One Friday Night, after going for one of our walks, Wendelle and I headed back to the house that I shared with Golden. He was out with some of his other friends at a bar, but Wendelle and I were sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace in the living room. We were talking a bit, and Wendelle lay on her side next to me, leaning her head against my shoulder.

"I'm so glad that we can hang out like this Conner". She whispered softly. "Especially on nights like this."

I wrapped a wing around my marefriend, holding her close to me. "So am I Wendelle. It's really nice to be able to spend time with you, especially after a hard day of work in the mine." I then looked at her tummy in the firelight. "Can.....can I feel your belly again Wendelle?"

She nodded, shifting a bit. "Sure Conner." She then rolled over, giving me easy access to her belly. I then turned a bit, and gently began to rub her belly. As usual, Wendelle was making some cute little squeaks as I did so.

"Enjoying yourself Squeaky?" I asked, smirking a bit.

"Hey! I told you to stop calling me that!" Wendelle hit me playfully. She was blushing, and it was clear that she didn't mean it. "I may make those squeaks, but that's ONLY because you make me make them!"

"I'm just rubbing your belly, NOT the one getting wet from it!"

Wendelle glared at me, but she was still blushing. "P-piss off......" She said quietly. She didn't swear, so her saying that was the closest thing to it.

I just held my "TsunderBat" close to me. "Yeah, I love you too Wendelle."

Wendelle looked up at me. "Ugh, WHY can't I stay mad at you Conner? It's not fair!"

I looked at her. "Maybe because you love me, and your anger is just the pregnancy talking, not you?"

She sighed. "Maybe, but if you think that the pregnancy is talking now, just you wait! You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet! Just wait until the baby starts kicking, and I hit the 3rd trimester!"

I shuddered. I knew what she was referring to. My Dad told me about when my Mom was pregnant with me, and just how bad it was really going to get. Hell hath no fury like a pregnant woman, and I was soon going to experience that first hand!
I tried to push these thoughts out of my head for the time being, and I thought of something else.

"Hey Wendelle?"

"Yeah?"

"I was going to ask you. Are there any more Bat-Pony colonies other than Lunar-Nova? Surely there'd have to be, right?"

Wendelle shifted for a bit. Finally though, she nodded. "Yeah, there are. There's plenty more out there besides Lunar Nova. I can think of 3 special ones off the top of my head that Red and Moonlight told me about. They're called Alacolta, Vallenteen, and Deseret."

"Oh, and what's special about them?"

"Well, starting with Alacolta, it's the largest of all the Bat-Pony colonies. Red said that 450,000 Bat-Ponies live there!"

I was stunned. "450,000 Bat-Ponies?! That's insane! That's even bigger than towns in the Midwest like Kansas City; it only has 375,000! Where's it located?"

Eh, it's located South of here somewhere. Red told me, but I'm not quite sure where it is."

"Oh. And what about the other 2?"

"I'll start with Vallenteen. Vallenteen is a colony to the Southeast of Lunar-Nova, maybe 100 miles to the West of a city called Baltimare. Vallenteen is a large mining and manufacturing city known for its many iron and coal mines, and for its factories that make a lot of rails for the railroad, as well as locomotive, freight car, and coach parts. It's also surrounded by hills and forests, and when I first heard about it, I immediately thought of West Virginia."

I nodded. "Yeah, I can see why you would have thought that. It sounds a lot like West Virginia to me too. Vallenteen sounds like a nice place. I'd like to see it someday if I can. And what about Deseret?"

"Yeah, I'll have to see it one day too. And Deseret is the smallest Bat-Pony colony. It's located in the Badlands way to the South, which is basically in a desert. It only has a population of maybe 500 or so, so closer to towns like what we were used to growing up."

"Yeah, but in the desert? And it's only special because it's small?"

Wendelle shook her head. "Oh no, that's only one of 2 reasons why it's so special. Sure, it's tiny, and in the desert, but the Bat-Ponies who live there of course live underground, but they live in an underground cave. This cave is home to a VERY large lake called Desert Lake. And when I say 'big', I mean this thing is 2 miles wide!"

I was stunned. "A 2 mile wide underground lake?! Are you sure that's right?"

"That's what I asked Moonlight when she told me about Deseret, and she confirmed that yes, Desert Lake is indeed 2 miles wide. Or maybe it was 2 miles long. It was either 2 miles wide, or 2 miles long, I can't remember which. But that lake is used not only for fishing for cave fish, but also for agriculture. Despite it being a desert on the surface, underground it's a true oasis. They have fields of crops, ranging from wheat, corn, barley, and oats, to even more garden plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, potatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, strawberries, mangoes, and even fruit trees such as apples, lemons, limes, apples, and pears!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but then again, why would Wendelle be lying to me?

"Well, now I'll DEFINITELY have to put that on a list of places to visit one day!"

"Yeah, me too. An underground city in the desert that has a 2 mile long or wide lake close to it? Yeah, I'd like to see that too!"

Wendelle and I talked about this for a little while longer as we sat by the fireplace. What we didn't know at the time though was that in less than 24 hours, the quiet life in Lunar-Nova was about to change because of one event; the discovery of something that had been hidden ever since its arrival to Equus on the same day as mine.

The next day, which was Saturday, word was suddenly spreading around Lunar-Nova and Brulee like wildfire that a strange thing had been discovered. According to a Bat-Pony named Day Hawk and his 3 friends who found it, they said that they'd stumbled across it accidentally while out on a fishing trip.

"We were out on the Silver Shine River at the base of Sundale Mountain on our boat, fishing, drinking soda, laughing, and having a grand old time when all of a sudden, once we reached a bend in the river maybe a half-mile from Lunar-Nova, hidden among the few trees and heavy plant growth along the bank on that bend, we saw a strange sight. It looked like some kind of wrecked ship, but it was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. Curious, we all went over to the bank for a closer look.

When we arrived, we saw the vessel hidden among the plant-life, and what we found was truly startling. This ship seemed to be made entirely out of metal, and it was unlike any ship we'd ever seen before. If I had to guess, I'd say that this ship was perhaps 500 feet long, and almost as tall as an 8 story building! 'e964' was written in white on the bow of the ship, and it was leaning to starboard maybe 20 degrees, as well as being somewhat sunk into both the sandy bank, and the Silver Shine River. However, while we were still in awe of the ship, my buddy Owl made a pretty dark discovery."

Owl then took over the story. "As I looked at the ship through the trees, something seemed to be wrong with the stern. I pushed some of the plant growth aside, and what I found was truly shocking. At maybe the 3/4 mark on the ship, (somewhere between 250-300 feet from the bow) the ship had been blown in 2! There was metal debris scattered literally everywhere, and there were clear signs of fire damage. Almost nothing about the stern was even remotely recognizable, aside from a 20-something foot chunk of the tip of the ship's stern (sitting almost vertical in the sand and water), one of the ship's rudders (I could see where on the stern chunk the ship had 2 rudders, but one was missing), both of her propellers, and one of the propeller shafts (all torn free of the ship). I don't know what happened to that ship, but it was clearly something catastrophic. I ain't seen nothin' like that ship before, and it was pretty clear that it wasn't Equestrian-made, and I don't think that it was blown up at that bend either; I think it blew up somewhere else, and somehow wound up there.

And weirder still was the tiny second vessel that we hadn't noticed before, but found once we looked between the wrecked ship, and the other side of the bank. Hidden between the ship and the plants on the other side close to the grassy slope leading away from the river, we found a second, smaller vessel; partially floating, though stuck between the bank and the first ship. This other one looked to be some kind of warship, as it had visible guns on the deck, though it was maybe half the size of the larger ship, had the numbers '01' on it's bow, and the name 'Cyclone' was visible on the sides of the ship's stern in black letters. It was connected to the shattered stern of the first ship by 2 cables, and it seems that the first ship was towing the smaller one for some purpose. After this second discovery, we all got back on our boat, and came straight here to tell our story. We don't know what these ships are, where they came from, or who owns them, but we had to spread the word!"

Everypony was going crazy over these discoveries. What ships were these? Where did they come from? Who owned them? How did they end up on that river bank? What happened to blow the first ship in 2? What was going to be done about this discovery? These questions and so many more were racing through the minds of those who heard the report of the 4 Bat-Ponies who found the ships, and everypony wanted answers.

In light of these reports, Golden and I decided to go and see what was going on. Many Ponies were starting to leave Lunar-Nova to get as close to that bend in the Silver Shine River as they could, so as to be able to see what was going on for themselves.

"What do you think that we're gonna find out there Golden?" I asked him as we made our way out to the outside of Sundale Mountain.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Could be something, or it could be a whole lot of nothing. Who knows."

