//------------------------------// // Battleground Los Pegasus, Naval Combat // Story: Battleship of Equestria // by MorgothII //------------------------------// Battleship of Equestria Chapter Nine: Battleground Los Pegasus, Naval Combat May 8th, 1942 6:45 PM South Luna Ocean, aboard USS Fuso near the coast of Los Pegasus… (Jacob's POV) The Caroleans are near. The crew of the USS Fuso work silently. I can almost taste the tension. All the guns are loaded with high-explosive rounds. I walk to the front of the bridge, staring out through the front window, my M1911 Colt in its holster at my hip and my academy sword on the other side. The silence is finally broken by the sound of a voice coming through one of the speaking tubes. "Sir, sails on the horizon. Bearing is three-three-zero. Range is one hundred thousand meters," The lookout stationed at near the top of the front superstructure reports. I nod my head. "Communications, maintain radio silence. Tell the engine room to make as little smoke as possible. Helm, move us into position," I say as I turn on the ship's internal communication system. "All hands, enemy fleet has been spotted. Get to your battle stations. Gun crews, hold your fire." I then pause, thinking of what to say next. The men and ponies that crew the sole American Navy vessel in this world look up to me both as their leader and for inspiration. "We are about to engage the largest naval force we have yet encountered in Equestrian waters. We have avenged the burning of Ponyville. But this is now personal for our crew. Our crew has been reduced by three fallen crew members. So strike hard for our friends both on shore and on the Royal Equestrian Navy ships. Strike hard for family. Strike hard for your land! It's surrender or die and the stakes are high! Make me proud, my friends," I finish, waiting. The sun continues to descend, casting its dying light about in dazzling brilliance. I slightly wince at that. 'Bad choice of words there, Jacob.' Now we must wait for the enemy to engage the rest of the fleet. I wish they could have engaged us sooner, because we will run the risk of friendly fire. However, I have been reassured by the claim of the Royal Guards serving as marines on the other vessels will have a way to use their magic to distinguish their own vessels. "Captain, I found something in the supply closet. Or rather some ponies," Froster, my faithful executive officer, enters the bridge. I raise an eyebrow at him once I turn around. "Who….? Oi vey." 7:11 PM Royal Equestrian Fleet… Captain Salty 'Skipper' Wave stares out into the darkness from his position on the quarter deck. The earth pony is nervous, typical of anyone going into combat. At the same time, Wave can't help but feel a tinge of excitement as well. After all, until recently all he had been was a mere skipper of a merchant vessel operating off the eastern coast. Then he had received a scroll with the royal seal that contained a commission for the newly-formed navy, along with eleven other captains of merchant ships. All were veteran sailors, perfect for a fledgling naval force. Captain Wave's command, one of the ten frigates, was designated with the hull number RNF-8. Her crew of four hundred seventy-five ponies, and practically every pony, preferred to use her service name: Royal Equestrian Ship Dragon. Unlike the first seven ships, RES Dragon and her two sisters, RES Hooves and RES Dream, they mounted newly-designed (in Equestria, at least) thirty-two high-velocity 24-pounder cannons, fifteen to each side with the final pair of guns mounted as bow chasers. Another twenty-two specially-made 32-pounder carronades are also mounted, with the same arrangement, eleven to either side, though the shorter-barreled guns are mounted on the top deck known as the spar deck, and the 24-pounders mounted below on the covered gun deck. Ahead of Wind's ship are the first seven vessels: Ponyville, Dawn, Dusk, Crystal Empire, Canterlot, Hurricane, and Vanhoover. The difference between the two groups is the smaller caliber for the cannons on the seven vessels, being 18-pounders instead of 24. Aside from that, the number of cannon and carronade on all ten ships are the same. Minutes tick by as the crew of the ten frigates wait nervously. The two heavily-armored ironclads were stationed at the city docks thirty miles away. "Where the hay are they?" Wind mutters under his breath, breaking out his old bubble pipe that is used in Equestria. Suddenly a bright flash of lights shines ahead, before going out. As the sound of a broadside splashes around, Captain Wind gets his question answered with a literal bang. "Run out the guns! Unicorn lookouts, use your magic! Light 'em up!" More cannon shells splash around the ships, some of the splashes cascading water onto the deck. But the ships soon form up to fire their own broadsides, as unicorns stationed in the