//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20: Tying Tides (Part 2 – The Revolutionary Gator) 
// Story: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy 
// by Green Hills 
//------------------------------//

	The flight from Ponyville to Manehattan has been long, but at the same time, quick. The MV-22 travels through the air at brisk speed, though not as fast as a Wonderbolt if put into a race, while some Royal Guard Pegasi struggle to keep up with the enormous aircraft.

Still sitting in the same uncomfortable and thin seat, Twilight Sparkle can feel her neck begin to strain after staring out the small circular window behind her for so long. Even she has lost track of time due to the loud rustling and buffering noises of the Osprey’s twin engines that have been aching her ears since they left. She wonders how the humans can handle things like this for long periods. As she looks around the cramped metal cabin, she sees Spike, the baby dragon, leaning against her body sound asleep. It doesn’t surprise her one bit that he can sleep through almost anything. Rarity and Applejack are busy playing cards just to keep the white unicorn silent and occupied, and not have another breakdown about the unique military machine they are currently riding in. And for Fluttershy, she has calmed down for the past couple hours during the flight, but still has that petrified look similar to the one when they had to face the dragon in the tall mountain. Looking down further, Twilight spots Staff Sergeant Hughes, still sitting in the same spot since they left Ponyville manning the M240B machine gun on the off-loading ramp, watching the scenery below passing by swiftly.

Twilight then turns to the humans, the Navy SEALs to be exact, all five of them sitting in their seats; Chief Petty Officer ‘Knight’, Senior Chief Petty Officer ‘Papa’, First Class Petty Officer ‘Cutup’, Chief Petty Officer ‘Honeydew’ and Second Class Petty Officer ‘York’. Cutup, Honeydew and Papa have their eyes closed. A time like this is good to catch up on some rest, but Twilight can barely even keep one eye closed from the excitement that is rushing through her body. As for Commander Gaines, he is up in the cockpit with Princess Cadance, possibly showing her how these humans drive this massive piece of flying technology without the use of magic. Even right now, it still contemplates her mind how there is a world with no magic whatsoever. She turns to Knight, who is occupied by small headphones plugged into his ears. To Twilight’s surprise, they look almost exactly alike to DJ Pon3’s earphones whenever she sees her out for a walk in Ponyville.

“Hey, Twilight,” Princess Cadance calls out softly, but loudly enough for the lavender unicorn to hear over the running engines and gusting wind. When Twilight turns her head, she sees her former foal-sitter walking up to her. “You must see this. It’s amazing.” Twilight looks at the princess confused, before leaning her head to the side to see Commander Gaines motioning her to come over. She blinks a few times, utterly silent before turning back to Cadance, who gives a nod in return. Twilight’s heart rate just spikes; is she really going to take a look at the pilots? It is just one simple thought, and Twilight is already making her way to the commander. She quickly looks behind to see her friends staring at her with curious looks, before turning back to the commander standing by the incredibly narrow doorway. The second crew chief, Sergeant Volper, watches the unicorn walk to the doorway just next to him as well.

“Wanna have a look?” Commander Gaines asks with a content smile. Twilight’s ears flutter, her excitement she can barely contain. She nods instead of making a reply, and takes her first step through the thin doorway. Twilight freezes in her spot, her eyes widening as she looks around the cramped but amazing space occupied by two pilots.

Placed in front of each pilot on either side is a set of two small screens, the two sets displaying the same images. There is a row of buttons running around the frames of each screen, with another row of buttons and switches placed on the top. Twilight switches her eyes from left to right, getting a good look at what appears to be a black joy-stick in between the pilots’ legs, firmly grabbed by only one hand. Running down the center between the two men, is another large screen displaying numbers, letters and codes in a complicated pattern, as well as more buttons along its frame. Below the screen is a small keypad-looking panel fitted with weird symbols and letters, and another oddly shaped lever device with several more switches to its right. Twilight looks up to the ceiling, her jaw feeling like to drop to the ground when she sees a large panel divided into three sections, with more buttons and switches.