"Yeah. I hope that there's better reports that a few local fishermen who might be making this whole thing up. I hope we get better confirmation soon."

"Me too Conner."

As we kept walking, I had a strange feeling. It was hard to describe, but it felt like I was walking closer and closer to my destiny somehow. I felt like I knew what we were going to find out there, but yet I couldn't quite put my finger on what that was.

Along the way, Wendelle and Moonlight also joined us.

"Hey Golden. Hi Conner!"

I hugged her once she was close enough. "Hey Wendelle. I guess that you and Moonlight are coming to see what's going on for yourselves?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. With how big of a deal this is turning out to be, it was impossible to stay away."

I then looked over at Moonlight. "Hey, where's Red? Is he still on duty with the Guards?"

"Yeah, though just before Wendelle and I decided to go and see what was going on, I got word from him that a force from the garrison was being mobilized, and was being sent to secure the area around those 2 vessels, and the debris all around them."

Golden's eyes widened a bit. "Wait, so those reports aren't false? There really are 2 vessels out there?"

Moonlight nodded. "Yes, the reports are true. A few guards went to investigate, and they soon reported back that 2 vessels really were right where those fishermen said that they'd be, and once the commander of the garrison, Major Cloud, heard the report from the guards, he immediately organized a force from the garrison to head out there and secure the area. That's the last thing I heard from Red before he and the others who were sent out reached the Silver Shine River. Hopefully I'll be able to get an update from him once we get there."

I was surprised. If troops from the garrison in Lunar-Nova were being sent out to secure the area, then this was a serious matter. Maybe it was just for the safety of those who came to see what was going on, or maybe it was because these 2 vessels were still unknown, and no one knew who they belonged to, why they were there, what they were, how they came to be there, or what caused the damage to the larger vessel. None of us knew, but we were hoping to find out soon.

A few minutes later, the 4 of us reached the entrance to Lunar-Nova, and after going beyond it, we followed the crowd down Sundale Mountain, and we were soon close to the Silver Shine River. Or rather, we got as close as we could. It was hard to get close due to the crowds from not only Lunar-Nova, but also Brulee, and because soldiers from both towns were also guarding a barricaded perimeter around the site, and weren't letting anypony through.

"Everypony please stay back!" Red Dusk and a few other officers shouted over the noise crowd. "We don't know what we're dealing with here, and this could be serious, so for your own safety, PLEASE stay behind the barricades!"

I looked around, but it was almost impossible to see anything over the crowds of Ponies. However, it was then that Red saw Moonlight, Wendelle, Golden and I.

"Conner!"

I looked over at him. "Yeah Red?"

"You were in the Navy right? You might be able to tell us a bit more about these ships. You can come on up!"

I nodded, and then made my way through the crowd as gently as possible. Once I reached the barricade, I was allowed through, though Golden, Wendelle and Moonlight had to stay behind the barricade. However, now that they were right at the barricade itself, it was really easy for them to see past the guards standing behind it. Maybe 6 feet beyond the guards was the edge of the riverbank, and somewhere below that, on a sandbar and surrounded by vegetation, were the 2 vessels in question.

As I stood on the riverbank, I looked at the 2 vessels down below me. I was looking at them from slightly above, and at the stern, but even from where I was standing, I could see the sheer amount of devastation done to the larger of the 2 ships.

"No doubt about it Red, the larger one clearly blew up. Possibly a magazine explosion, or maybe it was a fuel explosion that touched off a magazine explosion."

"And what kind of a ship is it?"

I shrugged. "Hard to tell. Judging by its size though, it seems to be a frigate, though it could be a destroyer of some kind. Hard to tell because of the damage though." As I was looking at the larger ship though, I had this very eerie feeling that I had seen it before, but I just couldn't place where. It looked familiar to me somehow, but I couldn't figure out why. However, I then looked to where the vessel's stern was, and I saw the chunk of stern that was standing vertical. It looked like there was something written on it in black letters, but it was hard to make out, as there were a number of burn spots on it. However, as I looked closer, one word at the end suddenly became clear. I read it, and my entire face went dead white.

"Foster".

"No.........no! I-it.....IT CAN'T BE!!!!"

"What? What's wrong Conner?"

"That ship!" I pointed to it. "It's the ex-USS Paul F Foster! THIS IS THE SHIP THAT ALMOST KILLED ME!!!!!!!!"

When I yelled like that, Red immediately turned to look back at the damaged wreck. "Wait. This is the Foster?! How is that possible?! You said that it blew up!"

"It obviously did! But how did it wind up here?!"

"Well, you arrived here during that same explosion, and you said that you were swallowed by a black mass. Maybe that mass also swallowed the Foster, and brought it here."

I was trying to get a better grip on myself, but when I looked back at the damaged Foster, all I could hear were the screams of my dying comrades, the sounds of the explosion, and of the ship tearing itself apart as it sank. I then sank to the ground, and started sobbing uncontrollably. As I lay there though, I suddenly felt something grab me, and pull me tightly against itself.

"Shh, it's ok Conner. I'm here for you. I'm right here."

I glanced over, and I saw that Wendelle was hugging me. I guessed that the soldiers let her through to comfort me, as I was having a PTSD episode; basically the modern equivalent of a Vietnam Flashback. I hugged Wendelle tightly, and I was trying to get a better grip on myself.

Back at the barricade, Red was telling Golden and Moonlight what had happened.

"So the larger vessel down there is the Foster; the same ship that Conner served on?!"

"Yes, that's right Golden. Somehow, someway, that ship came here too, though it's just as damaged now as it was back on Earth." He then leaned in close to them. "And I didn't tell Conner this, but when we first got here to secure the area, we could see bloodstains on the larger, undamaged part of the ship, close to the blast-zone. That's when I knew that there'd probably been fatalities on this ship, but I had no idea what had happened until Conner said something. Now I know why. Those could very well be HIS bloodstains, or bloodstains from the 5 others who were still with him on the Foster who died that day."

Moonlight looked like she wanted to throw up. "Dear Celestia. No wonder he had a Shell-Shock breakdown. He was the only survivor of the 6 still on the Foster when it blew up. 6 had already escaped, but the remaining 6 weren't so lucky. Conner survived, but the other 5 didn't." She then looked over at Wendelle and I. "I hope that he's going to be ok".

"Me too Hun."

"And me too." Golden agreed.

Around this same time, I finally was able to calm down again. I then gently touched Wendelle's face with my hoof, before pulling her in for a kiss. "I love you Wendelle. So, so much. You don't know how much it means to me to have you comfort me like this."

She blushed a bit. "Eh, you're welcome Conner. You did the same for me when I told you about my predicament, and now that we're a couple, it's our job to comfort each other when we need it."

"Yeah." I then looked over at Red. "Hey Red?"

"Yeah Conner?"

"Where's that other little vessel that I heard was attached to the wrecked stern of the Foster by cables?"

"If you're ok, I'll show you." He then began to walk towards us.

I then stood up again, and I told Wendelle to wait there.

"Ok, but PLEASE be careful Conner!"

I hugged her again. "I will Babe. This should just take a few minutes."

She nodded, and then I left with Red to see the other vessel.

"It was hard to see at first. This one looked to be a warship too, but like the Foster was stripped down. It was in one piece, though showing its age. The numbers "01" were on its bows, and the name "Cyclone" at the stern. Does that mean anything to you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. The ex-USS Cyclone PC-1. She was the first in her class of coastal-defense ships. They weren't the biggest, toughest, or prettiest ships ever, nor did they have big weapons, but if you were a pirate or smuggler operating close to the US, or territories under US protection, and one of these ships was chasing you, you were screwed!"

Just after I said this, Red and I reached a good vantage point where we could see the Cyclone. Like Red said, it was sitting upright, though it was trapped between the Foster and the riverbank. I could also still see cables on the ship's bow that still attached her to the stern of the Foster.

"Yep, that's the Cyclone alright. I'm surprised that she was brought over here too, but then again, she was attached to the Foster, so maybe that's why."

"And how big is she?"

I thought for a second. "Well, the Cyclone-Class coastal defense ships (CDS) were 175 feet long, had a beam of 25 feet, a draft of 7.5 feet, and were capable of 35 knots, or 40mph. The Cyclone was in service with the US Navy from 1993-2000, when she was transferred to the US Coast Guard. She remained with the US Coast Guard from 2000-2004, when she was sold to the Philippine Navy (a foreign nation), and she remained with them from 2004-2012. And then they had an accident with her."

"An accident?"

