule ever since the storm had been erratic at best.

He woke up to a knock at the door. The Officer of the deck poked his head in. “Sir? There’s purple unicorn here to see you.”

Am I dreaming? Mittal thought. He pinched himself. Nope. “Fine. Show her in.”

He heard the sound of hooves ringing on the deck and Twilight Sparkle stepped into his cabin.

“Captain Mittal, I need you to come with me. An emergency meeting of the UL has been called, and Princess Celestia wants you to be present.”

“What’s the meeting about?” Mittal asked. The OOD started to walk away, but Mittal gestured him back in case he needed pass orders along.

“The dragons have stepped up their attacks. We believe they may be targeting Zebrican government officials. They’ve completely ignored an ultimatum the UL gave them to withdraw.”

“I take it this meeting will probably lead to a declaration of war?” Mittal began to put his shoes on. He’d already made his mind up to go.

Twilight cast her eyes down to the deck. “I still hope it’s not too late for peace. I would hate for anypony to die.”

“If the dragons are already attacking then there have already been deaths. If you don’t go to war, those will continue.”

“You make it sound so inevitable.”

“Sometimes it is. Have you ever heard the expression ‘A necessary evil’?”

Twilight nodded.

“Life is not always black and white. Sometimes there are tough decisions to make. Going to war will undoubtedly get some creatures killed, but how many will it save?”

“I see your point,” said Twilight. “I just wish there was some other way.” Changing the subject, she said, “Are you ready to go?”

Mittal nodded. “I’ll go get my pilots.”

“No, you can come with me. Stand still.” She shut her eyes and her horn began to glow. In a flash, the two of them were transported to the castle.

Mittal felt disoriented, but otherwise unharmed. The surprise had nearly given him a heart attack, though. He remembered that the OOD had been standing there in his cabin, so at least someone would know where he went.

Twilight had brought him to a circular room with stone walls. It was apparently inside the castle. Many round mirrors hung on the walls. Princess Celestia was there, along with a zebra with a mohawked mane.

“There’s somepony I want you to meet,” said Twilight. “This is Zecora. She’s from Zebrica.”

The zebra nodded to him. “How do you do? I must say, I have never encountered a creature quite like you.”

Mittal introduced himself. In talking with her a little more, he found that rhyming was a standard part of her speech.

“Are we ready to begin the meeting?” asked Celestia. Everyone fell silent as her horn began to glow. The mirrors on the walls changed color, flipping through various hues before resolving into images. Each one displayed a different species of animal. Mittal realized he was looking at a magic-powered video conference.

“Members of the United Lands,” Celestia began. “As many of you know, the dragon forces have not responded to our warning. In fact, they appear to have started a campaign to eliminate the Zebrican government. It seems that words will not work, and we must commit to something more drastic. I have with me a guest from Zebrica. I hope you can give her a moment of your time.”

Zecora stepped forward. “Leaders of the United Lands, I ask you this: surely you have noticed something amiss? There is fire and death in this land of mine. For debate, there is not time. We have done our best to defend our home, but against such attack we cannot stand alone. I beg you, on bended knee. Please assist us with this tragedy.”

Certainly not the most concise speaker, thought Mittal, but it was hard not to be moved by her words.

“A war involving multiple nations at once can’t be a good idea,” said a sheep. Or rather a ram, thought Mittal. It was male. “The whole planet would devolve into chaos.” A clamor of voices seemed to agree.

Celestia looked furious. “We’ve been giving warnings and ultimatums, and they keep ignoring them! They don’t take the United Lands seriously, because we won’t make a stand. More importantly, their invasion of Zebrica and the killing of its citizens is legally and morally wrong!”

Her outburst seemed to have quieted the crowd, but there were still quiet mutterings. Zecora said, “It is not an easy choice to make. Will you do what it takes?”

No creature answered her. A few had the grace to at least look guilty about it.

Mittal had been dreading making a decision on the issue, but in a sudden flash of clarity, he knew exactly what needed to be done. He stepped forward. “Can I say something?”

“Who is that, Celestia?” asked one of the UL members. It looked like a cross between a bird and a lion. A griffin, Mittal thought it was called.

“This is a creature called a human who arrived in our world recently. His name is Captain John Mittal. He represents a country called the United States of America.” Celestia nodded to him. “Captain, you have the floor.”

Mittal cleared his throat. “I only arrived here a few days ago. It’s actually a lot like home. Every creature has hopes and dreams, and it is universally recognized that causing pain and suffering in others is wrong.”

Mittal continued. “I’m a member of the military. I know that war is an ugly thing. Fighting and killing seem to go against everything good. Unfortunately, words do not stop weapons. When an enemy is committed to attacking, there is nothing to be done but meet him head on. You of the United Lands have the advantage of numbers. Together, the UL can be an overwhelming force of good, able to turn the tide and restore order. Separated…your countries will be easy prey for the dragons to take down one by one.”

“And what are you doing to help?” asked the griffin.

“More than the rest of you combined,” Mittal deadpanned. “A week ago, I didn’t even know Zebrica existed. Today, I’m completely committed to doing what I believe is right by coming to their assistance.”

There was complete silence for several seconds. Mittal held his breath.

“I’m with you,” said the buffalo. “If my nation was attacked, I would want my friends to come to my aid.”

“I agree,” announced the griffin. “We will assist.”

One by one, the members of the UL spoke. Some did not offer a full commitment, but all pledged some kind of support.

“We need a leader,” one of the creatures said. “Someone to organize everything.”