crow's mast on each ship fire bolts of magic to illuminate the night sky, presenting targets for the ship. Wind sees a frigate in range, guns being rolled out. His own broadside ready, he shouts to the gun crews. "Fire all starboard cannons!" His own ships rock backwards as fifteen cannons fire as one, the carronades silent until they get in closer range. Instantly the enemy frigate starts to sag to the side, water pouring through what must be large holes in or near the waterline. A sole cannonball hits Dragon right on one of the thick iron chains, bouncing off. Wind chuckles despite the situation as the cannons on his ship fire again, this time individually, at the crippled Carolean warship, starting a fire that quickly reaches the powder magazines and causes a huge fireball to erupt, setting another frigate and a transport on fire. 'Well, I'll be bucked. Captain Jacob was right. Now let's see how they like our own teeth!' 7:22 PM Aboard USS Fuso… (Jacob's POV) I stare at the five forms in front of me, a mixture of respect and displeasure on my face. "I gave you and your friends an explicit order," I say, my tone belaying my actual emotions. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon look down at their hooves, unable to look at me. "We're sorry, sir. Mah friends and Ah just want to help, just like virtually every other pony from home is," Applejack's younger sister says, not mentioning the fact that most of the town's upper-class or former administration had refused (e.g. Diamond and Silver's parents) or been refused (e.g. the mayor and Cheerlie) to operate on the ship directly, but as auxiliary crewmembers. I sigh before speaking. "And I am honored by your valor and dedication to this ship and your crewmates, but as I said before leaving, I will not have fillies onboard any more ever since taking our first combat losses in our last naval battle. Now, you will be escorted to the armored conning tower by Froster where you will stay until we return to port. Don't think this conversation is over," I warn the girls as they salute, almost causing me to chuckle at how adorable it is. I turn around once they leave, gazing at the sight of flashes and fire from combat. "You wanted to see me, sir?" A familiar female voice asks. I turn around and gaze at Rainbow Dash. I nod. "It is. Get to the airfield, and get ready. I want you to focus on the lead ships-of-the-line that are not engaged and the lead transports. Repeat until you are out of ammo, though considering you have roughly three thousand rounds of 60mm and a thousand 80mm, that should be some time. Stay careful. We can't afford losses in our new dive bomber group," I warn, remembering how the cyan Element of Loyalty tends to be reckless at times, though not quite dangerously so. The pegasi salutes and trots out, spreading her wings and flying into the air, moving at top speed. I turn to the helmsman, a Japanese unicorn named Sotto. "Helm, take us over there. Time to join the party," I say with a grin. With a little skill, and a whole ton of luck, the enemy will take a great bloody nose and hopefully buy us more time. We still have no idea how to defeat Cluny, but we know how to delay his plans. I am still curious as to why he had attacked Ponyville, out of all the other targets he could have chosen, but he picked the only one with a princess. 'Maybe there is a connection?' I muse to myself as I feel the battleship move and turn, ready for the fight. 7:30 PM Beach HQ/airstrip… "Alright everyone, get ready! As of right now, you are all Wonderbolts! Let's make our country proud!" Spitfire, leader of the Wonderbolts, says as she lowers her goggles and grabs an 80mm white phosphorus round. The first wave, roughly forty-five pegasi, would start off with the 80mm rounds, which had been set to go off with a contact fuse. The group had split up into two groups. Spitfire would take the Wonderbolts to attack the warships, while Rainbow Dash would lead the ponies she had recruited to bomb the transports. Cries of determination answer the yellow pegasi's speech. All had volunteered for this, making them determined to win even more then almost every other pony was. All had been trusted to succeed, and they would be damned if they didn't deliver. With the spreading of wings, the 'dive bombers' take-off, clutching their deadly weapons. Rainbow Dash nods at her wing-pony, Lightning Dust. She returns the nod, fully sober and more like the Lightning Dust Rainbow Dash had been friends with at the Wonderbolt Academy. 