Moving On
12:42 RST- Bridge of the Comet receives report form engine room. Fluctuations in the harmonic drive causing concern. Captain Stormbreaker advises to remain posted on the situation.
12:46 RST- Bridge receives additional report, fluctuations continue. Requests for additional engineers.
12:58 RST- Additional shiprwights arrive on board the Comet. Six in total. Four pegasi. One unicorn. One earth pony.
13:15 RST- Bridge of the Comet receives frantic report of harmonic drive instability. Captian Stormbreaker orders immediate shutdown of harmonic drvie.
13:16 RST- Massive explosion aboard the Comet. Orgins believed to be the engine room. Witnesses outside the ship report several other exsplosions. Have yet to be confirmed.
13:18 RST- Fires begin to overwhelm the Comet. Captain Stormbreaker gives the order to abandon ship.
13:20 RST- Fires reach ammo storages abaord the Comet. Additional explosion rips the Comet in two. Shrapnel and debris cause numerous injuries as well as damage to the Concordia and FireStrike.
13:26 RST- New Oatleans General receives first injured........
Luna sighed as she once again failed to read through the entire report, the words barely registering in her mind. Her gaze constantly drifted away from the sheet of paper before her to the remains of the Comet, one of the republics most powerful airships. Her heart fell as she glanced over the skeletal remains of the once mighty derrigiable. The balloon, which once was the largest part of the ship, was now but a fragment of its old self, deflated, burned and torn. The metal crests of the republic lay strewn about, their originaly pristine surfaces now charred and oxidized, making the metal appear sickly. The hull of the Comet, where airponies of her nation once served their country and did their jobs, now lay a corpse, what little wood and metal left lay dead, burned beyond recognition that many would not even believe it had actually once been a ship. The cannons seemed to be the only surviving peice of her fleets proud member, their metal designs were able to wistand the roaring fires days ago though they would need some time before being operational again.
The dark navy alicorn continued to stare away at the wreckage of the Comet, her eyes carrying a far away look. In her mind, Luna could see fire ponies rushing to douce the blazing inferno that was the airship, the fire whipping around, snapping at any pony that dared to get too close. She saw ponies fleeing across the docks, panic evident on their faces. However, it was those who weren't running that made her heart grieve. This was not just a wreckage, it was also a grave. Ponies, good ponies, ponies that had joined to serve and protect their nation, to protect their families, to make their nation proud and strong had died here. She felt her jaw clench as she resisted the urge to stomp her hoof into the ground.
They didn't deserve that! They didn't deserve to die! Not like this. Luna for her part, was no stranger to death. That was a fact she had grown to live with. Her alicorn lifespan allowed her to live longer then what most ponies could dream of, and because of that, she outlived more ponies, more generations then she could count. She had watched as ponies grew old and died, only for their children to follow soon after and their grandchildren.....
The Lunar Republic's leader snorted as she tried to lower the boiling anger inside her. But the fact remained, she could handle those deaths, she could handle time taking its toll on her ponies. It was these deaths however, that would get to her at certain points. Like a dagger that found its way into a gap in armor, these were deaths that managed to break through Luna's normally hard shell.
"My queen?" A reserved voice asked behind her, a slight trepidation noticeable to the Moon alicorn. Luna did not immediately reply, instead continuing to look toward the wreckage of the Comet, paying silent homage to the ponies that hsd lost their lives here. Sighing once again, she finally turned away to address the pony behind her. The stallion before her stood tall with a demeanor earned only through years of training. His coat mirrored her own, what little was exposed of his thick grey armor. His helm was adorned with two flared wings on each side of his head. Moving downward, his neck heavily protected in reinforced armor, his chest sported a fin like dual plated armor. This large chest piece complemented well with his long greaves, offering excellent coverage. Covering his back was the normal thick cloth that all used underneath their armor, its navy color a symbol for the republic. Finally, his rear was protected by additional 'fin' plates. This was a sentinel, one of her elite royal guard.