"Yeah. I never heard the full details, but supposedly the ship was chasing down some pirates, and one of them launched an RPG at her, and the ship was severely damaged."

"RPG?"

"Rocket-propelled grenade. Quite powerful weapons, often used against vehicles."

"Oh. And what happened after that?"

"Well, the Filipinos tried to fix the Cyclone, but her service days were over. She was sold back to the US as scrap, and some thought that she was going to be repaired and recommissioned, but alas, this was not the case. Instead, the powers that be decided that it would be cheaper to build a new ship rather than repair the Cyclone, so she was going to be sunk as a target. The Navy then patched her up again, gave her some equipment, and she too was assigned to the Port Hueneme Division. Then one day, the Foster was to take her out to where she would be sunk by a missile fired from another ship. Sure, the ship would try to defend herself, but would most likely fail. I think you can guess how that test went."

"Yeah, I can guess." We then continued to look at the ships for a little while longer, before heading back towards the barricade.

Eventually, those gathered there were told that the 2 ships were decommissioned warships, and that they too had been brought over from Earth on the same day I had. The larger of the 2 ships was a destroyer that had been blown in half by a fuel explosion, and the other was a coastal patrol craft that the destroyer had been towing. The ships were there, and they were abandoned, but now the question was who owned them, and what was going to be done with them.

Major Cloud, the commanding officer of the garrison at Lunar-Nova, sent a message to Canterlot. It was addressed to both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and unknown to me, I was mentioned in that letter, as were the 2 ships.

"The future of the Equestrian Navy could be right here." The Major thought to himself as the message was sent on its way. "If this plan could work, then we would be years ahead of our competition, and then stay ahead for a long time to come!" He then awaited a reply to his message.

Over the next few days, I had to take time off work. The trauma of seeing the Foster again, not to mention the horrible memories associated with it, were making it impossible for me to function normally. At night in my nightmares I kept reliving May 10th all over again, over and over. The pain, the screams, the explosion, being blown into the water in a bloody mess, and then almost drowning. My PTSD had only been a slight issue before this, but now that I was facing my nightmare again, it was all coming back to me. However, there was one saving grace during this time. Wendelle let me stay with her at Red and Moonlight's house for a few days to help me recover. At night, she would lay next to me in bed, and help me cope with the nightmares and flashbacks.

"I don't know what I'd do without you Wendelle". I said softly. "If you weren't here to help me through this, I don't know what I'd do."

She rolled over a bit to face me, before gently kissing me on the nose. "I know Conner, that's why I'm doing it. You need me during this time, and as your marefriend, wife-to-be really, it's my job to support you, and help you through this. You did the same to me, and have been by my side since the night I told you about my pregnancy, so it's my pleasure to return the favor."

I then looked at her 3-month pregnant belly as she lay there next to me. "And how have you been holding up with it?"

Wendelle sighed. "Well, it's not been easy. I feel sick a lot in the mornings, I have to pee, you've seen some of the weird crap I suddenly want to eat, and you know that I have to rush to the bathroom to puke in the mornings, but the worst is still coming. My foal...........our foal, hasn't even begun to kick yet. When that happens..........yeesh!" She then lay her head back on the pillows a bit, and sighed. "F@#k me....." She muttered with a foreleg over her face.

I cocked my head ever so much. Up until recently I'd never heard Wednelle swear, and even then, most of it seemed to be her mind subconsciously reacting to her pregnancy. I'd ask her why she just said "shit", or dropped an F-bomb, but she'd look at me and say that I was crazy; she hadn't said anything.

I then looked at her belly again, and then back at her. "Can I?"

Wendelle looked at me. "Sure. As long as you're gentle. It helps me relax, and when I'm relaxed, our foal seems to be relaxed too. Just ignore the squeaks!"

I smirked. "Why, are you gonna make them again as soon as I touch you?"

"S-shut up!"

I just laughed a bit, before leaning close to Wendelle, and gently nuzzling her belly. Sure enough, not long after I did so, I began to hear a series of small squeaks. I smiled, though said nothing. I then reached out a hoof, and gently began to rub Wendelle's stomach.

"Hey Little One. How are things in there for you? Your Mom's wishing that you would come out soon, but you still have another 5 months in there, don't you?" I then leaned my head against her belly, and used my sensitive ears to see if I could hear any movement from inside her womb.

"Anything?" She asked, gently holding my hoof with one of her own.

I shrugged. "I can't tell. It's hard to hear movement sometimes, especially if you're not sure what exactly you're listening for." I then shifted a bit. However, as I did so, Wendelle suddenly groaned a bit.

"Ow!"

I looked up at her. "What?"

"You hit me in the stomach!"

I gave her a weird look. "Um, no I didn't. 3 of my hooves are in front of me on the bed, and you're holding number 4. One of my wings is under me, and the other is on the wrong side. And my head wasn't on you either. Are you sure that you didn't bump yourself, and your hormones made you think that it was me?"

"No, I didn't hit myself! And why's this always gotta be about hormones?!"

I got up and faced her. "Because they dictate how your mind works, and since you're pregnant, they're all out of whack right now."

Wendelle glared at me. "You take that back!"

Before I could say anything else though, Wendelle groaned again. "Something just hit me again!"

"Wasn't me. I'm sitting almost a foot away from you."

"Well it wasn't me!"

I then froze. I was going to say something, but Wendelle beat me to it. "Wait. If it wasn't you, and it wasn't me, and we're the only 2 Ponies here, then that means..........." She raised her right wing a bit more, and looked at her swollen belly.

"Wait. Was that......?"

"Yes! Our little foal just gave their first kicks!"

I was stunned. I knew that our foal would start kicking soon, but I didn't think that it would happen now.

"Wow. I don't.........I don't even know what to say right now."

"Me neither." Wendelle then lay back down on the bed, and gently began to rub her belly. She felt more kicks from our foal, and she groaned a bit.

I then lay down next to her, and gently pulled her close to me. Wendelle sighed contentedly, before snuggling close to me, and laying her head on my shoulder.

"I love you Conner. You're exactly as I pictured a significant other, right down to how they're supposed to act. You're here for me during my pregnancy, and I'm eternally grateful for that."

I leaned down and kissed Wendelle's forehead a bit. "I know, and I love you too Wendelle. I never had a significant other before you, and from the moment I saw you, I knew that there was something special about you. I'm glad that I'm with you, and that our child will grow up with both parents in the home."

"Me too." Wendelle then kissed me gently, before snuggling close to me again, and gently drifting off to sleep. I then sighed contentedly, and soon followed suit. As I did though, I wondered about the future. What was going to happen to the Foster and the Cyclone? Were they going to be pulled off the riverbank? And if so, what was going to happen to them? I had no idea, but I knew that something was going to be done with them soon.

A few days after Major Cloud sent his letter to Canterlot, he received a reply from Princess Celestia. The Princess was very interested in this new development, and she did agree that this could be a huge leap forwards for the Equestrian Navy, however, there were a few problems that needed to be addressed. Chief among them was ownership of the 2 vessels. Yes, they were now in Equestrian territory, but they belonged to another sovereign nation. Yes, the ships were decommissioned, but they were still considered warships on active duty, and while they had been "lost" in a sense, Celestia didn't want any trouble should the United States Navy come looking for the vessels.

This is where I came into the picture, much to my surprise. One day I was summoned from Lunar-Nova, and after taking the train from Brulee, I arrived in Canterlot City, under escort from Major Cloud, and a number of other Bat-Pony guards. I was taken to a meeting room inside of Canterlot Castle, and it was in that room where I finally got to meet Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria. I couldn't believe it. Here I was, a 20 1/2 year old US Navy ensign, meeting the Princess who ruled all of Equestria! And not only that, but I had been summoned by her directly, as she wished to speak with me personally about the Foster and the Cyclone.

As soon as I saw her, I bowed a bit out of respect. "Princess Celestia, it's an honor to meet you."

She smiled, before bidding me to rise. "The honor is mine My Dear. Now then, what should I call you?"

"You can just call me 'Conner', Princess. That's my name. Ensign Conner Dwight, US Navy."

"Conner. Such a nice name." She then moved over to the table in the room, and sat down, bidding the rest of us to take our seats too.

Once we did, the Princess continued. "Now then, I'm sure that you were told why I summoned you here, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes Princess. You summoned me because I knew more about the Foster and the Cyclone than anypony else in Equestria. You wish to add them to the Equestrian Navy, but need somepony who has worked with them before, and would have expertise with such a thing."

"That's most of it Conner, though there is one other thing, and that is legal ownership. I know that both ships were, and probably still are the property of the United States Navy, even though they are now in our territory. What is their current status, at least as of the time that you worked with them?"

