Fallout Equestria : Black And White

by Philweasel

Chapter 4.8 - Fire Across The Seas

Admiral Swift Ender walked the corridors of his flagship as he always did before a battle, with every step keeping his ear on the echo of his hoof falls, the hum of the machinery, the slight swaying as the ship banked against the wind. There was nothing between him and the ship than his fur, having happily shrugged off the badges of his office.

It was a good ship, the Lightbringers Herald. An old ship now, but of proven valour. He had faced down three Enclave Raptors and drove them into retreat, faced the Enclave Thunderhead Victorious before outmanoeuvring and stinging her into submission. It had taken a lot of damage and had been forced into retirement during the battle, still had known her core was good. He had been quick to recommend that she be used as the frame for one of the new breed of cloudships, her guns and armour slanted downwards for use against the more ground based opposition the NCR was expected to face.

This was her first battle in her new configuration. As he walked the corridors, he was confident at least that the heart of the ship still beat true.

He saw Lionheart standing in the port launch bay just ahead, reassured that the ghoul had not yet donned his helmet. It was a necessary precaution inside the echoing interior of the ship really, unless he wanted to deafen the crew. The ghoul was striding about with purpose, performing his own inspections on his armaments and soldiers. Swift Ender greeted him, “Major Lionheart, are you ready for battle?”

“I was born to bring war upon the enemies of harmony!” Lionheart shouted confidently, the lack of helmet not really helping as much as it should, “You need merely point me at the foe!”

Swift Ender was glad that he at least was enthusiastic about the coming battle, “Very good Major…”

“Nightwing! Where is your home!?” Lionheart called.

His troops all saluted as one, their voices bellowing out to match, “In the darkness of war!”

Lionheart stomped a hoof, “And what is your task!?”

“To carry forth the light of harmony, and bring it down upon Equestria’s foes!”

Swift Ender smiled and saluted. For all that the ghoul gave him a headache, Swift Ender was well aware that Lionheart lived up to his name, “Harmony carry you through the battles to come major.”

“And you too sir!”

He moved onwards, finally ascending to the bridge. His staff greeted him with salutes, Swift Ender moving around the consoles and inspecting the readouts for himself. It all seemed encouraging, good weather for flying, only a few minor technical issues, an acceptable adherence to formation which spoke well of the pilots… “How are the moisture barriers holding?”

“Most of the ships are reporting no issue sir.” His communications officer declared, turning to look at the readouts on the other side, “The Storm and Witness are reporting some water damage to internal areas, but that it will not affect battle operation. The Unity is reporting that algae build up upon the engine mountings may affect manoeuvrability, and that a full assessment is still in progress.”

He sighed, typical. The Unity was technically part of a production line of three S5 class raptors, yet it alone seemed to spend more time in maintenance than the sky. Always one to trust machines more than ponies, he doubted the crew had looked after her properly, “Keep her near the rear of the formation. I’m not going to have an unreliable ship at the vanguard.”

“Yes sir.”

He took his place at the viewing platform and donned the uniform draped across the crashbars, looking to the manifest screen and once again taking account of his forces. He had five S2 class raptors, ‘Storm’, ‘Nacrestratos’, ‘Cumonimbus’, ‘Praecipitatio’ and ‘Rainbow’s Honor’, all elderly pre-war designs but still solid after all these years. Supplementing them were the ‘Unity’, ‘Blessed’ and the ‘Honourable’, S5 class post war ships of a similar fast anti-air design, though all were still well capable of engaging ground targets.

He took their capabilities under consideration before giving his orders, “Split the fast attack raptors into two four ship units, to flank and engage in a swift bombing run once the main force is engaged. Cross stitch flight pattern, with permission to alter parameters as the lead deems appropriate.”

“Yes Sir.”

He also had his core fleet, built to address the design flaws that had led to so many Enclave ships falling in battle in the first Enclave war. The ‘Witness’ and ‘Destiny’ were S4 raptors in defensive configuration, slower, armored vessels loaded with point defences, designed to be rugged and simple. he had seen himself that they were near impossible to put down. The ‘Grover’ and ‘Gaudina’ on the other hand were configured for firepower, having a reputation for being finicky and prone to failure when damaged, but possessing an impressive number of guns. Finally there was the two ground attack ships, ironically totally different in shape and design. The Lightbringer’s Herald was a heavily customised S3 Heavy Raptor with a reinforced hull and much of her vitals replaced, and the Twilight’s Fall was a totally new design patterned after the towers of Canterlot.

It was a gaudy design, Swift Ender frowning at such extravagant frippery. Captain Gustav had proudly informed him before the battle that he welcomed the chance to prove the Twilight’s superiority. Swift Ender had no time for such pointless chestbeating but admitted he was looking forward to showing the arrogant griffon just what the Lightbringer could do, “Bring us in tight Ensign, prepare for contact.”

¬

“Welcome to the bridge Lord Caesar.”

Caesar gave the ship's captain a charming and regal smile as he made it up onto the bridge of the Imperial Destiny, taking a moment to admire the odd looking mare as he came up onto the command deck of the Dreadnaught. Her name apparently was Sea Spray and she was one of Star Fall’s, graciously lent to him for the coming battle. He had accepted their generosity for several reasons. One, she was by far a better sailor than any of his own commanders, the seas always the one place he had accepted Star Fall had the overwhelming advantage. Two, having a senior member of their fleet surrounded by his soldiers was a good counter to any thoughts of betrayal.

Three… she was quite beautiful. He had heard of Star Fall’s sea pony commander, and he had to admit she was rather arresting. In place of fur she was covered in smooth, reflective scales, webbing around her hooves and ears. He had never heard of a sea pony successfully breeding with and land based species, a great loss to the world if Sea Spray was any indication, “No problems to report captain?”