"We have gathered all the captains. They are awating your presence aboard the Moon's Light" Luna nodded, acknowledging the quick work of her guard. She had barely issued the order a short time ago.
"I trust you were able to find Officer Olive alright?" She inquired, well aware of the second in command to the Comet. Her guard nodded, his face stoic. "Yes my queen, she is with the rest of the captains" he answered, saluting. The dark alicorn nodded once more, silently thinking of the days future events. She sighed, her lips curling slightly into a small frown. As much as she didn't want to, she looked back to the wreckage of the Comet, the remains of the balloon quietly flapping in the wind. Luna nearly lost herself to staring at the wreckage again, her mind elsewhere. The queen of the republic eventually turned back to her guard, a serious expression on her face.
"Let's not keep them waiting. Shall we Maroon?" She said, already lifting her wings for takeoff.
"Yes ma'am!" Her guard saluted, his own wings stretching out. Luna didn't waste time as she used her powerful muscles to propel her self into the air, natural instinct and years of practice taking over as she flew. As she ascended higher into the sky, several other ponies rose from nearby buildings, several more sentinel thestrals and pegasi forming around the duo. Luna serious expression faded somewhat as she gazed out across the northern district of New Oatleans, spotting many ponies across the city shuffling through the streets, going about their day. Despite being the alicorn of the night, Luna had grown to accept her ponies to choose wether they wished to move during the day or the night. Surprisingly, it was a strong mix, many working both during the day and night, causing many Lunar cities to have a constant bustle of activity.
Sensing they were slightly off course, She banked right, her guard following suit with absolute precision. Concluding her flight path adjusted correctly, she returned her attention to the city below. Her serious expression broke as she spotted a small filly waving enthustiatically at her from a nearby rooftop. The mare next to the filly was also waving, hers more composed but still carrying the same warmth for the republic's leader. Luna offered her own wave in return, giggling slightly as the filly's wave increased tenfold.
It was good to see the smiles on her citizens faces, especially after the incident days ago. Even after her arrival in the city, she couldn't help but feel the underlying tension that was spread across the city. Her citizens had not recovered from the panic of the days prior and they seemed to be on edge, as if expecting something else to occur. Her smile faded as she thought of the rumors that had circulated in the hours following the Comet's destruction. Despite the mayor's quick work to squash the rumors of a terrorist attack to another dragon incursion, the damage had been done. Worse yet, the news had spread across the republic like wildfire, many cities being put on edge at the sudden destruction of one of their airships. Luna had to make a public address that everything was alright. That the republic was not at war. That it had been a tragic accident.
She wondered why she herself had trouble believing that.
Midnight Blossom sat quietly in her chair, her thoughts away from her as she gazed blankly at the polished oak table before her. Her actions were mirrored by the five other ponies seated with her at the large oval table. All the gathered captains of the Fortress class airships sat undisturbed in the conference room aboard the Moon's Light, Queen Luna's personal airship. They all shared similar thoughts, many revolving on the days prior.
Midnight couldn't help but think of the minutes after she had left Donut Joe's.
"Out of my way! Get out of the way!"
"Luna above let them be ok!"
"No! No no!"
"Everyone get back! Get bac-!"
Midnight Blossom physically flinched as she remembered the moment she saw the Comet rip apart, shrapnel and debris careening everywhere. She had felt the heat against her fur, the flash of light stinging against her eyes, and the sheer deafening boom of the explosion. The thestral had helped evacuate the remaing ponies along the docks and been happy to receive thanks for her efforts. However, these were small comforts to the fact of many of the crew of the Comet were unable to leave the ship. She could only imagine the families that would soon learn of their relatives fate. Families would lose brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, mothers...fathers....
No. You can't think about that. Not now.
She tried to steer her thoughts away from the darker corners of her mind, but soon felt the unpleasant thoughts run rampant in her mind. Gritting her teeth, she let out a frustrated hiss causing the mare next to her to nearly jump out of her fur. Unsurprisingly, this broke many of the captains out of their thoughts to turn their attention toward the startled mare. The olive coated mare faltered under the combined gaze of the other captains, as she herself was not one, in spirit as least. True, she wore the dark navy blue captains uniform and cap, as well as sporting the small armor piece that adorned their chest. However, she had only come to her position through circumstance, as she is or was chief officer of the Comet, before her captain went down with the ship. Now, thrust into the position of captain, a position she felt she was unprepared for, especially compared to the captains before her. Each in their own right, surpassed her own abilities easily.
