Solar Eclipse

Chapter 1: The Calm Before The Storm

Canterlot: 4 years after Nightmare Moon incident, 0430…

            Princess Luna sat at her desk.  Looking at the mountain of paperwork in front of her, she groaned.  Even after four years, she still wasn’t used to the workload administrative duties brought.  She wasn’t even on the bridge of her flagship, the ESS Nightmare, where she felt more at home than anywhere else.  Unfortunately, the starship was in dry-dock for repairs after a skirmish with some Cyberponies, so she was back at the Equestrian Military Headquarters.  The good news was that it would be ready by tomorrow, but that didn’t improve her mood much.  Taking a brief break, she recounted the events that brought her back into this office.  Once Luna had been set free by six Ponyville residents, she returned to Canterlot to resume her duty she occupied prior to becoming Nightmare Moon: Commander in Chief.  Back then, their military had consisted of a large yet primitive land force and a small sailing-ship navy.  Armed with swords, spears, bows and arrows, and using magic when needed, they were just like every other nation on Earth.  Now, Luna was blown away by what 1000 years could yield, from nuclear aircraft carriers to 800 rounds-per-minute assault rifles and supersonic fighter jets.  The instant she returned, Celestia had dumped several different designs for military weapons onto Luna’s desk for review and approval, since the older alicorn had no interest in the armed forces.  Luna passed all of them, creating a space fleet larger than the four Black-Ops cruisers that were in service before her return as well as nearly doubling the Air Force with new aircraft.  The excitement ended soon after the flagship had finished construction and her two sister ships had been launched.  Between numerous border skirmishes and the occasional alien incursion, Equestria was as peaceful as ever, leaving Luna with nothing to do, and she hated it.  To add insult to injury, Celestia was ignoring her pleas for a military investigation into a sudden mobilization of Dog forces up north, insisting that it was nothing despite Luna’s and every single other leading officer’s suggestion.  Even the paperwork had nothing to do with the armed forces; it was devoted to some economic crap.  Slowly, an idea wormed its way into Luna’s head, and she brightened.  She reached over to a small radio and flipped it on, contacting her secretary.  “Lieutenant, ” she said. “Get me ‘The General’.”  She needed his take on her decision. 

Ponyville, 1 Month Later: 0830        

Twilight Sparkle heard the car before she heard Spike calling her.  The rumble of a supercharged V-8, while rare in Ponyville, was easy enough to discern.  The volume was even greater than Rainbow Dash’s new car, so Twilight knew who was coming early on.  She opened the door, rubbing her eyes and looking at the clock; it read 8:30 AM. Looking out at the big black Python GT850 muscle car, silver snakes shining brightly on the flanks, she listened as the driver switched the engine off.  From the other side, she saw a white earth pony with a short brown mane step out, stuffing the keys into a pocket of his Navy officer’s khakis.  He stepped into view, the early morning sun glinting off of his rank insignia.

            “Hey Whitecap,” she said sleepily.  “What’s up?”

            The stallion glanced up.  “Oh, nothing much.  I’ve just come from Los Pegasus Naval Base, the Lincoln’s docked there right now and I couldn’t find the book I wanted in their library,” he replied.  Captain Whitecap was the commanding officer of the supercarrier E.N.S. Neighbraham Lincoln, which was home-ported to Los Pegasus, and was also a friend of Twilight’s.

            “Well, what are you looking for?” Twilight asked with a glint of pride that he thought her library had something a big city’s didn’t.

            “Do you have A History of Fruit Products in Griffin Missile Research?” he asked.

            “Umm, I think so,” Twilight replied, “I’ll go check.”  She scurried over to a dusty section: Military History.  Scanning the books, she finally found it.