Chapter 5: The Battle for Britania
Queen Trixie of Germaneigh sat atop her throne, overlooking a massive, round, metal table. Below her, officers dressed in elaborate military cloaks and uniforms worked diligently around a large paper map. Several officers began drawing around the map with a plethora of instruments and rulers, marking every detail, both major and minor.
Queen Trixie slumped in her chair, propping up her face with a single hoof. “General Stonewall,” Trixie called out, “report!”
Stonewall walked from the table with a smile. “General Seigfried is on board the Veranderung. They should arrive at Britannia’s shores within the hour.”
“Excellent,” she said as she gaze around the room. “It’s far too crowded in here, wouldn’t you say? Come, let us speak elsewhere.”
Stonewall nodded as Trixie left her throne and took the lead, her lavender cape dragging along the bright carpets. The guards opened the doors and shut them behind her as she walked down the empty corridors.
Have they discovered our intent?" she asked once she was sure that nobody was around.
"They've raised a magical barrier all along the shoreline surrounding the country. Our sentries have reported strong numbers along the Britannia's eastern and western coasts. Our sources indicate that the prime minister is being held along the eastern shore, as we predicted."
"Very well. Is our 'package' ready to be delivered?"
"Yes, it's already aboard one of our carrier ships. Speaking of, how did you convince 'her' to assist us? I assumed that she of all ponies would detest the very idea."
Trixie lifted her head and looked forward, hazing down upon all the ponies below. "We're all the same, you know. Ponies are very selfish and predictable creatures. We desire land, love, money...some more than others. 'She' was no different. Once Trixie dangled my offer her front of her, she fell into my plans perfectly. That foolish Neighpon emperor was just as easy. A promise of land and money, and he pledged his allegiance to our cause. The griffins? Land and honor. Traitors; usurpers: sellouts; in the end, they'll become whatever they need to become to be, in order to accomplish their goals."
"Well then, my Queen," Stonewall said, "then what does that make you?"
"Friends? Enemies? Good? Evil? Once Trixie has made her vision a reality, such terms won't matter. What is Trixie? Trixie is the mare who will change this world."
Rarity shook as she tried to maintain balance on all fours inside the metal stalls, her lips smelling of vomit. Her stomach heaved as she looked down, trying to forget that she was thousands of feet above the ground. Three days on board and still, she could barely go an hour without becoming sick to her stomach.
“Madam?” Pencil Pusher’s voice said behind the stall. “I...I feel awkward in here.”
Rarity coughed as she held herself steady and exited the stall flushing down her vomit, careful not to let anything touch her dress, a dress that was a shade of velvet. From her neck, swung her silver pendant which bore the symbols of the sun and crescent moon. She walked to the sink, talking as she did so. “Stop worrying. I’m the only one that’s allowed in here due to reasons of security. Besides, you’re technically one of my bodyguards, are you not?”
“Well...yes, but only because you insisted!”
“And for a reason, you’re one of the few ponies around her that I trust,” she said as she washed her hooves and reached for mouthwash from her satchel in the corner of the room.
She gave it a swig before spitting it back into the sink. “What about Time Turner?” he asked.
“Him? I...I’m not quite sure how to feel about our little friend. On one hand, he has the clearance and the credentials to suggest that he is genuine. Still, something about him seems off. I get the feeling there’s something that he’s not telling me.”
After placing her mouthwash back in, she reached for a comb, a small mirror, and makeup. Carefully, she levitated the mirror in front of her as she began to comb her mane into perfect curls.
After several minutes, she proceeded to carefully open her set of makeup and groom herself as best as she could.
“I didn’t know you were got airsick. You seemed so excited to get on board.”
She carefully applied lipstick as she spoke. “It’s been ages since I’ve flown due to...various reasons. I had hoped that I would’ve gotten over it after such a long time. Not only that, but I hadn’t expected Blindside to ban alcohol aboard the ship. A little wine would be marvelous right about now,” she said, grabbing hold of her stomach.
“Well,” he said awkwardly, “Then, if you’re sick why won’t you just go lie down? I’m sure the rest of the crew will be just fine. I doubt Colonel Blindside or Time Turner would care.”
Rarity gave a gentle laugh. "Yes, I'm sure they'd be proud to see their fearless leader cowering in a luxuriously furnished bedroom while they sweat and toil. Listen darling, do you know why I always take so long to get dressed and groom? The reason is that appearances are everything. If I go to an international assembly looking like trash, then that is what they'll think of the country. If I appear weak and fragile, what does it say of the country that elected me to represent them? These ponies are looking to their leaders and commanders for guidance and confidence. Perhaps I'm just a figurehead, but I don't intend to cower in a corner and disgrace the very ponies that I want to protect over something like a ‘stomach ache’. Anyway, is the Colonel still on deck?"
