Out on the Texas, the situation at hand was still rather tense. Occasionally, we would spot movement from the shore, but aside from that, no other shots had been fired. No shots had been fired by our guys either, however, in order to give the gun crews a short break so that they wouldn't get too jumpy, crews were rotated around every 30 minutes or so, giving the gunners a chance to collect themselves, calm down, and just breathe. Then, after maybe grabbing some water, they would then rotate back to their guns. This system was working, but yet at the same time there was still a fear. There were only 200 guys on the Texas. If actual fighting broke out, there wouldn't be enough crew to man all the guns, and if people started getting injured, there were only 2 guys on the Texas who had been US Naval medics/corpsmen, and even then, both had been retired for over a decade, and now they had medical supplies from the Second World War, which they were unsure if they would be able to use in a crisis.

Up on the bridge, Captain Bob and I were watching the shoreline through the bridge windows with our binoculars like hawks, while Adam kept an eye on the bridge radar scopes, Dennis held the wheel, and Ted still stood by the engine order telegraph. I looked at my watch, and the time was about 9:30am now.

"Well, at least Time is running normally again at any rate." I then looked over at Captain Bob. "What do you think, Captain? How much longer are we gonna let this stalemate go on?"

He sighed. "Well, Ensign Gardner, what we really need is a better understanding of what we're up against. Yes, the fog has lifted, but we're still 7 miles away from the shoreline, and aside from the naval base, that city port, and some of the buildings along the coastline, we don't know what lies beyond them. We need a way to find out."

I thought for a second. "Well Sir, we do have the Kingfisher Seaplane on top of Turret 3. It works, and we have 2 guys on board with flight experience."

"Yes, you're right about that, Ensign Gardner, but yet, we also don't know if the enemy has any AA guns. If they do, that plane is only armed with one fixed forward-facing machine gun, as well as one flexible rear-facing machine gun, and I don't think that they'd be able to defend themselves against AA fire."

"Yes, though that is assuming that they even have effective AA guns. I mean, they have vintage warships, and zeppelins; what kind of AA guns could they have? Possibly machine guns, but even then, I don't think that they'd be able to hit the seaplane if they flew high enough. It's just a thought."

Captain Bob thought about that. While he was thinking, he checked with the radio room again. "Anything new to report?"

"Negative, Captain. We've stopped flipping radio frequencies, but we haven't heard anything new. I'm not sure if it's something with our radio, or they're not reaching out anymore, or what's going on. We're about to start reaching out again though."

"Ok, keep me informed."

"Roger that, Captain."

Captain Bob then decided to leave the bridge, and talk with the 2 pilots of the Kingfisher Seaplane, as well as a few engineers who knew how to launch the plane. As he was leaving, he told me that I was in charge until he got back, as I was the Texas's XO (Executive Officer, ie, second in command).

I saluted. "Yes, Sir."

Captain Bob then left for the main deck after informing them all to meet him by Turret 3, leaving me in charge for the first time.

Once Captain Bob was down on the main deck, he walked along the starboard side of the ship (so as to be out of sight of the shoreline as much as possible), and met up with Lt. Mike Watson, and Lt. Gary Mitchell, the 2 former US Navy pilots who were now in charge of flying the Kingfisher Seaplane, as well as 3 other engineers who would launch the plane from the top of Turret 3. When the Captain arrived, the 5 men saluted him.

"Captain."

"Gentlemen." He then turned to Mike and Gary. "I know that both of you are pilots, but how much experience do you have?"

"25 years in the Navy as a pilot, and service from then until the present day with the Commemorative Air Force out of Dallas. We have years of experience in flying, and years more in flying vintage aircraft like this." Mike informed him.

"Pretty much the same story as Mike. We served together, first in the US Navy, and now in the CAF. And let me guess, you've called us here because you need our services in scouting from the air?"

Captain Bob nodded. "Yes, that is indeed correct. We need to know what's waiting for us in that city, and we need a better lay of the land. I'm authorizing you Lt. Watson, and Lt. Mitchell to take our Kingfisher Seaplane, get it up in the air, and then fly the 7 miles to the city, and then fly around overhead. I want you to maintain constant radio contact, and be able to tell us what you see down below you. I also want pictures, and video, so you will be supplied with cameras. Since there are 2 of you, one of you will be the pilot, and the other will be the observer/photographer." Here Captain Bob's face turned grave. "And I'm not gonna sugarcoat this Boys, this mission could be the most dangerous mission of your lives. We don't know if those inland have AA guns, and if they do, they could have the range to hit your plane. However, this is the only way to really get a feel for what's going on over there. Are you willing to accept this mission?"

Mike and Gary then talked among themselves for a moment or so, before turning back to Captain Bob. Gary then spoke up.

"We know that this mission is dangerous, Sir, but it must be done. We're willing to take risks now, just like we used to do back in the day. Being shot at is nothing new for me, or Mike; we flew in Desert Storm!"

Captain Bob nodded, before turning to the engineers. "And do you all think that you can launch the plane?"

"We believe so, Sir. We have the schematics for the catapult, as well as training manuals for using it, so it shouldn't be too hard to launch the plane."

"Ok then, get the plane ready to go, and you two, Lt. Watson and Lt. Mitchell, need to gear up, and prepare yourselves for the mission ahead."

While the 2 lieutenants went to go gear up, the engineers began to check the plane over, and prepare to start up the engine. The Vought Kingfisher was the primary reconnaissance aircraft carried by almost all US battleships, and most heavy cruisers in WW2, had a range of 908 miles, a top speed of 171mph, and a service ceiling of 18,200ft. These planes had a large float on the bottom, as well as 2 floats under the wings so that once they returned to their motherships, they could land in the water, and then be hauled back onboard by a crane (some of them did have wheels that could be attached to the floats for use on land, though no one had looked to see if the Kingfisher Seaplane on the Texas had its wheels in storage somewhere on the ship yet). They weren't the prettiest planes ever, but they did their job to the best of their abilities.

The Kingfisher Seaplane on the USS Texas was one of only 6 remaining in the US, and came from storage at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California, and although its bureau number was unknown, it was marked "#13". It hadn't seen the light of day in years, until it was pulled out of storage, cleaned up, restored cosmetically, and donated to the USS Texas to be installed during her overhaul. Now, for the first time since it was retired, most likely at the end of WW2, this Kingfisher would take to the air again, the first one to do so in many decades.

Once the engineers had climbed up on top of Turret 3, they went over to the plane. After making sure that its main float was properly secured to the launcher on the catapult, they removed the cables and other lashings that had kept the Kingfisher in place during the storm. After this, they began to climb all over the plane to inspect it, just to make sure that it was airworthy.

"Tail's all good!"

"So are the wings!"

"Body and floats are all good! What about the fuel, oil, engine, propeller, and the guns?"

One of the engineers pried up part of the engine's cowling, before tinkering around a bit. "Engine's all good! We've got plenty of fuel and oil, and the spark plugs look good too."

"Propeller looks good!"

"So do the guns, and they're both loaded and ready to go!"

"And what about the interior? Is everything good there?"

2 of the engineers looked into the cockpit, as well as the rear-seat position. Sure enough, all of the controls were present and accounted for, everything was shiny and new, the seats looked brand new, as was the glass of the cockpit canopy, and the rear-seat canopy.

"Just like everything else on the Texas, this plane looks like she just rolled off the assembly line yesterday, Captain." One of the engineers reported to Captain Bob. "Everything is all good to go, and all we have to do now is start the plane's engine up. Are we clear to start it up?"

"Affirmative. Start the engine up!"

"Yes, Sir!" He then turned to the others. "Check that the seaplane is secured to the catapult one more time, and then get clear! I'm starting up the engine!"

"You're all good, Sir. It's locked into place!"

"Affirmative!"

