“In the name of the Equestrian Royal Guard and her Princesses, cease all operations immediately or you will be destroyed!”

The dark figure Frosty addressed was unmoved. “Well, well.” He chuckled. “Frosty the Night-Mare! And her little colt, too!” A shriek of laughter was heard in an adjacent room, from a single female creature.

“You shall all laugh.” He gestured and the entire room erupted into cheer. As if turning a faucet the torrent of laughter ceased when he drew a U in the air with his paw.

The large leader brought his paws together and spoke low. “Yes, you are Frosty and Windy. Be assured we know a great deal more about you both! More on that later, but perhaps you are wondering who attacked your airship? Who commanded the red ship to chase after you? Who interfered with your radio?”

A singular voice howled as if to the moon from an adjacent room- completely identical to the one heard over the radio the previous night.

“You shall laugh.” The leader motioned and the dogs threw their heads back in laughter, again ceasing on command. “I’ve been on your tails much longer. How about who forbade the term ‘hand’ as classified from even you?” He paused, waiting to see the look on their faces as Frosty leaned down to PW’s ear.

“I think we’re gonna have to kill this guy, PW.” She whispered.

“Damn.” Her assistant responded sarcastically.

“Who milled out the metacarpal struts of the ‘hand’ in your hoof? Who ordered that the Night-Mares work solo? I could go on. I have done worse to other Night-Mares. The fact is that you are standing in the same room as the mastermind behind it all. Yours truly, Emperor Alpha.”

Polaris looked to his companion. “Frosty. I – ”

“You SHALL be silent.” The emperor pointed a claw.

“You don’t tell him what to do!” Frosty glared.

Alpha glared back. “This is true. I'll make him do it.” He snapped his claws twice and a diamond dog appeared from behind. He carried the lower-half of what looked like a gas mask that was fastened over PW’s snout. Frosty flinched at the action but was in little position to stop him.

The Emperor leaned forward and pointed again. “Those canisters are filled with water and bleach. Open your mouth to speak and you risk losing your digestive system. I think you need that to eat.”

Frosty touched Polaris’ shoulder in reassurance.

Alpha cleared his throat. “Now that we have lowered the room’s volume to an acceptable level, I’ll tell you a story! Do listen well because it’s the last favor I’m giving you before the fun begins.” The sinister female cackled again from the other side of the wall.

This time however, the captain paid her no mind. Instead he lifted his snout and began.

“I had a dream of a free trade network in the South Celestial Sea. Free from taxation, customs, and all the overhead of picky monarchs. Pit-pockets they are: Equestria, Griffonstone, Catoshima… all those miserable regulated states in the north. You show up with ten bars of gold to sell? Well, royalty takes one and you are left with nine. That bar doesn’t belong to them! In the transaction with the merchant, I am left with nine. This transaction is between the merchant and myself, however, the crown has nothing to do with it!”

PW snorted, his eyes turning red and watering. The emperor rolled his eyes and waved a paw. A diamond dog approached and unfastened the strap, leaving Polaris gasping for air as his eyes, nose, and lips were red with irritation from the vapors.

“You may not speak”. The emperor reminded them.

“Try him again, you two!” Teased the female voice in the back.

‘Where have I heard that voice?’ PW racked his memory.

Alpha sat back and stroked the whiskers on his chin. “Another thing I can’t stand are idiots that cannot keep track of their thoughts. I do not like to repeat myself. Now, we simply decided to circumvent those pesky monarchs and their nonsense. It doesn’t exist here now and I intend to keep it that way!”

He bared his fangs in a wide grin.

“Black Skull Island now belongs to me. It is our home! We have shown the Kirins the free manner of living. We have settled with the Dragon Lands. The pigmen of the pine barrens have agreed to pitch into our cause. My homeland is in union with me!” He frowned. “It is only when we try to bring business to the creatures of Mount Aris that I am told I am wrong. Why is that?”

