From One Civil War to Another

By

Teal

Prologue

The ship rocked and swayed, rising and falling as it helplessly followed the turbulent waves that pushed it around. Making its way through the churning sea, the ship did its best to fight against the torrent of water that was slamming against its wooden hull, as its engines pumped out steam to give more power to the paddles that flanked it. It was nature versus machine, a great struggle of two powerful forces.

In the middle of this open sea, it looked like the two forces were fighting for control, trying to outdo each other and show which the greater force was. The waves and wind, blowing upon the ship tried to stop it and bring it down, while the overworked engines inside the hull fought back with great energy but draining power.

Caught in between this struggle were the crew who manned that ship, fighting to keep it afloat as the roamed upper decks and hanged on for dear life, and the passengers who were crammed inside the lower decks, awaiting their faith in the creaking rooms down below.

Crammed inside the large open room that was beneath the water line, hundreds upon hundreds of men sat beside crates and equipment, waiting out the storm while the world around them swung left and right, rose and fell, as the weather made its presence felt to them. Feeling the unsteady movement of the ship and the dizziness it brought, combined with the claustrophobic feeling within this large yet cramped room, many of the men who were inside felt vast sickness overtake them as they spilled the contents of their stomach on the floor, mixing it with the salt water that dripped from above.

The conditions inside were terrible and, as the bad weather outside continued to rage, so did the nausea of the men, as they tried their best to keep breakfast, lunch, and dinner inside their stomachs. Swinging and swaying all around, the men inside cursed the disposition they were in, thinking that men like them were supposed to be in land and not in the water.

Most of the men had lived in or near the bustling and growing port city of New York and although the place was crowded by ships from the country and abroad, many of them hadn't ever ridden on one. Preferring to stick to land, the men here tended to avoid the unknowns of the open sea for the familiarities of land.

But now, whether they had liked it or not, they were in the open sea, ordered to board this transport, known as the Silver Sky, and sail south. With no say in this and needing to follow their orders, they set sail and slammed right into this storm.

During that moment, they couldn't think of a worst place to be in the ship except the upper deck, where the ship's crew tried to keep control of the ship, nor could they think of a better a place here to be in than the officer's quarters.

Located just above the men, sandwiched between the upper and lower decks, the officer's quarters was a slightly better place to be in. Although no drier than the any part of the ship in this story weather, the officer's at least had the benefit of having fewer men inside their cabin. With only a dozen or so men inside, the place was comfier and cozier, lacking the crates and nudging elbows that plagued the men in the lower decks.

But whatever benefits the men in the officer's quarters had, it still didn't spare them from the sickness the swaying sea brought, as nausea overtook almost everyman on board. For no matter where you were in the ship, as long as you were in the mercy of the angry waves, you were going to be sick to the bone. At least the officer's quarters had the benefit of having a bucket to spill one's guts out.

Entering the cabin and soaking wet from the water that leaked through the cracks, Col. John Grayson looked around the room and shook his head when he saw the pitiful state his officers were in. Ever since they encountered heavy weather, no man in his unit stood up without either toppling down from their position or sitting right back down to vomit out the contents of their stomachs. It was getting worse day by day and Grayson knew that if this continued he would barely have any men to call up for muster when they arrived in their destination.

New to his position but bot new to leading, Grayson has had a colorful military career that led him to where he was now. Having been a lawyer before the war between the states started, Grayson had signed up for the volunteer army over the sense of shame. After seeing many of his friends and family disappear as they went out to fight the war, Grayson quickly found himself alone.

Thinking that he needed to redeem himself for letting them fight while he sat and read about the war, he signed for the 200th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, where he was immediately elected as their lieutenant, due to his background of being well-educated.

Facing battle for the first time at Antietam, Grayson saw how bloody and brutal war really was. Instead of the glory and glamour he was told and expected, all he saw was blood and death. During the battle, the 200th New York encountered heavy casualties, both in enlisted men and officers. So heavy were the casualties for officers that Grayson immediately found himself in charge of his company and promoted to captain. Here, in this rank and command, he would lead his men to their next battle, Fredericksburg.

It would be known as the bloodiest battle the regiment encountered to date, with the unit receiving heavy casualties. In a crucial part of the battle, the 200th New York, along with the entire brigade, charged up the slopes towards the enemy, which was well protected behind a stone wall. Facing heavy fire from almost all directions, Grayson tried to keep his company intact, encouraging them and leading them, not stopping till he was ordered too. At one point he was even hit in right the leg, bringing him face down on the ground. But knowing that the sight of a fallen officer can demoralize soldiers, he immediately stood back up and resumed commanding his men.

This little action would bring him fame and renowned, as well as giving him a boost to a special position. Just like before the battle had took a heavy toll on the regiment's officers, especially for the high ranking positions. So it was no surprise that the younger seasoned officers were immediately promoted to fill in the vacant ranks. One of these men was Grayson who, after showing such fearsome and fearless leadership, was offered the command of the regiment and the promotion to colonel.

