Near the coastal town of the South Luna Ocean Bay, a large group of earth pony Royal Guards were escorting a big, wooden cargo wagon, which was carrying two strange and mysterious objects. The escort was led by Princess Celestia and Commander Shining Armor and they were marching towards the South Luna Ocean Naval Base. The base itself was quite big, being an important strategic location as the southern-most naval base in Equestria. It contained a headquarters, a barracks, a small airfield, and two large naval docks for big ships to be either built, repaired, or modified. Anchored near the docks were four ships consisting of two battlecruisers and two heavy cruisers, with their crews of pony sailors hanging around the decks, waiting for orders or announcements. When they spotted Princess Celestia and her escort in the distance, they became very surprised and curious at their sudden arrival, as they had not heard anything about a scheduled visit from the Princess. The higher-ups of their respective ships had been given orders to await the Princess’s arrival, however, due to the secretive nature of their visit, were not told the reason for their arrival. This meant that they were not surprised but were still curious. The group were allowed access into the base and quickly continued towards the docks. As they arrived at the docks, they stopped. Princess Celestia uncovered one of the devices, revealing it to be Crest’s Magic Mirror Prototype, and used her magic to lift and place the mirror on the docks, facing the ocean. She ordered Royal Guards to immediately start assembling the parts and plugs together, so that the mirror portal could be completed and set up as quickly as possible. Shining Armor then trotted towards Princess Celestia and bowed.
“Your Highness, may I ask a question? Just what is this mirror portal, and what is it for?” Commander Shining Armour asked.
“It is Imperial Crest’s Magic Mirror Prototype. From what I understand, it is able to create a portal to another world” the Princess replied. This made Shining Armour a bit intrigued.
“Crest’s device eh? How the hay did he managed to create such a thing?!” He asks Celestia, amazed but still a little confused.
“I do not know exactly how, but according to him, he worked on it for quite some time” Princess Celestia replied.
“Wow, that’s incredible! Well, it looks like his hard work paid off” Shining Armor said as he examined the Magic Mirror Prototype. “So, Your Majesty, let me get this straight. To prevent the incoming invasion of Equestria, you decided to go along with Crest’s unusual plan and have sent him along with your sister on a mission to save his come country from the New Lunar Republic?”
“Yes, indeed I have. I too was surprised at first, but as a teacher of his school, I have learnt to put my full trust and faith in him. I’m very proud of his work and what he has managed to achieve so far” Celestia said.
Shining Armor nodded and after thinking for a second, asks her, “Wait, is he too young be on this kind of dangerous mission?”
Celestia nodded. “I understand what you’re trying say but I sensed a spark of potential in him and-” Princess Celestia was suddenly interrupted by several Royal Guards as they approached her, bowing as they arrived.
“Sorry to interrupt Your Highness, Crest’s Magic Mirror Prototype is ready to go” The Royal Guard informed Celestia.
“Very good, stay back everypony” Celestia warned. Shining Armour and the Royal Guards stepped away from the mirror as she begins to chant the spell to activate the portal. Her horn starts to light up and then suddenly shoots a yellow magic beam towards the mirror, causing the mirror to light up. She then shoots another beam of magic at the mirror, a large magic beam shooting out of it and towards the empty waters of the South Luna Ocean bay. A huge, bright flash then occurs as a huge portal appears on the surface of the water. This left Shining Armour and the Royal Guards stunned and all eyes were now looking at the portal, waiting for something to happen. As they looked through the portal, they could see the ocean of Earth, looking very similar to their own. After waiting a few minutes with nothing happening, a big, dark silhouette of a large ship suddenly appeared in the portal, leaving everypony surprised and intrigued as to what it was. Celestia was the only one that was not surprised, as she knew Crest’s plan all along from reading his scroll message and instructions back in Canterlot. The large ship started to enter their side of the portal, revealing it to be the mighty Yamato. As soon as the whole ship exited the huge portal it closed up, causing a big flash which forced everypony to close their eyes from the brightness. As all the ponies opened their eyes, they got their first clear look at the Yamato right in front of them. Many of them became intrigued by the design of the ship, including its pagoda-style bridge, its main and secondary armaments, and the bow, which had a golden chrysanthemum emblem at the centre.
“Wow, it looks so different to anything that we have in our fleet” Shining Armor commented as he examined the large ship.
Celestia nodded. “According to Crest’s message, it is a battleship from the other world called Earth and is apparently quite old fashioned. However, it seems that since Crest resurrected the ship with the help of my sister, it was returned to its original state. It looks brand new, as if it were only just built”.
“Your Highness, may I ask what the name of this battleship is?” Shining Armor asked her.
“Yamato…The Battleship Yamato” Celestia replied to Shining.
Suddenly, a Royal Guard appeared, running towards the Princess as fast as he could. As he approached, he bowed and spoke.
“Your Highness, I am sorry for the interruption, but I bring urgent news concerning the Elemental Project device! The crystals have started to glow unexpectedly of their own accord, and are flashing light every second” A Royal Guard informed the Princess.
The news seemed to surprise the Princess. “Glowing of its own accord? Come with me Shining Armour, we must investigate this”.
Then Celestia, followed by Shining, quickly trotted towards the cargo wagon. The two peeked inside the wagon and uncovered the cloth that was concealing the device to reveal a clear, circular glass case containing a crystal that appeared to have six different colours. It was continually glowing, flashing light every second. After covering the device again, they trotted back to the edge of the dock looking at the Yamato, Celestia having a puzzled look on her face.
“It seems the Elemental Project started glowing right after that ship appeared” Shining said to Celestia. “I do not remember anything like this happening when were about to test the device on some of our ships”.
“You are right. From what I see, this could mean something” Celestia replied.
“What could it mean, Your Highness?”
“I believe this ship could be the right one to hold the device” Celestia said. Shining nodded slowly, though still seemed sceptical.
