Beneath a Sea of Blood

In all the time Emerald Seas had known Shining Armor, the admiral had never been one for displays of emotion beyond proud smiles, unreadable stares, or frowns of disapproval directed towards particularly dumb decisions made by bone-headed students. When graduation day came, Emerald had figured that the admiral would allow himself to smile, nod, and then politely step back to let his students have their celebrations. Yet, as Shining Armor now walked across the stage, dressed in his finest uniform, Emerald was surprised to see that the Admiral was beaming. Sparing a moment to look at his fellow graduates, Emerald saw that all of them were as surprised as he was.

Reaching the podium, Shining Armor took his spot and waited until the applause from all those in attendance died down. “Three years ago, I stood here to welcome you all to this academy,” he said, looking out across the sea of white uniforms and graduation caps, all lit by the amber glow of the setting sun. “I warned you about the endless drills, thousands of hours of study, and thousands of hours in practice in simulators that would see you be drenched, thrown about, and sunk so many times that you would lose count… not to mention waking up at 0500 every morning by particularly loud drill instructors.”

A few chuckles broke the crowd’s silence.

“These have been a difficult three years,” Shining continued, “but you all persevered. Through your own efforts, you have grown from unprepared rookies into fully qualified sailors, lieutenants, and captains. Our nation needs those who are ready and willing to defend our home from the lunar tyrant, and I know that all of you will carry that burden with honor, pride, and distinction.” His smile grew. “Therefore, it is my great honor and privilege to proclaim all of you ready for the seas, as the graduating class of 1095!”

With a thunderous cheer, the ponies around Emerald leapt to their hooves, hurling their caps into the air. And though the tradition had sounded silly to Emerald in the months leading up to this moment, he finally understood the euphoria he had heard so much about.

Gripping his cap, Emerald hurled it up into the sky, joining the hundreds of other caps and streamers fired from nearby party cannons, all accompanied by the naval band playing the official theme of Equestria’s navy. And though Emerald had heard it many, many times throughout the years, the music had never sounded sweeter.

***

When the cheers were over, and tossed caps retrieved, Equestria’s newest generation of seafaring ponies dispersed to celebrate their achievement. Most headed for the base’s biggest bar; numerous MPs were already stationed outside, as the bar’s operators knew how rowdy celebrations could get. In minutes, the party was already in full-swing: musicians were on stage, bartenders were handing out drinks left and right, and a few already-overwhelmed servers were practically hurling finger food into the crowds.

Diamond forced her way towards the bar, being none-too-gentle in her quest to get a drink, as Emerald trailed behind her. When she finally made it and procured the last remaining stool, she reached back and pulled Emerald over like a fisherpony yanking in her catch.

“Can you believe it, Emerald?! We did it!” Grabbing a large mug, she had it filled and chugged down the whole thing in one gulp. “No more tests! No more exams! No more late-night cramming!” Diamond banged the mug back onto the counter, waiting for the bartender to fill it.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much?!” Emerald shouted above the music and the partying.

“You know me: I can outdrink anyone here on base!”

“Doesn’t mean you have to prove it!”

Chuckling, Diamond took her refilled mug and downed it.

With a frustrated groan, Emerald turned to look over the bar, searching for some of his classmates. If Steel Wheel was here, he might be able to persuade Diamond to keep her drinking to a minimum. Failing that, there were a few other level-headed types who could…

Emerald frowned; he recognized almost everyone here, but a few of his fellow captains were missing. He knew that they had been looking forward to this party for weeks, yet were now nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, he hadn’t noticed them when walking away from the graduation area…

“Diamond?”

She didn’t hear him over the ruckus from the crowd.

“Diamond!”

With her third mug now filled, Diamond took another chug. If given the chance, she would continue to down mug after mug; Emerald had seen his friend outdrink even the most hardened captains and personnel who sought solace in the bottle after a hard patrol. With their first assignments beginning tomorrow, it wouldn’t do for her to show up sloshed and with a headache; the higher ups expected and allowed partying to mark one’s graduation, but wouldn’t tolerate being late or hungover when it was time to actually go to war.

The other captains could wait; Emerald realized that saving his friend from herself was more important. “Tell you what!” He yelled. “Why don’t we go get some ice cream?”

“And miss all the fun here?!”

