At the same time that Snapshot was gathering her things, still giddy about her stroke of luck at being assigned to serve on the Texas, the refueling of the ship was complete, and the gangplanks leading up to the ship were full of Pony sailors, eager to make their way up onto the Texas, and learn where they were to be stationed onboard her. Many were going to be gunners, but others were being assigned to the engine and boiler rooms, the ship's messes, the sick bay, radar rooms, radio room, battery plotting room, and just about every other space on the ship too. Very quickly, the Texas's compliment swelled from a mere 200 men, to a full compliment of 1,600; 200 men, and 1,400 Ponies. This was still shy of her full wartime compliment of 1,815 men, but considering the Texas wasn't yet at war, and her crew of Ponies were still undergoing training, the last 200 or so Ponies, plus additional recruits for training to become future Texas crewmen (or rather, crewponies) would begin once Texas had been run through her sea trials, and was declared fit to serve in the Equestrian Navy.

While Captain Bob was down on the main deck with Chief Engineer Dalton, welcoming the various new Pony crew to the Texas, I was still up on the bridge with Ted, Dennis, and Adam, chatting with them briefly just before I went down to join them on the deck.

"So what do you guys think? How're these Ponies going to work out?" I asked.

Ted shrugged. "I hope they do. With the clouds of war clearly on the horizon, Texas has to be ready to fight, and she can't do that without a good, well-trained crew."

"I agree." Dennis added. "Plus, we have to drive home the point of damage control to them. Damage control, damage control, damage control. It's what the US Navy's been built on since WW2, and the reason why after damage control became the gospel of every ship in the US Navy, literally only a few ships have been lost, or nearly lost since WW2 ended, and how the USS Cole DDG-67, the USS Stark FFG-31, the USS Samuel B Roberts FFG-58, and the USS Liberty AGTR-5 all survived, despite being heavily damaged. And this of course is on top of countless examples from WW2 of heavily damaged ships surviving."

"Funny you should mention the USS Liberty, Dennis." Adam piped up, looking up from his map table. "It was nearly sunk by our Israeli 'allies', and now we have a ship full of Pony 'allies' that outnumber us 7 to 1."

I looked over at Adam, giving him a "Really Bro?" face. "While I agree with what you said first about the USS Liberty, I don't agree with your latter statement. Yes, the USS Liberty was attacked by the Israelis (an event which was NOT an accident, despite what many claim), the Ponies aren't like that. If they meant us harm, they would have already done so by now, since as you said, they outnumber us 7 to 1, and many of the systems on the Texas are very similar to what they're used to."

Adam shifted a bit. "Yeah, you're probably right, David. But I just hope we don't end up fighting a war for the Ponies on our own."

"I can understand your concern, Adam, but rest assured, we won't be. The Texas will be the tip of the spear, the flagship of the naval operations against the Black Baron's forces, but we won't be alone by any means."

Just then, I heard Captain Bob call out from the main deck, requesting my presence down there.

"Coming, Sir!" I called to him.

I then said goodbye to those on the bridge for the time being, and raced to the main deck. On my way there though, I accidentally bumped into someone, sending me flying back a bit, and them falling to the corridor that we were in. I then saw that she was a Unicorn Pony mare with yellow fur, a blue mane and tail, purple eyes, dressed in an Equestrian navy uniform, and carrying a camera, and a large navy-issued duffel-bag.

"Oh shoot! I'm so sorry, Miss!" I say as I help her back to her hooves.

"It's fine. I was just taking a few pictures, and wasn't paying any attention. I'm Ensign Snapshot, by the way, part of the Equestrian Navy photography team assigned to the USS Texas."

"Oh, well nice to meet you, Ensign Snapshot, I'm Ensign David Gardner, the Texas's Executive Officer (XO)."

"Nice to meet you too, David. Though do you mind if I take a picture of you? I'm photographing various members of the Texas's crew while we're still in port."

I shook my head. "No, not at all." I then adjusted my sailor uniform a bit, before smiling while Snapshot took my picture.

"Thank you, Ensign Gardner. This helps me out a lot."

"You're welcome, Ensign Snapshot." I reply, continuing on my way to meet up with Captain Bob and CE Dalton. "See you out at sea."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." She called. Though once I was out of earshot, she muttered, "Damn, I need to be a lot more careful. One misstep could lead to me getting a concussion before I even make it out to sea. And it's a good thing that the Texas crew, including the officers are so kind and trusting; it makes my job of gathering intel for the Black Baron a hell of a lot easier!" She then chuckled to herself as she continued on her way to the Texas's photography lab.

A while later, once all of the Texas's crew were ready, and her new Pony crew were onboard and getting acclimated to the ship that we were getting the Texas ready to head out to sea for her first training crews. The fires in the boilers were lit, steam was being sent to the ship's engines, her onboard power systems were being turned back on, various tests and systems checks were being performed, and I joined Captain Bob, Ted, Dennis, and Adam on the Texas's bridge. Ted was at the engine order telegraph, Dennis was at the wheel, Adam was by his map table, Captain Bob was on the radio, checking in with various officers and stations throughout the Texas, while I was standing out at the railing at the front of the ship's bridge, giving directions to the crew on decks who were casting off the lines holding the Texas to the dock.

I then glanced off towards the rest of the Naval Base. Originally, the Princesses, and the Mane 6, and Spike were going to be coming with us, but at the last minute, plans changed. Instead of them coming with us now, this first trip was going to be an acclimation/training cruise to get the Texas's new Pony crew fully acclimated to the ship, and beginning to learn their new roles, and adjust to life on the Texas, and then they'd come aboard for Texas's first actual training cruise in a few days's time, followed by her gunnery exercises for review by them, and other Equestrian Naval officials and VIP's.