The others ran to the ladder on the side of Turret 3, and climbed down to the ground. Once the others were down, the remaining engineer climbed into the plane's cockpit, and after making sure that everything was ready, he pulled the starter knob, and with a few coughs, as well as a little bit of smoke, the engine of the Kingfisher Seaplane turned over with very little coaxing, and soon roared to life. Others on the main deck who saw and heard the plane start up cheered that the startup had been successful, and the lead engineer reported once again to Captain Bob.

"It's all good, Captain!" He said as he climbed back out of the plane. "The pilots can take her up as soon as they're up here, and we've turned the turret to face out to sea!"

"Affirmative." Captain Bob then turned to Mike and Gary, who were all geared in in WW2-era US Navy aviation gear, and were ready for their mission. "One more time Gentlemen, are you ready for the mission at hand? This will be a very dangerous mission."

Both men nodded. "Yes, Sir, we're ready!"

"Good. Now then, as I'm sure that you're aware, your mission is to get to the city on the coast, fly over it, and see what you can see. Remain in constant radio contact, and take as many pictures and videos as you can, as we need as much information as possible."

Both men saluted. "Yes, Sir!"

However, Gary had a question. "Captain?"

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"If...if the worst happens, and we're shot down somehow, does that mean that you will fire on the city?"

Captain Bob nodded gravely. “Yes, Lt. Mitchell, it will. If you are shot down, then it means that the enemy is hostile, and we will be dealing with it. However, since they haven't done anything since we fired that warning shot, I'm hoping that they're just as scared as we are. But if the worst happens, we will be prepared for it."

"Understood, Sir."

They then flipped a coin to see who would be flying, and Mike won the toss. After this, some engineers got inside of Turret 3, turned it to port, and stopped once the turret's front, and by default the catapult, were pointed out to sea. Once they were ready, both Mike and Gary climbed up onto the top of Turret 3, and into the Kingfisher Seaplane. Mike climbed into the cockpit, and Gary climbed into the back. The engineers then helped the 2 men strap in, and then handed them both compasses, pistols, a flare gun, a number of signal flares, Mike was handed a compass, Gary was given several cameras and a video camera, and upon request, Mike was given a camera too just in case. They then put on their pilot helmets, and after a quick check, made sure that their radios were working, as well as the intercom that they would use to talk to each other. Once they were ready, they pulled their goggles down, and after giving the signal that they were ready, Mike pushed the plane's throttle to maximum, and revved the engine to top speed.

"They're ready! Launch the plane!" Captain Bob ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" On that order, the Kingfisher was released, and after picking up speed, it soon reached the end of its catapult, and while it stayed in the air for a moment, the seaplane soon fell down, and its floats hit the water. However, after running across the sea for a brief time, Mike pulled back on the stick, and the Kingfisher rose up into the air. Once the plane was airborne, everyone on the Texas cheered once again.

"Captain, we're airborne!" Mike reported over the radio.

"Yes, I can see that, Lt. Watson! Now we can get this show on the road. Get over to the city as soon as you can."

"Yes, Sir!" Soon after this, Mike began to bank the plane to the left, and had soon done a full 180 degree turn, and was flying back towards the Texas. The whole ship shuddered as the Kingfisher flew only about 200 feet overhead, and once past the Texas, Mike began to climb. His plan was to climb to about 8,000 feet, and then fly over the city. If it was proven to be safe, he would fly a little bit lower, but no lower than 5,000 feet.

"Good luck you guys." I thought as I watched the Kingfisher fly past the Texas with my binoculars. "Let's hope that you can finally see what's going on over there."

At the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, all eyes were still on the unknown warship located 7 miles offshore.

"Have they responded to any of our radio transmissions yet?" Sky Seas asked the radio technicians.

"Negative, Rear-Admiral. And strangely, they haven't sent out any transmissions for a while. It's almost like they've gone silent for some reason. We don't think that it's a problem on our end, so it's possibly a problem on their end. We're still trying to transmit, but we're still not getting anything."

"Ok. Keep me informed, and let me know the second you have anything on the radio."

"Yes, Sir."

"And what's the status on those 3 smaller vessels?" Sky Seas asked the radar technicians. "Are they still in the same position that they were in before?"

"Affirmative, Rear-Admiral. They haven't moved either."

"Hmm." Sky Seas mused to himself. "This is very strange. I wonder what...."

"Rear-Admiral!" Captain Hammer was pointing out to sea while looking through his spyglass. "Look at that! The warship is doing something!"

Worriedly, Sea Skies grabbed his own spyglass again, and looked at the unknown warship. Sure enough, he spotted movement amidships, and to his growing alarm, the ship's 3rd gun turret was moving. However, it was seemingly moving the wrong way.

"Wait. That turret is moving the wrong way. Why's it moving to port? It needs to turn to starboard to be aimed at us."

"I don't know, Captain. Perhaps something is wrong with the mechanism that moves the turret; maybe it can only turn in one direction."

However, moments after this, the turret seemed to stop moving, but before the Rear-Admiral or the Captain could say anything, a large light-blue object, which had previously been sitting on top of the turret, suddenly shot forwards, and seemingly landed in the sea.

"Ok, now that's just bizarre. First the turret turns the wrong way, and now it launches something into the ocean? What gives?"

"I have no idea Rear-Admiral. Maybe that was a weapon, and it malfunctioned."

As both stallions were still watching the warship, that strange blue object suddenly reappeared from behind it, only now it was flying! As they and others watched, the light-blue object, which seemed to be some sort of flying-machine, suddenly turned around, and was seemingly coming straight for the shore.

"Oh Sweet Celestia, it's coming right for us!" Captain Hammer yelled.

"Since when does that warship have a flying-machine onboard?!" A sailor cried in panic. "None of our ships have that!"

"Sir, do we try to shoot it down once it comes into range?" Another asked.

As the Rear-Admiral watched, the flying-machine seemed to be gaining more altitude. However, it would make landfall in a matter of minutes, and he had a very important decision to make. He knew that there were AA guns at the naval base, as well as AA guns at the Fillydelphia garrison, however, they were designed to hit large, low-flying airships, not high-flying small flying-machines like what was coming right then. The craft coming towards Fillydelphia could have been some kind of scout craft, or it just as easily could have been a weapon, or carrying a weapon. However, Sky Seas did have a plan, and quickly got in touch with General Coal Black, the stallion in charge of the Fillydelphia Garrison.

"General, I need you to answer a question for me, and I need the answer right now."

"What do you need Rear-Admiral?"

"Are your Pegasai scouts ready to take to the skies right now, and do they have weapons with them? We HAVE to stop that flying-machine if it proves to be hostile!"

"They most certainly are, Rear-Admiral! I can have 12 up in the air right now, and another 12 up in another minute or so! Do I give them the order to launch?"

"Yes, by all means give that order!"

"Roger that!" After General Coal Black put down his radio, he gave that order, and 12 armed and armored Pegasai scouts took to the skies, and began to rapidly fly on an intercept course towards where they thought that the flying-machine was going to be.

Once they were up in the air, Sky Seas watched the Pegasai scouts as they flew by. "I sure hope that those scouts can take down that flying-machine if it proves to be hostile, otherwise we're screwed!"

As the Kingfisher got closer and closer to the unknown city, Mike and Gary finally began to be able to see it very clearly. Even though they were approaching it at almost 8,000 feet, there was still a lot that they could see.

"We're closing in on the city fast, Texas!" Mike reported. "We're less than a mile out and closing!"

"And how high up are you?" Captain Bob asked.

"We're about 8,000 feet up, Captain."

"And what can you all see?"

"From where we are right now, we can see a lot of tall buildings. We won't be able to see too much at first, though a bit later, if I deem that it's safe, I'll drop down to about 5,000 feet, and then we might be able to see more."

"And you are taking pictures and video, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. Right now, Gary is doing most of the filming, but I might be able to take some later on."

"Ok, roger that."

Less than a minute later, the Kingfisher made landfall. Both Mike and Gary held their breath for a few moments, but nothing happened. No guns opened up on them, no rockets or missiles were fired, nothing at all happened. Gary was looking down at the ground, but aside from the tall buildings, and the outlines of the city port, and the naval base, not much else could be made out.