“No Lord Caesar.” She turned to the window in front, looking out over the long armored deck of the Dreadnaught. The mighty guns stood proud and ready, a host of his zebra cleaning, maintaining and preparing them for the battle ahead, “The Imperial Destiny stands ready, bulkheads are secure, guns are armed, the crew is eager.”

“Excellent.” He moved to the centre of the bridge where an armored partition shielded him from injury while giving a commanding view of all command stations, monitors up top feeding him battlefield updates. He had rarely had a chance to visit his one serving capital ship, on inspection he could reliably admit to it being very cool. He looked out the window, nothing but clear skies and smooth waters, “What a lovely day. Harmony smiles on us.”

“I had hoped for a little more wind.” Sea Spray admitted as she moved beside him, “We are better able to handle a little chop than an airship is, though this calm weather should limit any difficult variables.”

Caesar was glad of that to be honest. He was looking forward to his first sea command, and his limited experience meant keeping things simple would be very helpful, “We are to watch the flanks yes?”

“Yes Lord Caesar.”

“Good.” He grinned, eager for the challenge, “The flanks are where you win battles.”

¬

Commander Stern Shield ran through the final checks on the Twilights Fall, briefly considering the age old question of what was worse. An old ship, having been bashed around for so long that duct tape made up a large proportion of its mass? Or a new ship, straight out of the packaging and without a single one of its systems battle tested? She couldn’t help staring with suspicion at the shiny white walls or the faux marble pillars, not to mention the gold trim on the consoles. The ship clashing hard with her opinion of what proper military equipment should look like, and she couldn’t help but question its purpose.

She had to admit some reassurance as the console started spitting out the kind of numbers she had only dreamed about in her previous postings, and a quick scan with her horn revealed all the magic circuits here were firm and calibrated. Still, she wasn’t going to trust anything here until she had seen it take a hit.

“Cheer up Shields, you have a face like thunder.” Lieutenant Grenda stated from behind, the ship’s pilot busy performing the most important part of their daily start up checks. The griffon was generally considered to be the ship’s expert on said vital step, calm and in her element as she expertly brought the tea to a boil on the specially installed heater the captain had requested on the bridge, “It’s bad luck to go into battle all pent up.”

“I’m aboard a giant flying dashgirl, draped in daddy’s jewels.” Shields replied with cool contempt, “I only hope she has a spine for a fight under all that make up.”

She was quickly answered by a familiar booming chuckle from the entrance, along with the distinctive clink of chest ornamentation, “Half of every engagement is psychology Commander! Convince the enemy of your strength and you take the fight right out of them!”

She turned and saluted as Captain Gustav marched out onto the deck, the tall, expansive griffon as always clad in his pristine, custom designed uniform, gold braid hanging over an impressive display of medals, “Welcome to the bridge Captain. The Twilights Fall is prepared for battle, all systems have been inspected and are working above expectations.”

“Excellent!” Gustav declared, moving to his position at the commanders’ gantry, “I’ve got some good speeches ready for the day, put some fire in their bellies!" He looked around the bridge, smiling as he saw Grenda, "But first…”

Grenda hurried up, placing a cup of tea at his side, “All ready captain, brewed to perfection!”

¬

Pangaea stood upon the deck of the Imperious, spray bouncing off the metal plates of his power armor as he looked out to sea.

This was to be it, the moment he had dreamed of. He had fought battles against pirates, Caesar, sea ponies... but they were nothing, a distraction. He had looked with envy at the battles of old, the true test of a zebra.

The Enclave. Equestria.

The grand sea fleets of the zebra had fallen before Equestria's might. This ship itself had been taken, used to covertly land equestrian troops upon Star Fall. They had shattered the armies of the zebra, burnt their cities. The zebra had launched megaspells because they knew they had lost.

He didn't bear a grudge. He was a warrior of Star Fall first, a zebra second.

What he did want... was a fight.

He wanted to experience the clash of titans, that moment when the pony in power armor had crossed blades with the zebra combat shaman. When two races had put their pride on the line, and the heavens had been split from the power unleashed. Golden Dawn could talk about peace, but Pangena dreamed of war. Not a war of hate and atrocity, but a war born of fiery passion, the hearts of both warriors screaming out a challenge to the heavens.

He looked up as the bows of cloudships broke through the skies above.

"Sir, the enemy approach."

He looked back at the worried expression of his first mate Galder, then back up at the ships above. It seemed this was where the first battle of the second great war was to be fought, and he was honoured to be here, “Then let us meet them.”

¬

"I'm building a picture of the enemy deployment now sir."

Swift Ender looked towards the central viewscreen as it slowly rendered a panoramic view of the fleet in front, taken from the cameras of every ship in the Equestrian Fleet. It gave him an impressive field of vision, one he could move around a little to inspect the sides of the opposing ships. It was one he would need, not about to admit it out loud... but feeling slightly out of his depth.

He was an engineer by trade. He had been so successful in the war against the Encalve because he knew their ships, and understood how to deal with them. These on the other hand were an unknown enemy, which went against everything he knew about tactics.

The three big ships, those he could understand a little now. The first two were zebra dreadnaughts, tough as old nails and almost impossible to sink. The third was an Equestrian Battleship, sporting deadly and long ranged guns but being a fair bit more fragile. As expected the battleship sat deep within their formation, while the two Dreadnaughts led the way.

The ships at the sides of their formation... well, the commander of the zebra forces was obviously no fool. They were fragile looking, but mounted fast tracking, short ranged cannons and missile launchers, the perfect weapon to ward off flanking flyers. In the middle, an assortment of transport ship of different configurations sat.

He quickly made his decision, "Advance the Twilight's Fall and Lightbringers Herald towards the Dreadnaughts, engage at long range. At the same time, move the others to cautiously engage the defence cruisers on the flanks, our gun cruisers should easily outrange them.”

The crew busied themselves relaying his orders, Swift Ender sighing as he considered the battle ahead. If the zebra rushed to engage they would run into crossfire and leave their transports vulnerable, if they held back the Equestrian fleet could just whittle them down until the fast attack fliers arrived and the zebra became encircled. With the zebra limited in their turning circles and restricted to one plane, they would have little means of escape.