Twilight remains silent as she contemplates at the complexity, before narrowing down to the pilots who drive the massive aircraft.
“Hi, there,” one of them sitting on the right says, giving her a brief wave before going back. Twilight didn’t even have the chance to reply back; her head still going over the amount of controls inside this cramped space. Turning back to Commander Gaines, who in return gives her a nod, Twilight gulps under the all-powerful whirring sound of the aircraft’s twin engines, and steps deeper until her head is directly inside, giving the lavender unicorn a much better view of not only the controls in front of her, but the view being cast from the large set of windows in front and on the sides.

The unicorn’s eyes widen in awe as she looks outside, gazing at the lush green grass fields and forests whizzing past under and around as the Osprey flies at almost its maximum speed. Off to the far left, Twilight can barely capture the outlines of several mountains through the clouds, and to her right are the rolling hills of grass and forest patches that look like giant smooth waves. However, the only thing that catches the pony’s eyes the most is what lies just beyond the horizon, and slowly crawling out through the clouds; the great metropolis city of Manehattan. 

Twilight always wanted to go to the great city Manehattan since she was a filly, and now here she is, looking out the window of an advanced flying contraption at the metropolis slowly growing the closer they approach. Sadly, that only lasts for more than a few seconds, as her attention suddenly changes to one of the pilots flicking a few switches on the panel on the ceiling.
“USS Bonhomme Richard, this is White Knight Three-two, requesting permission to land on deck, over.” Not realizing until now, Twilight holds her breath for no reason at all, waiting and wondering who is the pilot talking to. “Roger that. Preparing to land on Spot Four, E-T-A ten minutes. Be advised, we are bringing in special cargo.” The unicorn pulls back her head with a quizzical look stuck on her face. The only words she recognizes is the USS Bonhomme Richard, one of the three ships in Manehattan Commander Gaines described before their flight. Still, the adrenaline does not stop racing through the unicorn’s body. It is just a few simple words, and yet, Twilight is excited as a filly getting a toy on Heart’s Warming Eve.

The thought quickly dissipates when Twilight notices the city quickly coming into view. Just below them, she manages to catch a glimpse of several houses whizzing past under them. She wonders how will the ponies below react when they see a giant flying machine going over their heads at high speeds. More importantly, she wants to see how the big city is able to cope with three massive ships in their harbor for over a week.

With a small jolt of the pilots’ joysticks, the MV-22 slowly veers to the right, the human on the right pressing a few more buttons on the screen in front of him.
“Twilight,” Commander Gaines says her name, and the unicorn turns to him. “If I were you, I would be seated for landing.” He ushers a smile, which Twilight in return does the same, and both of them return to their seats. The moment Twilight sits back down in the uncomfortable seat, she eyes catch Rarity and Applejack smirking at her, while Fluttershy remains silent.
“Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking,” the speakers screech around the cabin of the aircraft, causing all five ponies and the baby dragon to jump in surprise. “In about ten minutes we’ll be making our final descent on to the top deck of L-H-D Six USS Bonhomme Richard. So please, have your seatbelts fastened, tray tables locked and seats in their upright position. Flight attendants, prepare for landing.”
“Bastards do it every time,” Cutup comments with a smile. Rarity opens her mouth to probably tell the Navy SEAL to be more respectful, but she and the other ponies instead turn to see Staff Sergeant Barnes, who has been sitting on the open rear ramp the entire flight, twirling the mounted M240 machine gun to the side and locking in position. Just by observing, Twilight has had this gut-wrenching feeling that anytime soon he or anyone else would fall out since they left Ponyville, and it still clings to her head. The feeling any of these men suddenly slipping and falling out of the large open ramp; is something like this normal to them?

The unicorn shakes her head as the crew chief walks down the narrow lane with both of his hands close to the ceiling for support, heading to the cockpit. After a few words of exchange, the staff sergeant turns to the second crew chief, Sergeant Volper, who has been staring at her and her friends the entire flight. Twilight can barely tell what emotions he is showing, due to his helmet and the giant visor blocking nearly all of his face, except the mouth and nose. She turns around again to look out the window sitting between her and Spike, noticing a bright blue ocean shimmering against Princess Celestia’s sun’s rays, and the rolling green hills and civilization just next to it. Twilight can barely contain her excitement. For the first time in Equestria history, maybe even in all of pony-kind, she will be stepping her hoof on an alien craft of a new intelligent species they have made friends with. Ever since then, she lost count about telling herself how the humans are an incredible smart species.

