20 - Doubt
Kepler wasn’t sure if he was surprised or disgusted by the naiveté displayed by the Equestrian royalty, given the information Twilight was handing over to him on a silver platter. Had she not been under the influence of Chrysalis’ magic and therefore unable to lie, he would have assumed that what he had been told to be nothing short of a joke being made at his expense because of the sheer stupidity of it all. A gusty sigh escaped his lips as he regarded the mare before him; the benevolent pink merged with sickly green swirling in her half-lidded eyes and the innocent, sickeningly sweet smile frozen on her muzzle nearly made him gag and punch a hole in the wall every time he saw it.
At least his unease seemed to be shared by Gloria and the other gryphons who were there with him when the bug’s treatment of the pony royal happened; even thereafter, those outside the brig looked unsure as he and Gloria moved through the corridors with the young, hypnotized mare trailing behind them with a dreamy expression. While no one said anything, it was blatantly obvious that Kepler’s opinions on the matter were mirrored by his gryphon companions and crew mates; so much so, that everyone had seemingly forgotten Gloria’s desertion situation entirely; a minor boon that both heartened and disheartened Kepler.
He had learned everything the mare knew about the Equestrians’ plans for countering the Tyr, and it was laughable in the extreme when he really thought about it. Sending a civilian, let alone a member of the royal family no less, to take on an entire ship’s worth of trained soldiers in the hopes of capturing and escaping with a single prisoner? And to add even more icing on the proverbial suicide cake, they had no idea that he was even on the ship in the first place, so the plan to capture him had been crafted on the fly and only after Twilight had gotten aboard the ship?! The sheer stupidity of it all sounded like something out of a fantasy novel or an American comic book, not the actions of a country in the middle of a war.
The Yanks could've done better… wily, deceitful bastards.
Kepler sighed again as he turned to face the drone mare, her presence as his shadow both terrifying and comforting as he spoke, “Tell your queen that we have the information we need. The Equestrians have no idea what they are up against and are hopelessly unaware of how outmatched they truly are. We are standing by for our next mission and will continue to patrol the waters near the city until otherwise commanded.”
The drone nodded, her eyes shifting to those of her queen as Chrysalis took over the smaller changeling’s body, “My, my, such a surprising shame that the ponies aren’t going to put up more of a fight. I was hoping to at least enjoy a bit more of their pointless struggles before the war came to an end.”
“We're standing by and ready for the next phase,” Kepler curtly said, ignoring the will to throttle the mare before him, “does the king or command have another target for us or do we remain near the city harbor to protect the beachhead?”
The monarch’s smile dimmed into a slight frown, “You’re no fun at all when you don’t play along. Very well, to business. The king quieted the calls for peace once more in the capital; while the commanders of each branch have since come up with additional ideas to best break the fighting spirit of the Equestrians. They have decided your next target, Fillydelphia. You will be using almost the same tactics used in Manehattan, in that your ship will break the city defenses prior to our troops landing to oust the remaining population. While there is no major military presence in the city, there are many mercantile ships in port that supply the country with international goods. Your primary objective is to sink as many of them as possible while softening up the city in preparation for the next amphibious landing of soldiers. After we capture the city, you are to sail back to the Empire for rearmament and repairs, given the damage that was taken during your battle with the ironclad task group. Understood?”
Kepler nodded, “Crystal, Your Highness.”
Chrysalis nodded before returning control to her drone, the mare’s blue lenses coming back as her queen’s presence faded.
Kepler turned to his Korvettenkapitän, “Raise the ship’s alert status and prepare to set sail. We will make for Fillydelphia and prepare to support the troops’ landing as ordered. Get us underway as soon as the ship is prepared. I will join you in the bridge momentarily.”
Whiteclaw either wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible, knew that Kepler wasn’t in a good mood, or a combination of the two, because the tercel didn’t even bother to salute before beating a hasty exit. Kepler waited until the clicking of his second-in-command’s claws faded into the background before speaking up, his gaze turning to Gloria as the hen stiffened slightly under his scrutiny.
“My love, I suggest you stay in my quarters for now, as I need to be on the bridge for the coming battle.” Kepler glanced at Twilight before turning back to Gloria, “Please keep an eye on the prisoner until I return. It wouldn’t be good for her to be wandering around the ship in the middle of a bombardment.” It would also help to keep the hen busy and out of the way of the sailors when crew morale needed to be as focused as possible. “Can you do that for me?”
