Beneath a Sea of Blood

It had been three days since the destruction of the base’s docks and surrounding buildings, but the badly-damaged administrative headquarters bustled with ponies rushing in and out, some on official business, others working or orchestrate repairs. As Emerald walked up to the main entryway, he hardly noticed the crowds; they blurred together in a sea of uniforms that he absentmindedly navigated with little conscious thought, the sounds of boots, hooves, and anxious small-talk all a muffled and indistinct background noise.

As he drew closer to the doors, Emerald adjusted his uniform to try and make himself more presentable. He felt no pride as he buttoned up his jacket and straightened his hat; that was all done absentmindedly, his muscle memory honed from the previous ten thousand times he had adjusted his uniform. Instinct was the only thing that had kept Emerald going these past three days allowing the minutiae of minor tasks to run on autopilot, leaving his conscious attention to focus on the present moment and what was in front of him, giving no thought to the future, and especially not to the past.

Instinct was shielding him from the pain of losing his only true friend.

Reaching the building’s doors, Emerald passed through them wordlessly and stood silently as security blanketed him with their anti-changeling and weapon detection spells, taking twice as long with him as they would with other… ordinary ponies. When they finished, Emerald approached the reception counter, where overworked secretaries struggled to keep up with seemingly endless paperwork, and a persistent flow of personnel needing direction to their intended destination.

“Emerald Seas reporting as ordered,” Emerald told the nearest secretary.

“Who are you seeing?” the secretary asked without looking up.

“I wasn’t told.”

The secretary briefly glanced up at Emerald with a deadpan expression, pursed his lips, and let out a tired sigh. Quickly flipping through a planner, he scanned what looked to be a list of appointments for various officials. “Floor five, Room 101,” he said, immediately dismissing Emerald as he shifted to the next task that demanded his attention.

Leaving the counter, Emerald once again navigated through a shifting crowd of hundreds of ponies as he traversed the wide staircase. Emerging on the fifth floor, he made his way to his assigned room, finding it set within an alcove and guarded by four heavily-armed soldiers.

Emerald approached one of the guards. “Emerald Seas reporting for an eleven AM appointment,” he stated flatly.

Two of the soldiers kept their gazes on Emerald with their weapons held at the ready as the third checked a clipboard, comparing a photo of Emerald held upon it with the pony standing before her. The fourth soldier cast several spells to check Emerald for hidden weapons, enchantments, or to see if he was a changeling.

Emerald didn’t react to the four soldiers. It occurred to him that they would shoot him if they found any reason to do so. It also occurred to Emerald that he didn’t care.

The unicorn finished her spells. “He’s clean,” she said. Behind her, the soldier with the clipboard nodded, satisfied that Emerald was who he said he was. With that, the guards parted as the door was unlocked.

Without a word, Emerald entered the meeting room. It sported no decorations, windows, or vents; its walls were painted a simple, pale grey. At its center sat a table with no drawers, with two chairs at either end, and all three securely bolted to the floor so they couldn’t be moved or tampered with.

The door was closed behind Emerald and locked. As soon as the lock slipped into place all sound from outside died. It was so quiet that all Emerald could hear was his own breathing.

He took a seat at one end of the table and waited.

Not even one minute passed before the lock was undone, and the door opened once more. Two more soldiers entered, even more heavily armed and armored than the four posted outside. Similar to the others, they also scanned Emerald for weapons and to confirm that he was indeed a genuine pony, then took up posts in opposite corners of the room as a third pony entered the room. Unlike them, though, she was dressed not in combat gear, but in an outfit almost identical to Shining Armor’s dress uniform, though without any medals or distinctions, even though she had far more than he.

Despite his apathy, Emerald immediately realized who now appeared before him, and instinctively stood, snapped to attention, and saluted.

Princess Cadance looked Emerald over as she adjusted her tie. “At ease,” she said. “Emerald Seas, I am Princess Cadance, Secretary of Defense.” She extended a hand. Emerald took it, and was surprised at how strong her grip was. It was the grip of a warrior, not a princess who spent her days spreading love, sunshine, and rainbows everywhere she went.

Releasing her grip, Cadance gestured back at the chair Emerald had previously occupied. “Please, take a seat.”