"It's a shame though, I still wish Luna was going to be here." I thought to myself. Despite a few hiccups, Luna and I were really beginning to bond as good friends, and we enjoyed the time we'd gotten to spend together so far. Of course, some on the Texas teased me for having a crush on a Pony Princess, but I largely ignored them. Then, as the Texas's engines slowly began to spin her propellers, the tugboats Pelican and Jupiter came in to help ease the ship out of her berth, and while they were doing that, I reentered the bridge, just in time for Captain Bob to finish up his check-ins.

"Ok, all stations are good to go. Are you all good?" He asked us.

"Good, Sir." Dennis reported.

"All good here, Captain!" Ted called.

"Same here." Adam replied.

"Everything's all good here, Sir." I finished.

"Excellent!"

Captain Bob then got on the radio again, though this time he was communicating with the tugboat crews, as well as Compass, the main Fillydelphia Harbor Pilot, arranging for him to come aboard to safely guide the Texas out of Fillydelphia Harbor, and out into open water. It took a little bit longer, but pretty soon, the Texas was out of Fillydelphia Harbor, and steaming at half-speed into the Celestial Sea. We weren't going to be out of sight of land very much during this particular trip, and indeed, for most of the Texas crew, the day was pretty uneventful. Most of it was spent giving tours to the new Pony crew, getting them acclimated to the ship, which was going to be their new home for the foreseeable future, and of course, orientating them on their new jobs/roles on the ship.

"So, how do you think things're goin' so far, Ted?" I asked him as we ate lunch in the Officer's Mess that afternoon.

He shrugged. "From what I've seen and heard, so far things seem to be goin' pretty well. Most, if not all of the Ponies onboard are clearly well-trained professionals, and know their stuff well. Sure, it's gonna take them a bit longer to get fully adjusted to the Texas, but with the basic technology gap between her, and the ships they're used to, I don't think it'll take too much longer for them, and us, to fully integrate, and start drilling to become a well-oiled machine."

"Yeah, I agree." I then frowned. "Now if only those dang-blasted photography lab Ponies would stop constantly being in everyone's way."

Ted groaned as well. While they seemed to mean well, the techs assigned to the Texas's photography lab were spending the day moving around the ship with their cameras, taking pictures of this and that. However, this was causing issues, as while they were taking their pictures, they often got in the way of the other crewmen and crew-Ponies, and were constantly being bumped into, tripped over, and causing more than a bit of a ruckus. Finally, Captain Bob put his foot down, and confined the techs to the Texas's photography lab, the Enlisted Mess Hall, the head, and their berthing quarters for the time being.

"Yeah, I get that they're eager, but they're way too overzealous. And do some of them seem to be a bit....eh...too eager to you, David?"

I thought for a second. "Perhaps. Some of them do seem to really like taking a lot of pictures, but some of their questions were....a bit odd to say the least. I assume that it's because it's their first time ever actually being on a warship, but I don't know."

I wasn't able to tell Ted this, as he wasn't high enough in the ranking, but earlier that morning, Captain Bob, Chief Engineer Dalton, myself, and a few other Texas officers were briefed by Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, Captain Hammer, and a few Ponies from the Equestrian Intelligence Service that there were some concerns that the Black Baron had spies in Equestrian territory, and we were told to keep our eyes open for anything suspicious. Why wasn't this told to the rest of the crew? Only because it could tip off any spies that we were onto them. And even though we knew that the chances of their being any spies on Texas were low, they were still chances. And it was because of this that Captain Bob had to take such harsh measures with the photography techs.

"If anything, I'd say that the whole Photography Department are enemy spies." I thought to myself, half-jokingly. Little did I know though that I was right, at least to some degree.

For the rest of that week, the training cruise went very well, and at the end of it, the Texas arrived back in the Fillydelphia Naval Yard with her new Pony crew being well on their way to becoming a well-oiled machine. However, now the time was growing close for the real tests, the live-firing of Texas's guns against actual targets.

"And what exactly will the Texas be shooting at?" Captain Bob asked Rear-Admiral Sky Seas during the important meeting where Texas's gunnery exercises were being planned.

The Rear-Admiral pointed to a map laid out on the table. "Several things, Captain Hogan. For land-based Targets, the Texas will be shooting at various fortifications set up here on this island about 5 miles off the coast of Equestria, known famously as "Big Bang Island". It's completely uninhabited, under military quarantine, and used solely for target practice for naval and airship weapons. For sea-based targets, we have more than a few elderly ships that have been designated as target ships, and can be controlled with Magic to enable them to move around, thus enabling us, and you, to simulate a live ship-to-ship gunnery duel, at least to some degree."

Captain Bob nodded. "I see. And what about targets in the air? We need to train our AA gun crews as well on the use of the 3in guns, Bofors AA guns, and the Oerlikon cannons."

"Well we have a solution for that as well, Captain Hogan. We have a few small airships that have been built specifically to be moving air targets, as well as a series of smaller target drones. I think you'll find these to be quite satisfactory in being targets for the Texas's AA guns."

"I certainly hope so, Rear-Admiral. Especially since we'll have so many VIP's onboard to watch the Texas's gunnery trials. We have to put on a good show, while also showing off how powerful, and accurate Texas's radar-guided guns are, and proving that they can hit targets in all kinds of sea conditions."

While this meeting was taking place between Captain Bob, Rear-Admiral Sky-Seas, and a few other officers from both the Texas and the Equestrian Navy, back out where the Texas was docked, the Princesses, and the Mane 6, and Spike had returned, and I was representing the Texas's crew for the arrival of Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor, who'd just arrived in Fillydelphia for the Texas's gunnery trials the following day.

"It's an honor to finally meet you in person, Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor. I'm glad that you both could make the trip from the Crystal Empire to see the USS Texas." I said, saluting them.

"The honor is ours, Captain Hogan, and I must say, the Texas is certainly a very impressive battleship. Though aren't you a little bit young to be a ship's captain?" Shining Armor asked me.