7:45 PM Fuso… (Jacob's POV) "OPEN FIRE!" We have finally moved within range. Already half the enemy frigates have been destroyed, sunk, or crippled by the ten Equestrian ships. In addition a ship-of-the-line and a dozen transports have been sunk. RES Canterlot and RES Dream have been separated, and now are in the direction towards the docks of Los Pegasus's waterfront. The rest are heavily engaged. Ponyville has suffered severe damage and as a result was beached. She now serves as a gun battery. Dragon has taken over, receiving a large number of this but minimum damage and only three dead and a single carronade destroyed. The loud crack of the front two turrets is quickly followed by the display of destruction to come. Two enemy transports explode into a cloud of fire and shattered timber, only a small amount of the hulls left before the waves take them into the depth. "Helm, turn to starboard! Fuji! Give your main gun crews permission to fire at local command. Same with the secondary battery! Give 'em hell!" I roar, my blood rising at the fight. I can't help but reflect, yet again, on the irony of an American commanding a Japanese warship, even if said ship was captured. I also can't help but wonder what my brother is up to. Does he have his own warship? He surely would have some sort of command. It would either be a capital ship or a division or army. Otherwise Cluny wouldn't have brought him here. The sound of impacts on the iron hull shakes me from my thoughts. This time, I had ordered everyone below save for the 5-inch DP guns. So unless a cannonball strikes something important, my crew is relatively safe. I had learned this the hard way. A single 14-inch shell blows a massive hole into the waterline of the offending ship-of-the-line. I imagine the waves of water rushing in. Soon unbalanced by the increasing amount of water pouring in, the warship tilts slowly to her side. By the time her masts are parallel to the water, a transport takes two 14-inch hits from the rear-most turret, blowing it sky high. Fully reloaded, turret No 1 fires both guns into the exposed side of a ship-of-the-line that is preparing to fire a broadside straight into the front, possibly being able to hit the unarmored bridge I am standing on. The exposed wooden side rocks backwards before the explosive tips explode deep in the bowels of the Carolean warship. Fire briefly gouts out through the open gun ports, before exploding into a massive fireball, smoke billowing into the air. Only a thin fragment of timber holds the two halves together, and this breaks quickly, causing both broken ends to separate briefly before being claimed by the waters of the South Luna Ocean. A cluster of cannonballs from the warship next to the wreckage of her fellow warship smashes into the armored face of the two turrets. "Damage report!" I demand. Like any true captain worth his rank, I want to know if either gun had suffered damage. If they are damaged, that causes (excuse the pun) boatload of trouble. It would mean creating a dry dock and then creating an entirely new gun barrel. I already have the factory in Baltimare working on making new barrels for all my cannons once they reach the end of their life, but they are a month away from completing, and then another month testing the weapons to make sure they work, then a week or two of fitting them on my battleship. Needless to say, I am vastly relieved when I hear a pissed-off Fuji report that both guns are working. "Very well, you know the drill. It would be rude to leave them with no return gift," I say, smirking at his gleeful chuckle. This time, Fuji has both turrets fire their guns into the ship, gutting the insides in a firestorm that somehow misses the powder magazine. Oh well. No matter to be honest. I think they will be just a tiny bit busy trying to put out the inferno. Sails are quickly unfurled despite the risk of also catching fire, and the ship sails off into the night, the hellish blaze slowly disappearing, leaving us unsure of its fate. My 6-inch and 5-inch gun batteries also open fire. The fourteen guns mounted in hull casemates fire at anything within range that is not friendly, which is virtually everything. While smaller, the secondary guns make up for what they lack in punch in a high rate of fire. Unarmored wooden halls are savaged. I can only imagine the hell the Carolean gun crews are suffering. Wooden splits fly around, cannons blown away. What isn't sunk by the high-explosive rounds, the water and damaged suffer will. Four enemy transports and two frigates suffer this fate. From above, the four twin dual-purpose guns fire at exposed decks and masts. "Sir! Look at the sky!" The excited voice of Froster calls out. I raise my special binoculars with my magic, staring into the not-so-dark night sky. 