//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: First Week Part 2 (Harry Leferts, GBscientist) // Story: Widening the Lens // by Harry Leferts //------------------------------// Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro. _____________________________________________________________________ Moments before Event, Equestria Cruising, Dainty takes a chance and looks down, only to see pink clouds far below. Shivering, she brings her head up as some small tears are swept away by the wind. 'I'm sorry...' Unbidden, images come to her mind of the ponies she tried to help get away from the current chaos far below. She found safe areas to guide ponies to, only for them to be effected when she got back, or the areas to no longer be safe when she got them there. 'So... tired...' Giving a good once around, she sees nothing but chaos. Suddenly, she sees a flash of light and looks to see a dome expanding with a rainbow flash. "Wha..." She doesn't get to answer as she's hit by the light. Later on in life, she would describe it as the entire world turning inside out and backwards as it inverted. At the moment, however, she's frightened as the air seems to thicken, becoming like syrup. All around her is light and mists. Shadowy shapes appear and disappear around her, often times seen from the corner of her eyes. One of these shadows resolves into a group of odd looking birds. Soon, it becomes apprent that they're not birds, but some kind of machine. With a start, she realizes what they are. 'Those... look like the planes from The Dark World!' Counting them, she realizes that there's five and their "Propellers" are not spinning. Giving herself a boost since she can see that her path crosses theirs, she heads on an intercept, her thoughts at the same speed as normal, but everything else is moving slowly. As she comes closer, she readies her camera, taking pictures as she does so. As she passes over the first one, she begins to break out in a cold sweat as she sees a skeleton wearing tattered clothing in the cockpit. Looking around, she realizes that the other shadows are other planes, some being ships. One, a metal one, she comes close enough to read Cyclops on the bow as it passes above her upside down, itself crewed by skeletons seemingly frozen where they had stood. The whole time as she slowly spirals (There apparently being no up or down where she is), unrealized by her, she has her hoof on her camera's trigger with pictures being taken of everything in the lens. Spotting a "Hole" she puts on speed and shoots out of it, finding herself above a blue sea. As she shakes herself, flakes of ice fall from her as she feels like she was both frozen and heated at the same time. "What the hay..." Looking around, she spots the familiar coastline of Equestria and starts heading for it. 'This is one story no one will believe...' Taking a look around, she notes that the sun is in the wrong position relative to where it should be. It's then she sees the ships below her. Gulping, she thinks it over before steeling herself. 'Come on Dainty! Dash wouldn't let whatever happened... affect her.' A moment later she begins to descend to the sea far below... __________________________________________________________________ Day 4, Forty kilometers from Equestria's northeast coast Standing at the stern of the HMCS Algonquin, Commander Tim Kerr turns away from a conversation as a crew member comes up. "Sir, we just got word that the Americans have made a contact of their own. Seems to be a pegasus." Nodding, the Commander turns back to the conversation he was having while taking a sip of coffee as the crew member looks upwards with a slightly unnerved look. "I'm sorry, but I have to cut this short. Duty calls and all." The large serpentine dragon nods as he waves a hand. "Oh, I can fully understand. It's been absolutely fabulous talking to you. So polite." The Commander nods. "Thank you Steven. It's been a pleasure." With a nod and a smile, the dragon turns and dives under the water. The crew member watches the spot for a moment before shaking his head. "Permission to speak freely Sir?" The Commander nods as he turns. "That was the oddest thing I've seen or heard of." The Commander nods with a chuckle. "Agreed." Rolling his shoulders a little, he begins to make his way back to the bridge. "Well then. Let's see how the Americans are doing themselves..." On the Bridge of the HMCS Algonquin a few hours later, all is quiet except for murmers before it's broken by the Radar Officer “Commander! I have something on Radar!” Walking over, Commander Tim Kerr looks over the Lieutenant’s shoulder at the Radar array. “Is it one of those Pegasi the Americans encountered?” Shaking her head, the radar officer looks up. “I don’t know Sir, whatever it is, it’s flying at about Mach 3 and 80,000 feet above us in a wide circle.” Straightening, the Commander glances at his Coms. “Is it the Americans? Ask them if they have any surveillance craft in the area.” The Coms officer nods for a moment and gets on the Coms with the American warships. A moment later he shakes his head. “They’re saying they don't Sir.” The Commander is about to say something when the Radar officer says something that causes his blood to run cold. “Sir! It’s descending towards us!” Biting back a curse, he turns. “Put the AA on Standby!” He then turns back to the Radar Officer. “Identify it as much as possible. I