As the large battleship sailed slowly into the bay, the funnel stopped blowing smoke and the speed of the ship started to decrease. Shining Armor trotted over to one of the large dock areas and started ordering the tugboats to get ready and help park the Yamato at the dock. The naval pony staff saluted and rushed to carry out their orders, some got the tugboats in position while others went to the large dock’s front to get the large ropes, ready to park the Yamato. While the tugboats were sailing around the Yamato, the whole naval base, including the sailors of the anchored warships, were watching the parking of the giant battleship, which had just appeared out of nowhere from a portal made by Princess Celestia.
On the bridge of the Yamato, the alicorn stallion Imperial Crest lay unconscious on the floor, having experienced another portal travelling. He slowly gets up and opens his eyes to look around and sees that he and his friends managed to escape.
‘…. We did it, we made it back into Equestria…’ He thought to himself and he turned around to see his friends Luna and Yamanami both waving at him from the other side of the bridge. Crest smiled back, relieved to see that they were okay.
“We made it Crest!” Luna yelled in triumph as she trotted over to him, giving him a quick hug.
“I know” Crest hugged back, a smile on his face.
“Aw, that’s nice” Yamanami commented as he watched the two finish hugging. He then turned to look out the window, getting a view of the whole South Luna Ocean Bay, from its naval base nearby to the town and the huge mountains in the distance.
“Woah… So, this is the Land of Equestria? It sure looks beautiful” Yamanami was in awe of the sight before him.
“Yes, it is! Welcome to Equestria!” Luna said.
“Indeed, welcome to our world Yamanami! I believe you’re the first human to ever come here” Crest added.
“Thanks guys. Honestly, I am still trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened, but I’ll be fine. I’m just happy to be of help right now.” Yamanami walked over to the window to look down at the water. “So, you guys have tugboats in this world as well? It looks like they’ll need them to help park this big girl after all. Well, we did use up all the coal we had during the chase by the JSDF back at Earth, so she doesn’t have much speed or power at the moment” Yamanami mentions to his two friends.
Crest nods. “We’ll just have to wait here and leave the rest to Celestia and the naval staff”.
As the tugboats connected with the hull of the Yamato, they started to push the Yamato slowly sideways, towards one of the large docks of the South Luna Ocean Naval Base. As the large vessel got closer to the dock, the ponies on the dock threw their mooring ropes around the Yamato’s individual bollards and with the help of other mooring ponies, they starting to pull the ship slowly towards the dock. After the ship hit the marine fenders, rubber, or plastic buffers on the dock to stop ships from hitting it, the mooring ponies start tying the mooring ropes around the pier bollards tightly. As they finished trying the mooring ropes, they connected a ramp between the Yamato and the main dock so that Princess Celestia could board the ship.
After the docking process is completed, Crest, Luna and Yamanami exit the bridge, using an elevator to get down to the deck. As soon as they exit the ship’s superstructure, they met up with Princess Celestia, who had just boarded the ship. “Celestia!” Crest and Luna trotted towards Princess Celestia and each gave her a big hug. She smiled as she hugged them back.
“Welcome back you two! Well done on pulling off this crazy plan of yours. I knew you could do it”.
“Thanks, Celestia, but we couldn’t have done it without you either” Crest replied.
Celestia nodded, smiling. “Oh, it was nothing”.
After briefly catching up with each other, Celestia’s attention turned towards the creature who had come along with Crest and Luna. It appeared to be around the same height as her, and it walked on only two legs.
“Looks like you managed to find some help after all”.
Crest and Luna also turned to face Yamanami. Yamanami noticed this, quickly bowing to Celestia out of respect, followed by a salute. “Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Osamu Yamanami and I am a human from the planet called Earth”.
Princess Celestia smiled and saluted back “It is a pleasure to meet you Yamanami the Human. My name is Princess Celestia and I welcome you to the land of Equestria! I rule this land along with Luna, my sister. I believe that you are the first of your kind to enter our world. Now, I see that you are the one who has helped Crest and Luna with their mission”.
Yamanami responds with nod. “That is correct”
“Then I would like to thank you on behalf of Equestria. We could not thank you enough. Rest assured; I will see to it that you be treated the same as any other pony. I hope you enjoy your stay in Equestria” Celestia bows her head in thanks.
Yamanami bows back. “You are most welcome Princess and I thank you very much. If it is not too much to ask, I would like to continue to help Crest and Luna with their mission”.
Princess Celestia nods, “Of course, you may do as you please”. As she turned to face all three of them again, she was surprised to notice Crest’s newly acquired cutie mark.
“Wow Crest, you’ve got your cutie mark?! Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Celestia. It appeared after I resurrected the Yamato” Crest begins to explain. “It seems to be a golden flower emblem. I have no idea what the meaning behind it is, but I’ll have to find out later. Right now, I just need to focus on the mission.” Celestia nods in agreement.
“Well, it seems that you three have done a great job operating the Yamato so far. However, I believe you are in need of a crew to help you operate this massive ship” Celestia inquired, looking at the trio.
“Yes, indeed we do very much need a crew to help operate the Yamato. There’s no way we could operate the ship on our own for very long” informed Yamanami. Crest and Luna both agreed, as just getting the Yamato back to Equestria had drained a lot of their magic.
“Do not worry. I had thought ahead and sent Commander Shining Armor to the naval base to gather the naval graduates, who are well trained and well disciplined, as well as the army soldiers at the barracks, who shall serve as the landing party while also helping the crew with their duties where possible” Celestia reassured. “Now, may I please have a tour around the ship? I want to take a look at this uniquely designed battleship from Earth”.
“No problem, we actually haven’t had a lot of time to explore the whole ship either, so this will be a good opportunity to do so” Crest answered excitedly, Luna & Yamanami nodding in agreement.