“I nominate Celestia,” said the buffalo. "She's always been behind this cause."

The Princess nodded. “I accept.”

A vote was taken. A few members abstained, but there were no disagreements and the Princess was chosen.

“Members of the United Lands,” said Celestia. “I will perform my duty as well as I am able. We all have a lot of work ahead of us.” She bid them goodbye and the mirrors went dark.

“What do we do now, Princess?” asked Twilight.

“The Royal Guard is always ready to fight, but we need to call for volunteers. We need a military leader to organize things and command. Twilight Sparkle, I hereby commission you into the Equestrian Armed Forces to the rank of Field Marshall.”

“Wh-what?” squeaked Twilight. “That can’t be done!” Mittal didn’t think so either, but apparently Celestia just had.

“Twilight, I know you’re exceptional at organization, and a natural born leader. You’re one of the most intelligent ponies I’ve ever met and I trust you to make the right decision when the situation calls for it.”

“Well…okay Princess. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask.” Celestia turned. “Captain Mittal, I want to thank you for your support.”

"You're most welcome."

She nodded. “I’ll be contacting you soon with orders. In the meantime, do you think you could move your ship further north, to Manehattan? It would be an ideal place to rally the various national militaries.”

Mittal agreed to meet the UL there. Celestia bid him goodbye and Field Marshall Sparkle teleported him back to the ship.

They arrived back in Mittal’s cabin, startling a sailor swabbing the deck outside. Mittal told him to rest easy, and shut the door.

Twilight said, “I think I need to establish a headquarters. Is it all right with you if I set up aboard your ship?”

“That’s fine. How many ponies will be with you?”

“I don’t know just yet, but probably no more than two dozen. I’ll let you know when you get to Manehattan. It’s not too far up the coast.”

Mittal said he would see her there and she disappeared in another flash of purple light. He went up to the bridge and gave the order to pull up the anchor.

The Middle East had been their destination upon leaving Norfolk, but the confusion of the past few days had caused everyone to forget about Iraq. As the battleship got underway, it looked like they would be seeing combat after all.

Author note:

I can’t rhyme worth a darn. It’s why I’m a terrible at rap. It’s also why I'm sorry to say Zecora probably won’t be getting many more speaking parts.

Stay tuned. We set sail for Zebrica soon.

Chapter 5

Author note:

Let's try something different - a short chapter.

Manehattan

USS Wisconsin

The wooden pier groaned under the force of the ship mildly bumping into it. As long as the waves didn’t do anything strange, it would probably hold. Twilight Sparkle had informed Mittal that the tides in Equestria were very predictable.

Ponies of all kinds had come down to the water to have a look at the ship. It was quite an attraction. There were tall buildings in Manehattan, even some that could be classified as skyscrapers, but Wisconsin dwarfed them all.

The resemblance to Manhattan was unsettling. Combined with the inexplicably English-speaking animals and other details Mittal had noticed, it was beginning to seem like they had arrived in some bizarre version of Earth, rather than a different planet.

Maybe he could ask Twilight about it later. For the moment, there was too much to do in preparation to leave.

Field Marshall Sparkle came aboard with the ponies she had picked for her staff. Most of them were members of the Equestrian military. The colorful ponies that were with her before were not present. Mittal asked about them.

“The six of us are the Elements of Harmony,” she told him, briefly explaining the purpose of the Elements. “We’re all really great friends, but we had a long talk and decided that Harmony is not something that would really help us with the necessary chaos of war.”

“Where did they go?”

“Applejack and Rarity are with the supply group, in food and clothing respectively. Pinky is in the planning and logistics division. Fluttershy is helping with the hospital. Rainbow joined the Sky Corps.”

Ponies seemed to be naturally good at organization. Their cutie marks, the symbols that every pony received, easily told them what they were good at. With each pony doing a job they were suited to, things seemed to run more smoothly than humanity could manage.

Mittal had heard a few stallions refer to their marks as “stud stamps.” He couldn’t blame them. If he had a tattoo on his posterior, he wouldn’t call it a cutie mark either.

Joining Twilight were Zecora, and a small purple dragon that Twilight introduced as Spike, her assistant. Prior to the introduction, Mittal had assumed that all dragons were bad news. It seemed like heritage was not discriminated against in Equestria.

The Manehattan harbor began to fill up with vessels of all kinds. Ponies had no need for fish, so they seemed to be different types of boats than a human port would have. Many were repurposed civilian craft that had been volunteered for the cause.

Everything came together much more quickly than Mittal would have thought. Things ran on a smaller scale than in the human world, and events were able to happen faster.

Wisconsin was tied to the pier for two days. In that time, masses of pony volunteers arrived. Mittal was wary of sending untrained civilians, but Twilight informed him that “volunteer” was the Equestrian equivalent of army reserves. Perhaps not quite as effective as a standing army, but able to respond on short notice.

Joining the ponies were crowds of buffalo, sheep, donkeys, and just about every other creature Mittal had ever seen before. Twilight showed her prowess at logistics by arranging transportation, food, and supplies for them all. It looked to be no easy task.

The night before scheduled departure, Mittal took a walk along the waterfront. He’d been to New York City before, and his eyes kept picking out similarities between it and Manehattan. Maybe his parallel universe theory wasn’t so crazy after all. Were the dragons some kind of equivalent to Saddam Hussein’s regime? There was a scary idea. Mittal decided to think about other things.

Alcohol did not seem to exist in any large quantity in Equestria. Some of the sailors probably would have figured out a way to smuggle it aboard if it did. He understood the need to relax occasionally, but going into battle buzzed was not a great idea.