“Yes,” he said with a nod.
“Good,” she replied as she finished applying her makeup and straightening her dress. After finally putting back everything in her satchel, she opened the door and let Pencil Pusher lock it behind her.
They were now facing the round, metallic corridors of the Aegis. Rarity walked forward, Pencil Pusher close behind. It made Rarity feel small to walk along these wide hallways, passing by uniformed mares and stallions. As she walked, she gazed at the passing rooms where ponies were hard at work.
It was several minutes until they reached the end of the hallway. Rarity was about to reach for the door when it was slammed open, nearly hitting her across the face. She backed up and gasped only to find a similar reaction as the pony opening it showed his face. He was a stallion with a pure white coat and dark blue mane, dark blue tail, and eyes of cerulean. On his flank was a magenta six pointed star inside a dark blue shield. Above it stood three tiny stars.
He leapt back in shock. “Sorry about that, ma’am!” he said as he backed away and ran off, obviously in some sort of hurry.
She stared off for a moment, before turning back. “Strange stallion,” she noted as she opened the door, fully and entered into the control room.
Inside the large rotunda was three levels, each separated by metallic railings and metallic stairways. The first level, the one at which she stood, was the command level. This was where orders were given and reports were passed. Towards the front of the first level, ten ponies sat with headphones and speakers near their face as they typed information and orders on their keyboards. In front of this level stood a large black screen, a monitor connected through magic and long range communications to the Britannian headquarters.
The second and third levels were the relay and intelligence levels, inhabited by row after row of ponies against keyboards, all wearing headsets. They were the most hectic of the three as ponies ran back and forth carrying new bits of information that had to be heard.
Rarity continued walking along the first level, towards the large, round, steel table top where Time Turner and Colonel Blindside stood, looking over a map and a sheet of paper.
“I’m just saying we should be prepared,” Time Turner said.
“We’re going to be fine,” Blindside assured him as he adjusted his curly red mane. “General Trot informed me of their location less than an hour ago, under the assurance that Germaneigh was heading directly to the western coast line.”
Rarity walked towards them with a smile. “Colonel. Time Turner.”
They both smiled. “You feeling better?” Time Turner asked.
“Much better. Thank you for asking, dear.” She turned back to Blindside. "now what is this I hear of Germaneigh?"
Blindside cleared his throat as his hoof wandered to the map laying across the steel countertop. “While you were gone, we joined with the blockades along the east coast. All of this is simply a precaution, madam. We’ve already received word that Germaneigh’s fleet is approaching from the west, as we predicted.”
“We can’t be too careful,” Time Turner argued. “This is going way too simple. Especially, for an attack staged by Siegfried.”
“Whatever the case, our job is here,” Blindside said stubbornly. Blindside brushed past them and faced a pegasus stallion with a black buzz cut and a blue coat.
“Lieutenant, do we have a visual on the situation to the west?”
“Yes, sir!” the pegasus said. “I’ll patch it through right away.” Quickly, the pegasus began clacking away at his keyboard as the black screen came to life.
Black transformed into white and the shapes began to form across the screen. A semicircular wall of purple lined up against a coastline, a large city hidden safely behind its walls.
Above the city walls, hundreds of ironclad warships and carriers flew overhead, ready to defend the city at all costs.
All of their eyes became glued on the screen as dots began to etch their way into the horizon. Dots turned into splotches as their shapes became apparent. Airships. Airships as far as the eye could see. Iron hulled carriers flew alongside iron hulled warships. Massive warships flew row by row, cladded in steel and armed with cannons and mortars. Something else stood out among those iron behemoths.
Rarity’s eyes were instantly drawn to a row of dark black ships. In all, she counted perhaps twenty. Behind these black ships floated the biggest of them all.
The Veranderung, Rarity recalled. Her father had told tales of the hulking flagship of Germaneigh’s navy. The name meant “change” in ancient German tongue and was a symbol of terror during the Great War.
Even Rarity could feel fear creeping up her spine as she looked at the massive warship. A massive flag portraying Queen Trixie’s cutie mark swayed against the violent breeze as the massive steel cannons on the Veranderung’s deck and all across its sides took their aim.
“It has begun,” Rarity found herself saying amidst the brief silence as they grew closer to the shield. That silence was soon broken by the sound of a thousand cannon shooting off in unison. Fire and smog blinded Rarity’s view as they continued their relentless assault.
As the fog began to clear, the sounds of cannonfire began to fade. “That shield’s going to be tough to crack and they know it,” Colonel Blindside stated. It was true. No visible flicker or crack was present. “That shield is manned by at least a thousand of our best unicorns. It’ll take a lot more to damage it.”
