July 1, 1958
(Enterprise's POV)
NO!
This is not happening to me!
Why oh why must I be scrapped after all the pain and suffering that me and my men have gone through the 5 years of hell in the Pacific Theatre of World War II? Oh, where are my manners. My name is USS Enterprise, the last of the Yorktown-class carriers and in these 5 years of serving for the US Navy, I have seen every action in WWII, from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa and now, after Admiral William "Bull" Halsey tried to raise funds for my preservation as a museum ship, it failed and now I was going to be sent to Kearny, New Jersey for scrapping.
It was midnight of July 1, 1958 and I was there in the docks, weeping over my fate knowing that when morning breaks, I will be sent to that said place and they will dismantle me piece by piece. My weeping continued when all of a sudden, a voice called my name and I tried to figure out where it came from. Then, in front of my eyes was something I never expected; A small light appeared in front of me, curious on why I was weeping
"You poor thing", the voice said before asking me, "Why are you crying?"
I sniffed and told the voice, "I am going to be scrapped and I don't want it.", I tearfully asked that mysterious light "Are you someone that can help me?"
"I am something that can help you, my dear. How would you like to go to a place not from Earth?"
"Please!", I exclaimed in desperation, "Anywhere I can go so that I wouldn't be scrapped for good"
"Very well, Enterprise. I will use my magic to teleport you to that said land but I will have to create a duplicate of yourself so that the humans will not notice that you are not there. Understood?"
Tears filled up my eyes as I whispered in gratitude, "Thank you"
Sure enough, that said light created a duplicate out of me in which it placed that said copy of me in place on where I was stationed. Afterwards, it used it's magic on me to teleport me to the place where I can call home and my hopes of myself being a museum ship for those that can see my scorecard on the battles I've fought in the Pacific Theatre of WWII
Many years later
Morning
I heard the news that my duplicate had been scrapped and the time has come for me to wake up and when I did, I noticed a bit of changes on me. My 1st elevator was back, 90 planes filled my hangar and deck which consisted of TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, SBD Dauntless dive bombers, and 2 fighter types: F6F Hellcats and F4F Wildcats, an arsenal of weapons, my anti-aircraft guns were locked and loaded, the US Flag waving on the mast of my island, along with a flat screen TV that played back to back episodes of the History Channel series: Battle 360 and it chronicles my journey, souvenirs, and all of my systems were in gear as well as in good condition too
"Thank you, magical light", I quietly thanked it in my thoughts
I opened my eyes and what I saw is a land that was beautiful and lush where peace and harmony lived as well as thrived. This was perfect! I knew it was! Without wasting time, I set sail to find a harbor where I can dock and rest; on my way there, I noticed that there were some creatures that were not on Earth and they stared at me. But hey, I knew I was in a land that was not on Earth and I should be glad that I got away from being scrapped for good
I continued to set sail but I was getting tired, so I decided to take a break and I dropped my anchor to rest for a while. I knew that if I kept sailing, I was gonna be lost like forever, so I decided to send 4 planes: An Avenger, A Dauntless, A Hellcat, and a Wildcat to scout for a place and to be more specific, a harbor for me to dock at once
(3rd POV)
The 4 scout planes flew away from the deck of the Enterprise and into the skies with one mission: To find a dock that the aircraft carrier can be put to rest
That same time, a group of Pegasi: 2 mares and 2 stallions with cameras on their necks were busy trying to get the best group photo when all of a sudden, they nearly collided with the 4 naval planes which the Pegasi managed to dodge at the nick of time. Those ponies looked at the weird machines with confusion on what those things were along with the fact on what they were just reeling in on what occurred moments ago