'And we shall rain hellfire onto the enemy,' I think, smirking. I watch as the agile ponies dive straight at thirty ships, mostly transports. Then I wait for the mortar-bombs to land. I am not disappointed. Only horrified and intrigued at the results of this possibly war-changing weapon against any large Carolean fleet. Clouds of white smoke appear on the decks of the ships, the pegasi clear of any danger. They form up and head back to grab another round of WP rounds. I return my gaze to the target ships, curious to see the results of the unorthodox attack. After all, I had proposed using these weapons in an incendiary role against this exact sort of target, as well as its hellish effectiveness when it is being used against unprotected and exposed people, making death seem merciful to suffering this level of attack. As had been discovered back at earth, white phosphorus could be used for more than just creating smoke. The fragments of the chemical mixture had an even deadlier use. Once it caught onto exposed skin, it could burn all the way to the bone unless it was cut-off from oxygen or just burnt itself out. It would set anything on fire. That included flesh, clothes, wood, and ammunition. If the phosphorus didn't kill you, it would make your life a living hell. And the enemy neither wears clothes nor has armored ships. The explosion of a ship-of-the-line, then a second and a third, proves this point. Already several transports are ablaze, burning Caroleans throwing themselves into the water, trying to put out the fire. "Keep pounding those ugly sons-of-bitches! Give them everything you got! REMEMBER PONYVILLE!" I scream, my face light up with the glow of fire from the artificial hell I help create. I swear I can hear the sounds of our war-cry, used ever since our first battle in this world, throughout the metal corridors of the USS Fuso. More and more transports are destroyed or set ablaze, but we're barely making a dent in it. Roughly five hundred transports, seventy ships-of-the-line, and twenty-eight frigates are still in the game. Then something unpleasant happens. "Sir! I am receiving a distress call from Canterlot! They're under fire from something in the distance! Dream is reporting the same thing! Now her skipper says that Canterlot has exploded! Like as if we had used our own guns…" My communications officer, a tan earth pony named David Mann, calls out, his voice trailing off. Despite the inferno of battle occurring, my blood runs cold. 'The enemy has their own armored ship!' "What is the direction of the unknown warship?" I reply, trying to keep my voice level. It's heading towards the dock! They report seeing thick smoke!" 'Shit.' I quickly makeup my mind. "Fuji, have the main battery stop firing! Switch out to armor-piercing! Once we are out of range, have the secondary battery load armor-piercing as well! Ensign Mann! Have the ironclads RES Los Pegasus and RES Baltimare intercept! Warn them that they are facing an armored warship, possibly battleship! They are to delay it as long as possible until we arrive! Then tell Luna that we are engaging unknown hostile, and to make sure her troops are ready to repel any invaders!" I then turn on the internal communication system. "Prepare for fighting with a modern-day warship of unknown type and class! Let's send that iron-hulled fucker to the bottom!" I growl, pissed off. 'Have you decided to face me? Or are you hiding with your master, Henry?' The ship is now moving at top speed, finally clear of the battle and bearing down on the enemy warship, probably their flagship. Soon the glow of the night battle we just left is only a dimly lit twinkle of light. Dream had taken extreme damage and is being abandoned. I want to stop and take the survivors aboard, but my crew and I must stop this iron ship. Soon more radio reports come in from the ironclads. "Sir, Los Pegasus has opened fire! Her bearing is about two thousand feet away! Broadside hit, but no damage aside from cosmetic! Baltimare is turning to the other side, trying to box them in! Wait, target is turning to face Los Pegasus head-on! The captain reports….splashes? Yes, three splashes and now three wakes!" My eyes widen. "SHIT! Tell both captains to perform evasive maneuvers! Get them the hell out of there!" Mann's face pales as he also fully realizes the impact of what we just heard. "Pegasus and Baltimare! EVASIVE MANEUVERS! DISENGAE AND FALL BACK!" Seconds later, the flash of light illuminates the scene ahead of us. The burning wreckage of a ship, the Los Pegasus. Destroyed by three torpedoes. And her destroyer is also revealed, along with a message using the old flag system. Nice try brother! Sorry to miss being here, but left you a challenge! Fuck. A ship from the First World War, the same era when Fuso was built, is here. I recognize the turret arrangement of one turret in the front and one aft, with two turrets serving as 'wing turrets' in the center on either side, the black smoke produced from its fuel of coal billowing out to choke the air from two funnels, twelve turrets that each mount two 8.3-inch SK L/45 cannons, eight 5.9-inch SK L/45 cannons mounted in casemates in the hull, and sixteen 88mm cannons mounted in groups of four by either casemates around the bridge, bow, or stern and a final four on pivotal mounts, and finally the