//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Letters from North Everfree 
// by FriscoPony 
//------------------------------//

D-Day. It was finally here. Due to the distance between Marina and Equestria over the sea, the Royal Guard found it best that we simply stay within the bounds of the navy. The Equestrian Navy was made up of mostly classic sailing frigates, and the occasional destroyer or two, all were powered by sail. We looked like a scene from the discoverers of Equestria back in the olden days, when the pony’s from the legend of Hearths Warming Eve first discovered Equestria. They came over the frozen tundra, through the Crystal Empire into this land of ours. When they found that the journey was simply too dangerous going by land, they tried by sea, which is where these ships are left over from. During their voyages over to the new land of Equestria, they encountered pirates, and it was only necessary that the ships be armed with the proper cannons in order to sink the ships. The ships that they now used were built to the same specs as the ships back then, but they were large enough now to carry the artillery pieces that the unicorns used, as well as cannons, armor, and ammunition, as well as ponies. 
Our ship was known as the Reignaria, named after Reigns. She was a frigate, tall, proud and true to her name, tough as nails. She had served during the crusades as well, and has been the ship commissioned by Celestia during her visits to Marina. The ship had a decorated story, and we were about to add more to her story. The captain of the ship was Universae, as he was used to sailing the seas for his purpose, creating and protecting the constellations and studying the stars. My job was to serve as a lookout with Soarin, while Spitfire was in charge of handling the wheel. Asteroid was in charge of gun control, and Star Shine was in charge of making sure nothing was damaged during the voyage. The rest of Charlie Company was in charge of various other duties like manning the sails and arming cannons, as well as helping Captain Universae in case he needed it.
I looked out peering through the cloudy skies, to see if I would get lucky and spot something. Through all of the dark clouds, the only thing that I could see was the flag of the Royal Guard on the mast, and our flag on the secondary mast forward of us. Everything seemed calm, until a sharp wave came to us; a welcome present from King Typhoon himself.
“Man the sails, pull them in, we don’t want to lose them!” called Universae towards the group of ponies manning the sails. 
“Aye Captain,” they replied quickly climbing the rigging. I watched them diligently from the crow’s nest as they scoured up the rigging towards the sails to pull them tight.
Universae then turned to Spitfire, “be ready for rogue wind, it’s going to be hard to control the ship once we hit them.”
“Aye Captain,” she called gaining a grip on the wheel.
“Soarin, Ace,” called Universae up towards the crow’s nest over the raging winds, “Do you see anything?”
“Nothing yet captain!” called Soarin looking towards the south east.
I slowly scanned the horizon through the clouds; all I could see was still nothing but the dark storm clouds that King Typhoon had created as a welcoming party for us. At first, there was nothing there, but then I caught sight of something, a light shining through the dark clouds, it rotated around and around like a mysterious signal, but then, more camp into perspective. The light then showed to be inside of a giant lens cap like a giant lantern, and it was placed on top of a tower of spiraling blue stripes. It was then obvious what it was.
“Lighthouse on the starboard bow!” I called ringing the bell from the crow’s nest. “It’s definitely Aquarius Light, no doubt in my mind about it!”
Universae nodded over the sounds of the roaring winds which felt like constant punches in the face. “Excellent,” he roared. “All hands to battle stations,” he called ringing the deck bell. “All hands to battle stations! Signal the other ships to prepare to start the bombardment!” He then took control of the ship in place of Spitfire. “Fine work lieutenant, he said with a brief nod and a smile. “Please get Ace and Soarin to come down and prepare for beach landings, I will take control of the ship from here.”
“Yes sir,” she said as she climbed up the rigging. Universae’s eyes were then focused on the horizon, hoping that the arming of the coast was more of a threat from King Typhoon to get us to turn around. By the sounds of how heavy the armament was, it almost sounded like something out of a war story novel, it was unreal. 10 artillery pieces, 5 machine guns, and 15000 soldiers stationed along the coast, among them 10 stealth alicorns. “If what I’ve heard from Ace is true,” thought Universae to himself, “then I’d hate to see what 10 can do to us.”