I thought for a moment. "Well Princess, the Foster, once the Spruance-Class Destroyer USS Paul F. Foster DD-964 was fully decommissioned, and turned into a Self-Defense Test Ship (SDTS), and was used to test new weapons, defend against new weapons, and record data on all of the tests. The Cyclone, formerly the Coastal Defense Ship (CDS) USS Cyclone PC-1, was also fully decommissioned, though her fate was to be sunk as a target. The test where she was to be sunk was the same test that went disastrously wrong, and saw the Foster explode, 5 US Navy sailors dead, and a 6th critically wounded, and then displaced to another world, seemingly followed by the shattered Foster, and the still-intact Cyclone. Though if you're asking if the Navy still owns them, then the answer is yes, but they're considered expendable assets, especially the Cyclone, since she was literally about to be sunk as a target. The Foster on the other hand was also considered expendable, though a bit more valuable than the Cyclone is."

Celestia had to think about that. Since the Cyclone was literally about to be sunk as a target, then it seemed that the US Navy had surrendered her ownership to the sea, and that now the Equestrians had the green light to take the ship, fully refurbish it, and return it to naval service. However, the Foster was a different matter. She was considered less of an expendable asset, but was still being used by the US Navy to test new weapons. However, on the other hoof, the ship was currently shattered, and lying in pieces on a riverbank. It could not perform its primary function, and would need to be removed. Finally she spoke.

"Well, if this is the case Conner, then the Cyclone can and will be removed from that river bank, and towed to a naval shipyard where she can be fully refurbished, and then returned to service. And as for the Foster, where she currently sits, the ship, and her components are considered a hazard to navigation on the Silver Shine River, not to mention a possible environmental hazard as well. The ship and her components must be removed from that river bank, but as for their fate after that, therein lies the question."

"The question of whether or not the ship can be not only repaired, but also returned to her original Spruance-configuration?"

She nodded. "Yes, that is correct Conner. And from the evaluations of the ship that have been performed so far, it appears that the largest part of the ship, from the bow to almost amidships, can be salvaged, however the rest of the amidships, everything in it, and most of the stern of the ship are little more than scrap. Perhaps some of their components can be salvaged, but most of them will have to be scrapped. So it can be done, but the question is, how should it be done?"

"Which part Princess? The salvage of the ship, or her restoration?"

"The restoration. What we would need would be blueprints of the ship, as well as schematics of the technology. Do you know where we might find them?"

I had to really think about that, but I nodded slowly. "Yes, as I matter of fact I do Princess. Deep within the Foster is a bank of computers, and data storage units. These computers are located in the former Combat Information Center (CIC), which was in the part of the Foster that's still intact, so there is a fair chance that they survived. On these computers is not only all of the data from the various weapons tests, but also the blueprints for both the Foster and the Cyclone, the schematics for all of their weapons and machinery, and how to care for and maintain them. I'm not fully sure why the ship's computers still had all of this data on them, but I think that it might have had something to do with some battle scenarios that we would operate with during some weapons tests. We'd feed this information into the ship's computers, and have them calculate how the battle would play out."

"So assuming that these computers can be accessed, and the data on them retrieved, then we would know how to fully repair both ships, and return them to service?"

"Yes, but that's only assuming that the computers can be accessed, and their data retrieved. The computers will have to have not been hit by water, fire, or debris from the explosion, and will have to be powered up again. However, if this can be done, then yes, you will have all of the information that will be needed to bring both ships back to full operational status."

I spent the better part of the next 2 hours talking with the Princess and Major Cloud on further details on the Foster and the Cyclone, as well as their possible salvage. After examining a number of aerial photographs, plans for the salvage operation were fully finalized, and word was sent out to the Northern Star Marine Salvage Company that the Equestrian Navy was going to have need of their services in a few day's time.

3 days after this, the area around the Foster and the Cyclone were again cleared, and fenced off. This time however, several tugboats, large barges and floating cranes were at the spot in the Silver Shine River where the 2 ships were located. The plan was to first fully assess everything, and then the Cyclone would be boarded first, and fully evaluated. Once evaluated, and any damage to the hull patched up, and any water pumped out, a space would then be cleared for the Cyclone to be pulled out into the river, and then she would be secured to a tug.

I was there assisting with the salvage operation, as I knew more about these ships than anypony else. A few of my bosses at the mine protested this, however, once it was revealed that I had been personally asked to help with this project by none other than Princess Celestia herself, they quieted down, though I was reminded that my pay with them would be docked until I returned. I was ok with this, as I was being compensated by the Equestrian Navy for my assistance.

Sure enough, about an hour after the operation began, the Cyclone was boarded for the first time. Unlike the Foster, she was almost fully intact, though most of her weapons and military hardware were missing, and the ship was painted a neutral gray. The ship was moving a bit back and forth with the currents of the river flowing over the sandbank where she and the Foster were, though she was stuck between the Foster and the riverbank, not to mention the fact that some sand would have to be dredged out from underneath her so that she could be pulled out. I was standing on the deck of the Cyclone, marveling at the ship while she was being first evaluated, and then the sand around her was dredged out.

"It's amazing how well the Cyclone survived." One of the salvage Ponies told me. "I thought for sure that she would have been as badly damaged as the Foster."

I looked at who had spoken. "Well, the Cyclone was being towed almost 150 feet behind the Foster when the disaster happened, and a lot of the debris from the explosion went either up into the air, or out towards the sides of the ship; very little was blown back towards the Cyclone. After the explosion though, it's anypony's guess as to how she wound up in her current position between the Foster and the riverbank."

"Yeah."

While it didn't take too long to figure out that the Cyclone was still seaworthy, it was another ballgame altogether to get the sand below her dredged out, and then pull the ship off from the sandbank, and out from between the Foster and the riverbank. It took almost 2 hours to finish dredging the sand and river mud away, and then another 30 minutes to cut the cable that connected the Cyclone to the Foster, connect a few more cables from the ship to 2 of the tugs, and then another 5 minutes to pull the Cyclone free. Once she was finally pulled free, the Cyclone was pulled out into the middle of the Silver Shine River, where for the first time, the guards around the perimeter of the work site, newsponies, and even just average Ponies got to see what the ex-USS Cyclone PC-1 in the full light of day.

"Wow. So that's the smaller of the 2 warships?"

"I think so. Gosh. She looks like she would be quite the powerful vessel for patrolling rivers, and the Equestrian coastline. I wonder how long it will take for them to return her to service."

"I'm not sure. It could take a while, especially considering how this ship as she is right now is decommissioned. She'll have to be given back all of her old military hardware, which will most likely have to be remade from scratch, as we don't have very much of what the Cyclone needs in our current Navy inventory!"

I was glad that Ponies were taking such an interest in the Cyclone, and even more glad that she was finally free from where she was stuck! I stood on the ship's upper deck as the tugs maneuvered her down the Silver Shine River.

"Where's the ship being taken again?" I asked one of the salvage Ponies.

"She's being taken to Pier 3 at the North Shore Naval Base. It's located just past where the Silver Shine River terminates into the Celestial Sea, just south of the city of Manehattan."

"Where she'll be fully evaluated by naval architects, engineers, and other naval personnel, and plans for her being returned to service will be drawn up." I finished.

The salvage Pony, Gray Metal, nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Can't say for sure, since I'm just working with the salvage end of this, and am in no way an expert on the Equestrian Navy, but I guess that that sounds right."

At about 8pm that evening, just as the sun was going down, the 2 tugs and the Cyclone reached the mouth of the Silver Shine River, and after passing it, we were in the Celestial Sea, or rather, Manehattan Bay, which was where the naval base was located. I was surprised when I saw it for the first time. It was a bit larger than I thought that it was going to be, and since the sun was going down, all the floodlights were turning on. From the deck of the Cyclone, I could see that there were at least 4 dry docks, 6 large piers, and a large number of cranes, warehouses, and supplies and parts being moved back and forth. It reminded me of pictures that I'd seen of the Philadelphia Naval Yard around the time of "Great White Fleet" in the early 1900's. I could see a mixture of warships and supply ships, and if I had to guess, I'd say that the Ponies had reached beyond the days of the US Civil War in terms of naval technology, but yet were not quite to the Dreadnought-Era. This most likely meant that they were in the dawn of the Pre-Dreadnought-Era. From where I was, I could see frigates, early model destroyers, armored cruisers, and even 2 battleships that resembled the US Indiana-Class Battleships, maybe 40 ships in total. Some were moored to the piers, 2 were in dry dock, and 3 others were either pulling into the naval base, or leaving with the aide of tugs.