Mittal glanced at the stars. Despite being in a city, there wasn’t much light pollution. He didn’t immediately recognize any constellations, although there were three collinear stars that rather resembled Orion’s Belt. Perhaps the clear skies made more stars than usual visible, crowding the night sky and obscuring the familiar constellations. And what was to say the ship hadn’t also been transported across a distance, ending up somewhere else on the planet that had a view of the sky from a different angle? Speaking of-

Mittal shook his head. It was all right to speculate, but he had no facts to back any of those ideas. He decided to go back and get some sleep. The next day was going to be long.

Rising before the sun, Mittal ran one more check to make sure every sailor and every piece of equipment was ready. He consulted the supply department about their provisions.

Under standard rations, there was enough food left onboard for perhaps a week. Mittal was thankful that the supply officer had been keeping careful records. Wisconsin would normally have a stores ship in the battle group to resupply from, and running out of something would be no big deal. Mittal discreetly asked the galley staff to cut back slightly and make the raw ingredients they had stretch as far as possible. The ponies were happy to supply fresh fruit and vegetables to replenish their stocks, which helped quite a bit.

Fuel was another limited commodity, although that wouldn’t become a problem for a few weeks. Battleships carried not only their own fuel, but often refueled the destroyers in the battle group. There was quite a lot in reserve.

By midmorning, all the smaller boats had put to sea to give the battleship room to maneuver in the harbor. Mittal had learned that the Equestrian Sea was actually more of a strait than an ocean. Relatively speaking, it wouldn’t take very long to cross.

As Wisconsin pulled away, the crowd that had come to see them off cheered.

Chapter 6

The Equestrian Sea

USS Wisconsin

The teak planking of the battleship’s deck was pleasant to take a stroll on. Twilight was not enjoying herself, though. The fleet was underway, but there was still so much to do. She’d come out in the sun to take a break and clear her mind before going back to planning.

An open can of Coca-Cola drifted along beside her, surrounded by the purple glow of her magic. Human food generally did not agree with the ponies, but soft drinks were a strange novelty. There was only a limited supply of Coke onboard, but the sailors seemed content to share it with them.

Captain Mittal had been very willing to talk about the ship when she’d inquired about its capabilities. It was obvious that he took pride in the vessel, and cared for it very much, usually referring to it with female pronouns.

The United States of America was made up of fifty smaller areas, the states. “Wisconsin” was the name of one of them. The country also named ships after cities, influential humans, and even sometimes animals, although usually only sea creatures.

The ship Wisconsin was arguably one of the most powerful ships in the US Navy. It had its flaws, but in terms of offensive capability, there were few ships that could match it. Mittal seemed sad that it was probably reaching the end of its life. The ship had been upgraded with new equipment several times, but it was approaching fifty years of service.

Twilight looked at one of the Mark 7 turrets on the foredeck. The three gun barrels were each as large as tree trunks. The ship had three of the turrets, for a total of nine guns. Under ideal conditions, the guns together could average one shot fired every three seconds. Twilight had been below deck to the magazine, and seen the enormous shells. She couldn’t imagine how a chemical reaction from “gunpowder” could cause something so large and heavy to move.

The ship also carried a dozen smaller guns and a few other weapons that Mittal said would be useless in this world. He called them “missiles.”

Twilight finished her drink and went back to the war room, although the sailors called it a compartment, rather than a room. They had a lot of strange terms for everything: bulkhead, hatch, rack, head.

The rough details of the battle strategy had already been mapped out with the advisors Twilight had brought along. Most were experienced soldiers, and all were known to be inteligent.

Twilight hadn't limited herself to just the think tank on board, though. Princess Luna sent a letter revealing that she’d been working on a plan that attempted to minimize dragon casualties and end the fighting as quickly as possible. She called it Shock and Awe.

The idea was to attack as hard and fast as possible, hopefully scaring the survivors enough to convince them that further fighting was hopeless. The UL would much rather take prisoners than kill.

The first target on the list was an old Zebrican seaside fortress. It had stood abandoned for several years, and was in poor condition. The zebra leaders did not have any particular wish to save it, so it would be used as an example.

When the dragons began to push into Zebrica, the old fort was occupied. It had not much value as a strategic location, but it was a place to stay. The location had been mapped, and the strike had been organized. It was only a matter of time.

It was a little difficult to organize the fleet of boats that followed in the battleship’s wake. There were no radios, but the animal sailors seemed to understand semaphore flags and Morse light. One more thing to ponder, Mittal thought. All the small boats had been warned to stay clear as Wisconsin got into position. The guns had been checked thoroughly and made ready. The gunners stood by for action.

On the bridge in the predawn darkness, Mittal could feel the tension and excitement in the air. While they did perform routine target practice, Wisconsin hadn’t fired her guns in anger since the Korean War.

Twilight Sparkle stood with him, squinting in the dim light towards shore.

“I can’t even see it,” she said.

Mittal nodded. “We’re over the horizon. They can’t see us, either.”

The sun was beginning to rise as the Pioneer UAV was launched. In the Combat Information Center, Petty Officer Lemoore’s deft fingers piloted the small plane. It was a fairly short flight, and the stone and earth fortification soon came into view. Lemoore ducked low and made a close pass over the top.

Full grown dragons were ugly as sin, he thought, unlike the cute little guy who had come aboard with the ponies. He spiraled the Pioneer to a higher altitude and indicated to Fire Control that he was ready.