The Osprey suddenly turns a sharp left, and Twilight can feel her insides lift up from the torque. She turns to look at her friends, all three of them have their hooves grasping firmly to something for dear life. Even Twilight can feel herself holding on to a couple straps. She takes a quick look across the cabin at the SEALs, all of whom are chilled as if they are used to this. Twilight doesn’t even question it. Finally, the aircraft returns to its regular stability, slowly relieving the ponies, except for Spike, who has his face planted against the window.
“Twilight, Twilight,” he says, poking the lavender unicorn.
“What is it now, Spike?” Twilight asks, getting a little irritated.
“You have to take a look at this.” The dragon moves his head to the side to let Princess Cadance get a look first. Twilight notices her eyes widening and her mouth forming like she is about to whistle.
“Twilight,” her former foal-sister says, “look at this.” Twilight knows what both the princess and her number one assistant are talking about, and can barely hold in the feeling. The moment Cadance moves away, the unicorn takes over almost immediately. Twilight’s eyes immediately shoot open, and her mouth feels as if it just dislocated at the sight. What she saw in the newspaper over a week ago was nothing compared to what she is seeing now.

Sitting right in the harbor are three ships docked side by side; two of them are small while the other is so large it takes up at least three docks out of the total of thirty at Manehattan Harbor. Even Twilight knows how many docks there are at Manehattan. She takes a quick glance to scan the surroundings around the three human-made ships. Boats of all shapes and sizes, but as small as ants compared to the metal beasts, enclose them in a semi-circular pattern. Blimps and Pegasi cover the daytime sky wanting to get a close look, but are cut off by Royal Guards. Even the citizens on the ground are all huddled so close wanting to get through the wall of the princesses’ guards. Twilight can see the hundreds of flashes going off every second from down in the streets, the sky and the water.
“Well, I’ll be,” Applejack comments, looking out through the open rear ramp at the entrance of the harbor, which is blocked off by boats and Royal Guards.
“Ladies,” Commander Gaines calls loudly over the booming sound of the engines now powering down, grabbing the attention of all ponies in the MV-22. “Welcome to the USS Bonhomme Richard.” Twilight’s eyes slowly begin to beam the moment she hears those particular words.

The Osprey’s speed quickly decreases by a large amount, with Twilight once again staring at one of its tilt-rotor engine twisting back to its upright position, and the aircraft slowly moves closer to the large boat at a diagonal angle, as well as giving Twilight a perfect view of the three massive metal ships.

Like Rarity’s somewhat accurate but bias description, the largest ship is rectangular-shaped, coming into a pointed end at the bow, while the top deck remains flat. There is long complex building placed in the middle on the right side, with two large towers outfitted with panels and strings in complicated areas, and a giant number 6 printed on the side. But what intrigues Twilight the most is its layout. As the aircraft draws closer to the ship, Twilight can make out at least half of what the ship has on its main deck. At the very bow of the ship, she counts at least a dozen other MV-22s, all in their compact storage configurations and is tightly packed together. Closer to the complex building, are at least seven or more smaller contraptions, but Twilight can barely make them out, as half of them are thin while the others are slightly thicker. However, closer to the stern, the unicorn counts four large aircrafts she recognizes as the one that crashed in Sweet Apple Acres. Of course, she forgot the name of the bulky aircraft. Moving to the very stern, Twilight notices six aircrafts that are most different compared to the helicopters. All of them have narrow triangle-shaped wings and long thin bodies. Six of these supposed aircrafts are huddled together in the very stern of the ship, with one on what appears to be one of two square-shaped platforms jutting out from either side of the boat.

“Woah,” Spike gasps softly, as the Osprey closes in on the main platform deck. Standing outside, the baby dragon, Twilight and Cadance can see at least a dozen humans dressed in green and blue uniforms waiting for their arrival. Twilight turns to look at her friends, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack. All three of them have their eyes turned to the open ramp as the Osprey sways from side to side as it hovers right over the deck by at least a good ten feet.