I was impressed. "Wow. This is quite the naval base that you guys have here."

"Is it anything like what the base you served at was like Conner?" Gray Metal asked me.

I shook my head. "No, it's cooler than that! Port Hueneme was more of a laboratory than a naval base, and there really weren't any ships stationed there that weren't being experimented on like the Foster, or blown up like what was going to happen with the Cyclone. This here is a REAL naval base to be proud of!"

"Yeah, it really is, isn't it?"

Pretty soon, the Cyclone was nosed up to Pier 3, where she was secured with ropes, and then disconnected from the 2 tugs. The plan was for all of us to spend the night there at the naval base, before we went back down the Silver Shine River in the morning, and then focus our efforts on the real prize, the Foster. And oh boy was that going to be the challenge of the year!

By 10:30am the next day, we arrived back at the wreck of the Foster. Once we arrived, we knew that we would have to explore the interior of the Foster, as well as examine the exterior, so as to even see if the largest part of the ship that still existed, (a section that spanned from the tip of the bow, to a point approx. 280 feet back) could be moved. If so, it would have to be lifted out of the water with cranes, and possibly even Unicorn Magic, and then placed on at least 2 barges put together, and then moved down the river to the naval base. However, this was the easy part. The rest of the ship (248 feet), save for the back 20 feet of the end of the stern, was literally in pieces, and the debris was scattered all over the place; on the sand bar, on the river bank, beyond the river bank, and most likely on the bottom of the river too. This would involve us removing the largest pieces that we could find with cranes and Magic, and then using a crane with a big magnet attached to the end to dredge the Silver Shine River for missing parts. This alone could take up to, or possibly beyond another week, as the salvage company had to make absolutely certain that the river was safe for navigation again.

For me, it felt so surreal to be standing on the deck of the Foster again. I knew that this ship had been destroyed, but yet here was the front 280 feet of the ship, still semi-intact. The missile had hit the ship on the starboard side at the 3/4 mark, and I was standing at the railing on the port side, close to where the explosion that had torn the ship in 2 happened. I could still see dried, crusted blood on the deck and part of the ship's superstructure, and in that moment, I was back on the Foster the day she blew up. I heard the explosion, as well as the screams of the dying as shrapnel blew them apart, I smelled the smoke, high-explosives, blood and burning flesh, felt the heat of the flames, and I heard the splashes of debris and body parts hitting the water. I was so absorbed in my PTSD-flashback that I failed to notice somepony tapping me on the shoulder.

"Conner? Conner. Are you ok?"

I jumped a bit as my mind leapt back to the present, and I turned to see who was tapping me. To my slight surprise, I saw that it was Red.

"Oh, hey Red. I didn't know that you were still here."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm still here, and will be until the salvage operation concludes." He then paused a bit. "But......are you ok Conner? You looked like you were having a flashback."

I sighed. "And you'd be right. I saw and experienced everything that happened on that day, from the moment of the explosion, until I was swallowed up by the sea. It was all right in front of me, as vivid as this conversation is right now. And do you know what makes it worse?"

Red was sick to his stomach about what I was telling him, but he still answered. "What?"

I pointed down. "This is the exact same spot where I was trying to get into that motor launch before I became a shrapnel pincushion, and was then blown into the water. How can I not be absorbed by the memories?"

Red was wholly blown away. He had no idea of what to say, as his mind was still reeling. He'd been a soldier for a number of years, but had never really seen any combat. I'd only been in the navy for a brief time, and I was already scarred for life by having my ship blown out from under me. He didn't know how to react, though he did rest a hoof on my shoulder.

"I don't truly know the pain that you're feeling right now Conner, but I don't have a hard time imagining it. I know that this must have hurt for you in ways that defy description, but I'm here for you if you need me."

I looked at him, and smiled a bit. "T-thanks Red. That really means a lot to me; from one sailor to a soldier."

We both then stood at that railing for a while longer, and while Red listened, I finally tried to come to real terms with what had happened, and I tried to put those bad memories to rest as best I could.

Over the course of the next few hours, the intact section of the Foster was examined. Surprisingly, aside from the area where the explosion happened, the rest of this part of the ship seemed to still be in fairly good condition. The hull was still pretty well intact, as was the deck, and the superstructure. However, this was just the outside of the vessel; what was the inside going to look like? Once several generators had been set up, various lights and cords were attached to it, and with some Ponies being provided with very powerful flashlights attached to helmets, I began to lead the way into the bowels of the Foster's hulk.

Our primary mission, aside from assessing the ship from the inside, was to get to the former CIC (Combat Information Center), and see if those computers and data storage units could still be salvaged, as they were vital for the futures of both the Foster, and the Cyclone. The interior of the ship wasn't entirely dark. Sunlight filtered in through some small gaps and holes caused by either the explosion, the fire, or perhaps even when the ship was transported here, and landed on the sandbar. However, the interior of the ship was pretty bare, and someone pointed this out.

"Why is it so bare in here? There's nothing here but metal, wires, a few ladders, chairs, and other electronics."

I looked at who had spoken. "That's because once the Foster was decommissioned, the entire ship was largely gutted. Almost all military hardware, save for her radar, sonar, and a few other systems were removed, as was pretty much everything else that wasn't nailed down, and even things that were! The gallery, crew quarters, laundry room, bridge, most of the engineering spaces, the hangar, weapons areas, and other such spaces were pretty much wholly gutted, and were either left alone, or were filled with other electronics systems for the Foster's new role as a Self-Defense Test-Ship. Even the engines were altered to burn a new type of biofuel, and were given special controls so that the ship could be controlled remotely. This whole ship was essentially the world's largest (and deadliest!) remote-control boat! Sure, it needed 12 engineers to crew her, but all we did was monitor everything and record data. We didn't really have to do anything!"

When I said that, those who weren't familiar with me talking about what the Foster was after her decommissioning were astonished. The whole ship was remote-controlled, didn't require any crew aside from the 12 engineers, but even then, they were only there for monitoring the ship, and recording data. No one knew what to say, aside from a naval Pony who seemingly noticed that I never mentioned the ship having a boiler room.

"This ship doesn't have a boiler room. Her 4 General Electric turbine engines were powered by gas; essentially fuel oil. By the time that the Foster entered service in the early 70's, the US Navy was starting to phase out ships with boilers in favor of the ones with gas turbines, as they were less manpower-intensive, and the maintenance costs were lower. Heck, by the time I joined the Navy a few years ago, ships with boilers were long-gone. Gas turbine engines were the way forwards, though here in Equestria, steam boilers are still the staple, and the Foster and the Cyclone will probably be the only gas turbine-driven ships, at least for a long time."

The others were still pretty surprised, and they continued to ask me questions about the Foster, her mechanics, and her weapons for a while longer, which I answered as best I could.

Eventually, we were able to reach the Combat Information Center (CIC), which was where the computers and data storage units that contained all of the information that we wanted were. The door to the CIC was closed, and the tiny porthole window at the top was all fogged up, so we couldn't tell exactly what was inside. However, I did know that we were possibly only a few feet above the water level in the river, and that the CIC was close to where the ship had been blown in 2, so there was a very real chance that nothing in there was going to be salvageable. However, despite these misgivings, we were able to get the door open, though when we did, we looked inside in shock.

While half of the room was seemingly intact, the back half of the room was showing signs of fire damage, and the furthest wall was fractured in numerous places, and sunlight was filtering in freely from the hallway beyond it. We looked down towards the base of the fractured wall, though we didn't see any water. A Pony was sent outside to check, and we were able to determine that the CIC was about 20 feet away from the blast zone, and maybe 4 feet above the water level.

"Ok, so there's no worry about any water damage, but now the real question is, how much can we salvage that wasn't damaged by fire?"

I was looking around the room. Where there had once been rows of monitors, radar screens, weapons stations, radios, computers, and various other electronics, most of these had been gutted out, and replaced with various other computers, and data storage units. Most of these were in the middle of the room, though some were against the walls, and yes, some were even on the back walls, and these did show some signs of damage.

"Well, I can tell you guys right now that the ones in the middle of the room, as well as the ones against the other walls will most likely be salvageable, though the ones against the back wall might not be."

"And how do you think that we should get them out of here Conner?"

I thought for a second. "Well, if you ask me, the easiest way might be to simply cut out that back wall, and then just move the units out through there. The hallway only goes back 20 feet, and then we have a wide-open space to get them out of."