I frowned a bit, and I could hear some chuckles from some of the other Texas crew. "Eh, not quite. I'm not Captain Hogan. I'm Ensign David Gardner, the Texas's Executive Officer, standing in for Captain Hogan, who's currently in a meeting with Rear-Admiral Sky Seas about the Texas's gunnery trials tomorrow."

Shining Armor's eyes went a bit wide. "Oh, My mistake, Ensign."

"It's fine, Prince Shining Armor."

"Oh, you can just call me Shining Armor, Ensign Gardner."

"And you can just call me 'David', or 'Ensign David'. Either is fine."

While I was talking with Shining Armor, Cadence was talking with Celestia.

"Wow, so that's the Ensign that you mentioned in your letter, Auntie Celestia? The one that Auntie Luna has a crush on?" Cadence whispered, gesturing to me.

Celestia giggled a bit. "Yes, the very one. And from what I've seen, he seems to be quite enamored with her too, though for the moment, they're both taking things one step at a time."

Cadence nodded. "Well, under normal circumstances I might 'help them along' with one of my Love Spells, but considering how we're on the brink of war with the Black Baron's forces, I won't do that."

"That's probably for the best, my Dear Cadence."

Cadence then looked around. "And speaking of Auntie Luna, where is she? Wasn't she supposed to be here?"

"Yes, she's here, though she stepped away for a few minutes to take care of some messages from Canterlot. Nothing serious, just some reports from her Bat-Pony Night Guards on the status of things."

"Oh, I see." Cadence then paused. "And is it really true what you said in your letter, Auntie? Did you really give David and Luna the same dream of being naked together on a beach?" She whispered.

Celestia grinned. "Oh yes, that really did happen. Just ask my Sister once she gets back."

Cadence had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. "PLEASE tell me you used a recording crystal for that, as I'd LOVE to see their reactions."

"You didn't get this from me." Celestia replied cheekily, handing Cadence a recording crystal.

Just after Cadence took the crystal, Princess Luna returned. She eagerly embraced her niece, as it had been a while since they'd last seen each other, but it wasn't long before the Princess of Love began to tease her Auntie about her crush.

"Really, Auntie Luna? Out of all of the Ponies you could have chosen, you decided on an Ensign from another world?" Cadence asked, giggling a bit.

Luna gave Cadence a look. It was quite clear that Celestia had been talking to her about this while she was responding to the messages from her Bat-Pony Night Guards.

"I'd hardly call it a romance, Cadence. More of a mutual friendship."

"Oh, a mutual friendship?"

"Yes."

"And do mutual friends usually have dreams about being naked together on a beach?" Cadence asked, giggling.

Luna's eyes went wide with shock, and her face turned a bit pale. "How did you.....???"

"Well, I am the Princess of Love after all. Not too many romance-related things slip past me without me noticing. Well, that, plus a Little Birdie told me."

Luna shot her Sister a glare, knowing all too well who the 'Little Birdie' was. Celestia just giggled as well, leaving Luna to stew in her internal rage over Cadence now knowing about the dream that Celestia had given her and David.

"But yet, it's not all teasing, Auntie Luna. I'm happy that you finally found love with somepony, even if he's not a Pony at all."

Luna sighed. "Yeah, thanks Cadence. I guess."

Around this same time, I looked over and saw that Luna had returned, and went over to see her. She was happy to see me, as it provided a distraction from Cadence's teasing, and I was glad to finally get to spend some time with her again.

Later on that day, once all the preparations had finally been finished, the crew of the Texas got the ship ready to move again, and with the addition of our VIP's onboard, Texas left the Fillydelphia Naval Yard once again, bound for the open ocean. The plan was simple. First we'd bring the ship into range of "Big Bang Island", and practice using the 14in, and 5in guns against land-based targets, as well as demonstrating how effective our fire-control radars were against these targets, and then the next day we'd train those same guns on the target ships designated for this exercise, which would be an even greater test/demonstration of our fire-control radars's capabilities, and then the next day after that, it would be the turn of the AA gun crews turn, when they'd train their 3in guns, Bofors 40mm guns, and Oerlikon cannons on various target airships and drones. These trials were going to be a demonstration of the Texas's abilities as a warship, and show how superior her 1940's technology was compared to that of the Equestrian Navy.

"I'm a bit nervous, Captain Bob." I murmured to him as the Texas was leaving Fillydelphia Harbor. "So many eyes are watching us during these trials, some of whom are naysayers looking for any excuse not to copy the Texas's technology for one reason or another, and there's so much riding on everything going smoothly, and us performing these exercises under pressure."

"I know what you mean, Ensign Gardner. However, I have full faith and confidence in my crew, be they Human or Pony, and I have a feeling that there's going to be quite a lot of 'Shock and Awe' in the next few days, with the Texas performing her trials, and passing with flying colors. And even if a few things go wrong, I don't think it will be seen as a big issue, as remember, the Texas is still going through her 'growing pains' of being an active warship again after over 85 years of being inactive."

I nodded slowly. I knew that Captain Bob was right, but still, all of us were under pressure to get everything right, and we intended to make our upcoming demonstrations the best that the Equestrians had ever seen.

Soon after this conversation with Captain Bob, he and I, as well as Chief Engineer Dalton, were showing the Princesses, the Mane 6, Spike, Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, and Captain Hammer around the Texas's boiler rooms and engine rooms, which while they had seen them before during the first tour, they hadn't been operating at the time. This was also the first time Princess Cadence and Shining Armor got to see the Texas's interior, and they too were in awe of it.

"So this is Boiler Room No.1!" Chief Engineer Dalton called, having to talk very loudly to make himself heard over the roaring fires of the boilers. "It's one of 3 x Boiler Rooms on the Texas, with each Boiler Room housing two of the Texas's 6 x Bureau Express oil-fired boilers!"