do not want to shoot down a possible friendly!” He then turns to the Coms. "Get in contact with our birds, and ask if one of them is able to do a visual confirmation now!” A few moments pass as the Bridge Crew seems to hold their breath. On the Radar Screen, a blip appears and is soon designated as a CP-140 Aurora. It’s soon with in visual range of the object as it slows down. Suddenly, the Coms officer sighs in relief. “They have reported it’s a Pegasus Sir.” The Commander asks for it to be confirmed. “Yes Sir, it has been confirmed to be a Pegasus.” Everyone slowly relaxes as the Commander gives a smile. “Tell the AA to stand down.” He then turns to his XO. “You have the Bridge Mr. Belhumeur.” His XO gives a nod as the Commander turns and walks out onto the catwalk outside the bridge with a pair of binoculars. Bringing them to his eyes, he watches in the direction that the Pegasus was last seen. ‘Now where are you… ?’ After a few minutes of scanning, he smiles as he sees a black dot slowly making its way towards the ship. He then proceeds to make his way down to the helipad before bring them to his eyes once more as the dot then resolves into a black pegasus with a red and black stripped mane and tail. Not long after it passes within shouting distance. “AHOY THERE!” The Pegasus stumbles a little in the air before noticing the Commander and making its way over. “He… Ah… ah… ACHOO!” The Commander jerks back a little as the sneeze propels the pegasus away from the ship slightly. Shaking its head, it flies back and goes to lands on the helipad, stumbling a little as she nearly uses the full length of it to stop. “Borry…*Sniff*” The Commander shakes his head and holds up a finger. “One moment please.” He disappears for a moment into a door behind him and comes back with a box of tissues. “Here you go.” The Pegasus takes one with a smile. “Bank Bu.” Commander Kerr watches with a slight smile of amusement as the Pegasus blows its nose. Waiting until it’s down, he clears his throat. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but are you a male or female? I just don’t want to embarrass you by addressing you wrong and it’s hard to tell I’m afraid.” Taking a sniff, the Pegasus smiles. “I’m a female.” She then holds out her hoof with Commander Kerr shakes. “My names Dainty Dish.” Commander Kerr gives a small smile. “And mine is Tim Kerr. I’m the Commander of the vessel you’re on. And I am very pleased to meet you Mrs. Dish.” Dainty gives a smile of wonder. “I can’t believe that I’m *Sniff!* talking to an actual human!” She then looks around with the same wonderment on her face. “And this looks just like one of those ships from ‘Technology is Courage!’ shows and comics! *Achoo!*” A blush on her face, she accepts another tissue as Commander Kerr raises an eyebrow. “Technology is Courage? If it’s not too much to ask Mrs. Dish, could you tell me what that is?” Dainty just blushes some more. “Oh! Um… You don’t have to call me Mrs. Dish. Dainty’s fine.” Commander Kerr nods as Dainty smiles. “And ‘The Dark World: Technology is Courage’, that’s the full name by the way, is this amazing series! One of the best in my opinion!” Commander Kerr continues to listen as part of his mind is racing with the information he’s being given… ________________________________________________________ Day 5, Medical Bay of the HMCS Algonquin Walking into medical, Commander Tim Kerr of the Algonquin takes a look around before spotting the Medical officer in a chair going over some paper work. A few strides and he's by the now attentive MO. "Doctor, how's our visitor doing?" As he spares a glance over at the bed a sleeping Dainty occupies, the Doctor sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Sir, I can't say with any certainty as to why Miss. Dainty collapsed last night as I am unfamiliar with her species-" The Commander cuts him off. "Doctor, give your opinion then." The MO nods for a moment. "Very well then." Glancing at the papers, he sighs. "I am unsure, but as she seems in perfect health other then some small scrapes I found, I can hazard a guess." Leaning back, he regards his patient with a small smile. "If Miss. Dainty was a human, I would have to say that she is currently recovering from extreme exhaustion and shock." Grimacing, Commander Kerr glances over as well. "I shouldn't have asked her those questions." The doctor just shakes his head. "Sir, permission to speak freely?" After seeing the nod, he continues. "Miss. Dainty seemed to have come down from an adrinalin rush. As such, when she crashed, she crashed hard. In fact, it's a good thing that she was here because you got her down here quite quickly." Anything else is cut off as Dainty stirs. "Ugh... Whut happuned... ACHOO!" Commander Kerr holds out a box of tissues from which Dainty takes one gratfully and blows her nose. Afterwards she looks around. "Where am I...? Looks like a hospital." The CMO nods his head. "As it should Miss. Dainty." Seeing her look at him, he gives a gentle smile. "I'm Dr. Edward Edmondston, and I'm the ship's Medical Officer." He then gets up and walks over before gently taking her foreleg and beinging to time her pulse. "Gave us quite the scare you did." Dainty just blinks. "I... did?" The Commander just nods. "Yes, I had sent off my report and was coming to talk to you when you collapsed. According to the sailors nearby, you said that you were woosy before you