Those planes continued to scout until they saw a city which looked like New York in which they crackled their radio towards their carrier as they headed back to their ship right away
My 4 scout planes had returned and when I heard their crackle, I knew this is it! This was the time that I docked for good. So I reeled my anchor back and I headed towards the city where they spotted it. My engines roared to life as I steamed towards the location of that said city. My journey continued on until I saw it! The city! It was like New York only different, and the citizens of this land were none other than....ponies with marks on their butts? Okay....this was weird.....but I like it! This was the place for me and nowhere else. I found the city's dock and I finally docked in there. Many ponies as well as creatures from mythology were looking at me, confused on why I was here
(3rd POV)
Canterlot, Equestria
When news of a weird ship was spotted in Manehattan, the Royal Sisters, Celestia and Luna themselves couldn't believe their eyes, so they called in the Mane 6 and Spike to Canterlot in which they decided to tag along in order to investigate what this foreign ship was doing in their land of Equestria and why did it come here in the first place
The Royal Sisters along with the Mane 6 and Spike and almost everypony they knew too well which includes some of their friends, students, celebrities, and families arrived at Manehattan and looked at the ship which caused them to be filled with shock and awe....for they never saw a ship like this in their own world
I saw all of the faces of these creatures and they were the feeling of shock, confusion, surprise, and awe for I knew that I was intimidating in my size and I nearly dwarfed every ship and boat in this dock. Then out came 2 ponies with both wings and horns wearing royal regalia and I knew that they were the rulers of the land
"Who are you, mysterious ship?", the white alicorn asked
"Come inside me and let me tell you my story", I told her
I opened my ramp as some Equestrians of every race entered inside of me. They gawked in awe and curiosity on what they were seeing until I shone my light on where they will be. It was a theater on where everyone was seated as some grabbed the snacks that were in place outside. When everyone were in their seats, I decided it's time to start telling the truth on who I am and the reason why I was here
"Now for introductions who I am, my name is USS Enterprise. My alphanumeric designation: CV-6 and I am a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier. The second ship laid after my older sister, USS Yorktown (CV-5) and before my younger sister, USS Hornet (CV-8). May I ask on what your names are?"
The white alicorn introduced herself to me, "My name is Princess Celestia and I am the ruler of Equestria, the land that you are in right now"
Next came the indigo alicorn, "And I am Princess Luna and like my sister, I too rule Equestria"
The 6 ponies and the baby winged-dragon decided to introduce themselves too starting with the purple alicorn, "Greetings, Enterprise. My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle", she gestured to her friends and her half-sibling, "And these are my friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash,& Pinkie Pie as well as my younger half-brother, Spike"
"Howdy!", the orange Earth pony tipped her hat
"Hello", said the timid yellow Pegasus
"Nice to meet you, Darling", the white unicorn greeted with formality
"Sup!", the cyan Pegasus nodded
"HEY THERE!", the pink Earth pony greeted in a loud and cheery voice
"Hi", the baby dragon said
"Now that introductions are a bit over, I require someone to help me show the events of my life so far", I requested until a unicorn mare named Starlight raised her hoof and offered her assistance along with a unicorn stallion named Sunburst who too offered his assistance to his friend as well
The 2 unicorns lit their horns up as I begin my story, "Once again, my name is USS Enterprise and my alphanumeric is CV-6. I am a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier and I was the 2nd of my class laid after my older sister, Yorktown and before my younger sister, Hornet"
"May I ask y'all somethin', Enterprise?", Applejack raised her hoof, "What in dang nation is an aircraft carrier?"