Still, he didn't believe in perfect strategies. He was certain the zebra had to have some tricks up their sleeves.

¬

Pangaea’s strategy head Rose Twist looked up from her console, her tone warning, "They're attempting a buffaloes horns manoeuvre sir. Battleships up in front, gunships around the sides."

Pangaea nodded, as expected, "Advance the Dreadnaughts and gunships into firing range, keep the defence ships holding at the flank." He looked straight at Rose Dawn, jaw set, "Tell the Sea Ponies to prepare their assault."

¬

Queen Ariel's voice rang out through the ocean depths, carrying easily through the waters, "Go my warriors, show those pathetic pegasi the wrath of the sea!"

Saphyir bowed his head deep in respect to his queen before flinging himself upwards with a fierce thrust of his tail. Around him rose other warriors, armed like him with airtight tubes containing surface to air missiles. Some distance away for safety's sake rose the ominous black forms of Star Fall's submarines, their large turret guns already twisting to target the equestrian airships above.

He broke the surface, fins shrugging away the protective netting on his launcher and lifting it skyward. Straight above sat one of the bigger vessels, Saphyir narrowing his eyes upon one of its engines and pulling the trigger.

¬

“Sir, incoming fire on our rear!”

Swift Ender’s blood ran cold, quickly trotting over to view the scanner himself. It was impossible, yet he saw the incoming signal all too clear, “Drop the Destiny back, tell…”

The ship lurched, Swift Ender reaching out and bracing himself against the controls. The impacts echoed through the ship, Swift Ender feeling the ships centre of gravity shift, “Return fire!"

"Sir, I'm reading nothing but empty water..."

"Tell them to fire upon the water! They're either cloaked or submerged!”

“Sir, the Grover is losing altitude and listing!” His communications office shouted from the side, “She’s trying to regain control, but her engines were badly damaged! The Destiny has been forced to make evasive manoeuvres to avoid her!”

“The Lightbringer is holding Admiral.” His operations commander reported in calm tones, “Minor damage to directional thrusters.”

“Order the Gaudina to increase altitude.” Swift Ender ordered, desperately running the battle plan through his head, “Close upon the Dreadnaughts with the Twilight and the Lightbringer! Protect the Grover while they make emergency repairs, get all four ships to drop back and fire upon the water!"

"Sir." His connections officer reported from the front of the ship, "We are getting a priority video communication from beneath the sea. They wish to discuss their withdrawal from the battlefield."

Swift Ender didn't understand what was going on, still he didn't have time for delay, "On screen."

The image flickered for a moment before the image of a monstrous fusion of fish and pony appeared before him, her scales shimmering in the soft light. Behind her swam a half dozen more just like her, Swift Ender just about to speak when the creature opened her mouth... and a pure, intoxicating tone sounded out.

It was a song, a song that made everything right again. That there was nothing to fear, and that he should just deactivate all weapons and pilot the ship straight into the ocean. That it would be better there, calmer. It was the only logical...

His operations commander galloped across the bridge and slammed her hoof upon the console, shutting the communications feed off. Swift Ender blinked rapidly as the feeling of peace was replaced by a pounding headache, "What... what was that..."

"Sirens sir!" His operations officer reported as her hooves danced across the controls, "I recognised them from a book I read, put up a mindshield before they could open their mouths!"

"Celestia's teats..." Swift Ender's panic swiftly rose as he realised the implications, "Is that communication going to all our ships?"

"Yes sir!" She reported, "I'm attempting to jam her communication... done!"

"Excellent work, report..."

His navigator turned, face ashen, "Sir... the Witness and the Grover..."

Swift Ender switched to the external cameras just in time to witness every horrible second, the Witness boosting straight against the side of the Grover. Both ships twisted and deformed, tumbling over in a deadly dance… the Grover went first, disintegrating in a roar of plasma that tore it clean in half, gutting the Witness beside as the fireball swept through the broken plating. He was amazed to see that the Grover still had some power after all that, it’s decent into the sea below relatively controlled. It didn’t last, it’s landing hard enough to shatter what remained of the hull and leave the primary section quickly sinking below the waves.

A wave of silence fell across the bridge. He saw about seven figures wing their way towards the other ships, and some of the Grover’s crew might have survived landing… but the two ships had carried sixty crew each.

He threw out a hoof, voice rising, “Target the troop transports!”

“Yes sir!”

“Call off the flanking fleets!” He ordered, aware now that they were dangerously lacking support, “Tell them to rendezvous at fallback position!”

“Sir.” His communications officer reported, turning from his console, “They are filling the airwaves with that siren signal. We can’t reach the flanking fleet.”

Things were getting out of hoof. At this point he couldn’t think of much else to do but risk it all, “Send the Gaudina and Destiny at their right flank, the Lightbringer will take the left! The Twilight has to keep those battleships busy, advance aggressively and hit them with everything it has!”

“Yes sir!”

He growled, preparing himself. This was going to be rough, “We need to take out those flanking defenders before the raptor wings arrive!”

¬

Oteka stood upon the deck of the Imperious, bowing her head in respect for the enemy. They must have known by now that they were outmatched, yet still they advanced. Bravely, firm in the face of death. It was everything Incuta wished, and though she mourned the lost of brave ponies she understood that there was little greater honor than to die in a battle such as this.

The radio in her ear crackled as the order came through, "Oteka, lead an attack on the leftmost battleship before it destroys our escorts!"

"Yes sir." She stated calmly before waving a hoof to the zebra dragoons behind her. As one they downed their bloodwing potions, batwings erupting from their backs as they braced for launch. First however she directed a hoof at the engineer standing at the console nearby, giving a swift order, "Release squadrons one and two, target the exposed systems upon the flanking battleship!"