“I’m sure there’ll be quite a crowd at the shop, too! And I heard whispers that, for one night only, they’re willing to sprinkle some booze over your ice cream.” That was a lie, but Diamond perked up at the thought.

“Sweet and boozy? What in tartarus are we waiting for?!”

The stool almost fell to the floor as Diamond dropped her mug, leapt off, and headed for the exit, once again aggressively shoving other graduates aside. Emerald hurried after her, hoping that his fellow graduates were either too sloshed or too happy to care about being pushed around.

Finally bursting through the door and stepping back outside, Emerald noticed that things were just as busy outside the tavern as they were inside it. All those who hadn’t been able to get inside were celebrating on the lawn and sidewalk: dancing, singing, playing impromptu games with their fellow graduates, and otherwise cutting loose after three years of nonstop study. Amidst all the chaos and celebration, quite a few of the MPs chose to eye Diamond and Emerald as they left the tavern. Out of caution, Emerald placed a hand on Diamond’s shoulder, to signal that she was in his care, and to indicate that he was the more responsible of the two. It seemed to work, as no one moved to intercept them.

“So, Captain…” Diamond chuckled, “what are you looking forward to most about getting your own ship?”

“Doing my part to bring this war to an end.”

“What about the glory, the honor, the medals?”

“I’ll take the war ending sooner rather than later.”

“Amen to that.” Diamond grinned. “Me? I’m looking forward to my enemies learning to fear my name. When they hear I’m on patrol, they’ll be scrambling over each other to surrender first. And when we become part of a wolfpack, I’ll make sure they don’t come after you.”

Now it was Emerald who smiled. “You mean you want to show off.”

“Yeah. But someone has to keep an eye on you. After all, you’ve looked out for me; it’s only fair that I return the favor.”

The distant cheers of graduates in nearby barracks drifted through the air.

“How are you doing?” Emerald asked.

“You mean, am I drunk? No.”

“Looked like you were trying to be.”

“Alright, maybe a little.”

“Why?”

“Well… this is a big step, you know. Leaving the safety of the simulators, going out there to the big, blue sea, where a mistake can kill you and everyone under your command.”

“That was more likely to happen in our open-sea trials.”

Diamond’s grin faded. “Yeah. But nobody was shooting at us, either.”

They kept walking.

“Do you think we’re ready, Emerald?” Diamond asked. “I mean… this is Nightmare Moon we’re talking about. Not even Celestia can beat her, and she’s been trying for over a century.” Looking around, as if afraid others would hear her, Diamond lowered her voice. “You ever think that maybe she can’t be beaten?”

“She’s not a god,” Emerald said. “She’s a pony. A powerful one, but not invincible.”

“So you’re not scared of her?”

“I didn’t say that.”

The sounds of the party back at the tavern had faded, only to be swiftly replaced by the sound of celebrations at the ice cream parlor. It wasn’t as crowded as the tavern, but that suited Emerald just fine; unlike Diamond and his fellow graduates, he wanted to mark his own graduation with something quieter, more intimate, and—

“Emerald? Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“A serious one.”

Emerald stopped.

Looking around, wanting no one else to be nearby, Diamond leaned in close. “Do you really think we can do this?”

“Of course we can. We’ve trained, studied, and—”

“No, no, not that. I mean, do you think we can defeat Nightmare Moon?”

“Why are you asking—”

Diamond grabbed him by the shoulders. “Do you think we can?”

Emerald was surprised at Diamond’s tone. He couldn’t remember the last time she had ever been this serious.

Diamond waited for his answer.

“Yes,” Emerald said. “Yes, I believe we can... Diamond, what’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer.

“If something’s wrong, you can tell me.”

Diamond looked around again, then gestured for Emerald to follow him into some nearby bushes.

“Diamond, what—”

Fed up, Diamond grabbed Emerald and dragged him into the leaves. “I think there are spies on base,” she whispered. “Spies from Nightmare Moon.”

“What—”

Diamond pressed her hand to Emerald’s mouth, silencing him. “I overheard some of the higher-ups earlier this week when I was getting something from the office: they think some of our classmates are actually agents of Moon, working to try and identify the most promising students so they could kill them.”

Emerald pulled Diamond’s hand away. “Diamond, that’s—”

“Did you notice how a few of them vanished after the graduation ceremony? How they weren’t at the party?”

Emerald nodded. “I did; Stormy Seas was looking forward to the party, but I haven’t seen him… Maybe they wanted to go meet with their families? And if they were trying to kill anyone, why didn’t they do it earlier?”