As the trio and Princess Celestia start their tour around the deck of the ship, Celestia’s Royal Guards board the ship, using their magic to levitate Crest’s Magic Mirror Portal Prototype and another device onto the front deck of the ship. As they placed them on the deck, they removed the cloak covering the other device, revealing it to be the Elemental Project Device. It had a big, circular glass casing containing a clear capsule, inside which was a crystal that had six different colours. The crystal appeared to be pulsating light, glowing, and flashing every few seconds and around the casing of the device were several mechanical parts and electrical components. The Royal Guards, with the help of a mechanic officer from the naval base, then start to move the large capsule and the parts towards the superstructure of the Yamato. As they entered into the interior of the Yamato, a few Royal Guards went ahead to look for a suitable spot for the device. After a few minutes of skimming through the interior of the ship, they found a perfect spot for the Elemental Project Device; a large, empty room located under the Yamato’s conning tower. After moving the device and its required parts into the room, they immediately started to carefully construct the elemental device, under the instructions of the mechanic officer. First, the circular casing was placed at the centre of the room, with the required parts and electrical cables surrounding it. With the use welding tools and magic, they managed to construct the device in only half an hour. After the installation of the Elemental Project Device, they later moved Crest’s Magic Mirror Prototype off the deck and into another empty room, storing it in the corner. Then the Royal Guards left the mechanic officer to oversee the device as they headed back to the deck of the ship. While that was going on, multiple cargo boxes containing supplies such as medical supplies, food, fuel, and other essential items were delivered by the naval base personnel. Along with the Royal Guards who had just arrived, they helped to store each of the cargo boxes into the many storerooms in the interior of the battleship.
The trio and Celestia continued touring around the whole the ship, admiring the uniquely designed superstructure, the three massive 18-inch main naval rifles, the secondary armaments, the anti-aircraft weaponries, and the many other features of the giant battleship.
After they had finished their tour, they trotted back to the front deck and Celestia commented. “The ship has a very unique design, including its tower-like bridge design and its weaponry”.
“Fun fact; most of the old-fashioned Japanese battleships, including the Yamato, had pagoda inspired designs for their bridges” informed Yamanami.
“Is that so?” Celestia asked and he nodded. “Interesting that your country is good at designing such unique warships like this one. I have never seen a ship quite like it”.
As the trio and Princess Celestia approached the front deck, they met up with Commander Shining Armor, who had just arrived. He saluted to Celestia, who saluted back.
“Your Majesty, I have gathered the naval graduates and army soldiers as you ordered. I have also informed them of the nature of their mission. They are here and are ready to board”.
“Excellent. Group them into their specific stations before they board and inform the army commander to allocate his soldiers into the spare rooms for the journey” Princess Celestia ordered. Shining Armor bowed and left the deck to sort out the crewmembers.
Then Celestia turned her attention to the trio, smiling.
“Well, it looks like your crew and the landing party are ready”.
“Celestia, thank you so much for the support you have given us” Crest said, feeling grateful.
“Very much appreciated, Your Highness” Yamanami added, tipping his naval hat.
“You are most welcome. I mean, I did send you on this mission after all, a mission which just might save Equestria from invasion. I want to assist you as much as I can” Princess Celestia answered. While they were talking, Shining Armour boarded the ship, followed by multiple ponies wearing naval uniforms, each carrying their own duffel bags, who began to slowly gather around the trio and Celestia.
“Crest, Luna and Yamanami meet some of your crew members” Shining Armor gestured to the group of ponies, which consisted of pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns. When they had all gathered around, they saluted to Shining, Celestia and the trio, who saluted back. As they all finished saluting, Shining turned to the trio. “This group are a part of the Surface Combat Department and their role is to operate the Yamato’s weaponry”.
“So, you guys get to fire all the weapons including the big guns eh? I look forward to working with you” Yamanami commented.
“Nice to meet you all, members of the Surface Combat Group. We indeed look forward to working alongside you all” announced Crest, looking at the naval sailors.
“Since you aren’t familiar with the ship, now’s the time to get acquainted with her” Shining Armor advised. “Your Petty Officers and Chiefs will guide you to your posts”.
“Okay everypony, follow my lead and we’ll help you get stationed to your posts!” A naval officer ordered.
“Aye sir!” All the surface combat ponies obliged in unison, picking up their duffel bags and splitting up as they headed to their posts.
“Next up is the navigation department. Next group come aboard!” Shining Armor shouted, pointing to another group of ponies as they boarded the ship with their duffel bags, also consisting of the different three pony races. “Their role is to help navigate the ship and to operate the radar and the binoculars”.
As they all gathered around, Shining Armor saluted, and they saluted back. Crest, Luna and Yamanami similarly greeted the group before they too left, heading towards the entrance of the Yamato’s superstructure into the interior of the ship; some looked for the radar room and others went into the bridge.
After the second group went to their posts, another group boarded the Yamato and they gathered around Shining and the four. The group saluted and they saluted back. “This group’s role is to maintain the engine and speed of the ship, as well as being damage controllers to prevent fires and flooding of the ship” Shining Armor informs the trio. After Luna, Crest and Yamanami greet them they disperse, trotting into the entrance of the Yamato’s interior to find their specific workstations.
“Wow, there are so many crewmembers” Luna commented.
“Well if I can remember correctly, the Yamato was operated by around 2800 sailors when it last sailed. We won’t need as many as that because our crew has earth pony strength, unicorn magic and Pegasi wing strength to help them” Crest evaluated. Yamanami was a bit surprised to hear this but quickly remembered what Crest and Luna had managed to do with their magic and nodded, “You’re probably right, you ponies are pretty strong. Definitely stronger than us humans”.
More groups of ponies continued to come board the Yamato, all carrying their own kits in their duffel bags. As they approached Shining Armor, Celestia and the trio they all saluted. After Yamanami, Crest and Luna saluted back and gave them a respectful military greeting, they too trotted off towards the entrance of the Yamato’s interiors, heading to their posts.