"And you said that these boilers burn oil instead of coal!?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yes, that's correct, Shining Armor! Not only are oil-fired boilers more powerful, but they're also more fuel-efficient, far less manpower-intensive, easier to maintain, and far easier to refuel! Instead of hours upon hours of backbreaking manual labor to shovel coal, now you just have to hook up hoses to pump fuel oil!"

"It truly is amazing!" Rear-Admiral Sky Seas remarked. "We've begun to convert some of our ships to burn oil instead of coal, but seeing how it works for the Texas proves that oil-fired boilers are indeed the future, and eventually will replaced coal-fired ships almost entirely!"

It was also incredibly hot and stuffy, not to mention noisy and dirty in the boiler rooms, and while Rarity was throwing a fit about it, with her friends trying to either get her to calm down, or leave the boiler rooms, the tour moved on to the Texas's Engine Rooms, and it was here that hearing protection was handed out, as the Engine Rooms were far louder than the Boiler Rooms were. As they'd seen before, the two reciprocating steam engines of the Texas were almost identical to what the Equestrians were using on their own warships, though those on the Texas were slightly larger, and more powerful.

"So, how fast can these engines move the Texas?" Princess Luna asked me telepathically with her Magic as we stood on a catwalk watching the engines go up and down. (Why was she doing this? It was so we'd be able to talk normally without having to yell to each other. We'd simply be able to hear each other's thoughts while the spell was in use. I found it a bit unnerving, but interesting at the same time).

"Well, when running at full power, the Texas's engines are capable of moving the ship at about 21 knots (24mph), which was their design speed, however, during her sea trials here in Equestria, the Texas's engines were clocked at moving at 24 knots (27mph)." I replied telepathically.

"And is that the Texas's top speed?"

"Officially, yes. However, Chief Engineer Dalton and the other engineers have theorized that in the event of an extreme emergency, Texas's engines could be pushed up to close to or above 27 knots (31mph), but only for a short period of time, as this would push the engines far beyond their design capacity, which could result in them exploding, which would be catastrophic for the Texas if that happened."

"I can imagine. Not only would the ship be unable to move, but those explosions could cripple other vital systems, or even blow holes into the Texas's hull, potentially dooming the ship."

I nodded. "Exactly right, Luna. But with guys like Chief Engineer Dalton, and his engineers working down here, I'd say that the risks of that happening are extremely low."

"Which is a very good thing, David."

I agreed, and the tour soon moved on elsewhere, as Shining Armor and Cadence wanted to see the rest of the ship, since they'd been absent from the original tour.

"So, what do you think of the Texas?" I asked once the tour for Cadence and Shining Armor ended, and we regrouped on the bridge.

"I'm impressed by it. The technology is close to what we have now, yet still more advanced in certain areas, especially when it comes to your fire-control radars, which I very much await to see in action during the gunnery exercises." Shining Armor replied.

"I agree. I could definitely see the Texas's technology paving the way for a new era for the Equestrian Navy, not to mention how incredible the ship looks overall." Cadence finished.

I nodded. "Yes, the Texas is truly an incredible ship, and I think you're going to be very impressed during her gunnery exercises, which will be beginning here shortly, once the Texas is in position off 'Big Bang Island'."

"And how much longer will that be, Ensign David?" Cadence asked.

I then looked over to Adam, who quickly checked his maps. "It should only be another 10 minutes or so, Princess Cadence." He replied.

Cadence nodded, and then she and Shining Armor went out onto the port bridge wing, so that they'd be able to see "Big Bang Island" once it came into view.

Sure enough, roughly 10 minutes later, the Texas arrived at her assigned station post about 8 miles off the coast of "Big Bang Island". Texas's engines were then idled to keep her in place, and while General Quarters were sounded, Captain Bob came over the intercom to address the Texas's crew.

"Attention all hands on the Texas, this is your Captain speaking. We've now arrived at our station point off 'Big Bang Island', and the time has come to show off the Texas's firepower against land-based targets on the island. All gunnery crews standby to receive orders from the commanders of each gun, who will further brief you on your targets on the island, and their location."

Since there wasn't enough room for all of the Texas's bridge crew, plus the Equestrian VIP's, some of them would remain on the bridge, while the rest would migrate up to the Admiral's Flag bridge just above it. Up here were Captain Bob, Myself, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, while Captain Hammer, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Captain Hammer were on the main bridge. And where were the Main 6 and Spike? They were located up in the "Big Blue House" on top of Texas's main mast. Not only would they have the best view, but also some protection from the shockwaves from Texas's guns, since they'd never been a part of a gunnery exercise before. They were still provided with hearing protection, as were everyone and everypony else, and pretty soon, the Texas's 5 x main 14in gun turrets began to rotate to port, and their barrels, as well as the barrels of the 3 x 5in guns began to elevate to various degrees.

"Is everything ready?" Captain Bob radioed to the 14in and 5in gun crews

"Affirmative, Captain! We're all set!" They all reported.

"Excellent." Then after having confirmation from the VIP's that they were all ready, as well as the rest of the Texas's crew, and confirmation from the airships monitoring the island to check the accuracy of the Texas's guns that they were ready, Captain Bob took a deep breath, and gave a single order.

"Main guns, fire at will."

And in that moment, for the first time since 1946, the USS Texas fired her main battery. All 10 x of her 14in guns erupted in fire and smoke, sending a 14in high-explosive shell hurtling downrange towards various targets on the island, ranging from buildings, to weapons emplacements, trenches, and even bunkers. The shockwave from the guns being fired could be heard and felt, creating temporary bowl-like craters on the water on the Texas's port side when the guns fired. For several long moments, there was brief silence, and then the shells began to impact with their targets on the island, while the gunnery crews quickly began to reload their guns, while the fire-control crews in the Battery Plotting Room began to feed them new data.