Twilight’s heart begins to race once again, feeling the aircraft shudder and bounce as it nears the ground. Finally, the MV-22 hits the asphalt deck, slightly harder than Twilight anticipated. It feels as though she can just race out there and scream with excitement, that she is on an actual contraption that is known, but so alien to her. The engines power down, and the five Navy SEALs grab their belongings, ready to exit the aircraft they all have been sitting in for over four hours. Twilight can no longer contain the energy inside ready to burst. She is finally here.


*****


Rainbow Dash lets out a deep yawn as she exits the cramped restroom that is located next to her and the others’ room. As an active Pegasus she constantly is, with at least five hours of sleep and the occasional three naps a day, Rainbow managed to catch at least three hours of sleep. In fact, she has been like that for the past two nights since she boarded the USS Michael Murphy. She is definitely not used to sleep like this in her life, and neither is Pinkie now that the Pegasus knows she gets seasick.

Rainbow shakes her head as she shuffles her hooves down the slick hallway, glancing at the many odd objects that protrude out of the walls, with warning labels printed on them and a few doors. She enters the small bunkroom, not even bothering checking with Pinkie Pie and one of the two Royal Guards, and hops into her bed with one strong flap of her wings. Bored out of her mind, Rainbow stares at the ceiling, wondering what the colors are while trying to figure out the shouts and commands from other sailors down the hallway through the hums of the ship’s engines. If only she brought her Daring Do book, she would have been set throughout the whole boat trip. Also, with Pinkie Pie being sick, Rainbow can’t even pull off fun pranks to the sailors. Then again, she doesn’t even want to, not knowing how the humans will react. She could at least talk to the Royal Guard, Road Block if she remembers correctly. Of course, he could be sleeping after he stayed up all last night keeping watch in the hallway.

The Pegasus lets out a sigh, and turns her head to a small clock hanging on a wall showing it is already past noon. Her stomach growls, and she frowns annoyingly. She could at least go to the mess hall for a bite, however, she still doesn’t know her way around this maze-like metal boat. Not only that, the breakfast she had not a few hours ago did not settle well in her stomach. It even makes her breakfast look better, despite Rainbow being a worse cook than Twilight.

Rainbow thinks some more to what she can do to pass the time. With Princess Luna and the other Royal Guard, Fortress, already with Commander Harbort, probably on the bridge to Rainbow’s guess, the least she could do is nothing but stare at a blank ceiling three feet from her face. She could at least ask a human to show her the way, probably that young one who gave the group a short tour around the ship before Pinkie got sick again yesterday.

Rainbow’s stomach whines again, finally forcing her out of the uncomfortable bed and gently floating down to the floor. Before she leaves, the Pegasus slides open a closed curtain on the bottom bed, revealing the sleeping party mare, Pinkie Pie. To her relief, she doesn’t look too sick, and her usual pink color seems to be returning. Ever since then, Pinkie has received half a dozen pillows to keep her as comfortable as possible throughout the trip while she recovers, which of course, Rainbow was not too fond of when she saw it. Then again, she would rather see the party pony like this rather than throwing up again. But, as such an energetic, wild, constantly-party-throwing mare Pinkie is, the Pegasus can’t help but stare at her with a small smile. Rainbow always thought of when Pinkie sleeps, she is all over the place and snores a lot. Instead, she sees her body slowly rising and falling with every breath she makes. It’s hard to believe Pinkie, the best party pony around, is so calm and quiet when she is asleep. Unless, that is when she is just sick.