This seemed like a pretty fair plan, and after having some of the Unicorns get over by the back of the main section of the Foster where the blast happened, some metal-cutting saws were fetched, and the back wall was fully cut through. Then, once the computers and data storage units had been unplugged and unbolted from the floor and walls, they were picked up, placed on rollers used to move furniture, rolled down the hallway behind the CIC, and once they were close to the huge gap at the back, the Unicorns picked them up with their Magic, moved them out of the ship, and brought them over to a spot above the river bank, where they were then placed on several carts. Then, once all of the units were removed, as well as all of the cables that connected them to each other, and kept them supplied them with power, the carts were then taken to Brulee, where they were unloaded at the train station there, placed into a special boxcar, secured, and then the train pulled out bound for Manehattan. Once there, more carts were waiting, and once the units and the cords were unloaded, they were taken directly to the North Shore Naval Base, where the Ponies there would attempt to power the devices back on once the salvage operation was complete, and see what could be retrieved from them.

After the data units had been secured at the naval base, then came the REAL challenge; dredging out the main section of the Foster, and then trying to move it onto 2 of the barges, before finally securing it for the trip down the river to the naval base. However, even though this task did seem quite daunting, we had good reason to hope. The main section of the ship was still largely sound, and would be easy to move in one piece with the aide of Unicorn Magic once the sand and river mud close to it had been dredged away. However, this did leave the task of securing it to the barges, and then keeping the whole thing stable as it was moved down the river. Those on the salvage team knew that it was going to require extra floats, as well as at least 4-6 outriggers to keep the barges stable.

The dredging began without delay, as we really wanted to get the main part of the ship out of there before dark. We didn't mind if we had to take the ship down the river in the dark (indeed, this was preferred, as there was very little, if any traffic on the river at night) but we didn't want to have to pull the ship out in the dark. Yes we had floodlights, but it was also easier to make mistakes. We only had about 4 hours of daylight left at this point, so it was going to be close.

With only 2 hours of daylight left, the dredging was complete, and once the dredgers had been moved away, several floating cranes were moved into position. While this was happening, special cables with cradles on them were being passed underneath the Foster's hull, before being hooked together, and the whole "net" of cradles was then attached to one of the 4 cranes. After the attachments were all secure, most of the Unicorns on the salvage team were positioned either on the river bank, or on the small deck spaces on the floating cranes, and they used their Magic to also grab hold of the cradles as well, and once the cranes began to lift the Foster, they would start lifting too.

"How much longer until we're ready?" one of the foremen asked the crane operators.

"Just as soon as we all sound off." One of them replied. "I'm ready."

The other 3 operators quickly sounded off as well.

"And what about you Unicorns? Are you ready?"

"Affirmative!"

"Ok, good. Now then, we're almost out of daylight here Ponies, so let's get this beast off the sandbar, and onto the barges before the sun finishes setting!"

Everypony agreed to this, and then slowly, carefully, the crane operators began to reel in the cables on the cranes. Pretty soon, the cables, and the cradles that they were attached to pulled taught, and once they did, the Unicorns began the task of lifting as well.

I was watching this entire operation from the deck of one of the tugboats. It was so painful to watch, as I was fully expecting something bad to happen, but yet I was unable to look away.

"Please. PLEASE!" I silently begged. "Don't let anything bad happen!"

"Are you ok Conner?"

I looked over at Gray Metal, who was standing next to me. "Yeah........yeah, I'm fine Gray. Just.........a bit nervous."

He looked at the cranes as well. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Whenever we first try to lift something during these operations, it's always tense. Something could slip, a cable could break, or what we're trying to lift ends up being too heavy for the cranes. Though this time, since we also have the aide of the Unicorns, even with the immense weight of this section of the ship being lifted, I think that we'll be just fine."

"I really hope so Gray. That thing's already killed 5 people, and it almost killed me too. Let's hope that the Foster's body-count ends there."

Gray looked at me for a brief moment. He clearly saw all of the scars from where I'd been gravely injured the day I arrived on Equus, and considering how serious they were, he could tell that it was no small miracle that I was even still alive. He didn't say anything, and soon turned his attention back to the salvage operation. The minutes crept by, but eventually, the hulk that was the bow-section of the Foster was soon lifted slowly into the air.

"It's off the sandbar!" One of the crane operators reported. "Just a little bit higher, and then we'll start moving it back towards the barges."

"Roger that." The foreman, Cold Cut, replied.

Pretty soon, the Foster was a good 10 feet or so off the sandbar, and once the cranes stopped lifting, the Unicorns helped hold the ship steady while tugs moved in to help the 4 cranes begin to move slowly backwards. It took a while, but with only an hour left of daylight, the cranes reached the middle of the river.

"We're in position Sir. Send in the barges!"

"Roger that." Cold Cut then contacted the 2 tugs that were responsible for moving the barges, including the one that Gray Metal and I were on. "Barge tugs, you're all clear to move the barges in. Bring them in slowly, and move them underneath the ship."

"Acknowledged. We're coming in gently." The tugs then began to move the barges in.

It took another 10 minutes to get the barges in place, and at Cold Cut's command, the cranes and the Unicorns then began to gently lower the Foster onto the connected barges. Soon, the ship was sitting on the long, rectangular wooden pallets that were placed on the flat bottom of the barge to help the Foster remain level and stable for her journey. Once she was, the cables and the cradles from the cranes were removed, and work began on securing the Foster for her journey. This was complete just as the sun set, and Princess Luna's moon began to rise into the sky.

"Good work everypony!" Cold Cut commended. "You all did a fine job! You got the ship off the sandbar, and onto the barges in good time, and now she's all secured for her trip to the naval base. We'll move her there tonight, and then come back here tomorrow morning, and begin to salvage whatever else we can of the rest of the ship."

Once everypony there had finished congratulating each other, 2 other tugs moved into position next to the barges, and more floats, as well as 6 outriggers were used to keep the barges stable for the trip down the river. It was almost 11pm when we finally arrived at the North Shore Naval Base. Once we'd arrived, we were directed over to Drydock No.2, which I learned was where the Foster would remain until she was either fully rebuilt, or the decision was made to scrap her if the repairs would prove to be impossible.

The drydock was flooded when we arrived, and to my surprise, the barges pulled in with the Foster, before coming to a stop. I was about to ask why this was being done, as the barges would be trapped with the ship once the drydock was drained, but then I noticed the large crane attached to the square metal frame that covered the entire drydock, and the area around it. I then realized that this crane, which was MUCH bigger and stronger than the 4 small mobile salvage cranes, would lift the Foster off the barges, which would then be removed, and then the drydock would be drained, before the ship would be set on the wooden supports at the bottom of the drydock. Sure enough, this was exactly what happened. By Midnight, the Foster's bow section was sitting securely on the wooden supports at the bottom of Drydock No.2, ready to be worked on.

I was relieved when the job was done, and the Foster's bow had been secured within the drydock. Now this only left one final hurtle to overcome; finding as many parts of the rest of the Foster that we could; parts that covered 248 feet of the ship, all of which were little more than scrap metal thanks to the explosion, as well as a semi-intact 20ft. section of the stern. I already knew that it was going to take up to a week, if not more, but it had to be done for the sake of not only rebuilding the Foster if possible, but to also make the Silver Shine River safe for navigation, fishing, boating, and swimming once again.

I was right. The process was quite tedious indeed. Our first objective was to remove the large 20-something foot of the stern, the end of which still read "Foster" in black letters. The "Paul F." at the beginning was still in there, but it was blackened by the fire, and would have to be repainted when the time came.

"Who was this ship named after anyway?" Gray Metal asked me as the piece of stern was being moved to a barge for transport.

I thought for a second. "It was named for Vice-Admiral Paul F. Foster of the US Navy. He served in the Navy from 1911-1929, and then he returned to serve again during WW2 from 1941-1946. He was also a recipient of the Medal of Honor, which is the highest honor in the US Military for his actions during the US Occupation of Vera Cruz in 1914........" I then went on to explain more about that, as well as a bit more about WW1, and WW2.

When I finished, Gray Metal was shocked, appalled, and intrigued. "Wow. I had no idea that Humans could conduct warfare like that. But aside from that, it sounds like Vice-Admiral Foster was a great man, and he deserved to have this ship named after him. If he were still alive today though, I know that he'd be saddened to see the ship named for him in such a state."

I agreed. "Yeah, he probably would be. Which is why it's a good thing that we're going to do our very BEST to put the ship back together, reconfigure her into her old Spruance-Class configuration, and then return her to service!"

"Yeah. So let's get back to our rousing game of 'Hunt the Scrap Metal!"

I laughed, but I did agree with him. We talked about the Foster, and the man that she was named for a bit longer while we worked.