"It's because we're too high up." Gary mused. "Mike, we're going to have to go lower if we're going to be able to see anything."

"Yeah, you're right, Gary. Though have you snapped any pictures of those airships off to the right? The ones moored to that building that kinda looks like the Empire State Building?"

"Yeah, I did, Mike. And it's strange. Why would that building look like the Empire State Building? New York City is on Manhattan Island, not directly on the coast."

"I have no idea, Gary." He then radioed Captain Bob. "We're going lower, Captain. We won't be able to see anything from up here."

"Roger that, Kingfisher. And no hostile actions have been taken against you, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. It's been all clear so far. I'm just hoping that that stays the same once we drop lower. And just to verify, if we are attacked, our first priority is to evade and get to safety with our photos and video, and only fight if we have to, correct?"

"Same here Kingfisher, and yes, you are correct. Your first priority is getting to safety with the Intel, and if you have to fight to get away, do so, but if you can avoid it by evading, then do that."

"Yes, Sir."

Mike then began to ease the stick downwards, and in sweeping circles, he brought the Kingfisher down from 8,000 feet, down to 5,000 feet. Once they were down lower, a number of features of the city suddenly became clear, and there was a lot to report.

"Things are a lot clearer now Captain, and believe me, you're gonna want to hear this!"

"What do you see Lt. Watson?"

"We can see a lot of features closer to the ground, and from what we can see so far, this city seems to bear a lot of resemblance to Philadelphia, but yet there's a lot of features that don't match. From where we are right now, we can't seem to see any vehicles on the streets, but we can see what appear to be streetcars, as well as elevated trains, but yet they seem to be steam engines, rather than electric trains!"

"What?" Captain Bob was stunned. "That's incredible, Lt. Watson!"

"And that's not all, Sir." Gary added. "I've been able to make a lot of use of the zoom features on my cameras, and I've been able to see right down to street level, and what I've seen is a bit startling. I can't seem to see any people anywhere! Instead, all I can see are what appear to be a few bipedal....almost equine-like beings peering out of some of the buildings, but it's hard to hold the camera steady at that high of zoom to see for sure. I've snapped a lot of pictures, and have taken videos for analysis once we get back to the ship. This is getting really strange out here, Sir."

Captain Bob had no idea what to say, and neither did myself, or the others nearby who were listening to the reports from the Kingfisher.

"This is too weird." I muttered. "Where on Earth are we right now?"

"Unless, we're not even on Earth at all." One of the engineers added.

"I....I don't know what to say to that, Lt. Mitchell. This is just...too weird. I've never experienced anything like this in all my years of being in the Navy! And have you been able to fly over the city port, and the naval base yet?"

Mike was a bit concerned. "We're flying over there now, Captain. We might be able to fly over the city port safely, however, there might be trouble once we get close to the naval base. We're definitely going to try to get close to it, but if it gets too hot, we'll have to bug out."

"Yes, that would be tolerable Lt. Watson. I'll be very eagerly awaiting to see what you can see."

"Will do, Captain."

Mike and Gary then flew on towards the city port, and the shipyard, little knowing that they were being watched from the clouds above them, and those watching them were none too pleased to see them there.

"We're flying over that city port now, Captain. "Gary reported, "And it looks like there's a lot of sudden activity going on down there."

"What do you mean, Lt. Mitchell?"

"I mean that before we started to fly over, not too much out of the ordinary seemed to be happening, but once we were overhead, then a lot of activity started up. There's a lot of figures running around the various docks and piers, and some on the ships too. I can't tell what's going on, but it might be because of us."

"And what does it look like down there?"

"Eh...reminds me of the aerial pictures that I've seen of the Port of Baltimore back in the 40's. I can see cranes from yesteryear loading and unloading what look to be tramp steamers, freighters, grain ships, and possibly even ships carrying coal. It all looks straight out of a page of a history book of 1940's America just prior to WW2, and I've never seen anything like it."

Captain Bob was silent for a few moments. "Hmm. So it seems that this city, or the nation that it may be attached to have achieved the level of technology of perhaps circa-1940. Way behind what we're used to, but yet, still fairly impressive, even more so due to the fact that it seems so familiar to us. And how far are you from the naval base?"

"We're leaving the city port now, and we'll be heading to it momentarily."

"Ok, roger that."

Gary then let go of his radio, and picked his camera again. However, just as he did so, he thought that he saw a large shadow fly overhead.

"Huh?" He looked up, and all around the sky around the Kingfisher, but he didn't see anything. "Hey, Mike?"

"Yeah, Gary?"

"Did you see a big shadow pass overhead, or am I trippin'?"

"I didn't see anything, but then again, I wasn't looking."

Gary was about to say something, but then he clearly saw a reddish blur whiz by the Kingfisher at high speed.

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, now THAT I did see!" Mike called.

"What was that?!"

"I have no idea! Birds don't fly that fast, do they?!"

"I didn't think so!"

However, before they could say anything else, the Kingfisher was suddenly surrounded by large, flying creatures. They seemed to be anthropomorphic horses, but yet they had wings. They were also wearing what seemed to be military uniforms and armor, and they were flying dangerously close to the Kingfisher.

".......Are you seeing this Mike?" Gary croaked out.

"Yep.....I'm seeing it alright. We must have crashed and died, because I would SWEAR that we're seeing Pegasai wearing military uniforms and armor, and have surrounded us!"

Just as Mike was about to say something else, several of the Pegasai flew closer, and began to deliberately bump against the Kingfisher, and hit it with their fists, causing it to shudder!

"Whoa!"

"Dang!" Mike then grabbed the stick, yelled for Gary to hold on, and he then began to pull up into a steep climb, while also shaking the wings to try and keep the Pegasai from bumping and hitting the Kingfisher again.

However, the Pegasai managed to stay with the Kingfisher, and were seemingly aggressively trying either force it in a certain direction, or testing the reactions of Mike and Gary. Gary was keeping the cameras all rolling, but just then, a Pegasus grabbed the edge of the rear compartment in the plane, before grabbing at him, and was either trying to climb inside, or drag him out!

"Shit!" Gary frantically reached around inside the rear compartment, and when his hand closed over what he thought was a gun, he pulled it out, and fired it at the attacking Pegasus.

He was only trying to scare it off, but to his surprise, he'd just fired a flare from a flare-gun at it. The flare shot out, missing the Pegasus by inches, and once it exploded, it did seem to startle the other attacking Pegasai a bit, and the one trying to grab him let go and disappeared. Mike then also fired a flare, though his was at a Pegasus who was swinging what looked like a large chain dangerously close to the Kingfisher's propeller. His flare hit the wings of the Pegasus, and it seemed to scream in pain before breaking off its attack. Suddenly, the Kingfisher's radio came to life.

"Kingfisher, what's going on up there? We're seeing flares out here!"

"Texas, we're under attack up here!" Mike yelled.

"WHAT?!?!" You're under attack?! By who?!"

"Armed and armored anthropomorphic Pegasai, Captain! Whoa!" Mike then veered to the right to dodge what seemed to be either a flare, or possibly some kind of incendiary device fired at the Kingfisher. "They're all over the plane! I can't shake them!"

"You're being attacked by Pegasai?!"

"Yes! We're not sure where they came from, but they came suddenly!" Gary reported. "They just flew alongside us for a few seconds, and then they began to hit the plane with their bodies and fists hard enough to rattle it, and then one of them was either trying to climb into the back, or drag me out, and I shot a flare at it to scare it off!"

"And I fired a second flare at a Pegasus that was swinging a chain close to the propeller! The flare hit it, but I didn't see how bad. What do we do Captain?!"

Now Captain Bob had another tough decision to make. He didn't want to have to order the Kingfisher to open fire if it could be avoided, but yet, they had to make it back to the ship in one piece with their Intel.