The engineer saluted and keyed in the commands, the barrels to his side breaking open to release a swarm of the octopus shaped aerostrikers. They hovered and span for a moment before their single glowing red eye focused on the enemy ship. With a single powerful thrust of their engines they shot towards their target, arms spinning as they boosted past the speed of sound.

One of her fellow dragoons looked towards the other side of the fleet, the two lighter airships heading straight for the defence fleets on the other side, "What about them maam?"

Oteka felt her face shift into a grimace, "They are being dealt with."

¬

Chigaru sucked oxygen in through his faceplate, thin but clean and clear. No normal pony could survive up here, suspended high above the clouds at an altitude that even pegasi couldn't deal with. It was no trouble for the robot carrying him of course, and him? He had shed his mortal weaknesses a long time ago.

He pressed the release button on his suit and dropped.

The air rushed by, slamming against his suit, a torrent of abuse as he tore through the cross winds. He used the rocket engines attached to his back to adjust his course a little, watched the airship below rush up to meet him...

...he engaged the rockets to slow him just enough. His body still had enough momentum to smash straight through the thin metal hatch however, his suit rupturing open and his bones shattering as he slammed into the metal flooring below. Pink gas billowed outwards and it burned, the oxygen hot against his now vulnerable form and it growing difficult to maintain cohesion.

But he was used to it, and his pain was soon soothed by the pain of others. He expanded through the ship, a vast cloud of deadly pink that melted flesh off bones, fused bodies to their consoles. Dozens of them died in mere seconds, screaming as his invisible hooves tore at their flesh.

He withdrew back into his suit with a satisfied sigh, the self repair mechanism already sealing the breaches. He strolled casually through the corridors, giving the mercy of death to those few who had survived his rampage. He soon reached the bridge, kicking the captain's corpse aside and turning guns on the airship beside.

¬

"By Celestia..."

A moan went up around the Twilights crew as they watched the Destiny go up in flames. And even worse, it was to friendly fire. At those ranges the Gaudina's guns tore straight through its side, the ship breaking apart and dropping like a stone. The Gaudina soon followed as it was angled down to fly at full thrust straight towards the sea, the impact tearing it apart on impact.

Shield looked back at Captain Gustav, "Captain, we need to retreat..."

"Nonsense!" He bellowed, talon slamming into his chair hard enough to send his tea cup clattering to the floor, "Full ahead, turn our guns on the transport fleet!"

Shield gulped back a breath, it was madness, "Sir, that can't be wise..."

"If we take out those transports, the zebra will be landing jack shit on our shores. This invasion is over." The captain responded, pounding the medals on his chest, "All of us should be proud to die for such a cause!"

"Yes... yes sir!"

¬

Captain Cloudwing looked out from the bridge of the Nacrestratos, the smoke rising from the battlefield ahead. His eyes narrowed as he trotted out to the viewing platform, looking down through the glass bottom to the Gaudina rapidly sinking into the sea below and the ruins of the Destiny scattered across the waves.

Then he looked forward, to the lines of intact air defence ships ready to fire.

"Sir, this is suicide, we have to call off the attack."

He looked round at his first officer, not unaware of that fact, "To quit the field without fighting is the height of dishonour."

His first officer merely frowned in disaproval, "Our honor is not worth lives lost pointlessly."

"No our honor." He turned back to the viewport, locked in the frustration of an impossible choice, "The honor of the Rainbow Cloudfields, and that of all the NCR's pegasus territories. Do you believe the media would ignore our betrayal?"

"This is not the final battle sir, and saving the lives of her soldiers is not betrayal."

He nodded, knowing that this was always the only decision, "Captain Cloudwing to Raptor squadron beta, call off the attack! Maintain formation and reform at fallback position!"

¬

"Beta squadron is abandoning the battle sir."

Swift Ender gave a grim nod, "It's the right decision, that flank is too well protected." He looked across the bridge to the viewscreen in front, saw the defence ships approach, "Time till alpha squadron are in position for their attack run?"

His navigation officer looked round at him, "They're approaching now sir, one minute twenty seconds and counting."

Plenty of time. He watched the enemy come into range, throwing out a hoof, “Fire!”

Three destroyers sat before him, each carrying the kind of fast tracking guns that would quickly decimate the light raptor units. He felt his heart lift as he heard the solid thump of the Lightbringer’s main guns, scoring a clean double hit on the first destroyer. It crumpled instantly, then exploded across the water. The secondary solid shot guns tore up the second destroyer, sending fierce bursts of shattered metal and wood raining into the seas around. The payload of the missile launchers was still in the air, hurtling for the third ship and erupting across it in fierce gouts of flame.

“Reload! Prepare for a second salvo!”

They all saluted, a moment before the ship shook violently, the sound of roaring fire and collapsing steel echoing from behind. Swift Ender wrapped his hoof around the grab rail, listening to the sound of his wounded ship as the shaking ended.

Something was wrong.

The engines… were quiet.

~

Lionheart jumped out the open hanger door with his wings opened up and his body angling backwards. He had heard the explosions and knew they had come from inside the superstructure, confirming his suspicions as he spotted the distinctive forms of the octopus shaped aerostriker robots swarming around the thruster arrays at the back. The rest of the Nightwing soon joined him, Lionheart bellowing out his orders “WARRIORS OF THE NCR! OUR FOE PRESENTS ITSELF, SHOW NO QUARTER!”

He span himself backwards and boosted towards the enemy, already remembering fighting these things during the great war. His squadron fell into position behind, a dozen of the bravest warriors in the NCR, griffon and pegasi together. He knew first hoof that bravery was no armor against the kind of things these robots could do to a pegasi however, “DO NOT LET THEM GET CLOSE,THEY CAN DEPLOY NET SNARES TO BREAK YOUR WINGS! NOW, DELTA FORMATION!”