Emerald did so, wondering why Shining Armor's wife—and one of the highest-ranking individuals in Equestria’s government—wanted to speak with him. Once he sat down, Cadance followed suit, sitting in the chair across the table and waved a hand, indicating for the guards to leave. They did so, locking the door behind them as they went.

Casting a spell to activate a silencing shield around them both, Cadance crossed her hands. “My condolences on what you’ve had to go through these past few days,” she said.

Emerald nodded. He didn’t tell her how it felt like a part of his very soul had been cut out, but assumed that the princess could guess as much.

“Tell me what you know about what happened,” Cadance asked.

“There was an explosion at the fuel depot, which destroyed the dockside warehouses and damaged most of the base,” Emerald said. “According to gossip and rumors, it was no accident, but an act of sabotage and an assassination mission. My friend… Diamond Waters... believed that agents of Nightmare Moon were targeting captains and other high-ranking officers of my class. I don’t know how many have died, but… I’ve heard rumors that Admiral Shining Armor is either dead, or taken somewhere secure after being seriously injured. Considering the silence from my superiors, I’m guessing it’s the former.”

Cadance’s face trembled, but only for a moment.

So that was it, Emerald realized, his heart sinking even more. The admiral was gone; another friend taken by Nightmare Moon. Two friends—his only real, true friends—gone in just one night.

Once again, he was alone in the world. Surrounded by peers, maybe, and co-workers, but no friends, and no family.

“I’m… I’m sorry, your Highness.”

“Thank you,” Cadance said. How she could hold herself together, Emerald could only wonder. Then, Cadance’s brows narrowed, but not in anger. “What I am about to tell you is top secret and is not to leave this room. Is that understood?”

Emerald nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Satisfied, Cadance reached into her jacket, took out a set of blueprints, and unrolled them onto the table. “Do you recognize this submarine, Captain?”

Emerald pulled the blueprints closer, and studied them. He recognized the design and shape to be that of a Gato-class submarine; having trained on one so many times, he’d recognize the design anywhere, even scribbled by a child with crayons on a restaurant napkin. But something about this one was different—the hull was bigger, the weapons were of a higher caliber, and the conning tower atop the deck was taller as well.

“It looks like a Gato-class,” Emerald said, “but it’s been modified.”

“Correct. This is a Nautilus-class submarine.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Because its very existence is a secret at the highest level. Only a hundred individuals know it exists, and now you’re one of them.” Cadance let that sink in for a moment before continuing. “It is outfitted with numerous experimental technologies, and is the most advanced submarine in our fleet: able to dive twice as deep and cruise twice as fast as a Gato, has near perfect soundproofing abilities, and is outfitted with guided torpedoes.”

“Guided, Ma’am?”

“They use specialized magnetic equipment to home in on the metal hulls of ships. Still experimental, but tests have been promising. We intended to use the Nautilus as a ‘special projects’ submarine to hunt down and destroy entire fleets and carry out dangerous black ops. In the right hands, the Nautilus is a fleet killer. One was moved to this base and, due to her outstanding test scores, Diamond Waters was to take command and embark on a patrol after graduation.”

Emerald realized where this was going.

“The night the explosion took place, the Nautilus went missing. Several guards were stationed to protect the warehouse where it was stored; only one survived. He confirmed that the explosions were the result of saboteurs.”

“Did they happen to see who they were?” Emerald asked.

“The guard couldn’t identify most of them, but from their age, and the way they were dressed, he had enough reason to believe they were agents of Nightmare Moon who had infiltrated the base to destroy our fuel supplies, assassinate graduating captains, and kidnap Shining Armor.”

Emerald twitched in surprise. “Wait, you mean he’s not dead?”

Cadance shook her head. “The guard saw him being dragged onto the Nautilus before it departed.”

Shining Armor was alive! The numbness enveloping Emerald broke for just a moment. “Do we know where he is?!”

“We do. As a precaution, he always has a very powerful tracking spell cast on him.” Cadance pulled out a map of Equus and tapped the northern wastes, far away from Equestria’s mainland. “Although we can’t pinpoint his exact location, we have narrowed it to within a ten mile radius in this area. We don’t know of any bases there, or if he’s being held on a ship, but it’s likely Nightmare Moon’s forces are interrogating him.”