The three main turrets began to swing to the side, gun barrels elevating. Each gun was made to fire shells 16 inches in diameter that weighed between 1900 and 2700 pounds. To send them on their way, 655 pounds of gunpowder was shoved into each gun with a hydraulic ram. The maximum range was slightly more than twenty nautical miles.

Fire Control completed their calculations. Small radar units to track the shells in flight were turned on in order to make corrections to subsequent shots.

Mittal gave the order, and Wisconsin fired the first shot of the war.

There was an enormous explosion and a fireball appeared right in front of the bridge windows. Twilight squeaked in surprise.

“Sorry,” said Mittal. "But I did tell you it was going to be loud." To punctuate his words, a second gun fired, ejecting another shell at high speed.

Twilight was not teased for her astonished reaction, as everyone on the bridge had their attention focused outside, where the guns began to fall into a steady rhythm of thunder.

The Zebrican Coast

By the standards of dragons who were used to living in caves, the old fort wasn’t too bad. It was almost like living in a castle.

The sun was beginning to come up, bathing the stone walls in orange light. One dragon poked his head over the side, gazing out across the water. There had been rumors of a United Lands force coming to aid the zebra fighters. It looked like that wouldn’t be today. The dragon saw nothing.

He became aware of a buzzing noise. The dragon looked around, searching for the offending insect. He swatted at the air, but the noise continued.

Glancing up, the dragon caught sight of a small speck circling in the air over the fortress. He studied it for a moment, but had never seen anything of the kind before. He decided to go ask another dragon.

He had just started to move when it seemed like the whole world exploded. The dragon was blown off the wall and knocked head over heels through the fort. Seconds later, there was another blast and one of the heavy stone walls disintegrated.

The dragon picked himself up from where he had landed, dazed and injured. He could see no source of the attack, and yet it was utterly destroying the earthworks of the fort. He stretched out his wings to flee, but a boulder thrown from one of the blast craters knocked him flat.

In less than a minute, everything within a quarter of a mile of the old fortification was pulverized. There was little evidence that a structure had existed there at all, other than scattered rubble.

Only a few dragons, those that had flown away immediately after the first shell had landed, escaped the bombardment. They arrived at other dragon strongholds with compelling stories of the sneak attack that had wiped the fortification off the map.

Author note:

This is another fairly short chapter, but what comes next is going to be fairly long. It’ll probably take me until Saturday evening.

Chapter 7

USS Wisconsin

With the fortress flattened, it was time to begin landing the fighting force. The majority of the smaller boats had no way to unload directly onto an unimproved shore, so it was decided to send part of the Marine detachment to assist.

Zecora requested to go along. Twilight had no problem with that, and sent her down to the deck where the Marines were loading up.

One of the small boats was having trouble with its outboard engine. The Marine officer in charge of the landing assigned Corporal Boyle and the zebra to the other boat.

“It would sure be nice to be doing this from an LHD,” commented one of the men loading equipment into the boat. The landing ship he referred to would be equipped with amphibious armored vehicles and attack helicopters.

“It’s just a standard beach landing into dragon occupied territory,” said the officer wryly. More seriously he said, “There could be survivors hidden in the rubble or unexpected reinforcements. Stay alert.”

Boyle shrugged. “You want a beach, sir, we’ll get you a beach.”

The zebra nodded. “I have come too far to see this fail. Let us hurry now before our advantage goes stale.”

The troublesome motor did not look like it could be repaired quickly. A few more men crowded into the other boat, dangerously overloading it. The pilot would have to be very careful with the waves.

Wisconsin had approached close to shore to give the landing boat an easier time of it. The rest of the fleet was not far behind.

“I guess survivors won’t be a problem,” a Marine commented. “That place is dusted. I don’t even see two rocks stacked on top of each other.”

The boat started its decent into the water. Boyle clutched his rifle and hung on to the side of the boat as it slapped the waves. After the winch cables were unhooked, the pilot turned the boat towards shore.

Mount Zebar

There had once been a community living in buildings clinging to the side of the mountain. They’d all fled when the dragons had come.

It was an ideal location for a base. There was a good view in all directions. Northeast there was an old seaside fort. To the northwest was the former Zebrican capitol. To the south were the meager lands that the zebras still held. Directly east was the sea. It was only barely visible in the distance, but a faint glimmer on the horizon was better than nothing.

A dragon named Firebreak was in charge of the mountain. Terrorvane had appointed him, and none dared question orders from that dragon. Shortly after sunrise, Firebreak was woken up by a commotion outside the building he had picked for himself.

He poked his head out and saw a newly arrived dragon who seemed panicked and looked like he had been hurt. The dragon was talking quickly and appeared frightened. Firebreak came out to see what was going on.

“I think Claws and Gembly got away but the rest of them are dead! The fortress was completely wiped out.”

“How could that happen?” asked one of the dragons.

“I don’t know! There were these explosions that came without warning! It might have been bombs, but I didn’t see where they could have come from.”

Firebreak didn’t believe that the coastal fortress could have simply been destroyed, but the distraught dragon had to come from somewhere. He told one of his assistants to go check it out.

The Shores of Zebrica

Zecora was the first one out of the boat. She looked like she’d been waiting for that moment for a long time.

Corporal Boyle climbed out and helped drag the boat up out of the waves. Nine Marines had managed to fit inside for the trip to shore.

“Secure the area and verify that we’re alone here,” ordered the officer. “The first boat is due in fifteen minutes.”

The men picked over the rubble of the fort. There were several dead dragons, some of them literally shredded by the barrage. A slow sweep of the vicinity turned up no signs of life.