“These guys are made up of a bunch of different groups. There are the accountants, the supply personnel, the artillery & AA (Anti-Aircraft) operators, the cooking officers and the medical officers, who will help the wounded during battle” Shining pointed out. Looking back at the naval dock, they could still see more ponies waiting to come aboard. This group seemed to consist of five naval officers and two thousand soldiers, led by a commander. As the large group approached the ramp, they all stopped and Shining gestured for the five naval officers to come aboard.
“Well there’s the army, but who are those five in the front?” Yamanami asked.
“They are the bridge personnel” Shining Armor said as the five pony naval officers boarded the Yamato, all saluted to Shining Armor, Celestia and the trio. After they had saluted back, Shining Armor turned to look at the trio. “And we got a couple more right in front of me. Three more to be exact”.
“Wait… you mean the three of us?” Luna asks Shining.
“Correct my sister, you three will make up the remainder of the bridge personnel. What did you expect, that you would be put with the cleaning staff? You will be an advisor; Crest will be an acting tactical officer and you Yamanami” Celestia pulled out a captain’s hat from behind her back and handed it to Yamanami “will be acting Captain” Celestia finished and she looks at the trio. “In other words, you three will be in command of the ship” As she spoke, they noticed another two almost identical hats were floating behind Celestia and they moved to land on Crest and Luna’s heads. “I had these captains’ hats made for you three when you were still making your way back to Equestria. As we were touring the ship, I improved them slightly to better suit their wearers, in secret of course”.
Yamanami was quite taken aback after hearing what his role would be. He would never have thought that he’d be given the position of acting captain, figuring that he would get an advisory position instead. But he quickly regained his composure, becoming a bit excited “Acting Captain?! Wow, thank you very much Princess for giving me such a high position. It was always a dream of mine to one day become a captain of my very own ship, but I never thought it would actually happen! I was a petty officer back on Earth, so I have experience in having a leadership role. I will fulfil my role as best as I can, you have my word Princess. I will not let you down” Yamanami bowed. He took off his Earth naval hat and put on the Captain’s hat, a big grin on his face.
“I’m glad to hear it. I know I’m giving you a lot of responsibility, but I picked you because of your experience and knowledge of human ships and naval warfare. You’re the best man for the job and I believe in you Yamanami the Human, or should I say, Captain.” Celestia saluted to Yamanami, who saluted back, smiling. She turned back to face the five naval officers “you may go to your posts on the bridge, these three will meet you there once they are finished with everything here.” They bowed before leaving, heading to the bridge. Crest looked down at the large group still waiting to come aboard. “Lucky last eh? I believe they are the soldiers from the army, who will serve as the landing party?” Crest asked and Shining nodded in response as he signalled to the commander to come aboard the ship. Then the trio watched as the large group boarded the ship, gathering in an orderly fashion around them on front deck. When they were all on board, the commander shouted “Attention!” All the soldiers stood to attention, saluting to Celestia and the others. Shining Armor saluted back, shouting “At ease!” and they relaxed. The army commander trotted over to them, bowing to Celestia and Luna “It is an honour to meet you, Your Majesties. I am Rocky Thunderhoof, commander of these soldiers. They are now all aboard and are awaiting your orders”.
“Commander Thunderhoof, thank you for coming under such short notice. Please allocate your soldiers into the spare rooms on the ship, where they can stay during the trip” Celestia ordered. “Also, I will not be coming with you on this mission, so during the mission you will take orders from these three.” Celestia gestured towards Yamanami, Crest and Luna. The Commander Thunderhoof replied “Aye ma’am!” and saluted, trotting over to his ponies to inform them of the news before leading them into the interiors of the giant battleship. After several minutes had passed, all the army soldiers had entered the interior of the ship and were being allocated to their rooms.
“Well, there you have it. The Yamato’s new crewmembers, plus some extras along for the ride”.
“Alright, we finally have all our crew. Now all we need to do is to plan how we are going to reach Zipang and stop the New Lunar Republic Forces” Luna stated.
Celestia nodded and her horn lit up, a map appearing in front of them, displaying a map of Equestria and the lands beyond. “According to the latest data from our reconnaissance planes, Zipang has unfortunately become occupied by the New Lunar Republic forces. Also, we still have no confirmation of when they are planning to invade Equestria”.
After hearing this, Crest remembered his family and started to feel worried. He asked “Wait Celestia, is my family still alright?” concern in his eyes.
“Crest, the reconnaissance aircraft was supposed to look for signs of any survivors, but unfortunately the craft was shot down before it could find anything” Celestia explained. She trotted over him to put her hoof on his shoulder “I’m so sorry Crest but that does not mean that you should give up hope”. Crest looked down, tears starting to form in his eyes.
Luna, being his first and best friend, wrapped her wing around Crest. “Listen, I know you’re concerned about the safety of your family but don’t worry, I’m pretty sure their still safe or hiding somewhere on the island. They’re tough ponies, they wouldn’t go down that easily”.
“Luna’s right. From what you’ve told me your family are very strong. They probably managed to slow the enemy down, choosing to fight instead of surrendering quickly. Otherwise this place would probably have been invaded by now” Yamanami consoled as he walked closer to Crest to pat him on the head. Crest looked up at Yamanami, Celestia and Luna and began to smile again, wiping his damp eyes.
“Thanks guys. You’re right Yamanami, my family have given us the time to do this mission, to meet you and resurrect this old battleship. Even though we’ll be facing around 100 ships, with your naval knowledge and leadership, Luna’s guidance, and the help of our new crewmembers, we should be able to break through and save them” Crest announced, feeling confident again.
“Don’t forget about the other four warships; they will serve as an escort. And don’t forget the army soldiers either as they will help you with the landing operation” Shining Armor added pointing at the four anchored warships and Crest turned to see them.
“You’re right, thanks for reminding me Commander Shining Armor. We will need their help too if we are to succeed.” Crest smiled.