Emerald had grown fond of the admiral over the years, and realizing that he was alive managed to break the hold that melancholy and grief had on him. Yet, something about all this wasn’t adding up.

“Why are you sharing this with me, Ma’am?” Emerald asked.

“Because you’re being recruited to lead a rescue mission.”

“Me?”

“All but one of the other captains in your class died in the explosion, or shortly afterwards in the confusion. Stormy Seas survived, but is in critical condition and won’t be ready for duty for at least another month. You are the last surviving captain we have.”

“But aren’t there other—”

“Yes, we have other captains… but nowhere near as many as we should.”

“What? I… I don’t understand, ma’am.”

Cadance sighed. “Have you not found it odd that we’re turning cadets into captains immediately upon graduating, instead of promoting more experienced sailors?”

“No; I thought we just thought the navy wanted to speed up training.”

“You’re correct, Captain. We need more captains for our fleet, and we need them badly. Nightmare Moon’s forces are churning out more ships than we can sink, and they’ve become very good at anti-submarine warfare. Our ranks have been depleted faster than we can replenish them. We don’t have a lot of experienced officers left.”

Emerald stared at her. “Ma’am, I… I didn’t—”

“Know? We’re trying to keep that information under wraps for morale. Equestrians can’t know that our submarine program is operating at a fraction of what it should be. At the moment we have—at most—twenty five submarines when we should have two hundred. All of our other captains are on assignment elsewhere and we can’t pull them away. You, Emerald, are the only captain we have who can take this assignment.”

Emerald’s head swam; things were that bad? Nobody had ever told him during his years at the academy that Equestrian’s submarine force was in serious trouble. Shining Armor had to have known, but he clearly kept it secret; was that why he had put Emerald, Diamond, and all the other captains through so many training simulations, sometimes a dozen in a week? To try and give them the best chance they had when they went out into the open sea? And now this… to be given a secret mission just days after he had graduated, but also a mission that would have enormous consequences if it failed.

Breathing deep, Emerald tried to calm himself. Such a burden would weigh heavily on even the most seasoned captain—one that had actually faced combat—but for a green captain who had never even fired a torpedo in anger? It all felt overwhelming…

And yet… if his father was here, he would accept the assignment without question. No matter how overwhelmed he would have been, or how scared he may have felt, his father absolutely would have accepted this responsibility. Emerald could do no less.

With another deep breath, Emerald gathered himself. “Very well, ma’am.”

Cadance didn’t smile or nod in approval. She didn’t even seem pleased.

“Ma’am?”

“There is one other reason we are recruiting you, Emerald,” Cadance said, regretting what she had to say. “I said that the guard who survived the explosion didn’t recognize most of the saboteurs. But he did recognize one.”

“Who was it?”

Cadance pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper and unfurled it. There was a photo on it, a photo of someone that Emerald knew very well.

In an instant, Emerald’s world froze. He stared at the photo, his heart skipping a beat, and feeling as if a giant hand had grabbed his insides and crushed them with a single, horrific squeeze.

This… this couldn’t be. It had… it had to be a mistake. It couldn’t be true! It couldn’t be!

“Diamond Waters was seen with the saboteurs,” Cadance said. “She guided them to the warehouse and helped them slay the guards. She was last seen getting onto the Nautilus before it sailed out.”

Emerald stared blankly at the photo.

“Our investigation is still ongoing,” Cadance said, knowing how difficult it was for Emerald to hear this, “but it appears that Diamond Waters was working for Nightmare Moon all along. We believe that her mission was to integrate herself with your class, kill anyone who could prove useful in our war effort, and steal that submarine.”

Emerald just stared at the picture.

“You must know, Emerald, that you are also a target of this investigation,” Cadance continued. “At this time, we don’t believe you were involved with her plot, or that you aided her… but if you did, telling the truth now would make things easier for you.”

Emerald didn’t answer her.

“Emerald?”

He was silent.

“Emerald,” Cadance said, raising her voice ever so slightly. “Did you know anything about what she was planning?”