"Fall back, I say again, fall back right now! Return to the Texas with all of the pictures and video that you've taken! Open fire on the attackers if you have to, but if you can keep them at bay with flares, then do that! They haven't opened fire on you, so don't fire unless you're fired upon!"

"Yes, Sir!" Mike then banked hard to the right, brought the plane around in a tight turn, and pointed it back towards the Texas. He then opened up the throttle to maximum, and soon reached the plane's max speed of 171mph.

Mike and Gary did have to continue to repel Pegasai attacks with flares, but the closer they came to the open ocean, the less the attacks became. Finally, once the Kingfisher was out of the city entirely, the Pegasai stopped attacking altogether. Gary looked back, and he saw the Pegasai holding their position close to the edge of the city. He saw them shaking their fists at the Kingfisher, but yet made no moves to follow them any further. Just before Gary turned back to face forwards again, he looked back at the city itself one more time, and he saw what looked to be a railroad track running into the hills behind it. For a brief moment, Gary caught sight of a train just starting to crest the top of one of the hills, but then Mike pushed the plane downwards, and he lost sight of the train. Both men were glad to be alive, and were still wondering what they had just experienced.

"We chased it off, Rear-Admiral! That flying-machine retreated as soon as we started to make things hot for it, and the 2 beings inside!"

"Wait, there were 2 beings inside of it?" Sky Seas asked.

"Yes, Sir. They were seemingly bipedal, and it was a bit hard to tell as they were wearing dark uniforms, gloves, and helmets with goggles, but instead of fur, they seemed to have flesh on their faces. We spotted guns on the flying-machine, but yet the 2 beings never made any moves to use them. Maybe they really were on a scouting mission."

"And where is the flying-machine now, Commander Bright?"

"It flew away from the city, and appears to be heading back to its mothership."

"Keep your eyes on it, and the warship it’s returning to. I want to know IMMEDIATELY if it comes back!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Captain Hammer then turned to Sky Seas. "Well, I guess that we know now that the flying-machine was harmless, or at least, harmless enough. If it was here to attack us, then they would have already done it. Perhaps it was only here to scout around."

"It appears so, Captain. And I'll certainly have to send General Coal Black my compliments for his Pegasai Scouts, and all their hard work. I knew that it was risky for them to attack from the clouds above the flying-machine, and for them to just try and 'shoo it' away from the Naval Yard, only firing if they had to, but I see now that it was the right thing to do. They were also able to snap pictures of it as it flew beneath them, so maybe once those photos are analyzed, we'll know a bit more about it." Sky Seas then paused. "Though that does raise the question, what did the crew of that flying-machine see, and how much are they going to tell the others on the warship?"

"That is indeed the million-Bit question, Rear-Admiral. I think that it's safe to assume that they saw almost everything save for the Naval Yard, and from what Commander Bright told us, those in the flying-machine may have been taking pictures of what they were seeing too. Now the question is though, what are they going to do with that information?"

"I do not know, Rear-Admiral."

Moments after this, just as Sky Seas sent orders for the photos that the Pegasai scouts took to be analyzed, he received another report from the radio technicians.

"Rear-Admiral! We've made contact with the unknown warship!"

Both Hammer and Sky Seas froze. Their radio technicians had made contact with the unknown warship? It didn't seem possible, but both of them flew to where the radio operators were just as fast as they could. However, when they arrived, they received some bad news.

"What? What do you mean 'you lost them'?!"

The lead radio tech was confused. "Just what I said, Sir. Briefly, we heard a male voice talking over the radio, asking why their battleship was being attacked, but then it went dead, and the signal dropped. Something may have gone wrong with the warship's radio."

"Well, keep trying to raise them. I need to inform the Princesses about what's been going on here since my last report, and she'll inform the Element Bearers."

"Yes, Sir." One of the other techs then began to forward the Rear-Admiral's report to Canterlot.

As their train continued to hurtle towards Fillydelphia, the Mane 6 continued to talk among themselves about what they could be facing.

"I really hope that this just turns out to be a case of mistaken identity", Rarity was saying. "It would be so horrible if we actually had to fight. I mean, I'm not saying that we couldn't, I'm saying that combat would ruin my mane, and I just had it done yesterday!"

Applejack shot Rarity a look. "Really, Sugarcube? You're gonna go there right now? We're facing a possible invasion, and all you can think about is yer gosh-durn mane?!"

Twilight intervened before things could escalate any further. "Girls, please! Now is NOT the time to be arguing like this!"

Rarity sighed. "Yes, you're right, Darling. What I said before was rather selfish of me."

"And I'm sorry for snappin' at ya, Rares."

"I just wonder who they are though. Are they enemy, or are they just lost?"

Twilight looked at her. "What do you mean by that, Pinkie?"

She shrugged. "Well, if they were enemy, why haven't they shot at us yet? They only fired that one shot, and when they did that, it's almost like they were scared."

Twilight thought about that. "I'm not sure, Pinkie. I'd like to think that, but yet, if they weren't enemy, why haven't they contacted us yet? Surely if they were from another nation, or even just lost, then they would have tried to contact us, either by radio, or by signal lamp. But since they haven't, and are alongside Fillydelphia in a threatening manner, until we know more, then I fear that we must assume that the warship is hostile, and could open fire at any time." She then paused. "But that's the one thing that still bothers me. If they really were hostile, why did they wait so long to go to Red Alert, and man their weapons? That's the one thing that still makes no sense to me, and nopony else seems to have any answers either."

"Yeah, that is weird, Twilight." Applejack agreed. "That's the first thing that I hope we get an answer for when we get to Fillydelphia."

"I just hope that that ship isn't a diversion."

"What do you mean, Spike?" Twilight asked him.

"Well, like some of those stories from past wars that you told me about, what if the Black Baron is using that one warship as a decoy, and while we're all worried about it, he sends forces to invade elsewhere?"

All of the other girls froze when Spike said that. However, Twilight did have an answer. "Yes, I could see where you would be worried about that, and granted, it's still a possibility, however, the radars at the naval bases in Manehattan, and Baltimare are also watching the seas, as are other ships, and Pegasai air patrols, but no other vessels have been sighted that haven't either been identified, or identified themselves. Aside from that one warship, and those other 3 smaller vessels, there doesn't seem to be any other immediate danger."

"Immediate danger." Rainbow Dash muttered. "When we get to Fillydelphia, I'll show the crew of that warship 'immediate danger'!"

"Um, Rainbow, I really don't think that that's a good idea." Fluttershy told her. "That might just make them mad."

"Yeah, and if they get mad, then they might just up and start shootin!" Applejack added. "We're tryin' to avoid a war here, not start one!"

"Yes, you're right, Applejack. If you just rush out to fight them, Rainbow Dash, that could be the trigger to start a war, and if that happens, then Ponies could die. Though if that warship fires again, then the Ponies of the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, and the soldiers at the Fillydelphia garrison will swing into action."

"Well then why are we going, if not to fight, Twi?"

"Good question, Rainbow. We're going to see what's going on, hopefully see who's ship that is, and who crews her, and if an attack does happen, then we'll be using the Elements of Harmony to shield the city while the civilians are evacuated, and we leave the actual fighting to the trained professionals; we won't fight unless we absolutely have to."

Rainbow Dash grumbled a bit, and while she did apologize for being rash, she did say that she hoped that something would happen that would require fighting. She should have been a bit careful about what she wished for, as when the train was about an hour away from Fillydelphia, Spike suddenly burped out a report from Princess Celestia, which he then handed to Twilight.

"What is it, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her.

"Well, just moments ago, another report came in from Fillydelphia. The warship did something else, and there was a lot of fuss because of it."

When Twilight said that, it became so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop, and the tension was so think you could have cut it with a knife.

"What....what happened, Darling?"

"Did....did the warship shoot again?" Fluttershy asked with dread.

Twilight sighed. "Apparently, another one of the other turrets on the unknown warship moved. Turret 3, which previously still had its guns in their default position, was now turning, but surprisingly, it turned its guns to face away from the shore."

