//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Ponyville-class // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// The man with the dagger grabbed Bryant and pulled him closer to the dark silhouette of a pony. There was blood splashed on the deck, and he suddenly realized what the blade was for. “Look at me,” said the Nightmare. “Tell me your name.” The sailor hadn’t a clue why the monster wanted to know, but obliged. “Petty Officer Second Class Bryant, United States Navy.” “I always enjoyed the death of those with titles so much more,” the Nightmare purred. Bryant, deciding he had nothing left to loose, spit. Being without solid body, it didn’t affect the menacing black specter, but it was the thought that counted. “How dare you!” It roared. “Don’t you know when you are beaten? Don’t you understand when it’s time to give up?” Still bound tightly with ropes, Bryant had to admit that the situation looked hopeless. The knife-wielder stood next to him, looking irritated that his conversation with the Nightmare was taking so long. “Answer me,” growled the Nightmare. “What is it that gives you hope?” Bryant looked up, glaring at the creature. “I’ve decided that you don’t scare me.” The vaporous pony chuckled. “It takes a brave soul to disregard his own death, but what about those of his friends and family? His race? His world? What about slavery? What about torture?” The sailor shrugged. “You’re not telling me anything I haven’t thought about before.” “I don’t believe you,” the Nightmare hissed. “Have you ever been to Earth?” Bryant asked. “Death, destruction, suffering, it’s nothing new. We do that to ourselves. We put other people in shackles. We murder. We persecute. Human beings are capable of anything. You’re just a copycat compared to our history.” Rearing up to appear larger, the Nighmare screamed, “I will begin killing humans and I will not stop until those that are left tremble at my name! I will torch your cities and pulverize everything dear to you! Your very air will burn, and your soil will be sterile!” “Good luck,” said Bryant. “We humans know how to do annihilation. See, unlike you ponies we never had magic, but we found ways around that. People have been fighting wars for thousands of years. We know how to inflict casualties, and how to take them and keep fighting. You’ve only got the crew of this boat to back you up against this planet’s population of almost seven billion. You couldn’t kill us all if you tried. If nothing else, the pile of bodies would get too big to climb over.” “Well, they’re not here now,” snapped the Nightmare. “You’re all alone.” Just then, there was a shrieking noise as something passed by close overhead and impacted the surface of the ocean with a lot of force. Seconds later, the sound was repeated, more loudly. Bryant grinned. “I’m not alone. That’s the greeting card of about three hundred fifty sailors who are coming for you.” The instant the words left his mouth, there was a tremendous explosion. ★ “That’s a hit to the superstructure!” Lemon Slice’s voice carried through the speaker in the CIC. “It looks like the bridge is just gone.” “Secure firing,” said Delgado, changing his earlier order. “We’ve got them bracketed now, so if they try to hide again we’ll just saturate the area. They certainly aren’t going to be sailing anywhere under their own power now.” Shining Armor immediately called Canterlot again. He didn’t have time to wait for a patch through to the princess, so he left a message with the communications pony. “Tell her that we’ve got the boat. There should be survivors.” The Commanding Officer turned to Martin. “Get SCAT and VBSS up. Make sure there’s plenty of both.” “Yes, sir!” The Lieutenant headed down to the armory to personally oversee the operation. Sailors not on duty were recruited to stand armed watch. This was Martin’s chance to get in on the action he had been envious of. Groups of men organized and manned the rails of the destroyer. Any resistance from the fishing boat would be answered by a barrage of gunfire. The ship continued to close on the damaged vessel. ★ Being wrapped in ropes and lying on the deck, Bryant was probably in the best place to be when the shell ripped away a large chunk of the boat’s structure. The man with the knife was knocked off his feet, and the unicorn holding the spell to tie down Bryant was more than a little distracted. Throwing off coils of rope, Bryant grabbed the dagger that had landed beside him. He slashed at a nearby unicorn as he got up, and sprinted across the deck towards where Penny was struggling with her bindings. The nearest door led to a staircase which opened onto the deck. Bryant realized he must have been in the holding area directly under the fishing net cranes. The breeze and sunlight was refreshing, but the most beautiful thing of all was the rapidly approaching destroyer. “Jump!” shouted Bryant. He and the young pony went over the rail. The lightweight pegasus gave him some help staying afloat. The two of them clung together as a blaring announcement carried across the water. “This is the United States Navy. Come out and lie down on deck. Don’t make any sudden moves.” The VBSS boat plucked Bryant and Penny from the ocean minutes later. Shortly afterward, they were aboard Cushing Martin watched the two arrive, and turned his attention back to the fishing boat. People and ponies were slowly surrendering. The rest of the vessel would have to be swept for holdouts, but the crisis seemed to be over. A pegasus suddenly shot into the air. He seemed to be carrying something, but Martin couldn’t tell what. The Lieutenant instinctively raised the shotgun in his hands as the pony overflew the destroyer. The weapon slapped against Martin’s shoulder and buckshot knocked the pony out of the sky. Martin and a few other men approached the limp stallion where he had fallen to the deck. He had been carrying a suitcase. One of the sailors reached down and opened it. An angrily pulsing red ball greeted them. Someone said, “What the—” There was a flash of light and heat. The strange object melted a hole straight through the deck and dropped inside the ship.