The captain of the FireStrike, Stonecold. An aging unicorn stallion who's coat was darker then Queen Luna's night, with a short grey mane that was noticeable without his cap on. A deep pale scar ran along the right of his face, parting at the eye, which was a milky white. His features ended with a thick mustache that matched his mane's greying. A veteran of the dragon incursions twenty years ago, this stallion was a hardened veteran with more experience then anyone at the table.
Next to Stonecold was the Razorwing's captain, a marble white mare by the name of Pearl. Now, she did not look like the captain of a warship, instead the mare had a natural beauty that would make most mares jealous, her long blond mane covering part of her left eye. This was the classic mistake many ponies made about this particular captain, for she was a mare with a mind sharper then blade and a heart of ice. Beautiful and smart. A dangerous combination.
Seated directly across from the timid mare was Oxford, captain of the Concordia. The lean crimson stallion was his cap lowered covering most of his eyes. The strong silent type, Oxford was known as a captain who appeared lazy, hardly issuing any orders. The mare realized that there was far more to this captain then his appearance.
Addressing the Pegasus seated to her right, she immediately identified the Everfree's captain by his rainbow mane. Rainbow Blaze, a magenta colored Pegasus who was well known for his humble and kind demeanor, making him a well liked public figure. It was even reported his sister was a pegasi unit aboard his ship. The mare found a small comfort in the warm smile she received from him.
And finally, they're was the captain of the Nightshade, the only thestral mare in the entire group, Midnight Blossom. Supposedly, she was the youngest of the group, in her mid 20's proving that age and experience didn't always make good captains. The thestral was top cadet at the Lunar academy, her skills in combat training superb with a strong intellect to back it up. It was even rumored that her family was good friends with Queen Luna herself!
"Oh, sorry for scaring you" Midnight spoke, causing another slight jump from the mare. This caused Pearl to scoff. "So this is Stormbreaker's replacement? Pitiful" she stated, not helping the poor mare's mood.
"Hey, let's not be so quick to judge, she was his second in command. That stands for something" Blaze rushed to her defense. Pearl rolled her eyes at Blaze's statement but said nothing more. This allowed Stonecold to address the mare himself.
"So, your name is Olive Garden, correct?" He asked his hearty voice similar to a grandfathers. The mare known as Olive saluted out of instinct and before she could stop herself, spilled out her rank.
"Yes Captain Stonecold sir! Chief Officer Olive Garden sir!" She drilled out. This caused the stallion to burst into laughter, earning an annoyed glance from Pearl, a bemused expression from on Blaze's muzzle, and two confused looks from Blossom and Olive.
"Hahaha! Sir! Aw, come now Captain Olive, we are of equal rank, surely we don't need to use such formalities?" The unicorn smiled happily. Olive smiled sheepishly, unsure if she should continue as captain or officer. However, before she could reply, the doors to the room opened abruptly, two armor clad sentinels entering, taking positions on either side of the doors. Entering soon after, was the Queen of the republic, the alicorn of the night.
Standing a head taller then an average stallion, with a lithe but strong figure, the queen trotted in. Her mane, with the same beauty as the night sky, continued to blow in its nonexistent breeze as she walked. Her dark navy coat was the basis for the colors of the empire, as she wore a light blue vest coupled with a black cape. In addition, she sported silver slippers that soon changed into violet grieves. All in all, Queen Luna had a stunning appearance.
"My queen!" The captains saluted in unison, Olive faltering slightly in hers. The queen smiled happily at the gathered ponies as her sentinels closed the doors, a quiet thud echoing in the small room.
"At ease captains" the queen stated, taking a seat at the head of the table. The gathered ponies relaxed somewhat at their rulers order, though Olive couldn't help but tense up. She definitely wasn't ready for this!