“You are welcome my friend” Shining Armor nodded.
After Crest was reassured by his friends, they left the deck, gathering in one of the meeting rooms below deck in order to focus their attention on planning the operation to liberate Zipang. They poured over the map, discussed tactics and possible scenarios that they could use or may happen. After an hour of this, an idea came to Yamanami, a naval tactic that was similar to what the Yamato failed to do back in Earth, during the last days of the war. He told Crest about the idea and Crest was liked the idea, agreeing that it could work.
“Sorry to interrupt everyone but Crest and I have an idea” Yamanami declared. Everypony quickly stopped what they were doing, turning their attention to Yamanami as he pointed at the map of the South Luna Ocean. “The Yamato, escorted by the two battlecruisers and two heavy cruisers, will sail straight towards the direction of Zipang. It will take several days to get there”.
Commander Shining Armor pulled out a pen and paper and started taking notes on the mission.
“If we meet the enemy fleet along the way, we shall attack with everything we have in order to push through and reach the coast” Crest added. “Luna and I can perform the Protection Barrier Spell to protect the Yamato and the four escort ships from enemy fire, but there’s a problem”.
“We don’t know how long we can keep the spell going with 100 ships firing projectile shells at us non-stop?” Luna guessed.
“Correct Luna. The more raining projectiles that hit our protection barrier spell, the more time is reduced on how long our spell can withstand” Crest started to yawn. “Sorry, I’ve done a lot of magic spells today. I guess it’s taken its toll on me”.
“Are you okay?” Luna asks Crest, concerned, and he nods.
“Yeah, I’ll just need to take a rest later after we set sail” Crest reassured.
Celestia quietly motioned to one of her Royal Guards to come to her. After she whispered an order to the Royal Guard, he bowed and left the room. Celestia then suddenly declared “I think I have a better idea and it will probably help you with the protection barrier spell problem” Everypony, including Yamanami, turned to looked at her.
“Luna, do you remember the Elemental Project?”
“Kind of, but wasn’t the project scrapped a few years ago?” Luna replied and her sister shook her head.
“No, it was not. We did stop doing tests and experiments with it, but we never destroyed it. I kept it around for safe keeping, just in case we ever needed it” Celestia answers back.
“The Elemental Project?” Crest asked, puzzled. “What’s that?”
“During the New Lunar Republic’s huge assault, one of our scientists discovered six crystals in the deep depths under Canterlot, which almost resembled the six elements” Celestia said.
After Celestia mentioned ‘six elements’, Crest was shocked. “Wait, six elements? Like the Elements of Harmony? How strange”.
“Anyway, after the discovery, the Elemental Project was started, and our scientists were researching and experimenting with the crystal until they discovered that it could generate a powerful magic shield” Celestia explained. “Then, while Shining Armour and I were visiting the research lab, an unnatural occurrence happened; a ghost appeared before us and gave us a message. She told us “Only one ship can carry this device” and then she disappeared without telling us any other clues”.
“That’s weird, an entity appearing before you just to tell you that? It must be important for the device somehow.” Yamanami commented.
Celestia nods. “Yeah, we thought so too. We decided to test the device on some of the best ships in our fleet, but the device never fully activated during any of the tests that we conducted, even though the crystal seems to still be alive. So, I decided to put the device in storage for safe keeping, just in case it could be of use in the future”.
Right after Princess Celestia had mentioned her encounter with the ghost and its message, Crest suddenly thought about how a similarly unusual experience had happened to him twice and once to Luna as well; the female voice that had called out to them to restore the Yamato. Crest started to realise that there could be a possible link between the two, and so he asked Celestia. “Celestia, you mentioned something about a ghost appearing before you and giving you a message. It sounded similar to something that I experienced back on Earth”.
Celestia and Commander Shining Armour both turned their attention to Crest.
“During our visit to Yamanami’s house, he showed us an old photo of the Yamato and as I gazed at it, I suddenly heard a female voice calling to me, telling me to bring the ship back to life” Crest explained. Celestia became intrigued by his testimony.
“After the occurrence, I suddenly became interested in the old battleship and later decided to restore it”.
“So that’s why you suddenly spaced out eh?” Yamanami chuckled.
“Something similar happened to me as well my sister” Luna added. “When Crest and I went into the deep ocean and saw the Yamato, I heard the sound of a female voice, calling us to bring back the Yamato”.
“Another phenomenon occurred as well” Celestia said. “The device started glowing and flashing repeatedly, right after the Yamato appeared out of the portal. Which is why I speculate that the device could be fully activated on this battleship”.
“So, where is the device?” Crest asks Celestia.
“It has already been installed in the Yamato” The white alicorn replied. Crest was surprised as he could not remember seeing any such device being loaded onto the Yamato. “While I was touring this ship with you three, I ordered my guards, with the help of a mechanic officer from the base, to install the device in the Yamato” Celestia explained.
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.” Luna said. “Well then, can we see it? Maybe we could test to see if it works?”
“Yes of course, my sister. Follow me.” Celestia nodded and she trotted over to the door. She opened it to reveal the Royal Guard that had left earlier, along with the mechanical officer, an earth pony, who had helped with the installation of the Elemental Device earlier. “Meet Brave Warner, the mechanical officer who is in charge of the Elemental Device. He was one of the ponies who worked on and tested the Elemental Device on several ships right here at this naval base, so he has a better understanding of it than anypony here. It’s lucky that he was still at this naval base and so could help us on our mission”.
Yamanami saluted. “Nice to meet you Officer Warner, I look forward to working with you”.
“Indeed, pleasure to meet you Officer Warner” Crest also saluted.
“Thank you Captain Yamanami and Tactical Officer Imperial Crest”. Brave Warner saluted back. He then bowed to Celestia and Luna. “Your Highnesses, I am glad to be of service. What do you require me to do?”