Gloria nodded, a smile brightening her face as she saluted, “I’ll do my utmost to keep the prisoner out of the way.”
Kepler nodded in return, a smile gracing his features for a moment as he leaned up to kiss under her chin, a soft trill of pleasure being his reward, “I’ll be back soon, my love. We can spend some time together after this battle is over. Can you wait for me?”
A soft coo and a gentle nip of his right ear was his response, “I’ll wait as long as needed, my love. Go do your thing and give those ponies a real showing of the most powerful ship in the world.”
Kepler smiled; how could he say no to that? “I’ll do my best. Stay safe, and I’ll be back soon.”
With that, he ducked out of the room, making his way to the bridge. His thoughts quieted into a laser focus, his mind already running through the needed steps to get his ship ready for another bombardment. While they had taken damage from the fight with the Equestrian task group, the ship’s weapons were all still fully operational, so there shouldn’t be any issue attacking another port city. The lack of a military base in the area also helped a lot, reducing the potential for retaliation to a minimum, thus providing the ship with nearly unlimited freedom to attack as they saw fit. However, Kepler knew that the tide of war can shift in an instant, so he was already making plans just in case trouble arose. Only a foolish commander would sail into battle unprepared, and he was not going to make that mistake so long as he had time to think ahead.
The ship’s boilers roared as the mighty vessel got underway, the slowly sinking moon almost counting down to the next battle’s beginning. Little did he know what surprises were in store for him, and the challenges that he would face upon the dawn of the next day.
An eerie silence hung over the ship, the dim light of predawn highlighting the city before them as the Tyr turned to present its cannons for a broadside bombardment. Somehow, the city seemed to be unaware of their presence, which both relieved and exasperated the stallion in the same instant. Their country was currently in a state of war and yet no defenses had been prepared, nor were any obvious alarms being raised at their presence off the shore. Either the ponies were just that stupid, or something else was going on.
Kepler inspected their target through his binoculars, spotting several large cargo ships in the nearby port, along with a smattering of smaller boats that most likely belonged to the local population. No military presence was to be found, as Chrysalis had predicted, meaning there was next to no threat to the Tyr that Kepler could see.
Even so, something in his gut told the stallion that they weren’t completely safe, a sixth sense for warfare that he had developed in his last life, and one that had continued to serve him well in this new world. He lowered his binoculars and turned to the bridge crew, his tone firm and calm as he gave his orders.
“All turrets, prepare for shore bombardment.” A general din amongst the crew followed his words as he turned back to face the shore, his stomach twisting into knots as the sun began to rise over the cityscape before him.
Suddenly, amidst the instructions being passed from the bridge to various sections of the ship, a cry echoed out from the radar operators, drawing Kepler’s attention along with every other member of the bridge command.
“Contact!” The operator yelled again, “A small signal just appeared off our starboard bow! Range is only five hundred meters!”
Kepler charged over to the front of the bridge, his binoculars forgotten at his station in his haste, fear flashing through his soul at the possibilities running through his mind. Could the Equestrians have snuck up on them? What kind of weapon were they planning to deploy? All these thoughts raced through his brain in an instant as he slid to a stop at the glass facing the indicated side of the ship, his eyes scanning the water for all threats. Yet, there was nothing there, save for a small cloud sitting off the starboard bow. No ships, no soldiers, nothing.
Kepler was moments away from yelling at his radar operator for being incompetent when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The small cloud that he had previously ignored was suddenly moving directly towards the ship, its movements being too rapid and linear to be a gust of wind. His eyes narrowed as the cloud came to a stop next to the railing on the starboard side of the main deck, small ripples shifting its surface in different sections before it suddenly puffed out of existence, as if it had never been there.
Kepler turned to face the crew, his eyes narrowed as he marched past them with a firm pace to his step, “Remain on standby, I have something I need to check on.” It could have been nothing, but knowing that ponies had magic as well as the ability to control the weather, he had an inkling of suspicion growing. Someone was trying to sneak aboard his ship again, and he had a pretty good idea what they were after.
He made his way back to his quarters, finding Gloria and Twilight sitting opposite each other on the bed, the hen working through the mare’s mane with her claws, leaving the pony a puddle on the sheets as her glowing eyes partly closed in bliss. Kepler paused, unsure if he should interrupt them, before realizing what he was doing and coughed into a fetlock to get their attention.