He brought his paws together. “That’s right. They have low-life, greedy monarchs. The other nations? They have leaders. They are not the same – a leader sets the example by behaving in the ideal manner. He inspires those he commands to succeed. The monarch simply threatens their subjects into obedience. As soon as the threat of that superior force disappears, however, revolution follows. That is my theory as to why Equestria has nearly fallen so many times; the ponies yearn for freedom. They protect Royalty because Royalty says so. Not at all because it is in their best interests as citizens.”

Alpha looked away as he recalled the memory. “I saw it myself in the past few days. Shelling Mount Aris and those hippogriffs. As expected, they retreated under the mountain. However, hippogriffs – like ponies – do not have a clue what to do when things do not go to plan. Why, they were practically helpless! They fled under the mountain, underwater – they were safe!”

“Their entire defensive strategy hinged on the assumption that nothing could breach the mountain but all I had to do was blow a hole in its underwater roots. I entered their haven with this submarine and they panicked before my eyes.” Polaris’ eyes widened as the alpha dog grinned again.

“They had but a single safe option that did not work out for them in the end. Rather than fight back the defenders abandoned their posts as we detonated underwater charges. No loyalty whatsoever. What loyalty is to be had for a monarch who failed after assuring safety? Now Queen Novo is making appeasements with me to avoid outright destruction!”

He shook his head. “Arrogance and complacency blossomed in the wake of the Storm King’s failure. Now we have the mountain and the surrounding seas. We control the food, the water and even the sky.

Polaris narrowed his eyes at that. "How could a diamond dog control the sky against hippogriffs?"

Alpha appeared unbothered by the interruption. “Unlike a monarch I promise a free life for my crew. Loyalty abounds when such promises are kept. Queen Chrysalis commanded what should have been an unstoppable force. A force that was foolishly driven by hunger and threats. She was ultimately abandoned by her own children when her strength faltered. King Sombra only had a handful of slaves and relied on his own innate power. Even a pony knows that no battle can take place when outnumbered ten to one but he nonetheless insisted.”

He smacked his forehead and laughed.

“And who could forget Lord Tirek? Power beyond measure that was wasted entirely on himself! No leadership whatsoever.”

Alpha gestured to his dogs. “I am not served by my lower ranks. It is I who serve them! Consider the successful but corrupted example of Starlight the unicorn, an amazingly talented leader with an illusion of being betrayed by those who loved her. I ask this: is not a leader stronger when he is surrounded by those who love him and genuinely share his ideals?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. “The solution to this problem of taxation, customs, and monarchs is a leader. Somecreature that all in the empire can aspire to be. The loyalty here runs so deep that you would find this empire runs just fine without me. You will not have the chance to see that, however.”

He looked up in realization and smiled. “I haven’t welcomed you yet, have I?” He stood and gave a small bow. “Welcome to the Empire of the Southern Seas! Where freedoms are as of the waves bouncing on the ocean and loyalty runs deeper than its abyss.”

The emperor paused to let that sink in before continuing. “Seaquestria and Equestria took no risk assessment of the waters. Equestria has you two on the land, magical domes and Wonderbolts for the air. No serious protection from the sea. Likewise, Seaquestria guards against the land. Mount Aris from the air but the underwater section is unfortified. What sense is there in engaging in overseas trade and not taking naval assets seriously? Our engineering and technology development is second to none.”

He stood triumphant, paws clasped behind his back. “Yes, we did what even the mightiest army couldn’t. Storm King, though a brilliant strategist, weaved his own noose. Rather than choose allies of good moral character he instead took incomplete, unstable assistants that were only given a taste of what they wanted. Now, that can work as long as the other side doesn’t offer a full cup of their own.”

Alpha leaned forward, muzzle grinning menacingly in the glow of a lamp above.

“We’re cultivating an empire, not a monster. We don’t want the world or even Equestria. We want to succeed and thrive on the international stage. A stage built such that the below-level is being served by the one above it all the way to the top. You both have little time, so though I have loyalty at all levels you will only meet a few of my close cabinet. The Betas. Admiral Cozy “Grand” Glow? Would you come cheer us up?”

Polaris stamped a hoof but held his tongue. ‘That’s who it is!’ He thought.

