//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Battleships are Magic // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// USS Wisconsin Mittal had just gotten off the 1MC after addressing the entire crew. They’d learned exactly where they were and what the situation was. The ship was not in any danger, and the locals were friendly. They were still a long way from home, though. Next on the agenda was a meeting with the officers to decide the terms of their relations with Equestria. Lieutenant Wilson was still with Mittal as he made his way to the wardroom. “What should we do, sir? I mean, what can we do? There’s nothing in the regulations about a situation like this.” Wilson looked flustered. “If there’s no standing rule, we’re going to have to improvise,” said Mittal. He stopped. “Why don’t you go get the JAG lawyer? If we’re talking rule-bending, that’s who we need.” Wilson went off to find the man from the Judge Advocate General's Corps. There was usually at least one aboard large ships. The primary function of the JAG was legal matters, including interpretation of the laws. Mittal showed up in the ward room. The officers that could be spared from duty had been called for the meeting. When Wilson and the lawyer were present, Mittal began. “Gentlemen, we’re in a unique situation here. Equestria and a few other countries are facing a war. We believe that they are the good guys, but have no proof as of yet.” Mittal paused. Wilson was taking notes. “It seems that we aboard this ship probably have the highest level of technology of anyone in this world. Some of the men aboard have seen combat before. The same cannot be said for a lot of Equestria or other nations.” There had been a few minor actions through the 1980s that many of the sailors aboard Wisconsin had participated in. Some of the older veterans had even been involved with Vietnam. None of the ponies seemed to be very experienced. “My point is, whichever side we choose in this conflict will probably win. We have the power to completely change the outcome of the war and this whole world. It is for that reason that we must consider our actions very carefully.” The gunnery commander indicated that he wished to speak. Mittal nodded to him. “Sir, who says we have to pick a side?” “Nobody, nobody at all. We certainly don’t have to. But what if innocents are being killed by tyrants? Can we stand idly by and watch?” The lawyer spoke. “According to the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country can request aid from the United States if it is being threatened with armed aggression from another country. Nixon said something of the same thing. The United States has a certain reputation to uphold on Earth, and a reputation to create wherever it is we are now.” He leaned back in his chair a little. “I agree that we must review our options carefully. We can be a friend of many and an enemy of few, or we can be despised by all.” He gestured to the bulkheads. “Right now, we’re a blank slate. What do we want to become? Generally, the most legal choice is also the ethical one.” The speech was so eloquent that no one else had anything to say. Mittal dismissed the gathered officers, suddenly feeling pressure bearing down on him. He now realized that his decision on whether or not to get Wisconsin involved could make or break entire countries. It was a crushing responsibility. Ponyville Spike had not expected Twilight to be gone for so long. He wasn’t her number one assistant for nothing, though. By the time she got back, the library was cleaner than it had been for a while. Spike hadn’t been doing any more work than usual, Twilight just hadn’t been around to pile study books everywhere. “What took you so long, Twilight?” Spike asked as she came in. Her friends were with her. “We met some travelers from another world, Spike!” “And their clothes! Such clean, bold lines!” exclaimed Rarity. “I need to go plan a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ part for them!” said Pinky. How many humans did they say were aboard that ship? Nineteen hundred? I’ll need a lot of room!” She ran out the door. “Ah should probably be goin’ too” said Applejack. “See ya’ll.” “I need to go check on the animals,” said Fluttershy. “I’m inspired!” said Rarity. “I have to go make something.” Suddenly, Twilight and Spike were the only ones in the library. “So, travelers from another world, huh?” he said. “That’s right, Spike. They came here on a giant ship.” “Are you sure they aren’t pirates?” Twilight laughed. “Spike, have you been reading comic books again? No, they’re professional sailors, completely the opposite of pirates.” She told him a little more about the humans and how they’d used their flying machine to visit Canterlot. “That sounds really cool,” he said. “I’d sure like to see that.” “We’ll take you with us the next time we visit. I’m sure they won’t mind.” Twilight shuffled some papers that she had pulled from her saddlebags. It was the pages of information the humans had given her. “The thing is, Spike, they got to Equestria by some strange anomaly. It’s almost like they sailed through some kind of trans-dimensional portal.” Spike nodded slowly, not understanding. “Have you seen my book on Theoretical Physics?” Twilight asked. Spike brightened. “Sure. I’ll get it for you.” Dragon lands Fireholm There was no dragon leadership structure per se, there was just Terrorvane. He hadn’t been elected, or even appointed. One day, he had simply declared himself leader of all dragons. It said something about his