Their ships began to reorganize themselves as the black ships that hovered around the Veranderung began to work their way to the front, past all other ships. Slowly, the barrel of a cannon dropped from the bottoms of the black ships. They turned slowly as their took aim.
“Damn fools,” Blindside said. “Some extra cannonfire won’t help you.”
Rarity gazed over TimeTurner. He was visibly sweating. His eyes were fixated on the black ships, as if he were caught in their trance. “No,” he simply muttered. “I don’t think that’s cannonfire.”
Rarity’s eyes snapped back to the screen. The barrel of the black ships were emitting something…red. From all of them, bright colors leaked from their cannon’s like magic from a unicorn’s horn. “Impossible,” Rarity said in disbelief.”
She faced Blindside. “Magic…how are they charging magic? Channeling magic into conventional weaponry like that is supposed to be impossible!”
“I...I don’t know. I heard that they had been investing in research of red crystal technology, but I didn’t think that it had come this far,” Time Turner said, his face growing pale.
“But-” Rarity was cut off as the screeching of their magic was fired towards the shield in a flurry of brightly colored, narrow beams. The beams flowed along the shield, tracing along its sides like water.
“At this rate, the shield will fall,” Blindside said bleakly. “They’re using magic to combat magic. And from the looks of it, pretty strong magic to boot.”
“No,” Time Turner said, his eyes still fixated on the screen. “Look closely at the shield. If they meant to destroy the shield, don’t you think the shield was look a little more damaged. Look closely at the point of impact.”
Rarity squinted and focused on the points at which the beam converged with the shield. Oddly, there seemed to be not tension along the shield. It was almost as if they were simply trying to touch it. “Why? It’s almost as if they’re simply trying to connect with the shield’s magic.” she wondered aloud.
“Yes,” Time Turner agreed. “It’s almost as if they’re trying to gain something from it. A sort of scan, perhaps? No, what would they gain from it?” His face turned white as his mouth clasped shut.
Within a moment, tendrils of magic began to emit from the black ships and crossed through the sky, covering the German ships like a thick webbing. The webbing brightened into a bright shade of white. Then, they were gone.
“Whe-Where?” Blindside muttered.
In seconds, the screen turned to black.
Time Tuner snapped his head towards him. “General! You need to get us out of here quickly!”
“General, the radar just picked up two hundred unidentified signatures!” a pony shouted from on of the machines.
“What?” Blindside shouted. “Check that again!”
“General, one of our carriers is taking fire!” another pony shouted. “We’ve also lost all long range contact with forces outside the city.”
For a moment, fear seized his breath. He bit his lip. “Evasive maneuvers. We have the prime minister on board. We need to get as far away as possible. Launch all fighter aircraft. Weapons use authorized. How is the shield?”
“It’s still operational, but its power is fading. Still no response from HQ. I appears that they used some sort of jamming device,” one of the ponies responded from the second level.
“Damn them! What in the Goddess's name is going on?” Blindside shouted as he began walking closer to the screen.
“It was the shield,” Time Turner said. “They were using their magic to create a stable connection and piggyback off the magic being outputted by the shield. Once they had all that, all it took was a group teleportation spell and they successfully managed to drain our shields and invade us where we least suspect it.”
“Does this mean they’ll just do it to the shield again?” he asked.
Time Turner shook his head. “I don’t it. That type of firepower has a limit to it. They’ll need time to recharge it. Plus, if they’re running on red crystals, that means that they only have a set amount of power that can be sent out. I doubt they’re capable of using that same spell twice. Not only that, but I’m betting that spell to jam our signals bit a chunk out of their power supply”
All eyes were on him. “Time Turner,” Rarity began to say, “how did you conclude all of this? This is all brand new technology. You act like you’ve seen this before?”
“I-”
Boom.
The entire ship shook as the room darkened and Rarity was thrown violently against the steel plated floor. In seconds, the lights came back to life as the buzzing of the generator kicked on. Rarity, still lying against the ground, could feel her stomach beginning to churn as she suppressed a gag, closed her eyes, and collected her breath.
Her breath was taken back once she heard the screams of a hundred ponies in unison. She closed her eyes, refusing to let the fear overtake her. Rarity felt a hoof against her back as Pencil Pusher helped Rarity to her hooves.
You must be strong, she repeated to herself as she rose, waving a hoof dismissively to Pencil Pusher’s attempts of assistance. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
It only took a moment for Rarity to scream as her brain registered everything that she was seeing. Blood and fire. On the table, Blindside leaned lifelessly, bleeding profusely from his chest and back. Fire ran along with mane, now charred and black.
Above them all, the screen stood shattered and on fire as ponies scrambled to put it out. The ponies closest to it laid against their chairs, charred to the bone, while others, Blindside included, were covered in shrapnel.
The staircase to the second level was broken, piece of hit thrown everywhere. The survivors were all shouting as they ran from place to place, desperate to maintain control of the situation.
