Stormriders: Dead Seas

by PonyMarine

Chapter 1: Sailors give warning

Celestia's Chambers
Canterlot Castle
Song 1

"And Naval Intelligence is certain that the ship was destroyed by hostile forces?"

"Celly, we have two destroyers, a cruiser, and a sub on site now. Dive teams have been all over what parts of the wreckage they could get to and what bodies they could recover.... Celly.... many of them were murdered in the water by aircraft grade cannons and missiles."

Celestia slumped on to the floor next to her desk, all the energy leaving her body as if she were a puppet who's strings had just been cut.

"Solar light, little sister.... why must the outside world be so cruel to our little ponies? Why must so many desire war and blood shed when all we wish is peace and harmony? It's starting again, little sister... starting again and all the power a goddess holds cannot stop it."

Luna nuzzled her sister gently, her own heart feeling the sharp tinge of pain at the deaths that had occurred a few nights before, but her mind was more detached, more logical then her more emotive big sister. So Luna continued to think aloud.

"A coordinated attack, an ambush... somepony planned this very carefully with air and sea assets. The location and timing couldn't be worse diplomatically speaking either. The Coral Shoals? Right as I'm about to go there on a diplomatic mission to the sea pony clans? Hmmm... something is definitely going on sister dearest."

"Perhaps it's a message from the Meraria rejecting our offer of goodwill and friendship?"

"No... This is not their style... at least from what I understand. The clans place a very high price on honor and tradition, a sneak attack like that-no they'd formally throw us out. Then they'd formally declare war on us if we violated their waters again, then they'd hit us. At least as far as I know."

"Mayhaps your studies were not complete, dearest sister? We have not truly had contact with the Mer outside of scattered and isolated incidents since we defeated Discord the first time and Equestria became limited at it's present magical borders."

"Perhaps... Celly, I think I'm still going to go on the delegation."

"But, Luna!"

"No buts, big sister! I'm going, but I'm taking a squadron of the 368th, two platoons of Marines, and a bucking carrier with me!"

Celestia giggled a little.

"Going straight to gun boat diplomacy, little sister? In the style of Prime Minister Teddy Roosenblood perhaps?"

Luna laughed along with her sister, the long dead warhorse of a prime minster had been a legend in his day for his tough and heavily armed method of international negotiation.

"I'm not about to reform the Rough Riders if that's what you mean, I'm just not walking into waters that have proven hostile without a proper escort. They might not be able to kill an immortal goddess but I truly do not feel like getting injured or captured. Besides... a little ‘intense’ negotiation might be required to properly communicate just how upset we are over this incident..."

Celestia sighed deeply; her sister had always been strong willed. Though Luna was less extroverted then she was, Luna's will had been dormant for the first few months after her return. She'd been cowed by the fear, loneliness and pain of her long confinement in the moon, but as time passed the same old Luna was quickly resurfacing. Although, Celestia thought with a smile, she knew for a fact her little sister still didn't let her dear old Abacus out of her hooves when she was sleeping.

"Very well little sister, I'll give you a free rein to handle this situation as you see fit within reason. However, there is one condition..."

Luna's face fell. She'd been working hard at taking up the royal mantle since her return, and she'd figured that her handling of the defense of the nation during the NGK Border incident last year, as well as the delicate negotiations with the horde master of the dragons last month, had proved she needed no restrictions or babying to her older sibling.

"...I'm sending Twilight Sparkle with you. You know what I have planned for my faithful student one day Luna, and it's about time she got her hooves wet in some of the more serious business around here."

Luna worked hard to conceal the huge grin from her face. She had loved spending time with Twilight ever since they had discovered their mutual appreciation for reading and astronomy... and gotten over the whole Nightmare Moon incident, of course.

"Very well, Celly... if you insist I suppose I can drag Twilight Sparkle along."

Celestia laughed and pulled her sister into a tight hug.

"You little brat, you started planning fun things to do with Twilight after work hours as soon as I told you she was coming."

"Guilty as charged, big sister."

The two goddesses collapsed into a rolling pile of laughter and tickling, neither sister trying to "win" just letting a moment of play wash over the world. Outside the palace, the sun shone brighter, flowers that hadn't bloomed yet opened their petals, and the world smiled with the monarchs as best it could. The princesses ignored the chill of sadness that permeated it all, just as each princess concealed the true depth of their emotions for the sake of the other.

Later that evening
Luna's office

Luna was taking a bit of a break, raising the moon always wore her down and she'd been staring at a map showing the projected deployment for the ships she wanted to bring to bear on the Coral Shoals to find out what happened to her ponies for hours since. She must have fallen asleep for a moment because when the knock on her office door came she was dreaming of waves and water. Luna shook the sleep from her eyes and composed herself.

"Come!"

Twilight Sparkle entered the room quickly and quietly. The purple unicorn looked disheveled and exhausted, a pair of heavy saddle bags crammed with books pressing her back down into a painful looking angle. Luna rushed over to her friend and pulled the saddle bags from her back.