“Because they want to act when everyone’s guard is down!” Diamond shook her head. “Emerald, I didn’t want to believe this. I know it sounds insane, I really do, but what if it’s real? What if… what if they’re going after you?”

“Why would they?”

“Because you’re a captain. You’re someone who could do some real damage, and would be hard to replace if you’re taken out.”

“I doubt that; there’ll be more captains in next year’s class.”

Diamond didn’t find that funny in the slightest. “Don’t kid yourself; you’re Emerald Seas, son of the legendary submarine captain. You might as well wear a shirt with a target on it. And you’re also a batpony; that’s reason enough for these spies — if they exist — to hate you: a fruitsucker who chose Celestia instead of their god.”

Bringing up his hands, Emerald tried to calm things down. “But you’re more skilled than I am. You’re a more capable captain and can do more damage out there; you’d be a more tempting target.”

“Maybe. But our kind hates it when one of our own betrays our god…” Diamond bit her lip. “Emerald… You… you wouldn’t defect to Nightmare Moon would you?”

“What? Diamond, what are you—”

“Would you?”

Emerald scowled without realizing it. “Never.”

Diamond studied Emerald, her eyes narrowing. It was almost as if she was trying to look into his soul and discover if he was telling the truth.

Emerald locked eyes with hers, matching her gaze.

Satisfied, Diamond sighed, and broke her stare to look around. “Okay… Look, we need to do something. Now, I have a plan, but I can’t do it without your help.”

It would have been easy to tell Diamond that she was crazy, or that she had misheard the higher-ups. Even if she had heard the truth, then those higher-ups would have already moved against any suspected spies; it didn’t make sense that they would wait this long before doing so… but there was the possibility that Diamond was right about all this. Hot-headed she was, impulsive, and often reckless, but being a liar was not one of her flaws. She had never lied to him or given Emerald any reason to doubt anything she told him.

“Assuming you didn’t mishear anything,” Emerald said, “what do you want to do?”

Relieved, Diamond checked to make sure they were still alone. “If I wanted to kill someone and make a quick escape, I’d do it near the docks: I’ll head down there, take a look, and if I find someone, I go alert security.”

“No; we should go to the admiral,” Emerald said. “Let him know about this. He can—”

“There’s no time!” Diamond said. “The sooner we act, the better.”

“Diamond, if there are spies down there, we need soldiers down there, not unarmed graduates.

Diamond bit her lip, her temper threatening to flare up, but she managed to get it under control. “Okay… How about this? I’ll make it a quick in and out. Five minutes, tops. If I’m not back by then, you go alert the Admiral and tell him everything I’ve told you.”

“If the higher-ups think there’s a chance there are spies around, he would know.”

“And if his star pupil goes missing, that gives him a pretty good reason to act.”

Emerald’s gut was telling him to ignore Diamond and go straight to the Admiral. This was something to entrust to a high-ranking official, not a fellow captain. If something was happening in the dark, shining dozens of lights on it instead of just one was the smarter solution.

Diamond waited for Emerald’s answer, but she was impatient; angry, even.

“Alright, alright,” Emerald said. “But five minutes only. No more.”

Pleased, Diamond bought up her watch. “Let’s sync our watches. Once we start, you wait in the ice cream shop. There’s plenty of ponies in there, so no one’s likely to take you out there.”

Nodding, Emerald brought up his watch. “Just be careful, okay?”

Diamond smiled. “I will. Now, here we go. Three.. two… one… go.”

The two clicked their timers.

Without a word, Diamond turned and hurried from the bushes, jogging towards the massive warehouses in the distance.

***

When Emerald opened the door to the ice cream shop, he was hit by a wall of small talk, music, and spoons clinking against metal bowls. Thankfully, it wasn’t as loud as the tavern as he made his way in and took a seat next to a window.

He checked his watch—a minute had passed since Diamond had hurried off.

All the other students were partying, talking among themselves, having fun, and celebrating the end of their time at the academy. Emerald wasn’t the type to join in on their fun, being more content to watch from a distance, his gaze going from one student to the next.

Did anyone here have any loyalties to Nightmare Moon? Emerald wondered. Did they secretly admire her, wanting to join her cause? Had they been approached by her spies and sweet-talked into defecting? No, that couldn’t be… He knew these ponies. He had worked with them for three years and knew each of them personally. Could any spy keep up their facade for that long without making a mistake? Implausible… but, he hated to admit, not impossible.