Gloria jumped slightly while Twilight managed to get one eye fully open as the hen’s ministrations paused, “Oh! Master, you’ve returned!”
Twilight hopped off the bed and trotted over to his side, rubbing her coat against his flank as she purred, “How can I be of service to you, Master?”
Kepler had to push down the urge to throw up at her words, swallowing his hatred for the changeling queen for a moment as he focused on the task at hand, “Can you detect magic being used around you?”
Her beaming smile twisted the knife in his gut a bit tighter as she nodded, “Of course I can, almost every unicorn, and by extension alicorns, can detect magic use around them as the fluctuations of the magic field resonate with our horns.”
Kepler nodded, “Good, then can you detect if there is any magic being used on the ship right now?”
Twilight nodded again, “I can feel five separate magic signals clumped together near the brig. I don’t know the exact spell work, but it feels like Haycart’s Not Notice Me Spell, only far more powerful. Most likely an invisibility spell if I had to guess.”
Kepler sighed, “Well, it looks like we have a collection of stowaways on board, again.” He grumbled out the last part, having grown tired with the ponies’ vain attempts at infiltrating his ship. “Can you remove the spell from the infiltrators?”
Twilight nodded, “I would need to be closer to them, but a directed burst of magic should disrupt the matrix enough to destabilize the effect.”
Kepler smiled, “Well, that is good to know, given I have a feeling they are here to rescue you anyway.” He turned and stepped into the corridor, drawing the attention of his two guards, “Follow me, and keep a sharp eye out. We have stowaways on the ship, and we are going to give them a warmer welcome than they expected.”
“Sir!” The two tercels saluted in unison, readying their rifles, and moving to either side of the trio as Gloria and Twilight stepped in file behind Kepler.
The small group moved as one through the innards of the ship, following Twilight’s directions while Kepler’s heart rate accelerated with every step. They had no idea what amount of firepower they were dealing with, nor the skill of their opponents, and yet, Kepler couldn’t help the surge of excitement that ran through his veins at the prospect of seeing combat hand-to-hand, or rather, hoof to hoof. He had been trained by the gryphon high command in multiple forms of armed and unarmed combat, some he had even adapted from his previous life to better suit his new form, so he wasn’t afraid of the coming fight. If anything, he was relishing the idea.
Twilight came to a stop as they neared a corridor intersection near the brig, her whisper being just loud enough for even his oversensitive hearing, “The group is right around the corner. All five ponies are still together.”
“Can you detect if they are armed?” Kepler asked, also keeping his voice low.
Twilight shook her head, “My horn only picks up magic use, nothing more.”
Kepler nodded, turning to face the two guards as he drew his knife from under his left wing, “When the Princess breaks the invisibility on our enemies, I want you to fire a warning shot over the ponies’ heads, let’s see if we can scare them into surrendering before we kill them.”
“Why should we spare them, sir?” One guard asked, “they are enemies, shouldn’t we dispatch them as soon as possible?”
Kepler nodded, “Ordinarily, yes, but right now we need to know what the Equestrians are changing in their plans now that we’ve captured one of their princesses. Intel is the greatest power in a war, never forget that.”
“And if they attempt to kill us?” The other guard asked.
Kepler’s expression grew hard, and he inhaled sharply. Then nodded. “Then… do what you have to. I will not risk any aboard my crew over the potentiality of intelligence gathering.” He turned to the alicorn beside him, “Dispel the magic.”
The mare’s smile widened as her horn lit with a bright violet light, a collection of gasps leaking around the corner from several voices as their uninvited guests took notice of the lightshow. Kepler charged around the corner as soon as the magic pulsed forth, his steel combat knife flashing in the magic flare as the guards followed close behind him. His eyes tracked five ponies as the invisibility around their bodies rippled and faded from existence, his priority being the two pegasi while the guard duo charged for the earth ponies. A thunderous boom echoed through the corridor as a bullet whizzed past the ponies, their hooves rushing to cover their ears as the thunderclap of gunfire forced the non-pegasi to their knees. The lone unicorn looked too shocked by the sudden turn of events to react besides crying out in terror, so Kepler was unimpeded as his shoulder rammed into the side of the rainbow-maned mare before him.
Cries of fear echoed through the corridor as the two groups clashed, Kepler’s hoof connecting with the muzzle of the mare under him as they battled for dominance, blood splattering from her nose as she ground her teeth and attempted to buck him off with her hind hooves. Kepler rolled with the force and flipped himself over the mare’s head, rotating his foreleg to hook under her chin as his momentum carried him around and behind the pegasus’ back. His second hoof secured the first while pressing the edge of his knife against the fur of her throat, the soft wheeze from her muzzle letting him know that he had effectively cut off her air.