The lights continued to flicker and the sound of leaking water began to fill the room, nauseating Rarity about as much as her body could take. Appearances are everything, she told herself once more.
Time Turner ran feverishly running to and from, trying to control the chaos. Rarity’s eyes glanced to her side, where she could see Pencil Pusher shaking as he tried to take in everything that he was seeing.
Rarity could feel that horrible feeling in her gut as she walked, forcing one hoof after the other. After a few steps, she felt her stomache heave as she inhale the scent of Blindside’s body, causing her eyes to water. Be strong for them. Appearances are everything. Slowly, she moved inch by inch, hoof by hoof.
She looked forward, facing a weary stallion that stood next to a blinking monitor. She examined his coat for rank. “Lieutenant, what’s the word on the damage?” Rarity yelled.
For a moment, all eyes were upon her. He took a moment before responding. "Madam, we have fires on level two. Internal damage on the ship’s water supply. More reports incoming.”
She turned to Time Turner. “You’re the intelligence operative. What’s your recommended course of action?”
It took a moment for him to register her words. Finally, he shot a serious look to the lieutenant. “Very well. As a level five intelligence operative of the Defense Ministry, I am taking full authority of the situation, as dictated by the 1750 War Doctrine.” All eyes came upon him and grew silent as he formed his words.
“First, give me a copy of the Aegis’s layouts and a list of all emergency protocols,” he stated confidently. In only seconds, a pony handed him a small sheet of paper as he carefully analyzed it. In less than a minute, he tossed it aside.
“Evacuate level three and seal off the fire,” he said, pointing. “Send in the repair crews immediately. They are to act on their own discretion. Seal off the water systems. I doubt we’ll need to be worrying about that right now. What’s the situation outside look like?”
Keyboards clacked all around them as a mare spoke out. “I can’t make contact with HQ still. It appears they’re still blocking all long range signals.”
“What about short range? Can you still contact the rest of the ships?” Time Turner asked.
“Yes sir. Although, it appears we’ve lost contact with about ten.”
“Very good. What about our situation. Are we still under attack?” he asked.
“No, Sir. Currently several of our dreadnought class warships, are holding back the black ships from earlier. We’ve already launched our fighter aircraft to combat their own. The Veranderung is attempting to reach us, but is being held off by about three fighter class warships: Avianna, Kingsley, and Maria.”
Time Turner bit his lip. “What about the shield?”
“It seems it was taken out during our confusion. The German carriers launched several waves of griffons and pegasi into the harbor. Right now, the city guard is holding them off the best they can. They’re refusing to send support at the moment.”
“So that was their plan,” Time Turner mumbled. Another rumbling spread across the ship as Pencil Pusher grabbed hold of Rarity, helping her maintain balance, barely preventing her from puking across the floor.
The ship continued to shake as she fought to stand.
Her vision began to blur as she instinctively held a hoof to her mouth as she began to vomit. She closed her mouth and gritted her teeth as she began to limp, Pencil Pusher still carrying her weight. She reached in the pockets of her dress and pulled out a handkerchief. Carefully, she slipped it between her hoof as she inconspicuously wiped the vomit from her lips and stomached the horrendous taste in her teeth.
With a deep painful breath, she let go of Pencil Pusher and stood on all fours. “What happened?” Time Turner was shouting.
“It’s one of the black ships, sir. That beam of theirs took out three of the ships that were guarding us. Apparently, the shockwave hit us head on.”
Another voice rang. “The Veranderung is launching torpedoes.”
“Evasive maneuvers!” Time Turner shouted. The floor continued to tremble beneath them as desperation overtook Time Turner’s face.
“Damage?” he asked calmly
“The Fires are all along the lower right of the ship. I’m receiving word that they managed to blow a hole along the lower hull.”
“Those poor souls,” Time Turner said as he looks absently around the ship, as if searching for a clue. “We won’t be able to stand another blast from those black ships. Still, we can’t do anything if we’re taking on that behemoth.”
“Sir, more torpedos incoming!”
“Engage protocol 9!” he shouted. Rarity could feel her own uneasiness as she watched the ponies run to and from. Her mind wandered to the nearby shores of Britannia.
“My family is there,” she found herself saying aloud as the ship continued to shake.
“Madam?” Pencil Pusher responded, confused.
“I never told you have I?” she said with a chuckle. “My mother and my father live there along with my little sister, right by the shore. Right where they’re attacking. Right where we were supposed to be protecting them.”
“I...I’m sorry to hear that, Madam. I had no idea.”
“It’s not your fault, dear,” Rarity responded. “We weren’t properly prepared, and this is what happened. So much for our clever shield.”