character that no creature protested. At least not to his scaly face. Dragons were solitary by nature, and usually preferred to find a nice cave to live in by themselves. The dragon lands were not an organized country, but the local population density of dragons was far higher than normal and they were forced to live and work together. Fireholm was roughly central to the dragon lands. It was a good place to give orders from. Terrorvane had set up a nice comfortable pile of rocks in the center of the city to lounge his powerful black body on. A small green dragon named Ember Glow approached. He had become one of Terrorvane’s top advisors. “Mr. Terrorvane, in a meeting yesterday the UL decided to issue you an ultimatum. They say you have one week to withdraw our dragons from Zebrica.” Terrorvane snorted. “Zebrica doesn’t exist anymore. The moment we set foot on it, it became our territory.” Ember Glow nodded meekly. “I understand, but the former government of Zebrica continues to put up resistance. We may have pushed them to the edge of the sea, but they’re all still alive.” Terrorvane considered that for a moment. He stood up. “Hey! A couple of you dragons go kill the senior Zebrican leadership.” A few dragons standing around looked at each other in confusion. Terrorvane gave them a look. Motivated by his glare, four of them took off, heading in the direction of Zebrica. Terrorvane flopped down. “Not a problem.” “Mr. Terrorvane, I fear that you may provoke the UL to attack.” “With what? Only the griffins and some of the ponies can fly here. They don’t have enough boats to get the rest of the UL transported quickly. We’ll just sit back and pick them off one by one.” The frightening thing, Ember Glow thought, was not that Terrorvane was standing up to the combined force of a generous portion of the world, but the bloodshed he would resort to in order to succeed. It also did not seem to matter to him whether the casualties were UL or dragon. Ember Glow was a smart, and he knew that it was best to be on the good side of the most powerful dragon in the land. He wasn’t entirely without conscience, though, and had begun to regret the role he played in the invasion of Zebrica. USS Wisconsin Mittal was catching an nap. His sleep schedule ever since the storm had been erratic at best. He woke up to a knock at the door. The Officer of the deck poked his head in. “Sir? There’s purple unicorn here to see you.” Am I dreaming? Mittal thought. He pinched himself. Nope. “Fine. Show her in.” He heard the sound of hooves ringing on the deck and Twilight Sparkle stepped into his cabin. “Captain Mittal, I need you to come with me. An emergency meeting of the UL has been called, and Princess Celestia wants you to be present.” “What’s the meeting about?” Mittal asked. The OOD started to walk away, but Mittal gestured him back in case he needed pass orders along. “The dragons have stepped up their attacks. We believe they may be targeting Zebrican government officials. They’ve completely ignored an ultimatum the UL gave them to withdraw.” “I take it this meeting will probably lead to a declaration of war?” Mittal began to put his shoes on. He’d already made his mind up to go. Twilight cast her eyes down to the deck. “I still hope it’s not too late for peace. I would hate for anypony to die.” “If the dragons are already attacking then there have already been deaths. If you don’t go to war, those will continue.” “You make it sound so inevitable.” “Sometimes it is. Have you ever heard the expression ‘A necessary evil’?” Twilight nodded. “Life is not always black and white. Sometimes there are tough decisions to make. Going to war will undoubtedly get some creatures killed, but how many will it save?” “I see your point,” said Twilight. “I just wish there was some other way.” Changing the subject, she said, “Are you ready to go?” Mittal nodded. “I’ll go get my pilots.” “No, you can come with me. Stand still.” She shut her eyes and her horn began to glow. In a flash, the two of them were transported to the castle. Mittal felt disoriented, but otherwise unharmed. The surprise had nearly given him a heart attack, though. He remembered that the OOD had been standing there in his cabin, so at least someone would know where he went. Twilight had brought him to a circular room with stone walls. It was apparently inside the castle. Many round mirrors hung on the walls. Princess Celestia was there, along with a zebra with a mohawked mane. “There’s somepony I want you to meet,” said Twilight. “This is Zecora. She’s from Zebrica.” The zebra nodded to him. “How do you do? I must say, I have never encountered a creature quite like you.” Mittal introduced himself. In talking with her a little more, he found that rhyming was a standard part of her speech. “Are we ready to begin the meeting?” asked Celestia. Everyone fell silent as her horn began to glow. The mirrors on the walls changed color, flipping through various hues before resolving into images. Each one displayed a different species of animal. Mittal realized he was looking at a magic-powered video conference. “Members of the United Lands,” Celestia began. “As many of you know, the dragon forces have not responded to our warning. In fact, they appear to have started a campaign to eliminate the Zebrican government. It seems that words will not work, and we must commit to something more drastic. I have with me a guest from Zebrica. I hope you can give her a moment of your time.” Zecora stepped forward. “Leaders of the United Lands, I ask you this: surely you