Emerald finally looked up at her. “No,” he said. “She… The night all this happened, she told me she thought there was a plot to kill graduating captains and went out to investigate.”

“She didn’t try to recruit you?”

Emerald tried to recall any details of what Diamond had said; the last conversation they had was fuzzy in his memory, something not helped by the sudden realization that she had betrayed not only him, but her class, her friends, and even her nation.

“Emerald?”

“I’m… I’m thinking, ma’am,” Emerald said, holding up a hand. “She… she did ask me if I thought we could defeat Nightmare Moon. She… I’m sorry, I’m…”

“Take your time,” Cadance said.

It was quiet in the room for a few minutes as Emerald tried to gather himself.

“Maybe… maybe she was trying to see if I would join Nightmare Moon,” Emerald said at last. “And when she realized that I wouldn’t, she decided to spare me.”

Cadance pondered Emerald’s words.

“Why… Why would she do that?” Emerald asked. “Why me?”

“I don’t know,” Cadance said. “Fondness for you, perhaps? What I do know is that Diamond Waters has betrayed our nation. Judging from our medical examinations of your deceased classmates, they were almost all killed just before the explosion – including a few found near the depot – and it’s likely that Diamond helped with that. And seeing as she helped steal the Nautilus, it’s also likely that after the ship has been studied by Nightmare Moon’s engineers, she will use it against our ships. Emerald, I cannot overstate this enough—that submarine is capable of sending entire fleets to the bottom. She could single-handedly turn the tide of the war against us, and that’s before Nightmare Moon’s forces could reverse-engineer the ship and deploy it en masse. No matter the cost, and no matter what we must sacrifice, we cannot let that happen.”

Something came to Emerald—a thought he wanted to deny, but he knew, deep down, what Cadance was going to tell him.

“You… you want me to kill her.”

Cadance said nothing.

Emerald’s gut went colder than polar ice. “Ma’am, I—”

“You trained with her,” Cadance said. “You know her strategies, her tactics; you are the only one who can possibly hope to match her.”

Emerald shook his head. “I went against her hundreds of times in simulators. I never beat her; not once.”

“I am aware of that. But circumstances have forced our hand. Your mission is twofold: You will take a strike team to recover Shining Armor. If… recovering him is impossible, then you are to use a cold fission torpedo to ensure the enemy cannot corrupt or brainwash him to serve their cause.

“Cold fission?”

“A highly experimental torpedo. You don’t need to understand the process behind it, only that this weapon is extremely difficult to manufacture and has enough firepower to annihilate an entire fleet in one shot. We currently have only one, and thank the gods it wasn’t on the Nautilus.

“Once the admiral has been recovered,” Cadance continued, “you are to drop him off at the nearest safe port, then proceed to track down the Nautilus, destroy it, and eliminate Diamond Waters. The second ship in the Nautilus class is being finalized as we speak; you are now its captain. Once this meeting is complete, you will be transported to the base where the submarine is kept, and depart tomorrow morning. Is that understood?”

Emerald rubbed his eyes, emotionally exhausted.

“Captain?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Emerald said.

Cadance softened her tone. “If I could, Captain, I would give you a few days to prepare yourself for this mission. But time is not on our side.” Gathering the blueprints and the photos, Cadance stood. “Good luck, Captain. Dismissed.” She saluted, and Emerald did the same. Then, with nothing further to say, she bid a quick exit.

No sooner had Cadance walked through the door than two new soldiers entered the room. “Captain?” one asked. “Come with us, please.”

Standing, Emerald followed them. They guided him through the building and out the front doors, where a jeep was waiting for them. Once they had climbed aboard, the driver immediately set off; whether she knew exactly what was going on, or just that time was of the essence, she drove faster than she should have.

Emerald sat in the back, staring straight ahead. One of the guards looked over and almost engaged in some idle small talk, but recognized the look of someone who was overwhelmed by what they had been told, and was struggling to process it. To try and talk with someone else would take more energy than they had to spare.

Leaving Emerald alone, the guard looked to the road ahead, on the lookout for any threats, his hands tight around his rifle, wondering just what his charge had been told that had sent him into silent melancholy.