The others were surprised. "Huh? Why would they do that Twilight? Did something malfunction on the ship?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think so. Listen to this. 'It was clear that something was happening, but then a light blue object was launched from the top of the turret, and out into the sea. It disappeared behind the warship for a moment, before it appeared again, though it soon became clear that this object was a flying-machine of some sort. It started flying towards the shore, and once it was over the city, has begun to circle around it. It's still not fully known what this flying machine is trying to do, though it appears to have been scouting the city. Some Pegasai scouts tried to get close to the flying-machine to try and divert it away from the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, but were attacked by flares fired from the 2 beings who were operating it, and a few were injured. Nevertheless, the Pegasai kept up the pressure, and eventually the flying-machine made a very hard turn, and raced back out to sea at full speed, and has seemingly been recovered by the unknown warship. The flying-machine hasn't reappeared yet, but we're watching that warship like a hawk.' Oh wow." Twilight's eyes suddenly went wide.

"What?" Spike asked.

"For a brief time, the radio technicians at the Fillydelphia Naval yard were able to contact the unknown warship! It was only briefly, but long enough to hear what appeared to be a male voice ask why their battleship was under attack. The technicians said that they lost the signal just after that. They think that something went wrong with the warship's radio, and the report ends here."

The others looked at her in surprise. The unknown warship had been carrying a flying-machine of some sort, and had deployed it over the city for a time? What was the purpose of it? Was it a weapon of war, or was it for scouting purposes like the Rear-Admiral believed? None of them knew, though they all added it to the list of things to figure out when they arrived. And for a brief time, the warship had established contact with the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, but then the signal was dropped. Had something gone wrong with the warship's radio, or was something else was going on? One thing was clear, this situation was escalating, and more guns could be fired soon. The train sped on towards Fillydelphia, and the Mane 6 and Spike were really hoping that they could diffuse the situation before it got any worse.

For pretty much the entire 7-mile trip back to the Texas, Gary and Mike were in complete silence. They were grateful that they were still alive, but yet, were still in a state of severe shock. What had they just experienced? Why were they attacked by anthropomorphic Pegasai? Did they kill any of them with the flares that they'd fired? Had they just started a war because of what they did? And what would happen now? These, and so many other questions were running through their minds at 1000mph. Once they were close enough to Texas, Mike got on the radio.

"Kingfisher to Texas, Kingfisher to Texas, we're on our final approach. Are we cleared to land, over?"

One of the engineers quickly picked up his radio. "Affirmative Kingfisher, you're all cleared to come in. Come in off the port side, land in the water, and then idle up to the sides. We'll then get the crane into position, and haul you guys back up."

"Roger that."

Mike then brought the plane towards Texas's port side, and after pulling back the throttle, soon splashed into the sea maybe 100 feet away from the Texas, and once he'd come to a stop, he throttled up the engine just enough to start moving the plane, and brought it alongside Texas. Once he was alongside Turret 3, the port side crane moved into position, and the hook was lowered down to the Kingfisher. Once it was down, Gary attached it to the hook on the fuselage of the Kingfisher, and once it was secured, the crane hauled the plane up into the air, swung it over Texas's deck, and placed it back on the catapult on top of Turret 3. Mike then fully shut the engine off, and he and Gary just sat in silence for a few minutes longer. Other engineers saw that the plane's wings, tail, and fuselage were covered in large dents, and a number of scratches, and they too were thankful that Mike and Gary had made it back safely. (However, they were not thankful that they would now have to buff out all those dents, and fix the scratches, but they didn't show it). Once Gary and Mike were out of the plane, they gathered up all of their cameras, which were then taken immediately to Captain Bob, who met them on the main deck, and brought them down to the officer's mess, where all of the photos and video would be reviewed.

In the officer's mess, the cameras were hooked up to a laptop belonging to one of the engineers, and all of the photos and videos were then copied off of them, and after a projector was hooked up to the laptop (someone had brought a projector for a movie night), everything was then displayed on a wall of the officer's mess, and viewed by Captain Bob, myself, a few other officers, and of course, Mike and Gary.

"I'm so thankful that you Boys made it back in one piece. I was getting VERY worried, especially when I heard that you were under attack."

Both men saluted. "We did what we had to do, Captain. I just hope that a lot can be learned from our Intel."

"I hope so too, Lieutenants."

We all then began to look over what Mike and Gary had brought back.

While the footage and pictures were being looked over, in the Texas's radio room, one of the engineers there was slowly flipping through the channels again, when all of a sudden, he suddenly thought that he heard a voice.

"Wait, what?" He listened closer.

"What is it Walt?" Another engineer asked.

"I'm not sure, Sir. I thought that for a second I heard......" He froze.

"What?"

"Listen!" Walt then flipped a switch, and everyone in that radio room heard the sound of a male voice asking the unknown warship off the coast of Fillydelphia to identify itself.

"Did they say off the coast of Philadelphia?! We're off the coast of Philadelphia?!"

Walt was confused. "I think so."

"We'd better tell Captain Bob about this!" the lead engineer urged

Walt agreed. "Yeah, but first, I'm going to answer that voice. We might be able to end this standoff right now!" He then flipped a few switches. "Attention unknown voice. Why are you attacking our battleship? I say again, why are you attacking our battleship?"

"Say plane!" Someone called. "Ask them why they attacked our Kingfisher!"

"Right!" Walt then froze. "Huh? What?" He then began to fiddle with the radio.

"What? What's wrong?"

"The radio just went dead!"

The others in the room froze. "What? What do you mean that it went dead, Walt?"

"Just what I said! The doggone thing just went ka-put!"

"Dagnabbit!" All of them then began to look at the radio. It had power, but what was wrong with it? Eventually, they realized that it must have blown a vacuum tube or two.

"Oh well that's just f@#kin' peachy! How the f@#k do we fix a vacuum tube?! Or better still, how the f@#k do we even know what tube is the problem?!"

None of the men in that room had an answer for that. Few of them had ever even seen a vacuum tube in their lives, and of those who did, none of them knew how to test one to see if it was blown. Sheepishly, Walt had to radio Captain Bob for help, and after explaining the situation, a general call went out to everyone on the ship.

"Attention, attention! Will anyone with experience in using/testing vacuum tubes please report to the main radio room immediately. We almost had contact with those who shot at us, and we need to contact them again as soon as possible!"

Luckily, there were a few onboard Texas who knew how to use, and test vacuum tubes, and they got to the radio room as fast as they could, one of them bringing a tube-tester that was retrieved from a storage closet. Once they got to the radio room, they all got to work immediately on trying to fix the radio, and identify which tubes had blown out.

While this was happening, those of us in the officer's mess were still looking over the photos and videos, as well as talking about what Walt had heard over the radio.

"Philadelphia? How could this be Philadelphia? We've compared the photos to aerial maps of the city that whoever owns this laptop had on there as possible wallpaper, and while some features match, others don't. Plus, Philly was NEVER inhabited by problematic, plane-punching Pegasai!"

Captain Bob was perplexed. "I'm just as confused as you are, Ensign Gardner. This makes no sense." He then looked at the video that Gary was taking as he was being attacked again. "What kind of crazy world is this? Are we on Earth? Are we on another world like Earth? There's so many unknowns here, and that scouting mission has seemingly only brought on more questions than answers."

I sighed. "Yeah. If only we could get that radio working. Then, maybe we can FINALLY figure out what the hell is going on, where the hell we are, and FINALLY make some gosh-darn sense out of this friggin' side-show!"

Captain Bob slowly nodded. "Yes, and hopefully that won't be too much longer. They're working as fast as they can, but those radios have a LOT of vacuum tubes in them, and there could be more than one that blew out. Let's just hope that they can get it fixed before whoever is over there in 'Philadelphia' decides to start shooting at us again!"

I shivered a bit, but did agree with him. And while we kept analyzing all of the photos and videos, the others were working tirelessly to fix the radio before anything else could happen.