Rainbow’s thought is quickly interrupted by another grumble of her stomach, and she groans internally. With another disappointed sigh, she closes the curtain and turns around to head out the door.
“Where are you going?” a male voice asks from behind Rainbow Dash, stopping her in her tracks. When she turns around, she spots Road Block poking out of the bottom bunk bed without his usual armor pieces. Just like almost any other stallion, he is a well-built brown earth stallion with a slightly spike black mane.
“O-oh, um,” Rainbow stammers her words and stumbles a bit when she feels the Arleigh Burke-class ship roll over a wave. “I’m, uh, just going to eat something. Can you, uh… keep an eye on Pinkie?” Road Block squints his eyes at the rainbow-mane Pegasus, turns his head to look at the tiny clock hanging high on the wall, and veers his eyes to the closed curtains on his level, where Pinkie Pie rests.
“Let me come with you, instead,” he says.
“No, no, no. I’ll be fine,” Rainbow shakes her head almost vigorously. “I could just… ask one of them walking by.”
“I should come with you by orders of Her Highness Luna,” Road Block repeats as he steps out of his bunk.
“And who’s gonna keep an eye on Pinkie? She’s sick and needs attention.” The stallion stops just as he is about to reply back, and turns to where Pinkie is sleeping.
After what feels like a long fifteen minutes of silence, Road Block opens his mouth. “Alright. Be careful, then. These creatures can be menacing.” Rainbow gives the stallion an almost scowl look before turning her flank and head out the door back into the hallway.

“Hey, you,” a sailor calls out from behind Rainbow Dash as she casually makes her way down the narrow hallway of the USS Michael Murphy. “What are you doing here?”
“O-oh,” Rainbow chimes a nervous smile the moment she lays eyes on the human as he approaches her, wielding a rifle in his hands. “U-uh, I was just looking for you guys, actually.”
The human raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I’m, uh, actually… kinda’ hungry. So, uh… can you show me the way to the cafeteria?” Rainbow gulps loudly, though it feels like she is struggling by doing that. Staring at the human towering over her with a weapon in his hands even makes her feel like she is Fluttershy. The sailor looks down at his watch, then back to the Pegasus.
“Alright, my shift’s almost over, anyway,” he says. Rainbow lets out a breath of relief, and the two start walking down the hallway.

“Yo, Greene!” the sailor shouts down a hallway intersection to his left.
“Yeah?!” the other shouts back, approximately fifteen meters down.
“Rotations up. You’re next.”
“Got it!” the second sailor shouts back as he walks up before noticing Rainbow. “Where you taking it?”
“It’s actually—” Rainbow wants to correct the sailor in a sassy tone, when she is suddenly cut off by a crackle throughout the hallways.
“Attention all hands, report to your stations. This is not a drill. All hands to stations immediately.”
“The hell?” the second sailor, presumably Greene, murmurs as he, Rainbow’s escort and her look around.
“Wh-what’s going on?” Rainbow asks worriedly.
“Don’t know. But, it’s serious. Becker, get the horse back to its quarters and keep an eye on them. I’m heading to C-I-C.”
“Aye,” Rainbow’s escort replies. “Come on.”
“W-wait. What?!” Rainbow rebels. “B-but, uh… shouldn’t I come with you, or something?”
“I’m sorry, but this is strictly military operation. Now, come on.” Rainbow wants to fight back verbally, but instead gives in. Knowing how these humans are well capable of fighting like the Royal Guards, or better, she feels like pissing them off will not change a thing. But, she really wants to see how they operate, considering they are a military force, and wants to witness this very ship in action.
“Ugh, fine,” she says, puffing out her cheeks.


*****


Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy all wait patiently on the main deck of what is called the USS Bonhomme Richard, next to the Osprey they were just on not even a half hour ago. Spike takes a quick glance at Twilight staring at the scenery of the ship, wondering when was the last time she ever blinked since they landed. Luckily, as hot as the day is, the shadow casted by the giant complex building gives them enough shade from Princess Celestia’s sun.

“How long are they going to take?” Spike sighs heavily, looking at his bare wrist before realizing he is not even wearing a watch.
“Now, now, Spike,” Rarity says. “Royal meetings are very important.”
“I know, I know. Still, we’ve been sitting here for I-don’t-know-how-long.” The baby dragon twirls his head around to have a look of the many different contraptions and crewmen working on deck. Nearly all of them keep on staring at them and exchanging words, while at the same time, pointing to the sky, the water and the skyline of Manehattan. “I wonder if there’s a way to just ask them if I can have a look.”
“Maybe now would not be the time for it, Spike,” Applejack says, staring at the large complex building off to their left. Spike sighs again, and buries his chin in his hands. After a little while, he too finds himself joining the cowpony staring at the large grey metal building as well. What catches his eyes first is a giant picture of a pair of wings on either side of two crisscrossing anchors in a dark yellowish color, with white text saying BEWARE OF JET BLAST AND ROTORS just below, off to the left next to an even more massive number 6 that covers a fraction of the building from top to bottom.