“Can you please take us to the Elemental Device?” Celestia asked.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Brave Warner bowed again before trotting down the hallway, with everypony following after him.
“I forgot to mention, where’s my Magic Mirror Prototype?” Crest asks Celestia whilst trotting next to her.
“Do not worry, it has already been stored in the ship as well” Celestia replied.
They then arrived at the room containing the Elemental Device. Officer Warner entered, everypony entering after him. After they had entered room, they immediately saw a huge circular device in the centre of the room. It was connected to the ceiling and the floor by metal platforms that held it in place, several cables coming out of the sides of the device and connected up to the ship’s power. A clear capsule was in the centre of the circular device and inside of it contained a crystal that appeared to have six colours: red, orange, pink, purple, blue and green. The crystal was flashing with light every few seconds, casting the different colours of light around the room every time it did so. The sight of the device caused both Crest and Yamanami to become surprised but intrigued, especially when seeing that the crystal had six colours. Luna had seen the device before, but was surprised to see that the crystal was glowing of its own accord, as it had never done that before.
“Woah… So, this is the Elemental Project Device? I’ve never seen anything like it before” Yamanami asked in awe. Celestia nodded in response.
“The crystal’s colours look almost identical to the Elements of Harmony” Crest commented as he looks closer to the device.
“It sure does Crest” Luna added.
“Since you talked about how the Elemental Device could possibly be fully activated on the Yamato, can we test it?” Crest asks Celestia.
The white alicorn nodded and she gestured to Officer Warner. He nodded, trotting over to the side of the Elemental Project Device to open up a small monitor where he pressed a few buttons to activate the device. After he pressed the activate button, loud whirring sounds were emitted from the device. The crystal stopped flashing with light every few seconds, instead glowing brightly and a huge and colourful energy wave bursts out of the device. The energy wave was so bright that it forced everyone to cover their eyes. Right after the energy surge, a rotating mechanism located on the top of the device started spinning, indicating that the device was fully activated. The crystal was now glowing with constant light, washing the room with its six different colours. As everypony cleared their visions, they saw that the device was working. Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour and Brave Warner were all especially astounded that the Elemental Project Device was finally activated, after two years of hard work.
“I can’t believe it… It actually works? We tested it on so many of our ships, but it decides to work on the ship that comes from a different planet?!” Shining exclaimed as he gazed at the device, astonished.
“Yeah… I wonder why?” Crest pondered as he trotted closer to the device, examining it.
“Well according to the readings, the crystal’s energy has stabilised. The device is now fully activated and ready for action” informed Officer Warner as he stared at the small monitor, which was displaying the device’s status.
“I guess I was right all along, the device is useful after all. Glad I didn’t scrap it after all aren’t you?” Celestia smiled at Shining and Luna.
“Well, we might not know exactly why but something tells me that it was specifically meant to be activated on the Yamato” Crest added.
“It seems like you might be right” Luna agrees, as she closely inspected the crystal. “It’s pretty amazing that this small crystal can create magic shields”.
“Officer Warner, it’s great that we got the device to work, but can it really generate a big enough shield? We’ll probably need a shield big enough to not only protect the Yamato, but all four of the escort ships as well.” Yamanami asked.
“Yes Captain, according to our calculations I believe it can” Brave Warner replied. “However, sir, you need to remember to use it wisely. We have done a lot of testing with this device and according to our predictions, the shield can last for around three hours. After that, the device will need to be recharged before it can be used again. We estimate that this will take a few hours to complete. This is still a prototype device though, so our estimations may be a little off”.
“That should hopefully be good enough, thanks for letting us know” thanked Yamanami, slightly blushing at being called Captain.
“You really know a lot about this device, don’t you? It’s lucky that we have you with us, we probably wouldn’t have a clue about how to use it” Crest comments.
“Yes well, as Her Majesty told you, I was assigned to help the scientists set up and maintain the device during the many experiments that they conducted. After the project was supposedly scrapped, I was reassigned to the base here and have been working here ever since. I honestly thought that I would never get to see the device ever again, but here it is.” Brave Warner replied.
“Ah I see, that’s good to know. Thank you for your services so far, we’ll be counting on you.” Crest saluted.
Brave Warner saluted back. “Of course, sir, you can count on me”.
“Alright everypony, the crewmembers are all aboard and ready to operate the Yamato, the army is all settled in and ready as well, we’ve figured out a plan for the operation and the device is now fully activated. I think you are pretty much ready to go. We should probably notify the captains of the four other ships now.” Celestia announced as everypony stopped what they were doing and listened to her. They all nodded in agreement and exited the room, leaving Brave Warner to monitor the device.
“Do not worry Your Highness, I am already on it” Shining Armor was using his magic to write a message on four pieces of paper, which were floating in front of him as he trotted. After he was done writing the message, the four notes disappeared into magic dusts, speeding through the air towards their different destinations. “There we go, I just sent the messages that contain the plans for the mission and the request to depart to the four captains of our escort warships”.
“Very good, once we get their reply to depart, prepare to set sail” Celestia ordered as she and the others exit the Yamato’s superstructure, once more standing on the deck. As they waited for a response, they decided to go through the plan again so that they wouldn’t forget any important details.
After only fifteen minutes of waiting, four scrolls appeared in front of Shining Armor. He opens each of them to read the responses, the trio eagerly staring at him as he did so, waiting for him to tell them the reply. After Shining had read the four messages he smiled as he looked up and nodded.
“Very good, it seems that they have actually all finished their preparations a while ago and were waiting for us to finish. They have all accepted the request and are now preparing to set sail” Shining informs the trio.
“Very good. Looks like we’re all ready to go” Yamanami added.
“Yes, it does seem that way, however, I will sadly not be joining you on your mission. I must head back to Canterlot and continue to keep the peace. We’ve still got a war to win, remember? Most of our army, navy and air force are still fighting to the north and the east, I still have to make sure that they can hold the lines and push back the enemy” informed Celestia.