Maybe 30 minutes after Texas retrieved her Kingfisher, the train containing the Mane 6 pulled into the station in Fillydelphia. As the 6 of them and Spike disembarked, they looked all around them, but aside from themselves, they couldn't see a single soul anywhere on the station platform, and their train was the only one there....until it pulled out anyway. Now aside from a few birds, and some blowing trash, they were seemingly the only ones in the entire train station.

"Wow. This is so eerie. It's almost like something straight out of a horror movie." Spike said with a slight shiver.

"Yeah, except that it's daytime, still in the morning, I might add, and on top of that, the whole city is still on lockdown because of the unknown warship. Only essential personnel will be out and about, while all others are sheltering in their homes and businesses."

Spike gave Twilight a look. "Way to ruin the vibe, Twilight. I was having a moment here!"

Now she gave Spike a look. "And this is one of the reasons why I don't like you watching horror movies; suddenly everything has to relate to one!"

"Um, he's kinda right, Twi." Pinkie added. "Maybe not quite like a scary horror movie, but still eerie!"

"So, where do we go from here, Twi? Do we try to get to the Naval Yard?" Applejack asked.

Twilight was just about to reply, but before she could, the group were approached by a stallion in an Equestrian Navy officer's uniform, flanked by several Equestrian MP's (Military Police). Once he was in front of them, he saluted briskly.

"Good morning, Princess Twilight and Company. I am Captain Hammer of the Equestrian Navy, and it is my privilege and honor to welcome you to Fillydelphia, though I wish it was under more favorable circumstances."

"At ease, Captain." Twilight told him. "And we're glad to be here, though like you, I wish that it was under more favorable circumstances. Has anything changed since the Rear-Admiral's last report?"

Captain Hammer shook his head. "No, Princess. Everything is still the same, though some of those at the Naval Yard did get to see the blue flying-machine hauled back onto the top of the 3rd turret with a crane. Other than this, everything else has remained the same, and we're still trying to contact anyone on that warship."

"So they've either fallen silent, or are having radio trouble?"

"That appears to be the case, Princess. Our signals aren't going through, so it appears that they're having problems. Or maybe they just don't want to talk. Unfortunately, like so much else in this situation, we don't know what's really going on." He then looked at the others, and then at their baggage. "Well, we probably shouldn't be dallying here all day; we should probably be getting over to the Naval Yard, as Rear-Admiral Sky Seas is very eagerly awaiting your arrival. If you would be so kind as to follow me, my MP's will get all of your luggage."

"Certainly, Captain!"

Twilight and Co then began to follow him as he walked away from the station platform, and the MP's began to collect all of the baggage. However, there were plenty of groans from the poor MP's who had to grab Rarity's mountain of trunks and bags! Once they were out of the train station, they walked a few blocks to a streetcar station, and once the driver saw who they all were, he agreed to take them to the Naval Yard, which was the last stop on that particular streetcar line. As the streetcar moved along, Twilight and Co looked out of the windows at the streets of Fillydelphia, and they were so shocked to see them bare and empty, though they could occasionally spot Ponies looking out of the windows of various buildings at them.

"It's so bizarre to see the whole city like this." Applejack muttered. "A whole city ground to a complete halt 'cuz of that unknown warship, and later 'cuz of that flyin'-machine."

"Yeah, it is, Applejack. It's so eerie." Fluttershy shivered. "I hope that we can resolve this soon without any more problems."

"Me too, Sugarcube."

A short while later, the streetcar reached the last stop just outside of the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, and while the MP's once again gathered the baggage, and transported it into the base, and into a section of the barracks where VIP's were allowed to stay on official visits, the Mane 6 and Spike were ushered towards a large building by Captain Hammer, and it was in front of this building that they met Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, who saluted them.

"Princess Twilight, Elements, Spike the Dragon, welcome to the Fillydelphia Naval Yard. I just wish that our meeting could have been under more favorable circumstances."

"So do I, Rear-Admiral. And has anything happened since the flying-machine left the city?"

"Negative, Princess. Once the flying-machine was recovered by the unknown warship, and there was a brief moment of communication before the radio went silent, nothing else of note has happened. The warship is still holding its position, as are the 3 smaller vessels."

"And can we go to a place where we can see it?"

"Certainly, Princess. If you would kindly follow me, I'll take you up to the roof of this building. You'll have the best view from up there, and it's where Captain Hammer and I have been watching the vessel for some time."

"Lead the way, Rear-Admiral."

They were all then ushered into the building, and quickly made their way up to the roof.

Once they were all up there, Sky Seas waved them over to the side where he and Hammer had the best view of the ship.

"There she is, the unknown warship. Still sitting 7 miles off our coast, with the guns of 3 of her main gun turrets pointed at us."

Binoculars were provided for the Mane 6 and Spike, and when they looked at the ship, even with their own eyes, they gasped in surprise. It was indeed a very large warship, seemingly a battleship, painted all dark blue, had 5 main gun turrets, a number of what appeared to be smaller guns, a single stack was belching smoke, a tall mast with what looked to be a large windowed box on top of it was over the superstructure, and another mast could be spotted towards the stern. The flying-machine was still on top of Turret 3, and Twilight could just barely make out a white "35" on the ship's bow, as well as something else in white at the stern, but it made no sense to her.

"What's a 'Texas'?" Twilight wondered.

"I don't know either, Twilight. Maybe that's the name of the ship?"

"Maybe, Pinkie. Or maybe that's the class of warship." Twilight then noticed a large flag at the stern of the warship. Thanks to the wind, and her Magic enhancing her binoculars, she was able to see that it had 7 red stripes, 6 white stripes, and a large blue rectangle with what appeared to be 48 white stars on it.

"Any idea what that flag is, Rear-Admiral?"

Sky Seas shook his head. "Negative, Princess. It's certainly not the Flag of Equestria, and it's not a flag of any other nation that I recognize, but yet, it's also not the Black Baron's Flag, so I don't know who's flag it is."

"And have any more scouting teams been sent out to get a closer look at the warship?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That's also a negative, Rainbow Dash. Our scouts chased the flying-machine to the edge of Fillydelphia Harbor, but not beyond it, and no teams have been sent to get a closer look at the warship. We don't want any unnecessary deaths, as we still do not know what we're dealing with here."

Rainbow then looked at Twilight, who shut that down before she could even open her mouth.

"No! Absolutely not Rainbow Dash! You are NOT going out there! Why can you never use your head in situations like this?!"

"Yeah, are you tryin' to start a war, Sugarcube? Because just flying out there unannounced is how you start a war!" Applejack scolded.

"Flying out there unannounced?! THEY just decided to pop in here unannounced, AND they haven't responded to any attempts at communication! They should have been blown out of the water already!"

"Which they would have been if they had opened fire on the city!" Sky Seas now got involved, and his tone was that of a drill-sergeant. "Need I remind you, Miss Rainbow that we have enough firepower with our shore batteries alone to level a conventional invasion fleet at 10 miles, and more than enough to deal with that single unknown warship at 7 miles! Think for a moment; if I genuinely believed that that warship was an immediate and present danger, don't you think that I already would have taken serious action against it? It's ONLY still floating because I have allowed it to! Now you need to remember your place here, Miss Rainbow. I am in charge of this operation, not you! Now have a seat!" (Sky Seas knew full well that there were no seats up on the roof, but he hoped that he got his point across).

"Y-yes, Sir!" Rainbow then actually sat down on the roof!

Twilight looked at Sky Seas, and both of them had to work EXTREMELY hard to keep from bursting out laughing, as did Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and even Fluttershy. It was pretty clear that Rainbow had just been shown who was the boss, and by an Equestrian Navy Rear-Admiral no less! Rainbow Dash had never felt more embarrassed than she did right at that moment, and used her wings to hide her face. However, this hilarious scene was soon to be interrupted.

"Rear-Admiral!" Captain Hammer suddenly came running up onto the roof.

"What is it, Captain?"