They broke off into a wide circle, magical energy weapons firing on the robots. Arms were sheared off and metal bodies spilled open, dropping from the sky and exploding into fireballs as the Nightwing continued their attack. The robots quickly broke away from the engines and boosted towards them in an unpredictable, twirling pattern, throwing grenades and firing their machine guns as they approached. Lionheart saw one of his crew get her wing shredded, another knocked flying by the concussive blast of a grenade, he quickly ordered one of his team to retrieve them before diving towards the robots.

They reacted as expected, closing on him and deploying the razorwire nets that they used to take out pegasi. Lionheart had seen the terrible things they were capable of, fortunately he had seen enough of it to be ready for them.

He let a plasma grenade fly, closed his wings and curled up tight, flying in a smooth arc down and away from the machines. They sped past him, caught the grenade in their nets, and were promptly torn apart in a fierce explosion of magic fire.

He recovered his velocity just in time to see one of his team, a brave but slightly dim pegasi mare called Rain Dancer, fly a bit too close to one of the remaining aerostrikers. She didn’t even see the razor wire, the strands wrapping themselves around her neck and pulling tight at speeds just under the speed of sound. He averted his eyes, focused on the robot, and avenged her with one quick burst of his plasma weapon.

His attention was then diverted to the west, feeling the thrill as he saw NCR Raptors soar overhead with their payload deploying in gouts of flame.

¬

Sea Spray frowned deeply as she saw the raptors approach, the anti-air fire of the remaining destroyers barely seeming to touch their armor, “All transport ships, train your guns…”

“No.” Caesar ordered from behind, having already considered this possibility. He had studied the tactics of the old Zebra nations, and he was now certain the NCR hadn’t, “Tell all transport ships to batten down hatches, do their best weather the fire. And train the Imperial Destiny’s guns on position 230 east.”

Sea Spray paused for a moment with narrowed eyes, finally turning back to the radio, “Follow that order.”

¬

Zebi hated this, being stuck down in the cramped confines of the crewbays as a battle was fought around them. His hoof echoed against the deck as he tapped it nervously, shoulders tensed.

"It's alright Zebi." His brother stated with his easy confidence, offering a comforting smile, "Be glad we're not one of the poor fools on the warships."

He would rather that, "I just want to fight, I can't stand feeling so useless."

"You'll get your chance." He answered, "We all w..."

Then the roof was torn clear and the blue skies above shone through, his brother and half of the other soldiers turned into paste right before his eyes. Water poured across the deck and swept the blood around his hooves, Zebi gasping in shock and horror and backing up against the wall.

And then he looked up at the seas ahead, transport ships burning across the horizon and soldiers who had never seen battle dying in their hundreds.

¬

Three dozen aerostrikers floated above the battlefield, their computer systems targeting the Raptors as they came up from their attack run. The aerostrikers opened their legs and the limpet mines folded out, thrusters charging up…

They released the mines and boosted out the way, spinning as the Raptors roared past. Another set of mines were flung straight at their departing rears, many burned up by engine exhaust but some managing to latch on to the vulnerable thruster rigging. There they remained, lights blinking as the raptors climbed back towards the horizon.

¬

Admiral Swift Ender watched with satisfaction as his Raptors blazed across the transport fleets, sinking two and badly damaging many more. Anti-air fire from the cruisers followed them but none of the raptors were seriously damaged, most of the enemy fleet distracted by their bold charge straight into enemy lines. The Twilight Fall seemed to be holding up well over the other side of the battlefield, the fact that he would have to concede to Gustav that his ship was a fine vessel hardly spoiled his satisfaction. With a bit more luck like that they could still win this.

He watched his Raptors boost upwards, moving into formation for their turn.

Then he watched as the Praecipitatio and Honorable suddenly erupted into searing flame, both ships stalling and falling backwards. The other ships parted to let the Praecipitatio by, the Honourable on the other hoof went straight into the Cumonimbus behind and caused them both to erupt in fierce explosions.

He turned to his bridge crew, “What the hell was that?”

“I’m not sure sir, I…”

The truth dawned on him in a thunderbolt, “Limpet mines…”

¬

Caesar chuckled as he watched the Enclave warships fall out of the sky, torn to piece by his bombs. He could barely restrain his amusement, that after all this time they were still falling for the same old tricks the zebra had used against Equestria two hundred years back, “Fire upon those raptors!”

The Imperial Destiny fired its guns with a succession of furious roars, straight at the disorganised and confused Raptor formations. Having slowed and turned to expose their flanks to avoid the two stricken vessels, they were now easy targets. Caesar laughed triumphantly as he saw the two undamaged raptors collapse and explode, the third remaining vessel spewing smoke and listing as it drifted away from the battle.

“Should we not have sent more to attack the battleship?” Sea Spray asked, sounding worried, “Those big guns are still focused on our transports.”

Caesar shook his head, “The aerostrikers don’t have the firepower to do serious damage, really that attack was merely a distraction.”

“A distraction for what?”

He grinned, “Why, to take their attention away from their now undefended hanger…”

¬

Oteka dived through the bulkhead door of the Lightbringers Legacy, bloodwings already closed around her as she ducked, rolled and pulled out her submachine gun with her teeth. A couple of repair technicians went down in moments, Oteka’s ears flicking to the side as she heard booted feet through a door to the side. She wasted no time, dodging through the door to intercept and plunging her spear straight through a security guard. A charge and firm shove later and he was thrown backwards down some stairs to crash through a group of others heading up behind, all of them tumbling down into a room below full of machinery.

Oteka unclipped the explosives pack and threw it down after them, dodging back behind a bulkhead and pushing down on the detonator. The sound of crumbling metal and dying machinery proved she had done some real damage, her fellow zebra dragoons already heading off to deploy their own charges.

She still had one pack left. She looked up and located the sign towards the reactor room.

¬

Shield saw the Alpha Squadron Raptors fall from the skies, the rest of the zebra fleet now moving to direct their guns towards the fleeing Beta Squadron. Captain Gustav flung out a claw, his voice booming out, “Port fifty degrees, position us across their lines! Fire our guns down at those cruisers, give our forces time to fall back!”