“That’s true. Well then, thank you so much Commander Shining, I appreciate your help to organise all of our new crewmembers and the army soldiers, as well as everything else that you’ve done for us” Crest smiled and salutes at the white unicorn commander.
“You are most welcome my friend. I wish you good luck on your mission” Shining saluted back, extending his hoof towards Crest, where they both do a hoof-shake.
“It was nice to meet you Commander Shining Armour and I too thank you for all your help” Yamanami salutes and shakes Shining’s hoof after Crest.
“No problem and it is a pleasure to meet you too, Yamanami the Human” Shining said.
Shining then turned to look at Celestia. “Your Highness, should we get going?”
“Yes, Commander Shining” The white alicorn princess nods and Shining trots to stand next her.
“With everything done and ready, I’m proud of you Imperial Crest for coming this far on your mission. With the help of my sister, you have successfully found help on Earth and managed to find a mighty warship to aid you on your quest. With all this helping you, I’m confident that you can complete your mission and stop the New Lunar Republic’s invasion.” Princess Celestia smiled as she hugged Crest.
“No problem Celestia, and thank you” Crest replies, smiling back. Luna trots towards Celestia and gives her a hug.
“Stay safe my sister and look after the others. Especially Crest, I fear that he may do something rash if his emotions get the better of him” Celestia cautioned as she hugged back.
“I will, sister” Luna responded.
“Once again, it is very nice to meet you Your Highness and I thank you for all the help you have given us” Yamanami smiled and bowed lower in respect.
“Thank you very much Yamanami the Human, the pleasure is all mine. As I have said before, you are most welcome. You humans sure are very polite, I like that. I hope that the next time we meet, we may do so under more cheerful and less rushed circumstances as I am most intrigued about you and your planet of Earth. I apologise again that I must leave so quickly, this is no way to properly treat a guest from another world, however as you know it is due to the current situation that we face” Princess Celestia apologised.
Yamanami looked up at Celestia, nodding in agreement. “That’s alright Your Majesty, I completely understand. I’m just happy to be of help”.
The Royal Guards then started to go back down the ramp to the dock. Princess Celestia and Commander Shining Armour followed them, pausing just before the ramp to look back at the trio. Celestia smiled as she felt confident that they would succeed on the mission. “Good luck Imperial Crest, sister and Yamanami the Human. Be careful and stay safe on your mission”.
“As long as we have this ship, the shield generating device and the four escorts, we will be able to succeed even if we have to face all 100 ships head-on” Yamanami confidently declared.
Princess Celestia and Commander Shining Armor then trotted down the ramp to meet up with the Royal Guards. They stayed on the dock to watch the preparation and departure. The trio then left the deck and entered one of the two elevators to take them to the main bridge. At the same time, the ponies hanging around the dock all trotted to the dock bollards and started to remove the ramp in order to prepare for the ship’s departure. Simultaneously, the tugboats were starting up their engines and were on standby. Back at the bridge, the trio exited the elevator and meet the five bridge officers, who all saluted to them and they saluted back in return.
“Nice to meet you five, what are your roles on the main bridge?” Yamanami asked and each of the five officers responded to him one by one.
An earth pony stepped forward and spoke first. “My name is Timone Helm. I am the navigations officer and my role is to steer the Yamato with this” he said as he touched the Yamato’s steering wheel.
Next a unicorn stepped forward. “My name is Armis Ferrum. I’m the artillery and anti-aircraft officer, I get to announce the command when firing the guns, but it requires an order from you three. since you three are all command of this mission”
The remaining three then stepped forward, all of them earth ponies. The tallest of them spoke “My name is Raylight Ranch. These two are my brothers, Lampas Ranch and Vexillum Ranch. The three of us are the communications officers and our roles are to spot anything suspicious and to read any communications, such as light signalling or flag signalling”
“Ah yes, the communications officers” Crest nodded. “Very good. Well, it is a pleasure to meet you all. As you may or may not know, I am Imperial Crest and I will be the acting tactical officer”. He gestured to Luna “You all probably know who she is. Princess Luna will be an advisor and will be supervising the ship’s general functions and management. And this here,” Crest turned towards Yamanami, “is your Captain”.
“Yes, it is nice to meet you all. My name is Yamanami and I am a human from a world called Earth. I know that I look different and even speak a little differently to you all, however I want to reassure you that I have worked many years aboard a warship back on Earth, so I have the skills and knowledge required to be Captain. I am willing to put all my faith and trust in you, all I ask is that you do the same. I also ask that you obey Crest and Luna’s orders as if they were my own as well”.
The five officers all saluted, “Yes sir!”
“Very good, thank you. Now, I want to know if all departments are ready before we depart with the escort ships” Yamanami said.
The three Communications Officers all nodded and went off to the speaking tubes to make sure that all preparations had been complete before they set sail. A few seconds later they started to get responses, one after another.
“Main guns, secondary guns and AA guns are in good shape!”
“Weapon supplies are full!”
“All radar and radio are functioning as normal and we’re good to go!”
“Rangefinder and lookout groups are ready to keep an eye on the ocean and skies!”
“Engine is good and stabilized and the ship has been fully refuelled with easily enough for this trip!”
“Hello there this is the head chef speaking, our food supplies are fully stocked and there’s enough to easily feed everypony onboard for a whole week if we need to!”
“Damage control unit is ready for any damage problems!”
After the responses from all the ships’ personnel, Yamanami commented. “Very good”.
“A message from one of the four ships” Officer Raylight announced as he looked through his binoculars at the four escort ships. One of the battlecruisers was using light to signal to the Yamato and he continued “This is the captain from one of the battlecruisers. I am speaking on behalf of the other three captains of the other escort ships as well. We are departing now and will travel at slow speed as we wait for the Yamato to meet up with us”.
“Excellent. Announce to everypony that we are going to depart now” Yamanami commanded.