Spitfire continued her way up the rigging in the middle of the storm which was summoned by King Typhoon. The harsh weather made the riggings slippery, and a challenge to hold on. Spitfire had to keep her wings exposed and out in order to keep the wind from blowing her off the rigging. I bent over the crow’s nest to see her bravely charging through the storm. “Spitfire!” I shouted down towards her. I could see Spitfires distinctive orang eyes, which simply made my heart melt any time I saw them. “Are you ok?”
Spitfire continued her way up, “I’m fine!” she shouted up towards the rigging as she continued on. At last she made it into the crow’s nest; her mane had at last let go off its beautiful flow, but in the witness of her hair at last dropped down to where it fell over her eyes. It had lost its former beauty that I was used to seeing, but at the same time, she had regained something else, something beautiful. I loved it, and almost completely forgot about the harsh storm that continued to approach us. She smiled brightly, “Universae says that you can come down onto deck, but we have to be at battle stations, we’re expecting a rough dropping of the anchor when we’re close to shore. Get ready for a long fight.”
I nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. “I understand,” I said, but then I smiled, “As long as I’m fighting at your side, I’ll fight 3 armies at once if I have too.” 
Spitfire then leaned in for a small kiss. “I’ll see you deck Air Buster,” she said sealing her words with a kiss. With that, she began the long climb down the rigging. Soarin looked over at me like I had lost my mind. 
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” said Soarin finishing another one of his pies.
Immediately, then the sky erupted with the sounds of thunder, and streaks of lightning danced through the sky. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind on how close we were to shore. King Typhoon wouldn’t keep it cloudy and windy just to keep us off of shore, not when we were this close to entering the hell that we had finally sailed into, Soarin and I quickly climbed down the rigging, as the wind had gotten so bad that we simply had to drop a rope down, and simply slide down the rope, as the rigging was too slippery. At last landing on deck, we were greeted by Universae, who was standing on the bow looking forward through the ferocious storm. 
“Anything yet commander?” I called over the furious winds.
Universae merely continued his serious gaze through the thick storm clouds. “There’s nothing yet, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll know when we’re close enough to shore to begin the invasion,” he said staring out into the dark where lightning danced through the storming skies. Spitfire stood close by right next to me as we continued to look through the storm clouds. The waves continued to get worse, and some of our crew got sea sick, and tossed it overboard. Spitfire merely looked at me with fear in her eyes; it was obvious that we were all thinking that this was going to be the end of us.
“Do you think we’re going to make it?” she asked.
I nodded my head, “We will,” I said, “If we make it through this rough storm first.”
“Look,” called a stallion that was climbing down from the rigging. He pointed directly into a spot where the storm had finally calmed itself. It was like a giant column of light had suddenly pierced down through the skies, and it was clear, no winds, no peals of lightning, nothing but the calmness of the sea. Universae took sight of this, and immediately smiled. 
“That’s the eye of the storm,” said Spitfire remembering her father’s tips on weather. “It’s a spot where there is nothing but absolute calm. It is also the heart of the storm.” She then turned to look at Universae. “Commander,” she said, “If you can summon a large enough magic burst right into the center of the eye, both height wise and width-wise, you may be able to dispel the storm and save the rest of the ships. It has to be just right, or else you could intensify the storm.”
Universae, understanding that the situation was dire, agreed to action. “All hands,” he roared towards the crew, “get us into the center of that thing! Helmsman, keep that wheel tight, don’t let us miss it by even one hoof.”
“Aye sir,” called the stallion turning the wheel towards the eye. I merely then turned to look at Spitfire. I didn’t doubt her, I just wanted to know if she totally believed what had just flew out of her mouth, but when I looked at her, even in the harsh wind and rain which still had the reignaria in such a grip, she expressed a sure guarantee that she knew exactly what she was talking about as she showed a determined look towards the center of the storm. I had never seen her like this, but something told me that I could definitely trust her.