"Sir, the radio techs have reestablished contact with the unknown warship! Their radio went down due to faulty vacuum tubes on their end, but now they're back, and the captain of the warship is waiting to speak to you!"

When they heard that, the eyes of everypony and Spike went wide.

"You've reestablished contact with the unknown warship, and the captain of said warship is waiting to speak to me?"

"Yes, Sir."

Sky Seas then began to follow Captain Hammer all the way to the building where the radios were, followed closely by the Mane 6 and Spike. They too wanted to be there for this First Contact meeting, and they hoped to finally be able to get answers to all of their questions.

Around the same time that the train carrying the Mane 6 and Spike pulled into the train station in Fillydelphia, the engineers on the Texas were still trying to figure out what was wrong with the radio. They had to remove each individual vacuum tube, test it with the tube tester, and then either put it back where they got it, or if it was burned out, replace it. So far, only two tubes were bad, but the radio still wasn't working, which meant that there were at least one or two more busted tubes.

"What's the status down there?" Captain Bob asked from the officer's mess where he and I were still looking over the videos and photos. "Is it ready for use yet?"

"It should be ready soon, Captain. We have about 10 more tubes to check, and at least one of those tubes is bad, so once we replace it/them, the radio should be working again."

"Ok, but please hurry. Every minute we're radio silent is another minute that we're creeping closer and closer to possible war that could have been avoided."

"We know, Sir. Give us another 10 minutes or so."

It actually took another 15 minutes, but once the last tube was checked, found to be bad, replaced, and then the whole radio was fully put back together, it seemed to be working again. "The radio looks good captain, we're about to start transmitting again now."

"Ok, I'm on my way. Start transmitting, and see if you can raise them again."

"Yes, Sir." Walt, the engineer who had been at the radio before it went down then took his seat again, and once the radio was turned back on, he was about to start transmitting on the same frequency as before, but then a message came through.

"Attention unknown warship, attention unknown warship. This is the radio operations center at the Fillydelphia Naval Yard. You have entered the territorial waters of the sovereign nation of Equestria. Please identify yourself, and state your intentions, or you will be subject to the full firepower of the Equestrian Navy!"

There was a minute or so of silence while everyone was looking at each other with unease and worry, but Walt was able to compose himself, and then send a reply.

"Attention, attention. To anyone listening on this frequency at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, this is Lt. Walt Dayton onboard the American battleship USS Texas BB-35, of the US Navy. Our vessel was attacked earlier this morning, as was our scouting plane that we sent over your city. We are very much lost, and we come in peace. We also apologize for not responding sooner, but we were having trouble with our radio, due to blown out vacuum tubes. Please respond, over."

There was a pause. "USS Texas, USS Texas, we would like to speak to the captain of your vessel. Please put him on the radio."

"Certainly, but for our records, could you please identify yourselves, and tell us where we are?" As he was saying this, Walt made the motions for one of the engineers to make sure that Captain Bob was close to the radio room.

"I am Lt. Green Glade of the Equestrian Navy, stationed at the radio operations center at the Fillydelphia Naval Yard, here in the city of Fillydelphia, part of the sovereign nation of Equestria."

When the voice on the other end of the radio said that, everyone in the Texas's radio room was stunned. Were they really just this lost, or were they not anywhere near Earth anymore? How could that be Philadelphia? And who names their kid "Green Glade"?

As they were still contemplating this though, Captain Bob came into the radio room, and picked up a radio headset. "Hello Lt. Green Glade, this is Captain Robert Hogan, Commanding Officer of the USS Texas. I was informed that you wanted to speak to me."

"Yes, Captain, I certainly did. You, your crew, your vessel, and the crews of the 3 smaller vessels are trespassing in Equestrian territorial waters, refused to identify yourselves when asked repeatedly, fired a shot at our shoreline, and sent a flying-machine over our city. These are very serious offenses, and could carry serious punishments if we so choose to take action. Please state your intentions."

"Lt Green Glade, we're nothing more than hopelessly lost. We were traveling from Mobile, Alabama, back to our native Texas, or more specifically, the coastal city of Galveston, when we were caught in a storm, and woke up in a calm sea. We were still trying to get home, but after hours of traveling, we ended up off your coast. You then fired a shot, which we responded to in kind, but it was a warning shot only. Now then, I request to speak to a superior officer, as we now wish to open direct lines of communications now that our radio is repaired to hopefully calm this situation down. We come in peace, and have no quarrels with you."

There was a few moments of silence. "Request granted. We will have Rear-Admiral Sky Seas on the radio momentarily."

After this, Lt. Green Glade sent a messenger to inform Captain Hammer, who in turn sent word to Sky Seas that he was needed immediately at the radio operations center, as contact had been made with the unknown warship, and that the vessel's captain was standing by to talk to him.

When Sky Seas arrived at the radio operations center, he picked up a headset. "This is Rear-Admiral Sky Seas of the Equestrian Navy, Commanding Officer of the Fillydelphia Naval Yard. Am I speaking to the captain of the warship off my coast?"

"Yes, Sir. As I told Lt. Green Glade, I am Captain Robert Hogan of the US Navy, the Commanding Officer of the battleship USS Texas BB-35 of the US Navy. We did not intend to trespass into the territorial waters of the nation of Equestria, and are simply hopelessly lost. Our intentions are entirely peaceful."

"And why did your ship fire on us, Captain Hogan? Were you sent by the Black Baron?"

"Well, Rear-Admiral, you fired a shot at my vessel first, so we fired a warning shot in kind, and went to General Quarters. And no, we were not sent by this 'Black Baron' that you speak of. We know of no such person to begin with."

"Noted for the records. And why did you send a flying-machine over Equestrian Airspace, Captain? That is also a serious offence."

"I sent out my ship's Kingfisher Seaplane to scout the city from the air, as we needed a better idea of what we were dealing with. We've been out of contact with anyone from the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, or anyone on the US Mainland for hours and hours, even though we kept reaching out. We also tried to contact anyone in your city, but we first had difficulties matching any frequencies, and then we had troubles with our radio. However, now that I am speaking with you, Rear-Admiral, I sincerely hope that we can deescalate this situation. We're not here for conquest, bloodshed, or anything out of the ordinary. All we want are directions for how to get back to Texas. That is assuming of course that we're still on good old Planet Earth, which let's face it, we're probably not, are we?"

Everypony in the radio room blinked a few times. Where was this "US", or "Texas" that the captain of the battleship spoke of? Were they really from another planet, and if so, what kind of creatures were they? And most importantly, it seemed that the Ponies now finally had an answer as to why the warship was at Condition Green until the warning shot was fired at them; they thought that they were in their home territory.

"No, Captain Hogan, I don't think that you're anywhere near where you've come from. Like Lt. Green Glade told you, you're off the coast of the City of Fillydelphia, of the nation of Equestria, on the planet Equus. We do not know of any 'US', or 'Texas' unfortunately. Though while we are on the topic of deescalation, I would like to propose a meeting between us held at the Fillydelphia Naval Yard. During this meeting, I hope that we can come to terms with our predicament, and come to a peaceful resolution. If your intentions truly are peaceful, then we do not wish to harm you, but over the radio just isn't enough. We need to meet face to face."

"I understand Rear-Admiral. Please give me a moment to discuss a few things with my crew. This is a LOT to take in all at once."

"Take your time, Captain Hogan."

Once he was off the radio, Captain Bob turned to the others in the room, who were all just as stunned and perplexed as he was. They weren't on Earth anymore? They'd been trespassing without realizing it? And now this new nation wanted to meet with Captain Bob, but would he accept their invitation? Captain Bob then got on the ship's intercom.