“I thought you’d never get to me!” Two pairs of hooves galloped across the metal floor and a blue-uniformed pink pegasus mare appeared in the dimly lit walkway beyond the hatch with an unsettling grin.

“Oh dear, this your problem pair? Goodness me they are hideous!” The admiral laughed, raising a hoof to her mouth while bouncing an eyebrow. The voice beyond the wall belonged to her beyond all doubt and it was even more grating in person.

She leapt through the open hatch and turned to her boss. “Are you going to tell them about why I’m here at such an esteemed rank?” She beamed.

“Indeed. Admiral Grand Glow is my Beta because although she tried to take over Equestria she managed to convince her partners to team up. What did you call that gig again?”

“We found a better way to be bad!” She giggled.

The Alpha nodded. “Bad does not win wars. Good does. We consider our empire to be a positive force in the world. We will conduct our business but cripple any entity that threatens our interests.” He gave his prisoners a curt nod as Cozy fluttered before them.

The pink pegasus raised a hoof to her muzzle in thought. “Hm~ I definitely see some commonality here from 25 years ago.” She adjudicated, eyeing up them both. Cozy Glow landed in front of Polaris, eye to eye.

“How old are you, Windy?” She grinned.

“You shall speak.” The alpha’s voice boomed from behind her Cozy Glow. Her smile grew at that.

PW looked up at Frosty who nodded. “Twenty-three.” He answered.

“Fascinating! I am ten years older than you at thirty-three. Although I was stone-ified for ten years! Biologically speaking, we’re the same age.” She looked up to Frosty.

“However, the big girl I’m sure is much younger than Lord Tirek was back when we were a duo. He lost count of his age but I think we put him somewhere around 1,400 years. Such a role model gave me a chance to learn faster than anypony my age and I became the youngest enemy-of-the-crown at just eleven! I serve the sovereign leader. You, on the other hoof, serve a complex web of bureaucracy and lies that ties you up, leaving you nothing more than cannon fodder!”

PW’s frown became her smile.

“Oh, the fun I am going to have making your lives miserable!” She laughed and glided to the emperor.

“Admiral Grand Glow also adds experience.” He regarded her with a smile. “Even attempting a takeover of our greatest adversary has serious merits, even if our ultimate goal doesn’t involve ruling over their land. No, we are only interested in the water! Though we have taken and will take further steps to prevent Equestria from interfering with our operations, such as compromising the effectiveness of the Night-Mares.”

He gave a low hum and continued. “Then there’s the cocaine. What on Equus will we do with such a bounty of narcotics? Hm, remember back to when we determined loyalty was based on leadership? Well, it’s easy to forget the threats of monarchs when one is sky-high. These tasty treats will be distributed to any and every pony looking for some fun. Then, when supply dries up they’ll lose their minds! Mass mobilization will not be possible once we release our gifts to the citizens of Equestria! With the loyalty of my army, the generosity of my cocaine dealers, the magic of my rebel unicorns, the kindness of our partners, the laughter of this one…”

Admiral Grand Glow beamed.

“And – last but certainly not least – the conditional honesty of my Royal Guard contact. Allow me to introduce my trusty management level insider, Zepher Breeze!” Emperor Alpha called.

“Zee-bee!” Sang Cozy Glow as a chorus of applause erupted.

A lanky, green pegasus stepped through the hatch and sauntered into the room. He suddenly stood firm and tall, grinning ear to ear.

“Well hello, hello. How are we doing today? Perhaps you’re a little bit… under the weather?” He joked.

Cozy Glow snickered and the emperor gave his dogs permission to join her and the space was awash in laughter. PW and Frosty locked eyes, already sick of this protocol.

“And I do mean little!” Zephyr looked Polaris up and down. “What’s a guy like you doing in the royal guard anyway? Last I remembered we had standards!”

PW snorted in response and glared but didn’t open his mouth.

“Probably a bid to feel less insecure about his size.” Admiral Grand Glow whispered just loud enough to be heard.

Frosty likewise fumed, having herself joked of her assistant in that way but this was downright malicious.