Glancing across the gathered ponies, Luna cleared her throat. "I suppose you are all wondering why I have called you here", when she received several nods in response, she continued. "Originally, all of you, save for captain Olive, were to be my personal escort to the conference of nations this year. However, after the Comet's destruction, things have changed". As she spoke, she levitated several dossiers to lay before each captain. Midnight eyed the dossier but waited patiently for her queen to finish.
"Officially, you all will no longer be my escort, save for one" she turned to Midnight, the thestral snapping to attention as her queen's gaze fell on her. "Captain Blossom, you and your ship will be the leading the new fleet to the conference this year". Midnight for her part remained calm under her queens look, remaining stoic.
"With all due respect my queen, isn't there others more qualified then myself? Surely you'd feel more comfortable in more capable hooves?" The captain asked, truly surprised her ruler had chosen her to lead a fleet to the conference of nations! She heard Pearl shift in her seat, placing both forelegs on the table.
"I agree with Captain Blossom, nearly all of us here are more experienced than her. Myself and Captain Stonecold would be more then honored to host you abroad our ships my queen" the Razorwing's captain pointed out. Luna nodded, her captain speaking the Ruth. Stonecold would easily be the wisest choice in terms of experience and Pearl's tenacity alone was unmatched. However she knew their skills were needed elsewhere.
"While I appreciate the concern, I stand firm that the Nightshade and Captain Blossom will remain as my escort" , she raised a hoof when the blond maned mare looked to speak again, " However, this does not mean that all of you will sit idlly by". She gestured towards the documents in front of the remaing captains. Without delay, the gathered ponies reviewed the information within the folders.
"I'm to patrol the Everfree border?" Captain Blaze asked confused.
"As have I" Oxford stated quietly, the stallion finally speaking.
"It appears Miss Olive, that we will be seeing more of each other" Stonecold noted, Garden also discovering that she had been assigned with the older unicorn to Las Pegasus, nearly on the other side of the republic!
Pearl simply nodded at her folder before closing it, directing her attention back to her queen. Blossom's examination of her folder revealed a more detailed outline of her job, noting several key things before closing her document as well.
"I trust you have all your assignments?", the queen asked. Receiving a nod from all the gather ponies, she poke agian. "Very well. I'm confident you will carry out your orders to the best of your abilities". Rising from her seat, an action mirrored by the captains, Luna concluded she was finished.
" I bid you all a good day" she said, a small smile on her muzzle.
"And a glorious night to you my queen" the captains saluted.
Hey new chapter! YEAAAHHHHH!!! I'm on so many energy drinks right now!!!! Wooooooooooo
Next chapters will speed up the story a little as it will expand on the Solar Empire and the Lunar Republics relationship! Weeeeeeeeeess
And now PICTURES!!!
Sentinels armor design:
Captains Uniform design: 
Luna's Uniform design: 
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Awesome pics!
Nice! I'll have a list of grammar sins for you tomorrow at some point.
And I have to ask, why do the female guards have excessively long manes and less armor? Not trying to nitpick, but they don't really seem battle ready, they look more like optimistic recruits with less armor and a thing for impracticality- like, what's with the frills? I'm not military, but that seems like something a real military wouldn't do: concept of uniforms being uniform and practical and all that.
Nonetheless! I'm enjoying this so far, and am quite eager to see relations between Solar and Lunar~
4960265 I know right?
4961020 I'm didnt draw the pics, so I wouldnt be able to tell you. Though I know the ones who have a mane similar to Luna's are captains.
5012586 Ah, that makes more sense.
Now I feel all awful for ranting at you.
Meh
I guess I'll go hunt the internet for half decent NLR armor
Solars look like Nazis. Let them burn onthe sun.
4961020 Short hair as a military thing is only to make the head fit the helmet. But as ponies have holes for their manes it becomes unrevelant....
5038805 Ever heard of grabbing hair?
And the maintenance that goes into long hair- if for some reason I had to join a military I would completely see the reasoning behind a short hair policy.