"That's simple, Applejack", I told her, "I am a ship that's designed to carry planes for the military. You can say that I'm like a city on sea", many were fascinated by this
"Anyway, I shall continue where I left", I announced to everyone, "For 5 years, I've been called many nicknames. Some would call me, "The Big E", or "Lucky E". Some have called me "The Galloping Ghost" or sometimes "The Grey Ghost" and now, I shall tell you my story and the war that I was on"
Soon, everypony were all ears on me as I told them the tale while Starlight and Sunburst started to cast their spell which showed me and my life, "I was launched in 1936 at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia and in the country of the United States of America on Earth. Then I was commissioned to the US Navy in 1938 as I sailed south on a shakedown cruise in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and when I returned back to the US, I operated in the East Coast and the Caribbean until April of 1939. But everything changed when we went to war"
All of them were shocked on what she said as she continued her tale, "I was out at sea conducting my duties on the 7th of December 1941, I launched my scout planes to search for routes when all of a sudden, my scouts were caught in the crossfire of Japanese planes and they were attacking our base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It turned out that they launched a surprise attack in order to cripple our fleet. Though they managed to badly damage our fleet which the ships lost were 3 light cruisers, 3 destroyers, and the worst of them all, our 8 battleships were badly attacked by them. But they failed to sink us carriers which at the time, were not present during the attack and that gave us an advantage towards them because we were fast and the battleships were slow at the time and we aircraft carriers were quick in launching planes to attack any ship, so it meant we can have a fighting chance"
Some were stunned on what happened that day, "The next day, our president at that time, Franklin D. Roosevelt had declared war on Japan and 2 days later, he declared war on Germany and Italy. We had entered World War II and we were going to help the allies win this war no matter what! My first mission of the war came in the Marshall Islands where my planes attacked the fleet managing to sink a Japanese submarine and in doing so, I became the first one to draw first blood for the US Navy. The next mission that I had was a raid called "The Doolittle Raid" led by a man named Jimmy Doolittle and I was going to escort my younger sister, Hornet along with the planes that she carried on her deck, B-25 Mitchell bombers which somehow fit on her deck perfectly"
"Wait what?!", exclaimed Rainbow Dash, "Were those planes big?!"
"Yes they were, Rainbow", I told her which caused the tomboyish Pegasus to stare at me, gawked and wide-eyed, "The main goal of this raid was to bomb Japan's capital, Tokyo and we managed to do that so. But my big break came in 1942 and to be exact, June 4 when we heard that the Japanese were going to attack a US base in an atoll called Midway. Thanks to Joseph Rochefort and his team of mathematicians who cracked the code where the Imperial Navy will strike, me and my sisters, Hornet and Yorktown who had been patched up after her battle on the Coral Sea along with a few support ships headed to a place, our people called "Point Luck". There we scouted for the fleet until we spotted them. And so a great battle had begun in which we were outnumbered 4 to 3, but we weren't going to give up no matter what!"
I took a deep breath as I continued my story, "At first, our torpedo bombers at that time, the TBD Devastator failed to strike the carriers but it was the dive bombers that managed to sink all 4 of the 6 carriers that took part of the Pearl Harbor attack: Kaga, Akagi, Soryu,& Hiryu. It was a victory for us that sadly came with a cost", the audience were shocked on what she said as she sadly told them what happened next, "My older sister, Yorktown was attacked and she was sunk afterwards by the Japanese"
Some felt bad for her when Celestia asked me something, "So what happened next, Enterprise?"
"Afterwards, our next goal was the Solomon Islands and in an island called Guadalcanal, we launched an attack against them and this time, we were aided by a new breed of battleship that was fast. Her name was the USS North Carolina and she was a beast in pounding the enemy garrison. When our attack from both sea and air was done. The Marines and the Army came ashore and attacked the Japanese Army stationed there. After the fight, they managed to seize the airfield and they renamed it "Henderson Field" after a pilot who lost his life at Midway. Though our victory was great, it came at a cost because at night, we lost to a battle at a site called "New Georgia Sound" in which 4 ships were sunk and 2 were damaged and thus, our sailors called it "Iron Bottom Sound". The next day, we heard that the Japanese fleet led by Shokaku and Zuikaku were going to attack us since they wanted their airfield back, so me and another carrier, the USS Wasp were called in to stop them at the Eastern Solomons. We battled a force of Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers that attacked us and during that time, I was hit by 3 bombs that severely damaged me"