The Marines met back at the beach and prepared to receive the incoming boats. One of them suddenly shouted and pointed at the sky.

A lone dragon was coming their way from the south. It turned and made a slow circle over the battleship, giving it a wide berth. Its circle carried it back over land and it began to spiral down.

“Take cover!”

Boyle sprinted for a heap of dirt left over from the fortress. The dragon landed on top of the rubble. It was clear that it had seen them.

Somebody fired. The dragon did not seem to know what to make of the sound. As close as the range was, Boyle hated to believe the shooter had missed, but the dragon showed little reaction. Boyle raised his M16 and took careful aim.

His shot to the center of the dragon’s snout got its attention. It reared back, roaring in pain. It didn’t look like it caused much harm, though.

The dragon sucked in a breath, eyes locked on Boyle’s position. He ducked down just before a ball of fire sizzled over his head. He heard someone else firing and chanced a look out.

The dragon spit more fire and hit one of the Marines with a glancing blow. Part of the man’s uniform erupted in flames. Throwing caution to the wind, Boyle sprinted from cover and grabbed the man, dragging him behind a rock. He slapped at the fire, smothering it with sand.

“Thanks,” muttered the man. His clothing was crispy, but he didn’t look too badly injured. Boyle pulled him to his feet and they both looked over the rock.

The dragon attacked a group of Marines hiding behind another pile of rubble. It spotted Boyle and sucked in another breath. Before it could release it, Zecora burst from cover and charged. She leapt from the top of a pile of stone and bucked the dragon in the face.

Seeing an opportunity, Boyle and the rest of the Marines began firing, pressing the attack. Confused and in pain, the dragon took off, heading back the way it had come.

Somebody from Wisconsin radioed to ask what their situation was. The officer told them that the beach was clear. The dragon had gotten away, and would undoubtedly tell the rest of his kind. The UL’s element of surprise was lost, so they had to move as quickly as possible and get the fighting force landed. The officer also asked for a citation of bravery for Zecora.

Animals and equipment soon began coming ashore. Now that there was a UL foothold in Zebrica, things would get a little easier. The griffins and pegasi could fly in, and there would be a permanent staff headquarters.

Unicorns began moving rubble to construct the base. Twilight packed up the war room and moved her headquarters ashore. Battle plans called for the UL would push south to link up with the Zebrican resistance as soon as possible.

The day had begun with naval gunfire smashing the area to bits, but as the sun set much of the debris had been cleared. Many members of the UL force continued to work, dedicated to their tasks. Those that could be spared were called to an assembly. It was important to keep spirits up, and a ceremony to mark their victory in the first battle of the Zebrican War was just the thing.

Twilight asked Zecora to speak. There was no podium, no stage, just a rough patch of dirt and piles of war supplies.

Zecora didn’t mind. She smiled. “I hereby establish Forward Operating Base Friendship. I cannot think of a better group of creatures to be friends with!”

Mount Zebar

The news of the fort was disturbing. The dragon from earlier had calmed down and began telling his story in more detail. He mentioned a mysterious high-pitched noise just before the explosions began.

Firebreak’s advisor arrived back from his scouting mission looking stunned.

“The fort is gone, but you’re not going to believe what else I saw.”

He sat down, rubbing his nose absently. It felt like there was something lodged under his scales, and it hurt.

“What happened?” asked Firebreak.

“There’s nothing left of the fort. I mean, it was totally demolished. Right there in the ocean was one huge ship and a whole lot of other ones. I’ve never seen anything like that big ship. Maybe they have some kind of special weapon on it?”

“Are you hurt?”

“Not really. There were these creatures in the ruins of the fort. They had some kind of weapons, but I left before they could get me pinned down.”

“Did it look like an invasion force?”

The dragon nodded seriously. “Yes, it did.”

“Are you all right to fly?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Go to Fireholm. Terrorvane needs to know about this.”

The dragon gulped. Bringing bad news to Terrorvane was a frightening prospect.

Canterlot

“It seems that the attack was successful,” said Princess Celestia, reading from the letter Twilight had sent.

Princess Luna nodded. “The strategy relies on speed. It’s not a simple case of trading blows. We must keep pressing and deny them any chance to counterattack.”

Celestia nodded. “Most of the UL forces are now in Zebrica. They should begin moving soon.”

“How did Wisconsin fare?” Luna asked.

Celestia glanced at the letter. “It seems that the ship’s attack was successful nearly beyond belief. Twilight writes that it very nearly inspired Shock and Awe in our own forces.”

Luna laughed. There had been precious little of that around the castle since war had been declared. “I’m glad. Speaking of the humans, have we reached a solution to send them home?”

“Surprisingly, we’re close. It’s a very unexplored branch of enchantment, but the Royal Magic Institute has made good progress. Perhaps they will make a breakthrough in a few days.”

Luna was quiet for a moment. “Should we wait to tell them?”

Celestia thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t like to take advantage of them by holding off their return home, but the truth is we need their help.”

“Their wouldn’t be anything wrong with waiting until the scientists were completely done, would there?”

“I suppose not. All right, we’ll wait.” Celestia put the letter down.

FOB Friendship

Twilight glanced across the water to where the battleship lay, waiting for the army to begin its march. The UL forces were planning to move down the coast under the protection of the ship to meet with the zebra army. Once they were united, they would begin to sweep the dragons from the country.

There was one problem, though, and it was a big one. Within sight of the shore was Mount Zebar, a dragon stronghold. It was more heavily defended than the coastal fortress, and the dragons would probably be prepared for an attack.