There would be nothing wrong with long-ish manes and tails; but the Fluttershy styling is completely impractical. I have long hair, I tie it up in the day so that I don't spend all of my time brushing it out of my face, now imagine if that happened in the middle of a fight to the death.
Beside, who in their right minds would have a hole in a damn helmet!? It's supposed to protect your head, not look fashionable! And then there's the fact that these pictures have less armor on the mares. If you're going to send soldiers into battle (or even have soldiers) you want to give them as much protection as is practical for their role, not to mention a proper military would armor its soldiers equally without regard to what was between their legs.
/rant off
And Ik writer didn't actually draw the pictures themself, so I assume that in the actual story it'd be different.
5039899 We're speaking abaut real combat where longer battles are extremely rare and most of the victory is the first hit that kils or eliminates the wounded from further combat. And grabbing in the world with magic isn't related to hair in any way. So that argument isn't important.
Who cares? Soldiers are mostly drity or spend hours in preparing their thing, so one way or another 20 minutes of mane/beard isn't going to save them...
And they serve in helmets that keep the hair back 'n in place. Duh.
1. The hole is too small for arrow.
2. Magical projectiles make dermage which propably is gonna ignore the armour so good luck.
3. If the projectile is fire or fire-magical - the ponies propably got some magical counter-measures.
Mayby it's only gala armour. It looks that way.
That is sure.
5044496 I'll concede the point and agree that it looks mainly like ceremonial armor.
However, you seem to have no idea of the maintenance required for long hair. Trust me, it'd be hell in the field. And honestly? Hair that reaches the ground it's just asking to be stepped on or something else.
You can defend it all you want, but the truth is long hair (especially of that length) is just a liability in a military situation. It'll snag in everything, get in the eyes, etc...
And just because a helmet doesn't have holes where a arrow could easily make it through does not mean it's a good idea. Why not have them cut their hair, make the helmets easier to make without there being a big hole, increase the structural integrity of the helmet,and require less personal maintenance/hygiene simultaneously?
Of course if it's ceremonial armor, this is all irrelevant.
5045097 So we agree that is only ceremonial armour and burry the subject.
I don't say it's good - I say that it isn't that bad. I think that they keep their long manes during peace, where practicly nothing happens and jump to shorts in time of war.
5048772 That seems perfectly reasonable to me.
5048773 Was there ever any doubt that I find the answear?
5049095 Unfortunately, yes.
And the way I saw it you were defending Fluttershy's hairstyle for a military campaign.
I confess my relief 'twas not the case.
5049582 Yea. I can't realy disagree here.
I wasn't defending Fluttershy's mane, wtf? I was defending long manes. Long and in any form. And speaking of Fluttershy - I hate her, so don't even start.
5051147 Great minds think alike, it would seem, on Fluttershy that is.
And just to clear things up, I wasn't implying you were defending her mane- what I said was I had the false impression that you were defending the hairstyle of the mares in the picture for a military campaign. Long hair is great otherwise for the most part (though I could see some jobs necessitating shorter hair... "Help! My hair's caught in the gears!").
Again, miscommunication. Long hair good for ceremonial guard, bad for your front line troops.
Sound like a reasonable conclusion? Because that's what I meant.
5051265 Hej, I wanted to say that!
Fluttershy even in combat would never be a trooper - rather a priest, champlain and medic. The rope on the cover even suits that role. Or eventually would be an support officer commanding healer forces somewhere in the tent on the backlines...
5058552 And thanks goes to Fimfiction for not telling me about a response
Ayep. Fluttershy isn't a fighter. She'd be the Desmond Doss of whatever group she was in.
5076200 There were some updares lately.
Heh.
5077099 I blame teh Knighty in buggy armor.
5077772 Good one.
I'll admit, when I first read about Luna's uniform it looked like a mess in my mind. Then I saw the picture below and my heart skipped a beat. She looks BEAUTIFUL in that uniform! Not that she wasn't already beautiful, it's just... Um... Well, this feels awkward now...