Shields didn’t voice the fact that said manoeuvre would leave them a giant target for every ship in the zebra fleet. She knew that was the point, even if she felt her hooves tremble beneath her. She saw Grenda grip the controls, felt the g-forces against her body, watched patiently for the cameras to pan across the assorted enemy fleet…

Her hooves darted out, gripping the levers with her telekinesis. The mainframe took her input, calculated firing solutions, fed it down to the gunners…

The Twilights Fall rocked as every single one of its guns fired, cutting across the enemy fleet with fierce gouts of fire. Two transport ships were pretty much gutted, one cruiser collapsing in on itself and another one losing nearly its entire top deck. Shields could only stare in amazement, having just watched firepower from the other airships bounce off at these ranges.

“Now that’s my ship!” The captain shouted, “Reload and keep firing!”

“Incoming!” Shouted an ensign from the other end of the bridge, Shields gripping the console and preparing for impact. It hit like a thunderstorm, a fierce, relentless banging spread across the hull, the groaning of metal forced against its bearings, the whole bridge shuddering as it vibrated against the relentless impact…

Eventually it stopped, an Ensign quickly putting out a small fire at the back of the bridge as Shield looked over her console. She had lost three of her guns and two of the cameras, and one of the main guns was locked in place, not nearly as bad as she was expecting.

“Bulkheads holding sir!” The damage control technician shouted, “Damage to externals is extensive, but they failed to breach our armor!”

“With their whole fleet?” Gustav questioned briefly before giving a fierce barking laugh, “How’s that you dirty little bastards!? Keep firing, drive them back to the Golden Coast!”

¬

Pangaea stared up at the gaudy flying castle with a mixture of anger, confusion… and genuine respect. He had seen pieces of that horrendous ornamentation fly away and had been waiting for the ship to fall out of the sky like it was supposed to, now however he saw that said ornamentation had pretty much acted as ablative armor. Beneath stood a firm surface of what looked like very high grade metal, untouched save for a few dings here and there, “Impressive.”

Rose Twist looked back at him, her lip curling with the nearest he had seen to anger in a long time, “Sir, that ship appears totally impervious to our guns. Continuing the offensive…”

“Yes, I know Rose.” Pangaea interrupted, already aware of what he had to do, “Draw the fleet back, and send the Imperious in to engage that ship directly at close range.”

Galder shot him a look, “Our command ship?”

“We are the closest, and these guns have brought down Enclave Raptors in a single shot.” Pangaea pointed out, once again wanting to point out to his staff that he wasn’t stupid, “At close range, even that armor will not suffice. Full speed!”

¬

“The enemy dreadnaught is making an attack run on us captain.” Shield pointed out, already sizing up those big guns. They looked like the Equestria made T-90 60 calibre gun, which she was almost certain would tear through their armor, “The rest of the fleet is falling back.”

“So it’s a duel!” Gustav laughed heartily, then nodded to Grenda, “Turn us to face Grenda, we’ve got those bastards side to bow!”

¬
Pangaea braced himself as the airship’s cannons discharged, exploding around his ship in roaring spires of water. More than a few hit the ship dead on, at a far enough range that they didn’t immediately penetrate but still enough to do some damage. He watched through cameras as the deck splinted, one of the guns fell silent and the frontmost deckhouse caved in, the roof above splintering slightly, “Turn towards their prow, that will give them limited fire across the top of the ship, and allow our guns full arcs of fire.” Pangaea watched as the ship grew closer, inspecting it’s armament and defences, “Rose, have we a model yet?”

“Bringing it up now.”

A wireframe model of the ship suddenly appeared in the centre of the bridge, filling out with detail as the image loaded. Pangaea focused his eyes on the image, swinging the holographic ship around until the spot became clear. He stabbed a hoof against the area, lighting it up in red, “Target this area and fire!”

~

Captain Gustav leant forward, feathers bristling as his command boomed across the bridge, “The weakened area, hit it now, hit it with everything we have!”

Shield’s hooves swept across the controls, desperately trying to normalise the power outputs as she pumped all the Twilight’s remaining energy into weapons. By more luck than judgement she finally got green results across the board, shouting to the other deck crew, “All weapons ready!”

The command reached the gunners, the roar of the cannons filling the bridge…

~

Pangaea saw the roof come down towards them, snarling in frustration and slamming Galder out the way. His first officer sprawled across the bridge, Pangaea bracing himself as a large iron girder struck him across the shoulders. His power armor took the blow but the impact shattered all its servos in one mighty explosion of compressed air, Pangaea forced to the floor by it’s now unsupported weight. Sparks shot out across the bridge and the lights flickered, many of the deck crew picking themselves up from where they had been struck by falling debris. Pangaea fought off the pain, trying to speak, “Ungh… damage report…”

A large roar from above cut him off, Pangaea looking up to see a broken gas valve sudden gout a sheet of flame. It consumed much of the already damaged decking, causing it quickly come crashing down in a torrent of flaming rubble. Pangaea hugged his head forward as much as possible and endured the rain of red hot debris, feeling the sting as his mane caught fire and his armor cooked. Eventually the impacts stopped and Pangaea desperately struck his armor release, sprawling out from the smoking metal and out through the flames, sprinting out across the deck and throwing himself down on the deck with his fur still burning.

Then he lost consciousness.

~

Lieutenant Shield watched the Imperious’ deck cave inwards, sparks and fire spreading through the hole and the power failing across the enemy ship, “Direct hit, damage extensi...”

Then the Twilights Fall rocked violently backwards as impacts echoed against the hull, throwing them all to the floor as the front wall of the bridge exploded. Shattered metal rocketed across the room, punching holes through consoles and bouncing off bulkheads, the central monitor falling and disintegrating into a thousand pieces of glass.