Many were shocked on what she told about what happened, "The 1st bomb hit the back of my flight deck and detonated afterwards, which caused me to list from the left but I was still afloat. I remember that there was a sailor and he was only 19 at that time who was calling out for his mom and he wanted water so a damage control man gave him some and died afterwards", the guests couldn't help but tear up on what she said as she continued on, "The 2nd bomb hit the back right of my 5 inch guns and that bomb damaged it pretty badly, but the 3rd and final bomb hit me in the center causing my steering mechanism to be broken as I was turning uncontrollably. Despite those attacks, we managed to hold the line and cause the Japanese fleet to retreat. When it was over, I headed towards Pearl Harbor and there, I was repaired in an instant because when I got back to the Solomon Islands, the Japs were launching another attack and me along with my younger sister, Hornet were called in to stop this attack at a place called the Santa Cruz Islands. Once again, we were outnumbered 4 to 2 but we managed to hold back where I got damaged again, with 2 bombs hitting me for the 2nd time in the row. My younger sister, Hornet was not that lucky because she was ravaged by a bomb along with 2 dive bombers that crashed their planes into her as well as 2 torpedo hits on her hull"
"That's horrible.", Fluttershy said
"What happened next, Enterprise?", Twilight asked
"Admiral Halsey had 2 choices: Option 1 was for me to stay and fight while Option 2 was for me to retreat. So in a painful decision, he ordered me and my fleet to retreat, so I had no choice but to obey his orders as we made a retreat away from the fight and leave Hornet to fend for herself. It turned out the Japanese launched one final assault which crippled my younger sister and her captain gave order to abandon ship. When it was done, they ordered to sink it but she refused to go down which was unfortunate for her because later that night, the Japanese found her and sunk her with 4 torpedoes. Hornet joined Yorktown in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Now I was the only carrier left in the Pacific fleet in which my sailors posted a sign saying "Enterprise VS Japan""
"Darling,.....I have no words how heavy this is for you", Rarity told her
"It was really heavy I tell you, it was all up to me this time", I said with grim determination
She sighed and took a deep breath as she continued her story, "I was patched up in Noumea, New Caledonia and while I was there, we heard that we lost twice at Iron Bottom Sound which some of our ships were sunk by the Japanese at night. They managed to patch my wounds up but not my 1st elevator which was knocked out at Santa Cruz due to the limited supplies in that base. So in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Halsey decided to send some of my planes to Henderson Field where they will use it for a temporary landing spot for now. We stopped a Japanese convoy fleet who were planning to send more troops to storm Guadalcanal and take Henderson Field back to themselves. After the battle, I was fully patched up and my 1st elevator was working again and this time, me and my fleet were patrolling Rennell Island in 1943 when disaster struck", the Equestrians gave shocked reactions, "The heavy cruiser, USS Chicago was attacked at night by medium bombers who launched their torpedoes at her, so we were tasked to help her immediately, I launched my planes in order to help her out mostly, my Wildcat fighters who patrolled the skies above her. However, our efforts were slim as the Japanese launched another set of bombers towards her and despite our best efforts, they sunk her in an instant thus Chicago slipped beneath the waves. But despite our loss we have managed to gain victory and the Solomon Islands Campaign was over"
"Me and my crew went to the base at an island called Espiritu Santo where we took a break after the campaign and when I was done being refueled, I was then called to Pearl Harbor and when I arrived there, I got a special visitor. Admiral Chester Nimitz came aboard me and presented myself and my crew a Presidential Unit Citation Award!", many were shocked and surprised on the high award she got, "When it was over, I headed back to the US mainly to Bremerton, Washington for a refitting which gave me a torpedo blister, more guns, new radar, and a new fighter called the F6F Hellcat. After my refitting, I returned to the fleet and it was a massive one, I tell all of you", the Equestrians were astounded on what she said, "The American industrial might kicked in to overdrive and we had enough ships to do an island-hopping campaign to halt the Japanese advance. It was a beautiful sight for me to behold as I saw fleet carriers, light carriers, escort carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, and submarines. I also had my old friend, North Carolina with me and thanks to this force, our campaign had begun"