"Attention all hands on the Texas, this is your Captain speaking. As of a few minutes ago, we successfully made contact with the unknown city, which appears to be called 'Philadelphia', though it is NOT the Philly from back home, as this city is part of the nation of Equestria, on the planet Equus. Boys, our initial fears were correct, we're NOT anywhere near Texas anymore, nor anywhere on Earth for that matter. This is uncharted territory, however, the Equestrians seem to want to talk, so a small landing party will be sent out to meet Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, while the rest of us prepare to blow the Equestrians out of the water if they try anything stupid! Now then, I would like Ensign Gardner to come to the Radio Room to speak with me please. All other hands remain where you are. This is about to start getting really interesting, as we truly are looking at a First Contact situation here."

When they all heard that, everyone on the Texas was beyond stunned. They weren't on Earth, but had somehow been transported to another world? How was that possible, and how were they ever going to get back home? Though it did explain why they were unable to contact anyone in the US Navy, Us Coast Guard, or anyone on the US Mainland; they were God-knows how many miles outside of contact range! Once I was in the radio room a few minutes later, Captain Bob got back on the radio again.

"Rear-Admiral, I've talked it over with my crew, and we accept your invitation for a meeting, however, I will be unable to attend. In my stead, I'm sending my XO, Ensign David Garner, as well as a small force of 8 men under his command. I have to remain behind to oversee my ship, and make sure that no tragedies befall the landing party. I take the safety of my crew VERY seriously."

"I understand, Captain Hogan. When can we expect the landing party to arrive?"

"If you've been watching my ship as intently as I think that you have been, you'll see two rafts lowered over the starboard side of the Texas here in about 10 minutes, and those inside them will then make their way towards shore. I hope that this meeting will be very beneficial to both sides, and I hope that this can be resolved."

"Me too, Captain. My Subordinate, Captain Hammer, will be awaiting their arrival with a small force of 8 under his command, and once they have arrived safely, then I will join the proceedings."

"Roger that, Rear-Admiral."

After I heard what Captain Bob had just told the Rear-Admiral about what I was about to do, I was shocked and horrified. What if we were walking right into a trap? I mean yes, this is why the Texas was being kept on Red-Alert status, and Captain Bob himself was not attending the meeting, but what if it was still a trap? It would be a minimum of 9 deaths for the landing party, and then the Texas having a field day blowing up the city with her main and secondary guns, but still, I didn't want to die, and neither did anyone else, so we were all apprehensive.

Eventually, 8 others were selected to go with me to Fillydelphia, nets were lowered over the starboard side of the ship, and we all climbed down into 2 rafts that had been lowered as well. Luckily the rafts did have motors on them, but they were very old, and hard to start up. Once we got them going though, we began our 7 mile journey to the city. All of us were wearing helmets, as well as improvised flack-vests (basically WW2-era lifejackets that probably wouldn't offer too much protection), and we were all armed. Everything from pistols, to rifles, to even 3 guys carrying Thompson SMG's that were found in the Texas's armory! We were NOT taking this lying down, and if we were going down, we were definitely going to be taking more than a few of them with us!

"I didn't ask for this mission", I thought as we continued on our way, "But it's my duty to lead these men. I may only be an Ensign, and with the US Naval Reserves, but I'm the XO of the Texas, and I'm gonna do this mission to the best of my ability, and hopefully finally deescalate this situation."

The closer and closer that we got to the shoreline, the more nervous and apprehensive we became. Once we got within 2 miles, we were suddenly surrounded by what we guessed were the same Pegasai that had attacked the Kingfisher. They were circling around overhead, almost like buzzards.

"Well, that sure ain't ominous as hell." I heard someone mutter.

"Where do we make landfall, Sir?" Someone asked me.

I then scouted the shoreline with my binoculars, and it was just then that I realized that we had no idea where we were supposed to go. However, I then spotted a small sandy beach near what appeared to be a small slope leading up to the main naval base, perhaps 25 yards from the nearest pier, and below one of the shore batteries.

"Right there. Steer us towards that tiny beach right there. We'll disembark there."

"Roger that, Sir." One of the guys in my boat who had a portable radio then radioed over to the other raft to steer towards the sandy beach.

Maybe a minute later, we reached the beach, the guy operating the engine and the tiller cut the engine, and our raft, and the other raft, coasted up to the beach, before coming to a stop in the sand as the waves ebbed around it. I looked around, and saw a number of those Pegasai land around us with their weapons drawn, and that we were being approached by what appeared to be another Pegasus, but he seemed to be an officer, as he was wearing an officer's uniform, and he was surrounded by MP's.

"Erm...all ashore!" I told those around me, and after I hopped out of the raft, becoming the first Human ever to set foot on another world, the rest all got out of the rafts, splashed into the surf a bit, and then walked up onto the beach after me. We also all held our weapons, and I was at the head of everyone. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say something first, but then the other officer spoke first.

"Which one of you...eh...creatures....is David Gardner, the XO of the 'USS Texas BB-35'?"

I stepped forwards. “I am, Sir. I am Ensign David Gardner, US Navy, at your service." I then saluted.

"Wait. Since when are hairless ape-looking ensigns XO's of ships? That's a lieutenant's job!"

I looked over at who had said that, and he was one of the Pegasai scouts. "You don't know how we do things down in Texas, do you?"

"Corporal! Not a good time, and VERY uncalled for!" The officer snapped at the Pegasus. He then looked back at me. "I am Captain Hammer, of the Equestrian Navy, and let me be the first to welcome you to the Fillydelphia Naval Yard. Though if you don't mind my asking....what....are you?"

"The pleasure is mine, Captain Hammer. And to answer your question, we are Humans; the dominant species on our planet, Earth. Most of our bodies are covered in flesh, and we don't have any fur, though we do have hair."

"Humans..." He then paused a bit. "Well, you're all sailors, and you seem to be at least somewhat close to us physically, so you are welcome here." He then held out his hand, and I shook it, while a few of my guys shook hands with the Pegasai scouts, and the one who called me a "hairless ape" also apologized for his comment.

"Well, apology accepted. Now then, as I'm sure you're aware, Captain Hammer, I'm here to speak with Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, and hopefully we can reach a peaceful resolution to our current predicament. I don't want any bloodshed, and I'm sure that you don't either, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct, Ensign Gardner. I hope that we can reach a peaceful resolution."

He then gestured for us to follow him, and I did so, while also telling 2 of the guys, one of whom was a radioman, to stay with the rafts, just in case. 2 of the Pegasai scouts also stayed behind, though whether this was to watch over the 2 Texas sailors to make sure that they didn't try anything funny, or just to talk to them further was unclear at the time.

"We've made it safely to shore, Captain." I informed him over the radio held by the other radioman as we started walking. "I've met with Captain Hammer, and he's taking myself, and 7 others to meet with Rear Admiral Sky Seas at the naval base. So far, First Contact seems to be going fairly well."

"That's good news, Ensign Gardner. Let me know as soon as you have something else to report."

"Will do, Captain. XO out." I then put the radio back, and continued to follow Captain Hammer, as did the rest of those with me.

We were still pretty apprehensive about this, and could only hope that the meeting with the Rear-Admiral, as well as anyone else we would soon be meeting, would go well.

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 4.

So the Texas sent out her Kingfisher Seaplane, only to have it attacked by Pegasai scouts, and then the Texas's radio broke down, and no one in the radio room knew how vacuum tubes worked, forcing Captain Bob to send out a general call to anyone with those skills to help fix the radio. Then the Mane 6 finally arrived in Fillydelphia, and for the first time, those at the Filydelphia Naval Yard heard from the Texas and her crew, and a meeting was arranged between David, and Rear-Admiral Sky Seas, hopefully leading to cooperation between the Texas, and the Equestrian Navy.

But yet, what will happen now? How will the meeting with the Rear-Admiral go? How will the Texas sailors react to the Mane 6, as well as Twilight loosing her mind at wanting to study every last detail of them? Will the Texas crew find a way to go back to Texas, or are they stuck in Equestria for a while? Will the Texas crew ever get to meet Celestia and Luna? What will happen when David meets Princess Luna? And more importantly, when will more information about the Black Baron be released, and he'll make his first appearance in the story? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you!

In the meantime, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story is always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 5!

ScarFox out for now!