Today would be the day.
The Admiral stood on the bridge of the mighty battleship as it sailed through the vast ocean. Holding a pair of binoculars in her magic, the unicorn searched the horizon. Scouts had reported the enemy fleet was in the area, and now it was just matter of time before the two navies found one another.
Once and for all we will prove to be the rightful masters of these waters. The Admiral thought to herself.
"Enemy Sighted to the east!"
The Admiral spun. There! Several specks were on the horizon. The Admiral watched as more and more appeared, each growing larger by the second. The Admiral felt her own ship begin turn to the east, as the specks became dots.
"Sound the alarm, all hooves to battle stations."
Sirens began to wail throughout the ship. All activity on the deck ceased; the Admiral watched as the deck-ponies dropped what they were doing and rushed to their stations.
"Contact the mainland." The Admiral said turning to the bridge crew. "Enemy sighted. The fleet is moving to engage."
"Aye, aye, Admiral." The communications officer, an ice blue pegasus stallion, popped a quick salute before turning back to his station and flipping switches.
As the stallion relayed her orders, the Admiral smiled. It was a predator's smile. The war had been going on for years, and today, they began to drive the nails into their foe's coffin. The two largest fleets ever assembled on Equis would clash, and the Admiral had no doubt, which would triumph.
"Message relayed, Admiral."
"Good, open a fleet-wide broadcast."
The stallion flipped a few switches as the Admiral moved behind him.
"The channel is ready when you are, Ma'am." The stallion said, offering the radio to the older mare.
"Thank you, son."
The Admiral picked up the radio in her magic, but paused for a few seconds to collect her thoughts.
"Attention all hooves."
Even high in the secured bridge, the Admiral could hear her voice resonate throughout the ship. Ponies at their battle stations paused in their conversations; their ears perked as they waited with bated breath.
"We have sighted the enemy fleet and are moving to engage. From the reports, we know that their fleet is as strong as ours."
Ponies may have shuddered at the Admiral's candid words, but there were no cowards among them. They knew the risks when they had joined the service, and today they would defend the values and interests of their nation.
"We stand on the precipice of history. Today the greatest navel battle in the history of our planet will take place. Today's sunrise will be the last many of us will see, and though we will not see the new dawn of tomorrow, we will not go quietly."
The Admiral's smile widened as the cheers from the ship reached her ears.
"The Princesses stand with us today. Give them Tartarus! Admiral Roe, out."
The bridge crew cheered while Admiral Roe floated the radio back to the communications officer.
"Captain Mance! Full speed ahead!"
"Aye, Aye!"
Admiral Roe kept the smile on her face as she trotted back to the large window. Bringing her binoculars back up to her face, Roe watched as the opposite fleet grew larger. After so many years on the sea and at war, the Admiral knew many of the enemy's major battleships almost as well as she knew her own. As the fleets drew ever closer together, she began to pick them out by sight; her smile slipped.
"The rumors were true then?" Captain Mance said as he joined the Admiral seeing the scowl on her face.
"That's it all right. Seems my counterpart likes the new and flashy route." The Admiral said turning to Mance.
"Well, we just have to show him just how strong the older battlewagons really are." The pegasus captain said with a smirk.
Roe smiled as she turned back to the window. She knew she had chosen well all those years ago placing Mance in command of the battleship. Roe had been an officer on the ship for many years before being promoted, and even years later it still held a dear place in her heart. When she was commanded to assemble the fleet, there was no question which would become her flagship.
The Admiral watched as the enemy flagship grew in her binoculars. It was one of the newest ships in the enemy's navy, and the largest ship to ever sail the ocean. An unfamiliar fear crept down her spine seeing the already large ship bristling with guns grow larger, but as quickly as it came, it passed. The Admiral patted the deck beneath her hoof; the old battleship had not let her down yet and would not today. With a smirk of her own, Admiral Roe turned back to Mance.
"The Flashlight may be new and flashy, but we will see how that large bucket of bolts stands against the hardened crew of the Twidash.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Mance saluted and turned back to his bridge crew.
