• Published 10th Oct 2016
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The Red Sun Rises: Voyages - The Atlantean



As Crimson Dawn fights the Crystal Empire at Manehattan, Princess Celestia must journey to unknown lands in search of a way to bring her sister back from the dead.

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Arrival In Nautinia Port

Celestia had spoken to Amber about standard civilian apparel and proper clothing. The commander taught her how to put on all clothing she would need, and the princess payed attention.

Presently, she sat at Reagan’s helm. It had been repaired completely not two hours ago, and Robinson had to teach her how to drive the carrier in case of emergency. While she sweated profusely over the lives of several thousand men and women relying on her to do it right, the admiral played “Starman” on his phone, singing along quietly.

“Robinson, I think it’d be a good idea to follow the coast. We’re close to the edge of the Equestrian map. If we head due north until we see land, we’re guaranteed to sail by a major port, where we can get a map of the local areas.”

“You’re right. Helm, bearing Red 0-9-0.” He picked up a line-of-sight phone, informing the other ships of their new course.

As the fleet turned to port, Celestia’s arms and head sweated even more. She pulled the carrier slowly through the turn, barely able to keep Reagan near the center of the escort. Her breathing became heavy, and Robinson considered taking over. But Celestia made it.

“You did it. Good job, Princess.”

“Thanks.” She looked down and saw long sweat stains running down her sides. “That was so hard.”

Robinson chuckled. “There’s salt on your forehead.”

Celestia rubbed her right hand on her forehead. Sure enough, salt bits fell off and onto the deck. “Is this a good thing?”

“It’s fine. Just means you need to drink some more.”

The shift of crewmembers came in, and Celestia gratefully handed the Helm over to the sailor.

“The Officer of the Deck has the Helm. Turn Green 0-9-0 when we come two knots off the coast,” Robinson ordered. More quietly, he asked the princess to come with him to the mess hall.

A few minutes later, Celestia was sipping a cup of lemonade. The ice-cubes inside kept it nice and cold, retaining its taste. Across the table, Robinson had a steaming cup of coffee.
“Not Starbucks, but it gets the job done,” he commented.

It was a peaceful afternoon, with the two talking about cultural differences and similarities. The conversation picked up more when Amber came off shift and sat at their table. It eventually changed to how they would get into port. After all, Reagan and Pennsylvania were way too big ships for the docks in any case, the submarines rode too low, and Klakring and Chafee sustained too much damage. The only options were to use either the guided missile destroyer or one of the two cruisers. Risking the destroyer was not a smart decision, and the two cruisers gave the fleet a tactical advantage. They could ill afford to lose either.

In the end, Robinson chose to use one of the cruisers, USS Lake Erie, as their diplomatic vessel when entering port. She carried two helicopters in the stern hangar, which would allow Robinson and Celestia to board without much trouble. Well armed with many missiles, guns, a few torpedoes, and sophisticated sensor systems, she was capable of defending herself from anti-American ponies.

It took a few days to reach the nearest coastal city, the Atlantean port Nautinia. The town was seated at the mouth of Aquarius River, about 250 miles south of the famous battleground. Ships of all sizes sailed in and out of the harbor, and the largest piers held massive cargo vessels almost ninety meters long. Even those sailing ships were children compared to the 173-meter Lake Erie, twice their size.

Robinson and Celestia rode one of the helicopters to the cruiser. Then they made their way to the Bridge, where Lake Erie’s captain ordered entrance into port.

The cruiser sailed slowly to the largest public pier, which was thankfully empty. As she pulled in, the men cast mooring lines to ponies on dry land, who caught them with Unicorn magic and tied them in place. One Unicorn carried a wooden gangplank, and the sailors lowered their end into place. When all was set, Celestia and Robinson walked down the gangplank and onto the pier. They were met by the harbormaster, a Unicorn.

“I heard that many metal ships were sighted off the coast on Dragon’s Lair a few weeks ago. Now that I see one for myself, the first thing I notice is size!” he exclaimed. Gathering his composure again, he asked, “Who are you two?”

“I am Admiral James Robinson of the United States Navy. We sailed through a tropical cyclone and ended up in this world.” Gesturing to the woman next to him, he said, “And this is Princess Celestia of Equestria. She doesn’t kook it, but she found a spell so she could fit into my people’s culture better.”

“Is this true? Any alien could claim to be Celestia in another form,” the harbormaster asked.

“It’d better be,” she said. “I was supposed to cross the Whispering Mountain Pass into Atlantis, but I got sidetracked by a magical anomaly.”

“I’m gonna need proof, miss.”

Celestia snapped her fingers, and transformed into her alicorn form. Then her horn glowed, and she reappeared as the white-skinned human in clothing. “Need I continue?”

“No, ma’am. So, what brings you to these parts instead of your home, Princess?”

“My sister was assassinated about a month ago. I plan on bringing her back to restore magical balance to both our world and the human one. Without her, crazy things happen. This U.S. Task Force, for example, can’t go home. A battleship and submarine that should’ve been sunk have supplemented this fleet.”

“Battleship? Was it metal?” the harbormaster inquired.