The mare bucked and pulled, trying to break his hold, but was losing ground quickly due to lack of oxygen. Kepler rolled them over, so the mare was laying across his stomach with her wings pinned between their bodies, removing the only leverage she had and tightening his grip further.
Her hooves flailed this way and that, her elbow digging into his side more than once to try and loosen his hold, but Kepler forced through the discomfort, keeping his grip tight until the mare’s struggles began to fade. The final elbow to his ribs was little more than a tap, followed by the mare’s limbs falling limp at her sides. Kepler held the choke hold a second more just to be sure, before releasing the mare and standing up, his gaze falling on the other mares as the guards finished knocking out both earth ponies.
As the adrenaline wore off, Kepler realized that the fight, if one could call it that, was little more than a one-sided scuffle, with the only true contender being his unconscious opponent. In the two minutes since the fight had started, three of the five ponies were unconscious, one was shaking in terror while staring at her fellow pegasus with wide eyes, and the lone unicorn was hyperventilating while staring at the floor in front of her hooves. All and all, a bloodless battle, if one didn’t count the drops running down the blue pegasus’ muzzle, and all five infiltrators accounted for.
“Surrender,” Kepler tried to keep his tone level as he caught his breath, “or we will not hesitate to kill all of you.”
The butter yellow pegasus, jerked her tear-filled gaze towards him at his words, “How could you do it?”
Kepler tilted his head slightly, “Pardon?”
“How could you k-” the mare choked on her own words, fighting past tears as they streamed down her face, “How could you kill her!?!”
Kepler merely glanced over his shoulder at the unconscious mare behind him, “She isn’t dead, you know?”
This seemed to catch the sobbing mare of guard, “S-She isn’t?”
“No.” The single word seemed to make the mare deflate with relief, “Just unconscious.” The mare let out a high-pitched squeak as Kepler fixed her with a hard glare, “And if you want to keep it that way, you will surrender and submit yourself to me.”
The mare glanced at the others around her, seeing that the rest of her group was either out cold or unresponsive, “We surrender. Please, don’t hurt them any more.”
Kepler nodded, “Then snap the unicorn out of her shock, we will carry the rest to your cell.”
The mare hung her head low, her long pink mane hiding the majority of her face as she nodded. Kepler watched as she walked over to the unicorn and whispered something into her ear, causing the white mare to shake her head a few times before focusing on her companion.
“Fluttershy,” the unicorn whispered, “is it over?”
“It is.” Kepler interjected before the pegasus could respond, “you are all my prisoners now, and if you want to keep your friends alive, I suggest you cooperate.”
The unicorn looked around, as if seeing the results of their conflict for the first time, the two earth ponies slung over the guards’ backs like trophies, the blue mare lying on the deck with a bloody snout, and the now-named Fluttershy hiding behind her back as much as possible.
The mare took all of this in before turning back to face Kepler, her eyes wondering over his form for a moment before smoothing into a calm mask, “Very well, it seems you have us at a disadvantage.”
“Seeing as your friend already surrendered for you it was a moot point,” Kepler replied, “but I suppose a consensus is reassuring. Come,” he turned around and began walking towards the brig, pulling the blue pegasus onto his back as he went, “your cell is this way.”
The two mares shared a look before nodding to one another, falling in step behind Kepler as the two guards fell to the rear. They marched past the hall where Gloria and Twilight were waiting, the two awake mares stopping dead in their tracks when they spotted the alicorn.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy yelled, “We need to get out of here! They’ve got Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow!”
The purple mare tilted her head to one side, a confused expression on her face, “Why would I want to leave? My Master is right here.”
Shock warred with confusion as all the wind left the pegasus’ sails, her wide eyes flickering across the alicorn’s face for any sign of deception. A gasp escaped her muzzle when they locked onto the glow in the other mare’s gaze, understanding dawning on her as tears ran down her face.
“No. No, no, no, no, no!!” Fluttershy cried before turning to face Kepler, almost angrily. “What did you do to her?!”
“Nothing.” Kepler simply replied, then scowled. “But if you don’t get moving, I may not be as… lenient with your friends.”
The unicorn placed a hoof over the yellow mare’s withers, “It’s alright, dear… We can figure something out later.”