“Ace,” she said, “Don’t worry, I know this will work.”
“Are you sure Spitfire?” I asked. “Nothing like this has ever been attempted, more a less it’s mostly a theory.”
Spitfire nodded and then looked at me. “Don’t worry,” she said as she broke a small smirk. “This will work.”
All I could do was just pray to Celestia that she was right. At last, we finally reached the eye of the storm. It was something that I didn’t expect to see as all around us was a giant pillar of clouds, and up at the top, we were greeted with the morning sun. The oceans had quickly transitioned from a violent rage of waves to calm and still waters. It was incredible, and as I looked around, I saw the other ships that were following close behind, among them being the flagship, the Celestia, commanded by Cloud Storm, and the Solaris, commanded by Shining Armor. Following the three frigates was three more sloops-of wars, ships with only row of guns, but still forces to be reckoned with. At last, the time came when were perfectly aligned with the center of the eye. Universae began to concentrate as he looked up at the sun to perfectly align his shot. He began charging a powerful magic that was so bright, it filled the entire circle where the ships were idling with a luminescent purple hue of blue, until at last, and the shot was fired. I watched it as it began its rise, higher and higher into the pillar, until it covered the sky like a disk, and exploded. The shock wave was felt all over, as the ships rode a large wave that the sound wave had generated. I then watched as the typhoon which had once gripped the sea finally dispelled into the late morning sky, but as well as slowing us down, it was also hiding the true danger. It was obvious that King Typhoon was waiting just for that shot, because as soon as the clouds cleared, we were greeted with something much, much worse. As we looked out over the now calm oceans, we spotted what awaited us on the coast.
The coast was lined with 15 artillery gun stations, all aiming directly at the Celestia and Reignaria. Among the 15 large guns were 10 machine gun posts. We also then listened closely, as a large roar could be heard from the shore, as pegasi began their flights.
“Holy shit…” said Soarin dropping his pie on the deck.
“Well would you look at that,” said Star Shine from the deck.
“We are so dead…” said Asteroid Run as he grabbed hold of the rigging to get a closer look. 
Universae merely stood determined, as he then straightened his captain’s hat. “All hands!” roared Universae. “Battlestations; helmsman, get us on the broadside; pegasi, get your wings flapping.”
Immediately, Charlie Company went into action, as we began our long flights from the Reignaria. Other pegasi were quick to follow suit from the other ships. I looked down towards the ships as they began their turn toward broadside, I quickly started praying. “Good luck everyone,” I said as I began the swift flight towards the advancing force, sliding my goggles down. I then looked over at Spitfire. She looked back at me. 
“You ready?” she asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said as we shared a brief high hoof and began the flight towards the advancing aerial army.
The sky quickly turned into a madhouse of pegasi being knocked into the water, the sounds of screams of ponies dying by swift impaling with a flight knife, the sounds of gunfire coming from both the shore and the ships, and the machine guns being fired into the air. I watched one by one as pegasi after pegasi, some dark ponies, others from equestrian, began the plunge down into the water among the raging fight. All I could do was swiftly move from one dark pony to another with nothing but a small pistol and a flight knife. Our objective was to get onto the shore first, and silence the guns to take the shore. Afterwards, the armored division would begin advancing out and constructing a temporary harbor for ships to dock so that supplies could be unloaded. Finally, we would set up camp in Aquarius, and free it’s civilians from the hold of King Typhoon while preparing for the flight into Atlantis to take back Marina. 
This was easier said than done, as pegasi quickly came at me, ready to fire when I only had seconds to react. One such pony even tried to impale me first, but luckily I grabbed his knife just by its glimmer, and quickly slung it back into his heart right where it belonged, and I began to watch him plummet down towards the oceans below. The scene was gruesome as one by one, pegasi fell into the ocean. I then looked over at spitfire, who was quickly finishing off two more pegasi. “We need to get to the shore; we won’t last much longer if we stay up here. Plus it’s only a matter of time until the dark alicorns get here.”