As work progressed, more and more pieces of the Foster were pulled from the riverbed, the river bank, and the areas around them. We managed to find both of the ship's rudders, both propellers, both propeller shafts, and we even found 2 of the ship's 4 turbines largely intact! It was amazing to see them again fully in the light of day once they were hauled out of the river.

"Well, that's 2 turbines found, but where are the other ones?" I wondered.

We eventually found them a bit further down the river, though they were in about 30 pieces. We started to pull out the 3 largest pieces of the turbines, but then we realized something. These 3 pieces of the turbines had been lying vertical in the river, but at a spot only about 6 feet below the surface. Time and time again cranes, barges, tugs, and dredgers had been right on top of the turbines’s 3 largest pieces, which had a number of jagged metal pieces protruding from them! We then realized that if the bottoms of any of our salvage vessels had come into contact with those jagged metal pieces, they could have had their hulls punctured, and that by itself was bad enough, but if that had happened while the vessel was helping move the large section of the Foster? It would have been absolutely catastrophic!

"Whoa. You guys REALLY dodged a bullet with those turbines!" Red told me after I told him about the discovery.

"Yeah, no kidding Red! But at any rate, all 4 of them are now out of the river, both the 2 almost intact ones, and all 30 pieces of the other 2 turbines, and they can now be shipped to the naval base. We're starting to get close to the end now with this. All 4 turbines, both propellers, both propeller shafts, both rudders, and most of the ship's engineering components, fuel tanks, aft smokestack, rear mast, electronic equipment, and most other things that we've been able to identify have been salvaged, which leaves us with the tedious task of dredging the river with giant magnets attached to the barge cranes to snag anything that we've missed so far, which probably will end up being a large amount."

"But once it's all done, then the pieces can be sent to the naval base, where they'll either be cleaned up and put on the ship, or scrapped to become material to make new parts."

"Yeah, that's the gist of it Red. It won't be too much longer now until this area can finally go back to normal."

Work continued for the rest of that week, and on into the next week. We were finding so many bits and pieces of the ship, though it was hard to identify anything, as most of it was blown up, burnt, smashed, twisted, or mangled. However, if it was red metal, than it most likely came from the ship's hull. If it was gray, then it was part of the superstructure. Pipes were easy enough to identify, as were support trusses, and other metalwork, but some things were well and truly beyond recognition.

Once the magnets had brought up a large amount of junk, the crane that the magnet was attached to would swing the magnet over a wating barge, and then the magnet would be turned off, and all the metal that had been collected would fall into the barge. Once the barge was full, it would then be towed down the river to the naval base, where the metal would then be sorted, and the salvageable would be separated from the scrap, and while the salvageable parts were taken to a warehouse for further sorting, the scrap was taken to another sorting area where it would be sorted further, and then be sent to be melted down so that it could be used again in the Foster's reconstruction. On and on this went until finally, nearly 2 1/2 weeks after the operations began, Mayor Galaxy Cosmos of Lunar-Nova announced over the radio that the salvage operations were finally complete!

"Yes, you've heard right mares and gentlecolts. After 2 1/2 weeks of hard work and dedication, the patrol boat Cyclone, and the wreckage of the ex-USS Paul F. Foster have FINALLY been fully removed from the Silver Shine River, as well as the surrounding areas! I would like to extend my hoof to the Northern Star Marine Salvage Company, as well as all of the hardworking mares and stallions who made this whole operation possible, including our very own former US Navy Ensign Conner Dwight! Thanks to all of their efforts, both ships and all of their pieces were moved to the North Shore Naval Base near Manehattan, where upon further study, both ships will be fully rebuilt, and then returned to service with the Equestrian Navy! Thank you Conner Dwight, and thank you to everypony else from the Equestrian Navy, and the Northern Star Marine Salvage Company who made all of this possible, and one day soon, we will see both ships in action once again!"

I smiled when I heard the Mayor's speech, but I also frowned. Yes, both ships had been salvaged, including the wreckage of the Foster, and they were indeed at the naval base, but whether or not they could be successfully rebuilt and returned to naval service was still in question.

"We won't know for sure whether they can or not until the engineers at the naval base can figure out how to successfully power up those computers and data storage units that were recovered from the Foster. They were found to be still intact, but yet the base's power generators are inadequate for the task of powering them back up. A more advanced solution will have to be discovered."

"And when will that be Conner?" Wendelle asked me.

I sighed. "Soon, I hope. I heard that they're trying to figure out how to make a set of generators more powerful with certain power-spells, but I haven't heard if they've been successful or not. Hopefully I'll find out soon though."

"Yeah, me too Conner."

A while after this, in late July, Wendelle and I were heading to the maternity center in Lunar-Nova for her regular maternity checkup. Today was a VERY special day for both of us, as today was finally the day that Wendelle and I would learn the gender of our foal!

"Are you excited Babe?" I asked her as we walked.

She nodded. "Yes, more than you can imagine Conner. I've been waiting for this day for a VERY long time, and now it's finally here! I can't WAIT to see the gender of our foal. I was kinda hoping for a filly, but what were you hoping for Conner?"

I thought for a second. "Well, I'm fine either way, but I was hoping for a colt. I always wanted a son to be able to pass on my legacy to, not to mention him possibly wanting to follow in my footsteps one day too."

Wendelle agreed. "Yeah, that would be nice. I'd be fine with a colt too, and who knows. This foal of ours could be the first of several, so maybe there's more chances of both of us getting what we want."

"Yeah, maybe." We both kept walking.

Eventually, we both arrived at the Lunar-Nova Maternity Health and Wellness Center, the best place in either Lunar-Nova or Brulee for expectant mothers. The maternity doctors there were the best, and they even had space for mares to give birth to their foals at, be it in a hospital setting, or a more natural garden setting. Moonlight had been the one to suggest this place to Wendelle, and was with her on her first few trips for her maternity checkups. Now though, I started going with her, and would continue to do so whenever possible until our foal was born.

Once we were inside, Wendelle checked in at the front desk, and then we both sat in the waiting area. Around us were several other mares, some with their mates, a few with their other foals, and all in various stages of pregnancy.

Wendelle had to keep a hoof over her mouth to keep from *Sceeing* when she saw the Bat-Pony foals. "They are SO ADORABLE!" She finally gushed. "Is THAT what I'm going to have soon?"

One of the mares, perhaps a few years older than Wendelle, and a mother with 2 foals playing near her looked at her, smiling. "First time mother?"

Wendelle nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?" She added with a giggle.

The other mare laughed too. "That's almost always the same reaction from first-time Bat-Pony mothers. They want to know how something like this can be so cute and adorable that it almost makes your head explode! Oh, and I'm Night Lily by the way." She held out her hoof.

"Wendelle. And this is my coltfriend, Conner. And this is our first." She pointed to her growing belly.

I waved at Night Lily. "Hello. Nice to meet you."

She nodded. "Nice to meet you too Conner and Wendelle." She then pointed to her 2 foals. "And those are my 2 daughters, Melody and White Moon, and this is my son Cosmo." She pointed to her own pregnant belly. "He'll be out in another 2 months or so."

Wendelle blushed a bit. "They're so cute! Their little wings, little furry ears, and tiny fangs. They must be perfect!"

Night Lily agreed. "Oh they are. And just think, one of these, or possibly 2, is/are growing inside of you right now. Soon you'll have them to love and care for."

"Yeah, I know. Though I'm just having one foal this time around. However, today is the day that Conner and I will finally find out if they're a colt or a filly, though judging by the kicking, I'm pretty sure that it might be a colt!"

"I don't know Wendelle. Melody and White Moon kicked me harder than Cosmo has, so you never know."

The 2 mares kept talking for a while longer, but eventually Night Lily was called back for her own appointment.

"I'll talk to you later Wendelle. Maybe we can have lunch sometime."

"Yeah. I know that my 'Mom' Moonlight would love to meet you, as would a few of her other friends." The two then exchanged contact info.

After Night Lily went back with her 2 foals, Wendelle sat back down, and soon became lost in her own little world. She daydreamed about her own foal, and how much joy they were going to bring her and I once they were born. I thought that it was cute when Wendelle daydreamed like that, though I hadn't said anything yet. I was going to, but decided to wait a little bit longer before doing so.

Sometime after this, it was finally Wendelle's turn. When she went back, she was ushered into an exam room. After waiting a few more minutes, she and I were joined by her maternity doctor, Dr. Heartsong.

"Good afternoon Wendelle. Hello Conner."

"Hello Doctor."

"What she said."

Both mares smiled, then Heartsong looked over her notes. "Now then, let's get down to it, shall we?"