Unaware of Emerald’s gaze, the other students got refills of ice cream and soda, determined to gorge themselves on as many sweets as possible.

Emerald shook his head; he couldn’t think like this. He knew these ponies, and he knew, knew in his heart that all of them despised Nightmare Moon and relished the thought of taking her down. They wouldn’t turn to her, wouldn’t help her, and would fight to the end against the lunar tyrant, and nothing would change his mind about that.

Turning away, Emerald rubbed his face, ashamed that he was actually thinking like this.

“Enjoying yourself, Captain?”

Looking up, Emerald saw that Steel Wheel had come over to the table. “I thought you’d be at the tavern with the others,” Emerald said.

“Alcohol’s not my thing,” Steel said.

“You prefer sugar to alcohol?”

“Yep.”

Steel gestured to the empty table. “Why don’t you have any?”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Any worries you have can wait until tomorrow.”

Emerald shook his head. “No. They can’t.”

Concerned, Steel took a seat across from Emerald. “What’s got you so troubled that it leaves you in a sour mood on graduation day?”

Emerald really wasn’t in the mood for company, but turning his soon-to-be-formal executive officer away would only raise suspicion. Steel Wheel had spent countless hours working under Emerald in the simulator and had gotten to know his leadership style well, along with his moods and personality tics, which included whenever he was holding something back.

“Steel… have you ever noticed anything… suspicious around here?”

Steel frowned. “Like what?”

Could Steel be trusted? The two had worked together for so long, and Emerald knew his XO as well as Steel knew him. And in all that time, Steel had never shown any indication of being on Nightmare Moon’s side, or even thinking of doing so.

Emerald leaned in close. “Has anyone approached you about defecting to Nightmare Moon?”

Steel didn’t respond.

“I’ve heard that some of Nightmare Moon’s agents have infiltrated the school,” Emerald said. He kept his voice low. “Apparently, they’re going to kill anyone from our class who could be a threat to her.”

Steel didn’t speak, but Emerald saw him stiffen ever-so-slightly.

Emerald checked his watch; four minutes to go.

“What’s with the watch?”

“Diamond was the one who heard about these spies,” Emerald said. “She figured out where they’d try to make their escape and went to see if she’s right.” He tapped the glass surface of his watch. “If she didn’t come back in five minutes, she asked me to go find the admiral and let him know what’s going on.”

“Can you trust her?”

“Yes.”

Steel considered what he had just heard. “How much time is left?”

Emerald checked. “About four minutes.”

“And where did Diamond go?”

“The docks. She figured that if any spies were going to escape the base, that’s where they’d go.”

“Makes sense… but why now?”

“She thinks that they’d act tonight when everyone’s guard is down. We’d be much less likely to keep our eyes open for anything suspicious.”

“And have you seen anything that suggests she’s right?”

“Some of the captains vanished when the ceremony was over.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, too. Didn’t think anything of it.” Though he was still skeptical, Emerald could tell Steel was starting to realize that this plan – crazy as it was – could really be happening.

Emerald checked his watch again.

“How long?” Steel asked.

“About three minutes.”

Neither of them spoke, their eyes fixed on the watch.

Around them, their fellow students continued to talk, some brave souls going back for thirds, and a few foolhardy ones going back for fifths. None of them were aware of what Steel and Emerald were doing, still too high on joy and satisfaction to care even if they had noticed. Let the two sourpusses be unhappy while they partied and enjoyed the night.

The watch continued its countdown.

“One minute,” Emerald said.

Steel was still. Without moving his head, he was looking at the other students surrounding them; Emerald could tell he was wondering if anyone in here was really a spy.

Thirty seconds to go.

Emerald glanced out the window; the moon was extra-bright tonight, bathing the entire base in its cold brilliance.

Even here, Emerald thought, behind all these walls and defenses, Nightmare Moon was still trying to destroy him.

Ten seconds.

Emerald held his breath.

Five… four… three… two… one…

The countdown finished.

Two students cheered as a third chugged down two scoops of ice cream and immediately regretted it as brain freeze kicked in.

