Shining Armor watched a few exhausted ponies from the Royal Magic Institute climb out of the bilge. A lot of work had been going on down there.
As a little bit of room cleared up, the stallion made his way into the cramped space. Solar Flare looked up. “What are you doing here?”
“I just came to see if there was anything I can do,” replied Shining. “In case you forget, I’m pretty adept with magic myself.”
Solar muttered something and turned away. Shining looked past him to where other ponies were working. The containment around the strange magical object seemed to be doing its job, but it was taking a lot of energy to keep powering. The team from RMI was working on a rotation to let some of their number sleep.
“What are we going to do with this thing?” asked Shining.
“We’ve got it under containment right now,” answered Solar.
“Right, but what’s the endgame? We can’t leave it here forever.”
The other pony shrugged. “Lieutenant Colonel, we’ve never seen anything like this. I’m afraid that trying to remove it could cause something bad to happen. Leaving it here is also not an attractive option. I wish that we weren’t making up our plans as we go along.”
“What’s the best option?” asked Shining.
Solar thought for a moment. “Take the ship to somewhere deep and poke a hole in it.”
“You aren’t worried that somepony will come along and try to salvage it?”
Looking annoyed, the researcher asked, “Do you know anything about the geography of Earth? The oceans here are at least as deep as our own. I would be surprised if the ship could even be found after it sank, much less be hauled up.”
Shining nodded. “Are there any other options?”
“Why are you asking?” Solar asked grumpily.
“Well…I heard that Equestria might be interested in buying the ship if you can somehow manage to negate the threat.” Shining pointed a hoof in the direction of the red glow.
Solar looked at him like he was insane. “That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“You’ve never met the Secretary of the Navy,” muttered Shining.
★
Calm Seas finished his speech. The group of ponies who ran Equestria and controlled the military’s purse strings stared at him. He hadn’t expected applause, but this seemed colder than necessary.
“I think that was everything. In conclusion, the Equestrian Navy would do well to buy three Spruance-class destroyers from the United States.” The stallion grabbed his paperwork and stepped away from the microphone. Over by the wall, he could see the Secretaries of the Army and Air Force whispering to each other. The two appeared to reach some kind of agreement and approached the podium.
“If the Navy is allowed to purchase these new ships and weapons, I think it’s only fair that the Army receive funding to design, build, and deploy a series of brand new force-wide armored fighting vehicles.”
“Concurrently, the Air Force should be allowed to become a major participant in the Joint Strike Fighter program.”
There was no booing, but a series of muttered comments ran though the crowd, which was almost as bad. The fragile look of confidence on Calm Seas’ face disappeared. His plan had failed before the vote had even been called for.
The speaker of the committee called for order. “There’s no way all three services can have that much money.”
Calm Seas glared at the other two Secretaries, who gave him smug looks.
The speaker continued. “In fact, only about one-third of that expenditure would be prudent. We’ll be dividing it up. Mr. Seas? I believe that means you can buy one ship.”
The Secretary of the Navy practically skipped out of the meeting hall. It was not what he wanted, but it was better than nothing. Now, they needed a name for the ship as the old namesake, Commander William Barker Cushing - USN, meant nothing to ponies. Also, they would have to find something else to classify it as. Destroyer did not exactly project the friendliest of images.
★
Smith looked forward at the ship that loomed in the darkness. He was not afraid, but knew that assaulting it would not be simple. Getting aboard, in fact, would be the easiest part of it.
A makeshift platform had been setup alongside the destroyer to cater to the transports that came and went. The invisible speedboat, its engine shut off, edged up to the landing.
Smith, Star Show, and the other two ponies got off. In the darkness, the boat was pushed away. The four of them could remain hidden, but eventually the speedboat would get out of range of the spell and be discovered. It was best to move fast.
Smith lugged his weapons and a backpack filled with explosives. It hindered his movements, but it was necessary to do the job. One big push was all it would take to finally generate enough power to firmly set the Nightmare’s hooves on Earth. A bomb that killed every sailor on board would certainly do the trick.
Sweat dripped from Star Show's brow as the stallion juggled the cloaking of the group, the invisibility of the boat, and a locating spell. He whispered, “The orb is still aboard.”
The four of them went up the ladder to the deck. Several human and pony guards were around, but they were able to evade them by moving carefully. Finding an open hatch, Star led the way inside. He paused, seeking his target. “It’s down there.”