Captain Gustav’s head snapped back, blood coating the floor behind him as he crumpled. He didn’t even cry out.

Shield picked herself up and confirmed she wasn’t dead, crawling for one of the few remaining consoles and switching to the ship’s damage assessment, “Major… major structural damage on the last hit sir, but primary systems are holding steady…”

“You’re in charge now Stern Shield.” Grenda stated from the command station, looking down at Gustav’s motionless body with a look of sickened horror, “Captain’s dead.”

Shield stood, glancing around in panic as flames spread across the left side of the bridge, many of the bridge operators screaming in pain and alarms going off all over. A series of stead thuds from the side indicated they were being fired on once more, “I...”

“Commander Shield sir!” The damage assessment technician called from across the bridge, voice panicked, “Severe damage to the port bulkheads, internal damage across the command sections with heavy casualties reported. We’ve lost sixty percent of port stabilisation, and forty percent of our guns there have fallen silent.”

Shield looked across the data now streaming across the consoles, her heart threatening to beat its way out of her chest, “If we… turn, we’ll have our undamaged side facing them. Their Dreadnaught is dead in the water, and their other ships can’t breach our armor.”

“Fires are spreading through the ship, but I’m sure our damage control teams will be able to deal with them.” The damage control technician stated, though he didn’t sound entirely sure of himself, "We... could have a chance to turn this around..."

“It’s going to take a bit of skilled piloting to turn us with the damage to our stabilisers, but I’m sure I can do it.” Grenda reported.

Shield firmed her resolve, though she was frightened to find there was little of it to firm. She looked down at the captain, feeling bile rising in her mouth, “I…”

“Commander, we need orders!”

She shook her head, tears running down her face and her voice weak and strained, “Retreat."

"Sir..."

"Retreat!”

~

Swift Ender watched the Twilights Fall disengage, knowing now that there was nothing else to be done. Their course had taken them out of range of the big guns, leaving them a free path out to sea and back round for a safe return to Equestria, "Ensign, escape plan gamma if you please. Continue bombardment on their flank as we pull out, but I want us out of here at all speed. Radio all surviving flyers to return to hanger."

The operations officer inputted a few commands, only for a worried look to spread across his face. Eventually he looked back up, "Sir, we are receiving no communications from the engine room. We appear to have suffered damage to internal communications."

"Get a runner down there immediately, and find out what's wrong with our intercom." Swift Ender ordered, considering that one of the ships most vital systems, "We cannot..."

Then the ship lurched, a wave of heat spreading through the compartment.

¬

Lionheart looked up in surprise as fire gutted the Lightbringer's interior, surprise that was soon replaced with rage. He shot up towards the stricken ship, wings outstretched...

A zebra leapt from the broken hull, the submachine gun in her hooves spitting lead. It stripped the plasma rifle from his side, Lionheart dismissing it without a second thought and charging the zebra with all his speed. She fired her weapon and attempted to escape on her bloodwings but he was a canterlot ghoul, a pegasus... and most importantly a member of Luna's royal guard. There was no zebra that could match him in the skies.

He ignored the stings of her bullets and closed. He knew she understood when she discarded her submachine gun and drew her spear, closing with a look of grim determination.

They met, the air exploding outwards from the sheer impact. Her spear cut deep, his hoof shattered bone. They dropped, spinning through the air as they fought each other in brutal combat.

He drew blood and burned her flesh with the veil of pink gas that surrounded him. She earned his respect when she ignored it without even a yell of pain, twisting him around and slamming into the deck of a zebra cruiser with a furious scream.

His back shattered, the air exploding from his lungs. He felt death approach for a moment, watched as the zebra fought through her own injuries and drew a knife from her tattered uniform... he headbutted her hard and flung her into the other approaching crew, back already healing as he pulled his pistol and shot the knee away from an approaching marine.

A spear flew true and impaled him through the torso. Lionheart pulled it clear and flung it at a pony sniper above, dropping him at a dozen paces. Another sniper shot him through the head and his vision blurred...

...and then he forced himself to focus, forced himself past his injuries.

Ditzi... was waiting for him to return...

Someone locked a machine gun on him and tore his body to shreds. Lionheart ignored it, charging through the fog clouding his eyes and leaping forward...

...his body hit the water and he felt the cold seas cover him. Sweet darkness swiftly followed.

¬

Swift Ender ducked and gripped the guard rail as the concussive blast swept through the bridge of the Lightbringer, shattering panels and sending loose material flying. The metalwork buckled, heat washing over them and the geiger counter in his pipbuck going crazy. Swift Ender’s firm hold upon the rail told him the truth before any of his officers did, he had clearly felt the deck shift position under his hooves. That meant the Lightbringer’s spine was broken. He looked up at the shaken bridge crew, wasting no time, “Lieutenant Pinion, organise evacuation!”

The lieutenant picked himself off the floor, looking shocked at the order, “Sir, the ship is…”

“That was the reactor that just went up son.” Swift Ender stated firmly, there being no benefit in sugarcoating it, “The engines are out and the ship’s spine is broken, there’s no recovering her from this. Evacuate, now.”

They hesitated for a moment and he glared, the crew giving each other one final look before running. He noted ensign Featherforce still at the helm, Swift Ender leaving his position and trotting over, "Son, I ordered you to evacuate."

"Somepony needs to keep us stable sir. I still have some control." He looked round, "I'm a pegasus sir. I can easily make my own escape..."

"You're a strong lad." Swift Ender assured him, giving the pony a serious look, "Those wings of yours could save quite a few lives. You go help them, go down to one of those zebra battleships and surrender to them."

The ensign's voice shook, "And you sir?"

"I can handle the helm." He stated simply, "And I'm an Earth pony, with a fair bit of heft on me. I'd just slow you down."

"Sir..."

"They cannot capture the admiral alive son." He repeated, "My place is here."

The ensign finally nodded and galloped for the door. Swift Ender took his position at the helm, stripping off his jacket and taking the controls.