fainted." He then nods to Dr. Edmondston. "The good doctor here thinks that you were exhausted." Dainty blinks as she thinks it over and nods. "Well... I was tired and been awake for a long time... Wait! My camera!" She looks around and relaxes as she sees it on a nearby table. Clearing his throat, the MO nods. "We did nothing to your camera Miss. Dainty." He then takes a breath. "May I ask why you were tired?" Dainty looks down sadly. "I... was hiding from Discord." The Commander and Doctor share a looks before the Commander turns to her. "Could you explain what this discord was..." After a quick run down, Commander Kerr nods his head. "Thank you Miss Dainty. And while I would like some more information, I think that it might be a good idea for you to get something into your stomach. You must be starved." Dainty is about to say something when her stomach chooses that time to make itself known. Blushing, she hangs her head a little. "Um... sorry about that..." The Commander just gives her a gentle smile. "Not to worry." He turns to a man standing near the door. "I am sure that Seaman Doyle here would be willing to run to the galley and get something for you to eat." Dainty just chews her lip for a moment. "Uh, there's only certain things that I can eat due to me being allergic to most things..." The Seaman just nods as he takes the notepad he's handed along with a pen. "It's no problem Ma'am. Just tell me what you can and can't eat and I'll write it down." As Dainty tells him, Commander Kerr shares a look with his CMO and both have wide eyes. Finally, Seaman Doyle finishes his writng and gives her a nod. "Ma'am, I will make sure that your dietary concerns are listened to." Saluting the Commander, he leaves. About a half hour later he returns with a pitcher of lemonade, a glass, a jar of honey, and a bowl of nuts. The Commander looks at the nuts with a raised eybrow. "Those aren't the salted ones, are they?" Seaman Doyle shakes his head. "No Sir. And the cook even washed each one by hand just to make sure there was no salt on them." Setting them down and opening the jar, he gives his commanding officer a nod before saluting and taking up position near the door. "Thank you." Seaman Doyle just nods with a smile. "It was no trouble Miss Dainty. None at all." Dainty's smile could light up the room before she dive ravenously into the nuts, taking a moment before hand to pour a glass of lemonade and add some honey to it. ___________________________________________________________________ Day 5, Washington, DC/Ottawa, Ontario "President Obama, it's a pleasure to speak with you again." "Likewise, Prime Minister Harper. I wish it were under better circumstances." "Agreed. But we could say that by e-mail. Let's give the intel specialists the flood to make this video link worth the money." Obama nodded to the CIA man to his right to begin the presentation. "At 0500 local time 5 days ago, citizens along the entire west coast of the United States reported seeing a dome of light followed by a rainbow-coloured blast wave. Neither phenomenon did any damage, but the similarity to a nuclear blast cannot be dismissed. Another account of the event was received from a commercial pilot en-route to Hawaii. The pilot reported no EMP, physical aircraft damage, or injury despite being in close proximity to the light dome before turning back towards the continental US." "With the exception of the airline incident, the reports from the Canadian portion of the coast is identical," the CSIS agent sitting to Harper's right agreed. "In the aftermath of the event, our orbital assets were able to get images of a new subcontinent in the middle of the Pacific. How this landmass came into existence is currently unknown, but it is definitely inhabited," the CIA agent continued. One of the satellite photos with enhancements to highlight cities and roads took up the video conference screen. "The USS Enterprise was diverted from its farewell tour to investigate the new landmass, as they were in the vicinity. Two of the locals left land to investigate the carrier group and were kind enough to allow us to take their picture." The map was replaced by a picture of two pegasi, one grey and the other a yellowish color. "Ditzy!" A woman just out of the camera's field of view blurted. "Lauren? Is that you?" Jayson Thiessen asked from his space just out of the Canadian camera's sight asked. "They got you, too, huh, Jay?" Lauren asked. "Ms. Faust, Mr. Thiessen, could you please hold your comments to the end of the briefing?" Harper asked. "Sorry." Jayson muttered. The picture of the pegasi disappeared and the CIA agent began to speak again. "The locals are friendly and willing to abide by our requests. At this time they have made no hostile moves, although the carrier has garnered a number of spectators, including a small detachment from what we believe to be the local military." "The HMCS Algonquin and her escorts are currently on approach to the new landmass from the northeast," the CSIS agent offered. "They have made contact with a local sea serpent who was reportedly quite friendly and forthcoming and one of the pegasi. They have not been threatened and have not gathered a significant number of spectators. My estimation is that the carrier and her air wing are simply more interesting to the pegasi." "Thank you for sharing that with us, Prime Minister," Obama said. "We appreciate your