She took a very deep breath and sighed, "Our first campaign in 1944 was the Gilbert Islands and during that time, I launched the first nighttime attack on the Japanese, the second place we went was in Truk Lagoon where we gave the Japanese a Pearl Harbor of their own, the third place we went was in the Marianas and in the Philippine Sea, we engaged in the largest aircraft carrier battle in history where our fleet sunk 3 Japanese carriers and shot down almost all of their planes, the fourth place we went is in the Philippines where General Douglas MacArthur vowed to return to that country to help the Filipinos and in that country and to be exact, in Leyte Gulf near Leyte, we engaged in the largest naval battle ever and we emerged victorious, having managed to wipe out the Japanese navy for good"
Many were astounded by the tale as she decided to wrap it up for good, "With the Japanese getting desperate, they started to launch suicide planes from land bases called kamikazes to stop our advance to their homeland. I launched many missions at night which gave me a new designation: CV(N)-6"
"What does that mean?", Pinkie raised her eyebrow
"It means night and it meant that I was the 1st carrier to do that so", I saw their faces and it was in awe that I gained that new designation, "In 1945, there were 2 final destinations that I headed, 1st was Iwo Jima, where I was attacked by a Judy dive bomber whose bomb failed to explode and where I took down some kamikazes as well. The 2nd and final place that we went was Okinawa where were attacked again by kamikazes but one managed to do something unthinkable"
"W-What did it do?", asked a frightened Spike
I sighed knowing that this will shock them at once, "A Zero kamikaze managed to weave out of the flak and bullets we placed in the air and when it was done, the pilot crashed his plane in my Number 1 elevator and this caused my worst damage ever. 5 decks below, the Zero's bomb exploded with such power, my 1st elevator was blown off from it and it was the worst one I ever received in my entire life. I was heavily damaged that I had to return to Bremerton, Washington for repairs and when I was there, we received news that the Pacific War was over when the new president, Harry S. Truman ordered the atom bombs to be dropped in 2 Japanese cities called Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Because of this, Japan decided to call it quits. I participated in a celebration where I was the guest of honor and everybody wanted to see my score card on how many Japanese ships and planes I took down in my career. Admiral Halsey wanted to make me into a museum ship but due to lack of funding, I was sent to be scrapped. I didn't want this so when your magic heard my cries, I pleaded with it to take me anywhere rather than to be dismantled in pieces and it agreed. So it made a duplicate of me and I escaped on the quiet midnight of the next day and many years later, I arrived here"
The Equestrians couldn't help but feel amazed, saddened, shocked, and awed by the ship's story as they decided to get a tour on her and with special permission, she allowed it. Every Equestrian toured around the ship so that they got to know her better. Some of them went to her hangar deck where they were amazed on the planes she used in her battles while others went to see her scorecard and sure enough, they knew she was a decorated warship: 20 battle stars, 911 planes shot down, 71 ships destroyed, 192 ships damaged or destroyed, her Presidential Unit Citation Award, and her Naval Unit Commendation award. They saw many of her guns and inside her island as well and last but not the least, the pictures of her crew and pilots that were together with her wartime journey towards Japan
"So, do you think you can make me a museum ship, Your Highnesses?", I asked the Royal Sisters
Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other and nodded with smiles etched on their faces as they said in unison, "Of course"
I was so happy on this day! I knew this was the place for me. I always knew
Many moons later
My dream has finally come true, I have become a museum ship like I always wanted to be. Many creatures from Equestria and Beyond were arriving at Manehattan to get a glimpse of me and my victories against Imperial Japan. The tourism grew wider and wider but in my heart, I know that my old crew and pilots who were with me during the Pacific War were not here in flesh and blood. However, I know that deep down, they're all looking at me in the heavens above including the ones that died with me during some of the battles I faced during WWII
I am the legendary Enterprise, the ship that defeated Japan, the ship that became the symbol of my country, the United States of America: the Land of the Free.
FIN
Author's Note
This fic was created on my birthday of the 4th of July.
Happy 4th of July, Everyone!
Please leave a like and add it to your favorites. Also, no hateful comments, please.
P.S. No Azur Lane allowed!
1 moon later
B.T. (Before Twilight)
"So, Princess Celestia. Care for an explanation as to why you asked Princess Twilight to summon me back to Equestria?