Officer Raylight saluted and went over to a radio in the corner of the main bridge. He activated it and announced, “Attention all sailors, officers and soldiers! We will now be departing the South Luna Ocean Bay and heading for the island of Zipang. Please finish up any preparations as we will be departing immediately!”
After the announcement was sounded over the ship’s speakers, the mooring ponies all nodded to each other before starting to loosen the mooring ropes from the dock’s bollards. At the same time, the tugboats sailed on the starboard side of the Yamato and the tugboat crews threw their ropes to wrap around the Yamato’s individual bollards in order to pull the ship out of the dock. Then the mooring ponies started to pull the mooring ropes off the Yamato, letting the tugboats pull the ship out of the dock slowly. After the ship had moved a couple of metres away from the dock, the tugboats stopped, and their crew detached the ropes from the Yamato’s individual bollards. Then the tugboats sailed on the portside of the battleship and repeated the process, continuing to slowly push the battleship away from the pier and give it more space to turn. After several metres of distance was put between the ship and the dock the tugboats sailed away, leaving the ship to begin its departure.
“Captain, the ship is now out of the dock” Officer Helm announced.
“Good, hard to starboard at slow speed” Yamanami ordered.
“Yes sir!” Officer Helm nodded as he turned the steering wheel hard to the right and spoke through one of the speaking tubes. “Start engine at slow speed!”
“Engine at low speed!” One of the officers from the engine room shouted a response through the message pipes. Then the angled funnel started blowing some smoke, indicating that the engine of the ship had started, and the ship started moving slowly to starboard, in order to avoid hitting the dock.
As the Yamato sailed slowly whilst turning to starboard, Princess Celestia and Commander Shining Armor, along with the Royal Guards, all saluted to the giant battleship and in response everypony on the bridge and some officers and sailors on deck saluted back. Right after the salute, the trio waved goodbye to Celestia and Shining Armor and they waved back. Yamato was now facing west side of the huge South Luna Ocean along with the four escort warships, who are waiting for them.
“Set engine speed on medium and we will meet up with the escort warships” Crest ordered. Officer Helm nodded in reply as he fixed the steering wheel position point the ship straight towards the ocean. “Engine at medium speed!” he shouted through the speaking tubes.
“Engine at medium speed!” An officer from the engine room then shouted back through the message tubes and later the ship’s speed changed as they slowly caught up to the four escort warships.
As the Yamato got closer, the four escort ships started to match the same speed as the Yamato.
“Sir, meet up completed and they are now moving at the same speed as us” Officer Helm announced.
“Good” Yamanami said. “For now, we will continue sailing at this pace”.
Crest went over to the radio communication device and pressed a button to also allow the radio device to contact the four warships, so that they could also hear what he had to say. He then turned the radio on before speaking.
“Attention everypony! This is Imperial Crest, the crowned prince of the country we’re saving, Zipang, and the acting Tactical Officer aboard the Yamato for this mission. Most of you already know about how dangerous to mission we are partaking in, which is to stop a mass invasion force of the New Lunar Republic. I won’t lie to you; it is going got be quite difficult. We’ll be up against possibly around 100 ships. However, there is no need to worry because within the Yamato holds one of Equestria’s forgotten military projects called the Elemental Device. This device can create a powerful magic shield that will protect us from all attacks of the enemy fleet. Now, with the device fully activated, we have an advantage over the enemy. If we can stop them, then we would have prevented a mass scale invasion of Equestria and essentially saved us from losing the war, while also saving my home country from occupation. Let’s all try our best for this important mission. The whole of Equestria and Zipang are counting on us and I know that we won’t let them down. I thank you all for listening. Please rest up and prepare yourselves for the fight to come. I wish you all good luck”.
After Crest’s speech, the loud sound of voices could be heard coming from both the Yamato and the four escort ships. Ponies were screaming and cheering with patriotism, shouting ‘Glory to Equestria! Glory to the Yamato!’ and other supportive chants. Crest started to smile, feeling the huge support of all the crews from each of the five warships. Luna and Yamanami clapped as well, as did the other five bridge officers.
“That was an interesting speech, well done” Luna smiled at him.
“Thank you, Luna. I sort of made it up as I went along” Crest smiled back at her.
“That was a very good speech Crest! It almost sounded like you were the captain” Yamanami complimented as he patted Crest on the back.
“Thanks, Yamanami” Crest thanked, a bit flattered.
“Anyways, Officer Helm, maintain course to my country, Zipang” Crest commanded.
“Yes sir!” He replied as he grips the steering wheel, looking out at the afternoon ocean and its endless waves.
The Yamato maintained its course and speed along with the four escort warships as they exited the South Luna Ocean Bay and began entering the huge wide ocean. Back at the South Luna Ocean Bay dock, Princess Celestia and Commander Shining Armor, along with the Royal Guards, were watching the giant battleship and its escorts as they sailed away into the distance.
“And so, their journey continues eh?” Shining commented. “Well, shall we head back to Canterlot now Your Highness?”
“Yeah” Celestia replied. She gazed at the Yamato and its escorts one last time, as the small fleet slowly receded into the horizon. ‘Farewell Yamato, and good luck to you all’ she thought to herself as she turned around, left the dock, and began heading back to Canterlot with Shining and her Royal Guards in tow.
The battleship Yamato commanded by the trio, along with the escort warships, continued sailing along into the huge ocean. They were heading west towards Zipang to fulfil their mission; to save Imperial Crest’s home country and prevent the invasion of Equestria by stopping the New Lunar republic invasion naval fleet in their tracks. It seemed that the fate of Equestria and Zipang rested on the crews of these few warships and their captains. Imperial Crest, the crowned prince of Zipang, Princess Luna, the sister of Celestia and co-ruler of Equestria, and their human friend Osamu Yamanami, from another world, continued on their mission. But no one really knew exactly what the outcome would be, of the battle to come…