For the next several hours, all of the VIP's, as well as nearly all of the Texas's crew who witnessed the sight of the Texas firing her guns were in complete awe at what they were seeing. Not since 1993 at the very latest had an American battleship fired its main guns, and now we were seeing a sight that hadn't been seen since the end of WW2; the Texas firing her main guns, and secondary guns at land-based targets, and with great accuracy. And to add more to the tests, the Texas was moving while firing, and then teams of Weather Pegasai came by to create stormy sea conditions and high winds, and yet through it all, the Texas's guns retained much of their accuracy. And the real cause for celebration came when the Texas set a new record for gunnery range. One of Texas's 14in shells was fired from a distance of nearly 16 miles, and slammed into a warehouse on the island, destroying it completely. This confirmed hit shattered the previous record of only 12 miles set by an Equestrian battleship.

"So, what do you think, Rear-Admiral?" Captain Bob asked Rear-Admiral Sky Seas once the tests ended for the day.

"I......I....truly have no words, Captain Hogan." He replied shakily. "I've......never seen anything like this in my life. The firepower being so immense, yet so accurate, even while the Texas is moving in stormy seas. Is this because of the fire-control radars you spoke so highly of?"

Captain Bob nodded. "Yes indeed, Rear-Admiral. The fire-control radars, and other machines in the Main Battery Plotting Room were what make this all possible. You gave us the coordinates of the targets, we fired the guns, the airships circling overhead gave us more data to feed to our plotting machines, and we continued from there until all targets were destroyed."

"Well, I can say this. I was certainly right when I asked you to be a part of the Equestrian Navy. With such accurate heavy firepower like this, the Black Baron doesn't stand a chance."

"Indeed. Though this was just the first day of the 3 day trials. We successfully passed Phase 1, the land-based targets, but tomorrow, we'll be facing the sea-based targets, which will prove to be trickier since both they, and the Texas will be moving, and they'll be shooting at us with Magic Shells you mentioned earlier, Rear-Admiral"

"Hmm? What're 'Magic Shells'?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, Magic Shells are shells used by our warships during various gunnery exercises." The Rear-Admiral explained. "They're like regular shells, except when they impact with a target, they explode, but instead of penetrating, they splatter the area with colorful dyes to simulate a hit, with said dyes being infused with Magic to disable any ship systems they come into contact with, meaning that they're able to knock out guns, power systems, engines, etc, without causing any permanent damage. They're quite unique, and very effective for training."

"Oh, I see. But what happens when the dye comes into contact with anything living?" I asked.

"That's a very good question, Ensign Gardner, and the answer is, nothing. Yes, the dye can be capable of knocking Ponies over, but its effects beyond this are negligible, causing no injuries, pain, or even damage to uniforms since the dye can be washed right off, except in rare cases of Ponies having allergies to the dyes themselves."

"Well that's good to know for tomorrow, in case the Texas takes any hits from the Magic Shells." Captain Bob replied, to which I agreed with.

Soon after this, the Texas began to make her way back into port for the evening, with everyone and everypony eagerly waiting to see what would happen the next day with Phase 2 of the Texas's gunnery exercises.

The night passed peacefully enough, and on this night, I had another dream. This time though, it wasn't so strange. I was once again walking on a beach, and Luna was with me, but this time, we were both properly clothed; me wearing a blue swimsuit with Luna's Cutie-Mark on it, and Luna herself wearing a black bikini. Luna wanted to apologize for the previous dream, since it was her Sister's doing, but she was too embarrassed to do so, since it would reveal that not only did she get aroused by seeing me naked, but that we'd also had a shared dream.

"I'll tell him someday." She thought to herself. "Or perhaps I'll trick Celestia or Cadence into revealing the truth to him on their own. That'll teach my Sister not to be such a pervert!" She thought to herself with a smirk.

"Whoa!" Ted cried as a huge column of water splashed into the air close to the Texas.

"No kidding, that one was way too close!" Dennis agreed as he turned the Texas's wheel hard to port to keep the Texas on an evasive course.

"Keep evading, and gunners, keep landing those hits! They're CRUCIAL to us winning the day here!" I called to Dennis, and over the radio to the gunners, respectively.

"Sir, yes Sir!"

As the Texas was evading, Captain Bob was looking at the bridge radar scope. Spread out around the Texas was a series of 6 dots, each representing a "hostile" warship. For Phase 2, we were promised a fair fight against actual Equestrian warships, and the Equestrians did not disappoint. Sure, the ships were retired, and were being operated remotely, not to mention they were only firing Magic Shells, but that made them no less dangerous. Already the Texas had suffered a few hits, though thanks to her thick armor, damage was so far minimal. And in return, Texas had already sent 4 ships to the bottom, at least one more was going down, and of the 6 remaining vessels, two were on fire. The weather that day was also overcast, and the wind was whipping up some pretty good waves, but the Texas was landing hits with her 14in and 5in guns, all thanks to her fire-control radar, and plotting equipment.

"Those ships may be old and outdated, but against just the Texas like this, it's sure proving to be a real fight." Captain Bob muttered.

The warships we were facing were a bit of a hodge-podge. Many of them had originally been wooden-hulled ships, but upon their retirement had been rebuilt to mimic battleships and cruisers, although the few destroyers that were a part of the "enemy" Equestrian fleet were all genuine, though thankfully, their "Magic Torpedoes" were not. Our 5in guns ate those little destroyers alive, and the few torpedoes that they did manage to launch either missed, or in one case, hit the Texas's starboard torpedo blister, but failed to "explode", ie, discharge its payload of Magic dye.

Another thing that really impressed the Equestrians was the Texas's ability to not only be able to track multiple targets at once while moving at full speed through semi-rough seas, but also be able to hit those targets with fairly decent accuracy. With their own ships, the guns could only track one, maybe two targets at the most, but with the Texas? Each gun turret was able to track its own target, so that meant that all 5 pairs of 14in guns, and all 6 x 5in guns could each track their own target, though now with only 6 ships remaining, the gun crews were coordinating their attacks on various targets, though this was interrupted when a Magic shell struck Turret No.2, causing it to jam while it was facing to port. Now frozen in place, it could only fire at targets directly in front of it.