The word popped out in Rarity’s mind as her thoughts began to race. “No,” she said to herself. “Shield...I wonder…”
She raised her head and faced the stallion on the balcony. “Lieutenant, how many unicorns do we have on board this ship?”
The stallion stared at her with confusion before typing on his keyboard. “About 900, madam.”
“And of that 900, how many have talents in magic, specifically defensive and offensive magic?”
“About 115, madam,” he responded. “83 in offensive and 32 in defensive.”
“Excellent,” she responded with a nod. “I need as many of them as we can spare. Order all of those 115 that are available to meet in on deck immediately. Tell them these orders are directly from the prime minister.”
The stallion took a moment as he looked back and forth between Time Turner and Rarity. Time Turner looked at the stallion and nodded. “Do as she says.”
“Y-Yes sir,” he simply said as he gave the order.
Time Turner walked towards her with a worried look. “What exactly is it that you have planned?”
“Okay, this is a complete last ditch effort, but I have an idea. I remember, we discussed the possibilities of a shield to protect an entire country for a short amount amount of time. This shield was made by a large number of unicorns focusing all their magic in a single instance. If that’s possible on a large scale like an entire country...why shouldn’t it be possible on a smaller scale? Say the protection of a moderately sized warship?”
His eyes lit up. “You want unicorns in defensive magic to create a collective barrier to protect us. But why the offensive...the beam!”
She nodded. “Precisely. As you’ve stated, the beam of their is magic based. I believe that we can recreate that as well.”
He was beaming. “Rarity, you clever, clever, clever mare!” he shouted.
“Madam Rarity! Time Turner!” Pencil Pusher shouted. “They’re here.”
From the metal door, unicorns lined up side by side as they began to enter the room dressed in Britannian military uniform. All of them wore different insignias and ranks, but all of them wore that same confused look as they walked through. However, one stallion caught her attention for just the briefest second: that same white coated stallion with the blue mane. She glanced back at his cutie mark and made the connection. I hope he knows what he’s doing.
She turned her attention back on the rest of them as she cleared her voice and Time Turner began to clear the area on the floor, making as much room as possible.
She raised a single foreleg. “I need all unicorns with talents in offensive magic to remain over here! All unicorn trained in defensive magic, stand over here! If you’re not sure, choose which ever you’re best at!”
Rarity watched as they split up, marching towards their respective groups, offensive to the left and defensive to the right. Rarity backed up, keeping an eye of the unicorns and letting her eyes wander to that white coated unicorn once more. His eyes were different than the others, determined and direct. Each and every movement seemed precise as he walked over to the defensive side.
After a few moments, she looked over the two groups and nodded her head. She looked back at Time Turner. “Go on, Madam Prime Minister,” he said with a smile. “It’s your plan. You lead them.”
Frightened, yet slightly exhilarated, she smiled back and nodded. She faced the group with renewed determination as she spoke. “Offensive group, stay put for a moment. Defensive group, I need you to work together and form a barrier around this ship.”
Thier eyes instantly widened at her words. “I know that this may sound like a preposterous idea, but right now it’s either this or certain death.”
The ground beneath her trembled once more as she struggled to stay on all four. “As you can see, we’re surrounded on all sides. One by the German flagship and another by ships capable of obliterating an entire fleet. With this barrier around the ship, we’ll have a chance of implementing our counter attack.” She turned her head to face the offensive group. “That’s where you come in. As I’m sure you’re aware, those nasty black ships have somehow found a way to use magic as a type of concentrated beam. We intend to copy that, only better.”
“But madam,” one of them spoke out. “Without any direct visual confirmation, there’s no way we’d be able to fire with any accuracy.”
The white coated stallion spoke up. “We’re in the same boat, I’m afraid. Without any direct knowledge of the ship’s size, it’ll be nearly impossible for us all to gauge the same distance for our shield to encompass. If we’re wrong, we’ll just end up trapping another ship in with us.”
“Very well,” Rarity said. She turned to face the first level lieutenant. “Lieutenant, unlock the upper doors. We’re going on deck.”
The lieutenant gave her a dumbfounded look as Time Turner added, “Furthermore, we’ll need as many ships as we can spare. Warships. Carriers. I don’t care, we just need somepony to cover us while we’re there. We’ll have to be stationary in order to not get blown away.”
“Y-Yes, sir,” he said, reluctantly.
Rarity nodded and turned to the others. “Prepare yourselves. Once we get out there, there's no guarantee that any of us will live to see another day.”
As Rarity walked between the crowds, Pencil Pusher walked beside her. “Madam Prime Minister, there’s no need to endanger your own life like this.”
She continued walking, turning right at the spiral metal staircase. “So you expect me to risk their lives, but not my own? Pencil Pusher, what right do I have to order around soldiers to their deaths if I’m not willing to meet the same fate in order to carry out my own duties? As I’ve said before, appearance are everything. If I look like a coward in front of these brave soldiers, what does that say about Britannia as a whole? That we’re a country of cowards that elects cowards to lead?”