The battle plan called for high speed. Despite the festive atmosphere from the day before, today the UL army must begin moving.

Before the sun rose, the nations massed their forces and formed marching columns. With the griffins and pegasi flying combat air patrols, the army began to move.

Scouts ahead of the main force had been keeping a careful eye on the mountain. Corporal Boyle was with them. Using radios, they had been keeping in touch with the rest of the UL and with the ship.

There appeared to be all types of dragons living on the mountain. They came in a wide range of colors and dimensions. The one the Marines had encountered the day before seemed to be about average in size.

The light assault rifles did not seem to be very effective against thick dragon hide. While the supplies were being transferred to the beach, the Marines had raided Wisconsin’s armory for more powerful weapons. Laying beside Boyle was a M2 .50 caliber machine gun and armor piercing ammunition. It was a giant weapon compared to his rifle, and Boyle had been grateful for a pony’s help in carrying it.

A familiar buzz carried through the air, and Boyle looked up to see the Pioneer fly overhead. He lifted a hand and waved at it.

USS Wisconsin

Petty Officer Lemoore had been the recon pilot more often than not in the past few days. Many considered him the best on the boat, and lately Fire Control was demanding nothing less than perfection. He just wished they would let him sleep once in a while. The last time he’d nearly missed the catch net set up on the ship’s fantail that was used for retrieving the UAV.

The mountain was considerably higher than the surrounding terrain. That would put the Pioneer a little closer than Lemoore would like to fire-breathing dragons, but it was an important mission. Without highly accurate maps of Zebrica, they had no idea what the range was.

As the Pioneer approached, Lemoore held his breath. Fire Control used tracking equipment aboard the UAV to measure distances for gunnery calculations. It looked like the range was going to be stretching things to the limit, but Wisconsin would be able to put steel on target.

Mount Zebar

The dragon that had survived the destruction of the fort was resting. He had been cut and bruised by flying debris. Firebreak told him to heal up and they would see about setting up a counterattack.

His eyes popped open. A faint buzzing noise had stirred him awake.

Shouting an alarm, the dragon leaped off the mountain, trying to get out of the area. He beat his wings hard, but was nearly knocked out of the sky by a massive detonation behind him as something slammed into the mountain.

The dragon righted himself in the air and flew on, having narrowly escaped a second time.

A few miles away, the creatures of the UL army let out a collective ohhhh as if watching a fireworks show. The battleship gunners alternated high explosive and armor piercing shells, turning the top portion of the mountain into gravel.

Rainbow Dash had a good view of the destruction from her position with the Sky Corps above the UL ground forces. A few dragons had gotten away, but none had approached the UL forces. After Wisconsin secured her guns, Rainbow swooped towards the Pioneer, giving the camera a congratulatory smile. It dipped its wings in response, and headed back for the ship.

FOB Friendship

The reports coming in were positive. Twilight was happy with the continued progress, but still cautious. The dragons were fully alerted to the UL’s presence now, and it could only be a matter of time before they organized and attacked.

The zebra army had withdrawn to the city of Buckswanna. It was their last garrison left, and if the UL didn’t get there soon they could be overrun. The dragons had laid siege to the city, and something needed to be done to break their lines. With a little more help from Wisconsin, the UL army could enter the city. Twilight needed to select a target.

The list of candidates for the battleship to obliterate took some time to pick through. Eventually, she decided on a camp relatively near the coast. With it out of the way, the UL would have no problem marching right through.

Near Buckswanna

The dragon that had twice eluded Wisconsin arrived in a camp set up to attack the zebra army’s position around the city of Buckswanna. He was nervous and trembling. This was not the war he’d signed up for.

Most dragons in the camp noticed the condition their guest was in and wondered what he’d been through. He told them that the base at Mount Zebar was gone.

He told his story to any dragon who would listen. Most did. Rumors had slowly been growing about some terrible weapon the UL was employing. No dragon seemed to know what it was, and that made the fear all the more unbearable. All of them noticed that the attacks seemed to be getting closer and closer to their position.

The dragon who had seen the destruction firsthand was shakily telling about the horrible things he’d seen when everyone in the camp suddenly became aware of a buzzing noise.

The dragon’s eyes went wide. He dropped to his knees, his clawed forelegs extended to the sky.

“I’ve had enough! Please don’t kill me!”

USS Wisconsin

The battleship had retreated out to sea in order to set up another over-the-horizon surprise attack. The guns were trained, and the range was being calculated. All that was needed was to get the Pioneer over the target to confirm the firing solution.

The video screen transmitted the feed from the UAV. Petty Officer Lemoore was once again back at the controls. He blinked sleepily, unsure for a moment what he was seeing. The video was clear as day, but Lemoore couldn’t believe it. He turned to Captain Mittal, who was standing next to him.

"Sir, they want to surrender, what should I do with them?"

Mittal blinked, surprised by the sudden turn of events. “Secure guns. Get the ground forces on the radio and explain the situation.”

Near Buckswanna

Corporal Boyle asked the radio operator aboard the ship to repeat himself. He and the rest of the scouts were in position with the dragon camp in sight.

“That’s right, they’re surrendering. Get over there and take charge.”

Boyle felt that perhaps the sailor was underestimating the situation, but said that he would. He walked with the group towards the camp.

The M2 machine gun had a press trigger located on the back, rather than the more conventional pull trigger underneath. It would be a little awkward, but it could be fired with a hoof. Boyle had trained his pony helper to operate it, just in case.