"Dammit! Now Turret 2 is all but useless! Is Damage Control on it?" Ted asked.

"Yeah, they're on-scene now, trying to see if they can get the turret un-jammed, but the hit was pretty bad, and a lot of the massive gears used to turn the turret are either cracked, or are missing their cog-teeth, thus preventing the turret from moving." I reported, holding the bridge's radio, communicating with the main Damage Control Team.

"Good. That's very good." Captain Bob said with some relief. "That's another good thing about these exercises, our Damage Control Crews get practice too."

Ted, Dennis, Adam, and I agreed. Granted, while technically the entire crew of the Texas was responsible for damage control, we did still have Damage Control Crew onboard who's job was solely that.

While all this was going on, the crew of Texas's No.4 Turret managed to set fire to the offending ship that had struck Turret 2, soon causing it to explode, while Turrets 1 and 5 each took out two light cruisers, and Turret No.3 crippled a 4th ship, which was soon finished off by the starboard 5in gun crews. With 3 more ships now on their way to the bottom, soon followed by the burning ship the No.4 Turret hit, that left only 2 "enemy" ships left; one armored battleship, and one destroyer, which was proving to be quite speedy and maneuverable, making it difficult to hit.

"All 5in gun crews, concentrate fire on that destroyer!" Captain Bob ordered. "Pepper the water all around it, as even near-misses can cause damage! Give it a death by 1,000 cracks if you have to, but send it to the bottom!"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"All 14in gun crews, assist the 5in gun crews if needed, but your main target is that armored battleship! Take it out!"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

The sea battle of Phase 2 lasted for another 37 minutes or so, but by the end of it, the battleship was sunk, and the destroyer was split in two before sinking. The Texas had come out on top, despite being up against so many "enemy" ships, and although she suffered some damage, and a handful of crewmen were injured, the damage was repairable, and the injuries were minor. Upon our return to the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, the Princesses, Element Bearers, and Equestrian Naval officers commended us on our incredible performance, as once again, the Texas had far exceeded their expectations.

"And come tomorrow, you'll undergo the third and final phase of the trials; the anti-air missions. That way we'll get to see the Texas's air-search radars in action, as well as how her AA gunners respond to aerial threats." Rear-Admiral Sky Seas announced.

All of us agreed, but we also had a feeling that for the Equestrians, Phase 3 was going to be a blowout, since the Texas crew highly doubted that any of their airships, or flying drones were going to be able to get anywhere near the Texas without being blown out of the sky.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to see who comes out on top tomorrow then, won't we?"

Captain Bob nodded. "Yes, I guess we will, Rear-Admiral."

And indeed, both sides certainly did see who would come out on top, and it wasn't even a fair fight; the Texas's AA guns, coupled with her air-search radar, absolutely annihilated all of the "enemy" Equestrian airships, balloons, drones, gliders, and even a new creation of the Equestrians. They called them "Sky-Skippers", though to us, they were nearly identical to the old biplanes of yesteryear, chiefly the American Boeing-Stearman Model 75, and the British Fairey-Swordfish, with the former being a fighter, and the latter being a bomber.

Aircraft were seen as a novelty at this point in Equestrian history, with the venerable airships being able to fly higher, farther, and carry far more cargo than the newfangled airframes, but some pioneers saw potential in them being used for military applications, hence the reason why Equestria now had an Army and Navy Aviation Program, albeit, a very small one, with only about 10 planes; 5 biplane fighters for the Equestrian Army, and 5 biplane bombers for the Equestrian Navy. Because of this, we weren't shooting at any of the actual planes, but rather cheaply-made mockups. It didn't really matter in the end though, as all of them were sent spiraling into the ocean in balls of fire, and/or debris, just like the other airships and drones. None of them were even able to get close enough to the Texas to fire their guns at her, never mind drop any Magic Torpedoes.

All of the Ponies who witnessed this impressive display of anti-aircraft gunnery were amazed, and Rear-Admiral Sky Seas immediately began to make plans for adding various types of AA guns to Equestrian warships. And of course, Equestrian Navy officials were questioning us about how they could make their Military Aviation Programs successful, and if the US had any similar programs.

"Oh, indeed we do. The US Navy, US Army, US Marines and the US Coast Guard all have their own aviation arms, and of course, there's the US Air Force, which is dedicated entirely to aircraft. And it all started with the US Army buying their first aircraft in 1909, the Wright Military Flyer, with the US Navy sprouting wings two years later in 1911; 5 years, and 3 years respectively before the USS Texas would enter commission for the first time."

"And like your aviation programs, it all started with biplanes, though a bit more antiquated than what you have now, as I just showed you." I replied.

"Hmm, so it seems you Humans got your start in much the same way we did, Ensign Gardner, albeit, many decades ago. And I could see our aviation program becoming quite successful someday, or at least it will be, once we figure out how to evade the Texas's guns long enough to launch any attacks on her." Captain Hammer chuckled.

We all got a good chuckle out of that, and now with the last of the tests finally being completed, the Texas was pulling back into her berth at the Fillydelphia Naval Yard again, though unknown to any of us, Snapshot had been taking more pictures, and other careful notes during the tests of Texas's prowess, and she was also given more notes from two other Texas sailors, stallions Gear Wrench (who worked in the Texas's Engine Rooms), and Crosshair (one of the Texas's gunners operating Turret No.2), who were also Pony spies for the Black Baron who'd slipped through the cracks alongside Snapshot.

"Damn." She muttered to herself as she began to compile her latest list of notes and photographs into a bundle to be sent off to Blackshore Island as soon as Garran, the Griffon Courier arrived at the rendezvous point outside of the Fillydelphia Naval Yard. "Taking this ship down is going to be a LOT harder than I thought it was going to be. When they said that this ship was powerful, I knew it was, but I had no idea it was this powerful, nor as resistant to damage. I just hope that all of the information I gathered previously, plus this latest package of information will be put to good use."