He stuttered as he tried to think of a response. Rarity continued to the end of the spiral staircase, ending at a narrow corridor leading to a large set of metal doors. “Stay here, Pencil Pusher. If Time Turner needs anything, be sure to help him.”
He continued walking, shaking as he did so. “M-My job is to assist and advise you and if needed...protect you. I’m not going a-anywhere.”
She smiled as she stopped at the door and faced him with. “Your fiance is a very lucky lady.” She looked back to find the unicorns following closely behind. With a deep breath, she opened the doors.
A sudden gust of wind smacked Rarity like a ton of bricks as she carefully made her first steps on the metallic balcony of the ship. Her stomach heaved and body shook once more, but it felt somehow different. She was afraid yes, but somehow...exhilarated.
Her eyes wandered as she saw the metallic railings raise up. Although, it was nothing more than an illusion of safety, she knew.
Above her, warships and swarms of small fighter aircraft flew, exchanging a cannonfire with ships darker than the emptiness of space. He was right, there’s a delay period before they can fire. Let’s hope that it will give us enough time.
To her right, ships lined up the sides of the Britannian shore, smoke rising as high as the eye could see. Ships on fire. Buildings burnt to smolders. Legions of pegasi and griffin swarming through the air like an angry hornet’s nest.
To her left, the Veranderung floated ever closer, its steel pointed bow ripping violently through the wind. To say that it dwarfed the very ship that she stood on would be a vast understatement. Nearly the height of Britannia’s tallest buildings and the width of a great city, the Veranderung’s shadow was cast over the bay, encompassing the entirety of of the Aegis. She closed her eyes and kissed the tip of her moon-sun pendant.
Behind her, the unicorns gathered on deck, carefully watching their step. “I don’t want to alarm you, but you may wish to hurry!” she yelled to them.
They nodded as they began to make their formations across the deck of the ship, their hooves clanking against the steel. They shouted against the roaring winds as their horns began to glow. Sparks lept as they attempted time after time to join their magic.
Overhead, the Veranderung began to turn, facing portside with the ship as the sleek steel of their ship began to slide, allowing the tubes of their cannons to come into view.
Rarity’s ears perked as she heard hoofsteps grow closer. She glanced back to see Pencil Pusher walked beside her. “Is this what you meant, Madam? When you said war is coming?”
She nodded as their cannons took aim. Across the sky, the gunfire pounded against her ear as aircraft flew by and the smell of smoke began to burn her nostrils. “I’m afraid this is only the beginning, Pencil Pusher. Until the gunfire and the ashes have been burnt into your memory, you have yet to see just what ponykind is capable of.”
Pencil Pusher gulped as he drew closer, still visibly shaking. With a piercing boom, they fired their missile. Rarity stood, her stomach churning. If I am to die, I will die as a proper lady, not a sick welp.
As soon as it came, the missile burst into flames and bits of steel above Rarity as shrapnel made its way onto the deck, forcing Rarity and Pencil Pusher back. Gunfire pounded against the side of the Veranderung. Rarity’s head snapped to the side as two more ships entered her view, both of them bearing Britannia’s flag.
The first was a small warship, barely half the size of their own bearing the name Halberd on its side. The other slightly outsized the Aegis by a fair degree and wore the name, Sir Henry. Sir Henry circled around the Veranderung’s side’ pelting out explosives and cannonfire with every second.
A burst of wind nearly pushed Rarity aside as Halberd flew to the Veranderung’s side, creating a physical barrier between the Veranderung and the Aegis. Bullets hit the side of the Veranderung like a million raindrops. Fires ran against the side of both ships and their explosives fired from one ship to the next. Rarity lowered her ears at the shock of sound, far louder than anything she had ever heard in her life.
She turned back to the two groups. A glowing white sphere now began to float above the ship, sparks shooting from the unicorns as it continued to rise ever slightly.
On the other side of the ship, the offensive group stood in a circle as magic shot from their horns, towards the center, creating a faint outline of a translucent orb.
.
Boom!
Rarity leapt back as bits and pieces of debris were chunked over the deck. Even the mighty Halberd them was beginning to fall apart, peice by peice. Bullet by bullet, missile by missile. Rarity watched the plating begin to tear away as fires scorched the sides of the ship.
The Veranderung, on the other hand, continued to pelt out attack after attack, missiles and fire barely scratching the ship’s thick exterior.
Rarity continued to back away as the smoke began to spread across the Aegis’s deck and bits of the poor Halberd continued to fall into the ocean. It was only moments later that a a scorching explosion roared as the Sir Henry fell from the sky. The larger ship lasted only a few moments later as the rapturous flames spread across the entirety of the ship, forcing them from the sky.