Wendelle nodded, before climbing up on the exam table, while I sat on a stool nearby. After putting on a pair of gloves, Heartsong began to look Wendelle over. She used her stethoscope to check first her heart and breathing rates, before then checking the foal's heart and breathing rates, and then gently feeling Wendelle's stomach to make sure that everything was sound.

"How are we doing Doc?" Wendelle asked.

"Well, I can say with certainty that you're doing fine Wendelle, and your foal is developing nicely. And overall, how has the pregnancy been for you?" (While she never said it, Heartsong always took extra care when it came to mares who were teen mothers. They were so young, and not all of them were ready to be mothers yet, and their young age could sometimes cause complications. So far though, Wendelle didn't seem to be having any issues, but then again, she was almost 19; just barely a teen mother).

Wendelle sighed. "Well, some days have certainly been better than others. I'm throwing up a lot, I have a headache sometimes, my ankles feel like rubber, my belly is getting all swollen, my breasts/teats are starting to get bigger, I'm gaining weight, it's sometimes hard to sleep at night, the kicking is too much sometimes, I'm sometimes VERY moody, and I get weird cravings. This is all normal, right?"

Heartsong couldn't help but crack a smile. "More normal than I would care to admit, and I would know, as I've had 4 kids myself!"

"Well, that's both a relief, and not a relief at the same time. I'm relieved that it's normal, but at the same time, I'm NOT relieved that that's what's normal!"

"I can certainly relate to that Wendelle!"

We all laughed a bit, but then Wendelle asked an important question. "And now that I'm 3 months along, and today's the day that Conner and I can finally see the gender of our foal, can we get to the ultrasound now?"

Heartsong nodded. "Of course. Just give me a sec to get the machine ready, and then we can proceed."

"Ok. Well I can't wait!"

"Neither can I", I added.

Heartsong then began to prep the ultrasound machine.

Once it was all ready, Wendelle leaned back on the exam table, and Heartsong began to rub that special gel onto her belly. Wendelle shivered a bit, as it was cold for a few moments, but then Heartsong began to move the wand end of the ultrasound over her belly, and after gently holding her hoof, both Wendelle and I then looked eagerly at the screen on the ultrasound machine so that we could see what gender our foal was.

Soon, the blurry, grayish-black outline of part of a foal appeared on the screen. After looking closer, Wendelle and I could make out the head, body, tiny legs, and even a little bud where a wing would one day be.

Wendelle blushed when she saw it. "D'aww. It's so cute!"

I agreed. "Yeah, you're right Babe. It's so amazing to see new life like that, and an unborn foal at 3 months? Few words can describe it."

Heartsong agreed with us. "Yeah. There's nothing more beautiful than an unborn foal, except of course for a newborn Bat-Pony foal! And I'm trying to see the foal's gender, but since they're laying on their back, and not moving too much at the moment, it's hard to tell."

Before either Wendelle or I could say anything though, Heartsong suddenly spoke up. "Wait, the foal just moved.......and I can see their gender!"

"You can?"

"What is it?" Wendelle asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Before I tell you, what were you hoping for Wendelle?"

"Well, I was hoping for a filly, and Conner was hoping for a colt. I'm fine with it either way though."

Heartsong took a deep breath. "Well then, let me be the first to tell you, that you both are now the soon-to-be parents..........of a beautiful colt!"

When Wendelle and I heard that, we both froze for a second. We'd been waiting for this moment for a long time, and now that it was upon us, neither of us knew how to react.

"A.........colt?" Wendelle asked.

"Yes." Heartsong answered.

After a few moments of silence longer, Wendelle finally spoke again. "Well......that was....a bit unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome." She then looked down at her swollen belly, and began to rub it gently. "H-hey Little One". She said softly. "So it seems that you're a colt. This is what your Daddy wanted, and I'm fine with it as well. Even if you were a filly, your Daddy and I would still love you just as much. I'm so happy that we finally know what gender you are."

In response to this, Wendelle received a few small kicks from her unborn foal.

"Yes, I know. I love you too Little One." Wendelle then realized that I hadn't said anything at all since learning that our child was a colt. She then looked at me, and saw that I seemed to be in a mild state of shock. "Are you ok Conner?"

I snapped out of it, and looked up at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine Babe. Just.........a bit overwhelmed, is all. I don't know what to say. I mean.......I'm not about to cry or anything, b-but........it's just so.........We're having a colt!"

Wendelle smirked a bit. "You said that you're not about to cry, however, according to your eyes welling up with tears, the lie-detector determined that that's a lie!"

I wiped my eyes before giving her a look. "Sure, whatever you say there Maury."

Wendelle giggled a bit. I then took the opportunity to also gently rub Wendelle's belly, as well as lean my head against it. "Hey there Little Guy. As your Mommy may have told you, you're a colt! We're both VERY eager to see you, even though you have another 6 months or so before you're born. Both of us love you very much, and you mean so much to us."

Wendelle blushed a bit, before reaching down, and gently running her hoof through my mane.

"You two are so adorable together. You're going to make great parents when the time comes."

I looked over at Heartsong. "You really think so?"

She nodded. "Oh yes. A devoted couple like you, even though you're both so young, I see you making great parents."

Wendelle sighed. "I really hope so Heartsong." She then had Heartsong take a picture of us while I was leaning my head on her belly, and she was gently rubbing my mane.

later that night, Wendelle and I were once again sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace in mine and Golden's house. Golden was there too, but was kind enough to give us our space, though he did drop a few slightly-snarky hints for us to "get a room". I was sitting there, and Wendelle was leaning against me.

"I still can't believe that we're going to be parents to a colt Conner! This is so exciting!"

I smiled, but then sighed. "Yeah, but at the same time, I'm sad."

Wendelle gave me a confused look. "Huh? Why would you be sad Conner?"

"Because I have no way of letting my parents know. They don't know that I'm still alive, where I am, what I am now, anything about you, or that we're having a foal. That's why I'm sad."

Wendelle then fully understood what I was saying. "Yeah.............you're right Conner. I'm in the same boat. I don't have any way to tell my parents, or my brother Paul about any of those same things."

"There's GOT to be a way to tell them Babe. There just HAS to be! I don't know what unfortunately, but there has to be a way that we can let our families know that we're ok, and about our current statuses. Maybe not anytime soon, but I sincerely hope that we can find a way to at the very least, let our families know that we're ok."

Wendelle wrapped a wing and a hoof around me, pulling me close to her. "Me too Conner. I really hope so too."

I then held her close too. "In the meantime though, we'll just keep doing what we're doing; you working with Moonlight, and me mining, and working on helping those at the naval base with the Foster and the Cyclone, and hopefully this will all work out."

"Yeah, not to mention preparing for our upcoming foal." Wendelle then looked over at me, and gently took my hoof with her own.

I saw what she was doing. "What?"

She sighed. "Well, the sooner you and I are tied together in marriage, the sooner it'll be a little bit easier for both of us. I don't want our son born out of wedlock, and I don't think that you do either."

I shook my head. "No, I don't. I want us married too Babe, though I have a few things that I need to get squared away first."

"I understand Conner." She then snuggled close to me again, and we both looked at the fireplace, dreaming of our future, and this time, what life with an infant son would be like.

Author's Note

And.............that was Chapter 5.

I'm SO SORRY that this took 6 months to get to all of you. Aside from being too tired to write after work, I had to deal with writing block, overbearing parents who kept taking my laptop/internet away for 1-2 weeks at a time, me being very discouraged, and not wanting to write because of what was happening, burnout, and a bit of writer's block. However, in spite of ALL of these problems, my good friend Terry the Human was by my side every step of the way, and slowly but surely, over the course of these last 6 months, Chapter 5 began to slowly take shape, until finally, it was DONE!!!! FINISHED!!!!! FINALLY ABLE TO BE READ!!!!!

And with all that being said, I REALLY hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. From Conner learning about the existence of the Foster and the Cyclone in Equestria, to the ships's salvage, to he and Wendelle learning that they're going to have a colt. I sunk so much into this chapter, and I hope that it was worth the wait. However, that leaves a number of questions. Can the Foster be fully restored, and returned to service? Will those computers and data storage units be accessed, and the data on them used in the ships's reconstruction? When will Conner propose to Wendelle? When will their wedding be? Will the Foster ever see combat if she's returned to service? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you!

In the meantime though, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 6!

ScarFox out for now!

(And don't worry, I'll be doing my darnedest to ensure that Chapter 6 does NOT take another 6 months to finish, as will my good friend Terry the Human. We'll get it out as fast as we can, but it still might take a while. Thank you once again for bearing with me during this lengthy waiting period!)