She was a good ship, the Lightbringer. She was still fighting to stay aloft, even with her reactor gone, insides gutted, spine broken.

He knew the same was true of the NCR. This wasn't the end.

¬

"Sir, look..."

Pangaea fought through the daze of the drugs in his system, the shear numbness of his burnt blistered flesh. He followed Rose Twist's hoof, towards where one of the big Equestrian battleships slowly angled down before striking the water with an enormous splash. Her spine shattered on impact, most of her decks shifting upwards and the whole ship near splitting in half. He hissed out his words, "...victory...?"

"Yes sir, we did it. We're going to get you to a doctor now, try and remain still."

"Thank the fire..." He breathed as unconsciousness beckoned once more, "...I did my duty..."

¬

Caesar saw their flagship plant itself into the sea. There was really no better feeling, "And that, my dear, is called sweet revenge. The zebra prove again their worth!" He looked across at Sea Spray with a triumphant grin... which failed as he saw her grim, regretful expression, "My dear, are you not happy? We won!"

She looked at him, her expression conflicted, "I apologise... but I am not a zebra."

"Of course not, you're a sea pony..."

"I am not a sea pony." She answered.

He looked at her for a moment before speaking again, honestly curious, "Indeed, I had wondered... what exactly are you my dear?"

"I am a Kappa." She answered, cutting off his follow up question before he had even opened his mouth, "We lived in the rivers upon a continent on the far east of this world. We thrived there, until one day our waters fouled and our children started to be born blind and lame. I was sent to these lands in order to uncover the secret to this corruption."

Caesar smiled, "And you have succeeded! With the elements of harmony, we'll be able to clean the waters. Save your people!"

She shook her head, turning her face away, "I'm afraid you are too late Lord Caesar. I am the last of my kind, our entire race killed by a war between nations we had never even heard of." She looked him in the eye, her expression inscrutable, "I serve loyally, but I take little pleasure in the petty egos of kings."

Caesar paused for a moment, her words stinging, "This... isn't about ego." He smiled, certain in himself once more, "We are going to save the world from Equestrian imperialism."

She nodded, averting her eyes and walking away, "As you say Lord Caesar."

______________________________

NCR military strength – 27%

Allied Forces strength – 8%

Comments

[Ocean Mist]

That was a hell of a lot of Ego on the battlefield. Fantastic as always!

[Philweasel]

7145806
Haha, military folk, most of them used to winning

This was tricky to write. Establishing where everyone was, what everyone was doing, while bearing in mind this was a battle in three dimensions...

...I worried that I made Equestria too incompetent, and Caesar too dominant, but hopefully it's not too bad. I wanted to establish Caesar's tactical skills, along with revisiting Chigaru and Oteka. It's been a while since we last saw them!

[Boring Trivia]
The Rainbow Cloudfields are the newest territory in the NCR, and the only one that actually sits above another territory (Bleak Falls). This totally messed up territory maps. It provides the single pegasi councilor in the NCR, Councilor Flutterflash.
[Boring Trivia/]

The next chapter is pretty much complete, look for it on Saturday.

Chapter 4.9 - Behold the Dawn

Chapter 4.10 - The Divine Wind

Chapter 4.11 - A Hero's Journey

Chapter 4.12 - The Day Before

Chapter 4.13 - The Hammer and the Anvil

Chapter 4.14 - Fellowship of Magic

Chapter 4.15 - Remembrance

Chapter 4.16 - What Price Victory?

[Ocean Mist]

7147452 My biggest beef with the whole thing was that nopony (griffin, zebra, seapony, merfolk, crazy pink mist zombie, ect.) thought to scout out the enemy beforehand or engage in skirmishes. They just jumped head long into a large engagement, with a rather sizable amount of their nations resources, without have a clue as to the enemy's capabilities. If they did, they wouldn't have had to rely so much on their respective captains dishing out orders, and could have followed a battle plan (which includes contingencies for when things go tits up) and let the less senior offices work more autonomously and effectively.

If I was the NCR, I would have waited the Zebra fleet out (They were stationary due to their trap.) It would have given the NCR and the Steel Rangers (whats left of them) time to set up a beachhead to repel a landing. Basically what the Nazis did on the northern coast of Europe. Thee Zebras simply would not have enough force to make and hold a landing zone.

That's just my two cents.

[Philweasel]

7147704
The NCR did scout out the zebra fleet, unfortunately this only made them overconfident. It was quickly determined that the zebra fleet's capabilities and the way they were deployed made them highly vulnerable to the NCR's air units, and so a crippling first strike was deemed the best approach.

Engaging them on the beaches ran into one big problem... the NCR's government wanted them nowhere near the coast. This was actually discussed earlier, without the Steel Rangers the NCR doesn't have the capabilities to fortify the coast and there are plenty of high value targets (with rich and influential owners) along with plenty of civilians that Regina really didn't want threatened.

The zebra battle plan was worked out beforehand, and they were aware of NCR capabilities (Red Eye sent them specifications). It was mostly followed, though Caesar's idea of slowing the Raptors down so they could be hit with the main guns was made up on the spot (and he wasn't entirely sure how his aerostrikers would actually perform against NCR ships).

The NCR battleplan was not, which as you said demonstrated poor planning. They were simply not given enough time to properly prepare, and did not know enough about their opponent. What they did know only made things worse, as an inspection of Caesar's armies indicated that he didn't have pegasi in significant numbers. Thus they weren't quite as prepared for boarding actions as they perhaps should have been.

This is actually what Oteka is trained for. Caesar's father formed the Dragoons for use against Star Fall Battleships, in fact one of those Dreadnaughts is only just returned to service after she blew it up half a decade back.

Accepted wisdom during the great war was that you should never mount an offensive on zebra, they always have a nasty trick or two for anyone silly enough to walk onto their turf. As Caesar noted, it seems the NCR didn't spend enough time studying the historical records.