As the group approached, Boyle realized that the man on the radio had underestimated the situation, and badly. The camp wasn’t surrendering, all the dragons in Buckswanna were.

The pegasi and griffin air support arrived quickly and helped secure the area. The UL ground forces weren’t far behind. Zecora led them into the city.

Boyle thought the union of UL and zebra forces looked like Christmas, birthdays, and the Fourth of July rolled into one. There was a huge celebration in the making, but word from Field Marshall Sparkle at Friendship cut it short.

The path to the Zebrican capitol city was largely undefended, and it was a prime opportunity to keep the UL’s momentum moving forward. Everyone agreed that retaking the capitol would be a better use of time than having a party. Then they could have a bigger party.

With supplies from the UL, the zebra army was refreshed and they happily joined up to begin the journey. They would be leaving the coast, and Wisconsin, but taking Buckswanna without a shot fired was a confidence boost to all, and having the extra troops didn’t hurt.

The battleship stayed near the coast to coerce the dragon prisoners into cooperating with the small contingent left behind to guard them. The expected counterattack still had not materialized.

USS Wisconsin

Mittal was surprised to receive a letter from Canterlot. The mystery of the storm that had brought the ship to this world had been cracked. He quietly suppressed the urge to shout with joy.

It would take the cooperation of many unicorns to provide enough magic for such a large spell, but it seemed to be possible to send the ship back. All they had to do was return to Equestria to a special place that was being prepared.

There were still duties to be performed, though. While the ship was effectively out of action for the moment, the war was still not over. Mittal thought about the problem for a long time. If it was possible to send them back, then would it be possible to visit again? Would the United Lands be interested in setting up a lasting political relationship? If yes, then Mittal needed to ensure that that they won the war so the UL would still be around to establish a relationship with.

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a lookout. “There’s a large group of dragons incoming!”

Fireholm

Ember Glow couldn’t remember a time when he’d had such bad news to deliver. The UL had attacked with an unexpected ferocity and speed. The seaside fortress had apparently been annihilated and replaced with a UL camp. A dragon from Mount Zebar had reported seeing a huge ship right off the coast, and then the base there had been violently erased as well. The entire dragon presence at Buckswanna had surrendered without a fight, and now the UL force was on the way to recapture the former Zebrican capitol. Oh, Terrorvane was going to kill him.

The big dragon took the news better than Ember Glow thought, which was still not very well. After cursing and swearing for nearly a full minute, he demanded that all the dragons left in the land take to the air and go on the attack.

The denizens of Fireholm caught the tone of his voice and knew that Terrorvane had reached previously unheard of levels of rage. The stories of the mysterious steel ship had even reached Fireholm, and many of them did not want to go.

Still, they all took off, heading for battle. Some planned to discretely break off the main formation and desert.

Terrorvane watched them go. He turned to Ember Glow and snarled, “THAT MEANS YOU TOO!”

USS Wisconsin

There were more dragons being held prisoner than there were incoming from the air, but it was still a significant and uncomfortable number.

Ironically, the battleship probably had more air defense capability during World War Two than she had in her current configuration. The machine guns and autocannons had been removed. In the battle group, there would have been at least one missile cruiser to provide protection, but now they were all alone and it felt very lonely.

There were some old AAVT rounds aboard for the twelve 5-inch guns that were used as the ship’s secondary weapons. AAVT was a designation that signified anti-aircraft ordinance rigged with a proximity fuse that would explode close to a target.

There were also robotic Close In Weapon System units. Wisconsin carried four of the CIWS, one at each corner of the superstructure. They utilized a self-contained radar and a 20 millimeter gatling gun to track and kill hostile objects that were getting too close to the ship.

Mittal ordered battle stations. Gun crews scrambled to their weapons and everything aboard was locked down.

Wisconsin had been built to trade shots with foreign battleships and carried heavy protection. The citadel buried in the superstructure was armored with 17 inches of steel. Not every sailor would fit inside, though, and the dragons’ capabilities were still largely unknown to the humans. Mittal could only cope that their weapons would keep the attackers at bay.

The gun crews were given the order to fire at their discretion. With so many targets to choose from, the automated gun director couldn’t keep up. It would have to be manual control.

One of the 5 inch turrets did not respond. Mittal remembered that it was the one crewed by Marines, most of whom were ashore. That left only four guns on one side of the ship to intercept the dragons. The other turrets were on the other side, and unable to engage.

Black puffs of smoke began to appear in the dragon formation as the guns came to life. The proximity warheads were doing their job, but each gun could only sustain 15 rounds per minute. Between them, that was an average of one shot per second.

The attack scattered the dragons. Their dispersal made for harder target acquisition. Pegasi and griffins took to the sky, doing their best to get the upper hand. The gun crews stopped firing, wary of hitting a friendly.

The aerial battle raged for a short while. A couple of dragons managed to break off, heading for the ship. It was the deciding factor in the battle and the last mistake they ever made.

The two CIWS closest to the action woke up. Detecting incoming targets, both systems activated, spinning up their gatling guns. Each machine sprayed tungsten penetrator ammunition at the rate of 75 per second. The sound was less like a machine gun and more like a chainsaw. The approaching dragons tumbled into the sea, riddled with holes.

Seeing the ruin of their fellows, the rest of the dragon attack broke. The UL Sky Corps drove them away. Battle stations were cleared, and everyone on the ship breathed easier.

One of the Marines on duty in Buckswanna radioed to the ship.

