Seven Apples

"We,

Princess Celestia of Equestria, the Good, the Wise, the Bringer of Harmony to all of Equestria

Regent Princess of Equestria

To everypony who shall see these presents:

Be it known that in pursuance of the order of the Co-Regents declared on the seventh day of Germinary in the year 1337 of the Common Era.

We have commissioned, and by these presents do commission the private frigate called Seven Apples of the burden of nine hundred fifty-four tons, or thereabouts, owned by Fancy Pants in the city of Baltimare mounting carriage fourty-eight guns and navigated by eighty-four ponies, hereby authorizing Applejack Captain, Rainbow Dash Lieutenant of the said, the other officers and the crew thereof:

Subdue, seize and take any armed of unarmed Diamond dog vessel, public or private, which shall be found within the jurisdictional limits of Equestria or elsewhere on the high seas, or within the waters of Canidian dominions."

The Seven Apples' second Letter of Marque and Reprisal.

Two tiny dots on the sky, +52 degrees from the ship's heading. East. Based on their distance and the direction of the dominant wind; calculating with a steady, but sparing pace: the estimated time of arrival is four minutes from the moment of observation. The scouts are in a hurry, but they're disciplined enough to keep their pace, and tired from the long flight.

Considering the fact that they're 5 minutes late, they must have encountered the object of report near the end of their coverage. At the encounter they were still quite fresh, given that they flew down-wind. Then they had to gain some extra altitude to avoid observation, but not too much, since as Extreme-Altitude Scout Unit their normal flight level is already significantly higher than the average pegasi. After the standard reconnaissance -that usually takes many circles around the OR and various prescribed maneuvers to obtain the possible maximum information- they were in a hurry to get back to the ship.

Not because they were afraid of getting late from report, but since the OR is down-wind they knew that every minute is precious. They wanted to give the crew every minute they can to prepare for the engage. To prepare for battle.

As she looked back over her right shoulder, for an instant she stared into those vibrant magenta eyes. As sharp as they were, they had already noticed the scouts and they were hanging on the orange mare. Ready, waiting for command.

-4 hours until engage- flatly, starkly. No need for explanations.

-Aye aye, captain-a short wing beat, and as the captain left for her office she caught the piercing holler -to be fair nopony in a miles distance could have possibly missed that.

-Books, Needle, Gust: report to duty in the captain's office! Pink alert, prepare to battle! I repeat: pink alert is in effect!

And so it began...