“Excuse me,” a voice calls out. Twilight is the first to react, snapping her neck to where the familiar voice came from. To her surprise, it’s Navy SEAL Knight along with Cutup and York walking towards them from the main complex building.
“Oh, hi Knight,” she says. Now, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike pick up their heads to see the three SEALs coming up to them. Twilight bites her lips, wondering what is happening from inside the massive ship, or how did the humans on these three boats respond to a matter like this.
“The captain would like to see you folks,” Knight says. A sense of relief fills inside Twilight, but not completely. Excitement and nervousness flows in too quickly for the unicorn to handle. Twilight wants to gasp and squeal so badly, but she knows she can’t for the sake of respect.
“W-wait,” Applejack halts. “Y-you sayin’ ya’ll want us to go inside?”
“Unless you don’t want to meet him, that’s fine.”
“N-no! No,” Twilight speaks up rather suddenly, almost startling her friends a bit. “Uh, I mean, we would like to see the captain.” Knight gives away a small smirk, and turns his back. Without any hesitation, Twilight prepares to follow the Navy SEAL, her backpack still strapped on her back.
“Twilight?” Rarity speaks out. The lavender unicorn stops, seeing her four friends with worried looks on their faces.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Twilight says. “You can stay here.”
“Well, no we’re not,” Applejack sternly says after a deep breath. “We’re right beside ya’, Twi. Right girls?”
“U-uh, w-well,” Fluttershy stammers.
“We are all right by you,” Rarity corrects.

The four ponies and the baby dragon gather their things, and follow Knight to the giant metal building, with Cutup and York right behind them. All five of them gaze at the dozens of odd objects, thick ropes to their belief, railings, giant bulbs, tiny flags and panels configured on top, with observation windows on either end of the building. Twilight can feel her heart beating harder with every step they take, coming closer and closer to the open door, all while other humans surrounding them stare at them with curious and confused looks.
“Ugh, could they at least pick a better color on that, or cover up some of that icky rust?” Rarity sticks her tongue out grossly, her eyes pointing in every direction of the metal building.
“Rarity,” Applejack whispers rigidly to the unicorn, gritting her teeth.
“Well, it better be clean inside.”
Applejack rolls her eyes. “I doubt it.”

The moment they enter the gigantic building, the ponies and dragon are quickly met with a sudden cool, musty air. The hallway they just enter is narrow, roughly over a meter wide, layered with weird box-shaped objects protruding out from walls, signs and labels printed on them, and lights and giant pipes on the ceiling. A low quiet hum can be heard all around them, along with several shouts from other humans somewhere nearby. Twilight can make out what they are saying, but have no clue what they are talking about.
“What’s the sitrep on those F-18s?”
“Dude, we don’t even have the proper tools to repair those jets. We’re in a goddamn amphibious assault ship, not an aircraft carrier. Besides, we already moved all helos out of the hangar bay on to the main deck four days ago.”
“What about the fourth one?”
“We still can’t find it. With all this shit happening around us, it’ll be impossible for our Ospreys to find it under the harbor bay. There’s fuckin’ horses in boats everywhere, man.”

Rarity puffs up her cheeks, a usual sign of her getting annoyed the fact that either she is overhearing these humans talk foul language, or she is walking in the most ugly hallway she has ever seen in her entire life. She even wants to pull out her hair out of sheer frustration after not even thirty seconds being in a hallway with objects poking out unevenly.

“Boiler room gave us the green light.”
“Alright. What about navigation and sonar?”
“Green light from there as well. Lights are still off in a couple sections on level four. Our guys from the Fitz are having difficulties in C-I-C.”
“God, you wonder how the fuck did we end up in this weird place.”

After a couple minutes of climbing thin stairs and turning around corners, the group finally arrives at a large double door, with one slightly ajar. Knight opens the metal door, which gives off a moderate squeak as it turns, while Twilight, her friends and the other two SEALs wait behind.
“Captain,” Knight says, poking his head inside. “They’re here.” After a quick moment, the Navy SEAL turns to the ponies, and steps to the side with his arm out, offering them to enter first. Twilight gulps, feeling the pressure in her head. But, she has her friends with her. She turns around to make sure, and sure enough, they are there. With one deep breath, the small group enters.