Once she was finished, and made sure that the coast was clear, and no one would notice her departure, Snapshot slipped away with the package of information to give to Garran, so he could get it to the Black Baron as soon as possible.

About a day or so later, with the package from Snapshot safely in his possession, Garran was flying through the slightly overcast skies over the Celestial Sea, heading Southeast towards Blackshore Island. Despite his job often requiring long trips from Blackshore Island to either Equestria, or another country on Equus, which often required him to fly for incredibly long distances, since various passenger ships and airships only went to certain places, he quite enjoyed the long haul-runs. However, at that moment, he was getting tired, and was thankful that he was soon be back at base, and able to rest.

Roughly 45 minutes later, Garran made it past the Magical barrier protecting the Black Sands Archipelago from the rest of Equus, and once he was through the barrier, he looked down at it. The Black Sands Archipelago was an island chain comprised of about 20 large, and a number of smaller islands, all centered around Blackshore Island (also known as "Blackshore 1") in the middle. Blackshore Island was where the Black Baron's fortress was, and served as his main residence, and base of operations. On the various other islands were various shipyards, ship repair facilities, factories for munitions and spare parts, farming and fishing operations, refineries for oil, power plants, water distillation systems, housing barracks, and various other infrastructure required for keeping such a large operation such as this going. And of course, the archipelago was covered in shore batteries, sea mines, jagged rocks, rocket launchers, and numerous other defensive weapons to prevent anyone from getting too close, assuming of course they could get past the Magic shield and rune stones protecting the islands.

For many years, the islands of the archipelago had been inhabited by the Roshin, a race of primitive Leopards who sustained themselves mostly on fishing, hunting, and gathering, with some agriculture, but when the Black Baron showed up, and took over the islands for himself and his forces, the Roshin resisted, and did inflict some damaging casualties, but in the end, they were conquered. Some of them were executed for resisting, but the rest were essentially used as slave labor for the Black Baron. Some were put to work fishing, hunting, gathering coconuts, other jungle fruits, plants, and nuts for his forces, while others worked in various fields growing crops, others were forced to help build new infrastructure on the islands, and still others, chiefly the females, were used as servants, and "Pleasure Girls" for the Black Baron, and his high-ranking officers and officials, while more "Pleasure Girls" were kept in one of several brothels for the regular forces. The Roshin were absolutely miserable, and hated the Black Baron and his minions with a burning passion, but were unable to do much about it at the current moment.

As Garran came in to land on Blackshore Island, he saw several large hulls taking shape at a nearby shipyard. Someday soon, these were going to be battleships to rival the ones that the Equestrians and the Griffons had, as would what the Black Baron called "Project Sun-Ship", but what exactly that was was currently unknown to anyone not working on the project in a nearby sea-cave, those of the Black Baron's inner circle, and of course, the Black Baron himself.

"Quite the impressive navy we'll have soon." He thought to himself. "Big enough to rival any other on Equus, at least to some degree."

Upon his landing, he ensured once again that the package was safe, before being ushered into the main fortress by several Minotaur guards. He was being taken directly to the fortress's throne room, as the Black Baron was awaiting his arrival. The inside of the fortress was quite busy as various Ponies, Griffons, Minotaurs, Dragons, Changelings, and other creatures all moved about, some working, some not, and eventually Garran and the guards reached the throne room. Once inside, Garrin was ushered over to a large table near the middle of the throne room. This table was used for meetings between the Black Baron and his various Generals, Admirals, Captains, Lieutenants, Scientists, Engineers, and other officials to discuss plans, strategies, and progress reports on a regular basis. And as Garran stood at the far end of the table, he looked beyond it, towards a series of stone steps where seated on his throne at the top of them, surrounded by guards, and a few female Roshin slaves, was the Black Baron himself.

Former Griffon Baron Garratt Darkclaw looked every bit like the warlord he was. He was an older Griffon in his 40's, with feathers and fur as black as tar, a yellow beak, piercing gray eyes, and a currently neutral expression on his face. He was dressed in a gray military tunic, gray pants with red stripes, black boots, had 2 pistols holstered at his hips, as well as his sword in its scabbard, and a dark gray military command hat was on his head. On his tunic were various medals and decorations, and on his face, head, neck, and arms were a number of visible scars. He looked down at Garran with a cold, yet expectant look once the Griffon courier was standing in front of the table.

"Have you brought the latest round of information from my spies in Equestria, or rather, the 3 spies who managed to get onboard this 'USS Texas' Battleship as part of her crew?" He asked, his voice a bit gravelly.

Garran nodded quickly. "Yes, Sir. The package is right here." He then opened his courier's bag, and placed the package onto the table.

"Excellent."

The Black Baron then rose from his throne, and made his way down to the table, while also summoning his cabinet of military commanders, scientists, engineers, war strategists, and other advisors to come and look over the information as well. All of them were very eager to see what the trio of spies had sent over, as now they would finally know what the Texas was capable of, and how it would compare to their own warships, both those that they'd stolen from other nations, and those that they'd built, and were building.

"Now then, let's see what goodies you brought for us today."

He then took a seat at the table just as his cabinet members (who collectively were known as "The Blackshore War Council") arrived in the throne room, and also took their seats. One of the engineers was also carrying a 1/350th scale model of the USS Texas, that had been created by him and others, based on the information that had been provided the trio of spies among her crew so far. For what it was, the model was pretty accurate to the real ship, and it was being used to compare the Texas to other models of the Black Baron's ships, and from this, they were able to determine that she was larger and heavier than anything they had, though now they would learn more about the ship's performance.