Kaiserliche Marine gives the identify away. A ship that was sunk and last seen capsized off Dogger Banks in the North Sea at 3:13 PM on January 24, 1915. The last German armored cruiser, as well as the most powerfully armed and armored one built for that country. The SMS Blütcher. I am floored at this. "Even the dead are not safe from Cluny the Slaver. He defiles the final resting place of those brave German sailors in taking their warship from her proper resting spot," I mutter, angered at this disgusting display of desecration. Well, not for much longer if I have anything to say about it. "Sir, Baltimare acknowledges the withdrawal order and is heading away. Her skipper plans to join the main battle. Should I try to open a line to the cruiser?" Mann asks half-heartedly. I scowl at Blütcher and shake my head. "No way in hell. We are going to sink that fucker! Only stinking Caroleans onboard. Helm, watch out for any more torpedoes! She fired the three facing forward, but she has one more in the stern, and we have no idea if they have any reloads! Gunners, get a lock on that fucker!" The enemy has learned a few tricks of their own. With the winds on their side, her 'captain' must have ordered for extra coal to be put on, for an even larger clout of black smoke heads towards us. In a night sky, visibility in the relative darkness of this area is further reduced. "Damn it! Fuji, keep at it! Helm, zigzag tactics!" Perfect cover for an ambush, if the enemy is clever enough to do so. The tension is thick in the air. Every single comrade on my ship is undoubtedly keeping his or her head on a swivel, and how can I blame them? Then the tension is broken by the sound of naval artillery being fired at us. And for the first time, I actually am concerned. Sure, my ship has bigger guns, thicker armor, and a battleship of heaven's sake, but only a fool would discount the danger of any main armament of a capital ship of the 20th-centurty. Suddenly Fuso rocks to the port as a salvo of 8.3-inch shells goes by. Most miss, but a single shell hits. And it hits hard. "Sir, we lost the aft starboard DP gun! Only one survivor, Applejack, and she is in critical condition! She's being treated now!" I pound my hooves onto the metal deck of the bridge, spit flying from my mouth when I speak after (barely) controlling my anger. "Well, wait are you waiting for, Fuji? A damn invitation! Return fucking fire, Goddamn it!" Our own salvo leaps out into the cloud of smoke. I see a brief flash of metal as a two shells hit what surely has to be the enemy armored cruiser. A second salvo of the smaller 5.9-inch and 88mm cannons replies, smashing open the last 6-inch gun on the starboard side and killing the entire crew of Japanese sailors. Even as our own secondary guns fire, and miss, another hail of heavy shells slams into the hull, this time sounding like at least half connected. More damage reports come in. Two busted searchlights. A small hull breach way above the waterline. Another busted 6-inch gun, but with no casualties. A hole in the roof of the No. 3 turret but with no damage. As I precaution, however, I order the magazine for that turret to be secured and the turret abandoned. While the turret would be hard to replace, I can't afford to lose a single turret crew. Better to have ten guns and stay safe (or at least as much as one can be in this sort of fuck-up) then have all twelve and risk a major fire. Finally a single hit of our own from No. 2 turret connects directly onto Blütcher. A small fireball briefly emerges as a large cluster of metal leaps into the air. We destroyed the rearmost turret! "That's the stuff! Keep it up Fuji!" I coo triumphantly. Blütcher may have a faster rate of fire and a smaller profile, but our guns will pound her to pieces! Then disaster strikes. Four AP shells from the front and forward starboard turrets punch straight into the roof of the No. 5 turret, starting a fire. I quickly order the turret's magazine flooded. This prevents the ship from blowing up like we have caused so many Carolean ships-of-the-line. Only a single loader survives the inferno however. The entire turret crew, including the ones who operated the powder magazines directly below, are caught in the firestorm that has now been stopped. I pray that most, if not all, had died quickly. Now we have only four turrets fully operational, four 6-inch guns, and a single 5-inch Type twin mount. The other secondary guns on the port side are fine, but the enemy is not on the port side. Now everyone is pissed off, even the CMC and their two bully-turn-friends are crying for blood. A desire I myself have. "DON'T STOP FUCKING FIRE AT THAT FUCKING SHIP UNTIL SHE IS COVERED IN WATER AND ABLAZE!" I howl, using magic to amplify my voice. Finally both ships emerge from the infernal cloud of smoke. Both ships have suffered damage. But Blütcher has suffered more. The