We Sail For Celestia

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

An urgent knocking, hammering at the door of her bedchamber, awoke Celestia in the depths of the night. Her room was dark, the heavy velvet curtains blocking out most of the dim light from outside. It was still raining; she could hear the patter of drops upon the great windows.

Her horn glowed and illuminated the clock gently ticking beside her bed. Almost two-thirty in the morning, an uncivilised hour better suited to her sister than to the Sun Princess. She sat up slowly in her bed.

"Enter."

A harried-looking servant burst in through the thick oak-wood doors, light from the hallway outside streaming in. "A thousand pardons for waking you, Your Highness, but I have grave news..."

"What is it, my loyal servant?" Celestia questioned, clutching the blankets to her bare chest.

"The Northern Fleet, Your Highness, at Harmony Bay...they have been attacked," the servant replied, only then remembering that he was supposed to bow when entering the room. Celestia waved away his delayed formalities.

"Attacked? By whom?" she demanded.

"The Kirin, Your Highness," came the simple reply.

Celestia rose immediately from her bed, dispensing with the blankets and any attempt at modesty, revealing her full-bodied form to her servant, naked and drawing his gawping gaze as she grasped at her dressing gown, a muted pink robe which she fastened about herself. "Is the military council assembling?" she asked.

"I, uh..." The servant paused momentarily, distracted by her unclad beauty. "Yes, Your Highness. Admiral Prince Blueblood bade me summon you immediately."

"Very good," she nodded. "You may go. I shall be with them momentarily."

"Yes, Your Highness..." The servant bowed again and backed out, closing the double doors behind her. Celestia turned on the lights in her chamber using her magic and swiftly dressed, not bothering to summon her handmaidens to assist as she often did. Once she was dressed in a simple skirt and blouse, she proceeded to the throne room where the military council had assembled. The Minister of Defence, Copperhead; General Snow Meadow, representing the Army; and Admiral-Prince Blueblood, representing the Navy as commander of the Home Fleet.

"Tell me what we know," Celestia ordered as she strode in.

"Yes, Your Highness. At a little before 3am Eastern Equestrian Time, approximately five and a half hours ago, the base of the Northern Fleet was raided by Kirin destroyers. Torpedoes were fired...one cruiser was destroyed, one battleship and one battlecruiser heavily damaged," Copperhead explained.

"Casualties?" the Princess asked.

"Casualties are currently estimated at five hundred and twenty dead, four hundred and fifty wounded and ten missing, Your Highness," Blueblood replied. "All sailors and officers, no civilian casualties reported. I am pleased to report that one of our destroyers accounted for two of the enemy vessels in retaliation."

"Indeed, Admiral," Copperhead nodded. The wizened brown Pegasus was a long-standing member of the royal government, installed years ago as Defence Minister. "One of our patrol destroyers was returning to port to pass an alert to the fleet."

"They knew of the attack?" Celestia asked.

"Not exactly, Your Highness..." Copperhead paused. "The ENS Defiant was one of our two patrol destroyers in that sector. Apparently they received a report from their sister ship of an unidentified fleet. When the Destiny, their sister, moved to identify the unknown vessels they were fired upon, but managed to report that they were Kirin in origin. This fleet, however, is not the same as the flotilla that attacked Harmony Bay."

"It appears that the destroyer attack was a pre-emptive strike, Your Highness," Blueblood added. "What the Defiant reported was that an entire Kirin battle fleet was en route to the port."

"Why did this news take so long to reach my ears?" the Princess demanded.

"Both the Destiny, the Defiant and the Harmony Bay transmitting station reported radio interference from an unknown source, Your Highness," Snow Meadow, the Army Chief of Staff, spoke up. The milk-white earth pony was the only mare on the military advisory council, an experienced, seasoned campaigner and the leader of the operation to retake Mare-Isle, promoted after that success to Chief of Staff. "The signals staff are working to try and uncover the reason behind this, but suffice it to say that it interfered with the efforts to communicate via radio. It also seemed to be affecting the radio-telegraphs aboard the ships, but Harmony Bay was able to send us the information along the land telegraph line that runs parallel to the Trans-Yakistan Railway. That was why there was such a delay, Your Highness. The message had to be relayed numerous times along the route across Yakistan and then across the rest of Equestria to Canterlot."

"And this fleet that has been identified. It is heading for Harmony Bay as well?" Celestia asked, evidently satisfied with the explanation as to the delay.

"Yes, Your Highness. Its last recorded position put it some three hundred miles east of the port," Blueblood informed her. "At a reasonable speed of twenty knots, that put them about twelve hours away from Harmony Bay. It is possible they could be travelling faster or slower than that, however, but we cannot see any other logical target for them, especially since we know they have already attacked the port and the fleet. Their interest clearly lies in Northwick, Your Highness, and there is nothing else of value in that area for them to be going after, only a couple of small civilian merchant ports and a number of tiny coastal villages."

"Are we certain?" Celestia questioned, glancing between each of her advisors. "Are we absolutely certain it is the Kirin responsible for this?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Copperhead nodded sagely. "Visual confirmation was obtained by the Destiny before her presumed sinking, relayed by the Defiant, and the destroyers sunk at Harmony Bay are Kirin in design, flew Kirin flags, and we have recovered the bodies of dead Kirin crew."