With them out of the way, the Veranderung moved closer and aimed its cannons at them once more. Rarity let out a deep breath, almost sure that it would be her last.
Light glared against the corer of her vision. She turned to a burst of magenta explode through the air as bits of electricity sparked across the entirety of the ship. Electricity ran spread across the sky, weaving itself together like a colorful web. The web of magic solidified as a barrage of cannonfire shot forth. The web spread, transforming itself into a sphere of magenta as the missiles collided with the barrier.
Bullets and fire clashed against the shield only to slide off as if they were nothing but water. Rarity ran back to the offensive and defensive group where the defensive group stood, carefully encircled around a small magenta sphere. From that sphere, a multicolored beam shot out, connecting itself to the barrier.
She faced the offensive group, who were still concentrating their magic on that strange orb. “Sorry, Madam Prime Minister, we can’t seem to find a focal point to fire from. We just need...a little...more time.”
Rarity nodded as she glanced over that white coated unicorn. As the others were straining to power the orb, he stood, almost triumphantly, as the magic shot from his horn in a careful magenta stream.
The airs calmed around her, most likely a result of the shield, allowing Rarity to understand their words as the offensive group continued to yell at one another.
With the shield in place, the sounds of exchanging gunfire became muffled, as if hidden behind a thick wall. Still, the Veranderung continued its onslaught, raining fire and bullets from above.
“Rarity!” Pencil Pusher shouted, forcing Rarity to spin to face him. “Rarity! The black ships,” he said as he pointed his hoof away from the Veranderung.
Rarity’s eyes widened as she looked across the horizon, past the smoke and fire that spread across the bay. Past the warring ships, a series of dots came into view, stacked across various levels. As they grew closer, their shapes became apparent. Ships big enough to hold maybe a hundred ponies, they were draped in spiked black plating and flew ever closer. Rarity counted ten, then fifteen.
“I don’t want to rush you,” she said to the offensive group, “but you might want to hurry!”
As they grew closer, the Veranderung lowered its altitude and backed up, allowing the rows of those black ships to form in rank across the barrier. There was a moment of pure silence as all their weapons took aim. Seconds later, that silence was shattered by blinding lights and explosive resonance as they fired everything they could against the barrier.
Rarity almost ducked out of instinct as the booming sounds tore at her eardrums and the lights began to cloud her vision. She squinted and looked back at the two groups.
Even Rarity could see the strain on the defensive unicorns as the shield’s colors began to flicker. Rarity watched as the unicorns in charge of the shield began to stagger in place as they exerted every ounce of their magic to maintain it. Even the white coated, blue maned stallion was sweating profusely as he looked overhead, his eyes darting from ship to ship, mumbling something under his breath.
The black ships alternated between beam and cannonfire as they were forced to recharge. It was around the second barrage of beams that the first unicorn fell from exhaustion, his horn flickering out as his magic disconnected from the orb.
Rarity’s glanced once more at the offensive group, whose sphere had begun to shape and had risen ever so slightly. Even as their sphere rose, the unicorns in charge of the shield continued to fall backwards.
Their onslaught continued as beam and missile connected against the barrier, forcing the thirty-two to a mere seven. The seven strained as the white coated stallion began speaking louder, as if voicing his directives.
“Point by row three. Mending section along the fourth quadrant,” he said as his magic continued to stream out while more fell. His eyes continued to move from ship to ship, analyzing every space. Whoever he was, he was no ordinary unicorn.
The shield continued to dim as only one beam now connected the sphere to the shield. At this moment, the entirety of the shield rested on the shoulders of that white coated, blue maned stallion. Sweat and fatigue swept across the stallion’s face as he continued to watch and analyze the shield, mending every tear with a quick motion.
The shield dimmed now to a dark purple. Rarity could feel despair wash over her as the beams continued to pound away at the shield. She could already spot the cracks as the shield began to tear away. How in Equestria could a single pony control such a thing against such a force?
“I’m sorry, Pencil Pusher,” Rarity found herself saying aloud as her eyes began to water. “I’m sorry that I dragged you into this mess. I wish I could've met that fiance of yours.”
He smiled. “I’m sure she would have loved to meet you.”
She laughed, crying as she did so. “I only hope that my little sister will forgive me. It hurts me to imagine how she’ll react. I just..wish that I could’ve done something...something more.”
“Stop that, right now!” a voice shouted from behind. Their heads snapped back to face the source of the voice. It was that stallion.
That white coated stallion stared at them with fury in his eyes. “I didn’t work all these years...lose so much...just to let it go to waste!”