“There’s a dragon here that just turned himself in. Name’s Ember Glow. He says he knows where we can find Terrorvane.”

Chapter 8

Zevera – Zebra Capitol City

The smoke and dust was cleared quickly by the wind. Once the United Lands forces had made up their minds to retake the city, there was not much the dragons could do about it. Many did not even try, escaping before the army arrived. The string of UL victories, combined with no communication from Terrorvane, had broken their will to fight.

The Zebrican government officials were able to return to their offices and begin restoration efforts. Rebuilding began, and there was a sense of hope for the future in the air.

There were, however, a few final details to take care of. One last mission was being put together to capture the dragon responsible for the war. Zecora volunteered.

Several dragons who had been interrogated said that Terrorvane was still in the area of Fireholm. The dragon city was located deep in the mountains of the north, and required a long strenuous march to reach.

When the assembly of UL troops entered the city, it looked abandoned. A few dragons who were salvaging what they could kept clear of the UL. Carefully, the area was combed for any sign of Terrorvane. The buildings all stood silent and dark.

Zecora led a group searching dwellings one by one. She bucked open a door and came face to face with the dragon.

Terrorvane had built his empire through intimidation. He could bully others to do his bidding. With his army gone, and facing angry UL troops, he didn’t stand much of a chance.

After a brief scuffle, the dragon was shackled and formally arrested.

“Take him away from here,” Zecora spat. “I hope he is locked up for a thousand years.”

Terrorvane would stand trial in a UL court. No one would pity him.

FOB Friendship

As the UL’s Forward Operating Base on the Zebrican shores was being dismantled, Twilight Sparkle received a letter from Canterlot. As a skilled student of magic, her presence was requested to help prepare the spell to send Wisconsin home.

The base had never been intended to be permanent, and work was going quickly. Twilight decided that she could leave it in the capable hands of her advisors.

Zecora dropped by. The zebra looked tired, but managed to smile. She’d just returned from Fireholm and had been traveling nonstop. Twilight asked if she was coming back to Equestria.

“Perhaps in the coming years, but for now I am needed here.”

Twilight understood. Zebrica was well on its way to rebounding, but there was still a lot of work to be done. She had confidence that creatures like Zecora who had passion and love for their country would do great work. She said goodbye to her friend and made ready to leave.

Teleportation required a lot of magic, and Twilight had never attempted to cross such a large body of water before. Instead, she decided to save her energy and catch a ride home on the battleship.

As it was not necessary to keep pace with the fleet any longer, Wisconsin showed off some of her speed on the return trip. The frothy wake kicked up by her four propellers extended behind the ship for nearly a mile.

A site along the Equestrian coast had been chosen to cast the spell. It was as close to Wisconsin’s point of entry into the world as possible.

A dozen of the unicorn scientists who had worked on discovering the secrets of the anomaly were hard at work preparing the location. Everything had to be just right.

A pony rowboat brought the two Princesses to the ship. Mittal met the two of them on the quarterdeck and invited them aboard.

Celestia spoke. “Captain Mittal, I would like to thank you for your service to Equestria and the United Lands. I consider every human aboard this fine ship to be a friend.”

Twilight said, “Princess, I have something to give them, if that would be all right.” She showed Celestia a small plaque. Affixed to it was the symbol of Equestria, a badge that was decorated with the sun on one half and the moon on the other. An engraved plate displayed the citation.

Celestia nodded. “By all means.”

“What’s this?” asked Mittal.

“I’ve been doing a lot of reading in the ship’s library,” said Twilight. “I know Wisconsin has received awards in the past for service.”

Twilight cleared her throat and read the engraving. “The nation of Equestria presents this commendation to USS Wisconsin for actions during the Zebrican War. Wisconsin came to the aid of United Lands forces on several occasions, displaying great efficiency and effectiveness. The ship refused to yield to attack, and was successful in all missions she was assigned to. Wisconsin’s actions reflect great credit upon the ship, her crew, and the United States of America.”

It was a surprisingly poignant moment for Mittal. He accepted the award on behalf of the ship and promised to display it proudly.

“Are you ready to begin the spell?” Luna asked.

Celestia nodded. “Captain Mittal, we are interested in pursuing diplomatic relations with your country. I have prepared a copy of the details regarding this enchantment.” She gave him a wooden box filled with many sheets of paper. She smiled. “We will await your return.”

The three ponies took the boat back to shore and joined the rest. Mittal went up to the bridge, pausing to put the plaque and box in a safe place. He watched from behind the bridge windows as one by one, the ponies began their magic, bathing the entire area in soft light.

The Equestrian shores faded away and the ship was oceanbound once more. There was going to be a lot of explaining to do, Mittal thought unhappily. He was not looking forward to it, but it could wait for the moment. He lifted the 1MC.

“This is your Commanding Officer. We’re on our way home.”

Author note:

Here we are. I’m still surprised at the extremely positive reaction FIMFiction has had to this story. The praise inspired me to write sixteen thousand words in four days. Funny what fame can do to you.

Thanks to everyone for reading and making my first story a success. I learned a lot about writing fanfiction, and I hope to use these lessons in the future. Yes, I promise to slow down.

I’m going to take a few days off to recharge and work on something new. I had a couple ideas for what to write next:

“Wings of Gold” – Rainbow Dash obtains US citizenship so she can pursue her dream of becoming a military pilot.

“The Truth” – As the Element of Honesty, Applejack knows when people are lying. The CIA wants to hire her to interrogate bad guys.

“My Little Black Hawk Down” – Ponies and Rangers and Delta, oh my!