rear turret is knocked out, its twin guns still pointing towards port, though in a warped manner. The second funnel has been cut in half, and several secondary cannons, one 5.9 gun and several 88s, are destroyed. The damaged former-German armored cruiser turns around, as if she is making a turn to bring her port guns to bear "This is it! Fire everything! Fire! Fire, damn it, fire!" In my blood rage I fail to realize what the Blütcher is really doing until I feel the ship trying to move to starboard as a column of water erupts dead-center. At the same time, Fuso shudders so violently I can't help but remember the first time I tried to ride a horse when I went to the academy on a dear back on earth. As the ship starts to resume moving forward, I can already feel the sluggish effect caused by a direct hit from a 45cm torpedo. 'At least it is one, and not a full salvo,' I think, slightly sheepish. Froster calls through the ship's internal communication system. "Sir, the hit was on the torpedo bulge. We'll be taking on water, but we won't be in any grave danger." I exhale, glad to hear this silver lining. Then I remember the task at hand. The damaged Blütcher is trying to make smoke again, fleeing as its two rear side turrets fire another salvo. The shells land either far or short of me. If they had time, they would have tried to form a bracket of fire. But they didn't. And they only serve to piss. Me. Off. "Fuji. Fire," I say calmly as I eye the soon-to-be doomed warship. The first salvo falls short, brightly-colored splashes of water forming from the special dye my gunners use to mark the fall of their shells. I had them switch to a yellow dye as it would be easier to see at night. The next salvo falls far, completing the bracket of the armored cruiser. The third salvo scores direct hits, igniting fires all other the ship and destroying both rear turrets. The fourth salvo rakes the area containing the bridge and conning tower, undoubtedly killing or wounding all inside, leaving the ship directionless and powerless as the electrical system appeared to also have been hit. The fifth salvo finishes her off. A cluster of four 14-inch shells hits her dead-center, punching straight through Blütcher's deck armor and going all the way through, causing massive flooding. Within minutes, the ship starts to ride low in the water. I, however, refuse to let her capsize as she did back home. "Fuji, split her in half. I want to see her powder magazine explode," I say, a bit coldly. But then again, considering the damage USS Fuso has sustained, I have not even a scrap of pity for the Carolean crew. The front two turrets fire penetrating the front three magazines. The following fireball is impressive, to say the least. The ship breaks in two, just behind the bridge. I watch emotionlessly as the bow raises in the air, and the stern going down forward, soon leaving only the propellers in the air, still churning slowly, before going down to Davy Jone's Locker. "Helm, take us back to the beaches. Prepare to land our Marines and SNLF. Let's wrap this bloodshed up. If they are stuck between going forwards and backwards, no matter how hard they fight, they will crumble. Froster, you have command. Keep your eyes on those fillies. If they want to see Applejack, they can, but have them blindfolded until they reach her. I want to keep them in the dark from this violence as long as possible, and as much as humanly possible. After you drop us off, take her to Canterlot. We're going to need to repair the ship." With that, I head to my cabin to grab my Krag rifle. 'Heads up, my love. I'll be joining you on the beaches very soon.' 9:00 PM… Medical bay… "APPLEJACK!" A crying Applebloom shrieks as she rushes to her wounded older sister. Aside from some shrapnel and the shock that one gets from nearly dying, the main damage the orange earth pony farmer took was a broken leg. Thankfully it would heal, but it would take time. The Element of Honesty looks at her younger sister with a mixture of pleasure and disapproval. "Hey sis. Ah'm not sure to feel happy or disappointed to see y'all. Ah told ya to stay n Canterlot. That being said, it really is good to see ya," Applejack says, gingerly hugging Applebloom. Rarity is expressing similar reactions to her own sister, white Fluttershy hugs and checks on the other three fillies. Pinkie Pie had stayed behind with Twilight and Spike, to help organize events to keep up morale as she was the Element of Laughter. Despite the moment of tenderness, Applejack can't help but feel a pang of worry for when Rainbow Dash returns. The earth pony knows that the cyan pegasus wouldn't be happy at all at the near-death experience. To be honest (which is her specialty after all), Applejack was worried at how this war was turning her adventurous friend. Maybe it would be good to see her soon, and try to knock some sense into her.