Accepting the role, he soon found himself in a new position, a position which he wasn't sure he can handle. Commanding a company was one thing, but commanding a regiment, which was ten times a company's size, was another. He just hoped he didn't goof of and make any mistakes while adjusting himself to his new job.

Now in his new position, he, along with the rest of the regiment, had been ordered to take to the sea and set sail for the south. Receiving new orders, the 200th New York was being transferred away from the Army of the Potomac to Gen. Nathaniel Banks force, located in New Orleans. With General Banks planning to create an expedition to take Texas, he requested for every regiment that was available to join his growing force, and apparently the 220th was one of those regiments.

So the regiment, which at the time of its departure was four hundred sixty men strong, along with a battery of field artillery from the 2nd Pennsylvania light artillery regiment, set sail for New Orleans and was expected to be there in a couple of days.

But then came the storm.

Just off of the coast of Florida, the transport ship Grayson and his men had taken encountered a fierce storm, a storm that was greater than any of the men have encountered before. Shaking the ship and covering it in waves, many of the previously landlocked men thought that they would all sink and die.

But to Grayson, he believed that they had higher chances of dying by spilling their guts out than dying from a sinking ship. Despite having been to sea only a couple of times, the ship's captain had assured him that they would be able to go through this storm in one piece. Being a seasoned veteran of the waters, he had claimed that he had seen storms much worse than this and Grayson, placing all confidence on the man, believed him.

Somewhat reassured that the ship wouldn't sink; Grayson had decided to check on his men and make sure they were alright. Despite being new to role of regimental commander, he at least had the basic sense of always caring for his men. He had learned from his experiences as a company commander that an officer must bond with his soldier; create a sense of camaraderie that was a bit different yet familiar from that of an ordinary enlisted man had with his fellow enlisted man.

"How are the men, John? Are they holding up alright?" Someone called out from the room. Gazing towards the direction of the voice, Grayson's eyes immediately fell on Major Paul Müller, his second in command, who was sitting on a bench by the corner of the room.

"Miserable." Grayson simply stated and was quickly understood by most officers in the room, for they too felt the misery of the situation.

Moving across the room and carefully avoiding the vomit filled buckets, Grayson made his way towards Müller before sitting on the bench next to him.

"Paul, how many times do I have to tell you that when we're in front of other officer and men, you're supposed to call me sir or colonel?" Grayson kept his voice low, so that the others won't here his scolding, but he doubted it that anyone else heard what he said with the storm echoing from the outside.

The grandson of a German immigrant and a close friend before joining the regiment, Paul Müller was one of the few people in the unit who can mock him and get away with it. Feeling the same sense of guilt as Grayson, Müller had joined his friend when he signed up for the volunteer army. He and Grayson entered 220th New York and like Grayson was immediately elected an officers due to his well-educated background.

Serving as a lieutenant the same time Grayson did, Müller was promoted to Captain just before their fight at Fredericksburg. After the battle and after being promoted to Colonel, Grayson had needed a new officer to fill in a vacant position as his second in command. Knowing no one he can trust any better than Müller, he promoted him to major and gave him the new position, knowing that his friend could easily fulfill the job.

But now, he was starting to doubt Müller's maturity in the position, as he started to abuse the fact that they were close friends, especially when it came to formalities.

"Aw, come on, you're still complaining about that?"

"Yes, because it's an important matter." Grayson said seriously, not acting friendly at all. "I can't have you calling me 'John' whenever you like to. It's setting a bad example for the other officer. We need to form authority within the regiment and you're not helping with you doing this."

"Yeah, that's true. But would you really stop me from calling you John? We are friends after all…" Müller said, faking a hurt expression. But as he looked at his friend, he could easily tell that he wasn't really falling for any of it.

"Fine…" Müller said, admitting defeat. …understood, sir."

Grayson gave a firm nod of satisfaction.

Talk within the cabin once more disappeared so that the only sounds within the room were the smashing of the waves and the howls of the wind. Bouncing all around their cabin, the officers started to feel that their journey get more and more uncomfortable and deadly.

"And here I thought our worse enemy in the open seas would be the Alabama I guess I was wrong." Müller remarked, talking about the notorious enemy raider that had been said to roam this sea at this very moment. Feeling that the ship was now beginning to break up as the storm intensified, most officers in the cabin quickly agreed with him.

Sitting in their benches, the feeling of the storm's power increasing was felt all too well, as the officers began to believe that the ship was tossed up into the sky and was falling down back to the sea. Being pushed around, swaying all over the place, most officers took to the bucket and let loose what remained in their guts.

"Hey, John." Müller, nudging his friend with his elbow. "Is it just me or does it feel like we're spinning?"

Observing what his friend told him, Grayson began to focus on his surroundings and receive the sense of feeling that they were spinning. Giving a worried look to his friend, he felt fear overcome him as the gut feeling of danger approaching came over him.