“Yes. USS Pennsylvania. Why?”

“We have a special pier for the battleship, normally closed off. She comes in every few months to buy supplies payed for by her crew going out and finding cargo taken by the Corsairs of Korea. Queen Atlanta prefers to keep our technology out of those greedy hooves.”

Robinson was confused. “Korea doesn’t have pirate bases.”

“Well, we ain’t talking ‘bout the same Korea, then.”

“What kind of supplies does Pennsylvania pick up?” asked Celestia.

“Refined petroleum, steel projectiles, food, and water, among other personal things. That crew sure likes clothing.”

“Well,” Robinson interjected, “it’s inappropriate to not wear clothing in our culture.”

“I noticed.” the harbormaster replied. “So, what kind of supplies does Pennsylvania’s friends need?”

“Gasoline for the turbines, food, water, and ammunition.” Robinson ran down his mental checklist. “And a day or two of shore leave. The crews can’t be cooped up on the ships forever.”

“Gasoline? You mean refined petroleum, right?”

“Yeah. That’s what gasoline is.”

The harbormaster considered the requests. “We can definitely get you guys all of that, including shore leave. I just need to know how big your largest ship is.”

“At the waterline, 317 meters long, 41 at the beam. Displacement of 101,400 long tons.” Robinson instantly replied.

The harbormaster looked up from his paper, which he had used to take notes on the fleet’s request. “Is that the total length and beam?”

“No. Total length is 333 meters. Total beam is 77 meters.”

“That is one big-ass ship, sir.”

“It’s an American supercarrier. I can give you the crew count if you like.”

“I’ll need to know that.”

“Approximately 5,700 personnel, excluding a frigate’s survivors.”

“Holy shit. How many ships of this size do you have?”

“One. Pennsylvania is the second-largest, with the cruisers, frigate, destroyer, and submarines after that, in no particular order.” The admiral smiled.

The harbormaster took notes of all the specifications. When he finished, he asked if it was correct. Robinson verified the information, and the harbormaster took him and Celestia to the Nautinia Center of Naval Commerce, where the port’s proceedings were coordinated.
“Welcome to Double NC.”

He turned to a Pegasus, ordering him to notify the Queen of Pennsylvania’s arrival, and that they had friends. He flew off to carry out the order. Soon, an ocean-blue alicorn entered the room. The military ponies saluted her as she passed by, and the civilians acknowledged her.

She saw Robinson and looked puzzled. “You aren’t Captain Ross.”

“No, I am not, ma’am. My name is James Robinson, ranked Admiral in the United States Navy. I command USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier built in the early twentieth century.”

“I thought your world was in the mid-nineteenth. That’s what Ross told me.”

Celestia stepped in. “Queen Atlanta, a hole has been ripped in space-time between the two worlds. I need your help, and that of others, to fix it.”

“Who are you?”

“I figured you wouldn’t recognize me, cousin.” She snapped her fingers, transforming into an alicorn. “Does that help?”

“Princess Celestia! When you didn’t come over the Pass four days ago, I got worried sick! Equestria can’t spare to lose you, not after Luna’s death. Forgive me, cousin.” Atlanta’s initial surprise wore off. “I assume Colonel Dawn is serving you well?”

“Atlanta, he is the perfect pony for the job. We would’ve lost Manehattan in days without him. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your generosity in military matters.”

“All for one, and one for all.” The queen wrapped her hoof on her cousin’s shoulder. “I know you would’ve sent help during my war, but Atlantis has always been self-reliant. I couldn’t just change that.”

“Wait, you two are cousins?” asked Robinson.

Atlanta giggled. “If you count more than fifty generations cousins. She got the immortality genes, and all I got was fertility.”

“Fertility? You got the good looks.” Celestia poked.

“Yeah, but my family wasn’t always ruling Atlantis. I used to be a love-seeking idiot who did one night stands every Friday for money. I mean, it kept food on the table, but I suffered the consequences with Rose Thorn.” The three walked outside towards Lake Erie. “That was over twenty-some years ago. She married Crimson and had a foal of her own, but those damned Crystal ponies took the filly and ran last month.”

“I heard that Rose Thorn was killed in the war.”

“She was, Celestia. Rose was executed by the Dominion for treason, but the poor mare had never set hoof on Dominion soil. Nor had she actually committed the supposed crime. They just wanted a reason to kill an alicorn.” The queen looked downcast.

“I bet she was a good mare. Crimson seemed to love her very much.”

“She was.”

They came onto the pier with the American cruiser. The queen took one look and her jaw dropped. “That’s one big ship! Though, Pennsylvania is bigger.”

“You haven’t seen Reagan.” the Equestrian princess replied.

Atlanta turned. “Try me. How big?”

Robinson told her the general specifications. The queen’s face showed more and more shock until he finished.

“H - how?”

“Science, my lady.”

Author's Note:

Yeah, a new character! And I know that normal naval vessels can't operate for too long without resupplying, so that's why they entered port.

All ships mentioned actually exist. Specifications are on Wikipedia if you so desire to check.

Feedback appreciated!