The Black Baron then gestured for Garran to open the package, which he did, before a Roshin servant came forward with a bag of gold coins to pay Garran for his service, which he gratefully accepted before bowing lightly, and exiting the throne room. Once he was gone, the scientists and engineers were pouring over the contents of the package, while also providing the information to the Griffon military commanders and war strategists. All of them were whispering among themselves, with some sounding deeply concerned, while others were in disbelief, or even sounded angry.

"Well? What have you lot learned?" The Black Baron asked them impatiently, and also with a hint of anger at being left out of the loop.

All of the War Council Members looked up as soon as he spoke, and all of their faces were a bit pale. However, one of the engineers then spoke up.

"From what we can tell, Sir, it's not good. In addition to also being larger and heavier than any ship we currently have, the USS Texas is also several knots faster, has much heavier armor, and her weapons? Absolutely devastating to any target coming at her from land, air, or sea. All of her trials with the Equestrian Navy were a resounding success, and no real faults with the ship were seemingly found."

"So, what would you all recommend?" The Black Baron asked.

"In my honest opinion, Sir. The Texas must be destroyed before she can become a real threat to us, or at the very least, damaged badly enough to send her to dry-dock for a while." One of the Military Strategists replied.

"I see. And what's the current status of 'Project Sun-Ship', all 3 Phases?" He asked the engineers assigned to that project.

After conferring for a moment with his colleagues, Arius, the Minotaur chief engineer of the project spoke up.

"The Project is coming along quite well, Sir. The ships themselves are sound (at least the ones for Phase 1 and Phase 2), but yet, we're still not entirely sure how the one for Phase 2 functions. However, what we've learned so far from the Texas has certainly helped to speed things up. At our current pace, we're engaging in sea-trials with the ship for Phase 1, the ship for Phase 2 could be ready for sea-trials here within the next month or so, around the time more ships for your Fleet are ready to enter service, and your war on the seas to ramp up."

"And what of the ship for Phase 3? The entire reason the project came into existence, and its namesake?" The Black Baron Asked.

"We're......still unsure, Sir." Arius replied hesitantly. "The ship was severely damaged, and it's much bigger than the ships from Phases 1-2. Repairs are ongoing, as are the upgrades you requested, but we won't know more until the ship from Phase 2 finishes its sea-trials, as it's more comparable in size and capability than the ship from Phase 1."

"I see. And how are the preparations coming for our upcoming assault on the Griffish Isles, both our naval and air forces, and our ground forces?"

A Griffon General then spoke up. "Our forces are nearly ready, Sir. We need a bit more time to finish stockpiling weapons, munitions, rations, and other vital supplies, as well as study the Isles's defenses for a bit longer to know all of their patterns, but we're almost all ready to go."

The Black Baron sat back in his chair, pondering all of the information he'd been given, on the USS Texas, on "Project Sun-Ship", and on the invasion plans for the Griffish Isles, and was trying to formulate a plan in his mind.

Finally though, after several long minutes, he spoke. "Ok, here's the deal everyone. First of all, keep 'Project Sun-Ship' on schedule, and ready for its sea-trials by the end of the month, as per your own statements." He informed the group responsible for that project.

"Sir, yes Sir."

"And secondly, I need constant updates on the status of our fleet of ships and airships for the invasion of the Griffish Isles, as well as updates on the required supplies for the invasion." He told the Military Commanders.

"Sir, yes Sir."

"And last of all, I need a plan for how to destroy/neutralize the USS Texas, based on the information we've gathered so far." He said, looking at the Military Strategists.

"We've got one right here, Sir. It's a bit risky, and does involve a lot of steps, as well as a list of things that have to go right, or nearly so, not to mention things we have to coordinate with our spies in Equestria and elsewhere, but it's a pretty solid plan if you're willing to commit the required naval forces and personnel." One of them replied, handing the Black Baron a large file folder.

Wordlessly, he took the file-folder from the Strategist, opened it, and began to read through it. At first, his expression was unreadable, and he was muttering inaudibly to himself, seemingly trying to calculate something. However, the more he read, the more a smile began to form on his face, until eventually, he looked back up at his War Council with a determined look, and a dark grin.

"Yes, I think this will do very nicely. Very nicely indeed." He then looked at his Generals and Fleet Commanders. "Gather your forces, and begin to prepare them for this operation at once. We'll strike within the next 14 days. Our current plan right now is to first sink, or cripple the Texas, and then following this, while the Equestrians are still reeling from the loss of their 'precious' new battleship, we strike at the Griffish Isles, conquer them, and destroy the Gateway Bridge, cutting off that vital link between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom. And then with the Islands firmly under our control, we can launch multiple raids against Equestria, the Griffon Kingdom, the Dragon lands, and Saddle Arabia, only now we'll be the biggest threat Equus had ever seen!"

He then began to laugh darkly, with some of his War Council joining in, while the rest were already leaving the throne room, going out to ready for their forces for the upcoming battles.

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 8. I'm sorry that this took so long to get out, I've been very busy with work, personal life, and severe writer's block, as well as working on other story projects, but now it's finally out, and I hope you all enjoy it. So now the Equestrians have seen firsthand just how powerful and capable the Texas's weapons are at destroying any threat, and in any kind of sea and weather conditions, and were left in total awe of it. David and Luna seem to be growing closer together, in spite of teasing from Celestia and Cadence, but yet at the same time, war clouds are on the horizon. The Black Baron has evil plans for the Griffish Isles, and plans to wipe out the Texas to prevent her from being a threat. So what's going to happen now? What exactly is the Black Baron's plan for destroying the Texas? What exactly is "Project Sun-Ship"? How long will Snapshot, and the other 2 Pony Spies be able to operate on the Texas before they're found out? How will David and Luna's relationship progress? What will be the event that triggers the war between the forces of Equus, and the Black Baron's forces? And what could possibly happen next? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned, and I'll tell you!

In the meantime though, as always, Comments, Questions, Feedback, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 9!

ScarFox out for now!