"I think you're right, I just hope that-"

Before Grayson could finish, he and many of the officers inside the cabin were tossed away from where they sat and slammed all over the place. The ship suddenly undertook a violent shake and was now throwing its contents and passengers all over the place.

From the officer's quarters to the lower decks were the rest of the men and the equipment lay, everything flew around. Like matches inside a matchbox that was being shaken, the men went all over the place, bruising themselves as they hit one another or slammed onto hard objects.

Trying to desperately grab for something that was tied down, Grayson flailed his hands, hoping to snatch something as he did so. But to his great dismay, he wasn't able to hold on to anything and if he did, it was usually something that was being tossed around with him.

Bumping the walls and attempting to get a hold of something, Grayson continued this process, through the screams of officers and whistling of the wind, till the misfortune of slamming hard against the wall came onto him, knocking him out cold.

"My Queen, are you alright?"

Nightmare Moon let out a stressed groan in reply, placing her hoof on her forehead to try and stop the spinning feeling that was beginning to nauseate her. The ache in her head had been stronger than before, for the spell she had cast was more powerful than she had expected. Draining a large portion of her magical energy, the powerful spell took a large toll in her body, greatly weakening her. But not wanting to show weakness to her subordinates, she did her best to stay up, not wanting to expose the through pain she was encountering.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She said, rubbing off the last remnants of pain before glancing towards the body of water in front of her.

The Lunar Lake had been the most powerful source of magical energy she had with her, enchanted since a time long ago and containing in the waters within it a powerful magic. Located deep within the Everfree forest, far away from the safety of her castle or the nearest town, the Lunar Lake had been one of her most visited spot a thousand years ago, a place where she could lay down and feel the warming tranquility it emitted to her.

Like how she was magically connected to the moon, the lake in front of her also drew power from the lunar orb, reaching the peak of its strength during a full moon. Both she and the lake shared the same bond with the moon and in essence, she also had some kind of connection with it.

Now, using this bond she had with it and taking advantage of the eternal full moon she had cast upon the land, she meticulously cast a spell on the lake hoping to achieve her goal.

Ever since the lavender alicron arrived in her land, before quickly leaving, Nightmare Moon had been striving to attain the powerful time travel spell which the foreign alicorn talked about. Although she couldn't prevent the strange alicorn from escaping, she could at least try to mimic the same power that had been displayed before her.

Many of her advisors thought it was a trick, a ruse to fool her and distract her from more important things. But Nightmare Moon knew better. She had seen the spell be cast before her eyes and had felt the power behind it. She knew it was true, it was definitely true and she was going to do anything to get her hooves on it.

She had ordered all her mages to scan the Royal Achieves, checking all the spells and presenting them all to her. With millions of spells stored in the Royal Archives, she was sure that she would be able to find the same spell that alicorn had. After months of work, her mages managed to narrow down the possible spell to three old spells that had been found in the depths of the old archives. Although not properly labeled or described in the writing, Nightmare Moon could had read through them enough and knew that they were if not similar to the spell she was looking for. But without knowing what the spell actually do, for what was written was vague, she knew that there was only one thing to do. And that was to test them out.

So here she was now, standing by the Lunar Lake and watching as the last sprouts of her casted spell took into effect. For three days she had been working on this spell, trying to fine tune it to get it to work properly and now she was finally reaping the rewards.

Staring at the center of the lake, she could see the spiraling flow of water that had been create in the center. Studying it, she can see the sparks of magic that emitted from this cyclone, emitting the magical energy that had been built inside the lake.

Just by standing on the shore, she could already feel the power behind it, the strength of the spell. Soon, the spell would reach full power and be able to do its job. But what its job was is still a question. Being the first out of the three possible spells that were given to her, she was yet to test it and find out if this was the infamous time travelling spell.

But she soon will, given the time. So for now, she would rest.

Having been drained of energy and strength after casting the spell, she was too tired to lead or send out an expedition to go through it and find out what was at the other end. No, she needed to rest right now. Besides, the spell was still building up. Although the casting was done, the spell still needed to gain enough magical energy from the lake to properly work. So it would at least take a while before it was completely ready. So with that in mind, she knew that she had enough time to rest and get ready before setting out any expedition.

Grinning, she felt happy at the thought of rest. With barely enough power to keep herself standing, she found a great comfort at the prospect of lying down on her queen size bed and resting. So with a last minute check to make sure that the spell was stable and working properly, she turned her attention towards the Lunar Guard officer standing beside her.

"Lieutenant Dash, I task you and your platoon with the job of protecting this area till I return. I want you to ensure that nopony lays hoof in or near this area, is that understood?"

"Yes, mam!" The armored pegasus said, snapping a crisp salute as she did so.

"Very good." Nightmare Moon said with a gently nod. "I'll expect to see you here when I return with everything as it should be."

With that last order than, Nightmare Moon trotted to her chariot and left the area.

"Soon we'll see what this spell holds. Soon…" She muttered to herself, as the chariot took her back to her Royal Castle.