"Very well. Thank you, Minister," Celestia turned on her heel. "Summon the Kirin ambassadors. Now."

The morning had dawned over Harmony Bay with smoke still rising gently from the wreckage of the night's attack. Feverish work had been going on to try and rescue the survivors trapped inside the Triupmhant, with cutting torches and magic being put to use to extricate those stuck inside, entombed in the hull. Divers had been down as soon as the sun rose, and the last of those trapped had finally been removed to the safety of the hospital. Even those unhurt by the sinking had to be checked out for exposure and possible hypothermia; the sunken ship was unheated and full of frigid subarctic water.

As the rescue teams worked, the rest of the fleet were frantically preparing for war. Though there had been no official reply yet from Canterlot as to the course of action they should take, Admiral Strongbow had taken it upon himself to ready the fleet, while General Wild Willow did the same for the garrison of Harmony Bay. Governor Cranberry Cream was less keen, despite the obvious damage done to the fleet and the danger of another attack. She was reluctant to take any steps without approval from the Princess, and that would take time- time that, if the Defiant's report was accurate, they did not have to waste on dithering.

First order of business had been to get the crews back on board the ships. Not all of them had been aboard. Many had been on day leave in the city, spending time at the bars or the brothel, or even hiking into the surrounding hills for exercise and to enjoy what passed for a panorama. Messengers had been sent around to try and find any ponies who did not report for duty after hearing the brief battle unfold. There had been several desertions, ponies fleeing now that it looked like they might actually have to go to war, having signed on for three square meals a day and bits in their bank accounts, not for actual combat. They were listed officially as missing, but if the hand of bureaucracy and military justice caught up with them, they would find themselves in a prison cell if they were lucky, and at the end of a short rope if they were not.

Admiral Strongbow had ordered a conference of all ship captains aboard his flagship, even as repairs were underway on it to patch up the gash in the bow. The blast from the torpedo had not cut right through its armour, but it had done damage to it, and a weak spot when going into battle was not something that any officer wanted. Repair teams were busy welding on extra plates of metal as a temporary patch job until the ship could be fully repaired in the future.

Strongbow's conference informed all of the fleet's captains of his orders. The Kirin fleet was coming, and they had not, as of yet, received any instructions from Canterlot. While they expected a message from the Princess and military high command at any time, if it did not arrive they would have to act upon their own initiative, a concept quite alien to many mid-level officers and commanders.

Admiral Strongbow was not one of those officers, however, and he had the intent to try and take the fight to the Kirin. The capital ships of the fleet, those that could, were prepared for battle, their boilers fired up and steam being raised to get them moving at the Admiral's command. One cruiser and two destroyers were sent out to form a patrol to warn of the approach of the enemy, at which moment the fleet would sally forth to intercept the Kirin under the protection of the shore batteries on Fat Colt Island and the headland near the lighthouse.

If the Kirin wanted a fight, they would get one. Strongbow was determined on that point, but governor Cranberry Cream refused point-blank to give any help to the fleet. Much to Strongbow's consternation, the governor insisted that word from Canterlot must arrive before anything be done beyond the most basic preparations. It was the way of things, she argued. The bureaucracy was there for a reason, and the Princess was the ultimate arbiter of all their actions. She and her sister were in command, ultimately, of all the Equestrian armed forces, and it was not down to any individual officer to take actions that might lead to war.

Strongbow, supported by General Wild Willow, had vehemently disagreed with the governor's assessment of the situation. This was already a war, they argued. The Kirin had seen to that. It was no coincidence, no accidental mishap or an attack on some pirate target gone wrong. Regardless of whether or not there had been any official declaration of war, the actions of the Kirin ships the previous night had set the wheels in motion. The only question was which government would issue the declaration first.

Cranberry Cream had been unconvinced by their arguments when she had come aboard the Celestial Spirit just before dawn. As provincial governor, she argued, the safety and status of Harmony Bay and its residents lay ultimately with her, and she refused to support or permit any activities that might bring the city into danger. The fleet was one thing, a legitimate military target, but civilians were not, and Cranberry was worried that the fleet sailing out from the harbour but remaining under the defensive cover from the shore batteries could invite the Kirin to attack the city, deliberately or accidentally, by long-range shelling.

In his cabin, Admiral Strongbow had exploded. "If you gave a damn for the citizens of this place, you would stand aside and support me," he had raged at the governor. "The fleet is their target. My ships, my sailors, and they are my responsibility, not yours. If the fleet remains in port, as you seem to wish, then not only do we invite the Kirin into gun range of the city, but we lose any possibility of regaining the initiative in this damn war. If my fleet is bottled up in the bay, what do you think the Kirin will do? Turn tail and go home? They will start by swarming and methodically eliminating our shore batteries, because there will be no ships to stop them. Then, they will start to pick off my ships with gunfire and torpedoes, because there will be no shore batteries to stop them. Every shell that misses my ships might hit the city you claim to want to protect, and if they sink my ships, what then? If you are lucky, only then will they turn and leave. If you are unlucky..."