His eyes flickered between blue and white as he said those words. His horn began to spark as the sphere above him began to crack. His eyes transformed into pure white as he stared at them. “Wipe those tears away, prime minister!” he shouted, his voice quivering with pain. “You’ll see your little sister again! You’ll see your family again! You’ll see them all again! You think a German flagship is enough to stop me?” He paused and began breathing heavily. “My name...is...Shining Armor!”
The sphere continued to crack as a bright white light tore through. In seconds, the sphere burst as his horn emitted the brightest light that Rarity had ever seen. The light from his horn engulfed the sphere as it connected to the barrier.
The cracked pieces of the barrier began to so seal up as if someone had simply glued them back together. The shield brightened to a luminescent shade of magenta as his magic began to brighten the entire deck.
“I found it!” she heard from the other unicorns.
“Connect to that stallion’s magic!” another voice in the group shouted as the sphere began to rise higher and higher, transforming into a ball of bright red.
Her mane began to sway and grew messy as the magic swirled around her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off as the red sphere connected to the barrier’s magenta, igniting a spark of magic across the surface of the shield.
From the surface of the shield, through the fire and bullets, spawned a bright ball of white. Its light spread across the bay as it continued to expand. The black ships continued to fire at it as the beams simply phased through the white light. The ball stopped expanding as suddenly as it appeared. From that ball of light, shot a beam wide enough to encapsulate a small ship. The beam shot through their lines, disintegrating their ships into little more than particles of air. The beam spread to the left as it tore through the black ships like nothing more than paper.
The unicorns continued to strain as their beam became more narrow, tearing through the next set of black ships, narrowing more as it continued to destroy everything in its path.
The Veranderung drew farther away as the beam scorched across its hull, engulfing it in fire as the white beam became the width of a twig, finally snapping against the sunlight.
In moments, the unicorns were against the ground. Shining Armor’s horn continued to flare for a few moments before the shield cracked into a thousand tiny, vanishing shards. With a smile, he fell against the deck, laughing as he did so.
Rarity watched on the horizon as the Veranderung continued to flee. The fear spread like a plague as German ships began to join the Veranderung. Even the remaining black ships began to join alongside them.
Rarity looked back to the shore, in the graveyard of ships and bodies where a wave of griffins and pegasi flew ever closer to the bay.
“They’re fleeing! We won!” Pencil Pusher shouted as he began to jump against the deck, upsetting Rarity’s stomach as she watched his hooves leave the ground. Still, Rarity couldn’t help, but smile. This is just the beginning, but we’re still alive. I guess that’s something.
Her eyes widened when she took a look at the others. “Pencil Pusher,” she yelled. “These unicorns need medical help!”
He stopped prancing about and bore a more serious look. “Yes, Madam!” he shouted with a salute as he ran back inside.
Rarity began running as she stood next to the white coated stallion who called himself Shining Armor, laying him on his back. “Are...Are you alright?” she asked.
He laughed, followed by a painful sounding cough. “Yeah,” he said, “I’ll live.”
Rarity smiled. “You saved us, all of us. Shining Armor, right?”
“Yes, madam. Shining Armor,” he responded. “Lieutenant Shining Armor.”
Rarity tapped her hoof against her chin. “No, that doesn’t sound quite right. Captain Shining Armor sounds much more fitting after today.”
Atop her throne, Queen Trixie sat, her hooves held together in contemplation as the hologram of Siegfried beamed from her horn. It was a very unusual sight to the rest in the room, but one of the utmost necessity.
Normal long range communication through magic is nearly impossible. Only through immense practice and numerous inane rituals, is it possible to maintain a constant magical connection with another pony. As a Queen and her right hoof, such a connection was necessary.
Trixie gazed around the room at the other ponies as they exchanged worried looks. The loss of such a battle was sure to upset their queen, they all knew.
Trixie knew better than to let this opportunity slide past her. “Leave us,” she said in the coldest tone that she could. Within seconds, the room was vacant except for Trixie and the hologram of Siegfried.
She took another glance before speaking. “Have you escaped from Britannian airspace?”
“Yes, my Queen,” he said with a bow, his voice a dark baritone. “We managed use a group teleport with the remaining ravager units to escape to neutral territory over the sea.
“I see,” she said. “How many remain?”
“Little over half the ships that we arrived with. Only six of the twenty one ravager units remain. Griffon casualties are around seventy percent, while ponies are around sixty.”
Trixie nodded. “Very well. What of the ‘package’?”
“It was delivered among the heat of the battle. The Britannians were far too worried about protecting their prime minister to notice a small, flagless carrier ship entering the bay. Still, do you think it was worth it? Was it worth all the lives that we sacrificed today?”
“Of course. It was imperative,” she said. “The Britannians may think they’ve won. They’ll become overconfident about their victory. Little will they know, we’ve already planted the seeds to their destruction in their own back yard.”