"Twilight! What has happened to you?"

Twilight sketched a slightly weak bow and wavered, her knees on the verge of collapse only to find herself being grabbed up by Luna's magic and carried to a nearby couch.

"Well, Princess, your note said come immediately for a vital mission so I loaded up as many of the books on the reading list you included. as the Ponyville library had and began to relay teleport to Canterlot. I still haven't figured out the right equations to do a proper long range teleport; I think once I figure out how to curve the energy into a ballistic arc as opposed to the present method which is more or less a straight line..."

Luna cut the little unicorn off, marveling at how she could continue expounding on even the most advanced subjects in a state where anypony else would simply pass out.

"Twilight, you mean to say that you teleported all the way to Canterlot?"

"Well, you said you get here immediately for a vital assignment, Princess, so I left as quickly as I could.

"It's Luna in private, Twilight. We've gone over that before, also if you'd read the whole letter you'd know we meant for you to come by the royal carriage we had sent..like most of your trips to and from Ponyville."

Twilight grinned sheepishly.

"Whoops... sorry, Luna... I got a little caught up in the moment, I suppose."

Luna leaned in and gave her friend an affectionate nuzzle.

"We're just worried about you, Twilight, besides... Celly would banish me to the moon again if I let anything happen to you."

There was a flat note to the giggle the two mares shared, neither pony particularly liked thinking about Luna's millennium of imprisonment at the hooves of her own sister, or as Twilight had learned from Luna more recently, the thousand years of torture and suffering she'd endured from the Nightmare's cruelty. Twilight shook herself and refocused on the mysterious vital task still a head of her.

"So, Luna, why do you have me reading up so extensively on the Mer?"

"There's been an incident near the Coral Shoals."

"Aren't we scheduled to open diplomatic relations with the Meraria next month?"

"Yes, Twilight, which is why this incident is so important. Unknown forces attacked and sank a Naval cruiser just inside the territorial waters of the Meraria. There were no survivors. From what the search and rescue teams could tell... whoever this opponent is slaughtered anypony who made it off the ship in the water."

"Oh, empty night."

"My reaction precisely, my friend."

"Well... why send for me? I mean obviously I've helped out before but... but nothing like this. This is way out of my league, Luna."

"Celestia and I both have faith in you to act as my aide in this matter, Twilight. My sister has big plans for you in the future. She wants you there to help me to "season" you, shall we say, give you some practical and real world experience to go with all that book learning, breaking ancient curses, and defeating incarnations of chaos you've already been doing."

Twilight blushed. Praise from either of the Princesses always made her feel warm inside, but recently with Luna... she shook the thought from her head. Equestria was on the line, and she had to focus.

"So what's the plan for now?"

"Well any minute now..."

A harsh wrap on the door announced that any minute now was in fact right now, and two ponies were ushered into Luna's office by a royal guard. The first was a broad, powerfully built stallion, with the bearing and countenance of a lifetime of military service. His immaculate uniform confirming him as an extremely senior officer, as well as a knight of the realm. The other new arrival was a slender mare in a business suit, her lapel pin proclaiming her as a member of the Equestrian Diplomatic Corps. Luna returned their bows elegantly and turned back to Twilight.

"Twilight, I'd like you to meet Lord Admiral Sir Brine, and his lovely companion is Peace Lily, one of the sharpest members of the Equestrian Foreign Ministry and the closest thing we have to an expert on the Merarian clans."

Twilight nodded pleasantly greeting both ponies with a smile.

"I'm..."

The old admiral cut her off quickly.

"Twilight Sparkle, protege of Princess Celestia, I think all of Canterlot knows who you are, m'dear, and even if they didn't, I most certainly would."

Seeing Twilight's look of confusion, the admiral settled back.

"Back when you were a wee lass and had just come to the castle, Princess Celestia brought you to some formal event or another, a garden party I believe, you tuckered yourself out and fell asleep under my table as it happened, so I carried you on my back up to your room so Her Majesty could tuck you in properly."

Twilight blushed hot red. That was a story she hadn't heard from anypony before! Peace Lily for her part was rolling her eyes and exaggeratedly looking at her watch. It was obvious she didn't have much time for the old sailor's story telling... or anypony else's anything for that matter.

Luna took the whole situation in stride with a laugh.

"While I'm loathe to interrupt the Admiral giving me such excellent black mail material on Twilight Sparkle and my dear sister, I'm afraid we do have business to get to, if you'd all join me in the conference room?"

It was the beginning of one of many long nights for the small group of ponies.

Comments

[That_one_guy]

I'm wagering that a splinter faction really doesn't want Equestria to play nice with Meraria.

Interesting developments here, tracking as always.

[Bpendragon]

Twilight you so funny when you little.

[totallynotabrony]

I should have started reading this a long time ago.