have noticed something amiss? There is fire and death in this land of mine. For debate, there is not time. We have done our best to defend our home, but against such attack we cannot stand alone. I beg you, on bended knee. Please assist us with this tragedy.” Certainly not the most concise speaker, thought Mittal, but it was hard not to be moved by her words. “A war involving multiple nations at once can’t be a good idea,” said a sheep. Or rather a ram, thought Mittal. It was male. “The whole planet would devolve into chaos.” A clamor of voices seemed to agree. Celestia looked furious. “We’ve been giving warnings and ultimatums, and they keep ignoring them! They don’t take the United Lands seriously, because we won’t make a stand. More importantly, their invasion of Zebrica and the killing of its citizens is legally and morally wrong!” Her outburst seemed to have quieted the crowd, but there were still quiet mutterings. Zecora said, “It is not an easy choice to make. Will you do what it takes?” No creature answered her. A few had the grace to at least look guilty about it. Mittal had been dreading making a decision on the issue, but in a sudden flash of clarity, he knew exactly what needed to be done. He stepped forward. “Can I say something?” “Who is that, Celestia?” asked one of the UL members. It looked like a cross between a bird and a lion. A griffin, Mittal thought it was called. “This is a creature called a human who arrived in our world recently. His name is Captain John Mittal. He represents a country called the United States of America.” Celestia nodded to him. “Captain, you have the floor.” Mittal cleared his throat. “I only arrived here a few days ago. It’s actually a lot like home. Every creature has hopes and dreams, and it is universally recognized that causing pain and suffering in others is wrong.” Mittal continued. “I’m a member of the military. I know that war is an ugly thing. Fighting and killing seem to go against everything good. Unfortunately, words do not stop weapons. When an enemy is committed to attacking, there is nothing to be done but meet him head on. You of the United Lands have the advantage of numbers. Together, the UL can be an overwhelming force of good, able to turn the tide and restore order. Separated…your countries will be easy prey for the dragons to take down one by one.” “And what are you doing to help?” asked the griffin. “More than the rest of you combined,” Mittal deadpanned. “A week ago, I didn’t even know Zebrica existed. Today, I’m completely committed to doing what I believe is right by coming to their assistance.” There was complete silence for several seconds. Mittal held his breath. “I’m with you,” said the buffalo. “If my nation was attacked, I would want my friends to come to my aid.” “I agree,” announced the griffin. “We will assist.” One by one, the members of the UL spoke. Some did not offer a full commitment, but all pledged some kind of support. “We need a leader,” one of the creatures said. “Someone to organize everything.” “I nominate Celestia,” said the buffalo. "She's always been behind this cause." The Princess nodded. “I accept.” A vote was taken. A few members abstained, but there were no disagreements and the Princess was chosen. “Members of the United Lands,” said Celestia. “I will perform my duty as well as I am able. We all have a lot of work ahead of us.” She bid them goodbye and the mirrors went dark. “What do we do now, Princess?” asked Twilight. “The Royal Guard is always ready to fight, but we need to call for volunteers. We need a military leader to organize things and command. Twilight Sparkle, I hereby commission you into the Equestrian Armed Forces to the rank of Field Marshall.” “Wh-what?” squeaked Twilight. “That can’t be done!” Mittal didn’t think so either, but apparently Celestia just had. “Twilight, I know you’re exceptional at organization, and a natural born leader. You’re one of the most intelligent ponies I’ve ever met and I trust you to make the right decision when the situation calls for it.” “Well…okay Princess. I’ll do my best.” “That’s all I ask.” Celestia turned. “Captain Mittal, I want to thank you for your support.” "You're most welcome." She nodded. “I’ll be contacting you soon with orders. In the meantime, do you think you could move your ship further north, to Manehattan? It would be an ideal place to rally the various national militaries.” Mittal agreed to meet the UL there. Celestia bid him goodbye and Field Marshall Sparkle teleported him back to the ship. They arrived back in Mittal’s cabin, startling a sailor swabbing the deck outside. Mittal told him to rest easy, and shut the door. Twilight said, “I think I need to establish a headquarters. Is it all right with you if I set up aboard your ship?” “That’s fine. How many ponies will be with you?” “I don’t know just yet, but probably no more than two dozen. I’ll let you know when you get to Manehattan. It’s not too far up the coast.” Mittal said he would see her there and she disappeared in another flash of purple light. He went up to the bridge and gave the order to pull up the anchor. The Middle East had been their destination upon leaving Norfolk, but the confusion of the past few days had caused everyone to forget about Iraq. As the battleship got underway, it looked like they would be seeing combat after all. Author note: I can’t rhyme worth a darn. It’s why I’m a terrible at rap. It’s also why I'm sorry to say Zecora probably won’t be getting many more speaking parts. Stay tuned. We set sail for Zebrica soon.