A shaking sigh escaped the yellow pegasus’s muzzle, her nod being the only response she seemed able to muster after all the excitement. Kepler nodded as he directed the group once again towards the brig, the others following close behind as he motioned for them to enter one of the cells. The mares seemed to be completely spent as they shuffled past him, making room as he entered behind them and let the pegasus on his back slide to the floor. Her fellow winged companion was at her side the instant Kepler moved away, checking over the mare like a mother hen while the guards unceremoniously dropped their own cargo to the decking. The unicorn winced as the earth ponies bonelessly flopped on the unforgiving, cold, metallic floor but made no move to stop them as Kepler and his entourage exited the cell, locking the door behind them.
Kepler nodded to the other security team members on duty as he exited the brig, getting firm salutes in response as he marched back up to the bridge. Gloria gently directed Twilight back towards his quarters, leaving the stallion alone with his thoughts as he rejoined the command staff. His introspection was so intense that he jumped slightly when Whiteclaw placed a paw on his shoulder, his questioning gaze speaking more than any words could.
Kepler shook his head, “The situation is handled for the moment. Status of the ship?”
Whiteclaw hesitated, as if debating whether to press the issue or not, before sighing and standing at attention, “All weapons crews are ready for shore bombardment, we have confirmation that the second fleet of airships is nearing our position and will deploy troops once our attack has concluded. We await your order to begin, sir.”
Kepler nodded, turning his head to gaze upon the city nestled among the gentle hills upon the shore, wishing for once that war didn’t have to be so destructive. “You may fire when ready.”
Whiteclaw nodded, signaling the comms officer with a raised claw, swiftly followed by the thunderous bursts of fire and smoke that spelled doom for the ships and cargo in the nearby port. Kepler watched the chaos unfold before him, and yet, felt strangely detached from it all, as if all of this was happening in a dream. A shake of his head was enough to focus his mind for the moment, but a nagging fear had wormed it way into his mind, and it wasn’t letting go anytime soon.
What would happen to him once the war came to an end?
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Ahhhh victory, you know this kinda reminds me of Grand Admiral Thrawn lol
Never send civilians to do a REAL soldiers/infiltrators job!!!!!
Celestia, you cowardly moron!!!! You are so too dependent on Twilight and her friends.
*sarcasm* Now all the Mane Six are captured yay...
I'm starting to get really tired of the constant curb stomp against Equestria.
I hope that an allied ship appears.
Lesson #1: Don't rely on the friendship of six mares as a substitute for actual military innovation.
I'm hoping something happens to shake the current status quo of the Equestrians getting their flanks handed to them so much. I mean at least let them go down swinging in fight that bloodies the other side.
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Lesson #2: SEND IN THE PROFESSIONALS. This technically is clinical work.
Great timing. Unlike the other comments, I love the curb stomp.
I am bemused and bewildered by the tactical decisions on display, though I guess I should be impressed by Rarity's evident success in teleporting herself and four other mares from that cloud to the ship.
Glad to see your back, fun chapter as always and I eagerly await more!
Nice to see this Updated
B O A T
Man these ponies just keep getting stupider. This fic is now officially a curbstomp.
Glad to have you back! I do enjoy this fic and I'm eager to see how this goes. I'm expecting something to happen in equastria's favor soon, because right now this is a curbstomp. Though i do enjoy a a nice curbstomp fic now and then, I do hope for some problems to arise for a protagonist to overcome. My bet is that the problem will be internal, whether changeling shinanagins or possibly griffon high command treating him like a loose end that needs to be snipped. Either way, keep up the great work!
I think that infiltration idea was rainbows idea. Nothing more inconspicuous than a lone cloud making a b-line for something.
At this point the griffons deserved to win. Seriously Celestia what the fuck were you thinking
Ah, once again cold hard German logic against the "mAgIc Of FrIeNdShIp". Honeslty its getting funnier and funneir everytime Celestia thinks sending Civilians in to do a military job. Honesty Shining Armor would be far more useful than the Mane 6.
That was far tamer than I expected. Honestly, I was actually looking forward to when that cloud was torn appart by the fire of a 20mm AAGun.
11768822
Plain and simple, she wasn't. She probably doesn't even understand the situation they are in, being the diplomat she is. Would Luna have handled the matter differently. doubtfull,but I like to think so
My point still stands that German war veterans are monsters.
Might I turn your attention to the story Argo?