candor." "Thank you, Mr. President, for sharing as well," Harper replied. "Now we should let our experts have their say." ____________________________________________________________________ Day 7 after Event, HMCS Algonquin Walking beside Commander Kerr, Dainty looks around with a look of wonderment (which is every once in a while interupted with a sneeze) as she's guided around (unknown to her the non-sensitive areas which have been cleaned using hypoallergenic cleaners). Stopping for a moment before a hatch, the Commander looks at Dainty with a smile. "And here we have the Galley and Mess Miss Dish." Dainty's brows furrow as she thinks for a moment. "That's where you make the food and eat at right? I've heard of them on the airships but never had the chance to see one." Filing that bit of info away, Kerr nods. "Indeed it is Miss Dish." He then chuckles a little. "If you'd follow me." Ducking his head a little, he walks through the hatchway and is followed by Dainty who sees a large number of the crew sitting. Suddenly one of them that she recongnizes from the hanger on board notices her. He then nudges the woman next to him to catch her attention and soon the whole room sees her there. A bit shy from all the attention, she gives them a small nod and smile. "Um... hello." One of them suddenly gets up and smiling, begins to clap. He's soon followed by the rest causing Dainty to startle a little. "Wha..." A hand suddenly pats her on her shoulder causing her to look up at the smiling Commander. "They're glad to see that you're better Miss Dish. You had us worried there for a bit." Ducking her head for a moment due to the blush, she soon raises it as she tries to blink away tears. "Thank you. And those who visited me thank you even more. You're good Pon... I mean people." More then a few chuckles arise from her mistep. A moment later, Seaman Doyle starts walking over with his hand behind his back and a large smile. "Um... Mr. Doyle?" He just chuckles. "I thought I told you to call me Daniel, Miss Dish?" She just waves a hoof at him, a small smile on her. "I will as soon as you stop calling me Miss Dish." A chuckle sounds through out the room before quietening after a moment. Standing at an "At Ease" position, Doyle looks down at Dainty with a serious look. "Dainty Dish, you've been on this vessel for the past four days. In that time a number of the crew have visited you and you've extended a hand... er, hoof, of friendship. With the permission of Commander Kerr," He nods at the Commander who nods back and smiles at the slightly confused look on Dainty's face. "We, the crew of the HMCS Algonquin, hereby declare you an honorary Crewmember." Bringing his hand out from behind his back, he gives her one of the ship's ball caps, the name of the Algonquin proudly displayed across it. Shaking a little, Dainty takes it and looks up with tears in her eyes and sniffles as a large smile streches across her muzzle. "Re... really? Is this for me?" Doyle nods and watches as she places it on her hat to cheers and clapping from the assembled crewmembers. Soon after they come up and giver her congradulations and pats on the shoulder and back. Laughs erupt as she sneezes before laughing herself. Watching as Dainty walks by, Lt. Johnson lets out a frustrated sigh as he shakes his head. Suddenly a hand punches him on the shoulder causing him to scowl. "What?" Sub-Lieutenant Michaels grins at the annoyed look. "What's up with the sigh? Hm?" Johnson just waves in the direction that Dainty walked off in. "It's that... what did she call it? That tattoo thing?" Michaels raises an eyebrow. "Her Cutie Mark? What of it man?" He then gives him an odd look. "Unless..." Now it's his turn to be punched in the shoulder by his long-time friend. "It's not like that." Johnson becomes thoughtful. "I swear that I've seen something like it before... but I can't put my finger on it..." He then scowls again. "It's been bothering me." Blinking, Michaels crosses his arms as he leans against a nearby bulkhead. "You've seen something like it before? Really?" Johnson nods still looking frustrated only for his friend and co-pilot for his Sea King to clap him on the shoulder. "Then the answer you seek is simple my friend." Gesturing with his finger at Johnson, Michaels smirks. "Take a picture." Johnson looks at him with a confused expression until it turns into one of realization soon followed by him faceplaming. "Image recongnition." Slapping himself he looks at the ceiling. "Idiot! Of course." A few minutes later finds him on his computer loading on a picture of Dainty before focusing in on her Cutie Mark. "Now to run it through image recongnition..." Typing in the command, he gets up as it's running and grabs himself a cup of coffee. Walking back, he stis down in time for it to finish causing him to blink in surprise. "Well now... that was fast." bringing his mug to his lips, he begins to take a sip as he clicks to bring up the closest match... only for the coffee to go down the wrong pipe as he sees what's on the screen. Coughing a bit, he hits himself on the chest before staring at the screen. 'The closest match... is the badge for the Blackbird!?' He suddenly remembers the book of famous aircraft back in his cabin and begins to laugh as he realizes where he recongized it from as well the events surrounding her arrival... ___________________________________________________________________