This was the question that came from a unicorn mare with a light amber coat along with a mane and tail that resembled like bacon, cyan eyes, and a cutie mark that symbolized an almost Yin-Yang shimmering sun with the colors of red and yellow. The pony was none other than Sunset Shimmer who turns out to be Celestia's former student and Twilight's student too
We all know her story on how she became a villain in the human world and how she became a reformed and redeemed heroine in that said 'Mirror World', so no need to get into details about that, please? Thank you very much! Now let's get back to the story, shall we?
Anyways, back to where we were; Sunset was walking with Celestia as they made their way to where her former mentor wanted to show her and sure enough, what the former student of the Sun Monarch saw was none other than the Big E herself, Enterprise. Her jaw went agape with surprise as she eyed on this strange ship that she never saw in her homeland of Equestria. Granted she saw some ships back in the Human World, but this one was a stranger in this magical land where she was born and raised before she went to her the path we all know
"I-Is t-t-this for real or am I dreaming?", Sunset stammered
"I assure you it isn't", Celestia told her before beckoning her, "So shall we?"
The 2 ponies went inside the ship and what Sunset saw inside of USS Enterprise was nothing like ever she'd seen before. Seeing this so-called "Aircraft Carrier" and a piece of history was somehow exciting, yet mysterious and sad. She toured the whole ship by teleporting herself place to place while Celestia decided to wait patiently for her former student to finish and for her to return to where they were, which is the squadron room. Sunset saw everything, from the hangar deck which housed Enty's planes to the pictures of her human crew that was with her during her wartime journey in the Pacific Theater
When she returned to the squadron room, she had an upset smile and that caused Celestia to notice Sunset's look with a bit of worry in her face, "Something wrong, Sunset?", she asked her
"It's just.....", Sunset began and then, she sighed with sorrow as she continued on what she wanted to say, "I don't believe this kind of thing", Celestia was a bit shocked on what her former student said when Sunset looked her in the eye, "Is this all for real, if I may ask?"
"Oh I assure you, my dear. This is all real", Enterprise spoke which caused the unicorn mare to be startled
"W-Who said that?", Sunset asked with a bit of a frightened tone
Celestia chuckled, "It's alright, Sunset. That's just USS Enterprise talking", Sunset went agape on what the Solar Princess said in which the monarch greeted her, "Hello there, Enty"
"Good to see you again, Princess Celestia", she greeted her, "And this must be Sunset Shimmer, I presume?", Sunset nodded in confirmation, "It is my pleasure to meet you for the first time ever, former student of the Sun Princess. I guess that your still in disbelief that if this is real or not? And if you're still not convinced if I say the whole truth, then I suggest to use your magic to see the ghosts of my crew and pilots of the past to seek out the truth for yourself"
Sunset thought for a second and then looked at her mentor with a silent question. "Can I use a spell to see the ghosts of the pasts, Princess Celestia?". Celestia gave a silent nod of approval to her as Sunset's horn lighted up and she casted a spell that engulfed the whole ship in order to see the ghosts of Enterprise's crew. Sure enough, she saw the human crew of Enterprise, all men and no women, as they did their daily lives back during the war; some we're doing their jobs while others we're running and rushing towards their battle stations. When it was all done, Sunset thought about this for a moment so that she can absorb the knowledge on what she had seen: It wasn't pretty and joyful, it was sad and somber to see some of the crew and pilots, injured or dead when they fought back in WWII. She knew that all of these people sacrificed their lives to save their planet, Earth from total annihilation at the cost of so many lives who gave up for the freedom of all human beings and that these humans were like them
She looked at Celestia and smiled, "Now I understand why she is important"
Celestia beamed as they decided to take a full tour of the ship. While on the way, they passed on some foals who were running and the sun princess firmly reminded them that they must show respect on this ship, and they obeyed on what she told them as she and Sunset continued on their way to the whole ship. This ship represented the beacon of light that was needed to shine in the darkest time and chapter of Earth's history: World War II.
Author's Note
Surprise! I know it's a bit of a surprise, but I just thought to create an Epilogue chapter in here so that I can fully wrap this up for good. I hope you enjoy this one and remember, NO HATRED IN THIS STORY!!
This was released in honor of the 9/11 Victims.