"So fight them away from the coast," Cranberry had demanded indignantly, her piercing blue eyes burning with an arrogance that manifested itself in her words, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the military side of the situation and drawing a sharp rebuke from the Admiral.

"I cannot," Strongbow had declared. "My fleet is hurting. I have lost one ship, two more are crippled, others damaged. We are as prepared as we can be, but we are not ready for battle in open waters. We need the support of our shore batteries, which means we must remain near the coast. The Kirin can kill my fleet and they can kill our batteries if we allow them to fight first one, then the other. If we make them fight both at once, then I think they will be rather more reluctant."

Cranberry Cream had tried once more to exercise her authority as governor, demanding that she be listened to, but Strongbow was having none of it. He did not quite go so far as to have her escorted from his ship, but he made it quite plain to her that, unless an order to the contrary was received from the Princess herself, his fleet would sail as soon as the picket ships spotted the Kirin fleet. Turning on her heel, a deflated but defiant Cranberry had departed aboard a launch, returning to the shore to prepare the city for the possibility of stray shells landing among the citizenry. Strongbow, despite the early hour, had poured himself a shot of vodka and swallowed it before continuing to prepare his fleet for war.

"Your Highness, His Excellency Summer Forest, and Her Excellency Raisin Rise."

Princess Celestia nodded. "Send them in," she commanded, seated regally atop her throne, a suitable spectacle for the Kirin ambassadors, who had previously spoken with her in her drawing room and study. No longer dressed casually, she was once again wearing her flowing, angelic white robes. Seated beside her was her younger sister, Luna, her midnight blue gown a sharp contrast but no less regal in appearance when combined with her silver diadem and jewellery. The two Kirin approached and bowed their heads, their long reddish manes quite typical of their race, most punctiliously dressed in suits despite the hour, for it was still the middle of the night.

""Good morning, Your Excellencies," Celestia greeted them cordially enough, before striking home. "Before I say anything else, perhaps I should give you an opportunity to explain for yourselves."

"Begging your pardon, Your Highness...explain what?" Raisin Rise asked, a dark brown Kirin mare and the senior of the two diplomats.

"I am sure you already know, and if you do not, then I must question what purpose you serve here as diplomats if your own government do not deign to inform you when they are to launch an act of war upon another sovereign nation," Celestia replied bluntly, keeping her anger in check and her voice level and calm. The two Kirin exchanged nervous glances with each other.

"War, Your Highness? But surely, we are at peace. We know nothing of war," Raisin Rise spoke first.

"We are here as peaceful ambassadors of the Kirin Empire, Your Highness," Summer Forest added, a dark blue Kirin male of a similar shade to Luna. "If something has happened..."

"A short while ago, I received a report from the province of Northwick," Celestia informed them. "Our province. An Equestrian province, as you both well know, and home to the Northern Fleet of the Royal Equestrian Navy. Several hours ago, an attack by Kirin destroyers was launched upon our fleet at its anchorage, and now hundreds of ponies are dead."

"Your Highness...no, there must be some error," Raisin blurted. "I assure you, we knew nothing of this, if it is true...if it is true, then if you would please allow us to speak with our government...we will return to our embassy and attempt to ascertain exactly what..."

"We know exactly what has happened, ambassador," Luna interrupted her. "As my sister said, our fleet was attacked, and now sailors are dead. We know what. We do not yet know why. If you cannot tell us, then perhaps there is no further use for you here at court."

Celestia put a calming hand upon her sister's arm. "This attack was unprovoked and uncalled for. It is a violation of international diplomatic law. That no declaration of war was given before the attack took place is completely unacceptable, and will be met with a response in kind. Please inform your government that, as of this moment, a state of war exists between our two nations."

"But Your Highness, I..." Raisin stuttered, aghast.

"Enough!" Celestia snapped. "You are here to act as the representatives of your Empress, and either she has agreed to this attack, or she has been undermined by other forces within her government or military. In either case, your negotiations have failed, through no fault of ours. Evidently your government or your Empress has decided that they wish a show of force instead of a show of peace."

"I can assure you, Your Highness, we knew nothing of this!" Raisin exclaimed. "We were ordered only to conduct peaceful negotiations over the future status of the Northwick province and its inhabitants. We were unaware of any such attack being planned by anybody!"

"We shall see," Celestia replied. "Return to your embassy, tell them what I have said. We are now at war. If they wish to end the conflict, if this truly was some mistake, then your Empress can instruct you on how to proceed. If it was deliberate, then she has already tipped her hand and revealed the truth. Your negotiations, like it or not, appear to be a mere ruse, Your Excellencies. A smokescreen, nothing more, intended to distract while other, more concrete preparations were made in secret." She gestured for them to leave, and both ambassadors bowed obsequiously before backing out of the throne room. Luna looked at her sister.

"What now?" she asked the elder Princess. "And what if this truly is not what it seems? A rogue Kirin Admiral or some ultranationalist sect run amok?"

"We can only wait and see if that is the case, dear sister," Celestia replied. "I am sure the Kirin Empress will react accordingly if so. But their attack has left us with only one choice in the meantime. We must fight."