Twilight’s heart pounds furiously the moment she steps through that door. The first thing her eyes catch is Princess Cadance standing next to two humans, and behind her is Commander Gaines. In fact, the entire room is filled with at least ten humans all spread out, staring as the ponies enter. The room is filled with so many monitors, both alongside the walls and center, much like the ones Twilight saw in the cockpit of the MV-22. Wires, pipes, lights and other box-shaped objects cover the entire ceiling the more the unicorn inspects before Twilight realizes she is standing in the center of the room.
“Twilight,” Cadance says with a smile.
“H-hi, Cadance,” Twilight replies dryly. She can feel her heart still beating rapidly, not even wondering how her friends are reacting to this phenomenon.
“Twilight,” Commander Gaines says, and lifts a hand to a middle-aged man dressed in the same pixelated blue uniform as he is.“This is Captain Conolly, of the USS Bonhomme Richard. Captain, these are Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike. They’ll be accompanying us for the journey.”
The captain nods. “I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“A-ah… a pleasure t-to meet you,” the unicorn says, unconsciously bowing down.
“Um, Twi?” Applejack leans over and whispers. Before she realizes, Twilight shoots back up rather quickly, nearly bashing her head into the orange cowpony. Now, she feels like a complete idiot for doing that, and the looks she is receiving are quite relevant to that.

“Welcome aboard,” Captain Conolly says, turning to two other sailors standing just to the ponies’ right. “May I introduce you Commander Hill of the USS Lassen, and Commander Dane of the USS Ftizgerald.” The two men bow their heads to the ponies. However, only Applejack and Rarity tilt their heads quizzically. Fluttershy, however, feels like she could faint at any moment from the gazes they are receiving. Luckily, Spike is standing next to her, supporting her wobbly body.
“N-nice to meet you as well,” Twilight says a little more confidently to the two commanders.
“Nice to meet you as well,” Commander Hill replies. From the looks of it, he and Commander Dane does not seem to be surprised the fact that Twilight and her friends are a different species and they are in their ship.
“I heard that you and your friends will be accompanying us for the mission, correct?” Captain Conolly says to Twilight.
“Y-yes,” the lavender unicorn says with a timid smile. “P-Princess Cadance and I will help guide through the Equestrian Waters until you can meet up with your friends.”
“We already explained the plan,” Commander Gaines says. “But, thank you.”
“Murphy,” Conolly turns to Navy SEAL Knight. Twilight arches back slightly; she didn’t even know Knight also has a last name.
“Sir,” Knight stands at attention next to the rest of the SEALs.
“Take your men and escort the horses to their racks. We’ll be setting course in a half hour.”
“Aye, captain.”
“I can ask the mayor to clear the harbor immediately when you are about to leave,” Princess Cadance offers.
“Thank you. Can you also ask him to bring any tugboats for assistance?” the captain asks, and the princess nods.
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”

“This way,” Knight says to Twilight and her friends, pointing to the door they just entered. Twilight takes one last look at the room crowded with many controllers before following her friends through the door, with Princess Cadance following suit.
“This is amazing,” she whispers to the princess.
“I know.”
“Glad you’re enjoying it,” Navy SEAL Honeydew bumps in as he closes the door, and the group proceeds down the narrow stairs.

“Commander Gaines,” Captain Conolly says, his voice now stern as he turns to Gaines. “You better be right about this.”
“We need their help, sir,” Gaines says stepping a little closer to the middle-aged man. “And the only way to find a way home is to gain their trust.”
“It’s not about gaining trust from talking animals to get us home, commander. It’s about letting five horses and a baby lizard roaming around on my ship.” Conolly returns to his men and begins giving them orders, leaving Commander Gaines deep in thought of what the captain just said. He does have a point.
“Commander Gaines?” Commander Hill walks over next to him.
Gaines can only turn around, remaining silent. “It’s nothing. Get back to your ships. We have a lot of traveling to do.”