Looking out the windows, Emerald looked over the campus for any sign of something amiss. From the parlor, he had a clear view of the administration building, several warehouses near the harbor, and the wide, grassy lawns that separated them. But there was no sign of anything that was wrong. Aside from the talking and distant cheers from the tavern, it was a normal, quiet night.

Emerald rose from his seat.

“Where are you going?” Steel asked.

“To find the admiral.”

“You think he’s really going to believe this?”

“I don’t know,” Emerald admitted. “But I have to—”

The windows of the ice cream shop shattered as a shockwave slammed into the shop, hurling Emerald to the floor, his head smacking against the tile, sending a sharp, stabbing pain through his skull. The pain was so intense that he instinctively grabbed his head, unable to suppress the shriek of agony that tore itself from his throat.

More sounds filtered through the ringing in his ears, muffled and hard to hear: blood-curdling screams and the wailing of the dying.

Blinking, Emerald looked around, but his vision was blurred by the intense pain; he couldn’t make anything out except for smears of red, orange, and black. Still hissing from the pain, he pressed a palm to the floor to push himself up, only to stop as his hand was cut by something. He blinked again and realized that the floor was covered in shards of glass.

“Emerald?!”

Who… who was that? Steel… It was Steel Wheel.

“Emerald! Help me!”

Years of drills and training kicked in, and Emerald fought through the pain. He had to help Steel Wheel, and he couldn’t do it while lying on the ground. There was an overturned table nearby; he grabbed hold and pulled himself off the ground, glass shards crunching beneath his dress shoes. Emerald didn’t hear or feel them as he looked around, horrified at the carnage before him.

The interior of the ice cream shop had been blown apart: tables, chairs, students, and ice cream equipment all lay together in a tangled mess upon the floor, with the screams and groans of the wounded drowning out all other noises. A few cadets were howling in agony as they clawed at the shards of glass that had pierced their sides, their arms, and their eyes.

For a moment Emerald was too stunned to move. Then, remembering Steel, he turned and found his friend pinned under another table; his cheek, neck, and right shoulder pierced by dozens of glass slivers.

Rushing to his aid, Emerald grabbed the table and lifted it, allowing Steel to pull himself out. Once he was clear, Emerald let go, the table falling to the floor with a loud thud.

“What the hell was that?!” Steel yelled.

“What?!”

“I said, what happened?!” Steel yelled again, seemingly unaware of the glass that now pierced his body, but Emerald had no answers for him. Still numb with pain, he couldn’t make sense of it all; one moment he had been standing, and the next he was in pain on the floor.

Turning, Emerald looked outside and, in one heart-stopping moment, realized what had happened: Through the smoke and haze drifting through the air, half of the administration building now lay in ruins, ablaze in a fiery inferno as ponies fled from the structure, some collapsing, asphyxiating from the fumes, others falling and flailing as they burned alive. Other buildings were badly damaged too, blown apart by the concussive force of the explosion that burst out almost half a mile. In the distance, Emerald took note that the massive warehouses next to the docks were gone, their crumpled remains engulfed in a fire raging so brightly that it illuminated the entire base with flickering light.

Without thinking, Emerald leapt through the remains of the window and ran towards the warehouses, his own pain replaced by fear; Steel Wheel was yelling something behind him, but Emerald didn’t listen, for a single, all-consuming thought consumed him:

Diamond was somewhere in that inferno.

Crossing the lawn and darting past chunks of flaming debris, Emerald finally reached the warehouses, but his desperate sprint was halted by a wave of heat so intense that Emerald had no choice but to withdraw.

“Diamond!” He yelled. “Diamond!”

There was no reply, not that anyone would be able to hear him; his yells were swallowed up by the roar of the fire and screams of burning ponies falling to the grass as their skin melted off. Emerald tried again to get closer to the blaze, but the fire was simply too hot; if he tried going any further, his clothes would catch fire, and he would suffer the same fate as those poor ponies at the Administration building. Despite all logic pounding at him to step away, his friend – his only real friend – was somewhere inside that inferno. He had to give it his all.

With one last, desperate act, Emerald bolted toward the inferno again, only for his sense of personal preservation to kick in and drive him back—no amount of bravado or adrenaline would save his skin from the deadly heat or scorching flame.

“DIAMOND!”

His scream joined the sickening chorus of the screams from dying ponies, the wailing sirens of emergency vehicles, and the cackling roar of fire engulfing the base as embers and ash drifted up into the night sky, silhouetted from the light of the moon.