“I know,” she said knocking another pegasi down into the ocean. “They just keep coming, but if you can send a signal on where the navy needs to shoot, I’m sure they can make it easier to get the guns taken care of!” 
Just then, the sound of an explosion ripped through the ocean. It was the Solaris, its magazine had taken one good hit, and she was going down quickly as the smoke began to rise to the sky. “Whose ship was that?” I asked. 
“Shining Armor’s,” she said quickly looking down at the burning ship. “There’s no time to go back and get him, besides, you would get shot up. Go take care of the guns, and hurry, we don’t have that much time.”
I wanted to just dive down and go save Shining Armor, but I knew that she was right. All I could do was dive down into one of the gun placements. When I finally reached the ground, I was greeted by a pain in the ass of a sight: a stealth alicorn. He was alone. It was just me, him, and a large artillery gun that he had control over. Remembering my last encounter with one of them, I merely cracked my hooves. “Just me and you friend,” I said standing ready. The alicorn merely cracked his neck, as we began the long stare down, waiting for someone to break open the first move. I stood there paralyzed, as I knew one false jump and I was a goner, but if he slipped up first, I could get the advantage and kill him before he could kill me. In my left hoof I held my flight knife, while my right stayed close to my pistol. The alicorns hooves dangled over, waiting for me to do something stupid. At last, the waiting game was over.
“Move already!” I said making the first move. The alicorn didn’t miss a beat as he swung around quickly to the left and attempted to stab me with a hidden knife from his right hoof. I quickly took the knife away from him, and threw it out into the ocean. The alicorn didn’t give up easily, as he soon presented a second knife hidden on his left hoof. He brushed it by me with speed and agility. It was so fast, that even though I wasn’t hit by it, I was still cut just by how close it was. At last, I had enough as I took him from behind, drew my knife, backed him into the wall, and stabbed him right in the heart. I watched his blood seep from his insides, and I watched his mysterious stealth cloth become lifeless as he fell down to the floor. I wasted no time as I quickly unloaded the gun, armed it with an explosive, and watched it explode from a distance. “One down” I said as I galloped over towards the next 14.
~~~
When the guns were finally silenced, the remaining ten machine guns were smoking, and most of the dark ponies had either been killed, or had retreated towards Atlantis where the rest of the force remained. We took the cloaks from the stealth alicorns, and used the as our own. We designed it as an idea to slip into the capitol once we were ready. The casualties from the battle were rather minimal, as we only lost 3 ships, but the amount of bloodshed was incredible: out of a force of 20,000, 5,000 ponies were dead.
When the survivors from the Solaris were finally pulled in from the Reignaria, Shining Armor was the first to be pulled off of the ship. He was smiling, even though he had blood dripping down the side of his horn. Everypony else, including myself, had only suffered a couple of scars in the invasion. We were the lucky ones. I then trotted over to Shining Armors spot inside of the infirmary, and he laid there awake, talking to Cloud Storm.
“How do you feel commander?” I asked walking into the tent saluting. Cloud Storm saluted back and Shining Armor gave a brief smile. “Well I’m not dead,” he said. “When the Solaris finally blew up,” he said recalling the events during the battle, “I flew into the water, but then I instantly blacked out.  According to Spitfire, I was floating on the surface in bad condition. Heh, who would have thought that water, could make a pony bleed. But at last I’m here now.” Shining Armor then looked at me. “I hear you handled the Stealth alicorns rather well. That is good news to hear, and you will receive a commendation for it once this whole thing is over.”
“Thank you sir,” I said.
“Please, now leave me be for a minute, I need to get some rest. Don’t worry about me,” he said as he gently closed his eyes for a light nap, “Oh, and Cloud Storm.” 
“What is it,” he said looking down at the wounded leader.
“When you see King Typhoon,” he said, “Make sure he gets a piece of my mind as well.”
“I will,” he said saluting.