“Oh, just where are my manners?” Zephyr Breeze laughed. “Admiral ZeeBee, at his service; not yours! Gotta say, I definitely have found my calling. The military is always ‘stand straight’ this, and ‘wake up this time!’ that. However, unlike the Royal Guardsponies I have truly earned my place among the Betas here, as Chief of Intelligence.”

“The irony of the whole affair is that, the whole time, intelligence was flowing from Equestria to the Empire. That’s right! Me; Zephyr Breeze. The one who informed everypony where the Night-Mares were going. The one who shared the details and design of the hand. Even the one who rejected every safety request from your sorry self.” Admiral ZeeBee addressed PW who stamped the metal floor.

“And I do mean ‘sorry.’ The boss says you’re in big trouble. After all, as the saying goes… ‘snitches get stitches.’ But in our highly evolved mili-tar-y, I’d say coffins were more accurate.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Began the Emperor. “Polaris, you have been a thorn in my side, dismantling my plans without knowing it. Now you will pay the price for your loyalty. We are just miles away from your watery– ”

“Sir! COMSOUTH news received!” Called an impatient male voice from the room above.

“Read it off.” Emperor Alpha ordered, taking a coffee that had just been served by a canine officer.

“Night-Mare Recce located. In pursuit near Kirin Grove.”

“Tell the Dream Catchers to make her dying rage be heard from Mount Canterlot itself!” Alpha responded.

“Yes sir! Transmitting the message!” Came the response.

Alpha smiled before continuing. “Unfortunately we lost Beta Longhorn Largo. The Night-Mares were always a high priority, but we’re terminating Recce now. Let’s see who’s really in charge of the Night-Mare lives.” Emperor Alpha bellowed, slowly rising.

PW watched as the giant diamond dog reared up. A foe beyond any proportions PW had seen. With a chill he noticed Frosty’s face angling up, even while rearing. Her expression changed from cold to hot, in a way that PW had never seen before.

“WORROR TOH THE CURR!” Boomed Frosty in an unknown dialect, assuming a sturdy stance and raising her hooves to fight. The emperor stopped when half the distance had closed.

“You are facing a larger foe. What are you going to do now, Little lady?” The emperor challenged.

The room was deathly silent as Frosty remained frozen in concentration.

“Pick any course of action you like.” Alpha finally said. “It won’t go anywhere. Just like your capture. And now, you are trapped with no idea where you are. Even if the Equestrians could destroy this submarine they have no idea you are on it.”

“We do too know where we are! We’re off Black Skull Island! Latitude 25 south longitude 40 east!” PW called defiantly.

The emperor cocked a brow and turned to lean over the map table and examine the blue block on it.

He hummed. “Impressive. Maybe if things worked out differently you’d have been my navigator. Now, I am a very busy dog and have my next appointment coming up. Unfortunately I have to get some information out of you both. Otherwise you are of no use to me. Start thinking about classified information and what we might do to your bodies if I don’t get it.”

With that he turned with a flourish and stomped through a hatch and deeper into the vessel.

“Zeta Blackhound!” Summoned Cozy Glow. A diamond dog stepped forward. “Take them to the brig.” She grinned with evil intention.

“Yes ma’am! To the brig!” He gruffed.

“Yes sir!” Called eight dogs, marching forward in unison.

“Your days are numbered, tyrant!” Frosty shouted. She took hold of Windy's wing. “Especially if this one gets hurt!”

She dropped to all four hooves as she and PW were turned around and escorted through a hatchway embedded into the floor.

“Now we know why the hatches are so big, PW.” Frosty muttered, eliciting only an irritated sigh from her assistant.

Author's Note

At last we now see things as they truly are. Please remember to use spoiler highlighting when commenting about the chapter to avoid spoiling the new recruits! For those who are curious about the submarine layout, I'm heavily basing it off the WWII diesel-electric USS Torsk (minus the missile upgrades made in the Cold War), which is a museum ship moored in Baltimore, 3 blocks from where Bronycon was- R.I.P. You can tour the inside of it.
Also- wow! It was 1 year ago to the day when I decided to throw the switch and write 25,000 words in a single weekend to make this story happen! Thanks for all the support and feedback! You my friends, are what makes this story really amazing for me.