Loved this chapter, and looking forward, with much anticipation, to the next one, Mk!

And as to all of this:

"Good luck with that. He's the heir to the Eqaharian throne, so he gets triple the attention and protection his brother had." Sunset sighed. "Plus, he's searching every inch of ground he can, so he's never in one place for too long."

Nomad gave a hum of thought, having flashbacks to the hunt for the Santa Blanca Cartel's transport genius, El Cerebro, during Operation Kingslayer. Though he had escaped, the Ghosts did manage to shut down his narco-submarine plan among his other schemes.

Which gave Nomad an idea after a few moments.

"That's just it." he said. "We're going to have to go loud here sooner or later. And if it's on our terms, it's better for us as a whole."

"So what are you thinking?" Sunset asked.

"I think it's time we let the enemy know who they're up against," he replied. "Sunset, I need you to spread a message to whoever comes into contact with the Eqaharians."

"What's the message?" she asked.

"Tell the Eqaharians…" Nomad smiled. "Among other things...do they believe in Ghosts?"

"Will do." Sunset said approvingly. "See you soon, Nomad."

"Same to you." Nomad smiled before ending the call, exiting the room for privacy, and then switched the connection to Lt. Colonel Mitchell aboard the USS Ticonderoga. After explaining his idea to his C.O., Mitchel was silent for a few moments.

"You're fortunate to have brought this up, Nomad." Mitchell replied. "The heads of Operation Echo Solace, the President included, are working on the same idea. We're not getting a declaration of war, it's off the table for now...but we are going all in on this operation."

"We're sending the USS Ticonderoga and the accompanying naval group to Equestria, with all the firepower included along with it. It's still getting officiated, but Nomad...we're done being silent."

"In a few days...we go on the offensive against Eqaharia. The President is preparing an ultimatum, and if that doesn't do the trick...Well, let's just say the enemy's in for royal hell."

"I'm glad to hear it." Nomad said. "See you on the other side, sir."

"I look forward to it, Nomad. Mitchell out."

I'll just leave THESE here:

And I would just LOVE to see the faces of the Eqaharians in Manehatten when the Ticonderoga and her accompanying naval group come steaming into Manehatten harbor.
I'm more than willing to bet that when they see them, PLUS her aircraft, they'll end up soiling themselves in shock and fear!

Let this be a lesson to you, Hector and Diomedas; DON'T mess with the US!
Mainly because we will KILL your sorry asses!!!

As to another thing is this, I was happy to hear that Pinks and Rares are safe in Manehatten, as well as AJ and her family as well as Scoots and Sweetie Belle being safe in the Crystal Empire, and I'm hoping they'll all be reunited soon.
On ANOTHER note, this:

Unfortunately...Applejack's grandmother passed away two weeks ago in her sleep."

Made me more than a bit sad.
But then again, Granny was an old mare, and I'm betting that all the stress and such just took a toll on her heart.
RIP, Granny.

10694619
Amen, my friend.

Also, I wasn't going to originally have Granny Smith die, but I felt it necessary in the end to envision the cost of the invasion.

This is where the fun begins.

Great work keep it up

10694656 Indeed.
That's interesting to know, but you have a point.
And it probably makes AJ hate them even more at this point.

10694685 Indeed.
Well, fun for the Equestrians and the Ghosts and the US Forces, anyway.
For King Diomedas, Prince Hector and the REST of the Eqaharians in Equestria?
Not so much.

NO, granny Smith can't be dead.

On a note that I just thought of:

"We're sending the USS Ticonderoga and the accompanying naval group to Equestria,

PLEASE tell me that there's gonna be at least ONE Iowa-class battlewagon in this group!
Damnit, WHY does the USS Missouri have to be retired and decommissioned?!

10694928
It is so, unfortunately.

10694963
I'll look into it.

10694968 Cool, thanks.
On THAT note, however, ARE there any Iowas still in active service in the Navy?
I'll admit I'm a bit behind on such things.

10694969
I think they were retired in the 90's.

10695134 Just Googled it, and the four of them were, indeed, decommissioned in the early 90s (1992, in fact, from what I just read), and all four now serve as museums
Ah, well.
It was just a thought on my part, anyway.

10694967
You bastard.

10695241
It's fine.

10695658
Sorry.

10695976 Cool.
And I think Norwegian boy doesn't get how aging works.
As we all can agree, sad is Granny dying was, elders dying is just something that happens.
Hell, we don't even know just HOW old that she actually is/was, as we don't know how old ponies could get in the show.
And Celestia and Luna don't count because they're both alicorns, so they obviously AGE differently than regular ponies like Granny.
So YOU, my friend, have nothing TO apologize for on this.
It IS your story, after all, and you have to write it the way YOU want to, and it is GREAT so far!
Honestly, if I had a DOLLAR for every time I've seen a reader tell an author how to write their OWN story, I'd probably be the richest member here.
NOT naming names, but I think we both might have a good idea to who they are.

10696039
Eh, I don't mind. I've known him for a while now.

Also, thanks for the support.

10696087 Okay, cool.

You're very welcome, and always.

10696360 They're all still human, as is Sunset Shimmer, because the portal they all came through was different from the one in the base of the Wondercolt statue, and is generated by human technology.

Hope that helps.

10695241

10695134

I just had a thought, it could be in this universe that all but two of the Iowas (Iowa and Missouri) are still commisioned, but have recieved upgrades that lowered their crew costs and such.

10816279
Maybe...

10816279 That... sounds good, actually.

10816660
It's a definite possibility. I might look into it.

10816660
Thanks.
10816594
That's all I can hope for.

10816683 Cool.
Iowas are awesome.

10816743 You're very welcome.