"Admiral, the other Fleet Groups are moving into position." The communication stallion spoke up again."
"Good, they are to maintain their orders, but be prepared for any surprises." Roe commanded as she swung her binoculars to watch her own fleet disperse.
The plan was as daring as it was dangerous. The massive fleet would split into three groups and attempt to surround the enemy fleet and prevent any escape. Simple, yes, but also flexible, and if the bold strategy worked, it would leave them the sole navel power left on the seas.
Admiral Roe had selected every captain on her nine battleships personally. They knew their orders and the Admiral had full confidence they would be carried out. Fleet-Group O would swing northward with the battleships, Twixie, Appledash, and Lyrabon at the forefront. The Twidash would maintain course east with the Rarijack, and the Pinkieshy in support as Fleet-Group T. The Twilestia, the Twiluna, and the Flutterdash would lead the southern pincer as Fleet-Group P.
The battleships would not be alone. Each Fleet-Group had cruisers, destroyers, and frigates as support. Roe watched as the Twidash's own support cruisers, Scootabelle and Scootabloom, moved into position.
The Admiral turned her binoculars to focus once more on the enemy fleet. Both fleets would be in range of each other soon, and in the last few seconds of calm, the Admiral tried to determine her enemy's strategy.
Along with the Flashlight, the Admiral was able to identify several other ships in her counterpart's fleet. The Twimac and Fluttermac, two battleships around the size of the Twidash supported the massive new battleship. The Admiral was able to identify two more battleships, the Sorendash and Pinkiemel, along with three cruisers, the Rumbloo, the Button Belle, and the Applepip before the first booms resounded from the Twidash. Only seconds later, the Admiral saw Rumbloo explode in flames.
"Hit!"
The bridge erupted in cheers, the battle had begun and they had drawn first blood. Buoyed though she was at her fleet's good luck, the Admiral did not celebrate. Through her binoculars, Roe watched as black tufts of smoke erupted within the enemy's fleet.
"Evasive maneuvers!"
Through her hooves, the Admiral could feel the massive ship began to turn; water blossomed upwards off the port side of the ship. Ponies on deck screamed as shrapnel cut into their flesh from the near miss.
"Damage report!" Captain Mance shouted.
Things began to happen very quickly. Even as the crew rushed to respond to their captain's orders, the guns of the Twidash fired another salvo. Minutes blurred as the two fleets traded blows. The Scootabloom suddenly exploded as its engine room was hit. The Rarijack took a hit across its bow, but the old juggernaut didn’t slow.
Though her fleet was taking a pounding, the Admiral smiled. Several of the enemies ships were dead in the water, smoke billowing from their corpses. The mega ship Flashlight might have been intimidating, but it made for a larger target. Smoke rose across its decks in several places; Roe wasn’t sure how much more the massive ship could take.
Suddenly a loud whistling filled the air.
"INCOMING!" Captain Mance shouted.
Admiral Roe turned to dive away from the windows when —
—Shining Armor rushed through the bathroom door.
"Cadance are you all right! I heard screaming!" the Prince of the Crystal Empire shouted as he ran to the large, bubble-filled tub. There he found his wife surrounded by what seemed to be two fleets worth of toy ships.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Cadance to her friends, blushed at her husband's questioning stare. Confused Shining Armor picked up one of the larger toy ships in his magic. The ship had splotches of blue and purple painted along its side. Examining it closer, Shining found a name had been written on the bottom. Cadance's blush deepened as Shining Armor mouthed the name of the ship, Twidash.
That was when Shining realized that the purple and blue on the toy ship matched his sister's coat and one of her friends. Looking back into the tub, Shining saw that a number of ships, a disturbing high number, some might say, had the same purple mixed with other colors.
Shining gently floated the ship back into the tub and turned back to his wife. Cadance waved a hoof with a nervous smile.
"Well… I guess I'll leave you to it then." Shining said in a neutral voice as he backed away from the bathtub and back out the door.
Cadance let out a sigh in relief as the bathroom door closed once more. The alicorn turned back to her bath with a smile on her face.
"Now, where were we?"